Wildfire Wasteland

Chapter 15: Wildfire Wasteland

~Swoosh ~Swoosh ~Swoosh ~

The sound of fabric flapping in the wind could faintly be heard in the surroundings.

In the skies, two figures could be seen flying, a skeleton and a little girl, who were moving at such speeds that shockwaves were left in their wake.

The little girl effortlessly glided through the air after Ainz, looking like a fairy. The fairy, sensing the silence, spoke to Ainz, "Lord Momonga, the territory of the Sunbirds should be viable soon." Her voice was both cute and crisp like the morning call of birds.

It's weird to think this came from a dragon.

"Good." Looking at the girl that looked like his Guardian Overseer, Ainz sighed and tried to answer in a calm and indifferent tone. Honestly, he was uncomfortable, as he didn't know how to deal with this situation.

The little girl had swallowed Albedo's blood, who although not officially decided, was his main wife. That also means this girl was the closest thing to his own child, apart from Pandora's Actor.

As an Overlord of the skeleton variety, he could not reproduce or enter sexual relationships with another being, but that did not mean he could not experience love. The vague remnants of his humanity allow him that gift that many undead lack.

Though stuck between loyalty to his friend and his own feelings. Ainz's love for Albedo could not be denied. Over the centuries together, it was impossible not to fall for her.

One must not overlook the fact he also changed her settings, her soul and mind, to be in love with him. If he did not accept her love, she will, for all eternity be alone.

To show how much he loves and values Albedo, he proposes to her, which as expected, she happily agreed to. But like any relationship, the fruit must be born to seal the deal, a child. However, he could not reproduce, so the relationship, while long, was fruitless.

The reason why he had the blood of most NPCs inside his inventory was for research purposes, which is directly related to the reproduction of NPCs and Players.

The blood he collected first was from Albedo, as she was eager to carry the child of the Supreme One.

Ainz named the horn snake 'Ariella' after he realized she was his daughter. The name was German for 'little female bear', which also carries the suffix of Albedo and his name.

Ariella decided to follow Ainz on his journey, which Ainz agreed to. He couldn't let her be unprotected and die. If she died, not only would the name Ainz Ooal Gown be dragged through the mud, his dignity as a man and a father would be damaged. Both of these were important to Ainz and he would not allow them to be sullied.

Even after what happened, Ariella, for some unknown reason, felt safe and comfortable around Ainz, making both of them confused.

Since that event, Ariella has sensed the loving gaze that Ainz would occasionally throw at her, when he thought she was not looking.

She didn't know if she was imagining things, but she had the illusion that as long as she asked for something, Ainz would give it to her.

Ariella shook her head, thinking that it was absurd, why would his attitude change so fast? One minute he was forcing her to drink blood, which could have killed her, the next, his behavior and mannerism changed to become unpredictable.

Ainz was feeling frustrated and regretful of his actions. Because of what he did, his relationship with Albedo had become as official as any other relationship.

They were husband and wife, boss and assistant, now father and mother; the more addition to their relationship, only made the uncertainty of this union ever so frightening.

Ainz, however, concluded that Albedo would be happy with Ariella, despite her not being a demon or undead.

To be honest, Ainz was not sure what Ariella was. She was once a horn snake with dragon bloodline, but Albedo's blood forcibly replaced it, becoming her new bloodline. However, she kept her dragonic form and gained demonic attributes, so maybe demonic dragon?

What made Ainz certained that Albedo would love Ariella is the fact that Ariella was a miniature version of Albedo, with an ominous flare.

Upon the journey so far, Ainz had been subtly monitoring Ariella's behaviors and mannerisms.

Ainz even reads her mind on occasion, to see what she is thinking about.

Ariella dreams of becoming a 'Divine Lord', whatever that means and plans on reaching the summit of life.

Ainz was proud of her childish goals and dreams, and began to plan her future without her consent.

The reason he thinks her goals were childish is because she was already beyond the goal she set. Just being his daughter made sure she was successful at anything he wanted to do. Though he admits, having goals is not bad, so he did not think he should interfere too much in her development.

As the daughter of Ainz Ooal Gown - the Master of Nazarick - Ariella must grow stronger to be worthy of being the Tomb's Princess.

Currently she lacked many things, equipment, skills, royal skills and many more. However, she will have to bear with what she has for now.

Ainz wouldn't be stupid as to expose his arsenal of equipment, when he didn't know who might be observing.

Another thing that stopped Ainz from revealing his sudden fatherhood to Ariella, was the fear of his inventory getting empty.

Dragons had an uncontrollable thirst for wealth, even though Ariella wasn't a dragon anymore, everyone had greed. If she one day learned the sky was the limit to what she could have, what is stopping her from asking for it?

Just imagining it made Ainz's heart bleed!

Every item in his inventory was an essential item that upon being activated in Ainzland, will have powerful effects. While these items when in Yggdrasil had limited roles, in Ainzland, they could change the course of battle.

Lost in thought, Ainz eyes focus on hundreds of flaming volcanoes with magma dripping off its surface.

The magma was golden, looking like the sun had fallen from the skies and fuse into the earth.

Amidst the flaming volcanos, a gigantic mountain stood in the center, like a ruler amongst peasants.

However, unlike the volcano's absence of life and smoldering death, this mountain was draped in Fiery Trees, Fiery Clouds, and Fire Grass, giving the mountain an alluring but deadly picturesque scene.

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Standing in the skies above the mountain, Ainz's eyes slowly change from red to gray, causing everything to change in his perspective.

<Soul Eye> is a spell he created after many years of research.

After conquering the surrounding territories, Ainz had entered seclusion to improve his strength and reduce the amount of weakness he had.

Unlike Aura, Ain lacked sensory type skills, which made him reliant on Aura. Though she was one of his loyal Floor Guardians, Ainz knew too much reliance on a person was a sign of weakness.

<Soul Eye> is an ability created from the limited amount of knowledge he had of souls. The spell in his opinion was one of the best sensory types in Ainzland.

There was no range limitation or mana requirements. Though Ainz admits the only weakness was the fact the enemy must possess a soul to be found by the spell otherwise he would not be able to locate them.

If a person has a soul, under <Soul Eye>, they would appear like a white shadow in a dark world.

Activating <Soul Eye>, Ainz frowned at the absence of white shadows.

Just as Ainz was about to dismiss the spell, he stopped and looked at one of the magma rivers below the mountain at a vigorous white shadow.

The white shadow did not show Ainz the general outline of the creatures, which would give him time to prepare. The only time this happened was when he lacked information on certain creatures, and the spell could not draw an image from his memories to expose the creature's identity.

Thinking for a moment, Ainz decided to check the mountain first, instead of catching the hiding creature. The Sunbirds might have left something behind.

————

Returning from death's embrace, the creature followed the aura of Ainz in the form of a bird.

The bird could tell that the aura inside of it originated from something in a specific location, which prompted its action of following it.

To the bird, the aura was like a massive black and white ocean that was calling to it. It felt as long as it reached the ocean it would experience a metamorphosis, discovering its true origins.

Days passed, but it was not closer to the ocean but further away. It was like the distance between life and death, so close yet worlds apart.

It didn't and couldn't give up, as that wasn't in its nature. It was determined to find the source of the aura, and learn of why it simply couldn't die!

As more days pause, it finally arrives, finding itself in the territory of the Sunbirds.

Immediately upon arriving, it felt its body combusting, unable to cope in such a hazardous environment.

In agony, it found an inhabitant of the mountain and devoured its soul, transforming into it.

The once hazardous environment changed, becoming a paradise, where it felt like a fish in the water.

It did not take long to find the source of the aura, a skeleton dressed in an elaborate robe, with ten rings on each finger.

The skeleton screams power, dignity and terror. Even without directly observing the skeleton, it felt as weak as an insect, an ant that could be squished at any moment.

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Authors Note:

So just in case anyone is confused, Ainz had asked Ariella to call him Momonga as a sign of intimacy. None of the Floor Guardians, except Albedo in secret, calls him Momonga. As for why she calls him Lord Momonga, why not? Ariella doesn't know that Ainz is her 'father' and she is respecting the power he had shown, which is something all beasts respect.