Sunlight Scripture

Ainz watched from a few yards away as Enri and Nemu weeped over the loss of their parents. Their mother and father having been buried together no less than an hour before. He pitied the girls, he understood the feeling that came from losing a parental figure. But for them to lose both through such brutal butchery? He couldn't fathom the maelstrom of emotions going through their heads right now.

Ainz let out a sigh from within his mask. Even though he pitied the girl's loss, he couldn't help but notice the unsettling amount of apathy he had towards everything else. He caught his lack of sympathy before when he witnessed the slaughter of the village from Nazarick, but his lack of remorse in this moment had just solidified the fact in his mind that he had changed. He had been affected more than he'd like to admit from the mind swap. His avatar's programmed mindset, beliefs, and emotional being had been mashed together with his own, creating an amalgamation of the two that almost certainly couldn't be good for his long term mental health.

Ainz let out a frustrated breath. Dammit! He told himself he wouldn't have a mental breakdown over this crap and here he is! He already had enough on his plate, what with being thrown into this world with an entire tomb full of needy children to look after! He didn't have time to deal with his mental issues!

One particularly loud wail from Nemu brought him out of his self-chastising. His eyes filled with a contemplative thought. If he really wanted to, he could simply revive all who died using the Wand of Resurrection within his inventory. It'd be easy, just a simple wave of a wand and 'poof' they'd all be alive again, as if nothing had even happened…no. Ainz pocketed the impossibly powerful magical artifact back into its inventory. While resurrecting the dead was the 'right' thing to do, he had no clue if such powerful magic was a common thing in the world or not. From what he'd seen, this world's denizens were impossibly weak, dying from the simplest of magic, shuttering in fear at the slightest threat, pathetically swinging sharpened metal as if in some form of attack. Showing such overwhelming power would just draw more attention towards him and the tomb, attention that he really didn't need any more of...not to mention the fact that since the residents of the village were so weak, the resurrection magic may not even work. Best to just keep the wand hidden in his little bag of tricks for now.

Still…he should do it, if nothing more than because he would want to help the people of the village. Ainz couldn't help the scoff that escaped his lips as he folded his arms across his chest. He wanted to feel something for the corpses within the ground, to feel some sense of forlorn sadness at the loss of life…but he couldn't…how could he ever feel sadness for such pathetic, u̸s̴e̷l̷e̶s̴s̶, s̷̮̑o̴̞̕r̴͍̚r̶̫͒y̴̛̼ ̴͍̎ȩ̶͑x̸̠͐c̶͍̋u̸̬͒s̶̢̅e̵̠͊s̸͚͑ ̸̢̑f̶̮̅o̴̘͒r̵̥̓ ̴̢͝h̴͍̋u̵͔̚ḿ̶̮a̶̲͋ņ̷̈s̴̘̆!̵̛̰?̶̳́

Ainz broke from that line of thought as quickly as he had entered it, the masked man giving a slight shake of his head to clear his mind. No…they weren't pathetic, they weren't useless, they were just…weak. Weak…they were all so weak…and maybe, just maybe, he could fix that.

"Ugh." Albedo sneered in disgust, the armored succubus watching as the bodies that couldn't be buried were thrown into a large bonfire to hopefully cremate the corpses, "Such barbarism. Do they have no respect, those filthy vermin!?"

Ainz raised a brow at Albedo's words, "I take it you're not too fond of the villagers?"

Albedo gave tsk from her helmet, "Of course not! Why would I ever be fond of those disgusting creatures!? How many times have their species tried to claim Nazarick for their own!? How many of the Great Tomb's denizens have died from the wars they waged!? They're nothing more than backward savages desperate to scrounge any resource they can from the Supreme Ones!"

"I see…" Ainz commented, his gaze softening at the explanation.

Albedo's body language immediately turned nervous at Ainz's reaction, "My apologies Lord Momo-Lord Ainz! Did I say something wrong!?"

Ainz stepped a few paces forward and gave a sigh, "No Albedo, not wrong, just…naive."

"Naive, Lord Ainz?" Albedo parroted with a tilt of her helmet.

"Naive…" Ainz said with a thoughtful tone to his voice, "…in the sense that you're only capable of seeing the worst of what humanity has to offer." He turned towards his subordinate with a flourish of his cape, "I have witnessed the evil of humanity first hand, a sense of greed so strong it can ruin entire countries, gluttony for all of a world's resources that suck entire continents dry, wrath that wages the bloodiest of wars, a sense of arrogance that no other living being can match, not even dragons. I completely understand what you mean when you refer to them as vermin."

"Yet my observation was still naive?" She questioned, her voice confused at the words her lord had spoken.

Ainz lowered his head, "Yes Albedo, because while humanity is most definitely a cruel and savage race, whose evil is pronounced to the point of almost absurdity, they are still capable of good-!"

"Preposterous!" Albedo yelled out in defiance, only to immediately bow and apologize for the outburst, "My apologies my lord! I'm not sure what came over me!"

Ainz hummed in thought at the act. It appears Albedo was hardwired to hate humanity, makes sense, he'd be hard pressed to find anyone within Nazarick that didn't have at least some hatred towards human beings…but perhaps he could convince her another way, "You're excused Albedo. All I was trying to say is that while humanity can be twisted into a force of pure evil, they can also be twisted into a more…useful part of the world. Humans are naturally able to adapt to their environments after all. We should try and set an example for them, to make sure their usefulness is used in Nazarick's favor."

"Useful…" Albedo murmured, the word holding far more weight than Ainz could possibly imagine.

"Lord Ainz, sir!" The chief of the village called out from below before pointing towards the front of the village, "More knights are coming towards the front of the village!"

Ainz saw the visage of armored warriors atop galloping steeds off in the distance and furrowed his brow, "Have the villagers gather in the back of the village, if they are here for a fight, then I will gladly give them one." Ainz marched confidently towards the rapidly approaching knights and kept his hands close in anticipation. The armor for most of them was strikingly similar to the ones who attacked the village, all except for the one leading the charge. Their leader maybe?

The horses came to a stop in front of Ainz and Albedo, the one leading the charge slung himself off his stead and marched forward with an intense look in his eyes. He was large, not just in height but in width as well, pristine red and silver armor tightly fitted to his body as his facial features told of countless hard fought battles won, "Excuse me, I don't suppose you're the chief of this village. Are you?"

"I am not." Ainz stated plainly, his glowing red eyes hidden under his mask, "I'm simply a wandering mage who had stumbled across a village in trouble and sought to help. If you wish to speak to the leader of this village, he should be somewhere in the back. Though…" Ainz hands tensed in a subtle show of preparedness, "…that all depends on whether or not you are a friend or a foe."

The large man furrowed his gaze at the question, "What would make you think otherwise, 'wandering mage?'"

Ainz looked directly into the man's eyes and smiled, "Because a small force of men wearing your mens exact armor butchered countless villagers not even a few hours ago." Ainz pointed a finger towards the knights still residing on their steeds.

The man's eyes widened for a moment, before he let out an exasperated sigh, "So that's what they were doing…no wonder we've been five steps behind them." The warrior suddenly gave a deep bow to the Supreme Being, much to Ainz's surprise, "My apologies, I am Gazef Stronoff, the personal knight to the king of Re-Estize. Me and my troops have been tracking down members of the Slane Theocracy who have been causing terror within the kingdom's countryside. If I were to guess…I'd say that the soldiers you fought were those very same people dressed in Re-Estize armor in order to throw us off."

"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense." Ainz contemplated, "Perhaps we should discuss our business inside, get a clearer picture of what exactly is going on."

Gazef nodded at that, "My men and I would appreciate that very much, we've been riding for much longer than I'm comfortable with." Gazef's expression grew curious as he fully took in the large figure in front of him, "If you don't mind me asking, mage. What is your name?"

Ainz chuckled as he gave a flamboyant bow, "My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, but you may refer to me as Ainz." He then pointed to the armored succubus to his side, "And this is my…bodyguard, Albedo."

"Ainz Ooal Gown…" Gazef pondered with a furrowed brow, before smiling with a curt bow, "On behalf of the king and country, I give my gratitude to you and your bodyguard for protecting this village!"

Ainz laughed and waved off the gracious notion, "Oh please, it's nothing any sensible person wouldn't have done. Protecting those who cannot protect themselves is the responsibility for those with the power to do so after all."

Gazef gave a happy smile at those words, a surprised glint filling his eyes, "My, my, and here I was thinking you were another snot-nosed noble with a head the size of a dragon's! Where did you hear such sage wisdom from?"

Ainz shrugged his shoulders as Gazef, Albedo, and he began walking towards the village, "From an old friend, a knight much like yourself. He was an amazing warrior, and an even greater inspiration."

Gazef saw the forlorn look on Ainz mask and nodded solemnly, "I'm sure he would be happy that you helped out all of these innocent people."

"I'm sure he would." Ainz said as Albedo opened the door of a nearby cabin for Gazef and him to enter, "I'm sure he would…"

"The Slane Theocracy sure has been putting you through the wringer by the sound of things." Ainz laughed, his large form looking somewhat comedic in the small wooden chair in which he sat.

"You have no idea…Re-Estize and the Theocracy have always hated each other, but to slaughter random villages? I fear that the nobles will not take too kindly to this…hopefully his majesty will be able to dissuade them from declaring war." Gazef spoke, his voice tired as well as infuriated.

Ainz hummed at the words, the chief of the village had told him all he wanted to know about the 'new world' as payment for saving the village. From what he'd learned, the Slane Theocracy and Re-Estize were always looking for ways to screw one another over. Still…to be so brazen as to attack multiple villages. Why do something so drastic? What did they have to gain from attacking random settlements? Ainz couldn't help but voice his confusion, "It still perplexes me though. Why would they do all of this just to risk war with Re-Estize? From what I've seen, there isn't anything of value to be gained by attacking the countryside like this."

Gazef thought to himself for a moment, but the instant he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by one of his soldiers slamming the door open, "Captain! We have company!"

Gazef instantly shot to his feet and marched out of the cabin, before his eyes shot open in shock. Along the hilltops, circling the front of the village, stood two dozen or so mages wearing Slane Theocracy robes, surrounded by the almost robotic looking entity's of holy descent. Gazef's brow furrowed at the sight of the beings, "Angels…"

Ainz followed closely after the warrior and like a flash, instantly understood what was going on, "I see…supposing that they're not after anything within the village, which I would find very likely considering their want in slaughtering of the residents, that could only mean one thing, Captain Gazef Stronoff."

Gazef's expression remained stern and stoic as he caught onto what Ainz was saying, "I see…all of this, just to corner me and my men into a trap…"

"It seems you're quite the unpopular figure in the Slane Theocracy, Captain Stronoff!" Ainz joked, a melodious laugh erupting from his throat as Gazef turned to face the mage.

Gazef gave a small smile as he spoke, "I know you have done so much for this village already, so I hate to ask-"

"If you're requesting for me and my comrade's help to fight these barbarians, I'm afraid I must decline." Ainz spoke suddenly, his tone calm and his face completely emotionless underneath his mask.

Gazef's eyes widened slightly at the words, "I can pay for your services. You'll find his majesty is quite generous with people who aid his troops."

Ainz shook his head, "Again, I must decline. This is not my battle to fight, the Slane Theocracy and the Re-Estize Kingdom's conflict is something I would rather like to stay out of." Ainz held out his hands and gave a chuckle, "I'd prefer if me and my friend kept a low profile when it comes to international disputes."

Gazef sighed, "I understand completely, soldiers of the kingdom should not have to rely on wandering mages to fight their battles anyway." Gazef's eyes hardened in resolve as he tightened the armor around his body, "Either way! If they have come to end the lives of me and my men, then I won't make it easy for them! Let's ride out troops!"

"One moment Warrior Captain." Ainz spoke, drawing Gazef's gaze towards the magic caster. Ainz snapped his fingers and summoned an odd-looking doll in his other hand before holding it out for the soldier to take, "It would be so very disheartening for you to die after the wonderful conversation we had. This should help you."

Gazef picked up the doll and raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What exactly is this?"

Ainz waved off the question in an almost flippant manner, "Oh just a good luck charm from my home country. I'm sure that if you find yourself with your back against the wall, that this will save you from certain peril."

Gazef looked at the gift with a critical eye. He wasn't really a believer when it came to lucky charms…still, it would be rude to refuse a gift. Not to mention the fact that it was obviously culturally significant to the mage if it truly was from Ainz's home country. Gazef gave a small grin as he pocketed the weird gift before giving a bow, "My gratitude Ainz Ooal Gown, I'm certain that with this at my side, that my men and I will be victorious on this day!" Gazef slung himself onto his steed and charged forward, every single one of the soldiers under his command following without a second thought.

Albedo crossed her arms as she slowly scanned the angelic figures that were being summoned by the Slane Theocracy mages, "My lord, those angels seem to be Archangel Flames."

"I know." Ainz replied simply, his tone completely unreadable as he did.

Albedo turned towards the Supreme One, "They appear to be the same Archangel Flames from Yggdrasil."

"I know." Ainz repeated, his tone still unreadable.

Albedo brought her hand to the chin of her helmet in thought, "What are the denizens of this new world doing with summons from Yggdrasil?"

Ainz remained completely still as he thought, "Perhaps…this world has more mysteries then I initially thought." Ainz spun on his heel with a flourish before walking towards the barn where the rest of the villagers were being herded, "But we can solve those mysteries on a later date, for now, let us prepare for battle."

Albedo gave a deep bow before following after the mage, "Of course, my beloved."

Gazef felt the rush of wind flow through his hair and beard as he gritted his teeth in preparation for battle, "Blades ready!" He shouted, the clanging of swords were heard behind him as he pulled his massive blade from its scabbard, "Steel your resolve men! They have come here to put an end to our service to the king! Let's show them why that was the biggest mistake of their miserable lives! Charge!"

Angels clashed with horses, the blades of light they carried piercing and slashing at their targets as they swooped in for the kill. Gazef watched as most of his men were instantly cut down from their steeds, yet he didn't have any time to grieve the loss, not when he had to get past the wall of holy summons in order to cut down the mages. Gazef swung his large sword faster than an average man should, as the Warrior Captain swerved and steered his horse through the blades of light that threatened to impale him.

The summoners and mages hid behind their holy entities like cowards, sending their mindless drones to do their dirty work while they sat all comfortable in the back. Then there was their leader, the man that didn't wear one of those ridiculous masks so that the whole world could see his scarred face. He had to get to him, cut the head from the snake. The only issue? The giant fuckoff angel that floated patiently besides the leader. That was going to be a ballache and a half to kill.

Most of the soldiers still with their captain did their best to distract and cut down the angels that swarmed them, only for them to be knocked down as the enemy mages finally came into close enough range to cast their spells, "Fireball!" Gazef heard the telltale noise of a man screaming as he was engulfed in flames and winced.

Gazef was losing men fast, not to mention that for every angel they managed to kill, two more were summoned in its place. That didn't matter though, he just had to get to the summoners and magic casters-! Gazef's horse was cut down by an angel that flew in from the side, sending the Warrior Captain far into the air. Gazef tensed his muscles as he started his descent, clenched his sword tightly, and aimed to land directly on one of the angels below, "Body Strengthening, Flow Acceleration, Focus Battle Aura!" Gazef yelled, his body and sword empowered by his Martial Arts just as he brought his weapon down, creating six streaks of light from his single sword slash, "Sixfold Slash of Light!"

The angel evaporated in a violent explosion of sparkles, the cheers of Re-Estize soldiers cried out at the sight of their captain swinging and parrying the storm of magic blades and spells. A new sense of vigor filled the forms of Gazef's men, and just like their leader, began to fight with renewed fury.

Captain Nigun looked on with a face of disgust as Gazef slashed and cut down over a dozen of his angels. To have a man such as this defy the will of the one true god, it boiled his very blood, "Aim for the Warrior Captain! Make this heretic fear the might of our lord and savior!"

Gazef's arm was grazed by the blade of an angel, just for the same angel to be cut in half by his sword. He was almost there, just a few more angels and-! Gazef felt a sharp burning pain pierce his back, on pure instinct Gazef spun around and cleaved the holy being in two…only for two more to stab clean through his armor and spill his blood over the grassy plains.

Gazef gritted his now bloodied teeth through the pain as his body was engulfed in strengthening light, "M-Mental Enhancement…" More and more angels surrounded the man, some managing to stab into the soldier, before Gazef let out a roar of defiance, "Instant Counter!" In a flash of steel, every angel that had or was about to attack Gazef exploded into sparkles as a blurred blade cleaved through every last one faster than the eye could comprehend.

Gazef fell to one knee as blood dripped from his armor and mouth. He'd strained his body too much with those Martial Arts, not to mention all the damage those angels had given him. Gazef could hear the screams of his men behind him as they were overrun by those holy blasphemies, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut as he heard the very last one silenced. He was all alone…bloody, battered, bruised…

"It's such an honor to witness the great Gazef Stronoff in battle! Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to even make it past the first wave!" Gazef raised his head to glare at the one who spoke, the slimy smirk of Captain Nigun looking right back at him, "It's an even greater honor…to witness the great Gazef Stronoff's death!"

An angel swooped in to finish the job, aiming its light blade directly at Gazef's heart, only for it too to be cleaved in two by Gazef's blade, "I-I'm not done!" The Warrior Captain pushed himself to his feet and readied his chipped sword, "Summon every last angel in heaven if you have too, but I refuse to die here! I refuse to lay down my blade! I refuse to allow you to harm this village anymore than you already have! I refuse!"

Nigun looked down at the soldier…and laughed, "A man refusing the will of the one true god!? What foolishness…" Nigun motioned towards his mages as a dark look filled his eyes, "Kill him."

Ainz watched from inside the stable as Gazef fought against magic spells, soaring angels, and his own exhaustion to protect the village. If he was being totally honest, he was a little impressed. Not by Gazef's level of strength, god no, but simply by how stubbornly the Warrior Captain fought on, even in the face of impossible odds.

"Enri! I'm scared!" Nemu cried out as she embraced her sister in fear.

Enri did her best to comfort her little sister with a brave face, the stable filled with the concerned murmurs of the villagers, "It's going to be alright Nemu, don't worry." Enri looked up at Ainz's masked face and a hint of awe filled her gaze, "After all, we have Lord Ainz here to protect us."

Ainz gave a chuckle at the claim, "Indeed you do. Trust me little Nemu…" Ainz snapped his fingers and summoned a crown of flowers around the little girl's head, "…you have nothing to fear as long as you are under my protection."

Albedo huffed at the display as everyone else within the stable awed at the crown of flowers on Nemu's head, "I don't understand why you bother with them, my lord. They are so…weak."

Ainz snapped his gaze towards Albedo, his unseen eyes burning holes into hers, "Yes, they are weak, but even the weakest of a species can carry the arrows for an archer. Making friendly relations with even the most pathetic vermin rather than exterminating them outright takes far more time, far more effort, and far more patience than just slaughtering the lot of them. However, just like I told Demiurge, ruling through fear only heals the symptoms, not the underlying disease. But ruling through good relations? That can prove to be beneficial for everyone. Wouldn't you agree?"

Albedo's eyes glimmered in understanding…even if she was learning the wrong lesson from the words of her lord, "Ruling…through good relations?"

"Yes." Ainz said, completely oblivious to the freight train of thoughts ramming through Albedo's mind, "The Great Tomb of Nazarick should be ruled through a sense of loving care. That way everyone can feel appreciated."

"As well as the rest of this pitiful world…" Albedo spoke under her breath.

Ainz turned with a confused look in his unseen eye, "What was that Albedo? I didn't quite catch that."

Albedo immediately bowed to her lord, "Oh, it was nothing my lord." A large, unsettling smile carved into her face as she spoke, "Absolutely nothing at all…"

Ainz hummed in confusion, but simply let it go. If it wasn't important for Albedo to repeat, it wasn't important for him to hear. The Supreme Being looked out of the stable once more and saw Gazef fall to the ground half-dead, "Enough dilly-dallying, the time for the God of the Night's judgment draws near."

Albedo was positively giddy at those words, "Of course my beloved! Let's show those pathetic lowlifes your divine wrath!"

Gazef swung wildly, at this point he was just flailing to keep the onslaught of angels away. He let his cracking armor tank the spells that were casted his way, focusing solely on battling away the holy constructs with pure frantic swings of his blade. Though, this would prove to be a foolish endeavor, as an angel got a lucky hit in and stabbed straight through his hip. The pain was indescribable, but it really fucking hurt! Gazef fell to the ground half-dead from his wounds and exhaustion. How many of those blasphemous creatures had he slain? Three dozen? Four? He wasn't sure, but he knew that it wasn't nearly enough, the swarm of angels still choked the sky above him, awaiting their orders to strike.

"Attack all at once now! We shouldn't leave his death up to chance! Make sure that our god is given the Warrior Captains soul as a gift!" Nigun ordered, the sun beginning to set over the horizon of the bloody battlefield.

Gazef let out a laugh, a broken laugh, but a laugh nonetheless, "Tell me…once you kill me, what are you planning to do to the villagers?"

Nigun quirked an eyebrow at the query, "Not that it matters to you, faithless pig. But I was planning to let my troops relieve a little bit of stress by burning down that godless village after we're done with you."

Gazef laughed louder at the claim, confusing Nigun more, "You won't get the chance. In that village, there's a man far more powerful than I. A mage by the name of Ainz Ooal Gown that will send every last one of you monsters into oblivion!"

Nigun scoffed at the warning, "Your attempts to scare us off is laughable, Stronoff. No matter how much you bluff, it will not change the outcome of our lord's will. The village will burn, the residents will die, and you will be sacrificed to our god!"

Gazef struggled to his feet, remarkably, somehow standing even as his body begged him to simply lay on the ground and die. But he wouldn't allow that. There were innocent people in that village, innocent people who didn't deserve this, who did nothing to warrant such brutality! So he would fight! He would fight to his dying breath if he had too! Gazef let out a defiant yell through bloodied teeth, "Come at me you knaves! Even if these plains will be my grave, let it be known that Gazef Stronoff, the Warrior Captain, and personal knight to his royal highness, died a hero!"

As soon as he finished that sentence, he was no longer on the plains overlooking a horde of angels, but was instead in a stable surrounded by the villagers he swore to protect. The chief of the village ran up to the man with surprise evident on his face, "Warrior Captain!? What are you doing here!? And where is lord Ainz!?"

Gazef looked at the older man through blurry eyes, "Ainz isn't here?"

The chief shook his head, "No sir, he and lady Albedo were standing right where you are not even two seconds ago, then you suddenly appeared."

Gazef was confused for a second, before he remembered. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out the weird doll Ainz had given him, only for it to disappear in a flurry of magic sparkles. Gazef let out a chuckle, "I see…thank you Ainz Ooal Gown, seems like lucky charms actually work after all." Then he fell backwards, his vision going completely black.

Nigun looked at the sudden newcomers with a confused sneer, "And just who the hell are you supposed to be?"

Ainz looked down at his magical item as it disappeared into magic sparkles, before giving an extravagant bow to Sunlight Scripture, "Greetings members of the Slane Theocracy! My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, and this is my companion Albedo! I'm here today to kindly, and firmly, ask you to refrain from killing the Warrior Captain, as well as the residents of this village! You see, I've taken quite a liking to this little plot of land, and seeing anything bad happen to it would make me rather angry! And trust me…" Ainz raised his head to stare directly into Niguns eyes, "It would be in your best interest that I don't get angry."

Nigun snorted at the humorous display in front of him, "So…you must be the magic caster that Stronoff went on about! I'll admit, you certainly look the part of a mage, but it'll take more than looks to waver our faith!"

"It seems they're not taking you very seriously, my lord." Albedo mused, her war ax tightly in hand.

Ainz snickered at the comment, "It would appear not Albedo. How foolish of them." He stepped forward as his cape billowed in the wind, the sun giving way for night to take the sky as Ainz stared down the Sunlight Scripture with overwhelming confidence, "Well then, shall we get started then?"

Nigun sneered, "Archangel Flames! Attack that mage!" As soon as he gave the order, two out of the army of angels shot forward and readied their blades of light to attack. Ainz opened himself up wide, splaying his long arms for the angels to gain a clear target to his torso. Before he was promptly impaled by the holy constructs. Nigun gave a confident smile, "It seems Gazef put his faith in you for nothing, mage. Just as I thought, all bark no bite-!"

Nigun promptly shut his mouth as the angels that had impaled Ainz began to struggle against something, until it was revealed that the magic caster had grasped the heads of the beings tightly with his ringed hands. Nigun looked on in shock as Ainz's fingers dug into the magic-made armor of the angels, a wide smile unseen under his mask as the angels clawed fruitlessly at their captors arms, "Now then…" And with a flex of his hands, completely crumpled the heads of the angels, magic sparkles swirling around him as the summons dissipated into nothingness, "…let it not be said that I am a heartless and cruel man! I promise that if you surrender and beg on your knees for forgiveness right now, I will let all of you leave with your lives!" Ainz spoke with a salesman's charm, a talent he had picked up from years of being a salaryman.

The members of the Sunlight Scripture turned and mumbled to themselves, they were clearly thinking about the offer after seeing the overwhelming display of physical might that Ainz had shown. Nigun looked at his troops with disgust, "You heretics! Do you truly believe this fool holds might even comparable to our god!? Blasphemy! All Archangel Flames, strike down that mage this instant! Show him the full power of the one true god!"

Ainz watched as the choir of angels descended from above, blades of light in hand as they dove towards their target. The Supreme Being chuckled to himself at the pitiful battle tactic, "Really? Gank tactics? How disrespectful can a person be? Shadow Pulse!" Within the blink of an eye, a sphere of dark magic blasted forth and completely disintegrated every last one of the Archangel Flames.

The entirety of the Sunlight Scripture was utterly shocked, but more than anything, they were afraid. Magic circles of various colors and formations erupted into existence as every member of the Sunlight Scripture casted their spells at the figure in front of them. Ainz hummed curiously at the spells. Most, if not all of the spells being cast his way, were scarily similar to the ones low-level players would cast in Yggdrasil. Albedo spoke her thoughts as every single spell flitted harmlessly against a magic shield that protected the two, "Seems this world has more than a few things in common with Yggdrasil, my lord."

Ainz nodded at that, "Indeed, these spells…" Ainz's train of thought went on an entirely different track as he contemplated why, "Tell me…" The Supreme Being's voice grew deathly serious as he looked towards the horde of mages, "…where did you learn that magic!?"

One mage who had run out of magic shrieked in fear before firing a rock from his Slane Theocracy mandated slingshot, only for that rock to ricocheted back at him by a hit of Albedo's war ax, cleaving his head clean off instantly. Captain Nigun's eyes instantly flickered to the armored woman as a new sense of fear filled his bones. It wasn't just the mage that was strong, his companion was also a threat, "Their both monsters…"

"Really Albedo? There's no need to be so hasty with your actions, you know." Ainz almost chuckled out, the mage not even bothered by the brutal death that had just occurred in front of him.

Albedo turned to face her lord, "My lord! If these lowly vermin have the gall to try and pelt you with rocks of all things, shouldn't they at least test their mettle against me first!? After all, how could anyone ever hope to fight you if they're unable to get past me first!?"

Ainz laughed at the question, "Oh Albedo…I'm afraid that it would take more than ten lifetimes for these ruffians to even come close to matching your strength! Just let me handle this my dear."

Albedo blushed at that last part, "Of course…my beloved…"

Nigun's eyes contorted into rage and utter disbelief at the complete lack of damage done after the barrage of spells, his men started to make panicked noises as fear began to spread across his troops. He steeled his resolve and swung his arm towards the massive angel that floated silently to his side, "Principality Observation, strike down that man now!"

The angel jolted at the order, before it summoned a massive mace within its hands. Ainz cocked his head in amusement as the angel floated closer to him. In Yggdrasil, Principality Observation was really only used to buff other holy-aligned entities through its special ability, that being any holy-aligned being within its line of sight getting a large attack boost as long as it remained stationary. The large angel lifted its mace and slammed it down directly on top of Ainz's head…only for Ainz to catch the weapon with his bare hand. Yep, just like in Yggdrasil, Principality Observation is really good for support…but pretty ass at everything else.

Now the Sunlight Scripture was beginning to panic, their sheer disbelief and terror magnified when Ainz brought his other hand up to his mouth and acted as though he was yawning from boredom, "You guys must be getting desperate, sending a support unit to fight little ol' me. Ah well, I can't really blame you, seeing as you're pretty much all out of options at this point. Hellflame…" A small spark of a crimson flame engulfed Ainz's finger, before it gently floated forward, and engulfed the entire angel in a flash of unholy fire.

Yells of fear began to erupt from the Sunlight Scripture as the large angel was completely burnt away within a matter of seconds, none of them ever having seen such an overwhelming display of power in their lives. Captain Nigun began to sweat profusely. This man…no, this demon had completely destroyed the bulk of his forces, crippling the Sunlight Scripture, with only two meager spells!?

"Captain Nigun, what do we do!?"

"Has our lord truly forsaken us!?"

"We're dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead!"

"W-we need to s-summon more angels, now!"

"With what magic you idiot!?"

"Silence!" Nigun yelled out, sweat pouring down the scar that marred his features, "Hold firm your faith, Scripture of the Sun! For our god has not forsaken us! In order to beat this heretic, we must summon the highest of all angels to bring glory and judgment!"

Ainz watched as Nigun pulled a shining crystal from his robes, before a sudden feeling of dread filled his bones at recognising the item, "Albedo! Shield me!"

Albedo blurred in front of her master, the succubus holding her ax in a defensive position, "Right!"

Ainz gritted his teeth in a unique and foreign sense of fear. A Sealing Crystal…these motherfuckers have a goddamn Sealing Crystal!? He wasn't expecting to see an Yggdrasil item here either, but for it to be a fucking Sealing Crystal was just insane! Yggdrasil players abused those things like crazy for years! Hoarding entire armies of High-Level summons, and bombarding players with a rain of overpowered spells without wasting even a drop of magic to do so! And if this crystal held a summon of a similar caliber…the best thing he could do right now is use Albedo's tankiness to buy him enough time to cast a Super-Tier spell. He just hoped that Tabula didn't half-ass the succubus' stats like he did the flavor text.

Ainz felt his palms grow sweaty, he'd just been coasting through this whole thing like it was still a game, but it wasn't a game. This was real, if he died, would Nazarick even be able to bring him back? He didn't know. This wasn't Yggdrasil. If he died…that might be it, game over. The crystal shined bright, the members of the Sunlight Scripture prostrating themselves in worship as a palpable surge of magic filled the air. Nigun laughed maniacally as angelic feathers rained from the sky, the dark night illuminating with holy light, "Bear witness heretic! It is very rare that one can be considered worthy to face one of our lord's mightiest guardians!" Nigun's pupils shrank to pinpricks as his zeal and faith was bare for all to see, "Rejoice! For I summon the holiest of all the angels! Dominion Authority!"

A flash of holy light engulfed the plains, an angel of massive proportions with wings surrounding its majestic form floated elegantly between the Sunlight Scripture and Ainz Ooal Gown. A golden staff and holy halo glimmering with magical excellence. Coo's of awe rang out from the mages as they began to break into prayer at the beauty of the entity. Ainz's mouth hung open behind his mask as he looked upon the angel, "I-I can't believe it…"

Nigun laughed out at the sheer disbelief evident in Ainz's voice, "Now do you finally understand the fruitlessness of fighting my scripture!? Weep! Despair! Beg for forgiveness as Dominion Authority smites you with our god's holy wrath!"

Ainz close his mouth and slowly raised his ringed hand to his mask in a facepalm, "Who the fuck uses a Sealing Crystal for a Seventh-Tier summon!? And here I was freaking out over nothing…"

Nigun's zealous arrogance faltered at those words, "W-what?"

Ainz waved Albedo to the side once more with an almost embarrassed gesture, "I'm terribly sorry Albedo, looks like I gave our opponents more credit than they deserved."

Albedo bowed deeply at the apology, "Think nothing of it, my beloved! Not even a genius like yourself can calculate the sheer stupidity of humans such as these!"

Ainz chuckled at that, his spirits being somewhat lifted by his companion's words, "I suppose you're right Albedo. It also doesn't hurt to be cautious whenever faced with an unknown threat, I just wasn't prepared for…this."

Nigun felt his eyelid twitch at the lackadaisical attitude the two had towards the Sunlight Scripture's most powerful angel, "You…you blasphemous heretics! I'll rip you limb from limb! Dominion Authority, eradicate these lowly vermin with Holy Smite!"

The massive angel's staff shattered, the shards of gold orbiting around the divine creature as holy magic swelled from its clasped hands. The Sunlight Scripture rang out in cheers as Ainz Ooal Gown was hit directly by a variable nuke of pure, concentrated, holy might. Nigun himself gave a fanatical grin at the apparent destruction of the mage…only for that grin to morph into an expression of pure horror as from within the beam of angelic light, he heard laughter.

"This is damage!? This is pain!? How absolutely hilarious! I can't believe I was afraid of this of all things!" Ainz cackled as the light slowly died around him, the Supreme Being showing no evidence whatsoever of being harmed at all.

Though, Albedo wasn't as joyful as her lord, if her ragged breathing and twitching form was anything to go by, "You…you animals! That's my love! My beloved! My life! How dare you bring harm to one of the Supreme Beings! How dare you bring harm to the God of the Night! I'll tear all of you apart! I'll flay your flesh from your bones bit by bit, and then I'll resurrect your sorry corpses so I can repeat the process for centuries to come! Then you will know a fraction of the pain I've felt from your horrible transactions!"

A hand landed on Albedo's shoulder, and as if a switch had flipped, Albedo turned towards Ainz with a look of only love and adoration, "It's quite alright my dear, except for the underwhelming show of strength from the angels, everything has gone exactly as planned." Ainz took a look at the angel, cricked his neck, and raised his hand to cast a spell, "Black Hole."

The world went silent for a moment as an orb no bigger than a basketball appeared in front of Dominion Authority, before the angel was absorbed into complete nothingness. Nigun didn't know how to react, his brain simply unable to comprehend what had just happened, "T-that's not…what the hell are you?"

Ainz gave a flourish of his cape and held his arms out as if to give a performance, "My name is Ainz Ooal Gown! Once upon a midnight dreary, everyone knew of this name, and through it, they knew true…f̸̤̺̔ẹ̶̽̀ͅa̵̡͂̑r̸̡͎̄̊…̸̗͝"

Nigun opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sky cracking, before shattering away in magic particles, "W-what was that?"

Ainz hummed at the sudden occurrence, "Hmm, looks like someone was keeping an eye on you through reconnaissance magic. Though, I'm sure they didn't see much through the defensive barriers I've put up." Ainz let out a sigh, before snapping his fingers. His red mask suddenly disappeared back into his inventory, and his skull-shaped chest piece appeared back around his torso, the eyes beaming to life with an eerie red glow. Ainz took a deep breath of the world around him, enjoying the fresh air of the plains as his lips curled to reveal his monstrous teeth. He snapped his gaze towards Nigun and let the red of his blackened eyes shine like two bloody stars, "Now then, I suppose I should get to killing you now…"

Immediately the Sunlight Scripture erupted in screams, but even through the pitiful sounds that assaulted Ainz's ears, he could hear the terrified voice of Captain Nigun speak through it, "M-majestic and compassionate Lord Ainz Ooal Gown! Please accept the lives of these lowly soldiers of the Slane Theocracy as recompense for my transgressions! Please accept all of their lives so that I may be able to serve you faithfully in the future!" To say the members of the Sunlight Scripture were shocked and appalled, would be the understatement of the fucking century.

"You traitor!"

"You would betray us for this monster!?"

"Heresy!"

"I always knew you were a coward Nigun!"

Those voices of indignation were silenced however, when Ainz let out an amused laugh that sent shivers down the spines of every soldier, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. It seems you've forgotten Sunlight Scripture. I gave you the chance to surrender right after I killed those Archangel Flames with my bare hands, remember?" Ainz's smile grew wider, showing off his blackened gums as his eyes grew impossibly brighter, "No, you forfeited your right to live when you so rudely declined my offer. Now…I finally get to cut loose…"

Ainz's body lurched to the side for a second…then it lurched to the other side…then black sludge started to drip from his mouth. Nigun took a step back out of pure horror, "W-what the hell is happening!? What the hell are you!?"

A giggle escaped Ainz's throat as more sludge pooled out of his mouth, before his eyes started crying tears of that same sludge as well. Albedo let out a small cheer as she clapped her hands together at the disturbing sight. Every second that passed caused the liquid that flowed from Ainz's mouth and eyes to grow more violent, his face literally spewing a geyser of oil-like sludge. The Sunlight Scripture yelled out as the black sludge pooled around the monster and slowly snaked its way up his body, his entire form covered in pitch black sludge.

Then…Ainz's body grew.

The soldiers of the Slane Theocracy began running away, too scared to wait and see what the demon was turning into, but no matter how far they thought they had run, whenever they looked behind them, they realized they hadn't moved an inch. Ainz's body grew further, as if he was a tire being pumped full of air, his form inflated further, further, further…

The night sky darkened, the stars in the inky black dimmed. The very grass the Sunlight Scripture stood on turned black and sharp, as if the vegetation had transformed into graphite. The soldiers coughed and wheezed as a dark miasma filled their lungs, tearing up their eyes as well as creating the unmistakable smell of death. Nigun froze in his spot, fear causing every other preservation instinct he had to completely malfunction as Ainz finally stopped his growth.

The pitch black monster let out a disturbing sigh, the skull-shaped chest piece growing from within the sludge to fit around the torso of the massive beast once more. The eyes of the chest piece illuminating fully with a horrifying crimson glare. Red circles appeared where the monster's eyes would be, the bright rings cracked as though they were made of broken glass. Sharp teeth too big for any living thing unfolded from the black to form a grizzly grin, before gnashing as it somehow communicated, "N̷̳̊o̷̟͛w̶͚͆ ̷̲̏t̴̝̏h̸͇̔ë̴͖́n̸̨̆.̵̙͂.̶̲̒.̵̍͜" Ainz spoke, his words grating against the brains of all who heard it. A large funeral pyre of blue and red flames ignited from his head and lower back, the flaming mane accompanied by the various glowing veins that appeared over Ainz's muscular, blackened body, ".̶̥̊.̷̜́.̴͕́w̵͉̿h̷̲͒i̷͔͝c̵̖͛ĥ̴̫ ̸̠̏ȏ̷̯n̷̲̈́ë̵͇́ ̵͍̉ȍ̶̠f̷̣̄ ̸̹̑ẙ̷͜o̴̢̓u̶̓ͅ ̵̖͠g̷̣͛e̷͈͑t̵̫́ṣ̸̉ ̴̕ͅt̸̡̐o̸͓͑ ̷̧̋d̵̻͂i̶̬̾ë̵͍́ ̸̼̽f̷͕͌ḯ̴͚r̶̡̛s̵̯͒t̶͎́?̵͚̕"

"Run!" Many tried to run, many tried to scream, many tried to avoid they're inevitable doom.

Nobody escaped his wrath.

Ainz let out an ungodly laugh as he picked up one of the men with one hand…before ripping his skin clean off with the other. Captain Nigun closed his eyes as another one of his men was picked up and ripped slowly in half vertically. The screams grew deafening, even as the terrified soul's vocal chords shredded from the overuse, they continued to scream out in bloody horror.

Nigun did the only thing he could when faced with his impending demise, and got on his knees to pray, "D-dear heavenly lord-!" He could hear the noise of bones splintering to his right, "I c-call upon thee, as a h-humble serv-!" Nigun winced as he heard someone gurgling on unknown fluids to his back, "Humble servant, so that I-I may r-receive guidance in t-this time-!" Someone screamed as he was engulfed in flames, before his voice was swiftly silenced with a crunch, "T-this time of trial! I hold my faith t-true within my s-scriptures-!" The unmistakable sound of rats and bees could be heard surrounding another of his men, eating him from the inside out, "A-and I hold my f–faith in your protection against the demi-human-!" Someone screamed, quickly followed by the splash of a large body of water, "T-the monster-!" Another cried out, before the sound of a noose tightening cut off the noise, "And the h-heretic-!" Nigun tightened his eyelids as he heard one of his troops cry for mercy as he was dragged off to god knows where, "P-please, Lord Alah Alaf! God of Life! Save your h-humble servant!" Nigun felt tears roll down his face as the last scream was silenced, and loud footsteps headed directly towards him, "P-please! Save me! Save me Alah Alaf!"

Nigun openly wept now, the thundering footsteps growing closer, closer…then they stopped. The captain of the Sunlight Scripture fluttered his eyes open, but the only thing he saw was pitch blackness. H-had he truly been saved by his god!?

"D̷̼̂o̵̧̅n̸̺̏'̵̗̀t̴͙͘ ̴͓̄ẅ̴̝́o̷̹͌r̴͕̃r̵̹͑y̶̪̍.̴͎̇.̴̩͒.̵̰́I̷̢͝ ̵͍͛d̷̘̆i̸̼̽ḓ̷͌n̷̫͐'̸̳͠t̸̢̍ ̶̺͝f̸̡͌ò̷͈r̷̘̊g̶̮̃ē̷͓ẗ̸̬ ̶͍͝ä̸̙́b̷̺͋o̴̙̎u̵̕ͅt̷͈̽ ̵̗̃y̶͚̏ǫ̴̋ų̸̄.̵̣̾" Nigun felt his heart leap up into his throat as Ainz crawled rapidly on all fours directly up to him as if imitating a spider, before stopping an arms-width away. The horror in front of him raised one finger, and ignited a small flame at the tip, illuminating some of the darkness just enough for Nigun to see just how wrong the monster's facial features looked, "T̴̮͗e̷̥̿l̴̺̍l̸͚͒ ̴̟̿m̷͇͌e̶̘͝,̶̠͋ ̵͔͠C̵̛͓ȃ̷̧p̴̪̈́t̵̩̀a̵̩͋i̷̥̾ṅ̴̬ ̵̞͌o̵̳͑f̷̹͂ ̸̨́t̵͔͠h̸̼̔e̵̛͜ ̸͚̈́S̷̠̄ù̴͖ṉ̶̍l̵̻̉i̷͔̒ğ̴̝h̸̜̉ṱ̴̄ ̶̭̉S̸̞̋c̶̜̕r̶̠̈ī̷̟p̶͕̈ṱ̶̑ū̶̗ŕ̵̢e̴̦͝,̷̖͑ ̸̫͆ā̵̭r̸̝̕e̷̛͜ ̴̲́y̸̪̿ó̸͍ű̵̦ ̴̦̈s̸̼̐č̴̻a̶̼͝r̴̢͊e̵̺͊d̷̝̒?̷̹͂" Nigun trembled where he kneeled, his lips refusing to move, "S̷͎͌̂ͅẫ̶̩y̵͚͐ ̶͎͋̅i̸̟͈͂̚ṱ̶͌ͅ!̴̩͑"

Nigun opened his dry mouth and struggled to get out the word through his tears, "Y-y-yes…"

Ainz's monstrous teeth threatened to split his face in half with how far they curled, "O̷͕̣̔h̵͔̔̍.̷̨͉̑.̸̧̈̈́.̵̰̞̈́ẁ̶̰̇e̶͚͑'̸̞̿r̴̦̪͌̒ĕ̶̙͙ ̶͈̺͋g̴͊͜o̴̩͔͆̈́n̵͍̅n̷͓̉̇a̴̬͊ ̴͔̝̐h̵̝͒̽á̴̟̣̏v̶̢̼̅e̴̦͂͊ ̶̘͔̍s̷͙̭̓o̴͔̅̔ ̷̞̮̕m̷̗͍̀̌u̵͓͈̓͘c̵͈͒͐h̸̩̆ ̸̬̉̌f̶̝͖̐̋u̷̳̲͝n̷̯̹̾.̵͎̞́̕.̶̢̳̑̈́.̸̨̜͆̌" Nigun's breathing became sporadic, his heart beated faster than it had ever done in his entire life, and the atrocity of all that was natural in front of him. Didn't. Move. Ainz didn't even blink as the small flame flickered in the cold night breeze. The massive beast waiting, waiting, waiting…

Then the flame flickered out. And the plains outside of Carne Village were filled with the screams of the victims of the God of the Night…