Hey there, author here. So I'm just gonna reply to one of the reviews. Dino says this is a wank story and you're not wrong but you're not 100% right either. This was an induction to what Yujiro is like in my interpretation of the Overlord world, i.e being level 100 is a pre-requisite to even stand against him and if he goes 100% it's an instant kill if you're not extremely tough, but it doesn't mean he's invincible. If you were fighting him in Yggdrasil, you would need to take a lot of mages for DPS and physical resistant armor for everyone, use weapons that dealt magic damage for the physical fighters, and swap them out as Yujiro began using techniques on them to not overwhelm the healers, etc. All that while you deal with his mechanics until he finally pulls out the demon back and it becomes a DPS race. I see him as a challenging boss that can now go into enraged mode at any moment during the fight. Broken but nothing that people with experience raiding and solid teamwork couldn't take.
But you're not wrong if you don't think he would be that strong. Even in Baki, Yujiro could tank/dodge lightning, and stop an earthquake with a punch, but gets downed by a few tranquilizer darts. His strength is up to interpretation to a certain degree, but since he's treated as the best in history it made sense to make him a huge threat. At least, that's what I think.
Even so, I hope you guys find some enjoyment in reading the story. Thanks for the patience and let's start this chapter already.
Rufus sat at the table alongside the other rulers of the Slaine Theocracy. As he explained what had happened just a few minutes before his arrival, most of the cardinals couldn't believe what they were hearing, but even then, none of them dared to interrupt the first follower of the God of Death, Surshana. They could only gasp in terror as Rufus carefully and precisely described the appearance, behavior, and power of what they had summoned.
"Impossible! " The cardinal of Earth and commander of the six scriptures,Raymond, said. He slammed his fist on the table and began gritting his teeth. The safety of the country rested on the strength of their warriors and the Black Scripture was the strongest of them all. Even then, they were defeated in the blink of an eye. Yet another display of how weak humans were.
'You must be mistaken. ' Raymond wanted to say, but try as he might, he couldn't muster enough courage to challenge information brought in by Rufus.
"This is... unexpected. " The cardinal of fire, Berenice said. She took a slow and deep breath as she tried to control her nerves. "Someone that powerful wondering about our country is already in an extremely delicate situation. If you add this... man's disposition to the mix, even without directly threatening our rule, he might open the country to foreign actors. Are you sure that it is human?"
The cardinal of water, Zinedine turned his attention to Rufus before saying, "But if he aims to return to his country, then we still have some hope. We only need to play our cards right to get pit him against the Sorcerery Kingdom and watch the fireworks. Someone of his caliber should be able to put a huge hole on- "
Berenice immediately interjected, "And what type of cards do we have? What could possibly move a man or beast that we know nothing about and who threatens our entire race? We can't take chances like that! He must be eliminated at once or driven out of the country. "
The cardinal of light, Yvon, began fake coughing. He was the most intellectually gifted of the group so everyone turned to turn their eyes to him expecting some type of solution, but were immediately disappointed. "I agree with Zinedine. This Yujiro Hanma is most likely capable of dealing with the Sorcery's kingdom forces, therefore, we must use him. As for Berenice's concern, you are incorrect. We know something about the man. He wishes to return to his country. Hm... what was it called again Lord Rufus? "
"Japan. The HUMAN Yujiro Hanma said he wanted to go to Japan. " The undead replied giving a lot of emphasis on the human part. Rufus was deep in thought trying to figure out how he would fight Yujiro should it be needed only to be asked pointless questions. If he were human, he would be pissed off.
"Yes, thank you. That's how we are going to get him to work for us. No matter how strong Yujiro is, he is only one man. There is a limit on how much information he can get his hands on. We will offer our help and-"
"You're forgetting that we don't know anything about this country either. " The cardinal of darkness, Maximilian, said. "If we promise a way back for him and have him destroy the Sorcery Kingdom only to then fail to deliver on our end, the Slaine Theocracy might cease to exit. "
"But even so, I believe it would be a worthy end." The cardinal of wind, Dominic, said. "Our initial goal with the summoning ritual was to find someone who could help us deal with the undead and his monsters. Now, we have just that. Even if it means that we will have to pay the price with our very existence. As long as that leads to the survival of our species. It is an acceptable end."
"It's not acceptable. " Rufus said as he began releasing his killing intent toward Dominic. The other cardinals immediately held their breaths as Rufus continued talking. "My only goal is to serve Surshana. Now that he is gone, I have taken the mission of carrying his creations. This country is one of the few things that are left of him. I have protected it for 600 years and will continue to do so for the rest of the time. Its destruction isn't and will never be acceptable. "
Rufus stopped talking before going back to his mind. He had yet to find anything that could be useful against Yujiro but was determined to find a weakness. As for the other people present in the room, they remained silent for a few minutes.
"Hm... ah... while I don't fully agree with Lord Rufus' point of view. There is another thing to consider. " Raymond said. "If we... hm... sacrifice our resources to bring in this man. Even if we are capable of destroying the Sorcery Kingdom and every single one of its ilk, there might be another powerful threat to humanity in another 100 years or so. I would like humans to rely on our country when that happens and of course, I would like to have our grandchildren count on you as well, Lord Rufus."
"Humans were very cherished by my creator. As long as any of you don't plot against this country, you'll have my aid. " Rufus said as he placed his hand on the table. "I would also like to point out that this summoning was something that I advised against in our previous meeting. Don't use it to make any stupid moves or the situation will get a lot worst. "
"Indeed, Lord Rufus. I apologize on behalf of the other cardinals. We believe that having the Black Scripture and Downfall of the Castle present during the ritual would be enough to ensure control over the situation should force be necessary. Clearly, we grossly underestimated what we were dealing with. " Berenice said while lowering her head. The other cardinals quickly did the same.
"Speaking of the Black Scripture, should we begin preparing for resurrecting them right away, Lord Rufus? " Raymond said while still keeping his head down.
Rufus placed his hand on his chin before saying, "I'll first have to recover their bodies. The man, Yujiro Hanma, seemed to be in a hurry so I doubt he will stay there. It should be easy. "
"That is good news, but... Lord Rufus. Is there a chance that powerful instant death magic was used on them? " Dominic said as he slowly raised his head. They knew that death magic could be used to take out multiple opponents in one instance and considering that Zesshi herself could overcome all resistances against death magic thanks to her talent and the Surshana's weapon, the same might have been done to everyone in that room. If that were true it might be harder or even impossible to bring them depending on the spell used.
"It is not impossible. Although he resisted 10th-tier magic, Yujiro didn't strike me as a magic caster. He seemed to be a physical fighter who relied on his fists. From what he showed me, I can't believe he would be able to dispose of everyone in that room as easily as he did with his own fists. He might have a powerful item or a skill so it is possible. "
"That is true, Lord Rufus. But, if I may ask, maybe he held back against you? " Maximilian said while trying to avoid looking directly at Rufus.
"It could be possible, but I doubt that was the case. He was serious about killing me when he punched me. The killing intent was about on par with the God-kins. However, if that is true. We will have to be even more careful around Yujiro. "
"I see. In that case, we will have our magic surveillance and our spies looking for him right away. Nothing is going to get past us. " Berenice said as Rufus stood up.
"Do that. I want everyone to try to figure out everything about Yujiro Hanma. Everything. " Rufus said as he began walking toward the door.
"As you wish. " The cardinals said.
"As for what we will do about him... keep your distance until we can get some critical piece of information. That is all. I will now bring the bodies and their gear here to get the resurrection spells ready. After that, I will return to my studies but don't think twice about bringing any new piece of information about Yujiro. I want to know it as soon as it becomes available. " Rufus said as he opened the door. He immediately closed it behind him before walking back to his room.
'Japan... I'm sure I heard this name once before...but it was a long time ago...' Rufus thought.
The gigantic door flung open as if it was hit by an explosion. The handles hit the wall almost creating a small dent on the wall and soon after, a huge presence entered the room. It was a huge skeleton wearing a black robe with purple details. "Albedo, give me the report. Now! " The skeleton said with passionate anger in his voice.
They were in a huge throne room. The skeleton walked a top of a red carpet shaking with anger. His steps were short and fast. It was clear that he was exerting a lot of power not to run straight ahead. In front of him stood, two of his subordinates, Albedo, the guardian Overseer, and her sister, Nigredo, an Area Guardian of the 5th floor of Nazarick.
For an undead, it was nearly impossible to feel emotions, but in extreme situations, powerful emotions were able to show themselves briefly before disappearing. However, this time was different. The anger was so powerful that it lasted for almost a whole minute. "Yes, Lord Ainz. " Albedo said before bowing as quickly as she could.
Ainz quickly made his way to his throne before sitting down. He didn't care about looking cool or how rough his actions were, Ainz couldn't wait anymore. He had to confirm whether they had finally found the bastard who had mind-controlled one of his subordinates, Shalltear Bloodfallen.
"We have detected the activation of a World Item. " Nigredo said as she was about to bow to Ainz only for the overlord to immediately stop her by raising his hand.
"Quick. When did it happen? Who used it? Where? " Ainz started throwing one question after another at Nigredo who could only stare silently. She never saw a supreme being acting that way and was completely unprepared to react.
Ainz kept asking more and more questions until he finally saw that both Nigredo and Albedo were sweating. They were so afraid to displease the master that they couldn't possibly ask him to calm down. They had to answer his questions in the order of most importance, but since there were so many of them and they all felt equally important, neither of them knew where to start. Still, not saying anything was an insult to Ainz, which only created more stress and made it even harder to say the wrong thing. Ainz realized this so he decided to start again. "Nigredo, tell me when did you detect that? "
Upon hearing her name. Nigredo was snapped back to reality and quickly responded, "Around four minutes ago, Lord Ainz. I informed Albedo who reported to you as soon as possible."
"Good. Where did it happen? " Ainz asked already planning a huge operation as soon he was done hearing the report.
"Slaine Theocracy, my lord. " Nigredo said already preparing herself for what was about to happen.
As if on cue, Ainz's presence and murderous intent raised to dangerous levels engulfing everything in the room. Both of the girls placed their heads on the floor awaiting to hear his orders.
"Call Demiurge, now. Tell him to forget anything he had planned until this issue has been dealt with. The same order applies to you too, Albedo. I want a stealth group to invade the Slaine Theocracy. Everyone involved with the world item is to be captured and interrogated. I want to know who attacked Shalltear and then I want them to pay 10-fold! "
"Lord Ainz, there's one other thing. " Albedo said trying to not piss off Ainz more than he already was.
"What? " Ainz said with a serious voice. He expected them to agree and obey his command right away, but since they didn't it could only mean another big problem.
"We found what we believe to be dead soldiers from the Slaine Theocracy in the area, my lord," Nigredo said while trying to push her head onto the floor.
Ainz was immediately hit with the emotional suppression passive skill. "So they are not affiliated with the country? An enemy? No. Maybe they had a falling out? Either way... it could be another player or a group like the eight greed kings. " Ainz said with his normally calm demeanor. "Who killed them? "
"I'm sorry, my lord. But something was blocking my vision of the area when the attack must have taken place. However, after a while, the area became clear to me. " Nigredo said. Now that Ainz had calmed down a bit, she was feeling a sense of relief.
"We believe the source that's blocking information magic is-"
Ainz interrupted Albedo by saying, "The player or possibly players... that's likely the case. Did the player vanish after that?"
"No, Lord Ainz. It started moving at a very high speed in a straight line. I have been successful at following the source by following where my vision is blocked. " Nigredo said.
"In a straight line? Which direction? " Ainz asked as he became confused. The player was making it a bit too easy for them to find it by not teleporting and now he is informed that they are moving in a straight line. 'Is it a trap or maybe a smoke screen? A distraction? ' Ainz thought as someone entered the room.
" . .Arrived " A huge blue insect said as it walked into the room. With every step, it released a cold stream of air from its lungs until finally reaching the throne and bowing.
"Welcome, Cocytus. Nigredo, answer my question. " Ainz said with a serious look.
"Yes, my lord. The source has been moving east in a straight line. " Nigredo immediately said.
"East? So it's not moving toward us nor it's going to Baharuth Empire. Is the goal to hide in the Draconic Kingdom, the Beastman country or is it somewhere even further east? " Ainz began questioning himself before saying. "What about Katze Plains? Is it going to pass through there? "
"No, my lord. If it continues to follow the current trajectory, the source will pass south of the Plains and enter the Draconic Kingdom. " Nigredo said as Albedo pulled a map of the region.
"Show us the trajectory. " Albedo said just as Ainz created a small table. The overlord then got up and walked to it. Cocytus did the same and now, everyone was looking at Nigredo using her finger to trace a line.
"It will go by this settlement here, cross the lake in this part right here and then enter the Draconic Kingdom. At the speed that it's going now, it should take around 20 minutes to leave the country and in another 20 minutes it's going to be beyond the scope of the maps we currently have. " Nigredo said as she pulled her hand back.
"20 minutes? Do we have a stealth team around that area? " Ainz asked as soon as he immediately understood that catching up with the source with a stealth team would be extremely difficult. If the goal was in the Draconic Kingdom or somewhere close, it would stop and Ainz could easily find it, but if it was somewhere beyond that, Nazarick would have to risk running head-first an unknown region just to investigate it. Not only that but there was the risk of it teleporting away and the possibility that it was just a distraction. They would have no other option but to delay the investigation.
"Unfortunately no, my lord. Most of our spies are in the neighboring countries and we didn't have that many available. The few we could spare for Slaine Theocracy are in the populated areas near the north borders. " Albedo said as she bowed to Ainz.
" . . . . . . . . . . .Mounts. " Cocytus said.
"If we don't mind making noise we can intercept it, either by going faster or being smarter, but we would be in a similar position as this guy. Other people might be able to track us or catch us by surprise by making a move somewhere else on the board. We can't act like we're unstoppable. " Ainz said as he started rubbing his chin. "What about the area where it first appeared? Do we have someone to check it? "
"Also no, my lord. I deemed it to be unimportant for our investigation and haven't stationed anyone there, but I have already ordered a few Hanzos to investigate, but it will take a few hours for them to get there. " Albedo responded. Once again, she bowed to Ainz.
It wouldn't be impossible for them to get a bit faster, but it would only save around 40 minutes and it would be too risky. The Hanzos could be detected by other entities if they went full speed ahead and considering they were heading to a place where a world item was found... Ainz couldn't take any chances.
"I see. In that case, Nigredo. I will give you permission to equip a world item. It should be enough to bypass whatever counter spell they are using to block us. Also, Cocytus, I want you to go meet Shalltear. If the source changes direction and moves toward us or stops I might need both of you ready to fight it. " Ainz said as he turned to Albedo. "Albedo, inform Demiurge of what we learned here and ask him to prepare a team to check the original spot where it first appeared. Even if the Hanzos are already on their way there I want a few extra troops to prevent anyone from escaping from us should we find something. Nigredo, go back to following the source. I'll take a world item to you shortly and then, once we know who it is, we will act accordingly. Place Nazarick on high alert and prepare for a possible infiltration of the Sorcery Kingdom. This might just be an elaborate goose chase."
"Yes, my lord. " All of them said in unison as Ainz immediately teleported.
'Is it the player that attacked Shalltear or just a random player? It could even be a team of players or someone from this world. There's no guarantee that they only have one world item either. Why not teleport away and simply escape our gaze? What a headache. ' Ainz thought as he appeared in the treasure room.