Capítulo 20: Chapter 9 - The God of Life and Death
Later that day, when Pero and Buku reunited with Lupus at E-Rantel's adventurer guild hall, the entire city was in utter chaos.
The city guards, corrupt as they were, had lost the initial skirmish with the overflowing undead and fled. The undead in their never-ending masses flooded from the graveyard into the city's residential district, massacring hundreds.
The guild master, a burly-built gray-haired strong man with a handlebar mustache, was instructing some adventurer groups on the known disabling spots for the undead when he spotted the trio.
The moment he saw Pero and Buku swing open the guild's doors, he beelined straight to them, the adventurers dispersing as he shooed them away.
"Glad to see you two back. Is there any news about Nfirea and the rest of the Swords of Darkness?" he asked, giving Lukrut an apologetic glance.
"Through our perception abilities, we have found that Nfirea has been kidnapped and is being used as some sort of conduit to summon the undead deep within the cemetery. He had some strange artifact on his head and was led into catacombs before we could intervene. We had to retreat and regroup to avoid being overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of the hordes of undead. There were just too many of them no matter how many we downed. There were a few guys in robes with obvious traces of magic surrounding them, so they're the likely culprits behind the mass undead summoning," Pero explained what he knew, intentionally avoiding mentioning the crazy blonde chick so no one would search for her.
Given how sneaky she was in the assassinations, he doubted anybody would correlate her to the incident.
"'Artifact,' you say? Then at least we know the source of the undead. You four, join the defense where you can and I'll send one of the orichalcum teams to rescue the boy."
Ainzach didn't wait for any sort of reply and quickly paced to the next team, barking orders. The man was busy and doing the best he could, taking command of the entire room once more as the few remaining receptionists dashed back and forth.
"We have to make it to the center of the cemetery before Ainz shows up," Buku declared in a hushed tone.
"What is the plan?" Lupus asked timidly, trying to approach Pero from his right side.
"We're getting to the fucks who kidnapped Nfirea and killed our friends, then sending them straight to Neuronist. Then Ainz will show up and do his grand show to end it once and for all," Pero replied.
{ Lord Pero, I apologize for my past behavior. } She tried to apologize via message.
{ I overreacted in the heat of the moment. I am not mad at you. So, please forgive me if I scared you. } Pero flashed her a reassuring smile. 'She may be a sadistic psycho who sees all humans as less than dirt, but she's MY adorable psycho.'
{ But I didn't realize that you cared for these humans, Lord Peroroncino. I should have known better. }
By how droopy she looked, it was clear that his assurances didn't hit their mark.
Resolved to deal with the situation later that night with some one-on-one time, he returned his mind to the task at hand as there were more pressing matters at the moment.
Reaching the current front line didn't take long as they sprinted. The undead were rapidly gaining ground and pushing back the guards and adventurers who desperately tried to slow down the unrelenting tide of monsters, hurling whatever magic or long-range projectiles they could.
The undead outnumbered the living defenders ten to one, overwhelming in numbers and never-ending in their fight.
For every skeleton or zombie cut down, burned, or blasted to bits, three more took its place. Those who fell while holding the line were refused the release of death, rising again to fight those they once knew. Every fallen ally meant another enemy, every fallen enemy meant more enemies to watch out for. While the undead ranks swelled, the humans were pushed back, making the undead pay for every inch.
"Archers, concentrate on the lich!" one of the more flamboyantly equipped guards shouted, pointing his shattered blade at a figure floating in the distance. With a cry, he picked a hammer off the ground and struck a skeleton, the cracked skull bursting into a fine powder.
{ That robe looks like it belonged to one of the cultists. Better take it out; it's got large quantities of magic. } Buku messaged as they reached the front line.
She quickly joined the defenders and drew her claymore from her back. Swinging the blade in wide arcs, she sent rotten limbs and yellowed bones flying, allowing the injured to fall back. Those who could still fight rallied around her, and fought with renewed vigor.
Lupus, true to the role she was playing, began to triage the wounded, healing those on the brink whilst allowing others to heal any with less lethal wounds. Despite her aid, many passed before she could reach them.
Pero drew his bow, and with one arrow knocked, shouted, "Lucy, bless this arrow! I'm going to make that asshole explode!" Lupus cast the spell, and the lightly glowing arrow traveled hundreds of feet to the lich in mere seconds.
The moment the arrow struck the rotten skull, a bright flash lit up the knight as the lich was reduced to ash.
"How are they only silver plates?" an adventurer shouts, deftly parring a rusted blade.
"Those are the guys who fought off the Wise King of the Forest!" another shouted back, blocking a blow aimed at his neck.
"Quit yapping! They're not here to save your sorry asses!" a third shouted at them, sending a fireball toward the undead horde. A quick glance identified this adventurer as one of those who were being lectured before their arrival, hence how they knew.
Ignoring the banter between the adventurers, Pero addressed the high-ranking city guard who was attempting to take control of the situation through orders. "We're moving further in, I suggest using the opening we'll give you."
"Wait, what do you mean? You can't just charge in the sea of undead and hope to survive!"
The man tried to block his way, but Pero effortlessly leapt around him.
While he sniped the most problematic targets from their positions and Buku held the immediate masses at bay, Lupus was clearing entire swathes of the undead farther off, bringing much-needed respite every few moments.
Even holding back as much as they did wouldn't stop them from moving forward at a decent pace, silver rank be damned. They were here to rescue their comrade, defend the city, and win.
Tens of minutes later, after repeated retreats and rallies, another wave of defenders arrived, giving them the momentum they needed to push the line. Lupus got another cleric to take her place, and charged after her masters, knowing they aimed to end this quickly.
It wasn't long before they reached the cemetery wall, easily climbing over it. Predictably, the cemetery was packed full of all sorts of undead, forcing them to create a circular formation both around the perimeter and within, further straining their meager forces.
Step by step, they inched closer to their target, knowing that Ainz was waiting for just the right moment to show up.
The undead army had to fall.
X
The emergency meeting had been called for the most dire of reasons; the nearby city of E-Rantel, located in the southeastern segment of Re-Estize, had been reported to be experiencing a mass outbreak of undead which had reached the point of a death spiral.
The six cardinals and Pontifex Maximus gathered in the conference room as quickly as they could, faces haggard and robes hastily tossed on. They settled into their seats without going through the usual ritual of cleaning the room, for they were racing against the clocks.
"Yvon, you may start," Pontifex declared, opening the meeting.
"The bishop of E-Rantel contacted me half an hour ago and, as you all already know, sent a warning about the city being slowly overrun by the undead," He spoke while fixing his monocle.
"We need live updates of what is happening. Raymond, please call in Astrologer," Zinedine stated.
"I contacted her twenty minutes ago. She should arrive any minute," Raymond replied as he suppressed a yawn, shifting in his seat.
Surprise midnight meetings were never easy to get through, especially as they got older. It was not surprising that even the young and spry would be late.
True to his word, the young woman arrived a few minutes later, trying to not look too grumpy.
With a small quick bow that could be seen as a sign of mockery rather than genuine respect if it wasn't for the urgency behind it, she sat down in an offered seat. Not that she could be blamed for not being cheerful either after awakened in the middle of the night for an emergency mission.
In her usual manner, she placed the recording crystals on the table together with a heavily scribbled-in notepad and a worn-out pencil. Not only did she manage the crystals, but she also managed the notes regarding their output.
Berenice quickly left the room and soon returned with a large cup of coffee, sliding it in front of Relzania.
"Here you go, dear. We need you to be as alert as possible right now."
"Thank you, your eminence," she replied, a bit startled at the gesture.
She gratefully began chugging it down, knowing she would need it, no matter how bitter.
Sure, the older woman always had a motherly vibe about her, but she usually was a lot more formal in such meetings, and thus appeared unapproachable.
Relzania took a few more gulps before jumpstarting the reconnaissance, her magic flowing once more.
"Please comment on what you see. And skip the titles. Time is of the essence!" Pontifex urged her. A tense pause filled the air until Relzania spoke.
"An extremely large amount of lower-tier undead seemed to have been spotted in the city of E-Rantel, centralizing in the city's primary graveyard for non-nobility, and the guards and adventurers appear to be losing ground fast," Relzania stated.
"Do you see the source for it? It doesn't look like a natural occurrence even for death-filled places like E-Rantel," Zinedine asked.
"Trying to locate it. Hmm… is that? Yes… I believe I saw a lich in Zurrernorn cultist robes, surrounded by higher-tier undead."
"Those blasphemers?" Yvon spat. "Now it's clear what's going on."
"Wait a minute! Is that…?" With a second or so of pause, Relzania, in a confused but disgusted voice, exclaimed, "Clementine!"
They hadn't seen eye to eye from the first day they met.
As someone who had trained all her life to notice even the smallest of details, Relzania saw through the psychotic woman's facade and thus avoided any of Clementine's attempts at being friendly, much to the latter's initial annoyance.
"By the Six, she and Zurrernorn are working together. But how did they manage to use the crown of wisdom?!" Raymond asked no one in particular. Nobody had answers in response.
"It doesn't matter how they did it. What matters is their goal," Zinedine spat, stood up, and began pacing back and forth, lost in thought.
"They have created another spiral of death. And we won't be able to deploy the Black Scripture in time to stop it," he continued.
"The city is lost. A tragic loss of human life. But we must concentrate on what we can do, not on what has already happened," Pontifex stated, and motioned for the agitated cardinal to sit down.
"I will mobilize the Black Scripture-" Raymond started to say but was interrupted by Relzania.
"A team of adventurers reached the cemetery wall. Silver plates, but at least adamantine level by their fighting abilities. Maybe even in the realm of heroes. They're leading the charge and are assisting the defenders in regaining ground."
"So there's a chance the fall of the E-Rantel could be prevented!" Raymond remarked, perking up in a hopeful excitement. For a moment he stroked his chin, lost in thought. The opportunity to obtain new adamantine, possibly hero-level, scripture members couldn't be wasted. "I'll send recruiters tomorrow morning."
"Spare no expense. We can afford to overpay them. Leaving such talented individuals within that rotten kingdom is not an option," Pontifex declared, seconding the statement.
"It looks like the adventurers have almost reached the cultists and Clementine," Relzania continued to voice her observations as she held the recording crystal in one hand and scribbled down notes with the other. When her quill snapped from the frantic writing, a cardinal fetched her another.
"Let us pray that they succeed," Pontifex said, lowering his head into silent prayer, his peers joining him.
X
Meter by meter, they got closer to the catacombs where Nfirea was kept, and centimeter by centimeter, they approached the lich leading the assault.
The floating elder lich holding a glowing orb in his hand had noticed their approach.
"You're too late. The death spiral cannot be stopped!" He let out a cruel laugh, waving a hand as two new groups of skeletons appeared before him, swarming the group.
Pero shot an arrow at him, but one of the lesser liches guarding the central one blocked it with its body. Without Lupus' magical blessing, the arrow didn't do much damage to the undead, and the lich simply pulled it out and dropped to the ground.
"Yap all you want, fucker, you're going down. Where's that blonde cunt who killed our friends?" Pero shouted at him.
"Looking for lil old me?" Clementine asked, stepping out of the shadows with a smirk on her face, the lich shifting to make room for her. She pulled out a stiletto from its sheath and licked it in a slow, sensual motion.
"You want to play?" she continued in a tone of overplayed innocence.
"She's mine! You two can take the rest!" Pero growled loudly and leaped after the woman through the parting sea of undead, leaving the others behind.
They soon reached a secluded area with very few undead around, as if it had been reserved specifically for this fight. Clementine either had very quick message magic with the person behind the crown's undead utilization or had prearranged this arena knowing he would show up.
"You know, that girl till the very last moment insisted that someone would come and save her. You have no idea how good it felt to penetrate both her holes. Oh, how she screamed~." Clementine let out a laugh while swinging a stiletto in her hand.
"You shall receive far worse than what you doled out! I can promise you won't die, no matter how much you beg for it when I'm done with you." Pero shot back.
He placed his bow away and stood without any weapon in his hands, standing about ten meters away from the clearly unstable woman.
'What the hell is he doing?' Clementine observed the man carefully.
Her instincts had put her on high alarm. It was clear that the trio that made their way through the hordes of undead were by no means weak, and likely could be placed on par with adamantine-level adventurers.
But this man's attitude was odd. He left himself completely defenseless, which even adamantine-level adventurers wouldn't do after years of fighting experience. Anything could go wrong, after all.
'Is he insane?' The momentary confusion ended just as quickly as it started. This man was clearly not treating her as any sort of threat, even going so far as yawning.
Her playful demeanor all but melted away, leaving a cruel determination to make him pay for this insult. She had never been YAWNED at before during a fight, and she always held the reins!
"You think you can look down on me, the great Lady Clementine?" she uttered in a cold tone.
"A lowlife thrash calling herself a lady. That's rich." the man replied, letting out a mocking laugh.
Noticing that he had gotten under her skin, he continued. "You're too pathetic for me to take you seriously. But maybe I should give you one chance to get on your knees and beg for mercy. Do that and I won't torment you for long."
She snarled at the man and spoke with her voice shaking as she tapped one stiletto against her hip armor. "You're going to pay for that. You have no idea who you are messing with!"
She leaned down, assuming the position of a cat ready to charge her prey, and started to activate her martial arts buffs. She had quite a few, and she needed to be ready for anything.
As much as she just wanted this man to suffer for his insults, her reasonable and battle-hardened side still forced her on edge and assumed that her opponent was at least equal to her. And she was not one to ignore her instincts screaming at her.
"[Ability Boost]. [Greater Ability Boost]. [Flow Acceleration]. [Greater Evasion]. [Invulnerable Fortress]. [Pace of the Wind]."
"If you make me wait, I'll just kick you down before you can blink.." the man continued to taunt, clearly waiting for her to finish in his arrogance.
And just like that, she charged. She aimed to pierce both of the man's shoulders and render his arms useless. After that, not wanting to take any chances, she would do the same with his legs to ensure he was completely defenseless, not unlike how she took down the other adventurers that night.
As she moved forward, fast as a crack of a whip, the man just stood there, waiting as ever, even had the audacity to look bored.
Just a few more moments and she would get her satisfaction. Her two weapons swung like an extension of herself, aimed through the rings of the chainmail he was wearing. With her strength, she would easily tear apart even mithril chainmail, as she had before. This man's armor would be no different, after all, that's what piercing weapons are for.
Yet the tips of her stilettos jolted to a stop just before reaching the armor. She felt an intense impact on her shoulder as her momentum was brought to a complete halt, something so foreign she blanked for a moment.
It took a few seconds to register that the man was holding her arms by the edges of her gauntlets, as if she were as light as tissue paper.
Clementine tried to yank them out, but found she could not free herself from the man's grasp, no matter how hard she tried. With a crunching sound, she felt the metal bend inwards toward her hands as the man tightened his grip.
Clementine grunted in pain as bones cracked, and kicked the man between his legs. To her surprise, he continued to hold her, as if not even registering her brutal kick to the nether regions, a surefire spot to temporarily cripple the attention of any man.
Then there was a snapping sound. Her hands were now bent at an odd angle just above the glove line, and continued to twist, centimeter by centimeter. Her blades fall from her limp grasp, and fall soundlessly into the dirt.
She let out a scream as her body finally registered the intense pain of her forearms being broken like twigs. Her arms that she was so proud of, that had resisted violence for years, were little more than deadweight now.
She thrashed in pain, her panic growing and finally, after what seemed to be hours of agony, the man let her go. She plopped to the ground, her surprise evident at the man's grin.
Choosing the only option she had, Clementine fled as fast as her legs could carry her. But even they failed her in the end.
Another jolt of pain from her lower half, she was unable to quickly determine exactly where, and she lost her crucial footing, hitting the graveyard ground hard as she tumbled over herself. Her armor dented from the sheer force, bits and pieces flying off.
After a half-roll, she landed on her left side, barely managing to regain control of her lower limbs as she determined where the agony was radiating from.
Her right knee was in agonizing pain. There was an arrowhead sticking out of the knee plate, meaning the arrow had gone clean through metal, leather, skin, muscle, tendon, and then bone, immobilizing the leg.
Despite her broken forearms and pierced knee, Clementine tried to get up, letting out a pained grunt. With broken arms and her mobility kicking the bucket, she had to make a final stand against the monster of an adventurer.
The man casually approached her and kicked her onto her back before she could retaliate, forcing her to collapse once more.
"Fun, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically, and stomped on her left ankle, crushing it into splinters. Ordinary men would need massive mauls of heavy metal to do what he just did, especially when she had all her martial arts active.
She only gritted her teeth in pain and shouted at him, determined to cuss him out. "Bastard!" she shouted, her eyes betraying the fear she tried so hard to hide.
"As I said, just a low-level thrash, nothing more," he taunted, leaning close to her as he traced her broken right arm.
"You think you'll break me!? Go fuck yourself you dickless piece of shit!" Clementine taunted, before trying to spit in his face. He moved out of the path of the projectile in a blur, kicking her in the lower back. A pain so intense she couldn't even scream flooded her body. A kick to the kidney is one of the most painful things a human can feel, a favorite trick of hers considering it didn't kill, allowing her to prolong her fun.
'How could this happen? I was so careful not to cross paths with strong fighters.' She knew there would be no mercy for her. The man wanted revenge for tormenting those silver plate adventurers, those friends of his, and there was no way out.
"In any other situation, I would normally want to prove you wrong, but I've got standards to follow, you know. Sticking it into garbage like you isn't worth it."
He grabbed her face and pried her mouth open with two fingers, the skin of her cheeks tearing. She tried to kick her assailant, but felt another burst of pain as a movement she couldn't see resulted in a fractured femur.
"How about I tear that tongue out, for how much you enjoy jabbering about how powerful you are."
With all her willpower, she managed to clamp her mouth shut as he reached for her tongue. Instead of feeling the man's fingers expectantly break between her teeth, she felt as if biting into a stone, feeling several of her own teeth crack instead.
"You have a lot of fighting spirit, I give you that."
The man forced her mouth open once more and seized one of her front teeth between his fingers. Realizing what he was about to do, she was quite familiar with the process after doing it in the past, she hollered the best she could in the current situation.
"Waith! Sthophh! STHOOOOOPHH!"
Ignoring her plea, he pinged the tooth strong enough for it to crack and violently pulled it out. Blood flew as he tossed the tooth aside, his fingers akin to demons.
She screamed again, quite hoarsely to the amusement of the adventurer. "Soop, szhou shick baszaarrrd!"
"I thought you liked that sort of thing. Tell me, how does it feel to be on the receiving end for once?" he questioned, letting her go and tossing her aside as he grinned.
"Whath thehe hell are hhoou!?" she screamed the moment he let her go, holding back the waves of pain and depths of unconsciousness through sheer force of will.
"Oh, I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself. I am Pero Ooal Gown, the God of Murder."
'God? … Player!? I pissed off a player?!' She made the connection. As a former member of the Black Scripture, she knew about players appearing about once in a century, who wielded unfathomable abilities. That explained this man's unreasonable power!
"Waith! Leht's make a theal." She pleaded, spitting blood.
"Deal? You have nothing to offer me!" Pero laughed in her face as he glanced upwards, as if waiting for something. And what could make even a player wait?
He proceeded to grab her by her hair, lifting her up and turning her attention to a shadowed figure in the sky.
"Our playtime's over. The real show's about to begin."
Pero then tossed her through a black void, the world turning dark.
She hit a cold stone floor face first, saved only by 'Impregnable Fortress' which prevented her nose from being broken and her teeth knocked out. Her armor, however, shattered into fragments, and her blades clattered away.
"Hello little thing, allow me to welcome you to the prison of the glorious Tomb of Nazarick. We're going to have a lot of fun here. Lord Pero made it clear he wanted me to do my absolute best." A female voice greeted her, barely audible through the tsunamis of agony screaming for her attention.
Clementine glanced up, only to witness a huge, bloated figure resembling a drowned corpse with tentacles and heavy makeup approaching her. A creature of nightmares most minds would not withstand witnessing.
'Wait a minute… Nazarick, like the Nazarick'. asked Clementine as her mind finally registered how terrible her mistake was. Not even the gods of her Black Scripture would ever heed her nonexistent prayers for salvation since not even they were able to conquer this cursed realm.
Whatever or whoever that monster was, one thing was clear; it would be her next tormentor.
X
While her brother left to deal with the despicable killer of their friends, Buku and Lupus confronted the elder lich who was likely the head cultist behind the cult that started the death spiral which had killed hundreds, if not more.
Not seeing a point to drag it out, she marched forward towards the figure while crushing any undead that got in her way. Her sword wasn't even needed - she ran, she punched, she bashed. Even the stronger undeads of the cemetery became little more than bone meal and dust under her fists.
Lupus, as a dutiful support, kept up a shield that blocked all magic attacks the cultists threw at them with increasing agitation and frequency as Buku approached him. She even cast some of the newly learned strengthening buffs she had acquired while overhearing other adventurers.
In order to stop them, the head lich frantically used the orb in his hand and summoned two skeletal dragons, tearing them from the graveyard as they rose in unison. His magic level dropped dramatically, but he continued to summon his undead.
"Kill them!" He ordered the two massive beasts as the rest of the liches quickly got out of the way, fleeing to attack the other adventurers.
Unphased by this desperate attempt, Buku put a bit more power in her punches and shattered one dragon's skull with a jump, ending the other with a kick to the chin.
For the first time during the whole encounter, Khajiit was in full-blown panic mode, despite his new undead form providing emotional dampening. He was running out of magic at this rate, his liches were being blasted left and right by the damned cleric, and his greatest undead had been obliterated in a single strike.
It seemed that even if these very strong adventurers couldn't stop the death spiral, they would kill him and the other cultists to avenge their comrades. They kept rampaging onwards, ever onwards.
As the plate-clad exotic-looking woman destroyed the second skeletal dragon, he shouted, "Even if you kill me, the ritual cannot be stopped anymore! I propose a deal!"
"Deal? The only deal you get is to be stomped into the ground," the woman shouted back, tearing apart a massive undead with her bare hands, glaring at him. The undead was promptly turned into dust by the barrier magician behind her.
"Then this entire city will die. Let me leave with my armies, and you will have not only saved the city, but have saved the boy as well."
His words clearly had no effect, if anything they had agitated her further. Suddenly, the woman blitzed far faster than before and tore through the last of his defenders, grabbing him by the neck and lifted him into the air.
In panic, he blasted [Grand Fireball] in her face, but it had zero effect, despite the magician's barrier being too far for the close-distance "combat." She seized the orb out of his hands and slammed him into the ground, breaking his bones and tearing his robes.
"Hey Lupus, do you want to have some fun with this shit before the show starts?"
"Of course. I will entertain him for a while," the priest responded with glee, and cast holy magic on the lich.
His now undead form was extremely weak against such an attack, and he knew it. Even the numbed nerves of his decrepit body couldn't shield him from the seemingly endless pain. His fingers slacked, his mind focused entirely on trying not to be overwhelmed.
His body was slowly burned away, bit by bit, as the priestess held him down and watched on with a sadistic smile.
Khajiit gave orders to all undead under his command to save him, but not even one managed to get close as the plate-clad woman cut them down like grass.
As his consciousness started to fade, he saw a figure appear in the sky. This figure radiated a presence he had not felt before, but one he had attempted to serve with wanton destruction.
'In my arrogance, I have angered one of the Gods.' Was his last thought before the world went dark.
X
The first order of business was to test [Holy Nova] in a safe environment, to ensure its holy energies were manageable but still within safe parameters of debuff. Since the sixth floor of Nazarick had no undead or demonically aligned residents, there was no worry about accidentally hurting or killing anyone, and He had enough room to perform most spells with ease.
Momonga, no, Ainz, stood in the middle of the arena, dressed in a pearl-white robe with gold and black accents. He held in His left hand a mask that Ulbert had made. His shoes were pitch black, the buckles were the purest white. His many small trinkets were made of gold, a decision by Ulbert.
This special mask He was attempting to place on was built to represent the duality He ruled over as God: its right was golden with a white eye drawn on it while the left side was black with a red eye, representing His domains over life and death respectively.
Behind Him as always stood Rubedo, ever-ready to assist if the situation called for her. But she was not the only observer, especially not with the stakes as high as they were. The few angels He had summoned had been called back for testing purposes, on them and on Him. They would be the ones to tell if there was any taint in the spell He was about to cast since the taint of the undead also worked in tandem against holy-attribute magic if it was strong enough in-game.
Lastly, as usual these days, the two-floor guardians Aura and Mare were present as well as they snacked on jerky meat strips. The elven twins used every opportunity they could to watch Him train or experiment, knowing there would be little opportunity afterward in the near future when everyone became more busy. While not strictly necessary to have around due to already knowing the effects of [Holy Nova] in-game, it wouldn't hurt to have two more second opinions regarding the grandeur of the spell from a distance.
'I guess there's no point dragging it out any further. I have less than half an hour before I need to show up over E-Rantel.' He mused and activated the doppelganger ring, switching to His smaller human form.
In this form, the physical pain was far lesser, especially for such a high-tier holy spell. In His undead form, merely casting this spell without defenses would be a surefire way to greatly injure him. He still vividly remembered the days of angelic players spamming this spell in unison, oftentimes forcing undead players to flee if they didn't have enough resistance through gear.
After some mental preparation, He latched the mask onto his face and cast the spell, empowering it with the guesstimated amount of magical power needed. The entire floor shone with rays of brilliant golden lights, almost blinding Him as the angels viewed on in apparent delight.
The pain wasn't too unbearable, but He certainly wasn't looking forward to casting the spell once again as some of His smaller bones ached. The human fingers and toes were all but toasted, meaning He'd need some "godly" gloves, and His ears were slightly ringing.
'It worked.'
Since Rubedo was insistent on accompanying him, Ainz cast on her [Perfect Unknowable], completely hiding her presence. Even His friends wouldn't notice her unless they tried, and Momonga certainly only knew where she was because He was the one who cast the spell. Even if her concealment failed, He could pass her off as a unique type of angel, worst come to worst.
The next thing he did just for this occasion was turn off all the always-active and grinding-passive anti-scrying and stealth effects and abilities, so all possible observers would see Him. Momonga even activated several decoration-type abilities He normally never used unless He was making speeches to his old guild mates, to enhance the sparkles of His magic attacks and create a slight aura around Him, for next to no mana cost.
Lastly, He recited the speech one more time to refresh His memory and acclimate His human body to speaking it, and after a quick glance at the clock, He contacted Aureole.
{ Are Buku and Pero in position? }
{ Yes, Lord Ainz. Both Lord Pero and Lady Buku have engaged with the main culprits. }
'It's time.' He took a deep but ultimately unnecessary breath, since even in His human form His undead's intrinsic ability to breathe without lungs was in effect, and teleported to E-Rantel. He appeared about a hundred meters above the graveyard engulfed in a golden aura.
With a mass message spell, He contacted every human still alive, speaking directly into their minds. A nifty little spell that came from his days of being the guild leader, even if it was only used like, twice when intimidating armies of newbies. But with how low-level this world seemed to be, He supposed it wasn't too different.
{ These blasphemous actions of the godless mortals will not be tolerated. Witness the justice I bring, and know that I, the God of Life and Death, will not stand for such actions! }
He spread his arms apart and cast a city-wide [Holy Nova], robes billowing in the wind. A great magical light appeared around Him. Apparently, Ulbert's rings had light enchantments.
Most of the undead within the graveyard almost instantly disintegrated into dust, leaving only a few more powerful ones standing. Even they couldn't withstand the blinding golden light for long, dusting in moments. The miasma of undeath quickly faded away too, unable to withstand His god-like might.
He remained for a few more moments where He was, hovering in the air as he watched Pero toss the blonde woman through a gate and run back into the catacombs. Buku, meanwhile, climbed out of a tomb carrying Nifrea, who was still wearing the undead artifact upon his head. Lupus was just waiting for both of Them, standing beside a dead lich as it crumbled away.
With Buku, Pero, and Lupus waiting for Him to make his move, He slowly descended, keeping an eye on the many guards and adventurers using the opportunity to charge to the graveyard in awe.
Ainz approached Buku in a dignified manner as crowds gathered around them. Everyone kept a safe distance, not wanting to provoke the being who eliminated virtually all the undead in a single fell swoop. If they could do it to the undead, they could likely do it to them too.
Before deciding on what to do with the artifact on the boy's head, He cast an appraisal on it, needing more information. What Momonga saw wasn't ideal since He wanted to experiment with it, but caution was needed.
'Hmm, if the Crown of Wisdom is removed, the boy's mind will be permanently damaged. I guess the only option is to get rid of it.'
He raised His arm and muttered, "[Greater Destroy Item]."
The delicate crown turned into ash as Nfirea let out a quiet whimper, but remained unconscious. A quick scan left no remains of the artifact behind.
"You three had shown great valor today. I offer my blessing to you, and to carry my name." He addressed the trio, projecting His voice as regally as He could.
"We will accept your blessing, Lord!" Buku exclaimed, as She placed Nfirea down and knelt before Him. Pero and Lupus quickly joined Her, almost in unison as they dropped their weapons.
Ainz waved His hand over them, casting [Greater Full Potential] for visual effect, even if it would do nothing to buff them. He even cast some light holy magic on their blades to emphasize their fighting abilities, having noticed the crowd shifting.
"Go on now, and continue to fight injustice," Ainz stated, and was ready to depart when a man in a priest's robe broke through the crowd, panting.
The man ran up to him and hastily bowed. He had a slight aura of having cast holy magic, or at least having attempted to, so Ainz decided to give him a few seconds.
"Great God, I wish to know of you. We know only of Six Great Gods and had not heard of you before," the priest spoke, sounding dignified despite his gasping.
"I am not one of the Gods you worship. You may call me the God of Life and Death. It's not yet the time for mortals to know me fully." Ainz replied and teleported away, releasing some basic light magic for glamor.
X
Renner was about to retire to her bed when a late visitor came. Second Prince Zanac quickly walked in after Climb allowed him entrance and closed the door, leaving the two royals on their own. What happened between royals stayed between royals.
"Brother, why are you here at this hour? Did something happen?" she asked, tilting her head as she fluffed up a pillow.
"My dear sister, I do have some important news. E-Rantel was almost consumed by the undead swarm, but according to reports a being calling himself the God of Life and Death appeared and cleansed the entire city," Zanac declared.
"Oh, you came to gossip. How wonderful," she giggled, "come sit with me."
Zanac made an expression as if he had smelled something rotten, and reluctantly joined her by the table. He knew his sibling.
"Can you drop the act? This is serious. I know how you really are."
"I don't know what you mean, dear brother," Renner innocently inquired, tilting her head further.
"Renner, I am not as stupid as our brother! I know what sort of monster you are," Zanac hissed through his teeth.
"So you noticed, what of it?" Renner asked as her demeanor changed to her more natural one.
"What do you know about what happened in E-Rantel?"
"As much as you do."
Zanac leaned closer. "It was someone from that Researcher Guild. Why are you playing dumb?!"
Renner just picked up the teacup and took a sip, as if unperturbed by his accusation. It was her favorite bedtime tea, something she felt she'd need while conversing with the accusations being thrown her way.
"What are you trying to accomplish?" she retorted back.
"Your behavior changed after that guild representative caused a scene. You know more than you pretend to."
Zanac leaned back, picking up the cup as well. He took a large gulp and then spoke with confidence behind his tone.
"What did they offer to you? That boy? Are you going to sell your nation, your family for him?"
The three invisible succubi that were present in the room tensed up. The leader of the group took out a knife and sent a message to Renner.
{ Lord Ulbert gave the order to keep your servitude secret. We will replace your brother. }
{ Let me work. I will deal with this. } Renner messaged back, ordering them to withdraw.
The trio was sent both as her guards against other powers and to ensure she didn't mess up too badly. With each being, in terms of power, being equal to Gazef, they could deal with any possible threat easily. A mere second prince human with little to no practical battle experience compared to them stood no chance
{ We do not take orders from you, Renner. }
{ Go on. Kill him then. I'll be sure to make a detailed report for our master about what happened after you offed one of my pawns. } Renner sent a message with a clear implication that she would show what a mistake the succubus had made.
Reluctantly, the demoness stepped back and continued to watch the scene.
"You think silence will accomplish anything?" Zanac demanded after her lack of response.
"Sorry, I was trying to figure out what benefit you would have with this baseless accusation," Renner replied with a smile.
"Don't play around. You know what would happen if Barbo finds out," Zanac threatened, observing her reaction carefully.
Renner's smile faded. { Will you follow my lead? } She asked the lead succubus.
{ As long as he doesn't blow your cover. }
{ Good. If I show two fingers with my left hand, put a knife to his neck. }
"What do you want?" Renner responded harshly, as if she were giving up.
"I want to know what you plan for me."
"So you want to blackmail me? You think I will help you?" Renner asked, her face twisting in a demonic expression, neither grin nor frown, but something in between.
"That is not what I meant. Those people are planning something big, and if you join them I want to know what you plan to do with me. You know my position," Zanac gulped, noticing that Renner was looking past his shoulder.
'There is someone in this room with us. But surely she wouldn't just kill me openly.'
"So you have come to me hoping I can help you? How amusing. Tell me, where were you all these years?" Renner queried coldly.
"You know what I did for you. Father didn't want to let you keep your toy." Zanac's voice grew more resolute.
'If she is one to kill me, so be it. What difference does it make which of my siblings does it?'
He knew very well that he was as good as dead when Barbo became the king. A brute like him would ensure there was no hope of opposition for scheming nobles and dissatisfied peasants.
Until now, he considered Renner a monster in human skin whose only goal was to find a way to escape her inevitable political marriage at any cost while keeping her boy-toy, who she kept on a short leash.
But when her behavior changed after the mysterious man scared the ruling class of Re-Estize half to death, it wasn't hard to put together that she had been recruited to further their goals when she started making moves out of the blue.
This entire conversation may have been a gambit made out of desperation, but it was better than nothing, the farce the siblings played regarding him.
"You seriously will claim credit for that?" Renner inquired, intrigued.
"What else do you want? You know how our family is. I never went out of my way to make your life harder."
"Indeed. So you want to join me?"
"I need to know what it entails first."
"That would be a no, brother. It's too late to ask such a question. Look me in the eyes and tell me if you want to join me or not. I will allow you to walk out of this room either way."
"Allow me?" Zanac shuddered. "What do you mean?"
"Answer me. And do not even think you can lie."
"What will that entail?" Zanac met her gaze with clear defiance.
"It will entail whatever it does. Yes or no?"
"Yes."
"Good." Renner covertly revealed the sign for the succubus to act.
Zanac instantly felt a razor-sharp blade on his throat and a soft voice whispering, "Don't make sudden moves."
"What is this?" Zanac gasped and froze up, feeling his life pulsating as it never had before.
"A demonstration of how easy it will be to deal with you, should you betray or disappoint our new masters," Renner replied, casually taking another sip of her tea that had somehow refilled without her movement. It had likely been done while she focused on the entity holding a knife to her brother's throat.
"Now what?"
Renner motioned for him to be released and declared, "now you do as I tell you."
"What should I do then?" he questioned with a deep breath the moment he felt the blade being removed from his throat.
"Feed our idiot brother's ambition and delusions of grandeur whenever you can. He must do something unreasonable soon."
"That shouldn't be hard. He already thinks he is the God-given gift to the world," Zanac said.
"Then you are dismissed for now. I will give more instructions if something comes up, and appear as you are now," Renner stated casually, and motioned for him to leave her quarters.
When Zanac left the room the lead succubus revealed herself.
"Did you report your decision?"
"Of course I did. You should put some trust in me. Being overly zealous won't do you any good." Renner said.
"Don't preach to me, girl. I am far older and more experienced than you." The succubus hissed.
"Oh? Then why didn't you send one of yours after my brother?" Renner smirked. 'She is so desperate to garner Lord Ulbert's favor. I can turn it against her if she impedes my work.'
"Shadow demons can report his doings just fine."
"And if he goes out of line? With you not trusting my decision, I would assume you would want to make your own assurances."
The succubus stared at Renner for a moment and then addressed one of her subordinates. "Zalarta, follow the prince, but do not reveal yourself."
"You know, stepping on each other's toes won't benefit our masters. How about I follow your advice when necessary, and you let me do the general planning? I'm sure your expertise in the details will complement my scheming." Renner extended an olive branch with a smile.
"Agreed," The succubus answered, activating invisibility and vanishing again into the night. Content, Renner went to bed, reminding Climb to have a good night's sleep.
Bonus Story - Vision.
As always, Neia Baraja was trailing behind the other cadets for the order of paladins as they trotted through the paladin order training grounds. It had been that way for weeks, and would continue for the near future as far as she could tell.
As with every evening, everyone slogged through the uneven soil and stone toward the meditation chamber, an exhausting training session having worked their bodies to the brink. They wished for rest, and the instructors knew this, thus scheduling the meditation session immediately after.
The instructors were brutally relentless, pushing their young bodies to their breaking points every day in their never-ending push for power and dedication. Even their meals were highly regulated, designed for maximal replenishment to ensure their high-quality practice the next day.
Ranging from ages twelve to nineteen, all upcoming paladins needed to embrace such harsh training with determination and passion as the chosen warriors of their Gods. It would prove their worth and strengthen them to become worthy, something most believers strived for in their daily lives but never attempted.
Unlike everyone else, Neia walked alone. There were a lot of reasons for her being shunned and singled out by her peers, but the first and most obvious were her unusual eyes.
It was just her born luck that instead of obtaining her mother's beautiful piercing blue eyes, she inherited her father's beady black eyes that even were slanted upwards, giving the impression that she was always glaring. The dark circles caused by exhaustion and lack of sleep made things even worse, further enhancing the darkness seemingly emanating from within her.
It didn't matter that overall she was an attractive girl with a slender build, short blonde hair, and a pretty face that most would fall for. Those eyes always ruined the first impression, turning everyone she ever knew away.
The second reason why other cadets generally avoided her was that she was the daughter of one of Nine Colors members, the most renowned heroes of Roble Holy Kingdom. Pavel Baraja, the black color, was a known hero who often clashed with Paladins on the great wall, his reputation intimidating anyone who came near her.
And then there was her mother, Acillia Baraja. A legendary paladin who once was the mentor of current order grand master Remedios Custodio. Nobody wanted to piss off the current grandmaster by making one wrong move with her.
In fear of showing favoritism that could result in them being dismissed for corruption, her tutors went extra hard on Neia, incidentally forcing everyone near her to undergo the same harsh treatment. Both her teachers and her student peers had reason to neglect her, and those reasons they utilized to the fullest in their self-justification.
And the final one, if the first two reasons were not enough, was that paladin grandmaster Remedios had taken some unknown personal dislike to her, and used the young cadet as an emotional punching bag every time she was present in the training grounds.
This maltreatment in the name of training only furthered her peers' fear of her as they worried about being given the same treatment by the overwhelming grandmaster. Some even chipped in, aiming to score brownie points.
She glanced at the figures ahead of her, and with a tired sigh, trudged forward.
'Is one friend too much to ask?' She grimly mused, knowing it would be impossible.
Most paladins met their lifelong friends and even spouses during their school years, which was known throughout the land. There were a few couples walking on their own holding hands, uniting in their daily suffering and recovery. A group of friends loudly discussed sword fighting techniques far ahead of her. A few others even whined to each other about hard training and how hungry they were.
For a moment she paused and stared at the gates separating the training grounds from the rest of the world. She could just walk out and never return, freed from the endless abuse.
'No, I can't do that to dad and mother.' She scolded herself.
This thought of just running away ate at her harder each day, her mind slowly cracking under the pressure and temptation.
But such thoughts were for cowards, and she was no coward.
Entering the meditation chamber, she quickly sat down cross-legged on a stone plaque in a corner and closed her eyes. She was familiar with this, having it done many times, and today seemed to just be the same as the others.
There were few people around her sitting in similar positions. Paying no mind to them, Neia took a few deep breaths as she entered a tranquil state.
This deep meditation not only helped calm the mind, but gave the body the energy to repair and re-energize muscles, tested by decades of paladins-in-training.
Usually, it was all that happened. Just listening to her own breath and feeling the peace. This was the one place she could avoid blatant discrimination, persecution, and borderline violation of those around her.
But there was something different today. At first, there was this intangible feeling within her, centering around her abdomen. Then a point of bright light appeared in her darkened vision.
The feeling of loving warmth radiated from this point. Yet she felt there was more underneath she could not grasp, more she could grasp. The tip of her meditational, metaphorical tongue.
This point of light grew with each breath she took until it almost completely filled her mind.
'A vision. Trainers told us about those. Clear mind. Clear mind.' Neia pushed the intrusive thoughts away, knowing this could be her breakthrough.
'Relax, young one. Let me guide you.' Her thoughts sounded like a gentle woman's voice.
'Who?'
'Relax. Take deep breaths. Let me show you the God.'
The darkness flitted into the distance, and now she was standing in a sea of undead figures, a floating light beside her.
The sudden fear almost made her open her eyes since the undead were a paladin's greatest enemy. But it was just a vision and could not hurt her in any way, and no recordings had ever shown a god harming people during visions. Confusion, yes, abuse, no.
Neia looked around and saw a masked figure floating in the air. The intangible feeling of longing grew a lot stronger. She wanted to know of this being. She wanted to bask in its light.
Then the figure spoke in her mind. 'These blasphemous actions of the godless mortals will not be tolerated. Witness the justice I bring, and know that I, the God of Life and Death will not stand for such actions.'
God's voice was deep and powerful, but soothing and inviting at the same time. Something she hadn't felt in months as she persevered through training, but something she found she desperately needed.
A brilliant golden light momentarily blinded her, but once her sight returned there were no more undead around, only ashes and standing humans.
God descended and destroyed a crown on the boy's head while blessing the heroes who had saved him.
Just before the vision ended, God turned his head to look at her.
Neia opened her eyes with an audible gasp. A few of her fellow cadets turned to glare at her but quickly returned to their meditation. They would have time to pick on her during mealtimes to make up for her audacity to interrupt their meditation.
The tutor who was sitting in front of the cadets waved her over.
Neia silently stood up and approached the man, who got on his feet as well and motioned her closer.
"Cadet Neia, what happened?" The older man leaned in, asking with a whisper.
"I saw a vision." She replied in a whisper.
The tutor led her to a smaller room, deeper inside the building, and asked her to retell the full vision while he wrote down every word she spoke. When it came to visions, details were incredibly important, particularly those remembered. Reliance on past divinations would have to fill in the gaps of what she couldn't remember.
"A strange vision, but it may just be symbolism you didn't understand. Clerics will make sense of it and contact you if there's any significance to what you saw." The man stated.
She was sent back to the meditation chamber, and the rest of her meditation time was the usual affair.
Save for feeling that she saw something significant, there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment, after all.
Editing by aidan_lo
Proofreading by aidan_lo, Dtract, Aterro, Swiss, Sad_Smiles, Aurodium, Sapphire_Drake, LightFlan, and Sluethen.
AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).
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