Chapter 12

As Albedo released him, Dary stood up and started smiling.

"How dare... being this disrespectful after..."

Shouted Albedo at Dary; however, she was interrupted by Dary's action; he walked over to Ainz and extended his arm as if he wanted to shake Ainz's hand. And at the same time, he brought his left hand behind his back. All the blood in the room instantly flew over to his open palm, and then his flesh regenerated almost instantly.

"What do you think you..."

Shouted Albedo furiously; however, she was shocked as Ainz grabbed Dary's hand and shook it.

"Welcome back... Daion. It has been quite a while!"

"I hope you liked my little gift."

"It was quite a surprise, but I think it worked. But what happened to you?"

"I will tell you that later... It seems only you and Mare knows who I really am... And currently, we have two people here who don't trust me; and of course, due to certain previous events, I do not trust them either... Come to think of it; how did you know my identity, Mare?"

Said Dary and looked at Mare, who was looking at the ground. Meanwhile, Albedo and Aura were stunned after they heard the previous conversation.

"W-well, I once overheard a conversation between Lord Daion and Lady Bukubukuchagama... I remember hearing that your gear is so unique, especially your sword. I remember Lady Bukubukuchagama saying that whoever has that kind of gear would most likely be you. Also, your emblem was another reason I knew it was you... even though you have been declared dead; I somehow knew that a supreme being could never really die."

As Mare explained, Dary smiled and then looked at Albedo, who was staring at the ground and fidgeting with her hands. And then Dary looked back at Mare.

"It is a pleasant surprise that you remembered and that you have trusted your instincts."

Said Dary, but stopped for a moment and looked back at Ainz.

"Let's go somewhere private, like your room; I believe you still have a lot of questions... but before that, I want to get my gear back, if you don't mind."

"I suppose you are right..."

Replied Ainz, and he looked at Albedo. After some time had passed, both Ainz And Dary were in Ainz's room; Dary was given back his items, so he was wearing his armour. The two of them sat down on the bed at the centre.

"It is quite nostalgic being back at Nazaric, but it also feels quite great! It really has been a while, especially since I don't know how long it has been since we last saw one another. It is entirely possible that the time I spent in that other world was not as long as it was for you."

"Yes... I apologise for not coming here sooner... You have experienced something that could have been avoided if I informed the others about who you really are."

"Don't sweat it! You couldn't have come sooner, no matter what... My curse has activated again."

"What? What do you mean your curse has activated?"

"This is the little secret I wanted to avoid as long as I could, but it happened sooner than I wanted. Well, to be frank, it is not that bad of a curse, but still. In my battle against one of these abominations, one of them cast some sort of curse on me. A curse which slowed me because it activated every fifth level I reached... And that just happened."

"Wait... what level did you reach? Just out of curiosity. And what exactly is your curse? Can't it be undone?"

"150... And... I don't know; I have tried a lot of methods to undo it, but no, not even the caster's death and the destruction of the caster's item were not enough, so I gave up after many failed attempts... At least it is not that after you get used to it. It only activates for a certain amount of time, but the higher my level is, the more prolonged it gets."

Said Dary, and then he paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing.

"First, I have to tell you something about being beyond level 100... It is not the same as levelling in Yggdrasil... It is more like real life; you need to practice and experience things in order to level up... I can't really explain it in a simple way... Once you fight, you will notice and feel what I just said. Now back to me... This curse temporarily weakens me to a much lower level, and over time I gradually gain back my power. I could stay idle till the end of it if I wanted to; however, while I was searching for mitigation, I found a way to make it profitable. While I am in my weakened state, I gain XP much faster. My record was gaining two levels while being weakened, so that is the reason I don't really mind it."

"It really sounds quite beneficial, but if I were you, I would be very cautious."

"You know me and my character... Thus you know that I can't be that cautious; I am quite cocky... many times to my disadvantage... To change the subject, I have some good news as well. I have three followers in this world; you met one of them, and they are currently conducting some special research. Initially, I had other ideas, but since my curse activated, I changed my plans. Hopefully, I will soon see some results."

"Daion! Don't be reckless. You have already died once; I don't want to see you die again."

"Don't worry; I am not planning to die... Also, although I had my people gather some information; knowing you, you probably gathered quite a bit more, so please tell me more about this world and about your plans... we need to prepare for the worst, and so far, I personally can only trust Mare... the others have to prove themselves to be trustworthy..."

"They are loyal, and I trust them."

"Yes, they are loyal, but they only trust and follow you! They might still think that I am just a copy or imitator of myself, or they might even think that I just brainwashed you, and that is why you are friendly towards me... Oh, and call me Dary; I used that name in my previous world as well."