Overlord Premise Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! Right after I initially posted the first chapter for everyone, someone went and used their Reward to get a second! I’m glad this new story has fans already! Now, let’s see what happens after Momonga’s much needed nap!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 2 – A God Intervenes

‘I feel a lot better after sleeping.’ Momonga thought to himself, lightly stretching his body and spreading out his wings a bit in the process.

Truthfully, what he’d done originally couldn’t be called a ‘nap’ by any means. Momonga had slept for close to ten hours and it was late morning when he’d woken up yesterday. The former corporate slave couldn’t recall the last time he’d even gotten a full eight hours of sleep, much less slept in until his body naturally awakened. He’d spent the following day getting used to Nazarick’s systems again. Doing it for real was a bit different than in YGGDRASIL. He’d then gone to bed again last night and slept in the large bed in his chambers once more. Discarding his recollections for now, he looked over to the chair near the door where the attending maid would sit.

“Narberal…” Momonga said the woman’s name without even meaning to.

“My Lord.” Narberal Gamma stood from the chair and bowed to Momonga. “Is there anything that I can do for you?”

“Uh, no, not at the moment.” Momonga shook his head. How was he supposed to react to having a number of maids at his beck and call anyway? The attending maid waited up all night just in case he needed something too! If his estimation of the current time was anything to go by, it was still a good amount of time before dawn even.

“Shall I draw you a bath, my Lord?” Narberal offered politely, as a proper maid should.

“Hmm, yes, thank you, Narberal.” Momonga agreed and watched her head for the attached bathroom. ‘She looks good in her regular maid outfit.’ He thought, his eyes wandering over her form. The black dress was simple, long-sleeved, and covered everything from neck to ankle, with a thick white lace around knee height. It was covered with a white apron that matched the white headdress that the Doppelganger Battle Maid wore as well. ‘Ah, what am I doing?’ He lamented his roaming eyes. ‘This is your fault, Nishikienrai! Why’d you have to go and put “She loves Momonga” in her lore?!’ He internally yelled at his old friend.

“The bath is prepared, my Lord.” Narberal emerged from the spacious bathroom a few minutes later with a bow. “Would you like me to help you disrobe?”

“No!” Momonga nearly yelped, before regaining himself and doing his best to sound normal. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll take care of it.” He informed the maid. For a brief second, he thought he saw a flash of disappointment on Narberal’s face, but he dismissed it. Narberal was a kuudere through and through (Nishikienrai’s ‘type’ when it came to women) and her expression rarely changed from what he’d seen so far.

“As you wish, my Lord.” Narberal accepted his decision easily.

The bathroom was just as luxurious as the bedroom. Far more lavish and spacious than anything that Suzuki Satoru could’ve ever hoped to afford. But then again, all of his old friends had made their private chambers out to be to their ideal living spaces. Many of them would be comparable to penthouses exclusive to the upper one percent in their world. Now, after apparently coming to this world, Momonga could actually enjoy the private chamber that he’d taken quite a bit of time creating.

“Aahhhh…” Momonga sighed happily, the huge tub filled with scented soap and hot water soothed his body. “A full night’s sleep and a hot bath in the morning…truly a luxury.” He felt the water on his wings, the pure white feathers and deep black feathers wet, but their hydrophobic nature preventing them from soaking. It was like having another pair of arms, in a sense, they felt perfectly natural on his body and he even felt like he could fly, just like in YGGDRASIL.

After relaxing in the bath for a good while, Momonga left it and stood on the tile floor dripping wet. Looking down, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of masculine pride. His body was toned, not to the level of a bodybuilder, but it was healthy and fit. A little lower down and Momonga suppressed the smirk that wanted to form on his face. Male characters couldn’t do anything with their equipment in YGGDRASIL’s character customization. From what he understood, female players only got a basic ‘sliding scale’ for their bust, waist, and hips. But what he was seeing below the waist right now was…more…than what Suzuki Satoru had to work with.

‘Not sure I’ll get to use it…’ Momonga mentally chuckled, before the NPCs’ lore returned to the forefront of his mind again. ‘Stop it! Don’t you think about that!’ Tossing those thoughts aside, he found the spell that he wanted and activated it for a moment. “Flame Cloak.” He spoke and was wrapped in a blazing inferno that saw all the water on his body and wings evaporating instantly. The spell ended at his command and he ruffled his wings a little to check that they were dry. “Much faster than a towel.” Momonga grinned as he stepped into the changing room attached to the bathing area.

The sight of his gear neatly folded on the counter along with his rings, bracelets, his belt, and other previously equipped items neatly arranged made him blink. Realizing that Narberal must’ve taken care of cleaning his clothes while he’d been relaxing in the bath made him smile reflexively. As he dressed himself, he wondered if all of the Homunculus Maids were just as thorough in their duties. Once he was dressed and fully requipped, he stepped back out into his bedchamber.

“Thank you for cleaning my clothing, Narberal.” Momonga nodded to the woman thankfully.

“It is my duty, Lord Momonga.” Narberal bowed her head. Unseen was the faint smile on her lips at receiving Momonga’s thanks. She followed him through the door into his dressing room without a word.

The dressing room adjoining Momonga’s chambers was a chaotic mess of items, with hardly any place to put one’s feet. There were items like capes, that Momonga could equip, and suits of full plate armor, which he could not use at all. In addition to armor and other protectives, there were weapons ranging from magic staves to greatswords. It was truly a massive assortment of gear.

Players could produce a nearly infinite variety of original magic items in YGGDRASIL. Defeated monsters dropped data crystals, which formed a magic item when they were set into an item skin. Therefore, people would immediately buy item skins that they liked.

That was the reason for this room’s state.

Momonga picked out a greatsword from the weapons in the room. Freed from its sheath, the silvery blade sparkled in the light. The runes carved into the blade’s body sparkled as well, etching themselves into any onlookers’ eyes. Momonga swung the greatsword around. It was as light as a feather. Of course, this was not because the blade was light, but because Momonga was very strong.

Momonga was a Magic Caster and so his spellcasting stats were very high, but his physical stats were lower in comparison. Still, the strength he had gained from reaching Level 100 was not an inconsiderable figure. If he encountered weak monsters, he could easily pulverize them with one of his many staves.

Deciding to test something, Momonga slowly took a fighting stance, and then a loud sound of metallic clanging briefly filled the room. The sword he had been holding a moment ago was now on the ground. Narberal immediately picked up the greatsword and offered it back to Momonga. However, he did not pick it up, but looked at his empty hands instead.

In YGGDRASIL, Momonga had no levels in Warrior classes, and so he should not have been able to use a greatsword. However, if this new world was reality, it only made sense that he should have been able to wield it. ‘Am I still bound by the rules of YGGDRASIL?’ He pondered, seeing that as the most likely explanation for the sudden unequipping of the greatsword. Momonga shook his head and decided not to think about it. After all, he greatly doubted that he’d be able to find the answer no matter how much he pondered. “Tidy this up.” He looked at Narberal and the beautiful maid bowed in acknowledgement of his order.

Momonga turned to look at the mirror that almost covered the entire wall. What he saw was his YGGDRASIL character looking back at him. It was certainly an improvement on his real body. Though he did wonder what differences he might find over time between this Deity body and his human one. He’d already found a mental difference.

That difference was the immovable and unshakeable core within his mind. Whenever he felt an intense surge in his emotions, like he was about to lose control of himself, he could grab hold of that core and use it to balance himself out again. So far, the only physical thing that he’d noticed was that he didn’t feel thirst, hunger, or fatigue. His character in YGGDRASIL didn’t have those needs, being a Deity and all. He could still use food and drink items if he wanted to, but as a bit of an item hoarder, he never really did. His emotions and desires were still intact, evidenced by his enjoyment of touching Albedo’s breasts and his sleeping leaving him feeling refreshed in the mornings. Therefore, Momonga concluded that these changes were positive for him and he’d make the most out of them now.

“Create Greater Item!” Momonga cast one of his Item Creation spells. His body was sheathed in a suit of engraved plate armor. It was based off something called a Faraam Knight from a much older game that had been popular long before he’d ever been born. Adding in his own preferences to the item had turned the armor a jet-black color with some golden trim, the underlying cloth was silver colored, the fur over the shoulders was still white, and the sword at his waist was a two-handed sword with a black blade. All in all, it looked very expensive.

Momonga moved around in it to see how it felt. Although it was somewhat restrictive (compared to his preferred robe anyway) he was not immobilized. In addition, the armor fit his body very well, but that was how the spell functioned, so it wasn’t a surprise. This test confirmed that he could use magic-generated items, just like in YGGDRASIL.

As Momonga silently applauded the wonders of magic, he peeked at himself in the mirror from between the gaps of his closed helm. A dashing warrior looked back at him, nothing at all like a mage. Momonga nodded in satisfaction, and made a decision. “I will be stepping out for a while.”

“The guard shall accompany you, just say the word.” Narberal replied evenly, looking up at him through his helm.

“No need.” Momonga shook his head. “I will not be leaving the grounds.”

“Please, wait, my Lord.” Narberal’s expression didn’t change much, but her voice rose noticeably. “If you leave without an escort, we would be unable to protect you. It is our sworn duty to act as your shields and perish.”

“I won’t allow it.” Momonga stated firmly, his voice dropping into a deeper tone to show his seriousness on the matter. “There is something I wish to do; my decision is made.” Narberal bowed her head at his words. A swirl of white magic covered Momonga and the armor disappeared, leaving him in his normal silverly robe again. “I am pleased that you all are so loyal, but I do not want you to throw your lives away.” He gently rested his hand atop Narberal’s head, careful not to damage her headdress.

“My Lord…” Narberal looked up at him, a slight change in her expression momentarily stunning Momonga as he saw her face become a cute little smile as her eyes shone with joy. “Thank you…Lord Momonga.” She schooled her features back into her normal passive look, a slight hint of pink on her cheeks the only evidence that she’d deviated from her normal expression. “I shall have this room tidied up by the time that you return.”

“Thank you, Narberal.” Momonga smiled at her softly before vanishing via the teleportation of his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

“Lord Momonga…” Narberal sighed after he was gone, her heart aflutter in her chest. She began cleaning up the various items with a small smile gracing her beautiful features.

-Great Tomb of Nazarick ~ First Floor-

“Hah…being the leader is tiring.” Momonga sighed as he walked up the steps to get outside. He was met with three Demon Lords as soon as he stepped foot on the ground level. One was a bird-headed demon with a voluptuous female figure, the second was a horned man in a mask with a muscular body, while the third was a hulking winged beast, fire burning along said wings. ‘Envy, Avarice, and Wrath? What’re the Demon Lords under Demiurge doing on the First Floor?’

“My Lord?” Demiurge questioned, walking up behind his subordinate summons. The Arch Devil quickly kneeled before Momonga, the three Demon Lords dong so as well. “Why are you traveling without an armed escort?” He questioned the lack of guards.

“I merely came to observe the outside.” Momonga spoke up, flexing his wings a little. “It’s time for me to see this new land for myself.”

“I see,” Demiurge nodded in understanding. “As expected of a Supreme Being, your attention to detail is impeccable.”

‘Impeccable? I just wanted to go outside…’ Momonga thought to himself in confusion.

“However, I can’t let you leave here without an escort.” Demiurge bowed his head. “If something were to happen to you, I could never forgive myself.”

“Hmm, then I will allow you and you alone to accompany me.” Momonga acquiesced to the former NPC as he strode past the kneeling man.

“Thank you for indulging my selfishness, Lord. I will not fail you.” Demiurge promised before standing to follow after Momonga.

“Ah.” Momonga breathed in sharply as he stepped out of the Tomb and starred up at the pre-dawn sky. It was still filled with stars, more than Momonga even knew existed. ‘Amazing. I’ve never seen a sky as clear as this before. The artificial sky that Blue Planet made on Floor Six is impressive, but it can’t compare to this.’ Deciding that he had to experience it for himself, Momonga spread his wings and gave them a powerful beat that shot him into the air.

Demiurge started for a second at the sudden take-off. With a grimace he transformed his body, his head becoming frog-like with large red eyes, but his mouth was filled with short fangs, his hands became green-skinned with sharp black claws, and the biggest change were the two wings that sprouted from his back, reminiscent of dragon wings. A few flaps of the newly transformed wings and he was airborne, following after his Master.

The two flew higher and higher, passing by clouds and feeling the chill in the thin air. Once Momonga stopped, he floated in the air, only the occasional flap of his wings needed to sustain his altitude. Demiurge stopped behind him at a respectful distance, letting his Lord do as he wished.

‘I can see everything with just the moonlight.’ Momonga realized as he looked down on the world. ‘I wish Blue Planet was here to see this world’s incredible beauty.’ His old friend would’ve loved this sight more than anyone. There was no environment left in their world any more…it was a dead planet destroyed by the endless pollution. “The stars in the sky glitter like jewels in a treasure box.” He remarked to himself, staring at the glorious view.

“I believe this world exists so that you may adorn yourself with its infinite riches, and that we Guardians exist to help you do so.” Demiurge spoke up from behind, his voice notably changed by his transformation.

“Perhaps you are right about that?” Momonga looked over his shoulder at Demiurge, a small grin on his lips. “Maybe I was brought to this land to obtain those jewels for myself, along with every treasure that shines beneath them.” He shook his head slightly. “But to hoard such things would be the height of selfishness. Instead, I could use them to adorn the Great Tomb, its residents, and my friends of Ainz Ooal Gown.”

Demiurge placed his right hand over his heart and gave the best bow he could while maintain his altitude. His eyes closed as he began to speak. “If you wish it, we will use all the power of Nazarick to obtain them for you, my Lord.”

“Hahaha…” Momonga chuckled a bit. “We don’t even know what exists in this world. It’s a little early for a quest.” He looked up at the star-filled sky again. “Then again, it makes me think. We’ll have to make a place for ourselves in this world eventually. It could even be enjoyable to build up our own land.”

“Ah…” Demiurge lightly gasped, believing that he’d been trusted to hear his Lord’s true thoughts and plans.

‘Not sure that’s even possible though.’ Momonga thought to himself, not noticing Demiurge’s reaction to his previous statement. ‘I wonder though…am I really the only player to come here from YGGDRASIL? My Message spell didn’t reach anyone, but that could be because they were too far away, or perhaps the spell itself has changed? If that’s the case, maybe I should spread the name of Ainz Ooal Gown throughout this world and hope that others take notice of it if they’re here?’ A rumbling sound caught Momonga’s attention and he looked over to Nazarick, and saw a curious sight.

A wave over a hundred meters across was moving along the land as though it were the sea. Little ripples rose from the surface of the plains, slowly heading in the same direction as they fused together, finally becoming small hillocks as they approached Nazarick. The gigantic pile of dirt shattered against the sturdy walls of the Tomb, like waves crashing against the shore.

“That’s Earth Surge…. He used a Skill to enlarge the effective area, as well as his other Job Class skill…” Momonga muttered in respect for Mare’s use of his various Job Class skills in conjunction with his Magic. “That’s Mare for you. It seems camouflaging the walls is an easy task for him.”

“Indeed. Mare has also recruited several golems and undead, who are tireless, to help. However, their progress is slow and hardly ideal. In addition, some gaps will be left after moving the earth, which will need to be filled with plants. That will only increase his workload further.” Demiurge informed, while also going over the task currently being carried out below them.

“Concealing the walls of Nazarick was a time-consuming task to begin with. The only question is whether he will be discovered as he works. How is our perimeter security?” Momonga questioned Demiurge curiously, knowing that the Guardians had barely stopped working since he’d given them their initial orders.

He’d have to look into managing their working hours and rest hours better. Momonga never wanted to see anyone working themselves to near death like HeroHero had been. An unpleasant memory of his own mother’s fate briefly popped into his mind before he quickly banished it.

“Our early-warning net has already been constructed. We will know of the intrusion of any intelligent beings within five kilometers, and we will be able to observe them without their knowledge.” Demiurge nodded to Momonga after giving the run down on their current situation.

“Well done. However. this net is manned by the underlings, right?” Momonga inquired, wondering about the effectiveness of the security net. When Demiurge replied in the positive, Momonga suggested it might be good to erect another security net, just in case. “I have a plan for the security net. I want to put it into motion.”

“Understood. I will discuss it with Albedo and then combine her suggestions with your orders. Also, Lord Momonga, may I ask about what you plan to do next?” Demiurge wanted to do his absolute best for his Master. Any plans or ideas that the Supreme One wanted implemented would be done without fail.

“Since Mare is carrying out his task splendidly, I intend to check in on him. I also plan to give him a suitable reward in person.” Momonga decided to reward the Dark Elf boy for his dedication. “What do you think would be good?”

A smile appeared on Demiurge’s face. It was a gentle look that seemed completely out of place on a devil’s face. “I believe he’d be happy just to have you praise him, my Lord.”

“Hmm…” Momonga hummed thoughtfully before gliding down towards where he spotted Mare, Demiurge following behind him.

“Lord Momonga!” Mare rushed to greet the Supreme Being, jogging over to Momonga in haste. “Why are you here?” He suddenly came to a dead stop as his eyes widened in panic. “Oh no, did I make a mistake already?!”

“Not at all, Mare.” Momonga shook his head, a gentle smile on his face for the Elf boy. “The work that you are doing is of the utmost importance. It will protect Nazarick from intruders, and more.”

“Right. Thank you, Lord Momonga.” Mare’s bashful acceptance was rather adorable.

“I wanted you to know just how satisfied I am. Your performance thus far has been exemplary.” Momonga praised and Mare’s eye widened in surprise. “I would like you to have this.” A small green flame appeared in Momonga’s palm for a brief instant and revealed a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

“Th-That’s a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown!” Mare nearly stuttered out in shock. “Only Supreme Beings are allowed to have those!” He shook his head side to side. “I can’t possibly accept one!”

“There is no need to panic, Mare.” Momonga assured the boy. “Moving between Nazarick’s floors can be difficult. This will allow you to do so unimpeded and easily allow you to complete your work.” Seeing that he was getting through to Mare, he offered the ring to him again. “Now, take this ring and serve Nazarick well.”

“Ah…” Mare slowly picked up the ring from Momonga’s palm, holding it reverently as if it was a holy relic. He slipped it on his left ring finger and the large ring shrunk to fit him perfectly. “Oh.” The smile on Mare’s face made Momonga happy.

‘I wonder why he chose that finger though?’ Momonga had figured the Druid Elf would put it on one of his middle or index fingers instead.

“Thank you so very much, Lord Momonga!” Mare beamed up at Momonga happily. “I’ll be sure to work extra, extra hard for you and Nazarick in order to be worthy of this gift!”

“I’m depending on you, Mare.” Momonga smiled at the boy, gently reaching out to softly pat his head for a moment. Mare nearly shed tears at how happy he was right then.

“Lord Momonga…” Albedo spoke up, a few of her black feathers floating through the air as she landed next to the small group.

“Albedo.” Momonga greeted the Overseer with a small smile. “Coming to check on the progress of Nazarick’s camouflage?”

“It is as you say, my Lord.” Albedo bowed slightly to Momonga.

“As expected of the Overseer of the Guardians.” Momonga gave her praise and Albedo noticeably brightened up.

“Thank you for coming to look over my work, Albedo.” Mare smiled at the succubus.

“Aaaauuuhhh!” Albedo’s yellow eyes widened as the short utterance escaped her. Her gaze was firmly locked onto the ring on Mare’s left hand.

“Albedo?” Momonga blinked at the strange sound.

“Yes, my Lord, is something wrong?” Albedo turned to him with a smile.

“Uh…no…nothing.” Momonga deflected, not really wanting to investigate. “Mare, I’m sorry to have interrupted your work, you may return to your task.”

“Yes, of course, Lord Momonga, please excuse me.” Mare bowed before quickly walking away, a noticeable spring in his step.

“Albedo, I should give one to you as well.” Momonga decided.

“Give me one? Of what, my Lord?” Albedo questioned, her voice as smooth and beautiful as always.

“This will make your work as administrator of the Guardians a little easier. Use it wisely.” Momonga made another Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown appear in the same green flame as before. He gently took Albedo’s hand and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, the same place that Mare had put his own.

“Thank you very much…” Albedo was almost shaking, her cheeks turning a rosy red and her breathing getting slightly heavy.

‘Wait…did I just…SHIT!’ Momonga realized what he’d just done and how it could be construed. “D-Demiurge…I’ll make sure to have one for you soon.” He turned to speak to the Arch Devil (who had transformed back into his human form while Momonga had been occupied) hoping that by giving another Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown out, that it might mitigate his previous actions.

“I understand, my Lord.” Demiurge bowed, a smile crossing his face at eventually receiving such a gift. “I only hope that I can prove myself worthy of such a treasure.”

“I have done what I set out to do.” Momonga stated, seeing Albedo nearly panting now. “I will return below so that I do not cause any further distractions.” He teleported away to make his escape.

“OH YES!!!” Albedo exclaimed at the top of her lungs the instant after Momonga had vanished.

-Border between the Kingdom and the Empire-

A company of fifty men galloped across the grassy plains on their horses.

Every man in the company was athletically built. One of them was particularly eye-catching. There was no better word to describe him than “fit.” His muscles were prominent even though he was wearing a breastplate. He was around thirty years old, and his face was tanned from long days of sun and covered in wrinkles. His dark hair was neat and trimmed, and his dark eyes had a sharp look about them.

“Chief Warrior, we’re almost at the first village on our patrol route.” The man riding by his side shouted to be heard over the galloping horses.

“Ah, yes, Vice-Captain.” Gazef Stronoff, the renowned Chief Warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom, did not see any sign of activity. He calmed his racing heart and maintained his mount’s speed. Although he had kept the horse’s pace at one which should not be overly fatiguing, they had hustled all the way here from the Royal Capital, and fatigue was beginning to accumulate within Gazef’s body. It must have been at least as bad for his horse, which was why he tried not to overburden it.

“I hope they’re all right.” The Vice-Captain said. There was a current of unease running beneath those words, and Gazef felt the same way.

The King had ordered Gazef and his men: “Imperial knights have been spotted at the border. If these reports are true, eliminate them immediately.”

The city of E-Rantel was closer, and under normal circumstances, it would be faster to send troops from there. However, the Imperial knights were powerful and well-equipped, and there was an insurmountable gap between them and average conscripts. The only people in the Kingdom which could match up to the Imperial knights were Gazef and his troops. However, handing the entire task to Gazef and his men alone was the height of foolishness.

Before Gazef reached their objective, other troops could have been mobilized, in order to protect the villages. Though they could not win, they could at least hold them off. There were many other methods they could have employed. However, they had not used any of them…no, they could not.

Gazef, who knew the reason why, was filled with agitation. He tightly gripped the reins and tried not to tug on them. Even so, it was difficult to suppress the thoughts burning in his heart.

“Chief Warrior, just having us do the searching is pointless. Couldn’t we bring everyone from the warrior band and have them help us? We could also hire Adventurers from E-Rantel to help us out. Why are you doing this?” The Vice-Captain questioned his leader.

“Enough, Vice-Captain. Things might go poorly if someone heard that Imperial knights were running loose in the Kingdom’s territory.” Gazef replied with a barely held back sigh.

“But Chief Warrior, there’s nobody here. You don’t have to stand on ceremony, so I hope you can tell me the truth,” The Vice-Captain spoke with a smile. Then, he continued. “Was it those nobles?”

Gazef did not reply to those disdainful words, because that was exactly the case.

“Those damned nobles, treating human lives like pieces in their power struggles! And on top of that, since this is the King’s domain, they can use any problems here to take shots at the King.” The other man cursed at the nobility’s lack of concern for the people.

“Not all nobles think that way.” Gazef replied, knowing of a few that put the Kingdom’s wellbeing above their own benefit.

“And maybe you’re right, Chief Warrior, and there are some nobles who think of the people. For example, the Golden Princess. But apart from her, there’s practically no one else… if only the Kingdom was ruled by a dictator, couldn’t we ignore those damn nobles and work for the good of the people?” The Vice-Captain lamented their current situation.

“If you interfere too strongly, it might lead to a civil war that would tear the Kingdom apart. Given that we’re facing the threat of the Empire’s expanding ambitions, a war like that would be a disaster for the common folk.” Gazef replied, knowing just how precarious the balance between the Kingdom and the Empire truly was.

“I know that, but…” The man gripped the reins of his horse tightly.

“Just leave this matter aside for…” Gazef’s voice cut off halfway, as his eyes looked intently forward.

Thick, black smoke rose up from behind the small hill ahead of them, and it was not just one or two plumes.

Everyone present knew what that meant.

Gazef could not help but click his tongue, and he squeezed his legs around his horse’s flanks.

The scene which the rapidly galloping Gazef and company saw did not deviate from their expectations. Before them spread an expanse of blackened ground, the scorched remains of a village. The corpses of several of the burned houses remained standing, like tombstones.

Gazef gave an order with a voice of steel, “Everyone, we’re moving. Quickly now!”

The village had been put to the torch, and only the burned skeletons of the destroyed homes gave any clue as to what it had been like before. The smell of blood blended with the stench of burning as one walked between them.

Gazef’s face was calm, with no hint of any emotions on it. However, no expression could convey his feelings more clearly than this. The same applied to the Vice-Captain who walked by Gazef’s side.

Over a hundred villagers had lived here. Six had survived. Everyone else had been mercilessly slain, whether they were women, children, or infants.

“Vice-Captain, have some of our people return the survivors to E-Rantel.” Gazef ordered.

“But wait, this is…” The Vice-Captain couldn’t even finish his sentence.

“You’re right, it’s a big risk. Even so, we can’t just abandon them like this.” Gazef interrupted his Vice-Captain.

E-Rantel was directly administered by the King, and protecting its surrounding villages was the King’s duty. Abandoning the survivors here would cause a lot of problems for him. One could imagine how the Noble Faction, which opposed the King, would seize on that opportunity to make trouble for him.

“Please reconsider. A lot of the survivors witnessed Imperial knights. We can consider that as having fulfilled the first part of the King’s orders. I feel we should fall back for now and make sufficient preparations in E-Rantel before carrying out the next part.” His Vice-Captain urged.

“No.” Gazef shook his head and spoke firmly.

“Chief Warrior! You should know by now that this is a trap. The timing of the attack came too close to our arrival at E-Rantel to be anything like a coincidence. Their ruthless actions were only committed after we arrived, and the reason why they did not kill everyone was in order to use them as bait for a trap.” The Vice-Captain argued against splitting up their forces while chasing down the foreign knights.

The survivors had not evaded the knights. Rather, the enemy had not finished them off. It was clearly a plot to divide Gazef’s strength by having him split off his men to protect the survivors.

“Sir, do you intend to keep at it, knowing well that there’s a trap?” The man questioned Gazef.

“Indeed.” Was Gazef’s simple answer.

“But…Sir, are you serious about that!? Indeed, you are strong, and you could easily defeat a hundred knights. However, the Empire has that old man. Even you would be in great danger against him. There’s also a chance that you might lose against the Empire’s renowned Four Knights, under-equipped as you are. Therefore, I beg you to fall back. To the King, losing a few villages is nothing compared to losing you!” Gazef could only listen quietly as his Vice-Captain got more and more nervous. “If we won’t fall back… then we should leave the survivors behind and launch a pursuit with all of us.”

“That would be the wisest option.... But at the same time, it would mean that we would be leaving them to their deaths. Do you think they can survive by themselves?” Gazef spoke and the Vice-Captain could not reply, because he knew the survivors’ chances by themselves were practically nonexistent. Without someone to protect and escort them to a safe area, they would be dead in days.

Even so, the Vice-Captain spoke…no, he had to speak. “...Chief Warrior. Yours is the most valuable life here. The villagers’ lives are nothing in comparison.”

Gazef was well aware of the painful decision the Vice-Captain had made, and he was angry at himself for having forced him to say such a thing. Even so, he could not comply with his Vice-Captain’s request. “I was born a commoner, and so were you.” Gazef spoke, looking at the burned village.

“Indeed, and I enlisted in admiration of you, Chief Warrior.” The man nodded.

“I recall you were born in a village as well?” Gazef looked over at the man briefly.

“Yes, which is why…” The Vice-Captain knew how bad it could get.

“Life in a village is difficult, and death is a constant companion. It’s not uncommon for a village to be attacked by a monster and many lives lost as a result, am I wrong?” Gazef continued, his eyes clearly focused on something in the past.

“No, you are not...” His second-in-command shook his head.

“When a monster shows up, the rank and file soldiers are hard pressed to deal with it. If a village does not have the money to hire Adventurers to deal with monsters, all they can do is hunker down and wait for the monster to leave.” Gazef knew exactly how things went in the Kingdom.

“That’s right.” The Vice-Captain exhaled heavily. He had similar memories.

“Then, can you say you did not look forward to something like this? Can you say you did not hope for the nobles or someone strong to come and save you?” Gazef looked the other man in the eye.

“...It would be a lie to say that I didn’t. But the fact is that nobody ever came forward to help. At least, the lord of the land where my village was didn’t pay for Adventurers to help us.” The other man admitted, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Since that is the case…why don’t we prove that we’re not like him? Come, let us save these people.” Gazef smiled at the man. The Vice-Captain thought of his own experiences, and could not say anything in response. “Vice-Captain, let’s show the villagers what heroes who willingly plunge into danger to save others look like. Let’s show them how the strong will save the weak.” Gazef’s eyes met the Vice-Captain’s, and countless emotions passed in between them.

“Then allow me to lead the men. There are many who can replace me, but none who can take the place of you, Chief Warrior.” The man’s voice was somewhat tired, but grateful.

“Don’t be foolish. My chances of survival are higher. Remember, we’re not going to die, but to save the people of the Kingdom.” Gazef spoke strongly, a confident grin on his face. The Vice-Captain opened his mouth several times, as though to speak, but in the end, he chose to remain silent. “Now, pick the soldiers who will follow you in escorting the villagers to E-Rantel.” He gave the Vice-Captain an order.

-Elsewhere on the Border-

The crimson light of the setting sun shone on a group of men upon the plains.

There were forty five of them.

They must have had excellent camouflage techniques given the way they had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Magic was the only possible answer for such a phenomenon. It was obvious at a glance that they were not simple mercenaries, travelers, or even Adventurers.

They were all dressed the same way, in armor made of special metals, which emphasized defensive power and mobility. After enchantment, they were more protective than full plate armor.

The bags on their backs were small, hardly the kind one would expect a traveler to carry. Those bags were enchanted as well. Their belts were special, designed to carry potions, and the capes on their backs also radiated an aura of magic.

Gathering this many sets of magic items would be a daunting task, be it in terms of time, money, or effort required. The fact that this group were all outfitted in this sort of equipment was a clear sign that they had the backing of a nation, or the equivalent. However, there were no markings or badges on them which might reveal their allegiance. In other words, they were hiding the identity of their homeland, a true black ops unit.

They all looked at the ruins of the village with emotionless eyes. Although the stench of blood and fire hung heavy in the air, their merciless gazes seemed to say that this was only to be expected.

“They fled.” The words were spoken with a hint of disappointment.

“Well, that’s only to be expected. We will continue attacking villages to draw him out. The beast must be lured into the trap.” The man who spoke cast a razor-sharp look in the direction where Gazef’s company was riding.

“Show me the next village that we will be using as bait.” The blonde man with the scarred face demanded.

-Carne Village-

It was located on the border of the Re-Estize Kingdom at the Baharuth Empire, near the southern tip of the Azerlisia Mountains, just outside a patch of dense forest called the Great Forest of Tob.

For a frontier village of the Re-Estize Kingdom, its population was unexceptional; only a hundred and twenty souls, distributed among twenty five families.

The village made its living from the resources of the forest and agriculture. Apart from doctors and herbalists who came to collect herbs, the only visitors to the village were the yearly tax collectors. Time seemed to stand still for the residents of this small village.

Village life was very busy even in the early hours of the morning. Villages did not possess the magical illumination of the Continual Light spell, which could be found in cities, so the villagers would rise with the sun and work hard all day until the sun went down.

The first thing Enri Emmot did after getting up extra early in the morning was to carry water from the nearby well. Hauling water was a woman’s job, and once she finished filling the big water tank in the house, that chore was complete. By this time, her mother would have prepared breakfast for their family of four.

In Carne Village, as in most frontier villages, breakfast was often barley or wheat porridge, as well as cooked vegetables. Sometimes, they would have dried fruit as well. But that was still a rare occurrence.

After breakfast, she would tend the fields with her parents. Her ten year old sister, Nemu, would go into the forest to gather firewood or help with the field work. When the bell in the middle of the village rang to signal noon, everyone would break for lunch.

Lunch would be black bread baked several days before, as well as soup with some shredded meat jerky sprinkled in. But that was only when they had the meat to spare, of course. That wasn’t always the case in a village though. Meat could sometimes not be had for weeks if the hunting and trapping was bad.

Field work would resume after lunch, and when the sun set, they would return home for dinner.

For dinner, they would have the same black bread that they had for lunch, as well as bean soup. If the village’s hunters managed to bag any prey, they might be able to get some fresh meat to go with their dinner. After dinner, the family would gather around the light of the hearth-fire to take care of household chores, such as mending worn or damaged clothes. The family would go to sleep around eight each night, just to get up early in the morning to do it all again.

Enri was born sixteen years ago and had always been a part of the village. She had lived these days all her life. Sometimes she wondered: ‘How much longer will these unchanging days continue?’

Today was no different from any other. After waking up, Enri went to the well to carry water. After filling her buckets at the well, she would need three trips to fill the house’s water tank.

“Yosh~” Enri rolled up her sleeves, exposing her untanned skin, which was pale and stood out. Long years of farm life ensured that although her arms looked slender and frail, they were actually very strong, with just a hint of muscle on them. The filled buckets were very heavy, but Enri hoisted them up like she always did. ‘If the buckets were bigger, I could make fewer trips, wouldn’t that make things easier? Then again, if the buckets were bigger, I probably wouldn’t be able to lift them…’ As Enri thought about that issue on her way back home, she heard a sound and turned to look at it. There was tension in the air over there, and seeds of fear began sprouting in her heart. Her ears seemed to pick up something like wood being broken, and after that. “A scream?”

It sounded like a strangled bird, but there was no way it could be a bird’s call.

A chill ran down Enri’s spine. Unbelievable. There must be some kind of mistake. It couldn’t be a human’s voice. She tried to erase her unease with these thoughts, and then they vanished.

They vanished because she had to run towards the source of the scream, because it was coming from the direction of her home.

Enri cast aside the water buckets. She could not run while carrying that heavy burden. Although she nearly tripped over her long skirt, she managed to keep her balance by some stroke of luck.

The terrifying sound rang through the air once more, and Enri’s heart lurched in her chest.

There was no mistake about it…that was a human scream.

She ran, and ran, and ran.

Enri could not recall going faster than this in her life. She was running so fast that her legs were about to tangle each other up.

The neighs of horses. The screams of people, and shouts.

These sounds were becoming clearer and clearer.

In the distance, Enri could see an unfamiliar man in armor swinging his sword at a villager.

The villager collapsed to the ground with a howl of pain, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and a swift thrust from the sword dealt him a fatal blow.

“Mr. Morga…” There were no strangers in a small village like this. Everyone was as close as kin. As such, Enri knew exactly who had been killed before her eyes.

Mr. Morga was a loud but pleasant man. He had done nothing wrong, and did not deserve to die like this. Enri wanted to stop, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and ran on.

The distance that felt fairly close while carrying water now felt like an endless stretch. As the sounds of shouts and cursing filtered into her ears, she finally saw her home before her.

“Dad! Mom! Nemu!” Enri opened the door as she shouted for her family. She found three familiar faces with unfamiliar looks of fear. They were motionless. However, when Enri opened the door and entered, their faces softened, the fear replaced by relief.

“Enri! Are you alright?” Her father hugged her in his strong arms, which were brawny and tough from field work.

“Ahhh, Enri…” Her mother’s gentle arms embraced her.

“Good, Enri’s back, then we’d better flee too!” The Emmot family was in grave danger. They had stayed at home because they were worried about leaving Enri behind, and so they had missed the best chance to escape. The threat to their lives would be catching up with them any moment now.

As Enri thought about that fear, it became a reality.

Just as the family was about to run, a human figure appeared in the house’s doorway. The man silhouetted by sunlight, glittered. He was a fully-armored knight whose breastplate bore the insignia of the Baharuth Empire. He held a longsword in his hand.

The Baharuth Empire was a neighbor of the Re-Estize Kingdom, and the two of them had waged frequent wars against each other. Until recently, the flames of war were mostly limited to the region around the Fortress City of E-Rantel, and had not spread to their little village.

However, the quiet life they had enjoyed would end here.

Enri could feel the man’s cold eyes on her from between the vision slits of his helmet, as though he were counting up how many people were in Enri’s family. It frightened her. Like he was singling her out after counting them. The knight clenched the gauntlet holding his sword, and a creaking sound came from where metal rubbed against metal.

And then, just as he was about to enter the house…

“Uooooh!”

“Gah!”

Her father lunged at the man, tackling him out of the doorway and out of the house with his momentum.

“Hurry up and run!” Enri’s father shouted, wrestling with the knight.

“Damn you!” The knight yelled out struggling to get the man off of him.

Blood streamed from a small cut on her father’s face. He must have gotten hurt while bull-rushing the knight. Enri’s father was rolling around as he grappled with the knight on the ground. The knight grabbed the hand of Enri’s father which was holding a knife, while he in turn kept the knight from drawing his short sword. Having already knocked the longsword out of the other man’s hand.

The sight of blood on the body of one of her family members made Enri’s mind go white. She wavered over whether to help her father or run away.

“Enri! Nemu!” Her mother’s shouts returned Enri to her senses, and as she looked at her mother, she saw the older woman shaking her head, with a heart-breaking expression on her face.

Enri grabbed her little sister’s hand and ran after her mother with big strides. Guilt and hesitation clawed at her heart, but in the end, she knew they had to flee into the Great Forest of Tob.

The neighing of horses, angry shouts, the clash of steel, and the stench of burning flesh. All of this assaulted Enri’s ears and nose from the direction of the village. Where had it come from? Enri ran with all her might as she tried to make sense of matters. When fleeing to an open space, she had to make her body as small as possible, or hide in the corners of houses. The violent beating of her heart chipped away at the fear that threatened to freeze her body solid. In addition, the small hand she held in hers spurred her on.

Her sister.

Her mother, who was running ahead of her, suddenly froze, and immediately doubled back, her hands frantically gesturing at them to run somewhere else.

As Enri realized why her mother would do that, she bit her lip, and forced back her tears. She clenched her little sister’s hand and ran, trying desperately to get away from there, because she did not want to see what would happen next.

-Nazarick ~ Momonga’s Office-

Momonga sat on a chair and looked at the mirror before him. The roughly one meter wide mirror did not reflect Momonga’s face, but a patch of grass. The mirror was like a television set, showing images of a distant plain.

The grass of the plains swayed in the wind, proving it was not a still image. As time passed, the sun slowly rose, its light banishing the darkness that covered the plains. This pastoral scene, almost poetic in its beauty, was a stark difference from the former location of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the desolate world of Helheim.

Momonga reached out to the mirror and swiped his hand right. The mirror’s image changed in response.

This was a Mirror of Remote Viewing.

A magic item used to display an image of a specific region. It was a very useful item for player-killers, or player-killer-killers. However, there were low level spells which occluded information-gathering spells that could hide people from the mirror’s eyes. In addition, it was easy for users to be counterattacked by offensive barriers, so it was an average item at best in YGGDRASIL.

However, for the present circumstances, an item which could show the outside world was a very useful item indeed. Momonga enjoyed the movie-like quality of the grass within the mirror as the image changed.

“It would seem that I can move the image with a wave of the hand. That way, I won’t have to keep looking at the same spot.” Momonga mused to himself with a quiet mumble.

The scenery and the angles with which it was viewed changed within the floating mirror. Although he had made several mistakes so far, Momonga kept changing his gestures to alter the landscape within the mirror, hoping that he would find someone. However, up till now, he had not found any intelligent beings at all, like humans. He repeated the same simple gestures over and over again, but all the images he got were the same: plains. Momonga was starting to get bored, so he looked at the other person in the room.

“What’s wrong, Lord Momonga? I stand ready to heed your every command.” Sebas spoke as soon as he noticed his Master’s eyes on him.

“No, there’s nothing, Sebas.” Momonga shook his head to deny that he wanted anything.

Sebas was the other person in the room, by his side as a proper butler should be. He might have been smiling, but his words seemed to hold some kind of subtext. Although Sebas was absolutely loyal to him, he had objected to Momonga’s excursion to the surface without bringing his guard along.

Indeed, just after Momonga returned from the surface, Sebas had accosted and lectured him. It came from a place of concern, for Momonga’s safety, but also for the feelings of the ones that guarded the Supreme Being.

“What will I do with him…?” Momonga sighed out what was in his heart. Being with Sebas made Momonga think of his guildmate Touch Me. After all, Touch Me was the one who had designed Sebas. ‘Still, he didn’t have to make him so similar to himself. Even the way Sebas gets angry reminds me of him.’ After grumbling in his heart, Momonga looked back to the mirror.

Momonga’s plan was to teach Demiurge the hard-learned lessons of how to control the magic mirror. This was what Momonga had meant when he spoke to Demiurge about another security net. Far-range sight through the mirrors would be a good early-warning system for the Tomb, after all. Although it would have been simpler to leave this task to his subordinates, Momonga wanted to handle it personally. The truth was that he wanted to use his can-do working attitude to inspire and gain the respect of his subordinates. Therefore, he could not give up halfway.

‘Still, why can’t I switch to a higher vantage point? If only there were a manual…’ With these thoughts in mind, Momonga went about the painstaking work of figuring out the mirror’s controls by boring, repetitive trial and error.

He did not know how long it had been now. It might have only been a while, but so far, his work had not borne fruit, and he could not help but feel like this was all a waste of time. Momonga casually waved his hand with a vacant expression, and his field of vision suddenly expanded.

“Oh!” Surprise, delight, pride, Momonga’s exclamation was filled with all of these. At his wit’s end, he made a random gesture and the screen suddenly did as he wanted. This was a cry of joy one would expect out of a programmer who had pulled eight hours of overtime and finally gotten his program to work.

Cheering and clapping answered him. The source was Sebas, of course. “Congratulations, Lord Momonga. I stand in awe of your prowess.”

‘This was merely the fruit of extensive trial and error, so you don’t need to go that far.’ Momonga thought, but when he saw that Sebas looked quite happy, he decided to humbly accept the butler’s praise. “Thank you, Sebas. Although I apologize for making you accompany me for so long.”

“What are you saying? Staying by your side and obeying your orders is the reason for a butler’s existence, my Lord. There is no need to thank or apologize to me. Although, it is true that this process took quite some time. Lord Momonga, would you like to take a break?”

“No, there is no need for that. A Deity like myself is not affected by negative statuses like fatigue. If you’re tired, you may go and rest.” Momonga offered to Sebas with a small smile.

“Thank you for your kindness, but it would be unthinkable for a butler to rest while his master worked. With the aid of magic items, I am not affected by fatigue either. Please allow me to stay by your side until the end, me Lord.” Sebas denied the offer of a break to fulfill his duties to the Supreme Being.

Momonga had quickly realized one thing from his conversations with the NPCs; namely, that they casually used game terms in their speech. Terms like: Skills, Job Classes, Items, Levels, Negative Statuses, and so on. If he could use game terms with them in an unironic way, it might be easier to give them orders.

After agreeing to Sebas’s request, he continued studying the ways to control the mirror. Finally, he discovered a method to adjust the height of his viewpoint. Momonga smiled in satisfaction, and began looking for a populated area. After a bit longer, an image of something like a village appeared on the mirror.

It was located roughly ten kilometers south of Nazarick. There was a forest nearby, and wheat fields surrounded the settlement. It appeared to be a rustic farming village. By the looks of things, the village itself was not very developed.

As Momonga zoomed in on the village, he felt that something was amiss. “Are they holding a festival?” People were running in and out of their houses this early in the morning. They looked panicked.

“No, that is not a festival.” That steely voice came from Sebas, who was watching the display with a keen look in his eye as he stood beside Momonga. There was an undercurrent of disgust in Sebas’s stern words. As Momonga enlarged the image, he too furrowed his nonexistent brows.

Fully armored knights were swinging their longswords at the villagers, who were dressed in rough clothes. This clearly wasn’t a battle.

It was a massacre.

A villager fell with every swing of a knight’s sword. The villagers could not resist them, and could only run away. The knights pursued and killed the fleeing villagers. There were horses eating the grain in the field. Momonga highly suspected that those horses must have belonged to the knights.

‘What the hell?’ Momonga wondered as he watched the continued slaughtered. ‘Stuff like this still happens in this world, I guess? Is this place still in the Medieval Era?’ His internal question was unanswered as he saw a knight brutally hack down a man that was clearly buying time for a woman, and the young boy that she was carrying, to get away. ‘I was never good with blood and gore…’ Momonga almost felt nauseous. He grabbed hold of the immovable core within himself and his mood evened out, keeping his stomach from trying to rebel.

“What will you do, Lord Momonga?” Sebas asked, his steely gaze still narrowed on the sights within the mirror.

‘Do I have to do anything?’ Momonga thought to himself, still holding on to the unshakeable core of his being. ‘How do I feel about this?’ The question was completely legitimate in his mind. While he was buoyed by the core within, things were easier to deal with. He could think clearly and not make instinctive kneejerk reactions like the mind often did when presented with unfamiliar situations.

To be fair, there were reasons not to get involved at all.

He was not an agent of justice.

He was Level 100, but for all that he knew, this world’s commoners might be Level 100 as well. Or perhaps Level 100 in YGGDRASIL only equated to something like Level 10 here? Therefore, he could not tread blindly into this unknown world. Although it looked like the knights were conducting a one-sided slaughter of the villagers, there might be other reasons at work here which he did not know about. Reasons like: Illness, Judgement, or Setting an example. Any of them and many others like them kept appearing in his mind. And if he stepped in and defeated the knights, he might earn the ire of the country they belonged to.

Momonga chanced a side glance at Sebas, seeing the disdain barely leaking out of the butler’s gaze brought up the image of his creator, Touch Me. It was almost like seeing his old friend right behind Sebas. In that same moment, a memory rushed to the forefront of Momonga’s mind.

His first days playing YGGDRASIL were miserable. Having chosen to play as a Skeleton Mage, he’d found it almost impossible to actually play the game. Every time he would start a quest to try and level up his Skills, Job Level, or Racial Level, he’d end up PKed by overzealous Humanoid players. After a couple weeks of this, Satoru had been about to quit YGGDRASIL entirely. But right as he’d been about to hit his breaking point, he’d been saved by Touch Me. When he’d asked why, the response was so simple it remained with Momonga to this day.

“Saving someone in trouble is the right thing to do.”

‘I will repay that debt of kindness, Touch.’ Momonga decided to intervene, in the memory of his first friend.

During his internal musings, he had waved his hand slightly, showing a scene from another part of the village.

It seemed like two knights were trying to pull a violently struggling villager off another knight. The man was pulled away, his arms were held, and he was rendered motionless where he stood. Before Momonga’s eyes, the man was stabbed with a sword. The blade entered his body and exited from the other side of him. It should have been a fatal blow, but the longsword did not stop. One, two, three strikes. The knight seemed to be taking out his anger on the villager as he hacked at the man’s body. In the end, the knight kicked away the villager, who collapsed to the ground while spurting his blood into the air.

The villager looked straight at Momonga. No, this might have just been a coincidence.

It was definitely a coincidence.

There was no way for anyone to detect the mirror’s surveillance without anti-divination spells.

Frothy blood leaked from the villager’s mouth as he tried to speak. His eyes were unfocused, and Momonga could not tell what the man was attempting to look at. Even so, with what may have been his dying breaths, he gasped out his last words.

“Please save my daughters…” A prayer for the safety of his children.

Momonga stood up instantly as the memory of watching his own mother collapse from overworking herself slammed into his mind again.

“Lord Momonga?” Sebas looked towards his Master.

“Sebas, put Nazarick on maximum alert. I will go first, and you will tell Albedo, who is standing by next door, to follow me after fully equipping herself. However, I forbid her to bring Ginnungagap. After that, prepare support units. Something might happen which results in my inability to retreat. Therefore, the units sent to the village should be adept at stealth or have the ability to go invisible.” Momonga relayed orders quickly.

“I understand, but I wish to request the task of defending your body to be given to me.” Seas bowed while making his request.

“Then who will relay my orders? These knights are currently sacking the village, which means there might be knights near Nazarick who might attack us. Therefore, you must stay.” Momonga replied and forced the mirror to zoom out so that he could try and locate a pair of sisters. Seeing two people being chased into the forest, Momonga focused on them first with a movement of his hand.

The image changed, and now it showed a girl sending a knight staggering backwards with a punch. The girl was leading an even younger girl as they ran away. They were probably the sisters in question. Momonga immediately opened his inventory and withdrew the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Just as the girl planned to flee, she was slashed in the back by the knight that she’d punched. Since time was tight, Momonga swiftly incanted the spell.

“Gate.” The black and purple void opened immediately. This spell had no limits on distance and a 0% chance of teleport mishaps. It was the most accurate and potent of all Teleportation spells in YGGDRASIL.

-Outskirts of Carne Village-

The knight in full plate armor stood before Enri and Nemu, his sword raised high. His blade gleamed in the sun, and he poised himself, ready to end their lives in a single merciful stroke.

Enri squeezed her eyes tightly shut and bit her lower lip. She had never asked for this. None of the villagers had. What did they ever do to these people? Why were they being killed? She hugged Nemu close, prepared to use her body as a shield.

The longsword fell…and yet there was no pain.

Enri gingerly opened the eyes which she had squeezed shut. The first thing she saw was the suddenly motionless longsword. Then, she saw the sword’s owner. The knight in front of her was frozen in place, his eyes looking somewhere off to the girl’s side. His completely defenseless posture clearly displayed the fear that filled him. As though drawn by the knight’s gaze, the girl could not help but turn and look in the same direction as him.

And so…the girl gazed into the void.

It was an infinitesimally thin, yet unfathomably deep blackness. It was a half-oval of swirling obsidian black and a deep ever-shifting purple that seemed to protrude from the earth. It was a mysterious sight that filled the ones watching it with a powerful sense of unease.

‘Is it a door?’ Enri couldn’t help but think so after looking at the strange phenomenon. As her heart lurched, the girl’s conjecture was confirmed.

Something seemed to be coming out of that shadowy passage.

The fact that the opposition had not used teleport-blocking spells filled Momonga with relief. If he was denied the chance to rescue the girls, and was ambushed instead, it would have been bad.

The scene before the eyes was the same of what he had seen earlier.

Two terrified girls were in front of him.

The elder sister had a braid of straw-blonde hair that reached down to her breasts. Her skin, healthily tanned from working in the sun, was now deathly pale from fear, and her dark eyes were wet with tears.

The little sister, a redhead, buried her face in her sister’s waist, trembling in fright.

Momonga gazed coldly at the knight standing before the two girls.

Perhaps he was shocked by Momonga’s sudden appearance, but the knight simply stared at Momonga, having apparently forgotten to swing the sword he was holding.

Momonga had grown up without knowing the touch of violence. He did not think that the world in which he currently resided was a game, but the real thing. Even so, he did not feel the slightest bit of fear at the knight before him who held a sword.

This calmness allowed him to make a cold, cruel decision.

“Metal armor, huh?” Momonga spoke, his voice held a tone of speculative interest. His eyes, ever-changing in their color, locked onto the knight directly in front of him.

“W-Wh-Who are y-you?” The knight closest to Momonga and the sisters managed to stutter out.

This man that had appeared before them was odd. He had a face that would be called handsome easily, with long, voluminous black hair that flowed down his back to his waist. Around his body appeared to be a feather cloak of immense quality, one half of the feathers a pure white, the other half were of the deepest black. He had an ornate staff in his left hand like nothing the knight had ever seen before. Even knowing little to nothing about Magic, the knight could tell this was a staff of immense power. But it was the man’s eyes…those strange orbs that shifted through a myriad of colors…they terrified him!

“Dragon Lightning.” Momonga didn’t deign to answer the knight. Instead, he raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at the man. It sparked with a loud crackle of lightning which leapt from his fingertip in the shape of a dragon before electrocuting the knight.

“AAAAAEEEEHHHH!!!” The knight screamed for all of a few seconds before dropping to the ground dead, smoke rising off the corpse.

“A Caster!” The other knight cried out, raising his shield in front of him and readying his sword. The fact that he was backing away showed his fear though.

“Dying to a mere Fifth Tier spell?” Momonga raised an eyebrow at that. Were they really that weak? A Fifth Tier Spell in YGGDRASIL could barely kill a Level 30 player, and that was if they didn’t invest much into their HP or Magic Defense.

“Uh…eehh...” The knight’s courage was quickly abandoning him. The armed man appeared as if he was about to flee.

“What kind of man can murder women and children, but doesn’t have the nerve to face me?” Momonga pointed his right palm at the knight. “Well, I’m here now. You’ll help me test my power whether you want to or not.”

“Aaaiiieee!” The knight turned and bolted away from Momonga.

“Holy Flame.” Momonga cast, a white and gold fire appearing in his palm before it was launched at the running knight.

“AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!” The knight screamed as the divine flames overtook him. The fire swirled around and then dispersed, leaving nothing behind.

“Hmm…his Karma Value must’ve been in the negatives for the spell to do that much damage.” Momonga mused at the complete incineration of the man. Holy spells all had the bonus damage to those with negative Karma Values. So, logic dictated that the knight must’ve been a rather terrible person. “Now…” Momonga turned to face the two sisters.

“Eeiihh…” Enri hugged her sister closer. This man…if he was a man…had just killed those two knights with powerful Magic. Was that to be their fate as well?

“Heal.” Momonga cast and both Enri and Nemu were covered in a light green glow for a moment.

“Huh?” Enri blinked as the burning pain from the sword wound on her back faded away. Even her broken hand from punching that knight’s helmet a few moments ago was restored.

“Enri?” Nemu looked up at her sister, not feeling the pain of her scraped knees anymore.

“Good, you seem to be back to full health.” Momonga nodded at getting to try out one of his Healing spells. He eyed the corpse of the first knight that he’d slain. “Let’s try some Necromancy.” Momonga knew exactly what Undead he wanted, the Death Knight. They weren’t very strong, only Level 35, but they had two skills that made them useful. The first was that they pulled all Aggro. The second was that they could survive a first attack with 1 HP regardless of the attack power. “Death Knight.” Momonga cast the spell.

A writhing black smoke-like mass formed from thin air. It descended onto the corpse of the slain knight and sunk into it. The body convulsed once and then began to jerkily get to its feet.

‘It’s taking over a corpse?’ Momonga could barely contain his surprise. ‘It certainly didn’t do that back in YGGDRASIL.’ He shook his head as a thick sludge was expelled from the standing carcass. The thick slime overtook the body and began to twist and morph into a much larger shape.

“Oooouuuggghhh.” The Death Knight groaned as it finished forming. The undead stood at two meters in height with a warped and emaciated, half rotten body. It was equipped with a flamberge and a huge tower shield. Death Knights were all equipped with armor made of black metal with red bloodlines engraved on it. Moreover, the armor had sharp thorns everywhere and looked like an incarnation of violence. Two demonic horns protruded from the helmet, with the face being visible underneath. It had a disgusting, rotted face with empty eye sockets that were filled with hate and killing intent, glowing with a pulsing red light.

“Huuh…” Enri gasped at seeing the terrifying undead monster being created.

“Death Knight, kill the knights in the village.” Momonga gave his undead an order, sending a mental image to it of the knights that he’d killed so that it knew who to target.

“ROOOAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” The Death Knight let out a bellowing roar before rushing off down the path towards the village.

“Uh…” Momonga stared after the running Death Knight. In YGGDRASIL summons stayed near their summoners unless specifically chosen to move to a different location, like for an attack. ‘What’s the point of summoning a defensive undead if I send it away?!’ He resolved to better think out his orders in the future.

“It took longer than expected to get here, I’m sorry that you had to wait.” Albedo spoke as she came through the Gate spell. She was wearing her Hermes Trismegistus armor; a Divine Class armor. It was a black full plate mail consisting of three layers of armor designed to repel physical damage. In her hand was her massive black axe, called 3F, that could change size from a large axe to a full halberd.

“Don’t apologize, you arrived exactly on time, Albedo.” Momonga smiled at her, closing the Gate spell now that it was no longer needed.

“Thank you for saying so.” Albedo bowed her head as best as she could in her full armor. “Now,” She turned to look down at Enri and Nemu. “How would you like me to deal with these lower lifeforms?”

“These two are no threat.” Momonga spoke calmly. “The knights attacking their village are the enemies we’re after.”

“Of course, my Lord.” Albedo accepted his words immediately.

Seeing the two girls staring up at him, Momonga addressed them both. “I trust that your injuries are gone? There’s no more pain?”

“Huh? Uh, I mean, yes.” Enri stumbled over her words for a moment.

“That’s good.” Momonga offered them a gentle smile. “Tell me, have you ever heard of Magic?” The knights had clearly called him a Caster, but that could be a term that was only common in larger towns or cities.

“Yes, of course, I have a friend that’s a pharmacist and also practices Magic.” Enri answered the man. He certainly appeared to be powerful Caster. His handsome looks certainly didn’t hurt in helping to calm Enri down a little either.

“Perfect, then I don’t have to explain it all.” Momonga nodded with a satisfied look. He held up his palm before the two girls. “Anti-Life Cocoon. Protection from Arrows Wall.” A double-layered green dome formed around Enri and Nemu, expanding to cover a diameter of roughly three meters. “I’ve just cast two protection spells around you. If you stay here, you’ll be safe.” He put his right hand beneath his folded wings to hide that he was reaching into his inventory. “But just in case,” He tossed them two junk items called Horn of the Goblin General. “Take these as well. If you blow the horn, a force of Goblins will appear to do your bidding. Do not hesitate to use them, if needed.” He turned and began to walk towards the village with Albedo.

“Ex-excuse me…” Enri called out to the man. “Thank you so much for saving us.” She and Nemu bowed their heads, full on prostrating themselves. “We are forever grateful.”

“Thank you very much, Mister.” Nemu offered her thanks as well.

“It was no problem.” Momonga replied, looking over his shoulder at the two girls.

“Please wait!” Enri called out once more. “May I please know the name of the man that saved us?”

“My name?” Momonga considered what to tell them. ‘Wait…this could work. Yes, they should all know.’ With his decision made, he turned to face Enri and Nemu. “You shall remember it well, and tell everyone of my power. I am Ainz Ooal Gown!”

-Carne Village-

“OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The mighty roar shattered the air. It was the signal for a slaughter to become a massacre of a different sort. In the blink of an eye, the hunters had become the hunted.

Londes Di Gelanpo had probably cursed his gods more times in the past ten seconds than he had in the rest of his life. If the gods really did exist, then they should defeat that evil being right now. Londes was a faithful man…so why had the gods abandoned him?

The gods did not exist.

In the past, he had looked down on those people who did not believe in the gods as fools. After all, if the gods did not exist, how could the priests work their magic? And now, he realized that he was the foolish one.

The monster before him, a Death Knight, for want of a better word…drew closer. He took two steps back in response, trying to get away from it. A shrill creaking noise came from his armor, and the sword he clutched in both hands was trembling uncontrollably. He was not the only one; the other eighteen knights surrounding the Death Knight were all acting the same way.

Although they were filled with fear, none of them ran. This was not courage though; the grinding of their teeth could attest to that. If they could, they would run as fast and as far as they could.

It was because they knew there was no escape.

Londes’s eyes shifted, pleading for help.

This square was at the center of the village, where Londes and his men had gathered sixty or so villagers. They looked fearfully at Londes and his men, while a group of children were hiding behind a wooden watchtower.

During Londes’s attack on the village, they had chased the villagers to the central square. They searched the houses, and then, in order to root out anyone who was hiding in the cellars, they poured in alchemical oils and set them on fire.

There were four knights standing guard around the village with bows, and their job was to shoot down anyone who tried to escape the village. They had done this several times now, and it could be said that they were old hands at this sort of thing.

The massacre had taken a fair bit of time, but it had been successful, and they had gathered the surviving villagers into one place. After that, they would release some of the prisoners as bait.

It should have been like that, but…Londes still remembered that moment when everything had changed.

The sight of Erion flying through the air, after the last few villagers fled into the square.

It should have been impossible. Nobody knew what was going on. How could they understand the reason why a trained, grown man in full plate armor (which still had some weight even if it was lightened by magic) could fly through the air like a ball?

After soaring about seven meters through the air, he fell to the earth with a thunderous crash and lay still.

A bone-chilling monster stood where Erion had been. The hair-raising undead being called a Death Knight lowered the tower shield that had bashed Erion and stood before them.

This was when their despair began.

“Aiiiiieee!” Their panicked squeals echoed through the air. One of the men huddled together with his comrades could not bear the oppressive terror and fled with a scream.

Under these extreme circumstances, it was only natural that when stretched to the breaking point people would snap. However, among all of the fleeing man’s comrades, not one of them joined him. The reason why would soon be evident.

A black gale whirled past the field of Londes’s vision.

The Death Knight’s body was larger than a normal human’s; but its nimble grace was far beyond anyone’s expectations.

The fleeing man only managed to take three steps.

Just as he was about to take his fourth step, an arc of silver brilliance cleaved his body in two. The bisected left and right halves of his body collapsed in opposite directions. A sour stench filled the air as his pink internal organs spilled out.

“GUWOOOOOOOOOOHHH!” the blood-covered Death Knight roared as it swung its sword.

It was a roar of joy.

The look of delight was unmistakable, even on the undead’s rotted face. As an overwhelmingly superior slaughterer, it savored the despair and terror of the pitiful humans who could not even survive a single one of its blows.

Nobody dared attack, though they had swords in hand.

At first, they had tried an attack, though they were afraid. But even those blades which had made it past their foe’s defense could not strike a telling blow through the Death Knight’s armor.

In contrast, the Death Knight did not use its sword, but sent Londes flying with a shield bash, and it did so without using enough force to kill. It was clearly toying with them, given the way it did not use its full strength. It was plain to see that the Death Knight wanted to enjoy their dying struggles. The Death Knight only dealt fatal blows in earnest when the knights tried to escape.

The first knight to run was Ririk. He was a nice guy but a bad drunk. His limbs were chopped off, followed by his head.

After seeing the two deaths, the other knights knew the score, so they did not dare to flee. Their attacks were ineffective, and they would be killed if they tried to run. The only thing they could do was wait their turn to be tortured to death.

Although there was no way to see their faces below the full helms they wore, everyone present was keenly aware of their fate. The wails of grown men reduced to children echoed throughout the village. These men who had always oppressed the weak had not thought that one day, they would be on the receiving end of that treatment.

“Oh god, please save me…”

“Oh god…”

After hearing these cries for salvation, the strength left Londes’s legs and he almost fell to his knees. He loudly cursed the gods or was it a prayer to them?

“You, you lot, go hold that monster back!” A desperate knight shouted. He knew that his fate was sealed. His words sounded like an off-key psalm.

The man who spoke was standing next to the Death Knight. The way he was stumbling back on his tiptoes to back away from the corpse of his comrade was almost comical.

Londes frowned as he looked on at the man in his pathetic state. It was hard to tell who had spoken those words because their closed helmets covered their faces and their voices were distorted by fear. Still, he knew that only one man would speak like that.

Captain Belius…the coward.

Londes’s frown deepened.

Overcome by his lewd desires, he had planned to rape a village girl and then sought help from others after he got into a fight with her father. After he was pulled off the other man, he vented his anger by stabbing the father with his sword. That was the kind of man he was. However, his family was quite wealthy in their country, and he had joined this unit because of his family’s riches.

Everything had gone wrong because he had been made their leader.

“I’m not someone who should die here! All of you, hurry up and protect me! Be my shields!” Belius ordered in a panic.

Nobody moved. He might have been appointed their leader, but he was not popular at all. Nobody would throw their lives away for a man like this. However, the Death Knight responded to his shouting, and it slowly turned to face Belius.

“Aiiiiiieeeeee!” The only thing praiseworthy about Belius was that he could make so much noise while standing in front of the Death Knight.

Just as Londes began to respect this odd quality of Belius’s, he heard the man shriek in terror:

“Money, I’ll give you money! Two hundred gold pieces!! No, five hundred gold pieces!!!” Belius had clearly hit the ‘Bargaining Stage’ of someone that was about to die.

Those were considerable amounts he was talking about. However, right now, it was like telling them that he would pay them to jump off a five hundred meter cliff.

Although nobody responded, one person…no, half a person moved as though in reply to him.

“Uboooooarrr…” The upper half of the bisected corpse gripped Belius’s ankles firmly. The bloody gargling from its mouth hardly sounded like words.

“Ogyaaaaaahhhhh!!!!” Belius screamed in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. The onlooking knights and villagers were frozen in fear, their skin covered in goosebumps.

Squire Zombies.

In YGGDRASIL, creatures killed by the Death Knight would become undead of comparable power, haunting the place where they were killed. According to the game’s rules, those damned souls who fell to the Death Knight’s blade would become its slaves for all eternity.

Belius stopped screaming, and fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut, facing the sky. He must have passed out. The Death Knight drew closer to the defenseless man and stabbed its wavy-blade flamberge down.

Belius’s body twitched, and: “Gu-Guwaaaaaaargh!” Woken by the incredible pain, Belius screamed, “Leh, leh me guh!!!!! Ah beggehg yeh!!!!!! Ah duh anythuh!!!!!!!” Using both hands, Belius desperately grabbed the flamberge that had already penetrated his body, but the Death Knight paid his futile struggles no heed and worked the flamberge like a saw. His flesh and armor were cruelly torn open, and fresh blood flew everywhere. “Aah…eeeh…ah gib ya munni, leh, leh meh guh…” Belius’s body shuddered, and then he breathed his last. Only then was the Death Knight satisfied, and it stepped away from Belius’s corpse.

“No… no… please, no…”

“Oh god!”

Their screams came from seeing the ghastly sight before them. If they ran, they would die swiftly, but if they stayed, they would die horribly. They knew that perfectly well, but still, they could not bring themselves to move.

“Get a grip!” Londes’s shout tore through their wailing. The world was filled with silence, as though time was standing still. “Fall back! Sound the horn for the horsemen and archers to come here! The rest of you, do your best to buy some time for the horn blower! I’d rather not die like that, if you don’t mind! Now move!”

Everyone moved in an instant.

There was no sign of their earlier panic. Everyone moved in silent unison, like a raging waterfall. Their mechanical obedience to their orders without thinking created a miracle. There was no way they could move so immaculately again. The knights each did what they were supposed to do. They had to protect the knight who would blow the horn and signal the others.

One of the soldiers who had taken several steps back lowered his sword and withdrew his horn from his bag.

“OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The Death Knight charged, as though reacting to the horn being taken out. Everyone was shocked. Could it be that the Death Knight wanted to destroy their means of escape so he could kill them to the last man?

The flood of darkness drew closer and closer, and everyone knew that stepping forward to try and stop it was certain death. However, the knights still climbed over each other to block the Death Knight one after the other. Their fear was wiped away by an even greater fear and they surged forward to become obstacles.

Every time its shield moved; a knight was smashed through the air.

Every time its blade flashed; a knight was cut in two.

“Dezun! Morett! Behead the fallen! Hurry, before they come back as monsters!” The named knights hurriedly ran toward their murdered comrades.

The shield swung, and a knight was thrown into the air. His body was bisected by the flamberge.

Four men had lost their lives in the blink of an eye. Though Londes was still gripped with fear, he readied his sword against the coming of the jet-black storm, like a martyr preparing to give his life for his faith.

“Ohhhh!” It might have been a meaningless gesture, but Londes did not intend to wait for death. Giving voice to a battle cry, he swung his sword with all his strength at the oncoming Death Knight. Perhaps it was because of his circumstances, but Londes’s muscles broke their limit and surprised him. It might have been the best blow Londes had ever struck in his life.

The Death Knight swung its flamberge as well.

In an instant, the world before Londes spun…and he saw his decapitated corpse collapse to the ground, while his sword swung through thin air.

Just then, at that moment, the horn rang out.

“Mm?” Momonga looked up at the sound of the horn. “A call to retreat, perhaps?” Looking down at the last living knight that had been at the edge of the village, the man’s hands clasped together in prayer, he spoke. “Rather than beg your god for aid, you shouldn’t have massacre these people to begin with.”

“Egh…” The man choked on a sob of despair before Albedo’s axe decapitated him in a blur.

“These opponents are fair too weak, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown.” Albedo sneered down at the massacred knights strewn over this area. Her love had performed several spells to test his Magic against them. Not one had survived a single spell though.

“Just Ainz is fine, Albedo.” Momonga waved off. “Outside of Nazarick, refer to me by this name.

“Of course, my Lord.” Albedo twisted her body shyly for a second. “Is it still Lord Momonga when we’re in the Tomb?”

“Of course, Albedo.” Momonga nodded to her. “Those of Nazarick are permitted to call me by my name when we are at home.”

“Thank you, my Lord.” Albedo seemed inordinately pleased by this fact for some reason.

“Death Knight, leave the remaining knights alive, they’re useful to me.” Momonga communicated with his undead through the link they shared. The strange feeling that he got back was hard to put into words, but it was full of acknowledgement of his order. “Let us go check on the survivors.”

“As you wish, Lord Ainz.” Albedo gave a short bow as they walked through the village and into the town square.

A large section of the area was soaked in blood. The dirt looking as if rain had fallen on it recently. The dead bodies of a few knights were strewn around, but others were back on their feet as Squire Zombies. Some bisected or otherwise mangled Squire Zombies were also crawling on the ground.

Momonga counted the remaining knights, who seemed too tired even to move. There were four of them in total. Though there were more than he expected, a few extra would not be a problem.

“Death Knight. That will be all for now.” His words seemed strangely incongruous with the surroundings, as if he were buying something at a store. But to Momonga, this situation was common in YGGDRASIL. The real life aspect of it was being mitigated as he held tightly to the immovable core within. There had been a slight lack of concern or empathy he’d noticed as the knights died at his hands. But Momonga wasn’t sure if that was because he’d seen the kind of horrible murderers they were, or something about his Deity Race.

Deciding to think figure that out later, Momonga strode forward with Albedo one step behind him and to his right.

The false knights stared at Ainz with mouths agape. They had been hoping for a rescue, but what had come was the man responsible for everything, and his arrival shattered their hopes.

“Greetings, gentlemen. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown.” Momonga introduced himself with the name he hoped to spread throughout the lands.

Nobody replied.

“If you throw down your arms, I can guarantee your lives. Of course, if you would rather fight…” One sword was cast to the ground. It was shortly followed by the other swords being thrown down until there were four blades on the ground. Momonga gave them credit for not trying to do something stupid at least. “You seem quite tired. Although, don’t you think your heads are held a bit too high before the master of that Death Knight?” The knights immediately prostrated themselves before him without a single sound. They did not look like vassals before their lord so much as convicts awaiting execution. “I will permit you to leave with your lives. In exchange, tell your master, your owner, this.” Momonga walked over to one of the knights, and then he removed the man’s helmet with the hand that was not holding the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. He noted the man’s exhausted eyes as their gazes met. “Do not make trouble around here. If you make a disturbance here, I will bring death to your entire country.” The trembling knight nodded as hard as he could. His frantic gesture looked quite comical. “Get lost. And make sure to relay this to your master.” Momonga waved his hand and the knights fled like rabbits.

Albedo was doing everything she could to not squirm or moan at her love taking charge so powerfully. It wouldn’t do to interrupt her Lord when he was taking care of things.

“Hah…this act is tiring.” Momonga quietly grumbled as he watched the knights run away.

If there were no villagers around, he might even have stretched his shoulders. Although he was doing the same thing in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, playing the role of a dignified person was very tiring for an average office drone like Momonga had been. Yet, until the curtains closed on this act of his, he had to play the role. Momonga resisted the urge to sigh and walked toward the villagers. Albedo followed behind him, her every step accompanied by the clanking of metal.

‘Oh, right.’ Momonga looked at the Squire Zombies. “Holy Flame.” He cast the divine fire from a distance and used a Skill from his Elementalist (Fire) Job Class to target all of them simultaneously. The villagers all let out varying cries of surprise or shock as the Squire Zombies vanished in the white and gold fire.

Momonga noticed that as he and Albedo approached, the villagers seemed uncertain, or even scared. It was not that they were not happy at being rescued from the knights, but frightened by the person before them. Momonga finally realized the reason a second later. Because he was the powerful one in this situation, much more so than those knights, he did not consider the incident from a weak person’s point of view. He decided to reflect on this, and pondered it quietly. If he went too close to them, the outcome would be the opposite of what he was hoping for. Therefore, Momonga decided to stop at a distance from them, and spoke in a soft, polite tone.

“You have been saved. Be at ease.” Momonga assured the villagers of their safety.

“You, you are…” One of the villagers was saying that, but even in the middle of speaking to Momonga, his eyes never left the Death Knight.

“I saw someone attacking this village, so I came here to help.” Momonga responded to what he believed the question to be.

“Ohh…” As the noises spilled out, looks of relief dawned on the faces of the villagers. Even so, they could not be completely at ease.

‘What a pain. Should I try a different approach?’ Momonga decided to handle this in a way that he didn’t care for, but that might move things along. “That said, this was not for free. I expect a reward commensurate with the number of villagers whom I saved.”

The villagers looked at each other. It would seem that they were worried about money. However, their doubtful looks faded away. This crass demand for money in exchange for salvation seemed to have allayed their suspicions somewhat.

“With, with the village in its present state…” An older man began.

Momonga raised his hand to silence the other man before continuing. “We’ll discuss that later. I rescued a pair of sisters before I came here. I will go bring them over now. Can you wait here for me?”

In short order, things within Carne Village began to move again. Even in their grief, the villagers began to take care of the bodies of their fallen. They needed to be given proper burials or be cremated, otherwise there was a chance they’d turn into undead. Momonga had used Gate to send the Death Knight back to Nazarick for now. It seemed to alleviate the villagers’ fears with the large undead monster gone. The Chief of the village had invited Momonga into his home so that they could discuss payment for his act of saving them.

The Village Chief’s house was near the village square. Upon entering, one would be greeted by a large living room, with a kitchen off to one side. A rickety old table and several chairs occupied the center of the room.

Momonga surveyed the interior from where he was seated on one of the chairs. He’d had Albedo stand outside the door for now, her presence seemed to make the villagers wary, probably because of her armor. The sunlight which shone through the windows illuminated every corner of the room, so he could see clearly inside even without artificial light. He took a look at the old woman (the Chief’s wife) in the corner of the kitchen, and the farming tools inside the house. There were no manufactured products to be seen anywhere. Just as Momonga thought that there would not be much in the way of technology here, he realized that his thinking might be naive. Still, he was curious about what sort of science that a world with Magic would develop.

Momonga shifted his hand across the old table to avoid the sunlight. He didn’t put his full weight on it at all, but the shabbily-made table shook under his hand regardless. The chair also creaked when Momonga sat on it. This was a textbook definition of the word ‘poverty’ if there ever was one.

Momonga leaned the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown on the table to keep it out of people’s way. The way the Staff reflected the sunlight in a brilliant display made the run-down old house appear to be some sort of fairytale wonderland. He recalled the surprised expressions on the villagers’ faces, the way their eyes went wide and how they were lost for words. A surge of pride had come over Momonga when the villagers had asked about the Staff which he and his guildmates had painstakingly crafted. He hadn’t answered much, of course, merely that it had been crafted by him and his old comrades.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” The Chief sat opposite Momonga. His wife placed a crude wooden cup filled with hot water before the Magic Caster, and then stood behind her husband.

“Thank you.” Momonga had watched the older woman literally make the fire by hand, place it into their stove, and then boil the water before pouring it into the cup and offering it to him. He couldn’t refuse such hard work, so he thanked her for it. It was the first time he’d ever seen a fire started by hand. He’d always had the convenience of electric or gas heat to boil water in his old world.

Carne Village’s Chief had skin that was dark and covered in wrinkles. His body was very muscular, and it was obvious that those muscles had been honed through heavy labor. More than half of his hair was white. Though his crudely made cotton shirt was stained by dirt, it did not stink. The tired look on his face made Momonga think he was in his late forties or early fifties, but it was hard to tell, because he seemed to have grown older in the past half hour or so.

The Chief’s wife was roughly the same age as her husband. She had probably been slim and beautiful once, but after long years of working in the fields, that beauty was nowhere to be seen. All that was left were the wrinkles that covered her face. Her shoulder-length black hair was mussed up, and she looked gloomy even under the direct sunlight. But given what had just befallen their village, that was understandable.

“Well then, let us cut to the chase and begin the negotiations.” Momonga spoke up, hoping to steer this coming conversation in a way that would let him gain useful information.

“Yes. But before that… thank you very much!” The Chief bowed to Momonga; his head so low that it nearly touched the table. After that, his wife bowed as well. “Without your help, we would all be dead by now. You have our deepest thanks!”

“Please, raise your heads. Like I said earlier, I did not help you for free.” Momonga continued his charade of wanting financial compensation.

“We know that, but still, we wish to thank you for rescuing us and many of the other villagers.” The Chief spoke up, a thankful smile on his face.

“Then, paying me will be good enough. Come, let us discuss it. You must have many things to do, Village Chief.” Momonga wanted to move this along. Both because of his desire to know more about this world, and because he did believe that the Chief would be very busy after the attack the village had just suffered.

“Nothing could be more important than spending time with our savior, but I understand.” The Chief straightened up in his chair and prepared to offer what his village could to the man that saved them.

Momonga recalled the tricks he had used as an office worker. Would they be effective here? Hopefully, at least some of them would be useful. After steeling himself against the possibility of failure, Momonga spoke. “Let us get to the point. How much can you pay me?”

“We would not dare deceive our savior. I do not know how many silver and copper pieces we can gather if we do not collect them from everyone, but I believe we can muster up at least three thousand copper pieces.” The Chief explained how much money they could offer.

‘I have no idea what that means.’ Momonga realized the problem instantly. Not having any concept of monetary values in this world meant that their money was a complete mystery to him. ‘Wait. Don’t focus on what you don’t know. Focus on the information you’ve gained from this.’ He chastised himself for not gathering info from every response. From this he learned that this world was past the era where everything was bartered for. They had money, which meant they had standards of weight and measurements, especially if they were using copper and silver coins. “Would you have a higher denomination coin, per chance? Like gold?”

“I, I apologize, Lord Gown…we don’t use gold coins in this village.” The Chief shook his head. “Such a coin would be useless here, given that we have nothing of its value for purchase.”

“I see…” Momonga thought for a moment. “I’ve been in hermitage for a long time studying Magic. I could use information on the current goings on of the area. If monetary payment would endanger your survival, then I am willing to accept everything you can tell me in exchange for saving you all.”

“M-My Lord? Are…are you certain?” The Chief and his wife both stared at Momonga in shock at his offer. Paying the 3,000 Copper would’ve left them bankrupt and meant that they would’ve assuredly perished over the winter. The Chief had even been about to offer to pay in installments instead. But it seemed that Lord Gown understood their hardship to some degree. “If…if you are willing to accept such, then I would be more than happy to answer all of your questions, though I’m afraid that I’m not a Scholar nor a Merchant with a good education.”

“That’s fine, I mostly need the day-to-day information, as well as information on the surrounding territories. With how long I was in seclusion for my study into Magic, I fear that many things could’ve changed.” Momonga played the role of a clueless hermit well, given that he was clueless, it wasn’t a hard role to play. “Let’s start with the current values of the currency.”

“Of course, Lord Gown.” The Chief smiled at the man, thankful that this horrid day seemed to be getting a bit better.

Momonga was just relieved that the conversation had gone in the direction he’d wanted it. He learned that the current values of the money in the Re-Estize Kingdom, which this village sat on the border of, was 13 Copper to 1 Silver, and 100 Silver to 1 Gold. The Chief had mentioned Platinum Coins, but as it was such a high valued coin, he didn’t know exactly how many Gold coins it equated to, only that Platinum was often used in trading between countries.

Talk of currency had led into talk about merchants, goods, and the Adventurers that took care of the Monsters in the surrounding areas close to E-Rantel. Momonga had instantly asked some questions about the Adventurers. The Chief briefly described them as mercenaries that hunted Monsters and completed other tasks for payment. He didn’t know much beyond that though, considering he was just a villager. Momonga would have to ask more at the Adventurer’s Guild in E-Rantel if he wanted to sate his curiosity.

Now having a name for the land that he was in, Momonga moved the topic to the surrounding territories. The aforementioned Re-Estize Kingdom was to the west of the Azerlisia Mountains. To the east of the mountain range was the Baharuth Empire. The two countries were on bad terms, to say the least, and frequently fought wars in the Katze Plains. To the south was the Slane Theocracy, a powerful nation which believed in Human Supremacy as part of their faith in the Six Great Gods.

“Might you have a map?” Momonga questioned, having a difficult time of placing the three countries in his head.

“Ah, yes, it’s not very good, I’m afraid, but it was copied from a fairly recent drawing.” The Chief stood from his chair and went through a doorway past the kitchen area. He returned a moment later and placed the parchment on the table between them.

‘I can’t read this…’ Momonga realized instantly as he looked over the map. He’d noticed that even though he could understand the people of this world, their mouth movements didn’t match up sometimes with the words he heard. Since the villagers hadn’t reacted in the slightest to the strange phenomenon, Momonga decided to accept it as part of this world for now. He could always try and look into it later. But for written words, there was apparently no automatic translation. “Let’s go over it again briefly, now that I can see the map.”

The two did so, the Chief pointing out the countries one-by-one, then pointing to the fortress city of E-Rantel, the largest city near the village. Momonga took in the information, lamenting that the scale of the map was clearly a bit off, judging by the way it was drawn and the landmarks the Chief was pointing to. He noticed one area beneath the ‘cursed’ Katze Plains, between the Re-Estize/Baharuth border and the Slane Theocracy’s northern border. The odd thing was that it was marked the same as the other dangerous areas on the map, like the Great Forest of Tob and the Katze Plains.

“What’s this?” Momonga ran his index finger over the name on the map.

“Ah, that’s the Fox Lord’s Territory…a strange place ruled over by a terrifyingly powerful Monster.” The Chief mentioned, his eyes on the map. “The few people that come from that area to trade on occasion speak of living under the protection of the great beast. That it is a land where even commoners can be educated. But not many people believe that, of course. What kind of Monster would protect humans? It’s not in their nature to look after others that aren’t their own kind; much less educate anyone.” The man shook his head. “It all sounds like tall tales to me. Too good to be true as the saying goes. It even has that strange name, Kyoto. Where does one come up with such a name, I wonder?”

“Kyoto?!” Momonga nearly fell out of his chair in shock.

“Lord Gown?! Ar-Are you alright?” The Chief stood to his feet, hoping that he hadn’t done something to offend his guest and the savior of the village.

“Y-Yes…I’m fine…sorry to startle you.” Momonga assured the man as he grabbed onto the immovable core within and evened himself out enough to calm down. “I was just surprised for a moment. The name rings a bell, as if I’ve heard it before.”

“Ah…well, it has been around for close to one-hundred-fifty years now.” The Chief nodded in understanding. “It’s almost as old as the Kingdom and the Empire.”

“Yes, I see…” Momonga’s mind was whirling with thoughts. Kyoto…Kyoto?! How was that name here? YGGDRASIL was based off of Norse Mythology. He’d already been reconciling himself with the fact that none of the names that he’d heard so far correlated to YGGDRASIL at all. But to hear the name Kyoto in this strange new world? ‘That has to mean that I’m not the only YGGDRASIL player to come here! But one-hundred-fifty years? Does time flow differently between my old world and this one? I need to investigate this Fox Lord’s Territory as soon as possible.’ Momonga decided, even though he still had a multitude of questions about it and its relation to Japan.

A loud knock on the door was followed by a call for the Chief.

“Chief! Warriors from the Kingdom have arrived!” A man from the village announced as he opened the door. “They claim to be here to deal with the Imperial knights that attacked us.”

“I’ll come meet them.” The Chief nodded to the man. “I’m sorry, Lord Gown, I must take care of this.” He apologized with a full bow at the waist.

“Not a problem.” Momonga stood up, downed the now drinkable warm water in one go, and moved to follow him. “I shall join you, in case they need me to explain my actions.”

“Ah, thank you very much, Lord Gown.” The Chief smiled thankfully at Momonga before they headed out.

Momonga stopped briefly to speak with Albedo. “The situation has been dealt with. Send a Message to all of the support troops to return to Nazarick without letting anyone see them.”

“At once, my Lord.” Albedo nodded and put he index and middle finger to her right temple to cast the spell.

With that taken care of, Momonga continued onwards, walking at a normal pace until he caught up with the village Chief’s slower pace. When they arrived at the village square, it was to the sight of a group of armed men on horseback. “They aren’t uniformly equipped, and each of them is outfitted differently… are they not regular troops?” Momonga mused as he observed the men and their gear.

The knights from before had breastplates bearing the sigils of the Baharuth Empire, and they were heavily equipped, each in the same way. While these men were wearing armor as well, their gear varied from man to man. Some wore leather armor and some did not have their plate armor on, exposing the chainmail underneath. Some of them wore helmets, while some went bareheaded. About the only thing they had in common was that they each showed their faces. All of them had swords of similar make, but apart from that, they also carried bows, javelins, maces, and other backup weapons. One could say that they looked like hardened veterans of the battlefield. A less polite way would be to say that they were a ragtag bunch of sellswords.

As the riders began to dismount their horses, a man stepped forward from the rest of the force. He seemed to be the leader of the horsemen. He looked like the fiercest and most eye-catching of these men.

The leader’s eyes rested briefly upon the village Chief before looking over at Momonga. His keen gaze was taking in everything he could see of the man. It was a powerful, penetrating gaze that only a man that was used to being put in charge of others could possess.

Although the man looking at him seemed to be the sort who made his living by violence, Momonga remained still. A look like that could not hope to illicit any fear in the heart of a Deity like Momonga had become. It was not because he didn’t fear such sharp eyes normally. Perhaps he was full of confidence because he could use his powers from YGGDRASIL? Either way, Momonga had no problem holding the warrior’s gaze.

“I am the Chief Warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By order of the King, I have been visiting each of the frontier villages to exterminate knights from enemy countries who have been making trouble here.” Gazef’s even baritone echoed through the village square, and there was some commotion from the Chief’s house behind Momonga where the villagers had gathered out of fear of a second attack.

“The Kingdom’s Chief Warrior…” The village Chief seemed impressed.

‘Won’t anyone tell me what’s going on?’ Momonga thought as he watched Gazef speak to the Chief.

Gazef eventually asked the question that Momonga had been expecting. “As the Chief of this village. Can you tell me who is the person beside you?”

Momonga interrupted the Chief, who was about to answer, before nodding to Gazef and introducing himself. “There is no need for that. Pleased to meet you, Chief Warrior of the Kingdom. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, and I am a magic caster. This village was attacked by knights, and so I stepped in to rescue them.”

Gazef immediately bowed deeply once the introduction was complete. “Thank you for saving this village, Noble Gown. I have no words that can adequately praise your kindness.” The air seemed to tremble at his words and actions.

The Chief Warrior was a man with a privileged role in society. It was quite shocking that such a man would bow and scrape before a nobody like Momonga, in this world where people were so clearly divided amongst each other. From what he had heard, the concept of human rights was almost nonexistent in this country, no, in this world. A few years ago, the Kingdom still sanctioned the slave trade.

One could tell Gazef’s character from the way he was ready to bow to Momonga despite their difference in status.

‘This man is definitely one of strong moral character.’ Momonga concluded. “Please, do not stand on ceremony. I am not a Noble.” He shook his head slightly. “In truth, I did this for payment, so no thanks are needed.”

“Oh, I see, based on your cloak’s quality, I had assumed.” Gazef straightened up, once more looking at the immaculate feather cloak of beautiful black and white feathers. “If you saved these people for a payment. Does that mean that you are an adventurer?”

“That is close enough to the truth.” Momonga offered with a slight nod. He was glad that he could so easily disguise his wings by simply folding them around his body. If people wished to assume it was a feather cloak, then that suited Momonga just fine.

“I see. You must be an extraordinary Adventurer, then. Although, forgive my ignorance, but I have not heard your mighty name before, Sir Gown.” Gazef offered proper respect by putting ‘Sir’ in front of Momonga’s name.

“I was travelling, you see, and I just happened to pass by. I am nobody famous.” Momonga waved off easily. He was getting a little better at acting his part, having only needed to briefly touch upon the unshakable core of his being briefly during this conversation.

“Travelling, you say. Though I regret having to waste the time of such a great Adventurer, could you please tell me about the knights who attacked this village?” Gazef requested politely. Any information would be helpful in figuring out who was trying to trap him.

“It would be my pleasure, Chief Warrior. Most of the knights who attacked this village are already dead, so they will not be able to make trouble for the time being. Shall I go on?” Momonga informed Gazef simply.

“Already dead... Sir Gown, did you strike them down?” Gazef blinked, not knowing of many Casters that could take on a full squad of knights. At least not many within the Kingdom.

“Well, that is not entirely accurate…” Momonga debated on how much to share with Gazef. “I did use a summoned Monster to deal with most of them.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of various Monsters that can be summoned and controlled by Magic for a time.” Gazef nodded, easily believing that a skilled Caster could summon a Monster capable of overwhelming knights. Unless they killed the Caster or could overpower the Monster, they would be forced to flee or they would die. “I have a couple of questions… may I know who that is?” He pointed over at Albedo, still standing next to the door to the Village Chief’s house.

“A subordinate of mine, she acts as my shield when necessary.” Momonga explained as he looked over to Albedo and gave her a small smile. He could’ve sworn he heard her lightly squeal his name, but put that aside for now.

In the middle of their conversation, a lone horsemen rode into the square. Both he and his horse were panting heavily, showing the urgency of the report. In a high-pitched voice, the horseman spoke. “Chief Warrior! We’ve sighted a lot of people outside the village! They’ve surrounded the village and they’re closing in!”

“What?!” Gazef barked, clearly agitated that the village was being put in danger because of his presence.

“This village doesn’t appear to be that valuable.” Momonga spoke up. “No offense meant, Village Chief.” He apologized for the rude way his words had come out.

“None taken, we are just a small frontier village after all.” The Chief waved off the words as the truth.

“It would seem that you have some enemies, Chief Warrior.” Momonga easily guessed the situation based on Gazef’s reaction.

-Outside of Carne Village-

“Everyone, take heed,” a calm voice spoke into everyone’s ears. “The prey has entered the cage.” The speaker was a man. He had no distinguishing features, aside from the scar on his face, and he would not stand out in a crowd. However, there was no emotion in his oddly black sclera. “Offer up your faith to the gods.”

Everyone began their silent prayers, a shortened version of their usual praise to their gods. They had to spend time in prayer even when operating in another country. This was not complacency on their part, but a symbol of their faith in their gods. These men who offered everything to the Slane Theocracy and the gods they revered were far more devout than the average citizen of the Theocracy. This was why they could perform cruel acts without the slightest bit of hesitation, and why they felt no guilt for doing so. After their prayers, the eyes of every man present were as hard and cold as glass.

“Begin.” With that one single word, they neatly encircled the village in a way that would appear to onlookers as the product of long, hard training.

These men were a black ops group from the Slane Theocracy. Though their reputation spread far and wide, little was known about their members. They belonged to one of the Six Scriptures who answered directly to the high priests of the Slane Theocracy. They were the Sunlight Scripture, whose mission was to exterminate Demi-Human settlements.

However, there were very few of these men, who were the most involved of the Six Scriptures in combat. There were only around a hundred of them in total. This was because the recruitment standards for the Sunlight Scripture were very strict. Entry required the ability to cast Third Tier Divine Magic, which was also the highest tier of magic that ordinary Magic Casters could reach. In addition, prospective recruits had to be in excellent physical condition, and they had to possess a strong will and deep faith.

In other words, they were the elite among other elite combatants.

The man quietly sighed as he watched his men disperse. Once they scattered to take their positions, it would be very hard to be sure of their movements. However, he was not worried about their skillful encirclement of the village. The Sunlight Scripture’s commander, Nigun Grid Luin, only felt the peace of mind that came with knowing that success was at hand.

The Sunlight Scripture was not used to long-term clandestine operations in the field. As a result, they had missed four chances to finish the mission in the past. They were exceedingly careful every time they closed in on Gazef and his men of the Kingdom, in order to avoid being spotted. If they missed this chance as well, these days of tracking and pursuing would drag on and on.

“Next time… I’d like to ask the other teams for help, and leave some of the work to them.” Nigun muttered, mostly to himself.

Someone answered Nigun’s gripes. “That’s right, we’ve always been specialized in extermination, after all.” The speaker was one of the men who had stayed behind to protect Nigun. “I mean, this is a strange mission. Usually, we would have backup from the Windflower Scripture for something as important as this.”

“Indeed, I don’t know why they only deployed us this time round. Still, this will be good experience for us. We can take this as training in infiltrating enemy territory. Hm, for all we know, that was what the people on top intended.” Nigun said that, but he was very clear that another mission of this nature would be very unlikely.

The orders he had been given were to: “Assassinate the greatest warrior of the Kingdom, the man famed in the surrounding countries for his matchless might, Gazef Stronoff.”

This was not the sort of task which would usually be assigned to the Sunlight Scripture. Instead, it would have been the province of the Theocracy’s most powerful special operations unit, the Black Scripture, whose members wielded the power of heroes. However, it was not possible this time round.

The reason was top secret, so he could not tell his subordinates, but Nigun knew the truth.

The Black Scripture was protecting a holy relic in preparation against the resurrection of the Catastrophe Dragon Lord, while the Windflower Scripture was busy chasing the traitor who had made off with a relic of the Miko Princesses. Neither of the other Scriptures had the free time to help them.

Nigun unconsciously felt the scar on his cheek. He remembered the only time in the past where he had forced to flee with his tail between his legs. The face of that girl with the jet-black demonic sword rose in his mind. “That damnable Blue Rose.” He wouldn’t fail again…he’d learned his lesson and left this scar on his face to prove it.

-Edge of Carne Village-

“I see… so there were people out there.” Gazef peeked out at the people surrounding the village from inside the darkened house. He could see three people within his field of vision. They were slowly advancing on the village while maintaining an even separation from each other. They were unarmed and were not wearing heavy armor. However, that did not mean that they were pushovers. Many Casters disliked such equipment and preferred lighter gear.

However, it was the winged monsters floating beside them which confirmed their vocations.

Angels.

Angels were monsters summoned from another world, and many people (particularly, the citizens of the Slane Theocracy) believed them to be messengers of the gods. However, the priests of the Kingdom ruled that these so-called angels were merely summoned monsters.

While these religious disputes were part of the reason why the countries were set against each other, Gazef felt that their status as divine messengers were secondary to their strength as monsters. To Gazef, angels (and demons, their similarly-ranked counterparts) were stronger than many other monsters summoned using magic of a similar tier. Most of them had special abilities and some could even use magic. They were troublesome foes, in his reckoning. Of course, that depended on the individual angel. Not all of them were difficult to beat. However, the angels this time round, with their shining breastplates and flaming swords, were of a type that was unknown to him.

Momonga was watching them with him from the side. “Who are these people? And why are they after you?” He questioned Gazef curiously.

“It comes with the job of Chief Warrior. However, this is troubling. Judging by the way the other side has so many people who can summon angels, they must be from the Slane Theocracy… and it’s clear that the people carrying out this operation must be a special operations unit… one of their Six Scriptures. It would seem that both in numbers or ability, the opposition is superior to us.” Gazef shrugged, indicating the difficulty he was in. He might have seemed merely depressed on the surface, but inside, he was seething with anger and panic. “Well, they’ve certainly gone to a lot of trouble, using the Noble faction to strip me of my gear. However, it’s troublesome for that snake of a man to remain in the courts, so I guess it should be my good fortune to be able to recognize his villainy here. Still, I didn’t expect the Slane Theocracy to have their eyes on me…” He snorted. Gazef did not have enough men, he was under-equipped for a battle like this, and he had no plan in mind. In short, he had nothing. Although, there might still be a trump card he could use.

“Is that an Archangel Flame? It looks similar enough, but… what is a monster like that doing here… could it have been summoned by magic too? That means…” Momonga was trying to puzzle out how these YGGDRASIL Monsters could’ve been brought to this world. The obvious answer was YGGDRASIL Magic, but that still left the mystery of HOW it was here in the first place.

“Sir Gown, if it is all right with you, would you be willing to let me hire you?” Gazef questioned with a hopeful look on his face. There was no answer, but Gazef could feel the weight of Momonga’s gaze as they looked at each other. “You may name your price and I will meet it.”

“Please permit me to refuse.” Momonga declined with a shake of his head.

“Could we perhaps pay you to summon a Monster to take into battle with us?” Gazef tried a different route to get some aid.

“I must refuse that as well.” Momonga turned him down. Using his magic for their benefit would potentially align him with the Kingdom. Until he knew more about this world, he wouldn’t risk putting his allegiance with any nation.

“I see… then, what if I conscripted you, in accordance with the Kingdom’s laws?” Gazef questioned, a hard look coming over his features.

“I would have to resist a little.” Momonga replied with a slight grin. And Gazef got the feeling that would be the worst option to take.

“That would be frightening indeed. We would be wiped out before even crossing blades with the gentlemen of the Slane Theocracy.” Gazef relaxed, a small chuckle escaping him.

“Wiped out… well, that’s a good joke. However, I am glad you understand me.” Momonga nodded once to Gazef.

‘Who is he? Where did he come from?’ Gazef wondered once more as he looked at Momonga’s handsome face and the incredible quality of his feather robe. He knew that some Adventurers were rather wealthy, but a cloak like that looked like it belonged on a member of royalty.

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my feathers?” Momonga questioned, looking over his folded wings for anything on them.

“No, nothing like that. I simply see now that it’s meaningless to keep going on about this. Then, Sir Gown, please take care of yourself. Once again, thank you for saving this village.” Gazef removed his metal gauntlet and shook Momonga’s hand. Momonga returned the handshake with some firmness, to match Gazef’s, which made the Warrior grin. “I am truly, truly grateful to you for protecting these innocent villagers from being slaughtered. Also, I know it is very selfish of me and I have no authority to make you do anything, but I hope you can protect the villagers here, just one more time. Right now, I have nothing to give you, but I hope that no matter what, you will heed my plea… I beg you.”

“Hmm…” Momonga considered the request.

“If you should ever visit the Royal Capital, I will give you anything you desire. I swear this on the name of Gazef Stronoff.” Gazef let go of Momonga’s hand, making to kneel, but Momonga extended his hand to stop him.

“There is no need to go that far… Very well, I shall protect the villagers. I swear that on the name of Ainz Ooal Gown.” Momonga swore on the name of his Guild. He heard Gazef breathe a sigh of relief a second later.

“Thank you very much, Sir Gown. Now I have nothing more to worry about. All I need to do now is charge boldly ahead.” Gazef declared, his heart set on the task before him.

“Before that, please take this with you.” Momonga took out an item and handed it to the smiling Gazef. It was a small, strangely carved statuette. There did not seem to be anything special about it.

“If it is a gift from your good self, I will gladly accept it. Then, Sir Gown. Time grows short, and I must now leave.” Gazef nodded to Momonga while placing the carving into the pouch on his hip.

“Will you not you wait until nightfall before setting out?” Momonga inquired curiously.

“The opposition should have spells such as Dark Vision and the like, so night fighting is not to our advantage, but I cannot imagine that they will be hampered by it. Also, we need to let you see how we stand or fall.” Gazef smiled at Momonga, knowing that there was a very good chance he would die soon.

“I see. As expected of the Kingdom’s Chief Warrior, your keen insight is truly worthy of praise. Then, I wish you all the best, Sir Gazef.” Momonga nodded to the warrior.

“And I wish you a safe journey home, Sir Gown.” Gazef returned the nod before they left the house and Gazef mounted his horse.

Momonga quietly watched Gazef’s back shrinking into the distance as he rode off. Although her master seemed to be thinking about something, Albedo did not interrupt him to ask what he was thinking about. “Haah…when I first saw the humans here, I could not help but think little of them. But after speaking with them, I have come to be somewhat fond of them.”

“Is that why you swore on your glorious name to protect them?” Albedo couldn’t hold back her question this time.

“Perhaps, no, I should say that it was in response to how he bravely rode to his death.” Momonga admired it. He admired Gazef’s determination, his strength of will that Momonga just didn’t have. “Albedo, call back the servants with stealth skills to search out the ambushers around us and knock them out once they are found. Then take them to Nazarick for questioning.”

“I will do so at once, Lord Ainz.” Albedo gave a slight bow before moving to fulfill his orders.

-Outside Carne Village-

“Hit them hard and break through their line!” Gazef declared as he led the charge against the Scripture. “Once you’re through, keep riding, don’t miss your chance to escape! I will draw their fire!”

“No, sir!” The men roared back, surprising Gazef. “We’ll fight to the end with you, sir!” All of them drew their weapons, ready to follow their leader into battle, regardless of their fate.

“Tch.” Gazef couldn’t believe their tenacity, but perhaps he should’ve known better. “I’m so damn proud of you guys!” He roared as he drew his own sword. “Now, let’s paint the ground with their zealot guts!”

“YAAAAAHHHH!!!” The soldiers roared out their own battle cries even as the angels summoned by their enemies flew into the air, ready for battle.

Gazef saw it before he felt it. Blue Magic Circles formed in front of the outstretched palms of the Scripture’s Casters. He focused inward, bracing himself to throw off the effect that he was sure was coming.

Fear.

An overwhelming and intense feeling that could shut down all other emotions and leave the victim unable to do anything in response. Gazef grabbed onto his horse as it reared up in instinctual terror. His grip was the only reason that he hadn’t been bucked off. But while he’d been able to nullify the spell, his horse was a lost cause, the warhorse wouldn’t go any further in its panic.

“Damn it!” Gazef was left with no other choice. He dismounted and charged forward. He was joined by half of his men, all of their horses also struck by the spells and now rushing back towards the village in panic.

That was when the angels swooped in. The Monsters clashed with the soldiers, scattering the group. Gazef blocked a flaming sword, dodged a second, and backstepped out of range of a third, the flames touching his breastplate from the narrow escape. Around him he could see his men fighting back against the angels. The Monsters could barely be damaged by their weapons though.

‘Thankfully, the don’t seem to even care about whether they kill my men or not.’ Gazef noticed that any time one of his men was knocked to the ground, the angel would immediately go on the offensive against him personally. “That’s fine by me! Martial Art: Focus Battle Aura!” His sword glowed red and could know cleave through the angels attacking him.

“Follow the Chief Warrior!” His men rallied at seeing the angels dispersing into glowing orbs of light.

But more angels were still coming.

Over thirty angels put themselves in Gazef’s way as he charged. He frowned as he saw the heavy defenses ahead of him. “Out of my way!” Gazef activated his trump card. Heat bloomed from his hands, and spread to envelop his entire body. Gazef broke the limits of his physical body and stepped into the realm of heroes. In addition, he activated several martial arts at once; one could call those a Warrior’s magic.

Gazef glared at the six angels surrounding him. “Martial Art: Six-fold Slash of Light!” This was a martial art that struck as fast as light. In one move, he hit the six angels around him. All six of them were cut in half, dissolving into motes of light.

A few members of the Scripture from the Slane Theocracy gasped in surprise, while Gazef’s men cheered.

Although his ultimate attack made his arms cramp up, it was not enough to decrease his fighting effectiveness.

Then, as though ordered to drown out the cheers, a huge wave of angels swept in, and one of them lunged at Gazef with its flaming sword. “Martial Art: Instant Counter!” Gazef used his martial art just as the angel swung, and his body blurred away like mist. Halfway through its attack, the angel took a hit from Gazef. That hit reduced it to glittering dust.

But Gazef’s offensive did not end there.

“Flow Acceleration!” With fluid, graceful moves, he dispatched the angels one after the other. His ultimate attack took down two more angels again. This splendid display of martial technique inspired Gazef’s men and gave them a ray of hope.

But the Theocracy’s troops would not allow that to happen, and their commander erased that hope with mockery. “Well done. However, that is all you can do. Clerics who have lost your angels, summon new ones. Focus your spells on Stronoff!” Nigun ordered without concern for the incredible prowess that Gazef was showing.

“This is bad.” Gazef grit his teeth as the heat which had been building in the air immediately cooled off. He took down another angel as he muttered to himself. It would seem there would not be any more cheering no matter how many angels Gazef slew, since his men were worrying about the enemy coming at them.

They were superior in numbers, equipment, training, and individual ability. The sole weapon of Gazef’s beleaguered men…their hope for victory…was gone.

After unconsciously evading an incoming sword, Gazef counterattacked, and destroyed an angel in one hit. However, the enemy he was aiming for was still far away.

Although his subordinates hoped otherwise, they needed magic weapons to break through the angels’ damage reduction. They did not know how to use the Focus Battle Aura martial art like Gazef, and without magic weapons, even if Gazef’s men could injure the angels, they could not finish them off.

They were at their wit’s end.

And the waves of angels continued to rain down upon them.

-Carne Village ~ Inside the Large Storehouse-

“Mmm…Martial Arts?” Momonga muttered quietly to himself, able to hear through the carved statue that he’d given to Gazef. ‘Are those like the Warrior Skills from YGGDRASIL? The ones that let pure warrior builds take down Casters and Magical Monsters?’ He pondered on the possibility that this could simply be something that didn’t exist in YGGDRASIL and was native to this world. That did bring up the question of what else was unique to this world though. Was there Magic here that didn’t exist in YGGDRASIL too?

Albedo stood beside him silently. She was ready and waiting for when her Lord would take action. She would be at his side, always ready to be his shield or to kill his enemies. Her grip briefly tightened on her black axe.

-Battlefield-

“Bring them all on! Your angels are nothing!” Gazef’s fearsome shout startled the Theocracy troops, but they soon recovered and renewed the offensive on Gazef.

“Pay him no heed, that’s just the roar of a caged beast. Don’t worry, deplete his strength bit by bit. But don’t get too close. That beast’s claws are long and sharp.” Nigun mocked Gazef’s resolve.

Gazef glared at the man with a scar on his face. If only he could defeat him, he could turn the battle around. The problem was the other angel near him, different from the ones with the flaming swords. And then there was the great distance between them, and the several layers of defenses in the way.

They were simply too far apart.

“The beast is about to make a break for it. Show him the meaning of the word ‘impossible’.” Nigun ordered his subordinates.

The man’s calm voice only served to aggravate Gazef further. Even if he stepped into the realm of heroes, Gazef could not win with his refined melee techniques alone.

Still…so what? If that was the only road available to him, then he would have to charge down it with all his might. As the strength returned to his eyes, Gazef began his charge. However, the road ahead was hard, like he had expected.

The angels loomed before him, one after the after, swinging their swords of scorching red flame. As he evaded and counterattacked and destroyed the angels one after the other, Gazef suddenly felt an intense pain. It felt like he had been struck hard in the belly.

As Gazef looked in the direction of the pain, he saw a group of the Scripture casting a spell of some sort. “Well, if you’re priests, you should act like it. How about a little healing over here!?”

As though to answer Gazef’s jibe, an invisible force smashed into Gazef’s body.

Though the enemy used invisible attacks, Gazef was confident that he could avoid them by reading traces in the air and the looks on his opponent’s faces. That might even have worked, if there were only a few of them. However, against thirty of those attacks, there was nothing he could do. Just keeping his sword in his hands was taking all his strength. The pain filled his whole body. He had no idea where it was coming from, only that it was so great it almost made him collapse.

“Gahaah!” The taste of steel welled up in his throat, and Gazef spat a mouthful of fresh blood. The sticky ichor welled out of his mouth and stained his chin. Gazef’s legs were shaky after that barrage of invisible blows, and now an angel was swinging its flaming sword at him. He could not avoid the blow, and it struck his armor. Fortunately, it deflected the sword, but the impact travelled through the breastplate and deep into his body.

He swung wildly at the angel, but his poor balance meant that the angel easily evaded the attack. Gazef’s sword trembled in his hands as he gasped for breath. The fatigue that filled his body seemed to be whispering into his ear, telling him to just lie down and rest.

“The hunt has entered its final stages. Do not let the beast rest! Order your angels to attack consecutively.” Nigun wanted this to be over already. He was tired of tracking Gazef for days. It was time to finish this mission and return home.

Even though Gazef desperately wanted a moment to recover, the angels surrounding him obeyed their masters and mercilessly attacked him, one after the other. He somehow evaded the attack from behind, and parried a thrust from the side. He used the strong angles of his armor to deflect an angel’s charge from above. Gazef wanted to counterattack his foes, but he was greatly outnumbered.

As his strength diminished, he could only take out one opponent at a time, since he lacked the stamina to use martial arts. After his subordinates fell one by one, the enemy’s attacks were concentrated on him. With no way to break through the enemy encirclement, he felt death closing in on him.

His concentration faltered, and he nearly fell to one knee. He desperately tried to refocus so he could fight.

The invisible impacts came again, striking the tottering Gazef.

“Now, finish him off, but do not send in one angel. Use them all to ensure he is dead.” Nigun’s order was barely heard by Gazef, the warrior teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.

Yes, he was dead. His well-trained hands were shaking uncontrollably, and he could not pick up his longsword. Even so, he could not give up. His gritted teeth made creaking sounds. Gazef was not afraid of death. He had taken many lives in the past, so he was prepared to meet his end on the battlefield.

Like he’d told Sir Gown, he was hated by people. That hatred became a sword that would one day pierce his body.

But he could not accept an end like this.

They had attacked several villages and murdered defenseless, innocent villagers, all to lure Gazef into a trap. He could not allow himself to die at the hands of honorless dogs like this, and he could not bear his powerlessness.

“Gaaaaaaah! Don’t look down on me!” Gazef roared with all the strength in his body. Blood dribbled out the side of his mouth as Gazef rose to his feet. A man who should have been powerless to stand now stood proudly, the mighty force of his presence forcing back the angels that surrounded him. “Haaa…Haaa…” Just getting to his feet had him panting heavily. His mind was a blur and his body felt like it had turned to mud. But he could not lie down. If he lay down, all would be lost. This little bit of pain he felt could not compare to the suffering of the dead villagers.

“I am the Chief Warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom! I am a man who loves and defends his country! How can I lose to bastards like you who stain my country with your footsteps?!” Gazef was certain that great man would protect the villagers. Then, what he should do was defeat as many of the enemy as he could, so the people would not meet the same fate as all the others.

Protecting the future people of the Kingdom. That was all he wanted to do.

“You will die here because all you can do is babble that nonsense, Gazef Stronoff.” Nigun retorted, an almost satisfied smirk on his face. Gazef glared at the enemy commander as his cruel mockery reached his ears. “If only you had abandoned these villagers on the border, you would not be dying here. You probably don’t know, but your life is far more valuable than even a thousand of these peasants. If you truly love your country, you should have abandoned them to die.”

“You and I… will never see eye to eye… let’s go!” Gazef challenged Nigun with a harsh glare.

“What can that body of yours do? Cease your pointless struggles and lie down like a good dog. As a final act of mercy, I will make sure your death is painless.” Nigun offered with a mocking smile.

“If you think… I’m helpless… then why don’t you come... take my head? It should be easy… if I’m like this, right?”

“Hmph. You’re all talk. It looks like you still want to fight. Do you think you can win?” Nigun questioned Gazef, like he was talking to child.

Gazef simply stared straight ahead, his hands trembling as he gripped his sword. He focused on the enemy in front of him, ignoring the angels surrounding him.

“What a pointless effort. Truly, you are an idiot. After we kill you, we will then massacre the villagers you saved. All you have done is bought them a fear filled stay of execution.” Nigun declared, wanting to twist the knife a bit more after the trouble his Scripture had gone through over this mission.

“Kuh. kuh… kuku…” Gazef was smiling brightly.

“Is something amusing?” Nigun narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, you and your little army.” Gazef smirked at the other man. “When the man in the village comes for you, it really will be a massacre.”

“Trying to bluff me?” Nigun could almost laugh at this point. “Angels, kill Gazef Stronoff.”

Gazef was still smiling. What kind of look would this bastard have on his face when he met that inscrutable man called Ainz Ooal Gown? Seeing that would probably be the best gift Gazef could receive before heading off to the afterlife.

Countless wings moved in response to that cold, cruel order.

Gazef steeled himself, preparing to run forward, when suddenly a voice was heard in his head.

“Looks like it’s about time to switch.”

The scenery before Gazef changed, and he was no longer on that blood-soaked plain. Instead, he was in the middle of what appeared to be a simple storehouse filled with people. There were worried-looking villagers all around him. He also noticed all of his injured men were lying around him too. Unconscious, but still breathing.

“This, this is...” Gazef blinked, unable to believe what had just happened.

“This is a storehouse that Lord Gown has protected with his magic.” The village Chief informed Gazef, worriedly approaching the badly injured warrior.

“You’re the Chief…” Gazef looked around briefly. “Gown, Sir Gown does not seem to be here.”

“No, he was here just a moment ago, but he and his companion seemed to have vanished without a trace, and in his place, you and your men appeared, Chief Warrior.” The village Chief informed him of what the villagers had just witnessed.

‘I see, so the voice in my head was...’ Gazef allowed himself to relax. He briefly reached into his pouch for the carving that he’d been given. Seeing it disappear, its purpose clearly fulfilled, made Gazef grin. ‘Maybe not all Magic pisses me off.’ Gazef collapsed to the ground, and the villagers hurriedly drew closer.

-Battlefield-

“And just who are you?” Nigun looked down at the man in the feather cloak that had just appeared. His forced calm was hiding a burning rage at having Gazef taken right out from under their noses. He dismissed the person in black armor behind the man without a care. Another warrior to the slaughter, nothing more.

“Greetings, people of the Slane Theocracy, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown.” Momonga introduced himself, already having taken in the number of enemies and summons. “But please, call me Ainz.”

“And why are you here?” Nigun questioned, uncaring of who this man was.

“I have something of a relationship with those villagers.” Momonga answered simply.

“Have you come to beg for their lives, or just your own?” Nigun’s question was asked normally, but the mocking undertone wasn’t lost on Momonga.

“No, no…you misunderstand.” Momonga shook his head. The wind blowing across the plain picking up for a moment and ruffling his feathers just slightly. “I overheard your conversation with the Chief Warrior.” He narrowed his eyes at Nigun. “You really have a lot of balls, don’t you?”

“Huh?” Nigun uttered, confused.

“I spent my precious time and energy saving those people. And you brazenly declare your intent to massacre them. I can’t imagine anything more offensive.” Momonga’s voice was like a blade partially drawn from its sheath, a clear warning.

“You’re being rather brazen yourself, for a meager Magic Caster.” Nigun retorted, no fear in him when surrounded by his men and all of their angels. “So, what do you plan to do?”

Momonga extended his right hand out from under his folded wings, palm facing upwards as if he wanted Nigun to give him something. “Offer your pitiful life to me without resistance. Do this, and there shall be no pain.” He clenched his fist tightly. “However, if you refuse, I swear here and now that you will die painfully and in despair for your imprudence.”

Nigun had heard enough. “Have the angels attack this fool.” Two of the angels flew forward at speed, both of them thrust their flaming sword forward to impale Momonga with a loud thud. They stayed still and Nigun smirked. “Was that all you had? I expected more after a bluff like that.”

It was then that he and the other Scripture members realized that the two Flame Archangels were struggling.

“Did you not hear me?” Momonga questioned, each of his hands palming the head of one of the angels. The helmets were creaking slightly from the force of his grip. It actually took the Sunlight Scripture a moment to noticed the two broken swords on the ground in front of Momonga, both fading away in motes of light. The weapons of such low level summons couldn’t even damage his feathers. “I said to offer your life without resistance. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll wish you had listened.”

“A trick!”

“Yes! It has to be!”

“High Tier Physical Immunity. It’s a passive skill that completely nullifies the attacks of low level weapons and Monsters.” Momonga informed them without a care. “Hyah!” He slammed the two Flame Archangels into the ground and they shattered into fragments of light that quickly vanished. “As I thought, they really are the Archangel Flames from YGGDRASIL.” Momonga stood back up to his full height. “The fact that you can use Magic and Summon spells from YGGDRASIL intrigues me. I want to know why they exist here and how you could have learned them.” He narrowed his eyes at the men. “But for now, I’ll focus on killing you.”

All of the Sunlight Scripture took a step back instinctively.

“It’s my turn. You wanted a massacre, you’ll get one.” Momonga promised the zealots sharply.

“Don’t just stand there! Attack him! Hurry!” Nigun bellowed out and his subordinates sent their angels forward all at once.

“Albedo, step back.” Momonga spoke and heard the air whoosh as Albedo cleared an absurd distance in an instant. The horde of angels rained down on Momonga all at once without him batting an eye. “Negative Burst!”

A dome of black and purple energy exploded off Momonga’s body, wiping out every single Flame Archangel instantly. He’d chosen a Negative Energy spell because of its damage bonus against Angel Monsters. The effectiveness spoke for itself.

“Th-That’s not…possible.” Nigun’s eyes were wide, his fear plain as day on his face.

“When the man in the village comes for you, it really will be a massacre.”

Gazef’s voice rang in Nigun’s mind.

“Charm Person!”

“Iron Hammer of Righteousness!”

“Hold!”

“Fire Rain!”

“Emerald Sarcophagus!”

“Holy Ray!”

“Shockwave!”

“Confusion!”

“Charge of Stalagmite!”

“Open Wounds!”

“Poison!”

“Fear!”

“Word of Curse!”

“Blindness!”

The frantic casting from all of the Sunlight Scripture rained down on Momonga, but not a single spell could even touch him. Third Tier seemed to be the limit of these people. And his High Tier Magical Immunity rendered everything Sixth Tier and below useless.

“Hmm, it would seem that they know more YGGDRASIL spells than I initially thought.” Momonga mentioned as all of the spells fizzled out just before they reached him. “Tell me, where did you learn that Magic?”

“Uagh!” One of the Sunlight Scripture launched a physical projectile at Momonga out of sheer terror.

In the next instant Albedo was in front of Momonga and the man’s head was gone from the greatly amplified returned projectile. Blood spurted from the stump of his neck before his body crashed to the ground in a heap. This prompted shocked screams from the men closest to the corpse.

“What…just happened?” Nigun hadn’t even blinked, yet he’d still been unable to see the exchange.

“Albedo, you are well aware that these pitiful low level attacks would’ve done me no harm. There was no need for you to interfere.” Momonga spoke calmly to her.

“I beg your pardon, Lord Ainz.” Albedo apologized as she stood up to her full height again. “But if someone wishes to fight a Supreme Being, such as you, then they should at least be able to best me. These men are mere pebbles fighting a mountain.”

“Haha…I’m afraid they wouldn’t meet your requirements in ten lifetimes.” Momonga chuckled lightly at Albedo’s words. “Now…” He turned his gaze on Nigun.

“Principality of Observation! Attack!” Nigun ordered the large angel that had been beside him the whole time.

The Principality of Observation was a higher class angel, with large wings, a shield bearing a red stylized sun on its left arm, and flowing white robes. It put its hands together and a massive mace formed, the head of the weapon glowing brilliantly with divine magic. It flew towards Momonga and brought the weapon down in a powerful blow.

Only for that blow to be stopped by Momonga’s left hand.

“My, my…I guess I should fight back.” Momonga raised his right hand, index finger pointing at the angel. “Hell Flame.” A tiny flame, burning black and red, floated over to the Principality of Observation. As soon as the fire touched the angel, it burst into an inferno that swallowed up the Monster and incinerated it in seconds. A special flame, Hell Flame had Negative bonus damage to Monsters with the Holy Attribute, or Players with high Karma Values. It was more than enough for such a weak angel.

“That…was one…hit.” Nigun felt like he was in a bad dream. “That’s impossible! There’s no way a high level angel could be destroyed using only one spell!”

“Captain Nigun, sir!”

“What do we do now?”

Nigun’s mind stalled for a second, before remembering his trump card. With a grin, he reached into his inner pocket and produced a glowing crystal. “We’ll summon the highest level angel!” He held the crystal up high. His men all began to cheer for their impending salvation.

‘Is that?” Momonga looked at the glowing crystal. ‘Based on how it glows, it’s a Sealing Crystal that can store any spell up to the Tenth Tier. So, they even have YGGDRASIL items.’ He turned to Albedo with a serious look. “Albedo, I believe your skills may be required.”

“Understood!” Albedo twirled her axe and took up position in front of Momonga. Nothing would get past her! If her Lord Momonga commanded it, she would die in his place!

“Behold! The shining form of the highest of angels!” Nigun smiled widely as the light from the crystal increased more and more. “DOMINION AUTHORITY!”

In a flash of light, a new angel appeared. It appeared to be made up of multiple wings, all gathered around a central form with two arms. In its two outstretched hands was a golden staff, a symbol of its authority. The area that had just been getting dark with the setting of the sun was suddenly brightly lit once again.

‘I was expecting…more.’ Momonga almost face-faulted at what had been summoned. He’d been expecting something like a Seraph Aesphere…or maybe a Seraph Empyrean. That would’ve forced them to be serious.

The loud cheering from the Sunlight Scripture was heard as the new angel hovered over them. All of them now believed that their victory was assured. They would kill this Ainz Ooal Gown and be able to return home after dealing with Gazef Stronoff.

“Wait…you’re telling me this is your strongest trump card?” Momonga looked at Nigun in disbelief.

“That’s right!” Nigun declared, a wide smile on his face now that he’d summoned the Dominion Authority. “I didn’t think that I’d have to call on it! But you’ve proven worthy of its divine greatness!”

“I’m at an utter loss for words.” Momonga put his face in his right hand.

“Regretting your folly?” Nigun sneered at him. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

“This is stupid…” Momonga heaved a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe I put up my guard for this sort of child’s play.”

“Wh-What was that?” Nigun felt something in his mind snap. “You can’t be serious!” He gulped audibly. “No way! You’re lying!” He was starting to get frantic. “Mankind can’t compete with its might! I’ll show you!” Nigun looked up at the Dominion Authority. “Smite him with your divine power!” The staff in the angel’s hands shattered into fragments. The golden fragments began to orbit the Dominion Authority until a ring was formed around it. “Dominion Authority is the holy product of Seventh Tier Magic! Nothing can survive it! Now receive the gods’ judgement and repent! HOLY SMITE!!!” Nigun roared out just a tower of intense blue-white light slammed down on top of Momonga.

‘Holy Protection reduces all damage from attacks with the Holy Attribute. Holy Smite also does more damage the lower the targets Karma Value. With mine at ‘0’, there’s no way this spell would ever do more than middling damage. With Holy Protection’s reduction added on, this barely feels like anything.’ Momonga thought to himself, only feeling mildly warm, like he was under a stage light or something.

“Ha…haha…hahaha.” Nigun began to laugh as the Holy Smite roared and shook the air from its power.

“Yeah…this is about what I’d expect from Seventh Tier.” Momonga’s voice was barely heard over the spell.

Then the spell died down, and all of the Sunlight Scripture could see that it had no effect at all.

“Lord Ainz?” Albedo looked at him through her helmet.

“I’m fine, Albedo, no damage at all.” Momonga smiled at her and the succubus nearly swooned. “Aside from the surprising weakness of their angels, I’ve been able to confirm a few things.”

The stunned, shocked, outright terrified faces of the Sunlight Scripture stared at Momonga.

“It’s my turn again.” Momonga’s eyes danced through their myriad colors as he stopped hiding their natural state. “Know despair. Black Hole!”

A tiny pinprick of darkness appeared before the Dominion Authority. A fraction of a second later and it had expanded to the size of a beach ball. All sound vanished in the plain as the huge angel was horrifically stretched and contorted into the tiny space. In exactly five seconds, the void had disappeared, just as it had in YGGDRASIL.

The darkness of night returned to the plain without the Dominion Authority around.

“Even demons don’t have this kind of power…” Nigun breathed out, looking like his soul was about to leave his body. “Who are you?” The terror was returning like a tsunami as his entire body began to shake.

“Ainz Ooal Gown…in the past, there was no one alive that did not fear this name.” Momonga replied, before the sky directly above the plain seemed to crack briefly.

“Wh-What was that?” Nigun looked up at the sky. The strange blackness seemingly vanished from his sclera now.

“It seems that someone was using Reconnaissance Magic to watch you from afar.” Momonga answered the man’s question easily. “My guess would be the Theocracy. But my defense barrier counteracted it. So, I doubt they saw much.”

“My country…as watching me?” Nigun sounded confused that they would do so.

“If that’s all you had, then it’s time to end this.” Momonga stated, his voice flat.

“No! No, wait, please, Sir Ainz, no, Lord Ainz!” Nigun began to babble. “Spare my life! The rest of these men don’t matter!” The screaming and shouting of his subordinates quickly rose in panicked fervor. “I’ll give you whatever you want! Just name it! I will do anything to appease you!”

“I think you’re mistaken.” Albedo spoke up, once more returned to Momonga’s side. “Lord Ainz has no need for sniveling lower lifeforms. Humans like you should bow their heads and give thanks to him for ending their miserable lives.”

“B-But what does that mean? Humans like me?” Nigun had just had his entire world tossed on its head. He couldn’t figure out what the armored woman meant.

“What was it you said to Gazef?” Momonga unfurled his wings, spreading them wide and activating his Deity Aura to debuff all of the Sunlight Scripture at the same time. “Cease your futile resistance, and just lie down like a good dog. As an act of mercy, I’ll make sure your death in painless.”

The horrified screams of the Sunlight Scripture were heard for a brief moment in that dark field. Then everything was silent once more.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Things continue to change! Momonga’s Deity Race means he doesn’t have to hide his face!

The villagers respond a bit better, and having his emotions free means that he can express empathy with the villagers. HE sent his Death Knight back to Nazarick early, turned the Squire Zombies into ashes, all to make the Carne residents more at ease.

Then, of course, Gazef and Momonga have their first meeting. Both gain respect for each other as you’d expect.

The Sunlight Scripture still had a bad time.

Momonga’s different Race and playstyle makes Holy Smite even more useless than it was in Canon.

We even got to see him in magically created armor. Wink wink

He even put a ring on Albedo’s finger! I’m sure THAT wasn’t misconstrued at all!

But another change has appeared! What is this Fox Lord’s Territory? And why is it called Kyoto? Momonga is a very curious Deity now!

How will Nazarick proceed going forward?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!