Prologue

Tired.

She was exhausted. Which was impossible for a being like her, Evileye, a vampire with almost 300 years of existence. Emotions and feelings shouldn't have been a thing her kind possessed. Lately, though, she had rarely gone through a day without feeling some sort of negative feelings.

Usually, it was frustration; she was frustrated that she had been driven out of the place she had been calling home, driven away from her first-ever love, her knight in shining raven-coloured armour. Forced to run and hide like rats.

Sometimes, it was hatred. She hated it whenever she heard news of that damnable Sorcerer King and his damnable Sorcerer Kingdom and his damnable conquest. How many more needed to die to satiate his… whatever he wanted.

Other times were despair. She despaired as her closest friends, whom she considered the sisters she never had, passed away one by one. All hope she had ever held inside her died out.

The first and luckiest was Gagaran, who died of old age.

It was after a hard-fought battle, which they had won, somehow, and Gagaran said she was going to bed early. No one paid attention to it, as everyone else was also exhausted, so she was left on her own. She passed away in her sleep.

Since Gagaran died of old age, coupled with the fact that she had been downing healing potions like they were water for years, her body just gave out, so no resurrection spells could be used.

It was not like anyone wanted to bring her back, either. She had fought long enough; it was simply her time to rest. The Boss Lady did what made the most sense, ensuring that her body was cleansed and burned, and her ashes scattered so the enemy couldn't bring her back against her will.

Next were the twins. They left the world together.

It was the battle of Black Field. The place wasn't called by that name originally. It was called Great Green Field by the locals who used to live there. Until Jaldabaoth came, that is.

Everyone thought he was slain by the Sorcerer King. Everyone was wrong.

After single-handedly bathing everything in a two-mile radius in a sea of flame, he gloated that after his defeat he swore loyalty to Ainz Ooal Gown to save his own life, and from then on, he had been working for the Sorcerer King to help realize the undead's dream of a paradise for both the living and the dead.

Bull. Shit.

She suspected they had been working together since the very beginning. How could it be anything else? There are too many coincidences, too many random happenstances leading toward one another. It could only be planned.

It was useless to realize such a thing then, though. Tia and Tina lay dead before her.

She thought she had seen the depth of cruelty over the centuries of her life. Jaldabaoth's actions told her she was unimaginative. Seeing what he was doing to what was left of the twins, she saw only red.

But anger made one stupid, and her mistake has been costly. The army she was leading was as charred as the grass underneath them.

Had it not been for Lakyus, she would have shared the same fate.

After that, they ran for a while, too bad they had run out of places to go to.

Lakyus was old. Too old for running far. She could tell that Lakyus hadn't been the same since she lost her country and her childhood friend. Lakyus had never truly forgiven them for running away like cowards, though not for stabbing her in the back, literally.

She also suspected that Lakyus had been thinking of suicide for a while now. They both had nothing else to live for, after all. Lakyus wanted to reunite with her friend and her countrymen in the afterlife. Though, it came as a surprise that Lakyus would throw herself in Ainz Ooal Gown's spell to buy time for Evileye to escape.

But for the Sorcerer King, no sacrifice was enough. Lakyus's sacrifice did not even slow him down.

And now, Evileye lay beneath the hateful gaze of that monstrous being. She lay there battered, beaten, tired, and ready to embrace the sweet release of death. Though she doubted she would be given a quick one.

There was too much animosity between Blue Rose and the Sorcerer King. They had tried to thwart his conquest one too many times, after all. Even with the fact that they had failed more times than they had succeeded, she doubted it would help her plead her case.

There was still the option of killing herself. She still had enough mana left for a [Shard Buck Shot]. All she needed to do was to aim it so that it would blow everything above her neck clean off.

It was tempting, but He still stood before her.

She didn't think he would just let her end it all that easily. Maybe he wanted to torture her for eternity, or maybe he wanted to be the one who did the killing himself. She preferred the latter much more.

But before she died, she wanted to know the truth. As undead to undead, she wanted to know why he was doing this. It wasn't out of hate for humanity; she knew that for sure. Some undead could temper their instinct to focus on a personal goal or an aspiration of some sort, and she wanted to know what his was.

He had been merciful, too merciful, even by human standards. He conquered, sure, but no slaughter, no mass sacrifices? Not even enslavement?

He even freed the slaves of whatever nation that fell beneath his feet. So why did he do all this? To brought war, chaos, and destruction with every step he took, and then turned around to act as if he was some merciful king, killing only when needed to bring peace to the land.

Had he been truly merciful, he wouldn't have crawled out of his tomb.

With whatever bravado she had left in her, she spat, "Why? Why did you do all of this? Why couldn't you just leave us alone? You kept taking everything I had away from me! They were my family, dammit, and you took them from me!" She roared the last with all her defiance.

She fully expected there would be consequences to her outburst, whatever it might be. She wasn't expecting him to respond to her, though.

"That was a noble thing your friend did. A comrade of mine once said, 'Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends'. I commend her for her bravery. It reminds me of so many I have encountered over the years." He sounded almost human. It surprised her.

While her mind was still reeling from the unexpected response, he continued, "I never intended to take your family from you. But just like you, I had a family of my own, children I needed to protect. And I would gladly sacrifice everybody else's for mine's safety and comfort. Especially the family of those who had wronged me and hurt my children," He pointed a skeletal finger at her, "And you, Evileye, have evaded my wrath long enough."

She could almost feel anger coming from him.

Ah, so it wasn't because of mercy that she got her answer. He just needed her to know why she was about to suffer.

What a farce.

"So then, what was my fate going to be?" She croaked out, weakly.

The flames in his eye sockets aimed at her, a pinprick in a lake of darkness. It seemed he didn't like her attitude. He showed it as clear as day on his fleshless face.

"It won't be me that will decide your fate. It will be the child of mine that you have hurt long ago." He answered.

This made her a little curious. She had done a lot of harm to a lot of beings, and one of them was a "child" of his. What luck, to have the full ire of one of the most monstrous beings in existence aimed at her.

Fate had never been as kind, she mused as an oval, dark shape then appeared beside the Sorcerer King. She waited with bated breath for what will come through it. Who knows, maybe it will let her gloat to it before it drags her away to who knows where and do who knows what to her.

A child in a maid outfit walked through the portal.

Huh?

No, wait, at another glance, it only looked like a child. Four arachnid legs came out from its back. The tips looked like they could pierce through steel like needles through fabrics. More insect-looking appendages jutted out from its head, mimicking what a little girl's hair looks like.

The maid outfit it wore is unique. The materials were foreign to her as much as the design itself. Though thanked for such unique details, it jogged her memory immediately. After all, she had only seen such a design once before.

It was one of the Demonic Maids that appeared during the Re-Estize capital invasion, more than half a century ago.

Demonic Maids that fought for Jaldabaoth.

And here Ainz Ooal Gown was, calling it one of his "children".

She was right; they were in league with each other. That gave her quite the chuckles. She was about to die, sure, but at least it was good dying knowing she was right.

Still, this was her last chance to ask the mastermind behind it all, she needed to get him to talk for a little more, "O, Sorcerer King," trying to hide the cringe in her voice to sound as reverent as possible, "Seeing as this is my absolute defeat, my last moment in the light, might I ask a few questions?" She will get him into a monologue, just for a couple of minutes. Enough time for her mana to regenerate enough for a single [Teleport] spell.

"Don't bother, this place is warded against teleportation." He saw through her instantly.

This did not surprise her one bit. This is Ainz Ooal Gown, of course. He had countermeasures put in place, even for weaklings like her. Though she truly had questions that needed answers.

"I wasn't planning to escape o Great One. This one knows it can no longer fight. I only wish to know a few things before I face my punishment." She tried to get herself to sit up properly. She failed, so she resorted to grovelling instead. "I ask for three of my questions answered honestly, to make it so that my comrade's sacrifice was not in vain."

By using that word that he seemed to like and stroking his ego, she hoped to get at least one answer out of him.

The flame in his eye sockets dimmed. He appeared to be suspicious and…incredulous. But somewhere, there was a little of curiosity too. And even a hint of amusement.

For someone without flesh on his face, it surprised her he was this expressive.

"It is rather disgusting that you have used the death of your comrade, your family to level against me."

She felt nonexistent blood draining from her face.

"But in consideration of her sacrifice, and my curiosity, I allow you to ask your questions. But whether you have your answers depends on what you ask."

He then turned to the Demon Maid. "I apologize, Entoma. Can I ask you to wait for a little longer?". It responded immediately. "Yes, Lord Ainz, no need to apologize to one such as me. Please, take as long as you see fit."

She heaved a sigh that she didn't know she had held and wondered what she wanted to know most.

Honestly, she didn't expect to get this far.

But to keep Him of all people waiting is to invite troubles, so she asked what comes to her mind first, "Why, did you do all of this? You conquer and destroy, putting everyone and everything underneath your boot. You tore nations and families apart. Why?"

"Everything I did was for my family, for the children that were left in my care. If conquering the world means that any threat to them would be found and be dealt with immediately, I will conquer a thousand worlds just to keep them safe." He answered immediately.

That answer wasn't what she expected to come out of Ainz Ooal Gown. But it seemed he has a habit of surprising people.

Did she fully believe him? She was not entirely sure herself. He had no reason to lie to her, least of all right now. But an undead as powerful as he is, having a purpose as base as that? Everything he did was not for power, not for wealth, but to protect a "family"?

She struggled to believe him.

So on to her second question, "How long have you been working with Jaldabaoth?"

It was a simple question, to test whether he had been truly honest with her.

"Since the beginning." He said.

Good, she can ask her last question now, "Where is Momon? Is he safe? Is he all right?"

He did not answer right away; it looked like he was deliberating whether to answer. Just right as she was resigned to not getting it, he spoke up, "He is right here, and he is perfectly safe."

That was a relief. She would like to see him one last time, but she couldn't ask for more. She had already asked three questions, and he had answered three questions. To ask for more would be stupid.

She was glad, though. Since Momon was safe, there was still a chance that someday he would destroy this monster and save the world. Too bad she couldn't see it with her own eyes. But she was content to die here, knowing that fact.

She was resigned to her fate now. "Thank you, Sorcerer King, for your answers." She was genuinely thankful for it.

"Good, I commend you for keeping true to your words." Ainz Ooal Gown said to her, then he turned to the insectoid maid who was waiting patiently the whole time, "Entoma, I thank you for your patience, and as promised, I shall leave her to you to do as you see fit. When you are done, report back to me. You will be rewarded for your effort."

The maid bowed to him. "Your kind words are rewarding enough, Lord Ainz, and once again, I thank you for remembering the promise that you made so long ago."

"It was my duty to remember." He said and then left them through another portal.

The maid then turned to her, "Now, as for you," she walked closer, "I have been waiting for this moment for too long now. Do you have any idea how long I have waited for this moment? Do you have any idea how much I want to torture you, render you incapable of speaking, and then destroy you and take your voice?"

Just get it over with already.

But to her disappointment, the maid kept on talking, "I had hoped to send you to Neuronist, but seeing as you are undead, torturing you wouldn't have done much. So be glad, as this will be over shortly."

The next few moments flew by and she felt little, to be completely honest. She just laid there and heard crunching and munching while her mind conjured up scenes of a battle that she knew would someday happen in the future.

The battle between Momon the Dark Hero and Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King.

A legendary battle it will be. She imagined her hero, facing and defeating the evil god, destroying his empire and saving the world.

She imagined what kind of act the Sorcerer King would make as his last moment came to him. Despite everything, she knew Momon would win against this monster; he had to.

For Momon does not know defeat.

She lay there, lost in her daydream, until finally, darkness took her.