Chapter 5

Despite the dire situation, Touch Me ignored his rival's taunt. Oshikuru, standing perfectly still with his twin katanas unsheathed, was ready to counter the paladin's furious charge he was expecting, but the samurai was wrong.

Grateful for the opportunity to change tactics, the insectoid jumped back to gain even more distance while quickly switching weapons.

The hell is he up to now? I already knew he's not a rash guy, but to think he's managed to keep his shit together after that… might be me getting used to the predictable, prideful, hot-headed other World Champions…

Touch Me may not be as good me, but at least he's managed to surprise me and he already dealt me more damage than all other champions combined…

At least this is fun, now let's see what else he's been hiding in the inventory, and whatever it is I'm ready to either catch up to him or get away. Now, I guess he's gonna use a magic item to stun me, unless he's got a long range weapon too…

Hmmm, if I remember correctly, Ainz Ooal Gown's perv sniper has got a very impressive bow whose arrows can be stopped only with magic. Anyway, as soon as I see what he's planning to use, I'll probably jump him unless he chooses no matter what. He's gonna be mush slower now, thanks to these three kicks I must have seriously debuffed his speed, not to mention the effects of all the reinforcements granted by his companions must be over, or close to that. I guess I'll find out soon enough…

Same as my armour won't last much longer btw. But now I know what to expect! once I get close to him, now I'll do the same to his shiny Compliance with Law, which is the best suit he's got. Even if he has another, it'll be a downgrade, while my World Champion armour is still safe and sound in the inventory.

But Touch Me did not reveal anything new as in his hands reappeared two already known weapons: his own broadsword and Takemikazuchi Style 8. Then, the Paladin nonchalantly laughed it off: "You've got it all wrong, man. I've been hitting you all the time right from the start, while you couldn't land a blow with your swords despite having one more blade! Boy, you suck! And now that I have two, both bigger than yours, it's over for you!"

Oshikuru snorted. He can't be serious, can he? what a pathetic attempt to get under my skin! Well, let's let him say all his bullshit. Better stalling for time at this point, just to make sure all those buffs wear off for good. And as soon as we restart fighting, I'll eat my Random Spheres, I need to increase my stats. But now let's keep wasting time with a little tease…

"I refrained from hitting you while your shining armour was getting all dirty on the ground, but now I see that was a mistake. Foolish old man, you need to have some good sense be knocked back into your head, but don't you worry, I'll have you turned into a wise old man once I'm done with you!"

"Come and get me, then. I'm waiting for you!"

"Why such a hurry? I'm enjoying this, there's no need to rush. Isn't this the nicest weather you've ever seen on Helheim?" Oshikuru seemed to be looking around and at the bright sky as if he was strolling in a park while chuckling.

Fuck! He must know it won't be long before my friends' buffs will disappear. At best, I still have a few more minutes before most of my physical stats go back to normal. Enough wasting time. Here I come! And the paladin sprinted forward, his footfalls shattering the ground.

Yet, he couldn't help but feel much slower. The hell?! shit, he must have some speed debuff skills related to kicks! But it was too late to call off the attack.

The samurai took some little spheres outside of his inventory, gulping them down quickly. His body glowed in green and yellow, then Oshikuru leaped forth with a single, powerful jump.

Damn that's fast! Has he actually been holding back all this time! I can't believe it! Well, it doesn't matter. I'll still tear his armour to pieces long before he can do the same to mine.

Both World Champions struggled in a titanic display of awe-inspiring close combat capabilities, clashing with their respective weapons and unleashing whirlwinds with each blow. Touch Me threw two diagonal slashes which Oshikuru caught with his twin katanas while pushing forward, only to get blocked by the paladin's still superior strength stats, so he moved aside, disentangling their weapons. Oshikuru unleashed two wide-sweepings arc to push back Touch Me, stabbing at his feet to create additional distance and then slicing upwards, but the paladin's longer swords brilliantly repelled the double strike and its immediate follow-up. On and on this went, a flurry of parries and counter attacks, a deadly dance of brawn and brain between the top players of Yggdrasil.

However, the longer it went on, the more Touch Me's initial boosts eventually disappeared. And as his stats went down on par and then below Oshikuru's, it was the samurai who gained the upper hand. After having been hard pressed to defend against his opponent for quite a while, Oshikuru had measured up his opponent's fighting style and mostly knew what to expect, while Touch Me had yet to face the samurai being seriously on the offensive. As a result, Oshikuru started landing several heavy blows, while most of the paladin's attempts to deal damage began to completely fail.

To say Touch Me was annoyed by that would be quite the understatement. Damn him! Although, it seems like he's avoiding the katana more than the broadsword. Could electricity be one of his weak spots? He may be misleading me, considering all what's going on, but it doesn't matter, I'll make a mental note about it anyway. Even if he's faring better than me right now, he's bound to replace that suit of armour soon enough. And I must not miss that crucial moment! while he does that, I'll unleash my trump card. I mean, it should be able to kill him no matter his defence as soon as he has less than 70% of his HP, but better be safe than sorry. Let's see how you like that!"

The samurai, unaware of his adversary's thoughts, wryly smiled while their respective HPs went down with each blow.

As expected, it'll take much more effort to break Compliance with the Law, while my precious armour will get destroyed very soon. And I can't allow that! Well, now that I've shown you I'm better than you even in this situation, it's time to switch armour and throw off your schemes once again. I wonder what you're going to do after that…"

Suddenly, Oshikuru stopped attacking and flew backwards while activating one of his rings as he yelled: "[Greater Teleportation]!"

Touch Me looked around in every direction, but failing to locate his opponent. Huh? where the fuck did he go? Did he teleport so far I can't see him to make sure I couldn't take the chance to hit him? well, I can't complain since we kinda cheated with all these buffs, but still… not cool, man!

But he noticed the enemy was still close thanks to his senses, still hyped from the reinforcements received by his guildmates. I can feel he's still around here, but why can't I see him? even if he silently cast [Perfect Unknowable] with another ring, I should still be able to find him! Unless…

Touch Me's gaze lowered as that possibility hit him. Something else also did, erupting from right below the paladin's feet with full force. And that wasn't the only surprise: right before attacking, Oshikuru had activated the skill [Celestial Lord's Cape] which granted powerful offensive boosts to Cutter I, which repeatedly slashed Compliance with Law. Touch Me's armour seemed the exact opposite of Devourer's Dragonscale, seemingly carved out of a huge piece of the thick skin of Yggdrasil's final boss. According to the shitty devs, it really was. Anyway, even a World Champion class item it wouldn't grant immunity from Touch Me's wrathful comeback.

I'm tired of being outsmarted by this guy. Take this, you sonofabitch! As the Paladin gave up trying to keep up with Cutter I's absurd speed, he let his armour absorb most of the hits as he quickly put Takemikazuchi Style 8 back in the inventory. The katana was replaced by Female Sensei's Iron Fist of Wrath. The massive gauntlet came down with astounding violence on Oshikuru, who had gotten carried away with cutting through his opponent's armour and didn't manage to get away in time: he got punched and blown towards the hole from the ground from which he had so mightily emerged. As the man was flying down, currently unable to shake off the powerful stun of the knockback effects, Touch Me's great sword started to vibrate and hum with energy.

"Oraaah! Don't underestimate me! Ainz Oaal Gown knows no defeat!"

The gauntlet disappeared, while the sword now brandished by two hands continued to charge up, radiating a pure divine light from its golden cross guard. The hum reached a crescendo and the paladin unleashed the full power of his trump card. "[World Break]!" he yelled as his blade was swung down, letting loose a tidal wave of golden energy.

His roar resonated across the sky, a battle cry that would honor his brothers and sisters in Ainz Ooal Gown.

Momonga recalled seeing an image of a thunderstorm over a volcano while it was erupting. The Hand of God seemed to touch down on earth in that one photo, representation of an unstoppable destructive instrument.

Even that barely held a candle to what his old saviour had just unleashed.

A dome of energy formed right on top of Oshikuru's head. It spread at the speed of light, bands of plasma burning the air in its path. Anytime dust particles got caught in the blast, the ashes left behind would crystallize into spires that channeled the golden energy, enhancing its blinding light. It was quite a sight to behold.

Still overwhelmed by the last hit's vicious skills, the samurai had no time for anything but thinking Uh-oh as an attack capable of tearing the very fabric of space and time implacably fell on him. He was enveloped by the thundering blast which kept going down, deep into the ground.

Massive cracks appeared all across the surface which rumbled from the force of such explosive power and scars carved deep into it. Those didn't just stop where the ground was hit. No, rather it spread like a system of spiderwebs all over the top of their base, shaking the very Nazarick itself with raw power. The dirt and grass that used to cover the Great Tomb was partially blown away, revealing the very top of the guild base.

After seeing what had happened to the completely shattered ground, there were very little doubts about Oshikuru. This move had definitely cleaved the samurai in two with one blow despite his armour, given that [World Break] was essentially able to ignore defenses and strike right at the target. Which meant the damage to the surface was just residual energy: no player could survive the attack unless he had full health or close to that. But they had been going at it for quite a while and Touch Me had already reduced his challenger's life points to about 64%. Unless Oshikuru had some resuscitation items, the duel was over.

The paladin checked for any life signs and barely managed to find the samurai's body, which had been pushed down all the way down to Nazarick's first level. In pieces, the largest of which was the size of an eye.

Touch Me struck a hero pose which automatically triggered a meaningless explosion behind him with the words "Justice Has Arrived!". Then a victory song started playing from the flying paladin as his guildmates cheered for him, hoping Oshikuru had no revival abilities.

While his friends were fidgeting as they looked down to the still smoking ground hoping nothing would come out of it, Touch Me stood still right where he had unleashed a move that allowed nothing to keep on living. Seconds passed without nothing happening until, right when he was about to celebrate, a full black armour emerged from the rubble unscathed.

It was empty, but something hovered together with it. A green eye with a vertical black line in front of it. In absolute silence, from the ominous bad eye departed a web of green and black matter which formed a body the likes of which scared the brave paladin forced to face it.

A catchy jingle suddenly echoed throughout the battlefield, accompanying the words: "Who's the guy who had to die? Oshikuru!"

It's just a game, it's just a game, it's just a game… But no matter how much he repeated it, the gruesome thing forming before his eyes kept terrifying Touch Me-san and his guildmates as well. It kept growing bigger and bigger. Bulging muscles appeared on way too many limbs. Only then did the shapeless face properly form around the evil green eye. Horns sprouted and interlocked with each other, making a crest of points that were just as ornamental as they were deadly. Covering all sides of the head, seven more eyes of emerald hatred opened. Together, they stared up at Touch Me and the other bewildered members of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"I feel like puking."

"Me too, that's absolutely disgusting!"

"Never seen anything like it!"

"Dunno where it came from, but that's a powerful entity!"

"Must be some sort of demon… but wasn't he human?"

Many confused heads turned to Ancient One, the one with the greatest knowledge.

"Oi bookworm, could you please explain us what the hell is that thing?"

The caped worm-made being was snapped back to reality by his friends' call. "Now everything's clear. His previous appearance was not an illusion. And this is not shape-shifting nor a revival, but actually a complete biological change. I could see that item's pool of health growing larger as the new body took shape. I'm not sure what item he specifically used because it seems to have a sort of protection from appraisal magic, but that's undoubtedly a no less than legendary class Cursed Item. But it's the first time I've seen something like that used this way. Normally one would use it to craft, power up or combine other items, but this guy somehow made it a part of his avatar…"

"My friend, I couldn't care less about how did he become that thing. What everyone here wants to know is what it is!"

"Ah, well, that's easy. A massive black-green, two-legged, eight-armed winged demon? That can be nothing but a King of Hell."

"Unheard of to me… is it dangerous?"

"How could it not be? take all what Oshikuru was capable of doing with two arms and double it twice! Not to mention he's got wings too, and his stats as a demon must be way higher than the human counterpart. Now that Touch Me-san has used his trump card and Oshikuru has come back stronger, this is no longer a duel. I'm afraid our friend will be annihilated."

Unfazed by the commotion above, Touch me focused his gaze on the adversary, trying to come up with a way to cut off all his new limbs, while the reborn Oshikuru slowly flapped his huge wings, getting closer and closer to the first player who had managed to defeat his human part.

The demon spoke mockingly. "That was dangerous, you know? I thought a World Champion class armour would stop or at least reduce enough even your [World Break], but looks like the shitty devs pulled another trick on me! Or rather, it's my fault for not being able to dodge it. And to not be wearing my best armour from the beginning: because of that I had not enough health points to survive that hit. "Well, now I'm aware of it. I'm so grateful for you allowing me to learn my daily new thing that I'll let you give up now, without me beating the shit out of an old man!"

But sheer determination oozed from the insectoid. "I'll never give up to someone like you."

"Oh, is that so? I hardly think there's anyone like me… but I see what you mean. You gave it all to kill me, and I was forced to bear the brunt of your trump card. It's so unfair you haven't won… hahahahaha. But I honestly didn't think you'd be so naive. Then tell me, are you proud of what you accomplished this far? Does your heart race, knowing that you might have slain me, had I not possessed a rare item? To think you got this close to circumventing your doom…"

Touch me gritted his digital teeth, wishing to cut off the increasingly annoying challenger. "Whatever you may be I'll end you here and now! In the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, you shall be defeated. Prepare to die again. This time, for good!"

"Hahaha, come on, don't waste my time. This fight is over!"

Certainty of victory was in the tone of a player he had just tore in a thousand pieces. It was unacceptable, Touch Me was irritated beyond any limit by his opponent's complacency. Had he sincerely praised my performance, I might have acknowledged him as the winner at this point. But I'll be damned if I yield to such a self entitled motherfucker!

Which is why he angrily replied: "It's not over until I win!"

"You are strong, Champion of Nazarick, but I am far beyond your limits now. You can't escape me, and any attempt to bring me down will be futile. Without your friends' support, you are nothing before the King of Hell!" Let's see how well you manage to handle this. And he swung the blade of Cutter II.

It produced a sonic boom, unleashing a wave of black-green fire led by a thin black line. It was a fast, heavy and tricky blow. Avoiding the sharp edge would be relatively easy for someone like Touch Me, but the progressively widening blast right behind it seemed unavoidable. Even if it was nothing more than an active skill for Oshikuru's demonic form, from the looks of it the attack was highly remarkable, being something in between a [Reality Slash] and a maxed version of [Hell Flame].

However, Touch Me seemed imperturbable. The paladin simply hardened his grip on his great sword, activated a skill of his own and sent the vicious attack back where it came from without breaking a sweat. Besides redirecting all damage, that move allowed to add an extra holy damage against negative karma targets.

Oshikuru grinned at such unusual mix of hellfire and holy fire. He crossed his katanas and double slashed at the incoming blast, erasing most of it from existence and slamming down what was left, without thinking too much about it. Too late did he and everybody else notice the pulsing energy blast was landing where Nazarick's ground level architecture stood.

Oopsie. My bad! Oshikuru almost apologised out loud as the outer section of the building was leveled. It could be repaired with a small fee after the battle, due to Nazarick's natural restoration system, but the fact that the base was harmed at all, seemingly on purpose, greatly irritated all guild members, even Lucifer and Ulbert.

But nobody was more enraged than his direct opponent. "How dare you damage our home?! I'll fucking kill you! You made a huge mistake coming here, thinking I'd roll over and give up so easily! Ainz Ooal Gown knows no defeat and taking your ugly demon head will prove it!"

A dangerous looking purple lance quickly appeared in his right hand while the left embraced a quite familiar shield which he had somehow retrieved. Clad in killer intent, he approached at a speed that made gale-force winds look slow. Thanks to the Pipette Lance, Touch Me could now deal lots of damage while regenerating his own health while Earth Recovery could block not all, but hopefully some of his opponent's attacks.

The Demon Samurai frowned. Enough talking: A fool blabbers, a winner acts. Although that's a nice spear… Too bad it won't help you now, nothing will! On the other hand, I do have something for you. Hehehe!

Oshikuru's speed was on a whole different level now. Whenever his draconian wings flapped at max strength, a cone of wind covered him, leaving behind a roar that was a the result of twin sonic booms. The air itself was slightly on fire due to the friction put out by the demon samurai.

Many unforeseen weapons appeared into or over his powerful finger-claws, ready to batter Touch Me. The samurai flashed behind the rival and punched his shoulders with a divine class item, the massive Tidal Gauntlets, covered by the marvellously recurring theme of the Great Wave off Kanagawa. Not only did the attack block the paladin, but also released high-pressured seawater jets which entered the tiniest slits in his armour to deal extremely effective damage to the insectoid.

It activated the last defensive skills of the Paladin. Immediately afterwards Oshikuru dashed the tip of a legendary class item, the Cane Sword, at Touch Me's helmet. From the impact point instantly departed a web of icicles which completely encased the paladin in a little iceberg, helped by the water of the previous attack. Before it could be pulled down by gravity, the ice block was grabbed by two gauntlets far larger than the ones which had just appeared. Oshikuru dive-bombed from the sky and, upon reaching the ground, he activated the most destructive one-hit ability of King Kong Gauntlets.

"[Release Skill: Monkey God's Body Slam]!"

The following loud, powerful crash cleared away most of the rubble, unveiling more parts of Nazarick's roof, which got dented. Clanging, Touch Me long bounced on it before he managed to stop himself, such were the debuffs suffered from the last blow. Before he could even stand up, Oshikuru reached up to the paladin to show him a new weapon.

The One Hundred Tons Hammer had to be wielded by all of the demon's arms in order to be properly used. Rearing the indestructible warhammer back and then unleashing all his strength, Oshikuru smashed with a might that could crack a mountain in half. The brilliant gem on the paladin's chest was completely destroyed, with thousands of pieces scattered across Helheim, the piece of armour behind caved in until it broke, and immediately afterwards Oshikuru heard a sickening crunch, indication that whatever passed for bones instantly broke.

Despite the heavy blow which sent him flying in the blink of an eye, Touch Me's determination prevailed on confusion and desperation as he reached into the inventory for the bow. Sparkling light and tiny wisps of mana gathered to form a huge bolt. "[Magic Infused Arrow: Solar Beam]. Take that, you whore!" The dart glowed with a light that outclassed the sun, beams of plasma arcing while the arrow shot towards the demon samurai.

Or, at least, to where he was standing until an instant before. But Oshikuru was no longer there.

So fast that many onlookers didn't even manage to see him, the King of Hell circled around and went ahead on Touch's trajectory to deliver the final blow.

Oshikuru impaled the helpless, surprised adversary on four blades. Cutter I & II were joined by another couple of swords, closer to World Champion class than to Divine class, given how much data they contained: the odachi Infinity Edge and the kodachi Burning Pain. The longsword could cut through almost anything without ever getting stuck, as long as there was not enough magic resistance in the way; the dagger's blade instead would shatter upon contact with any living being (so no undead), covering it in a hundred shards of Hellflame which then started moving across the whole body, burning it from within until the target either died or got healed.

The words deadly strike weren't serious enough for the fatal blows that tore Touch Me's flesh. The man would not feel real pain, but he noticed his health levels were now dangerously low. The insectoid player still refused to give in, but could do nothing as each of his limbs was stuck in an unshakable grip by the other four demonic arms.

"I still have a few things to show you, but I think you've gotten my point now. Am I wrong?"

"Fuck you! I'll never give up! You're gonna have to kill me!"

Oshikuru shrugged. "Bah, whether you admit it or not, I've won. You can't move, and your health will drop to zero in less than three minutes if nobody heals you!" As the declaration reached the stars, a proud smile suddenly flashed on the demonic body. It disappeared just as fast.

The samurai spoke again, this time almost whispering. "Now that the show has ended, honestly, you have my compliments. Whatever I said, I hope you don't take it wrong, there was absolutely nothing personal about it, I barely even know you. Anyway, no player has ever managed to force me into using my true form before you. You are an extraordinary warrior and I'm sure nobody but me can ever hope to take you down. So, there you go."

All weapons disappeared while the demon let go of the paladin. Several potions rained down on Touch Me and his health was quickly restored to maximum. Two powerful fingerclawed hands were offered to the player still laying down and they were silently accepted.

As the PvP duel among the best warriors ever seemed to have come to an end, Momonga's voice echoed across the vault of the sky:

"The winner is Oshikuru!"