Overlord Premise Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! With the Zurrernorn Incident resolved and Nfirea rescued, things are heading in a good direction for Momonga and his Adventurer character, Momon. Securing his new pair of Pharmacists is important…but so is taking care of the lone survivor of the Swords of Darkness. What will be Ninya’s fate? What will become of Clementine within Nazarick?

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Chapter 7 – Aftermath and Punishment

Within the E-Rantel Adventurer’s Guild a large commotion was still stirring from the incident that ‘Raven Black Hero’ Momon and the ‘Beautiful Princess’ Nabe had resolved. The nicknames weren’t official, but they were already spreading throughout the fortress city, even as dawn had broken and the morning had worn on.

With the horde of undead already wiped out, the graveyard was being searched by the majority of E-Rantel’s Adventurers. The evidence that had already been found implicated the Cult of Zurrernorn for the mass outbreak of the undead. Momon had reported that the Necromancer he’d fought, Khajit, had raised the horde himself, and therefore all of the graves within the sprawling cemetery should probably be checked to make sure the corpses within were still corpses and not more undead slowly digging their way out of the ground.

Pluton Ainzach, the Guild Master, had thought it a prudent step to take, and had the Adventurers open the various graves while they had daylight, knowing that most weak undead were further weakened by sunlight to at least some degree. So far, a few undead had been discovered and eliminated, but thankfully, most of the graves hadn’t been defiled by the Necromancer.

For taking care of such a large incident, especially one related to the Cult of Zurrernorn, Ainzach had assured both Momon and Nabe that they’d be receiving a large promotion as Adventurers. The tale of the two new Adventurers leaping head first into the horde of undead to save E-Rantel was already spreading throughout the city like wildfire, just as Momon had hoped it would. A reputation was only built by action and then the following response of the masses, after all.

But right now, there was something that Momonga felt he needed to take care of.

-Bareare Apothecary-

“Ninya.” Momon sat next to the girl (and hadn’t THAT been a surprise) while Nfirea and Lizzie were packing up their things to move to Carne Village at Momon’s request. Nabe was helping the two Pharmacists as well, while Momon talked with the still stunned Ninya.

Ninya took a moment to respond to Momon’s greeting, only looking up at the taller man and giving the tiniest fraction of a broken smile. On her lap were the four black daggers that the Swords of Darkness had once carried as a group. “Mr. Momon.” She greeted him in barely more than a whisper.

Momon had his helmet off and gave Ninya an understanding look. “It’s never going to be easy; but, in time, you’ll be able to remember them fondly. The pain will stay with you though.” He spoke from experience having watched as his friends disappeared from YGGDRASIL one by one. The loss still hit him hard to this day, but he was slowly making peace with it and remembering the good times, more than the bad.

“It hurts so much.” Ninya sniffled, tears in the corners of her eyes. “Why do I keep losing the people I care about?”

“The world can be a cruel place.” Momon gently rested his hand on Ninya’s shoulder, providing what emotional support that he could. “But if we keep moving forward, we’ll find things to care about again.” He knew it was hypocritical of him to say such a thing, given how desperately he’d clung to YGGDRASIL and his friends there, but he was also just now starting down the path of finding new things to live for himself, so they were in the same boat, really.

Ninya looked down at the four black daggers on her lap for a long time, tears occasionally falling to land on the leather sheaths. “I don’t know what to do now.”

Momon sat next to her silently for a long moment before speaking again. “How about taking a break?”

“A break?” Ninya looked at him after a second. “What do you mean?”

“Take a break from Adventuring, or retire from the profession, if necessary. Do something else, anything else, take your mind and your heart away from work for a time so that you can properly grieve and heal.” Momonga didn’t now if that was the correct path for Ninya, but he’d certainly felt better after getting used to living in Nazarick as compared to his previous life of being a corporate drone and working himself to death. “Surely there are other things you want to do with your life aside from being an Adventurer?”

Ninya sighed heavily, almost a sob, really, before getting her sniffles under control again. “I became an Adventurer to gather information and build up my strength…all so that I could try and find my older sister that had been taken by the nobles of our former home.” She shook her head to stop more tears from falling. “It’s been a few years now, but I’m still hoping to find her.”

“What’s your sister’s name? I’ll do my own looking around if it’ll help you, Ninya.” Momon offered with a small smile for the girl.

“Y-You don’t have to do that…Mr. Momon.” Ninya dried her eyes a bit with her sleeve. “This is my problem.”

Momon shook his head. “I’m doing this because I want to, Ninya, nothing more.”

“Tuareninya…Veyron.” Ninya spoke with a warmth in her voice that Momon had never heard from her before. “That’s my older sister’s name.”

“Tuareninya…and you’re Ninya…your names are similar.” Momon smiled at that. Internally he was committing the name to memory and would make sure that some of Nazarick’s growing intelligence gathering network was put to the task of tracking down anyone by that name.

Ninya shook her head after a moment. “No…that’s not exactly it.” She looked back up at Momon with a weak smile. “Ninya is a fake name that I took on to remember my sister. But since you already know the truth about me.” Ninya gestured to herself and the current lack of hiding her gender. “My name is Celicia Veyron, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Momon.” She introduced herself with her real name for the first time in years.

“The pleasure is mine, Celicia Veyron.” Momon smiled back at her, glad to see some small light returning to her eyes.

The two sat in silence for a bit, the newly revealed Celicia mourning for her fallen friends, while Momon thought about how to help her, given that he felt part of this was his fault for getting the Swords of Darkness involved with his Quest for Nfirea. The Pharmacist had only been trying to learn where Momon had gotten the red potion that he’d given to Brita. But because he hadn’t found the right time to ask on the trip, he’d been planning to ask once they got back to E-Rantel. Only for the members of Zurrernorn to strike.

Seeing Lizzie and Nfirea packing up their things and moving them onto their wagon, Momon got an idea.

‘It would let Celicia get away from the Adventurer life for at least a while, and allow me to keep watch over her as well.’ Momonga considered to himself. Left unsaid, or unthought in this case, was that Momonga hadn’t forgotten about Celicia’s Talent. The ability to learn any spell twice as fast as normal was nothing to scoff at. ‘With proper training and instruction, she could easily become one of the better Casters of this world.’ It was a boon for Nazarick and a boon for Celicia herself. Building up his forces with inhabitants of this world would be necessary if Nazarick was to make a place for themselves here, like Seimei had done.

“Celicia, perhaps a change of scenery would help?” Momon looked at the girl with a soft expression.

“Change of scenery?” Celicia sniffed once and wiped at her eyes again. “You men leave E-Rantel?”

“Yes, perhaps you could go with Lizzie and Nfirea to Carne Village?” Momon would take Celicia under his wing and protect her. Hopefully, he’d be able to find her sister eventually as well.

“Carne…” Celicia spoke the name of the village before going quiet. It was clear that she was thinking things over and Momon was perfectly fine letting her do so. “That was the last place that we were all together.” She gently placed her hands over the four daggers on her lap. A sad smile formed on Celicia’s face, but a bit of life had returned to her eyes. “I think that might be nice, Mr. Momon. I can reminisce for a while and figure out where to go from here.”

“Take all the time you need for yourself, Celicia. One should be allowed to grieve and mourn properly for those they’ve lost.” Momon gently squeezed her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

So it was that Celicia Veyron moved to Carne Village along with the Bareare family.

-Sixth Floor of Nazarick ~ Colosseum-

In one of the many cells of the Colosseum, though one that had been furnished appropriately at the order of Momonga, a certain woman was beginning to stir from her spell-induced slumber.

“Huh?” Clementine lightly shook her head as she opened her eyes, blinking a few times to clear her vision. “Where am I?” She looked around and found that she was in a decently-sized stone room.

There was a thick woodened door on one wall across from the bed, it was banded with what looked like black iron and the small window was barred with more black metal. In one corner of the room was a wooden tub, meant for bathing, and two jugs sat on a small beside it. Behind a short partition was the ‘bathroom’ though it wasn’t a modern version like what the members of Ainz Ooal Gown had in their world. In truth, the only reason these cell-like rooms existed in the Colosseum was because the structure had been partially based on the Roman Coliseum.

Clementine sat up, only now noticing that she was lying in a simple bed, but one that was still far better than what most commoners slept on. Instead of hay or grasses stuffing the mattress, it felt like cotton with something inside supporting her weight. It made for a much better mattress than she was used to. The blanket over her seemed to be made of cotton as well, though it was thicker than the thin cloth that was more common among the masses. Pushing it back, she found that she was in a simple woolen nightgown, meaning that someone had changed her.

“My armor…weapons…” Clementine muttered under her breath, her eyes once more glancing around the room, looking for any sign of her possessions. Not seeing them, she supposed that made sense, given that she was captured. “Well…sort of captured, I guess?” She hummed thoughtfully, recalling seeing Momon’s true form in the cemetery of E-Rantel and how she had offered herself to him completely in exchange for her life. ‘I’m still wondering what the punishment I’m in for will be.’ Clementine looked over her room again, noting that all of her needs were not only met, but in come cases (like the nice bed and the full-sized bathing tub) exceeded.

“I wonder…” Clementine swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, only slightly grimacing at the cold stone beneath her feet. Walking over to the small table with the two jugs on it, she noticed one was colored a light blue, while the one next to it was a light red. Picking up the blue one, it felt full, and she poured some water into a simple wooden cup that was also on the table. Clean water filled the cup and Clementine set the jug back down before picking up the cup and sniffing the water. “Smells like water.” She took a small sip, trying to taste anything within the liquid, like poison. After waiting a few minutes for anything to happen, she realized that she was being ridiculous. “I’m already captured. What the hell would be the point in poisoning me?” She drained the entire cup in one long drink, relishing the soothing coolness of the liquid on her previously dry throat.

The next few minutes were spent exploring her room/cell. The light red picture felt full of water too, but when she poured it out the water was warm, bordering on hot. Realizing that she was still pouring the hot water out and the jug never felt any lighter, Clementine grinned at the jug and eyed the bathing tub. Now she understood why there were two jugs and the tub in her cell. She could bathe whenever she was left in here for however long that she’d be confined.

“What kind of person is he to treat a prisoner like a guest?” Clementine wondered about the God that had given her a chance and taken her in. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, she propped up the light red jug against the edge of the wooden tub and let it start filling up for a bath. “Gods, it’s been too long since I’ve been able to bathe properly.” She stretched her arms above her head and used the toilet while her bath was filling.

Taking off the woolen nightgown, Clementine slipped into the tub of warm water with a sigh. Grabbing the washcloth and soap from the small table next to the tub, she lathered up and began to scrub herself clean. Washing her hair was easier than ever as she simply poured water from the red jug over her head and then lathered it up to clean her blonde locks. Not seeing any reason to rush, Clementine relaxed in the bath for a while, taking full advantage of what might be her last reprieve from punishment for a while.

“Towels?” Clementine stood up from the water some time later, water cascading down her lithe and taunt form, over her tits, across her stomach, and down her thighs to rejoin the water in the tub. Spotting two simple towels folded up on the opposite side of the tub, she wrapped the larger one around her body and the smaller one around her head to start drying her hair. “Damn, this is more like a nice inn than a prison cell.”

“I will let Lord Ainz know that you approve of your accommodations…woof.” A female voice came through the barred window on the lone door in the room.

Clementine was instantly against the far wall with her hands raised into a fighting stance, the large towel barely holding on to her body from the sudden movement.

“No need for that.” The woman behind the door spoke again. Clementine was now able to see her through the window and blinked once at what she was seeing.

The head of a dog, possibly a sheepdog, but wearing the headdress of a maid with two black cloths hanging down from the headdress to cover her eyes. Down the center of the dog head was a vertical scar with signs of stitching at the edges, as if the woman’s head had been split in two and then stitched back together or something. Given the small size of the barred window, Clementine couldn’t see more of the woman.

“A Demi-human?” Clementine asked without thinking about it.

“I’m known as Pestonya.” The dog-headed woman answered without going into detail about her actual Heteromorph Race. “…woof.”

‘Did she add that on purpose?’ Clementine wondered about the ‘woof’ part.

“I’m the Head Maid of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, where you are now.” Pestonya informed Clementine with a calm and polite voice. “At Lord Ainz’s request, we’ve furnished your cell to be comfortable, and the Lord asked me to pass on a message to you.” Seeing that Clementine was paying attention, Pestonya continued. “Our Lord said: ‘Clementine, you will stay inside your cell until called into the Colosseum to demonstrate your Martial Arts. Follow all orders perfectly, and you will rise from being a mere prisoner and test subject, to a full member of the Great Tob of Nazarick. I will see you when I’m able, make sure to give your utmost for Nazarick.’ End message.”

Clementine nodded to confirm that she understood the message from Ainz. ‘I wonder if that’s his ‘true name’ that he refused to tell me in the cemetery? Maybe another fake name? Whatever, it’s not important right now.’ She decided to ask Pestonya a question since the dog-headed woman seemed polite. “What does Lord Ainz mean by ‘test subject’?”

Pestonya thought for a moment, going over the orders that she had received from Lord Momonga to see if telling Clementine would violate any of them. “You are to have information about the Slane Theocracy extracted from your mind. After which, you will be thrown into the Colosseum over and over again to demonstrate all of your Martial Arts in combat so that their useful for Nazarick can be determined. You will fight beasts, summons, and even other members of Nazarick to make sure that everything about your Martial Arts will be recorded and analyzed. While your life will be guaranteed, your physical suffering is expected to be great, given your Level.”

Clementine recoiled just slightly at the polite tone that her future suffering was spoken in. “By suffering, you mean I’m going to be beaten within an inch of my life, right?”

“Beaten, broken, dismembered, burned, poisoned, paralyzed, exsanguinated, and other torments are all likely; though which ones you’ll suffer from during each battle will depend upon who your opponent is.” Pestonya replied softly. “…woof.”

“I see…” Clementine made sure that she didn’t tremble. She wasn’t afraid of pain. If getting the shit beaten out of her over and over again as her punishment was all that she had to worry about, then she’d endure, just like she had when she’d been weak. “Do you know when I’ll be called to battle?”

“Not until after Lord Ainz has seen you to acquire your knowledge of the Slane Theocracy. Woof.” Pestonya answered politely.

Clementine wasn’t sure that was going to be much better than the physical suffering, given that she was aware of some obscure Mind Magics that destroyed the victim’s mind in the process of forcibly extracting information from them. Healing Magic could put a body back together, but the mind required much more specific and rarer Magics to do the same.

“I will bring you a meal three times a day for the duration of your imprisonment.” Pestonya informed Clementine with a slightly warmer tone. “Is there anything you are allergic to or can’t eat for some reason?” She took pride in her position as the Head Maid, so asking such things was only natural.

“Oh…no, I can eat whatever, I don’t have food allergies.” Clementine informed the Head Maid. Her stomach was empty and she wouldn’t mind a meal.

“Very well.” Pestonya nodded to the woman. “I shall return shortly with your breakfast.”

Clementine watched Pestonya walk away and started to dry herself off again once the dog-headed woman was gone. “Not like I can really say anything against whatever they do to me here.” She snarked to herself as she put the woolen nightgown back on since there weren’t any other clothes in her cell.

Several minutes later and Pestonya returned with a tray in hand. A portion of the bottom of the thick wooden door swung outwards revealing it to be a hinged slot. The tray was slid into the cell and the slot was shut behind it. “Enjoy.” Pestonya spoke before leaving again.

Clementine moved over to pick the tray up off the floor, finding her breakfast to be eggs, sausage, bacon, bread, fruit, and some kind of soup that she couldn’t identify. “More than I expected.” She admitted as she sat the tray down on the small table next to the wooden tub. A simple wooden spoon was her only utensil, but Clementine expected that, given that a fork or knife would easily count as a weapon. “Huh… It’s actually pretty good.” Clementine mused as she took her first bite.

-Later-

Knock Knock Knock

The knocking would’ve startled Clementine if she hadn’t heard the footsteps coming down the stone hallway outside of her cell. Standing up she moved so that she could see through the barred window. “Lord Ainz.” She bowed at the waist upon seeing the God that she now served.

“Clementine.” Momonga greeted her as the thick door was opened by Albedo with Mare at her side. “I will be extracting all of the useful information about the Slane Theocracy that you possess. I trust that you won’t resist?”

“No, my Lord.’ Clementine sat on the edge of the bed and simply waited. She eyed the other two with Ainz, a Dark Elf girl… ‘No… A boy.’ Clementine could spot a crossdresser, having had to do the same herself when forced to be a body double for her brother. The beautiful woman was clearly a demon of some kind, the white horns curling along each side of her head and the pair of black wings coming from her back made that blatantly obvious.

“Very good.” Momonga nodded to her while holding up his right hand, palm facing Clementine. “[Dominate].” He cast the spell and a purple Magic Circle appeared in front of his palm. Clementine’s eyes became dull as the spell took over her mind. ‘I’m glad that I thought to bring Albedo to this information extraction. With her intelligence, she’ll ask questions that I wouldn’t think of.’ Momonga glanced over at Albedo and lamented that he had to lean on her due to his limited education back in his world. “Let’s begin.” He spoke and Mare stood ready to write down all of the information they learned today, acting as the Scribe for this interrogation.

Several hours later and the extraction was done. With [Dominate] active, Clementine had no will of her own. Every question was answered without hesitation or thought on her part. Momonga once more rejoiced at having brought Albedo with him. He’d only asked about things like the Slane Theocracy’s military power, their Magic, and other obvious information that anyone would want on a hostile nation.

Albedo, however, had practically turned Clementine’s mind into a search engine as she asked much more focused and direct questions on a range of topics. Clementine gave the information that she was asked for, pages and pages of paper were filled out by Mare as the captured woman spoke. Everything from trade routes, to important members of the government, how the country functioned, where their money was made, the condition of their economy, how the religion and the church worked, their number of forces, special targets, current and ongoing operations, and more things that Momonga hadn’t even known to ask about were all answered as Albedo continued her questioning.

“I believe that’s everything, my Lord.” Albedo smiled at Momonga lovingly.

“Good work, Albedo, very thorough.” Momonga praised her with a gentle smile. ‘I’m a total failure as an interrogator!’ He cried out in the privacy of his mind.

“Thank you, my Lord!” Albedo was practically sparkling at the praise.

Momonga turned to Mare with a warm grin. “You’ve done excellent work today, Mare, just like always.” He praised the Dark Elf boy.

“Th-Thank you very much, my Lord!” Mare bowed at the waist before looking up at Momonga with a bright smile. “I’ll take these papers to your office so that you’ll be able to go over them at your leisure.”

“Thank you, Mare.” Momonga patted his head gently before sending him off.

Mare was almost skipping through the corridors before using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to teleport to just outside of Momonga’s office.

:M-My Lord…” Albedo fidgeted slightly as she spoke up. When Momonga turned to look at her, her cheeks turned pink. “C-Could I be given a r-reward too?”

“A reward?” Momonga raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Like what Mare received, my Lord.” Albedo tapped her index fingers together bashfully.

Momonga, realizing what she meant now, nearly chuckled. “You did excellent work today, Albedo. If that is all you ask as reward, then I have no reason to refuse.” He gently placed his hand atop her head and then gave her a head pat like Mare.

“Fuah~” Albedo sighed in bliss as she enjoyed the simple praise. All too soon, in her opinion, the head pat was over.

“It is time for the first tests of this world’s Martial Arts skills.” Momonga looked back at Clementine. “Please get her equipped with her gear and bring her to the arena.”

“At once, my Lord.” Albedo nodded to her Lord, and beloved.”

Momonga left the renovated cell and headed for the stands overlooking the arena so that he could observe the first tests.

As Momonga left, the [Dominate] spell wore off and awareness returned to Clementine’s eyes. “H-Huh?” She looked around, only seeing Albedo in the cell with her.

“Stand.” Albedo’s demonic golden eyes nearly glowed as she gave the human woman an order. Clementine did as she was told, instinctively knowing that this demon woman was stronger than her. “Follow me. You’re to equip yourself and then you’ll be facing your first opponent.”

“Yes…” Clementine drew out, hoping to get a name to call the demon woman.

“I am Albedo, the Overseer of the Floor Guardians. I am second only to Lord Ainz in authority within Nazarick.” Albedo spoke with cold authority.

“Yes, Lady Albedo.” Clementine looked towards the floor as they left her cell.

Albedo glanced at the woman that Momonga had brought back to Nazarick with some disdain. For one, she was merely human. Secondly, she was weak. Neither of those would garner her anything but contempt within Nazarick. ‘But at least this lab rat knows her place.’ Albedo could at least give the woman a modicum of praise for understanding that much.

-Colosseum ~ Arena-

Clementine stepped out into the arena in her light armor with her stilettos in their holster behind her. Not seeing anything waiting for her, she walked forward until she stood in the center. Spotting Lord Ainz, Clementine gave him a bow of respect. What she got in return was Ainz raising his hand and a summoning circle appearing a dozen meters in front of her.

What appeared from the summoning was very familiar to Clementine. It was an angel, wrapped in its white robes and shining helmet, with its flaming sword in hand. An Archangel Flame, a third tier Angel summon. She drew one of her stilettos and prepared to fight as the angel brandished its sword and then flew into the air a bit before rushing her.

“[Focus Battle Aura]!” Clementine activated the Marital Art and easily ended the Archangel Flame with a stab through the head. It wasn’t even hard to dodge its flaming sword for her, so she’d used only the Martial Art required to be able to kill it. The Archangel Flame faded away into motes of light as it died.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several skeletons in dark robes recording what she was doing. She thought they might be Elder Liches, but couldn’t confirm as a second summoning circle appeared a bit further away from her. Unlike the previous one, this circle was red. What rose up from the summoning was a red and black skinned demon with large horns and a muscular body, wicked claws were on each finger, ready to tear Clementine apart.

‘A God that can summon angels and demons?!’ Clementine thought in surprise, having never heard of such a thing before.

She wasn’t given much time to be surprised as the demon rushed her with a roar.

“[Ability Boost]! [Evasion]!” Clemetine activated two Marital Arts this time. They weren’t her strongest, but if she was going to be put through a gauntlet, then she needed to conserve her stamina and her focus as much as she could.

The demon’s claws swiped through empty air as Clementine ducked beneath its swipe and then countered, stabbing her stiletto into the side of the demon’s head. Tit went limp and she yanked her stiletto out of its head with a grin as her blood started pumping. The demon fell apart into fire and ash before even that disappeared.

Five summoning circles appeared at once as Skeleton Warriors rose from them, the armed and armored undead were a good step up from a basic skeleton and could give Iron and Silver Plate Adventurers some difficulty. All five of the Skeleton Warriors quickly surrounded her and raised their shields in front of them, their swords held at the ready to their sides.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Clementine grinned widely at the tactics being used against her. Shields to block her stabbing stilettos, and swords at the ready to counter attack. “[Gale Acceleration]!” Clementine stacked another Martial Art on top of her [Evasion] and [Ability Boost]. She was in the Realm of Heroes and could keep up to eight Martial Arts active at one time, though she couldn’t keep it up for long as it would overtax her body and drain her mental focus. But three weaker Martial Arts could be held for a good amount of time.

She was quickly in the guard of the Skeleton Warrior directly to her right. Her first stiletto stabbed straight through the shield and destroyed its sternum. She drew her second stiletto before it could retaliate and smashed its skull with the pommel.

The other four Skeleton Warriors took the opening provided by her attack and rushed her. Swords came down in powerful swings all aimed at Clementine’s back. But the warrior woman used her heightened evasion to dodge the attacks and threw the pierced shield at the head of one of the Skeleton Warriors. She crushed its skull as it swatted the shield away with its own, opening its guard.

“Three left~” Clementine teased in a cutesy voice. She laughed as she leapt backwards to avoid the three-pronged attack from the remaining Skeleton Warriors. She dropped low and then rushed forward getting under the Skeleton Warriors’ guard and shattering the skulls of the ones on the left and right as her stilettos pierced them from the bottom and exploded out of the top, sending bone fragments flying through the air. The final Skeleton Warrior was destroyed as Clemetine brought the pommels of both of her stilettos together and shattered the skull between them.

With a grin on her face she looked at the robed undead writing down her performance. Her gaze shifted over to Ainz with a wide smile. If this was all she had to deal with today then she’d be fine.

Momonga had been observing Clementine’s Martial Arts as she fought his summons. So far, he’d confirmed a few things. “Much like magic, there seem to be levels of Martial Arts. Lower Martial Arts don’t seem to take much of a toll on a warrior, even if they use more than one at a time.” Deciding that Third Tier summons weren’t enough to force Clementine, Momonga motioned with his hand.

“Hmm?” Clementine noticed one of the gates rising on the other side of the arena. “What the hell is that?” She blinked at the creature that emerged from the corridor.

It stood at about three meters tall and had the appearance of a wingless dragon standing on two feet with a tail as thick as a tree trunk. Its scales were orange, except for the thick red scales that covered its outer arms, its thighs, its head going down its spine and along its tail, and the thicker scales on both shoulders. In the Monster’s left hand was a huge steel cleaver-like weapon.

“ROOOAAARRRHHH!!!” The Dragonkin roared loudly in challenge.

“Well, shit.” Clementine’s grin faltered slightly, able to feel a modicum of this thing’s power through its loud roar. She let all of her current Martial Arts fade and readied her self as the hulking beast stalked towards her. “[Evasion]! [Greater Evasion]! [Ability Boost]! [Greater Ability Boost]! [Stride of Wind]! [Focus Battle Aura]!” With all of her preparations made, Clemetine took her specialized crouching stance and waited for the Dragonkin to get within range.

The Dragonkin had no concept of Martial Arts, and stalked towards Clementine’s seemingly prone form with its cleaver weapon. Its Master had said to fight this human and that’s all it knew or needed to know. Just as it got within roughly ten meters of Clementine the woman struck.

“Die!” Clementine’s form blurred as she closed the distance before the Dragonkin could react. Her first stiletto stabbed forward, aimed straight at the Dragonkin’s eye to hopefully pierce the soft point and hit the brain.

Clang

The sound of metal against scales could’ve been mistaken for the clash of metal against metal. The Dragonkin had turned its head to the side, letting the stiletto spark against its tough scales. With Clementine in midair, the massive cleaver was swung at her, looking cleave her in two.

“[Impenetrable Fortress]!” Clemetine raised her second stiletto and stopped the blade cold as her feet hit the ground. She dodged the follow up punch from the Dragonkin’s free hand with her boosts from all of her Martial Arts. She stabbed against the scales again and again with her increased physicality, speed, and the [Focus Battle Aura] Martial Art allowing her to bypass some innate resistances and defense on her opponent. Still, she was barely making marks on the Dragonkin’s scales.

“It would seem that even stacking Martial Arts can’t close a level gap of roughly 23 Levels.” Momonga noted that while Clementine hadn’t been hit yet by the Dragonkin, she wasn’t able to really do any damage to it either. “Dragonkin specialize in brute force and nearly inexhaustible HP. If she can’t generate any more force than what she’s doing right now, then she doesn’t have a chance.”

“ROOAARGGHH!!!” The Dragonkin swung the cleaver faster now, trying to hit Clementine and end the battle with a fatal blow. The woman was proving remarkably nimble though.

“[Flow Acceleration]!” Clementine added another Martial Art on top of her stack. Her sensory processing sped up even more as she weaved around the cleaver attacks from the Dragonkin. The wind off of the powerful strikes alone was enough to ruffled her blonde hair. “Dir, damn you!” She leapt upwards, kicked off the Dragonkin’s arm after dodging its claw swipe, and thrust both of her stilettos straight at its eyes again.

Shing

Clementine stared in shock as the Dragonkin’s fangs clamped down on her stilettos, seemingly unbothered by the sharp points in its mouth. The next thing she knew was flying through the air and hitting the ground of the arena. “Ack! Guh…” She hacked out blood form her mouth and tried to force herself off the ground. That proved to be MUCH harder than it should be though. “Wha…?” She looked over where her left arm should be and stared, briefly unable to comprehend the bloody stump she saw.

Then the pain hit.

“FUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!!!” Clementine wailed in pain as she forced herself to her feet. Her Martial Arts had all ended after losing her focus, but now she had some distance between her and the Dragonkin. “[Dull Pain].” She used a Martial Art that she rarely used and felt the horrible pain dull in her mind. With just her right arm, she readied her stiletto. No one was ending the fight and she was certain that a God like Ainz could easily resurrect her if she died. But she didn’t want to die! She hated the very idea of it! ‘Especially to this fucking lizard!’ She cursed in her mind as she did her best to drop into her unique starting stance. “[Stride of Wind]! [Ability Boost]! [Greater Ability Boost]! [Physical Boost]! [Brief Seal]!” Her body glowed a myriad of colors, one after another as she prepared for the strongest strike that she could perform in her current state.

The instant the Dragonkin was within thirty meters, Clementine was off like a shot. The distance between them vanished in an instant, but the Dragon kin still brought its cleaver down on the blurring form of Clementine.

“[Piercing Strike]! [Grand Power Strike]!” She combined the last two Martial Arts that she could to her stack, both of them instant techniques that would be launched and then vanish. She stabbed her stiletto forward, straight at the cleaver coming at her.

CRACK

The cleaver shattered into fragments as the point of the stiletto stabbed through it and was buried into the Dragonkin’s orange scales.

Momonga’s eyes went wide at Clementine actually destroying the weapon of the Dragonkin and landing a minor blow. But he saw how the battle would end already. ‘I’ll ask her about that combination later. The ability to destroy a superior opponent’s weapon would be useful for some of the lower-level members of Nazarick, if possible.’

“Got you, bastard…” Clementine’s breathing was coming in haggard gasps. Her skin was pale from the blood she’d lost. Her severed arm was still bleeding too, further exacerbating the situation.

The Dragonkin merely snorted before spinning and slamming its thick tail into Clementine’s side. The woman flew across the arena and bounced off the ground, once, twice, three times, before rolling along the dirt and then slamming into the wall.

Her broken, bleeding body couldn’t keep up any more. Clementine felt nothing but agony for a brief moment. Then even that faded away as darkness filled her vision.

“Dragonkin, stop.” Momonga spoke and the Dragonkin stopped advancing on the broken form of Clementine. “Return.” He waved the Monster off and it obeyed instantly, turning to head back into the corridor that it had come from. “Pestonya.”

“Lord?” Pestonya spoke up as she stood at attention near the edge of the area that Momonga was sitting in.

“Go heal her. Then take her back to her room. We’re done for today.” Momonga ordered as he stood up a thoughtful look on his face as he went over what he’d seen of Martial Arts so far.

“Yes, Lord Momonga.” Pestonya bowed and hopped over the edge to land gently upon the floor of the arena. She was quickly walking towards Clementine’s side.

-Later-

“AAAAHHH!!!” Clementine sat up in her bed with a scream. “Hah…hah…hah…” She looked around wildly, bit not seeing the hulking Dragonkin, she started to calm down. After a second, she realized that she was back in her cell/room. Shakily, she looked towards her left arm, expecting to see a bandaged stump for her failure. “My arm…” Her left arm was there, whole and uninjured, as if it had never been hacked off. Clementine ran her hands over her body in some surprise, not feeling any pain anywhere, not even any lingering soreness. “What the hell?” She stood up from the bed, took off the woolen nightgown and examined her naked body. “Not a mark?”

“I am quite adept at Healing Magic.” Pestonya’s voice came from the barred window on the door. “…woof.”

Clementine visibly flinched at the unexpected voice, but her mind wasn’t in any condition for her to be her usual tough self. “Wh-What do you want?”

“It is time for dinner.” The bottom slot on the door opened up and a tray was pushed through.

Grrrgggllleee

Clementine’s stomach audibly growled at the smell of the meal.

“Your tests are done for today.” Pestonya informed Clementine politely. “Lord Ainz was most pleased by your performance…woof.”

“Huh?” Clementine blinked at the indirect praise from Ainz. “B-But I lost…”

“Yes, but you had no real chance of beating the Dragonkin.” Pestonya told her simply.

“Dragonkin? That’s what that lizard is called?” Clementine asked as she started to calm down.

“Yes, they serve Lord Mare and Lady Aura. There are about a hundred of them here in the Colosseum. They’re mostly used for cleaning the place.” Pestonya informed Clementine. “Woof.”

Clementine picked up the tray with her dinner on it. It looked like steak; with salad, potatoes, bread rolls, and a dish of some kind of fruit that appeared to have some sugar sprinkled on it. “I lost…to a janitor?”

“The Dragonkin are also used as combatants in the arena…but yes.” Pestonya tried to lighten the blow a little, she had been made to be a compassionate person by her creator, Ankoro Mocchi Mochi.

“Fuck…” Clementine set the tray on the small table and nearly collapsed into the chair. After a long moment of silence, a strained chuckle escaped Clementine. “Ha…haha…hahahHAHAHA!!!” She threw her head back and laugh loudly, her eyes wide in a mixture of terror and madness.

Pestonya sighed at the breakdown the woman was having. But she supposed that she could understand it. Apparently, this woman had been something of a ‘strong’ person out in this new world. But to lose so completely to what Nazarick normally used as a janitor had seemingly shattered her perception of strength.

“You will not have a good time here…not until your punishment is complete.” Pestonya spoke lowly, unheard by Clementine as she continued to laugh loudly…brokenly.

Clementine’s punishment was not only physical…it was multifold, juts as Momonga had told her it would be. Her body would suffer, but so would her mind as she was brought to the harsh reality that she wasn’t shit. The strength that she valued so highly was nothing in comparison to even the lowest level of actual combatants within the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

“But if you hang on and make it through this, our Lord will assuredly make you stronger and better than you are now.” Pestonya spoke as Clementine’s crazed laughter faded away. Seeing the blonde starting to eat, almost mechanically, Pestonya departed to make her report to Momonga.

Whether Clementine made it through her punishment or not remained to be seen. If she did, then she’d be stronger for it. If she didn’t, then her body would assuredly be used for some other form of experiment.

But unlike others that would challenge Nazarick, she was being given that chance.

Many would not be so fortunate.

-End Chapter-

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Ninya, or should I say Celicia (also her Canon real name), has been comforted by Momon. She’ll head to Carne with Nfirea and Lizzie, where she can be under Momonga’s protection. She has so much potential, but Momonga isn’t a monster that would try and force her to use it so soon after the other Swords of Darkness died.

She needs some time to mourn and heal.

But under Momonga’s care, the ‘Spellcaster’ will only grow into her potential and when the day comes that she steps back into the world, she will do so with power that is rarely seen in the New World!

Carne Village is about to get a Famous Apothecary taking up residence and a future famous Caster living there!

Demiurge: “SASUGA, AINZ-SAMA!” *Thinking that Momonga is planning for Carne’s future growth as part of the land they will build*

Momonga: *Just wants the people that’re useful and that he feels responsible for in one place where he can watch over them*

Clementine is having a BAD TIME, just like we all knew that she would.

Her worldview, and her body, is shattered on the very first day!

What will become of her in the future? Will she rise above this punishment and come out stronger, or will she fall and be reduced to nothing more than experiment fodder?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!