189

What he should be on guard for were the punches from those fists. It was a simple way of attacking, but it was highly destructive. They were not exactly fast or precise, but it was hard for a backliner like Ainz to evade them.

Furthermore, it does bludgeoning damage, which was particularly effective against Ainz.

It could also extend its arms like whips and do long-range attacks, but in that case, its power would go down a lot.

Just like its attacks, its defense was also supposed to have metal attributes imbued. It also had [Weapon Resistance V] against all weapons and physical damage reduction on top of that. Considering all of the above, it was the ideal tank and was troublesome to deal with using only physical attacks.

That said, it also had some weak points, naturally.

For example, it didn't have any dangerous trump cards—that is, it had no special skills. That meant that it had no attack that could turn the tide in a battle.

The other weak point was that everything that worked against metallic attributes worked the same on the elemental.

…Herohero-san could probably take it down easily.

It was weak to acids and—there was one more element it was weak against.

Ainz made preparations to take out the staff from his inventory when needed.

He wouldn't be taking it out yet though.

Since the opponent was assuming that he was just a simple undead, he should play along and not display any skills that would put him on guard.

The question was whether or not he should take the incoming hit or not.

It would make for a good act if he made it look like that single attack was what made the undead being realize that this was no simple earth elemental. The demerit in this scenario would be that the enemy would turn cautious after seeing that one serious blow wasn't enough to kill Ainz.

…Right. There's no doubt that he is specialized in summoning. The earth elemental's attack will be more powerful than usual. It will be disadvantageous for the fight hereafter if I receive damage for no reason. In that case, what I should be doing here is—

"[Wall of Skeleton]"

Ainz created a huge wall made of bones in front of him at the same time the elemental brought its fist down. The wall was instantly destroyed and disappeared into thin air.

As I expected…did his mana just go down?

"—W-what is this!" Ainz exclaimed in a voice loud enough for the elf to hear.

"Why, why can it destroy my wall in a single hit!!"

"Hahaha. To think it was broken in a single hit from a simple earth elemental, isn't your wall too brittle?"

Taking advantage of Decem's good spirits, Ainz immediately shot a spell at him.

"[Lopsided Duel]."

This was a Third-Tier spell that made the caster teleport to the same place as the person he cast it on if they tried to escape by teleportation. Furthermore, even if the opponent was protected by [Delay Teleportation], it would still ignore it and instantly teleport the caster at the same time.

Still, this obviously had a fatal weakness. If the opponent teleported right into the middle of his comrades, the caster who followed them would also teleport to the same place and would end up as their punching bag. That was why, even though it looked like an extremely useful spell at first glance, it was relegated to the Third-Tier. Before it was patched, it could be cast on allies to teleport along with them. After it was patched out, the spell could only be cast on enemies.

So, Ainz should be prepared to escape if there were people on the same level as Decem waiting at the place he would teleport to. Luckily, [Lopsided Duel] had the small mercy of not taking the enemy along with the caster if it was the caster who used teleportation instead, so it would not be that difficult to escape.

"—What did you do?"

"…I cast an instant death spell. I see, so you already have measures against instant death?"

"…Well, it looks like you are somewhat intelligent, so you tried to deal with me after seeing that you can't win against Behemoth. But, do you really think that I am weaker than the elemental?"

Summoners being weaker than their summons is impossible in YGGDRASIL, but you are probably the lower-leveled one here. Keeping that aside, why didn't he answer my question even though he is looking down on me as a weakling? Is it because he really had no anti-instant death measures? And, what is this "Behemoth?"

Decem jerked his chin, making the Primal Earth Elemental lift its fists again.

It was far quicker compared to the last time. He could also hear Decem cast a spell at the same time.

"[Mercy of Shorea Robusta]."

Tch. His use of Tenth-Tier magic was within my predictions, but that's a really troublesome spell. Now I will have to use twinned metamagic to kill him.

[Mercy of Shorea Robusta] was a Tenth-Tier spell, and its mana consumption was one of the highest among them, on the level of [Reality Slash].

This spell had three effects.

First, for a limited period of time, it would gradually recover HP. However, the recovery rate was trivial and so it was hard to call it useful for people at this level range.

The second one was absolute immunity against instant death. There were far better spells in the Third-Tier if one only wanted to acquire resistance against instant death, but there was a reason why a lot of druids learned this spell despite that.

That reason was the third effect, which automatically resurrected the target when their HP reached 0 and died. This would not cause a drop in levels from resurrection. The trigger condition of HP going to 0 made it useless against deaths that weren't caused by damage like those by drowning, but it was still a very useful spell. Priests had resurrection spells that wouldn't cause level loss if they were cast right after death, druids also had spells like [Phoenix Flame], but

many use this spell to cover for any careless mistakes. That said, they would be at low health upon resurrection, so they were very likely to die anyway after a few hits. Still, there were a lot of cases where people were saved by this spell.

Incidentally, it could avoid death from Ainz's ultimate skill, [The Goal of All Life is Death] as this spell was considered resurrection magic.

In that case, however, the spell would end even if there was still some active time left. It was because the spell was dispelled after it activated the resurrection portion.

He is probably guarding against my bluff about using an instant death skill…I made a mistake. My bluff should have been about some magic I can't use. Let's do that next time.

"[Triplet Magic - Wall of Skeleton]."

As he expected, the first wall was destroyed with a single attack and the second wall soon followed. While the third wall was obstructing Decem's view, Ainz slightly changed his position, took out a scroll, and activated it.

[Piercing Cacophonous].

It was a buffing spell that he didn't really need right now, but he used it just to be sure.

Primal Earth Elemental attacked again.

The [Wall of Skeleton] shattered and—

"—[Triplet Magic - Wall of Skeleton]."

At the same time the first of the three new walls he created was being destroyed, he heard Decem chant a spell.

"[Aspect of Elemental]."

It's an Eighth-Tier druid spell that gave resistances similar to the elementals.

It gave immunity towards bad statuses like poison and disease. Other than that, it also nullified critical hits and attacks with similar effects.

There was also a similar spell in the Ninth-Tier named [Elemental Form].

The areas Ainz specialized in were being mitigated one-by-one, which was troublesome.

That said—

—how much of his mana can I exhaust.

[Triplet Silent Magic - Greater Magic Seal]

Ainz changed his position a little more. With this, he had moved ninety degrees from his initial position with Decem as the center, he was now closer to the stairs.

The Primal Earth Elemental destroyed one more wall. Unfortunately, he couldn't make new walls of bone right now.

[Triplet Maximize Boosted Silent Magic - Magic Arrow]

His mana went down by a lot instantly.

Naturally, even a low-tier spell would consume a lot of mana after being strengthened by four metamagics.

If this Primal Earth Elemental was a summon, all it needed was a single successful [Greater Rejection] and he wouldn't need to prepare all these spells.

However, if Decem really was specialized in summoner classes as he assumed, it probably wouldn't succeed in dispelling the summon even with their large level difference.

Plus, [Greater Rejection] could only dispel summons, not creations.

Could it be an Elemental Adjutant? If it was created by sacrificing experience, it could be maintained nearly forever. But, it looks like he was consuming mana to maintain it so that shouldn't be the case…I can't really gamble on it though.

Then, he should also be prepared for that possibility.

"Fina—" Decem stopped speaking, looked at the twins, and then looked at Ainz's position with a puzzled expression. "—Why did you move over there? Are you planning to escape while calling yourself their guardian?"

"Tch!"

"Hahaha! Then let me lend you a hand."

The Primal Earth Elemental landed a punch on Ainz's defenseless back as he ran towards the stairs. The knockback caused by its gigantic fist blew Ainz away.

"Hooo? To think you weren't smashed in a single blow, it stands to reason why you would talk big. Well, your resistance was futile in the end anyway."

Ainz was sent flying away, but he managed to keep his posture with [Fly] and took his position before the stairs.

"But seeing that you are running away, can I assume that you are going to leave your masters behind with me?"

"There's no way I would do that."

Ainz created another [Wall of Skeleton].

"That again? How do you even expect to win without damaging my elemental?

That is an idiotic plan you got there."

Upon hearing Decem's exasperation-filled voice, Ainz returned a sneer from behind his wall.

"Hahaha! I know that humans are assaulting this country right now. Hey, Elf King, don't you think time is on my side?"

"…I see. So that's how it is. Aren't you clever? But, that's meaningless. Your plan's impossible."

"What? Impossible, you say?"

"Yes. Did you perhaps think that something like humans could take me down? Me, the one who controls this elemental?"

I was exasperated at similar words I had heard from the guy who summoned an angel in the past, but the Primal Earth Elemental is truly a top-class being. …Is the Theocracy attacking while knowing Decem's strength? If that's the case, it means that they have a method to defeat him. Yet, this guy looks like he hadn't even thought of that possibility yet. Either the Theocracy is ignorant, or this guy is. But, if the Theocracy really knew Decem's strength, would that person at that time really have called that the highest angel?

It's unsure what he thought about Ainz contemplating silently, but Decem spoke in an utterly fed-up voice.

"You should have probably understood it if you thought about it a little bit, right? You really are such a shallow person. Well, maybe it can't be helped. You are an undead after all. All you have is air for brains."

I don't know. If they are prepared for a fight with the Elves, it stands to reason that there's someone in the Theocracy's camp on the same level as this guy at the very least.

In that case, time really isn't my ally here. I want to avoid consecutive battles but…

How much of his opponent's energy could he exhaust?

While thinking about that, Ainz cast another [Wall of Skeleton].

As he said to Mare in a [Message] previously, fighting one-on-one is an idiotic thing to do when one really wanted to win, but he had to continue doing so this time unless he felt like he was in danger of losing. This battle also had one more irritating factor.

He had to fight with a hand tied behind his back.

Ainz already concluded that Decem couldn't see through [Perfect Unknowable]. He could easily win if he used that.

But that wasn't an option.

Why?

What was the most likely development if he started to have an overwhelming advantage using [Perfect Unknowable]?

Or, say, what would happen if he used a high-tier spell like [Time Stop] and outed himself as a strong opponent?

Decem would likely run upon realizing that he couldn't win. Luckily, he wouldn't direct his attacks at the twins—well, he couldn't be certain of that, but it was very unlikely. That guy's aim was to capture Aura—and then, Mare. It was reasonable to think that he would not cause them fatal harm.

Ainz didn't want to let him escape without finding how Decem teleported here.

He appeared suddenly, so he could probably disappear suddenly as well. No—in fact, he should imagine the worst and assume that he had the ability to do just that.

If he let this guy escape, this pervert could continue to aim for Aura and Mare forever.

That was one thing he certainly couldn't let happen.

The twins could be standing at a dangerous precipice depending on Decem's true strength, which he was yet to be certain about.

That was why he was putting into practice what he said to them with the

[Message].

—He would be sure to kill Decem here, and not give him a chance to escape.

That was why Ainz didn't ask the twins to help.

Difference in numbers was one of the main factors that decided victory. The first thing Ainz would do if he were to encounter a group of opponents of unknown strength that outnumbered his group would be to escape. He should assume that Decem would do the same.

It was better not to make the enemy realize his disadvantageous situation before he could create an opportunity to take them out. So, not only did he not ask for the twin's help, but he didn't even summon any undead.

His great lie about Decem being allowed to take the twins if he was defeated was also for the same reason.

By restricting his opponent's actions, Ainz led his opponent into not wanting to leave the battlefield and gradually made him not able to leave it even if he wanted to.

Su, su…what was it again? Yeah, the sankyuu-cost effect. The important thing is whether or not I can make him accumulate enough of it…I hope that he doesn't see through it…Let's just pray that he doesn't have much battle experience…I should break his will at the very least.

(T/N: Ainz is trying to remember "sunk-cost fallacy" and mistook 'sunk' with 'sankyuu' (how 'thank you' is pronounced in Japanese))

***

"「 S-scary」"

Upon hearing Mare's trembling voice echoing through the necklace, Aura immediately concurred.

"「Un. Scary.」"

"「So Ainz-sama can be this scary.」"

Aura and Mare understood well why their master was intentionally fighting like that.

To gauge his opponent—that was probably one of his aims, but that was not the only one.

He was aiming for one other major objective.

He was slowly dragging the opponent down like quicksand to stop him from escaping and would then go in for the kill.

When should someone choose to escape in a situation where they couldn't get a read on the other party's health? There were various opinions on this topic, but excluding cases like their attacks being completely ineffective on the opponent, it would be when their own health went below a certain threshold.

Then, what if their health mostly remained the same, but it was their mana that was getting worn down?

What if they already used a lot of their mana up till that point?

What if they felt like they could win with just one more push?

It was in everyone's nature to be reluctant to cut their losses even when they knew that was the right thing to do. That was why everyone made their own rules from their own painful experiences and the information they had gained from others.

That meant that when one's battle experience was meager and the information they had on their opponent was nearly non-existent, they would have trouble deciding on the right moment to cut their losses.

Their master saw through that very point.

Especially since the opponent was a king, someone haughty and inexperienced at battling others whose strength was on par with himself. He was pushing him to a point where he couldn't easily cut his losses and escape.

"「All of those shameful utterances were a bluff. Although it's rude to call him a monster, Ainz-sama really is one when it comes to a battle of wits isn't he… 」 "

Aura's body slightly trembled.

"「 It's understandable why Demiurge-san said that he is someone above even him…」"

Mare also trembled in sync.

"「 It's also awesome how he is deliberately showing the guy that he is using the scrolls」"

"「All because he is trying to hide his own strength.」"

They couldn't help but feel fear at the deliberate actions he had taken. They also learned a lot at the same time.

Both of them felt how blessed they were to have one such as him standing above them.

***

A new wall appeared the very instant the previous one was smashed apart.

Decem hid his irritation behind a smile, realizing that the opponent was uselessly stalling for time.

He wondered how many times they had repeated this. Though he didn't count because it was tiresome, it should be at least 20 times by now.

The walls were weak enough to break apart in a single hit, but the opponent was deploying multiple at a time to avoid Behemoth's blows.

Mooks will use their brains in their own way…no, it's different. Maybe I should say that they need to be so desperate because they can only use such weak magic.

It was probably incorrect to call him a mook, but that undead was certainly weaker than his Behemoth. What Decem saw till now in this fight showed that he was right.

If that undead was stronger than Behemoth, he would have proactively attacked them. However, all he did was fumble around while doing his best to defend against Behemoth with spells. It was like he was relying on some third party to do the real work.

Sure, Behemoth was taking damage every time he broke one of the walls, but that was trivial. It was unlikely that the undead was stupid enough to think that he could take down Behemoth with that alone.

His attempt to damage Behemoth bit-by-bit was probably a ploy to help the humans who he's expecting to come here later…brings tears to my eyes really. Behemoth's got far more health than you think, you know? Won't your mana run out first?

Another wall was smashed and he can see the next one behind it.

Decem sighed.

Continuing with this farce any longer would be tiresome.

Maybe that was his aim all along. To make me just leave them alone because it felt tiresome—how do I quickly deal with him?

He already understood that it was not wise to deal with those walls one by one, but Behemoth unfortunately didn't have any special skills. If he wanted to ignore the walls, the only other choice was to walk around them. If he did that though, the enemy would just make another wall.

It would end up being a game of cat and mouse.

Decem could control and order elementals stronger than him. Generally, it would be impossible to summon or control those stronger than yourself, but due to one of the jobs Decem learned, he could ignore that restriction.

However, it came with the price that his mana would be gradually consumed while the summon was fighting.

It was not like he had to concentrate while using Behemoth, so Decem could use magic at the same time. Although, doing that would reduce the time he could keep Behemoth active.

It can't be helped. Should I just use an attack spell? Behemoth and Me. He shouldn't have any leeway to create new walls while taking on both of our attacks.

Decem could use Tenth-Tier magic.

A realm that the magic casters of this world could never reach even with all of their efforts—a tier only allowed for the chosen few.

That said, he could only barely use it because he had specialized in summoning.

He was certainly not good at it, though it should be enough to deal with something like that undead easily. But—was it fine to use his precious mana like that? He hesitated, wondering if he should save it for Behemoth instead.

I have to somehow make that undead understand that humans can't do anything to me. That would probably make him stop trying to buy time…

He already said as much, but it didn't look like the other side believed him.

No, even he could understand that it was only natural that they wouldn't believe him.

One does not simply believe the enemy's words, but it's not like Decem was lying either. No one was able to beat Behemoth till now, even the ancient dragons weren't a match. Though they used Second-Tier magic to strengthen their bodies, they were still beaten into a pulp by Behemoth in the end.

Even Decem himself would inevitably die if he turned Behemoth into his opponent.

His father was probably the only one who could defeat Behemoth, but he was already dead. That meant that there was no one left who could.

He's probably thinking that he can win if I exhaust my mana, but that's wrong too…

The undead was likely counting on taking down a magic caster whose mana was exhausted easily. That was probably a prediction made from his own experience as a magic caster.

Decem deigned to recognize that a part of its reasoning was correct.

If Decem—someone who specialized in summoning—used up all of his mana and was unable to use Behemoth anymore, his battle strength would drastically drop. However, that didn't mean that he himself was weak. As someone who stood at the pinnacle of druids, his body was stronger than most living beings.

The brittle human body would split into two with just a single blow from his fist. If he kicked someone who wore armor, it would leave a footprint on it while turning the soft meat inside into pulp from the impact.

He was confident that he could wipe out a human army of thousands, nay, tens of thousands with just his bodily strength alone.

Yet, if he was asked if it was alright to exhaust his mana, he couldn't be so sure.

He was a bit uneasy about it as he entrusted most of his battles to Behemoth till now. Killing a few thousand soldiers would mean that he would need to swing his fists thousands of times as well. He wouldn't know if his stamina would hold unless he tried, and most of all—

To fight directly by myself—to do an act as barbaric as dirtying this body with human blood is unthinkable.

As someone proud of his nature as an elemental user, to swing a weapon at his opponent personally was nothing but savagery to him. He wanted to avoid that kind of battle at all costs.

What should he do then?

I already consumed a lot of mana. I can still fight but…that doesn't mean I can do it for long using Behemoth. I will have to kill humans while keeping the grandchildren bound with magic. Taking that into account, I really don't have much leeway with my mana.

He couldn't spend any more mana on that undead.

Should I just ignore him and leave with the grandchildren? But he will probably just be summoned again…

Then they would end up going through a similar fight again.

That's not the way he wanted to do this at all.

He wanted to break their will by showing them who was the stronger one. He wanted to win the battle here and imprint on them that he was their superior.

Those two would continue to rebel against him if he didn't do that.

So that undead had to be destroyed completely.

It all comes back to this, but how should I eliminate him?

All of his opponents till now were no more than brittle branches that broke with a single punch from Behemoth. He never imagined a battle where he had to chase after the opponent who scurried here and there, trying to stall for time.

Hnnn—this was a good experience. I should practice by killing those escaping worms as well the next time around. First, I should deal with—that.

Decem glared at the wall standing in Behemoth's way. Or, to be more precise, he was staring at the undead behind it.

As I thought, there's no way around it. I should quickly kill him even if I have to use a large amount of mana. It's extremely, yes, extremely inelegant that an elemental user like me has to use attack magic but…it can't be helped. I don't want to fight physically so let's just bear with it.

After resolving himself to it, Decem selected a spell and activated it.

[Shining Burst].

The Seventh-Tier spell caused an eruption of heat and light which manifested like the sun. The wall made of bones was blown away the instant the hemisphere of white light touched it, but the walls behind it stood undamaged.

.

I see, so even a wide-area spell can't break through the inner walls.

It would have been better for him if all the walls were dealt with at once, but finding out one of its characteristics was good enough.

He would just have to choose a different spell next time with that information in mind.

Even wide-area spells differed slightly; some scattered and some exploded, while others radiated outwards.

Behemoth's huge right fist of stone smashed through another wall and without a pause, his left fist also brought the last wall down. He finally caught the sight of the undead who looked flustered.

He will just make another wall, won't he?

Then all he had to do was cast a more suitable spell based on the now known information.

But what happened next was unexpected.

The undead started to walk away in an attempt to create some distance from Behemoth, and took an item out from under his robe. It was probably another scroll.

The Elves used the bark from a special kind of tree to make scrolls and could only inscribe druid spells up to the third tier on them. That undead's magic was not druidic, so Decem thought that was probably how scrolls looked for spells from a different system of magic.

A low-tier spell? Is he mocking me? Does he think he can defend with just that? …Or

do the scrolls he uses contain higher-tier spells? …But when did he even get them? A special type of summon?

The undead burned the scroll, activating the spell stored.

"Wha!?"

A dense fog spread out with the undead at its center, covering Decem's entire field of vision, reducing his visibility to only a few meters. The fog was so milky thick that he could only look ahead by maybe five meters at most.

More irritating magic from his opponent.

He was about to cast an attack spell, but it wouldn't be effective unless he had a clear line of sight; It was the same for wide-area magic. That undead used the scroll while walking, so he should be moving right now. It was possible that the target was not in range even if he attacked the spot he last saw him.

Decem commanded Behemoth to search for the undead but realized that its movement was dull.

Behemoth's senses relied on its eyes, so it couldn't find the enemy because of the fog.

If that's how it is going to be, Decem thought. He cast the Fourth-Tier spell,

[Tremor Sense].

This spell allowed him to sense even the smallest amount of tremors, allowing him to find his opponent's position. It was more effective on land but a floor should work as well. But—

—What? He is nowhere around, you say?

[Tremor Sense] told him that the two grandchildren were still here even though he couldn't see them through the fog. The tremors were probably caused by them changing their postures. It was hard to think that the undead would escape by teleportation, thus leaving them behind. It was even harder to believe that the summon was canceled. Then, what happened? Decem soon stumbled upon the reason.

He is not touching the floor! He is floating in the air!

He didn't realize it because the enemy previously only used his legs to run when he tried to escape, but he had to be floating through some means.

[Tremor Sense] could sense even the most trivial of vibrations from the floor, but its range did not extend to air.

The undead was doing a splendid job at getting on his nerves.

"Such attempts at stalling for time are meaningless! You irritating mook!"

This was starting to get really unpleasant. Maybe he should just call the humans over and wipe them out together, it would probably be quicker than this.

This weakling! He would have been dead already if we had been fighting outside!

He couldn't immediately think of a way to drag the children and the undead outside. He could blast the wall and push them outside, but he doubted that it would go as expected.

Decem hurled an order at the Behemoth—who was stumbling aimlessly—and made him stand by his side.

He was not sure about the guy's movements inside the fog, but it was possible that the undead was targeting him. That wasn't something he had to worry about as he wouldn't die in a single hit, but he didn't really want his blood spilled again by such a lowly being.

Time slowly passed by as he tried to sense the enemy's movements. It hadn't been that long since, but the sensation of his mana gradually going down made him feel like time flowed slower than usual.

—I can't waste any more time!

He would just blow the fog away. Decem tried to remember the spells he hadn't used for a long time. As Behemoth had mowed down all of his enemies up till this point, there were a lot of spells he hadn't used after learning them. He knew at least one spell that could blow this fog away.

He chose a Ninth-Tier spell—[Tempest].

A storm started rampaging, clearing the fog in an instant. However, the fierce rain that came along with it obscured their vision again. The swirling winds were ferocious, strong enough that even Decem had to spend his full effort just to stay put. It was extremely difficult to move amidst this.

As expected, only Behemoth with its huge body could withstand the raging winds enough to move around even though its speed would go down.

That guy shouldn't be able to move in the middle of this storm either.

Nothing was visible inside this downpour, even Behemoth couldn't find that undead amidst this. But, it was different for Decem. [Tremor Sense] would pick up the vibrations caused by all of the raindrops falling on the floor, so he couldn't discern between them and the steps made by some entity even if they walked around him. On the contrary, he could sense the spots where the tremors from raindrops were weaker. Inside the image of the flat topography this room made inside his head, he found two such spots where the rain was being obstructed.

One was the place where his grandchildren stood, the other one was naturally the undead's location.

—he is moving?

This fierce rain was one in which he couldn't even see before him. Even Behemoth, with all the strength its huge body provided, could barely move around in the ferocious winds.

Then, how was that undead moving inside this storm? He should have been caught by the winds even if he tried to fly.

Decem was only puzzled for a moment. He immediately dispelled [Tempest].

The rain and the winds borne of magic disappeared like they weren't there in the first place, but the wet floor and his soaked clothes proved that it hadn't been an illusion.

Decem swiped away the wet hair that was stuck to his face and saw a wall standing between him and the undead's location. The undead probably made it when the spell was dispelled.

"Cut it out, you bastard!!" Decem shouted angrily. "What was that about fighting fairly?! Sneaking behind one wall after another! Such cowardice!!"

"—isn't it normal to use tactics in a battle? Please don't ask me such obvious things. I have some questions as well that I would like for you to answer."

The undead spoke from behind the wall.

He should have ignored it, considering his mana was vanishing by the second, but it sparked his curiosity. That undead's words should contain the ideations of those twins—and by relation, their parents—behind them. He should listen.

"…What are they?"

"Is it fine to leave the humans alone? It had been some time since we started fighting here. Maybe the Elves below are being massacred right now, you know?"

He was stunned at the somewhat unexpected question, but decided to give an honest answer.

He momentarily thought about canceling Behemoth's combat form, but then it would take some time if he wanted to return Behemoth to its present form again. We were talking about that despicable undead here. Even if they were in the middle of a conversation, he would surely come attacking if he saw a chance.

A single hit would be far from fatal, but he wanted to avoid taking one head-on.

So Decem decided to continue maintaining Behemoth in combat form even though it would continue to consume his mana.

"From a certain point of view, it's probably better to save them considering that they could awaken their blood in the later generations like those two, but there are Elves elsewhere too. Plus, I have more expectations for those who could escape by themselves. In a gist, there is no need to save those who are weak enough to get killed by something like humans."

"Onto the next question then. I heard there is a hidden treasure of the Elves?"

"A hidden treasure of the Elves? Are they talking about me? Or is it about this thing here?"

"… By 'this thing,' you mean Primal Earth Elemental?"

"Primal Earth Elemental?"

"Of all things, that's what caught your attention? A Primal Earth Elemental is what you've summoned, right? Or is it a different race…an elemental with a different name? Do you call it by a different name?"

Even though it was fine if the lowly worm died in ignorance, Decem was irritated that he thought Behemoth was just a simple earth elemental or something from a similar race. Considering he also had to educate his grandkids correctly, he had to correct the enemy's misunderstanding here.

"That's Behemoth. The Elemental Guardian of the Land, Behemoth."

"Behemoth? So I didn't mishear it…Elemental Guardian of the Land? Not the Great Magic Beast of the Continent? The raid boss? The Behemoth I knew looked a lot different…Who was the one that named it first? You?"

"Someone else, but—"

"—Then, who?"

The questioning tone felt a bit forceful. Why was he interested in that of all things? What's this Great Magic Beast of the Continent? He felt like he heard the term raid boss (a strong enemy that required a party to defeat) though… This guy—or his grandchildren to be more accurate; maybe they knew some things not even he knew about. It would be better to not answer the undead's questions anymore.

"…How about taking down that wall if you want me to answer? Isn't it rude to talk without even being able to see each others' faces?"

"Then it's fine if you don't answer. I only asked that question out of intellectual curiosity."

Was it the undead who wanted the information, or was it the grandchildren who somehow got their hands on some information and wanted to know more?

The two kids who were drenched from the rain had blank expressions so Decem couldn't read anything from them.

"And another question—"

"That's enough. There's no longer any reason for me to continue talking with you."

Feeling anxious, Decem put strength in the stare he was directing at the twins.

The questions were completely different from what he was expecting them to be about and he couldn't expend any more mana. There's no need to talk anymore.

"That's the end of our conversation."

Suddenly, the wall disappeared.

He was stunned at the unexpected development, just as he was about to use [Green Chain] on the twins. He hesitated for a moment about who he should target.

"—this should probably be your limit. Anyhow, your mana should be reduced by a lot at least."

"…what?"

Decem was confused by the undead's extremely cold voice.

Why could he sense complete calm from him?

An incompetent undead who could do nothing but stall for time—

He should just command Behemoth to crush him into a pulp—

Decem turned his gaze towards the stairs behind the undead. He thought that maybe this attitude was because he had achieved his goal to stall for the arrival of the humans, but he couldn't see anyone coming up the stairs.

Even if he concentrated on listening, he couldn't hear any human footsteps—or any other footsteps for that matter.

He didn't know what the undead thought of his actions just now, but the undead started speaking again.

"I said your mana should mostly be gone by now. How much longer can you maintain Pri—Behemoth? Probably a few more minutes at least I think."

"Ah, so that's what this is about. You thought that you could win against me without my mana. Sure, I wasn't able to avoid your punch at the start, but that's because you were summoned suddenly. I could have easily avoided it if I knew you were going to appear."

"—I know."

The voice was as cold as it was before. Decem took a gulp unconsciously.

Why does he behave like that?

Strange.

Why was he getting pressured by such a weak undead?

He, whose blood came from the one who dominated the world in the past.

He, who stood at the pinnacle of the Elves as the current strongest Elf.

Decem gritted his teeth and suppressed the shameful emotions welling up inside his heart.

"I see it now!" he shouted with a thunderous voice. "You made me bleed with your fist so you're thinking that you can win in a physical melee. That punch barely did any damage to me you see!"

"I know that too."

Upon receiving the undead's calm response to his anger-fueled shout, Decem felt an unpleasantness that couldn't be put in words.

Maybe he was—

Just for a moment, an impossible thought flitted across his mind.

Then why?

Why did he fight like that?

This was a bluff.

The enemy was trying to deceive him by acting calm.

There's no way it could be anything else.

"Behemoth!" He wasn't sure if that was an angry shout or a scared shriek. "— Crush him!!"

"Let's start then".

Decem understood the reason behind the undead's calmness the very next moment.

"[Triplet Maximize Magic - Cacophonous Burst]—Release"

There was an explosion of sound waves at first, then a pair of angel wings appeared next.

A storm of shockwaves hit Behemoth who stood between Decem and the undead as a rain of light rivaling the downpour from before pierced its body. The Elemental Guardian of the Land's health was being blown away by the second. It didn't bleed or lose parts of its body like a living being, but Decem, as its master, knew Behemoth was standing on its last legs.

Confusion.

Nothing but confusion.

Behemoth was the greatest elemental. No one was on par with it. Even though it received damage in fights until now, they were no more than a few scratches considering its enormous health.

And that—

Like this—

Not once was its health reduced to the verge of death like this.

"N-no way…"

"Well now. I didn't expect that even six hits weren't enough to take it down even though I triggered its weakness. Would it have been different if I was more specialized in offensive magic?"

Just like before, Decem couldn't feel a single emotion from the undead's calm voice. It was like he was a completely different person from the undead before.

W-what the hell is even happening?

The confusion welling up in his heart calmed down for a bit and in its place, fear ran through his body.

The fleeting thought from before loomed larger now.

That, perhaps, this undead was stronger than him.

"No! Behemoth! Protect—"

Me—Behemoth, upon sensing his thoughts, moved to cover Decem from the undead's sight and brought down its right fist on the enemy.

"I did it!! —nn? What!?"

Behemoth followed with a punch from his left hand, meaning that undead wasn't killed in a single hit.

Even though he had received two hits face-on, he saw that the undead still brazenly stood on the other side.

He wasn't crushed.

Although it had crushed every enemy until now, that undead stood there like it was nothing.

"[Triplet Maximize Magic - Cacophonous Burst]."

In front of Decem's eyes, Behemoth—the invincible great elemental— turned into a large pile of dirt.

He was assaulted by a great sense of—

| ||

|| |_

—in that instant.

Something that was inside him had now disappeared without a trace, leaving a gaping hole behind.

"So it's overkill…but considering you might have some skills up your sleeves, I don't think I made a wrong choice. What do you think?"

"—Hiyeee!"

Impossible.

The absolutely invincible elemental, his own shadow. It's impossible for Behemoth to have lost.

But it's a fact that it was not standing in front of him right now.

Then what should he do?

What action should he take?

Who the hell was the undead before him—.

"You don't have to be so scared—[Reality Slash]."

He was assaulted by a flood of pain.

The kind of pain he never experienced till now.

"AA, AAAaaaa." Looking down, he saw that his rain-drenched clothes were now soaked red.

"Hurtss, It hurtssss!!"

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

That was the only thing echoing inside his head.

"I understand the feeling very well. If not for this body, I would have become hysterical from just a single one of those hits before. Well then, I have a proposal.

Surrender. I will not cause you any more pain if you do that, and will guarantee your safety afterward."

"Ah, ah, Aah, it hur…r-really?"

With tears welling up from the pain, Decem posed the question to the two grandchildren.

The two looked flustered for a moment, and then the granddaughter replied with "yes, really."

"Now we have my masters' permission as well. Start removing your gear. Don't fear. I will return them back after confirming if there's anything dangerous with them. Really. I am not lying at all. I will swear it in the names of my masters.

Trust me."

The undead spoke with a sincere and gentle voice. Decem felt like believing him.

It hurts.

[Mercy of Shorea Robusta] was slowly healing the wound, but it didn't take away the pain from the deep, deep wound.

Just for a moment, he felt like surrendering if it could take away this pain.

But—he still had some pride left.

As someone who reigned over this country for a long time as its king, he was reluctant to plead for his life from people far younger than himself, even if they were his grandchildren.

It hurts.

He had no mana left. No, there was some, but he couldn't see himself winning against this undead with the remaining amount.

Should he attempt to settle this in a melee?

No, first of all, he was not confident in himself right now. He would probably die first if he were to take multiple hits from the undead's spells as strong as the one from before.

It hurts.

Decem turned his gaze behind the undead—towards the stairs.

There's no one there.

In that case—.

He should run. That's all he could do.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

Even so, Decem started to run.

The blood he left behind was a sign of his declining health.

The fear of death welled up in his heart. Even though he had equipped magic items that resisted fear, it couldn't eliminate what was born from inside him.

That was why—because he was being urged onward by his fear—his body followed exactly what his mind demanded of it. He kicked the floor with a speed he had never reached until now.

His vision of his surroundings blurred as he picked up speed, instantly reducing the distance between him and the undead.

"Stop! Or I will kill you!"

He ignored the undead's warning as he passed by him, hearing a tongue click and then a spell being cast.

"[Time Stop]."

He expected more pain from the spell but didn't feel any. No, maybe there was.

Perhaps the pain from his deep wound had taken a turn for the worse from him running, to the point where he couldn't even notice any other source of pain even if there was such a thing.

So—Decem continued to run. The stairs were very close.

The pain in his chest was surprisingly strong, but there was no hesitation in his legs.

"Aura!"

It seemed like the undead chanted another spell, but once again, this spell didn't affect him either.

Then, all he had to do was run.

He reached the stairs—and the floor under his feet exploded. Three times at that.

His body flew in the air for just a moment, but by wringing the utmost effort out of his body, he managed to keep his posture and continued to flee without reducing his speed even a bit. He didn't feel much pain from his legs. Or rather, he couldn't really feel anything due to the pain in his chest and the overwhelming fear he felt.

He felt like the undead was saying something behind him, but he didn't have the composure to hear it.

Decem ran like he was flying over the stairs.

He couldn't hear anyone chasing him from behind. The moment his tension melted a bit, a fierce pain ran through his legs.

Decem nearly cried out by instinct, but suppressed it in a panic. It would be extremely bad to make a loud sound right now.

Looking down at his legs, he found them in shreds, probably due to the explosion before.

Acknowledging the wounds made his pain that much stronger.

Decem looked back the way he ran and saw the trail of blood his escape had made. Even if they were not good at tracking, they could probably follow after him very easily.

It hurts.

He didn't want to run anymore.

But, he was sure there would be more pain waiting for him if he didn't.

And most of all—he didn't want to die.

With his mind filled with that single conviction, Decem bore the pain and willed his legs into motion.

Why do I have to do something like this? Why won't my grandchildren listen to me?!

He couldn't understand at all.

Why won't they cooperate for the sake of the Elven race?

Damn it all!

Shouting silently inside his heart—because he was scared of giving his location away by his voice—Decem spat profanities, wiping his tears away as he ran.

***

Ainz called for Decem's surrender in the gentlest voice he could muster. Maybe because he couldn't use that strange teleportation technique anymore or maybe because Ainz had succeeded in his attempt to guide the guy's thoughts down a certain path by pushing him to the edge, it looked like he would accept his proposal.

Finally, Ainz smiled scornfully in his heart.

Of course, the proposal was a complete lie. He had no intention of guaranteeing the Elf King's safety. He would be dealt with the moment he took off his equipment.

The guy probably wouldn't target the twins anymore with his will broken, but [Death] was the more surefire way.

Yet, he felt a fire burning in Decem's eyes the very next moment.

"Nn?"

Decem suddenly broke into a sprint. Straight towards Ainz at that.

"Tch! Melee!? In that case—I don't mind at all!"

Ainz hid his smile from his face and instead adopted a voice of surprise and fear.

As an Arcane-type magic caster, Ainz hated fighting in close quarters so it could be said that the opponent was treading on his weakness. However, the fact that the guy still wanted to fight was a welcome fact for Ainz.

He would now be able to kill Decem for sure in return for some of his HP. But, what happened next really surprised Ainz, so much so that it felt like even his face that couldn't make expressions looked surprised.

Decem's trajectory was just a bit off from Ainz, and it looked like he didn't intend to reduce his speed either.

Ainz immediately realized that his predictions were off.

—Damn it! He is making a break for it!

This made his opinions of Decem go up by a level—or maybe not, but it was raised by at least a little. The most troublesome scenario for Ainz was the enemy giving his all to escape. Ainz would do the same as Decem in a situation like this, although far sooner, before things would reach this point.

It was because he understood this, that Ainz put many countermeasures in place to prevent the opponent from escaping through magical means like the way he came in. However, he didn't prepare much against him escaping by physical means. There hadn't been enough time to prepare and it had been difficult to set up the countermeasures in place while trying to hide his true strength.

"Stop! Or I will kill you!"

He shouted a warning but didn't really expect the guy to stop. Plus, it's not like he wouldn't kill him even if he did stop running. Ainz immediately started thinking of the next card to play.

The opponent could just jump over any walls he made. They would instead obstruct him from seeing the guy's escape, making it more difficult to deal with him.

Psychic magic could end this in a single blow, but it's doubtful whether it would work on Decem who was expected to be over level 70. Skills or items to resist mind control were very easy to obtain in YGGDRASIL. It was hard to prepare against every type of mind control magic but he probably had countermeasures against at least some.

Jircniv had a magic item against being affected by mind control, so to think that Decem wouldn't have any would be idiotic. Personally, he wanted to kill the guy with instant death magic, but considering that he was protected by [Mercy of Shorea Robusta], it was meaningless.

So, he finally chose [Time stop]. This could be resisted as well if he had measures against it, but it should be harder to deal with unless he used a magic item.

"[Time Stop]!"

He didn't stop.

Decem didn't stop.

Ainz didn't click his tongue. He had already thought about this possibility in a corner of his mind. In this case, he only needed to borrow the help of others.

He immediately shouted a command.

"Aura!"

"Yes!"

Aura nocked an arrow and—

"[Shadow-Sewing Arrow]."

—shot an arrow that pierced Decem's shadow, but that too failed at stopping Decem even for a moment. He managed to reach the stairs. Luckily, Ainz made the minimum amount of preparations while he was hiding behind the [Walls of Skeleton] from before.

[Explode Mine] activated under Decem's feet.

"It's useless. At your feet—"

Decem ignored him and fled. He could hear footsteps going down the stairs, gradually turning faint.

"—did he realize I was bluffing? Or was he just not in the mood to listen to anything? He was not knowledgeable enough to use piercing magic against walltype magic, so I ended up underestimating him."

.

He tried to stop him with a bluff, but it wasn't effective.

Decem was a druid. Though from a different system, as a magic caster, it was entirely possible that he saw through Ainz's magical traps. Generally, one couldn't cast multiple instances of the same spell at the same time. It's just like how one wouldn't be able to amass a lot of monsters by summoning them repeatedly.

"Sorry for letting him escape!"

Upon hearing Aura's apology, Ainz turned his gaze from the stairs that Decem had disappeared under to her.

"No… No, you are right…that skill was a poor choice, Aura. You saw that he had countermeasures against time stop and instant death during that fight. You should have also assumed that he had some countermeasures against crowd control." Ainz lifted a hand to stop Aura, who was trying to apologize again. "But, I am also at fault for not warning you about it. In fact, I didn't expect him to have measures for crowd control either. That aside…what do you think we should do now?"

"I will chase and kill him."

"Wait!"

Ainz stopped Aura, who was on the verge of charging out.

Considering Decem was probably a druid above level 70, it was highly likely that Ainz couldn't overtake him with his speed. Only Aura and Mare could do that.

However, in that case, Ainz—who had exhausted a fair bit of mana—would be left alone.

I should get some reinforcements from Nazarick through a [Gate]—no, there's not enough time. First, I have to decide if I want to let him escape this time or kill him here.

Even with most of his mana exhausted, Decem's physical capabilities were comparatively high. Ainz couldn't win in a melee where he wouldn't be able to use his magic. Of course, that's assuming he didn't use [Perfect Warrior].

Without her beasts, it's possible that Aura may not be able to deal with him if he were to bring out some trump card he might be still holding on to. Maybe I should summon an undead…No, what if he summoned another Primal Earth Elemental? No, no, no…that should be impossible.

It would be broken if one could just summon elementals stronger than them multiple times. Even Ainz, who specialized in necromancy, couldn't do that. That said, what was "impossible" to Ainz was ultimately according to YGGDRASIL's standards and it was entirely possible that those rules didn't apply to this world.

Even though his game knowledge had been applicable till now, Decem's command of that elemental was impossible by the game's logic. In that case—

"—Mare!"

"Y-yes"

"It's probably going to be dangerous, but you will have to kill that Decem by your strength alone. You are wearing different gear than usual so don't be careless. If you feel like you can't win, conserve your mana and stall for time."

Ainz wanted to give him more directions, but he couldn't waste any more time.

"Go!"

"Yes!"

Mare gave an unusually energetic reply and started racing down the stairs, following after Decem. He was fast as Ainz had expected, his steps already becoming fainter by the second.

Seeing him run alone, Ainz wanted to summon an undead to go after Mare as support, but decided to hold it back so that they could use it as a shield if there was an emergency. In any case, [Lopsided Duel] was still active. Maybe he could use the undead to quickly deal with him if he had to fight that king again.

"—Aura! You will be guarding me. Let's go through the treasury as quickly as possible and get everything. We will then regroup with Mare right after!"

"Okay!"

-x-X-x-

The frontline's unified command center had always been noisy, but it was even more so with the war situation finally changing. It would probably continue to be bustling even after they'd won this war, at least until the civil officials arrived to oversee the occupation.

Right now, the strategists were compiling the information carried by messengers from different places, going over each piece and taking great pains to consolidate them into a comprehensive battle map. They still had the calculations for the casualties to do as well as the management of the prisoners of war. Other miscellaneous tasks like dealing with the dead bodies were postponed for later as they were in the middle of fighting right now.

Anyhow, only accurate information—without any falsehood—reached General Valerian Ein Obinie.

That's why he felt relief from the bottom of his heart when he received the news that he was waiting for.

"Your Excellency. We finally broke through those Elven defensive lines. With this, the enemy's counterattacks were reduced by 70%…we feel like they were weakened by too much but that can be attributed to the absence of strong people in the enemy forces. Still, the remaining enemies have escaped into the city, waiting to lay ambushes in different places. How should we proceed?"

"Avoid unnecessary casualties. The guerillas who barricaded themselves in weren't too much of a threat, but those who are roaming around the city going on a rampage are to be feared. Expand the area under our control, suppress them and force those Elves outside—into the waiting hands of our encircling siege.

Avoid fighting indoors. Don't forget to include strong individuals in the squads deployed to fight inside the city. "

"Understood. I will relay the instructions immediately."

"The Elves fighting against the siege will probably fight as fierce as cornered, dying animals. Make sure to warn everyone again to be on their guard."

"Understood."

"—It looks like our path lies open, but have we received any counterattack from the castle?"

"Nothing. It continues to stay silent."

That would have usually made Valerian's expression far grimmer.

He doubted the castle was empty. It was highly likely that it was being protected by the Elven elites. Also, there was no doubt that the desperate Elven soldiers were escaping to the castle and most of all, there was still the existence of the Elf King.

The death of the Holocaust Scripture's vice leader at the hands of the elemental commanded by the Elf King was still fresh in their minds. He might not have reached the realm of heroes, but was still strong enough to have stood on its cusp, yet he was killed just like that.

According to the records in the Theocracy, even a Holocaust Scripture—made up of hero class members—a hundred years ago was nearly eliminated by the Elf King's strength. He didn't know what that operation was about, but seeing that it had succeeded, that at least meant that the Elf King was not infallible. Still, dealing with him would have been too heavy a burden for Valerian's troops and would be the greatest mountain they have to cross yet in this war.

But—they have a trump card here now.

"Just to make sure, are you certain that we can advance there directly?"

"Yes. It's possible."

Hearing the confidence in the strategist's answer, Valerian stood from his chair.

"In that case…we can probably consider our preliminary goal completed…Everyone, we've weathered through some tough times. Tell everyone to halt after we've surrounded the royal castle and continue observing it from afar. Ask them to put their efforts in other areas. I will go over to that person to pass on the information personally."

Valerian exited his tent alone and headed to a different tent. This tent's owner didn't like others' company much. It would be bad if this person was displeased.

He called from outside the tent.

"Excuse me, is it alright for me to come in?"

"Please."

He received an immediate reply.

Valerian took a single deep breath before he entered.

She was certainly not a dangerous person. He had exchanged light greetings with her on her arrival and felt that she was a rational person. However, when faced with a person from the Black Scripture, someone who stood in the realm of heroes—or someone who exceeded the realm of humans—even Valerian needed a certain amount of resolve. Even though he knew that they wouldn't attack him, he required the kind of mental state that was necessary if one were to face a giant carnivore before them.

And there was one more thing.

Even among the heroes, the one inside this tent was kind of special for the Theocracy.

Different humanoid races could produce children between them but that kind of thought was taboo in the Theocracy.

For the Theocracy, which thought that only humans should flourish, every other race was an enemy even if they were humanoids.

That said, that policy was comparatively new and had only been practiced for a century plus a few decades. Before that, the Theocracy also took the other humanoid races into consideration, the policy being that they should join hands together and fight against the other races.

The person inside this tent was considered one of the reasons for that change.

She was considered the Theocracy's strongest, and her lifespan was extremely long. She was also supposedly the apprentice of the rumored person known as the guardian deity of their nation. That was all Valerian knew.

Among such vague information, there were also a few things that he knew to be true.

One was that she was not someone even a general like him could be rude to.

Of course, he had never even thought of looking down at the apex of the natural order.

He rolled the cloth covering the entrance aside and entered, whereupon he saw a simple chair, a bed, and a table with a helmet on top of it. The tent was not too different from the others around it, but the furniture inside was comparatively well made. These were brought over from the Theocracy using [Teleportation], even his—a general's—tent didn't have such nice things.

He found her jumping in the middle of the decor, wearing dazzling armor.

"Did something happen?"

Perhaps she was doing something Valerian wasn't knowledgeable on. For example, a special type of ritual.

"Nn? No, it was nothing special. I just don't feel calm unless I move my body around"

"Undoubtedly so."

She continued to jump for a few more seconds and finally stopped.

"You don't need to be so polite. You are my superior in a sense after all."

Though she said that, it didn't feel like she intended to change her own tone or the air of superiority that hung around her.

"No, I certainly cannot acquiesce to such a request, not to the Theocracy's strongest force and the guardian deity's apprentice."

"Too stiff…Well, I won't stop you if you want to be like that. That aside, seeing that you are here, can I assume it's about that?"

"Yes. Only the castle's left now, but we think the remaining forces are concentrating in the castle at the present, so…"

"I will deal with them too, but I am only aiming for one person so don't expect me to be thorough in wiping them out."

"Understood. Please leave them to us."

The woman called Zesshi Zetsumei slowly changed her expression.

Valerian, who saw the smile on her face, cast his eyes down.

It's not like she was pointing killing intent at him. He understood that. Even so, he couldn't help but feel afraid.

"Ah, sorry about that…well, can you hear me out a bit?"

"Yes. If you are fine with me."

"Un. Honestly speaking, you could say that I don't really hate him, because he never harmed me directly. You could also say that he didn't do anything fatherly, but from his point of view that's unreasonable to ask of him. It's entirely possible that he didn't even know about my existence after all…It was my mother who had a grudge against him. So, you could say that my feelings in this matter are just what my mother instilled into me."

How should he answer her? Should he agree or deny? First of all, did she really say that she was the Elf King's daughter? Then, who in the world was her mother?

Question after question flitted across his mind.

She ignored Valerian, who couldn't answer from confusion, and continued with her speech.

He understood it now.

This was just her talking to herself. She didn't expect an answer.

"Then I should be directing my hatred at my mother, right? To the one who gave me such troublesome emotions, but she is already dead so I can't take it out on her. Maybe that's why I am directing this hatred at my father as a replacement. If I really want to clear my hatred…I should be directing it at the things my mother loved, right?"

The mood of the conversation changed.

Valerian tried to read her expression.

She was still smiling. Nothing's changed.

But—was that smile real?

He gulped unconsciously.

He was afraid that his answer could become the trigger that would cause the Theocracy's destruction.

She probably felt his tension, as her smile turned bitter.

"…ah, I did it again. Sorry. Did I scare you? I was not saying that I would make the Theocracy the target of my hatred, because…all things considered I do love the Theocracy."

"I-is that so? That's great."

He couldn't give her a good reply, but relief spread inside Valerian.

"But…I don't know why. I just wonder if I can really feel free after I clear this hatred that my mother burned into me. I feel a little shy talking about things like this. This is probably what they call a moody phase."

"I see."

"If it were one of my acquaintances, they would be joking about my age right about now."

"Sorry for not being attentive enough."

She continued, unbothered by Valerian's bow.

"I wonder what my mother felt."

"Eh?"

"…The weak can only be trampled upon, so become strong. The sentiment certainly isn't wrong. I doubt if there was any need to train a child so strictly, but then again, it's likely that I wasn't the only one who was trained to near death during their childhood. There could be someone who is receiving stricter training than me to become stronger. With that in mind, I am just being a spoiled child, am I not?"

"About that…It's hard to say for sure, I think, but how should I put it…"

Agreement or denial. Valerian, who was focused on thinking about which answer would be less likely to displease her, ended up giving her a nonsensical response.

Probably realizing what Valerian was going through, she laughed again—

though it was an honest laugh this time.

"Maybe I should go through the old records after everything's done. There might be things the past me didn't notice. Maybe there are some things that couldn't be understood except from a third party's perspective. Anyhow…she should have probably left something behind. What did she really feel about me?

…Well then, shall we go?"

***

"Huff. Huff. Huff—"

Considering Decem's physical capabilities, sprinting such a short distance at his full speed shouldn't have him wheezing. Yet, he was completely out of breath.

It must be the fear. The fear that was welling up from inside him was so strong it was physically affecting his body.

He tried to listen to his rear, to see if anyone was chasing him.

Nothing.

No one was coming after him.

Did he manage to escape?

No—Decem shook his head silently.

He couldn't be careless.

He should not cling to his pride as the strongest Elf anymore. He should run away.

Defeat isn't the end of everything. It's not like there were no Elves left outside this forest. He could just travel to a place far away and rebuild his kingdom. He was confident enough in his own strength that he would be able to do that—

probably.

I won't make the same mistake next time.

Be it grandchildren or great-grandchildren—he now had the proof that even later generations could awaken their blood. He would just have to proceed wisely from now.

Yeah, that's right. This is neither a mistake nor a defeat. Just something that can be a good experience for me. I won't waste the experience that I have gained. I am not such an idiot. Only idiots repeat their mistakes!

That's right.

First, he would make his children have progeny with the Dark Elves…or should he do it with the Dark Elves himself?

Anyhow, there's no time. Should I just escape as quickly as possible? Or…maybe I should carry some food with me.

Decem continued to think while running.

His teleportation was limited to teleporting to the elemental he was linked with. As he couldn't use it anymore with Behemoth dead, he could only rely on his own legs to run away from this place. Still, he could fly, so maybe he didn't need to rely solely on his legs.

That's right, Decem had the power of magic.

Frankly speaking, even if he didn't take anything along, he should be able to manage somehow with just the gear he had on him.

Plus, if he passed by a civilized area, he could just pillage what he wanted from them. These things were possible for someone as strong as Decem.

Certainly, he had just been defeated—it was vexing but he had acknowledged it—but those grandchildren's strength was an exception. They were only that strong because they had Decem's blood flowing through them, so it's unlikely there were people of similar strength at the place he would be escaping to. Still, a display of his strength could draw too much attention.

That undead commanded by the grandchildren might come chasing after him if news of his whereabouts were spread.

That aside, what were those two aiming for in the first place? Were they on that floor because the treasury was there? In that case, maybe they are no longer interested in taking my life…

Perhaps he was being too optimistic. It was hard for him to believe the grandchildren's words—or to be more accurate, what they made the undead say.

"Maybe…they really are after me"

He should expect the worst-case scenario. His life depended on it after all.

In that case, I should try my best to lie low until I am as far away as possible from this area…I should also avoid using magic. I will have to carry some food with me then.

There was a druid spell that could make fruits. There was also a staff inside his treasury that could do it six times every four hours, but Decem himself didn't learn that spell. He wasn't used to living in the forest either. Decem was confident in his ability to deal with any beasts that could attack him but he was not at all confident in his ability to collect food from the forest—including properly field dressing the slain beasts.

There is some fruit and wine inside my room. I should leave this forest with them as fast as possible, without using magic. After that, I will kill everyone I meet to stop information about me from reaching those children's ears. I can also snatch their goods at the same time. While doing that, I will run to a place as far away as possible. Oh, right. Maybe I should also carry some valuables. I remember hearing that jewels and gold coins are useful.

Decem finally reached his room, wheezing his lungs out.

There should be some women inside, but it would draw attention if he took any with him. They would also be a burden so they should probably be left behind here.

Or maybe he should take one or two along.

It was an unpleasant thing for a king like him to carry them, but they shouldn't be a burden if he did that.

—I don't mind taking along a woman who can cook. And it's unknown when I can meet an Elf again after leaving this forest. In that case, I should really take some along to make children.

Decem adjusted his breathing and wiped off the sweat induced by pain. He wanted to avoid looking unkingly before the women.

While splitting some of his attention towards the way he came from, scared that the undead would suddenly appear, Decem opened the door to his room.

"Welcome back."

A female's nonchalant voice called out to him.

Decem immediately felt angry.

To think a woman who probably scraped their heads along the ground for him until now dared to be so nonchalant! He felt like he was being mocked for suffering defeat at the hands of his grandchildren. However, that anger soon subsided the instant he saw the room's situation.

It was red.

His room was painted completely red.

It's blood.

The scent of blood was so thick that he couldn't even begin to describe it. He probably failed to notice it outside the room because his nose had been distracted by the scent of his own blood.

The remains of the women who were supposed to be here were scattered around the room and a single chair was placed in the middle of them—likely intentional—with a woman sitting on it.

He didn't know her. She wore a splendid-looking full set of armor, carried a helmet in one hand, and held a mysterious-looking staff with three curved blades drenched in blood at the end of it in the other. He couldn't understand what method of use the creator of this weapon had in mind when they made it.

The woman didn't look like an Elf to him, but at the same time, her face had hints of Elven characteristics.

So was she an Elf? And most of all, those eyes—

"Yo—pleased to meet you, father."

The woman grinned with clear scorn.

He finally arrived at the only possible conclusion.

"I see. So that's how it is…so you are those kids' mother…"

The woman's expression went stiff for a moment before returning it to a smile immediately.

"Yes, you are right. Those kids'…mother. Those wounds—so you were defeated by them—are they so strong? Which ability of theirs made you lose? Tell me, father"

He started to open his mouth but stopped it. He didn't have time to play along with her as she was clearly stalling for time.

He immediately turned his heels, trying to get away from the room—

"—not going to let you."

"Guh!"

Pain ran through his legs, making him tumble on the floor.

Looking down, he saw that the blade that extended from the strange weapon caught his legs. It tripped him and he was being dragged back into the room by his legs.

New wounds opened on his legs and he started to bleed again, but those were trivial compared to the chest wound from that undead or the damage his legs received when he ran from them.

But—he couldn't understand.

There had been some distance between the two of them. Despite that, she immediately caught up with him and attacked his legs. It's like this woman—his own child—was far faster than he could ever be.

He felt a strong pressure bearing down on his back.

The woman was pressing him down with her feet.

"Guhh!"

Decem couldn't stand up.

Did this mean that she was far stronger than him? Or was it some kind of special skill?

"Was your chest wound caused by a blade? What about those on your legs? I've heard that you use an earth elemental, so where is that?"

She fired out questions in rapid succession. He could not feel a hint of tension in her voice.

It was true that Decem was deeply wounded. It was also true that he lost Behemoth, but that didn't mean he was weak. He still had his physical strength, which could easily kill any living being around here in a single hit. This Decem, who had lost Behemoth and who only had his physical strength to rely on, tried to run with his full power. Even though he was dulled by the pain, there was no way that woman could catch him.

But he had to acknowledge reality.

This woman surpassed him in brute strength.

But there was still a doubt left.

He didn't remember having a child with such high abilities. He moved his head to see the woman who was pushing down on him.

Just as he thought, he really did not know her, and her face felt a little bit off for an Elf.

"…Wh-what do you want? Why are you doing this to me?"

That was a genuine doubt from the bottom of his heart. The woman laughed out loud with scorn.

"The strong can do whatever they want to the weak. Am I wrong?"

"Guh…mm"

She was right.

That was the principle Decem had lived by till now.

"That is the morality of wild animals…but it's a suitable ideology for savages who live in the forest without proper civilization."

"D-did the women who had been here say that?"

"…fuhh"

The woman let out a large sigh like she was trying to expel the heat that accumulated inside her.

And in that instant, the force pressing down on him became stronger.

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(Image)

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