Chapter 4, Part 7

Yavon attacking Albedo with [True Dark] served as a signal for the start of the battle. As the guardians pursued their chosen targets, Ainz watched as Albedo engaged Zesshi, leaving him to face Yavon alone. Ainz wasn’t too thrilled about it, but the guaranteed death proc that Zesshi’s scythe possessed made it so that only someone with amazing avoidance ability could face her safely.

However, if his fight were to turn out unexpectedly dangerous, and he truly was in trouble, then the guardians wouldn’t abandon their own targets in order to come to his defense. Pandora’s Actor had also returned to the arena, after departing it as Momon, and was now sitting among the spectators. Additionally, Clementine had revealed the little she knew about Yavon’s capabilities, so Ainz wasn’t going into the fight completely blind.

Everyone around them had begun to engage in battle, yet Ainz and Yavon remained still, staring at each other as if to measure the other’s power. The lull didn’t last long though, as a few seconds later the two exchanged spells.

[Vermilion Nova] Yavon cast his spell.
[Gravity Maelstrom] Ainz responded with a spell of his own.

[Vermilion Nova] might be the strongest single target fire spell, outside of super tier, but the same can’t be said about the one casting it, Ainz thought as he was engulfed by fire. Still, he’s pretty good. He used [True Dark] against Albedo, but switched to a fire spell against me. Let’s see what else he can do.

In Yggdrasil, a battle between magic casters would generally go through several phases. The first phase was usually a straight-up shoot out, to determine who held an advantage in firepower. Once the relative strength between the two was determined, the battle would enter phase two where the weaker caster would begin to use crowd control and defensive spells in order to gain an advantage.

Their first exchange was enough for Ainz to determine that he would easily win in a straight shoot out. No longer worried for his life, he was now looking forward to seeing what else Yavon could do.

[Vermilion Nova], Yavon once again set Ainz on fire.

[Call Greater Thunder] Ainz retaliated with a spell of his own.

Apparently, Yavon had also realized the disparity in their power from the first exchange, as he immediately cast [Teleportation] in order to avoid Ainz’s spell. Unfortunately, Demiurge had used Dimensional Lock at the start of the battle. Yavon’s [Teleportation] had failed and a thick lightening appeared about a dozen yards above Yavon and immediately rushed toward him, striking him and sending electrical currents surging through every inch of his body.

Undead didn’t fear pain though. Yavon didn’t seem too bothered despite being electrocuted just a moment ago. He calmly pulled out an [Orb of Death] and used [Ray of Negative Energy] to heal himself.

“Ah, those things,” Ainz nodded his head, as he pulled out an [Orb of Death] of his own and proceeded to use it to restore some of his hit points.

“You have one too?” Yavon showed a hint of surprise.

“It’s a useful tool. Though I must thank your Zuranon for bringing its existence to my attention, “Ainz replied.

“Hmm, you are not like those arrogant Greed Kings. They had no interest in any of our items,” Yavon noted.

“One must always strive to increase their strength and make use of all the resources at their disposal. Those who rest on their achievements are just waiting to be dethroned, ” Ainz replied seriously.

“Interesting. Now, where were we?” Yavon asked.

With the conversation over, the two undead continued their duel. However, the pace was now different – rather than trading attacks, Yavon was now trying to avoid taking damage.

[Vermilion Nova], [Wall of Skeletons], Yavon cast the spells trying to deal damage without getting hit himself.

Ainz smiled and countered with [Reality Slash]. One of the special properties of this spell was that it would cut through everything on the way to its target. As such the wall made of skeletons, that sprung up in front of Yavon, was cut through, unable to stop the attack. Worse, it had blocked Yavon’s vision, creating an opening for Ainz to cast [Call Greater Thunder] again, unbeknownst to his opponent.

[Vermilion Nova]

Yavon sent out an attack, as his figure suddenly appeared a good distance away from the crumbling skeleton wall.

Oh, he knows [Advanced Mirror Image]? Ainz thought surprised. Still, it’s even better this way, if he runs out of mana it will be more of a crushing blow than if I bring him to the edge of death.

[True Dark], Ainz send out a new attack, as he decided to switch to a more mana-efficient spell than [Reality Slash].

[Spell Shield], Yavon cast his defensive spell and was about to follow it up with another [Vermilion Nova] when he realized that his previous spell didn’t activate.

The two undead stared at each other for a moment, wondering if the other was the culprit. However, after realizing that was not the case, both of them turned to look at the Black Scripture members fighting the dark elves. Their gazes met with the Second Seat’s eyes when the man looked around the arena in shock. Although neither of the undead said anything, the contempt they had for the man, who used a time stop ability that interrupted their fight, was so high that the culprit was sure to have felt it.

Turning back to face each other, they used the humans, who were frozen in time, to tell when the flow of time returned to normal, and resumed their battle as if nothing happened. They cast the same spells they used prior to the time stop, with Yavon using [Spell Shield] to avoid taking damage, while Ainz’s figure was engulfed in a fiery blaze once more. I am stronger now than I was back then. I can win! Yavon thought as he clenched his fist. Mentally running through the defensive spells he had in his arsenal he felt reassured. The two continued to fight with Ainz constantly getting hit, while Yavon used a variety of defenses to avoid taking damage.

Although he was burning through his mana, Yavon felt he held the advantage. He became even more certain of this when Ainz pulled out another [Orb of Death] and used it to heal himself.

Two [Orbs of Death] might have been taken from Brolg – the goat-man necromancer who led the attack on the Draconic Kingdom. Khajiit also had one. At most, he should have one more orb left, while I still have three, Yavon thought.

[Life Essence]

Yavon silently cast this spell. He felt overjoyed when he saw that Ainz’s had less than half of his health remaining. But, I’ve used up a lot of mana too, time for a change of tactics, he thought.

Abandoning his previous tactic, Yavon entered into a direct shootout with Ainz. Soon after, Yavon used [Orb of Death] to heal himself. He used another one just as he saw Ainz use his last one. Yavon felt his non-existent heart pound in his chest. Just a little more, he thought as he cast another spell. Yes! This is it, I have won! He thought excitedly, as he saw Ainz’s HP fall to ten percent.

[Twin Maximize Magic] [Vermilion Nova]

Yavon cast the spells triumphantly. He watched Ainz get engulfed by fire for the last time. Or so it was supposed to be, yet Ainz remained standing. Does he still have some health left? Yavon wondered in bafflement.

[Vermilion Nova]

Yavon cast the spell once more. Yet, the skeletal figure in front of him didn’t crumble into a cloud of dust, despite the [Life Essence] spell showing Ainz’s HP as fully depleted.

“… die. Die! Why don’t you die?!” Yavon exclaimed in shock.

[Vermilion Nova]

He attempted to cast the spell one more time, but nothing happened. It took him a few moments to realize that he didn’t have enough mana to cast a tier nine spell any longer.

“Why won’t you die?” Yavon repeated in a defeated tone, as his normally calm and unemotional mind betrayed him.

[Triplet Maximize Magic] [Reality Slash]

Three invisible blades slashed at reality itself as they rushed toward Yavon. Unable to cast any more defensive spells, he had no choice but to take the attack head-on, his health instantly dropping from sixty percent down to just ten.

“You are out of both mana and health. It’s my victory,” Ainz declared.

“Hahaha,” Yavon laughed ruefully, “Six hundred years worth of studying, yet I can’t even make you fight seriously.” He sighed in regret before adding: “You Players are just too unreasonable.”

“Oh? You think I am a Player?” Ainz asked curiously.

“Of course. Only someone as ridiculous as Players could resist the nature of being undead,” Yavon replied in a voice full of conviction.

“Aren’t you undead yourself? I don’t see you mindlessly slaying the living,” Ainz asked.

“Although I don’t go out of my way to kill the living, I no longer care about them. Besides, my desire to protect my master’s legacy is the only thing that kept me from slipping into madness.”

“This legacy being the Slane Theocracy?”

Yavon nodded. “Though, it’s plain to see that I have failed in that task,” he added with a chuckle.

“There is something I don’t understand. If you knew how powerful I and my servants were, why would you come here?” Ainz asked.

“To test my ability and that of the others that joined us. If I could defeat you, then I could go on, knowing that I am capable of protecting my master’s legacy, should more Players come. Sadly, it seems Surshana-sama was right, it’s impossible for the natives of this world to become as powerful as Players.”

Ainz nodded in understanding. Being able to cast ninth tier spells would already be seen as God-like, Ainz thought.

“Perhaps your master was wrong. Come work for me, and I will help you reach an even higher power,” Ainz said. This was his true goal. While he had little need for Yavon’s battle capabilities, the skeleton possessed enormous amounts of knowledge about the integration of Yggdrasil’s magic in this world, and was the head of Zuranon. Being able to learn more about the previous players was quite useful too.

Yavon looked at Ainz in contemplation, before slowly shaking his head. “If I were to become your servant, wouldn’t that be a betrayal to Surshana-sama? I will only have one master.”

“What about protecting the Slane Theocracy?”

“I’ll have to leave it to you,” Yavon smiled ruefully.

“You have that much trust in me? What if I choose to destroy it?”

“I don’t exactly have much of a choice. I can’t contend with Players, either you now or those who may come later. It was a stupid idea to begin with, a dream of a child who was unwilling to face the harsh reality,” Yavon said as his tone became softer, with a hint of reminiscence. “Besides, you are clearly better than the Greed Kings. Despite your overwhelming power you have chosen to conquer the world mostly through diplomacy and subterfuge. You also haven’t abused those who choose to submit to you.”

“You could preside over the Slane Theocracy, once it becomes a vassal of mine. That way you could ensure your master’s legacy. You’ll have plenty of freedom, as I just want the knowledge you have,” Ainz attempted to convince the other party, unwilling to give up just like that.

“How long have you been alive for?” Yavon suddenly asked.

The question stumped Ainz. According to the legend he fed to Osk, the merchant and the former promoter of the Martial Lord in Baharuth Empire, and Felvia Olan Valur, the queen of the Holy Kingdom, he was a naturally occurring undead and had lived for thousands of years. However, such a legend obviously wouldn’t work for someone who was familiar with players.

However, it seems that Yavon wasn’t actually looking for an answer. After a short pause, he continued: “I have lived for over six hundred years. I’ve watched the Six Great Gods die one by one. Then their disciples, my fellow students, began to die. I’ve witnessed one generation pass after another until they no longer had any connection to me, and only their family names would stir some fond memories of their ancestors. I am a relic of times long past.”

“For the last few centuries, I lived only to obtain the power that would let me protect the Slane Theocracy. But, I still fell short. Perhaps in a few more centuries I could become as powerful as you. But what if a group of hostile Players was to come? Like the Eight Greed Kings. What could I do then? I would once again be relegated to an observer, powerless to do anything, I could only watch them do as they please. I’ve already had that experience, and I don’t wish to repeat it. There is nothing but suffering in this world, and I have had enough,” Yavon sounded tired, regretful and defeated.

“I wish you good luck in the wars to come, Ainz Ooal Gown,” Yavon nodded to Ainz.

[Hellfire Nova]

Yavon used his remaining mana to cast a spell.

A ring of fire surrounded Yavon, burning everything including himself down. He only had ten percent of his health remaining, and fire was one of the undead’s weaknesses. By the time the flames went out, Yavon was dead.

Ainz stared at the pile of charred bones and heaved a heavy sigh. The burden of being immortal… will I end up like him in a few centuries? No, no. I have Nazarick and my comrades’ children to keep me company. I won’t end up like him, a man full of regrets and nothing to live for. Pushing the rather disturbing thought away, Ainz looked around.

It would seem the others have finished with their fights, only Albedo remains fighting. Ainz thought as he walked over to the Guardians who stood in an arc, watching him and Albedo.

“Co-congratulations on your v-victory, Ainz-sama,” Mare said as Ainz approached.

“What are you saying? Of course, Ainz-sama won, how else could it possibly end?” Aura asked as she stared at Mare menacingly.

“Y-yes, I only meant…” Mare mumbled as his voice trailed off.

“Ainz-sama, are you alright?” Demiurge asked worriedly while deactivating [Life Essence].

“Ah, that. I had totally forgotten. It should be fine now,” Ainz said as he canceled the [False Data: Life] spell he had used to falsify his hit points.

***

This guy, Zesshi thought while frowning. She didn’t like to be ordered around by others, even more so by an outsider like Yavon, even if the skeleton used to be a key figure in the Slane Theocracy’s past. Still, Loras agreed with Yavon’s order, and so she reluctantly faced off against Albedo.

I should kill her quickly, then I can play with someone more fun, like Ainz, Zesshi thought as she looked over her opponent. Full plate armor and a bardiche, this is just too easy. With that observation, Zesshi didn’t hesitate and jumped forward while performing an overhead swing of her scythe.

The attack looked impressive, but Albedo easily evaded it by sidestepping it. Zesshi smiled in anticipation as she twisted her body upon landing, managing to stop her weapon from stabbing into the ground and instead slashed with it horizontally. Such an attack should’ve caught her opponent by surprise, but Albedo didn’t seem troubled by it. She planted her axe into the ground, stopping the advancing scythe, she then stepped forward and shoved Zesshi back with her left hand.

It was the first time Zesshi had met someone so powerful physically. Despite her own immense strength, she was pushed back, stumbling a few steps. Albedo meanwhile took a step back only to rush forward with an overhead swing of her own. Her footing unsteady, Zesshi lowered her center of gravity and rolled away, Albedo’s axe smashing into the ground on the spot where she stood moments before.

It seems I might have underestimated her, ah, this is sooooo exciting, Zesshi thought as she twirled the weapon in her hands. She attacked again, though this time she was careful not to over-commit to the attack. She used quick, short slashes, mixed in plenty of feints and relied on her superb footwork to attack her opponent. But Albedo once again proved to be a match for her. While Albedo no longer launched attacks, none of Zesshi’s strikes could get past Albedo’s defenses.

However, even though none of her attacks landed, Zesshi had still gained an advantage – she had managed to position herself so she could see the entire arena and all the other fights ongoing, while Albedo had her back toward everyone else. Granted, the chances of someone finishing their fight and stabbing her in the back are small, at least I can see how everyone else is doing, Zesshi thought. She momentarily halted her offensive and quickly scanned the arena. Blue Rose is down, though this fight really was beyond their level. But, everyone else seems to be holding their own.

“You are strong,” Zesshi told Albedo, “Unfortunately, you are a woman.”

“Eh?” Albedo responded, unsure of what to make of her words.

Zesshi quickly closed the distance toward Albedo and began to use the short attack again. However, this time she chose to stand her ground and increase the speed of the attacks, rather than trying to circle around Albedo looking for an opportunity to strike. The scythe and the battle-axe clashed, producing a thunderous sound. The two women paid it no heed. Using all of their strength to increase the pace of their attacks, their weapons clashed so frequently that it sounded as if a whole group of people was engaged in battle.

Both of them seemed to have thrown caution to the wind in their frenzied attempt to land a hit. Finally, Albedo couldn’t fully parry an attack and the arcing blade of Zesshi’s scythe grazed her shoulder. Not to be outdone, Albedo stepped forward as she swung her axe at Zesshi’s torso, faster than the half-elf could retrieve her weapon. Although Zesshi jumped back to reduce the power of the attack, she was still sent tumbling backward. Rubbing the spot where she got hit, Zesshi looked around the arena again.

Useless, that was the only word that came to her mind. Sir Armoreth and Black Knight appeared to have both fallen. She saw Mare get rid of several Black Scripture members at once before he joined the others to fight against Martimer. Zesshi was about to launch a new attack when she saw Loras get stabbed. Although they got along, she didn’t particularly like the Captain of the Black Scripture. Over her long life, she had seen too many people pass away, as such her ability to form strong connections with people had been somewhat dampened. Yet seeing Loras fall, she couldn’t help but recall what Mare had told her back when he was staying in the Slane Theocracy’s capital: “If you fight my master, you will die.”

I am not even fighting him, I am fighting this damned woman! Zesshi screamed mentally. Damn this useless lot, she cursed as she rushed Albedo. However, she could no longer devote her full attention to her opponent. The other guardians had formed an arc around the two remaining fights, and although they seemed to be just watching, she couldn’t discount the possibility of a sneak attack. Having to keep an eye out on them practically guaranteed she wouldn’t be able to defeat Albedo.

It hadn’t been long from then, when the observing guardians stopped paying attention to her and moved to the side, offering words of praise to someone. Turning her head over, she saw Ainz approach the guardians, behind him was a pile of charred bones.

“Congratulations, Ainz-sama,” Albedo called out to Ainz who had joined the other guardians, seemingly intent on watching the last battle. “Should I teach her the true meaning of despair?” She asked, motioning toward Zesshi.

“There is no need to go that far,” Ainz waved his hand magnanimously.

Meanwhile, Zesshi was consumed by her own thoughts. Damn it, even Yavon lost, now it’s just me. A smile of a madwoman suddenly twisted her face. If I am dead anyway, I might as well go all out!

“You, Ainz! You are the strongest one here, right? Fight me!” She called out while walking toward the skeleton, no longer paying any attention to Albedo.

“And why would I do that?” Ainz asked after facing her

“If you defeat me, I’ll bear your babies,” Zesshi replied seriously.

“This bitch!” Shalltear cried out as a wave of killing intent instantly radiated from her.

However, that killing intent did not compare to the one that flowed from Albedo. It was so powerful that Zesshi quickly turned around and prepared to defend herself. All the while, she experienced an emotion she hadn’t felt in a very long time, fear. However, Albedo didn’t charge at her. Instead, her body seemed to have gone stiff, while her hands twitched unnaturally. It felt like the world was distorting around Albedo. And a wave of unimaginable malice washed over Zesshi, making her break out in a cold sweat.

“I will kill you, right here, right now,” Albedo rasped in a deep, guttural voice.

Something seemed to be crawling under Albedo’s black armor as if an enormous creature was trying to break out and reveal itself. Zesshi gulped as she readied herself to defend against the monstrosity that would no doubt soon appear.

“Albedo, stop!” Ainz’s loud order seemed to have snapped Albedo back to her senses. The world returned to normal, and the wave of malice and killing intent vanished without a trace.

“Aaaahhhh,” Zesshi screamed, taking advantage of this moment to charge at Ainz.

She swung her scythe at the undead with the full forth she was capable of mastering in that moment. However, a small figure leaped in front of Ainz and stopped the attack by grabbing the scythe. It was Mare. Zesshi tried to shove him away, but Mare simply grabbed her hand.

“You have lost, admit defeat,” Mare said while looking into her eyes.

“I am not dead yet,” Zesshi retorted as she tried to wrangle her weapon and her hand from Mare’s grip.

“That’s why you should admit defeat, if you continue to insist on this pointless struggle you actually will die,” Mare said.

“Oh, so I won’t die if I surrender?’ Zesshi asked with a chuckle, unable to believe that Ainz and the guardians would have mercy on her.

Mare continued to look into her eyes, as he remained silent. For a few moments, the two stood still, staring at each other.

“Fine, I admit defeat,” Zesshi said, as she released her grip on the scythe, allowing Mare to take her weapon away.

Mare released her hand and Zesshi took a step back. She looked at Mare expectantly, as if asking what’s going to happen next.

“You have done well, Mare. Your judgment has proven to be correct,” Ainz said. He had stepped forward and placed his hand on Mare’s head, rustling the elf’s blonde hair with his skeletal hand.

“Tha-thank you, Ainz-sama,” Mare replied while blushing.

Zesshi continued to stare at Mare, on guard and unsure of how to react to the two’s exchanged words. Noticing this, Ainz decided to make a statement that would put her at ease.

“As I have promised, her life shall be spared,” he declared.

“Yo-your generosity kno-knows no bounds, Ainz-sama,” Mare bowed with a smile, clearly pleased with how things had turned out.

“Now, let’s deal with these fools who sought to destroy our Nazarick,” Ainz said loudly as all the guardians focused on him.

*****

Previous | Next