Overlord Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 3

Part 3

There was a place which occupied roughly a quarter of E-Rantel's outer ring, which was also most of the western quadrant. It was E-Rantel's communal cemetery. While other cities had their own graveyards, none of them were as big as this one.

This was in order to suppress the spawning of the undead.

Although many things were unclear about the spontaneous genesis of the undead, the basic idea was that vile creatures frequently spawned from the places where the living came to an end. Of these, people who died sudden, violent deaths and the dead who were not properly revered had the highest chance of coming back to unlife. Therefore, battlefields and ruins tended to be infested by the undead.

Since E-Rantel was very close to the Empire and consequently its battlefields, it required a huge graveyard — a place where remains could receive the proper veneration.

In this aspect, the neighboring country — the Empire — also adhered to their common agreement to respect the dead. Though they slaughtered each other, they both saw the undead that attacked the living as their common enemy.

In addition, there was another problem with the undead. If left unattended, the undead spawned more powerful undead. This was why the city guards and adventurers patrolled the graveyards day and night to exterminate the weaker undead as soon as possible.

A wall surrounded the graveyard. This wall was the boundary between the living and dead. While it was only four meters tall and could not compare to the city walls, it was wide enough for people to walk on top of it. The large doors set into its side were sturdy and could not be easily breached.

All this was in order to ward against the undead that spawned in the graveyard.

There were staircases to the left and right of the doors, and watchtowers along the length of the wall. The guards took turns observing the graveyard below them as they yawned from the watchtowers, in shifts of five men at a time.

The graveyard was lined with sconces enchanted with 「Continual Light」 spells, so there was ample illumination despite it being nighttime. Still, there were many shadowy places, and visibility was even worse in those places blocked by tombstones.

A spear-wielding guard absentmindedly looked out to the graveyard, and said to his yawning colleague:

"Tonight's quite peaceful too."

"Yup, there were only five Skeletons earlier, right? That seems a lot less compared to the past."

"Hm, could it be the souls of the dead were called back by the Four Gods? That would be pretty lucky for us if it were true."

The other guards were drawn in by the topic, and began speaking up:

"Well, if it's just Skeletons and Zombies we can deal with them. Still, it's a pain to take out Skeletons with a spear."

"I think the most troublesome ones are the Wights."

"For me it's the Skeleton Centipedes. I'd be dead by now if the adventurers standing guard nearby didn't chase them away from me."

"Skeleton Centipedes? I heard that the powerful undead only show up when you let the weak ones get away. So all you need to do is kill them all when they're weak and the strong undead won't appear."

"Yes, that's right. The captain chewed out the squad patrolling the graveyard last week. While it's nice to have them buy a round for us, I'd rather not have to go through that sort of thing again."

"Still… when I think about it, I've got a bad feeling about the lack of undead right now."

"…Why's that?"

"Ah, I just feel like we might have missed something out during our watches."

"You're thinking too much. There aren't that many undead normally. They say that they only pop up frequently when they bury the corpses of the people who died while fighting the Empire. So on the flip side, this is what happens when there aren't any big wars, right?"

The soldiers nodded to each other in agreement. They had buried human corpses in their own villages, but they had never heard of the undead appearing that often.

"…So that means the Katze Plains must be pretty insane."

"Yeah, didn't they say something about an unimaginably strong undead creature showing up?"

It was a place where the Empire and the Kingdom clashed in fierce battles. It was also a place famous for the proliferation of its undead. Adventurers hired by the Kingdom and Imperial knights would often go there to hunt down the undead. This task was important enough that the Empire and Kingdom's support corps had built small towns nearby to support their personnel.

"I heard—"

A guard who was about to speak suddenly shut his mouth.

Another guard, who felt easy about this, spoke up:

"Oi, don't scare me—":

"Quiet!"

The silent guard looked straight at the graveyard, as though he could see through the darkness. Following this, the other guards turned to look at the graveyard one after the other.

"…Didn't you hear it?"

"Were you imagining things?"

"Though I didn't hear the wind blowing or the grass moving… I think I can smell dirt. Didn't they dig a few graves just now? It smells just like it did then…"

"Come on, don't joke about this sort of thing."

"…Eh? Ah, oi! Look over there!"

One of the guards pointed to the graveyard, and everyone else looked toward the spot he was pointing at.

Two guards were sprinting for the doors. Both of them panted heavily, their eyes bloodshot, and their sweat-slick hair stuck to their foreheads.

A growing sense of dread filled the other guards as they saw this.

Guard patrols in the graveyard moved in groups of at least ten. Why were there only two people here? Judging by the way they had no weapons and were running for dear life, they had panicked and fled.

"Open, open up! Hurry up and open the doors!"

Upon seeing the two men shouting in front of the doors, the guards hurriedly ran down the stairs and let them through.

Before the doors could even swing fully open, the two guards forced their way in. They collapsed to the ground but kept scrabbling on.

"What the hell…"

The two pale-faced guards who had just escaped the graveyard interrupted their questioners, panting and shouting:

"Close, close the doors! Quickly!"

This strange behavior sent a chill down the spine of the other guards. Working together, they pushed the doors shut and barred them.

"What happened? What about the others?"

As they heard this question, a haunted look appeared on the guards' frightened faces:

"They, they were eaten by the undead!"

Upon realizing that eight of their fellows had lost their lives, the guards immediately turned to their captain. He immediately ordered:

"…Oi, one of you go upstairs and take a look!"

A guard hurriedly climbed the stairs, but halfway up, he froze in place.

"What, what happened?"

The trembling guard shouted:

"The undead! The undead are everywhere!"

If one listened carefully, they would be able to make out a sound which sounded like ten thousand horses galloping, coming from the other side of the wall. Everyone, not just the guard from just now, were struck dumb by the scene before them.

A massive quantity of undead — so great as to render all who saw it speechless — approached the doors of the graveyard.

"Why, in such numbers…"

"Looks like it's more than one or two hundred… there should be a thousand of them… or more…"

The magical lights illuminated countless undead, like shadows writhing in the dark, and it was difficult to get an exact count.

Wreathed in the scent of rot, the shambling mass of undead pressed in toward the doors like gathering clouds. It was not just Zombies and Skeletons down there; there were also a few rarer and more powerful undead — Ghouls, Ghasts, Wights, Swell Skins, Corrupt Dead, and more.

The guards could not help their shivering.

Because the graveyard was surrounded by a wall, the undead could not attack the common folk as long as the wall held out. However, even if they mobilized all their guards, it was doubtful whether they could fend off such a massive horde of the undead. The guards were essentially normal citizens, and they had no confidence in wiping out these undead.

In addition, some undead could turn their slain victims into others of their own kind. If things went poorly, the guards might end up becoming undead themselves and attacking their fellows. And while they had not seen any flying undead yet, the guards had a bad feeling — that if they did not wipe them all out, a flying undead creature would end up spawning sooner or later.

—The undead tide washed up against the side of the wall.

Doom. Doom.

The swarming, mindless undead had no sense of pain, and banged wildly against the doors. It was as if they knew that they could attack the living if they broke the doors down.

Doom. Doom.

The sounds of repeated pounding and the constant moans of the dead came from the other side of the door.

They did not need siege rams. The undead — who did not care if their bodies were destroyed by their non-stop battering — were siege weapons in their own right.

Cold sweat broke out on the backs of the guards who saw this.

"Ring the bell! Ask for help from the barracks! You two, go inform the other doors about this!"

The captain, who had recovered his senses by now, continued giving orders:

"The ones behind, take your spears and stab the undead getting close to the doors!"

The guards remembered their duty as they heard the orders, and they started thrusting savagely at the undead below them. The undead covered the land like a flood, so any stroke of theirs found a home in undead flesh.

They thrust, withdrew, and thrust again.

Tainted blood spilled over the ground, while the guards' noses were soon inured to the stench of decay. They repeated the same motions over and over again like workers. They killed several undead, which fell to the ground and were trampled to paste by the ones behind them.

Because the undead had little intelligence, they did not strike against the guards stabbing at them with their spears. Repeating the same simple actions eroded the guards' sense of danger.

And then, as though aiming for that moment —

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"

A scream pierced the air. As the other guards turned to look, they saw something long and wriggly curled around another guard's neck.

It was a slimy, pink object — an intestine.

The creature that had shot forth this length of intestine was an egg-shaped undead creature, with a huge cavity on the front of its body. Within that cavity were several people's worth of internal organs, churning and wriggling like parasites.

This undead creature was called an Organ Egg.

The writhing intestine pulled at the guard's body.

"Hyaaaaaaa!"

Before his friends could save him, the guard wailed and fell—

"Save, save me! Someone save me! Agyaaaah!"

—His screams filled the air. Every guard saw the terrible fate of their colleague, eaten alive by the throng of undead.

The armor which protected his body and his attempts to protect his face only prolonged his suffering. His fingers, his calves, his face, all of them were picked clean.

"Fall back! Get down from the wall!"

After seeing the Organ Egg's innards twitching, the guard captain ordered a retreat.

All the guards hurriedly ran down the stairs, and they could hear the sounds of the undead banging at the doors getting louder. The doors themselves began groaning under the strain.

The sense of doom grew stronger. The chances of them holding out until help arrived, or that no other strong undead would show up were very low. Once the doors opened, the tide of death would flood in, and only the gods knew how many lives would be lost.

Just as the guards were fully consumed by despair, there was a clattering of metal.

Everyone reflexively looked to the source of the sound.

Before their eyes was a magical beast whose round black eyes gleamed with intelligence, and a warrior in full plate armor. Beside them was a beautiful woman who seemed completely mismatched to the pair.

"O-Oi! This place is very dangerous! Get out of—"

Halfway through the guard's words, he realized that there was a metal plate dangling from the warrior's neck.

An adventurer!

However, that ember of hope was snuffed out when he saw that it was a copper plate. Adventurers of the lowest class could not possibly deliver them from this dilemma. A look of disappointment appeared in the eyes of all the guards present.

The warrior nimbly dismounted his beast. There was no sense of clumsiness in his movements.

"Didn't you hear me? Get out of here now!"

"Nabe, my sword."

The warrior's voice was softer than the guard's shouting, but it was surprisingly resonant even through the clamor of the swarming undead. The beautiful woman approached the warrior, and drew a greatsword from his back.

"Look behind you. It's dangerous, right?"

The guards turned around in response to the warrior's words, and they looked upon their doom.

They saw a shape which was taller than the four meter high walls.

It was a Necrosome Giant, a gigantic undead creature made of countless corpses.

"Uwaaaaah—"

Just as the guards screamed and prepared to flee, a strange sight appeared before them. The warrior from just now raised his sword in a javelin-thrower's stance.

What was he doing?

In the next moment, that question vanished like mist in sunlight.

The warrior hurled his sword with unbelievable speed. The guards hurriedly looked where the sword had flown, and there they saw an even more incredible sight.

The Necrosome Giant, that vast, seemingly invincible undead creature, staggered back like it had been hit in the head by an even larger foe, before collapsing to the ground. A thunderous crash provided the proof that the gigantic creature had been knocked down.

"—These undead are in the way."

With that, the dark warrior drew his other greatsword and advanced.

"Open up."

The guards did not seem to have understood what the warrior said. They blinked several times before they finally managed to parse the warrior's words.

"Don't, don't be foolish! There's a whole crowd of undead on the other side of the door!"

"So? What does that matter to me, Momon?"

Faced by the absolute confidence of the dark warrior, all of the guards were shaken to the core, and they could not respond.

"…Well, if you won't open up, it can't be helped. I'll go over there myself."

The warrior broke into a sprint and kicked off the stone floor, vanishing over the other side of the wall. He had leapt over a four meter high wall in a single bound, and while wearing full plate too.

It was a scene that barely seemed real at all.

The guards could not bring themselves to believe the events which had just occurred. Each of them continued staring slack-jawed at the place where Momon had been.

The beautiful woman floated into the sky from her original position. She looked like she would cross the wall like that, but then a voice halted her:

"A moment please! Please bring this one with you!"

The voice came from the mighty beast which the warrior from just now had ridden here. Its voice was as awe-inspiring as its appearance.

The beautiful girl's brows furrowed slightly — not that it damaged her looks at all — and responded to the beast:

"…Climb the stairs over there. You should still be able to move after falling from a height like this, right?"

"Of course! This one must rush to his master's side! Wait for this one, milord!"

The massive creature shot past the guards and nimbly bounded up the stairs. It hopped over the wall and landed on the other side.

Now all was silence.

They stared with open mouths and stunned eyes for a while, as though a typhoon had just swept past them. The first guard to recover spoke in a voice that trembled uncontrollably:

"Oi… do you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The sounds of the undead."

Even though they strained their ears to listen, they could not hear anything. It was as though a veil of silence had been drawn across the land. The constant sound of the undead pounding on the doors from just now was nowhere to be found.

The frightened guards muttered:

"Oi, did that actually happen? That warrior… there were undead like that, and so many of them, and he broke right through them… went straight ahead."

They were filled with equal parts shock and awe.

The reason why the noise had stopped was because the nearby undead had been drawn away by a new target. Given that the sound still had not returned, it implied that they were still fighting and had not returned.

This unbelievable scenario drew the guards to the top of the walls to satisfy their curiosity. They could not believe what they saw from up there, and they muttered:

"What is this… that warrior… what kind of a man is he…"

Countless bodies littered the ground. Mountains of corpses were everywhere, covering the entire graveyard. Although some of the undead hung on to a thread of unlife and struggled weakly to move, all of them had lost the ability to fight.

The smell of decay floated over as they expected, and they heard the sounds of distant battle.

"…No way… he's still fighting? All these undead, strong ones too, and he could actually break through them! Incredible…!"

"Who was that warrior, anyway?"

"…He called himself Momon, I think… but calling someone with skills like that a copper plate is too much of a joke. He should be one of those legendary adventurers with an adamantite plate, right?"

The others quietly voiced their approval. Someone like that could not be a mere copper plate adventurer.

He should be someone who possessed a plate made of the highest ranked of all metals — in other words, a hero.

There was no other possibility.

"We… perhaps we just saw a man of legend… a dark warrior… no, a dark hero…"

Everyone else could not help but nod in response to that.

♦ ♦ ♦

When his right hand moved, the undead were flung away. When his left hand struck, the undead were cut in two.

Ainz — a tornado of death which killed everything it touched — finally ground to a halt.

"What bothersome pests."

Ainz had recreated his greatswords with magic, and now he held them in both hands. He looked on the undead around him with an exasperated expression on his face, and then pointed a greatsword caked in vile fluids at them.

The undead recoiled at this and tried to flee Ainz. The undead should not have known the meaning of fear, yet they had come to fear Ainz.

"…This one apologizes deeply for this one's actions…"

The sound came from high above Ainz. The Wise King of the Forest floated in mid-air, limbs spread. Its whiskers drooped down and its voice sounded equally lifeless.

However, the person who responded was not Ainz.

"You… settle down up there. It's hard to carry you when you squirm."

Narberal's voice came from the belly of the Wise King of the Forest. It was not flying, but rather Narberal, who had cast the flight spell on herself, was carrying it. She was halfway buried into the Wise King of the Forest's fur.

"My deepest apologies…"

The unintelligent undead had not attacked Ainz when he appeared. This was because they could perceive life-force, and they sensed that Ainz was of the same kind as they.

However, the same did not apply to the life-force of the Wise King of the Forest behind him. This resulted in a chaotic battle which drew Ainz in, and the Wise King of the Forest was thus carried up by Narberal lest the undead touch it.

With every step Ainz took forward, the undead took one back. They encircled him in this way while keeping their distance from him.

This circle moved with Ainz's steps. Although the undead seemed to be looking for a chance to attack, any who stepped forward were immediately destroyed by Ainz. Therefore, the undead merely surrounded him, but did not make a move on him.

Countless undead had already been annihilated by Ainz when they carelessly strayed too close to Ainz. Even the mindless undead had learned something from this, which was why they had chosen to surround him.

"Still, if this keeps up, it'll only be a stalemate," Ainz grumbled as he saw the huge throng of undead that still remained.

If he wanted to break the encirclement, he could easily cut a path through the undead horde. However, if he forced his way through, the undead would scatter in all directions and the nearby guards might end up being injured or killed. If that happened, he would lose the witnesses to his deeds, and thus fail the objective of being "the adventurer who cleared up this matter." Therefore, he had to lure the undead to him as he moved forward, in order to ensure the safety of the guards. However, doing so made his forward progress very slow.

And then, Narberal responded in earnest to Ainz's words:

"Should we summon reinforcements from Nazarick? A couple dozen people could annihilate everything in this graveyard that dares stand against you, Ainz-sama."

"…Don't be silly. How many times have I told you our objective for coming to this city?"

"But, Ainz-sama, if we wanted to win fame, would it not be better to let the undead surge into the city and cause more casualties first before stepping in?"

"I have considered that possibility as well. If we knew our enemy's aim, this city's fighting power and so on, we might be able to do that. But since we lack information, we need to avoid losing this chance. It would also be very annoying to have to dance to the opposition's tune. In addition, from what I can see, other teams might snatch away our glory first."

"I see… Ainz-sama, you are truly incredible. To think your plan was so immaculately conceived; I expected nothing less of our Supreme Ruler. I bow before your superior wisdom once more. Speaking of which… your foolish vassal would like to be enlightened on one point. Would it not be better to send the Eight Edge Assassins, Shadow Demons, and other vassals adept at hiding themselves to observe the situation before a great shift in the circumstances occurs, and then seize the moment when it comes?"

Ainz silently looked at Narberal, who was floating in the air.

The night wind blew softly. Any undead who sought to exploit this perceived weakness would instead be destroyed in one hit by a swing of Ainz's greatswords.

"…If, if I taught you everything, how would you learn? Figure it out yourself."

"Yes! My deepest apologies."

Ainz had been somewhat shaken by this. He forcefully jerked his head back to double check the distance between himself and the doors to the graveyard, and to see if the guards could still see him from there.

"However! That said, time is still getting quite tight. It can't be helped — I guess I'll have to carve a path through them."

Ainz unleashed his power.

「Create Mid Tier Undead: Jack the Ripper」. 「Create Mid Tier Undead: Corpse Collector」.

After using his skill, two undead creatures appeared.

One of them was dressed in a trenchcoat and wore a mask which showed a smiling face. Its fingers ended in large, sharp surgical scalpels.

The other was a massive, brawny creature, but its body was covered in pustules and the bandages which wrapped its entire body were stained yellow. There were many metal hooks all over its body, linked by metal chains to just as many moaning skulls.

"Kill them."

The two undead obeyed Ainz's orders and laid into the surrounding undead horde. Though there were only two of them, they were stronger by far.

As Jack the Ripper severed limbs with each swipe of its scalpel hands and the Corpse Collector wrenched off the heads of the undead with its chains, Ainz continued using his skills.

"Then, let's take care of things on this side too."

Those skills were 「Create Low Tier Undead: Wraith」 and 「Create Low Tier Undead: Bone Vulture」. After summoning several of them, he ordered:

"Chase away any intruders that enter the graveyard. Killing adventurers is fine, but do not kill the guards."

The Wraiths' bodies shimmered and vanished, and the Bone Vultures spread their wings and flew up. Now that his work was done, Ainz smiled to himself.

The low tier undead were there just in case some adventurers used flight magic to reach the enemy's location and steal the credit for his hard work.

"Then, let's go."

As the two summoned undead made a brutal display of their skills, Ainz charged into the greatly thinned ranks of the undead horde.

♦ ♦ ♦

Only Narberal remained with Ainz by the time they reached the chapel at the heart of the graveyard. Several suspicious-looking fellows were standing in a circle in front of the chapel, apparently conducting some kind of ritual.

They all wore crude black robes which covered their entire bodies, and which varied in both texture and color. Their black head cloths hid their faces and only showed their eyes, while the wooden staves they carried had strange carvings on their ends.

They were short, and by the way they carried themselves, they were probably all men.

The only exposed face belonged to the man in the middle, and he looked like he was undead. He was well-dressed, and seemed to be concentrating on the black stone that he held in his hand.

The wind carried whispered words to Ainz's ears. The voices in the air rose and fell in unison, and it sounded like some sort of chanting. However, it did not sound like a requiem to the dead, but more like some sort of dark ritual which blasphemed against the deceased.

"Should we ambush them?" Narberal asked. However, Ainz shook his head.

"It wouldn't help. Besides, it seems they've already spotted us."

Ainz had no concealment-related skills, so he simply strode directly over to them. Although he could have avoided the lights of the graveyard, all the opposition would need to do was use 「Darkvision」 in order to see as though it were broad daylight. In addition, Ainz had personal experience of the fact that summoned monsters and their summoners were linked by a mental bond. Since he had defeated so many undead on the way here, they must have known that Ainz was approaching them through their bond.

In fact, there were already several people looking at Ainz and Narberal.

Given that they had not launched an attack yet, they might have something to say. Having come to that conclusion, Ainz decided to approach them head-on.

As Ainz and Narberal walked below the magical lights, the suspicious group of people took a stance, and one of them said to the man in the center, "Khazit-sama, they're here."

All right, idiot confirmed… no, he might have been faking it. First, let's listen to what they have to say.

"Ah… what a lovely night. Don't you think it's wasted on a boring old ritual?"

"Hmph… I'll decide whether the time is right for a ritual. Come to think of it, who are you, anyway? How did you break through that horde of undead?"

The man standing in the center of the circle — his name was Khazit, unless that was an alias, and he was probably the highest ranked of all the people present — asked Ainz that question on behalf of the others.

"I'm an adventurer on an assignment, looking for a missing young man… I trust you know who I'm talking about, even if I don't state his name?"

The other members of the group took a stance, which confirmed in Ainz's heart that they were not innocents who had been dragged into the matter.

Under his helmet, Ainz smiled bitterly at Khazit, who was looking around the surroundings.

"Just the two of you? Where's the rest of your party?"

Oi oi, what kind of question is that? Or maybe he's trying to see if there's anyone lying in ambush… still, he should have thought a little before opening his mouth. Based on that, I can be sure he's just a pawn.

Ainz tiredly shrugged as he replied:

"Yup, just the two of us. We flew over here with a flight spell."

"You're lying, that's impossible."

Ainz sensed that there was some kind of meaning behind that curt retort. Thus he asked:

"You don't have to believe it, but let's get back to the main topic. If you let the boy return home safely, I can spare your life. How about it, Khazit?"

Khazit glared at the foolish disciple who had blurted out his name.

"—And you are?"

"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask. Is there anyone over there besides you lot?"

Khazit looked coldly at Ainz:

"We're the only ones—"

"—Surely it's not just you? There should be someone with a piercing weapon among you… planning to ambush us? Or are you hiding because you're afraid?"

"Fufu~ You checked their bodies~ Not bad~"

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from the chapel.

A young woman slowly emerged into the light, and every step she took was accompanied by the clattering of metal against metal.

"You…"

"Ahhh~ they found me out, so there's no point hiding. Speaking of which~ I only hid because I can't use the 「Conceal Life」 spell~"

The woman grinned, in response to the somewhat angered Khazit.

That reply aside, they still haven't trotted out Nfirea as a hostage. Perhaps Nfirea's already dead…

Just as Ainz was thinking along those lines, the woman asked:

"May I know your name? Ah, I'm Clementine. Pleased to meetcha~"

"…Well, it's kind of pointless to answer your question, but I guess I'll tell you anyway. My name is Momon."

"I've never heard that name before… how about you?"

"I haven't heard of it myself — and I've gathered information on all the high ranked adventurers in the city, so how is it I've never heard of a Momon among them? Still, how did you know it was here? The dying message pointed to the sewers—"

"The answer is under your cloak. Show me."

"Uwah~ Pervert~ Lewd~"

As she said that, the girl's — Clementine's — face twisted. She had a grin so wide it nearly reached her ears.

"Ju~st kidding~ you mean these?"

Clementine threw open her coat, revealing what looked like scale mail whose individual plates had mismatched components. However, Ainz's excellent vision saw the truth immediately. Those were not the metal plates which made up scale mail.

They were countless adventurer plates. Platinum, gold, silver, iron, copper, even mithril and orichalcum. All these were the proof of all the adventurers Clementine had been killing, the trophies taken from her hunts. Innumerable vengeful groans seemed to haunt the metal plates' clinking.

"It was these prizes of yours which led me to you."

A look of confusion came over Clementine, and Ainz did not intend to explain himself.

"…Nabe. Deal with Khazit and the other men. I'll take care of this woman."

With that, he quietly warned Nabe to watch out above.

"Understood."

Khazit's expression was somewhere between a sneer and a grin. The cold-eyed Narberal, on the other hand, showed nothing on her face.

"…Clementine, let's kill each other over there."

Ainz immediately set out without waiting for Clementine to respond. He was very confident that she would not reject the challenge, and the sound of her lazy footsteps behind him was ample proof of that.

Once they had gotten some distance away, a thunderous, eye-wateringly bright discharge of lightning erupted between Narberal and Khazit. As though on cue, Ainz and Clementine turned to look at each other.

"Could it be those people I killed in that store were your friends? Are you mad because I killed your buddies~?"

Clementine continued in a mocking tone:

"Ufufufu, that magic caster was soooo funny. Until the end he believed that someone would save him~ but how could he hold out that long against my attacks with just that little bit of health… Or could it be he was hoping you would save him? Sor~ry, I killed him."

Clementine was all smiles. Ainz looked at her, and shook his head.

"…No, there's no need to apologize."

"Really? Well that's a shame~ It's fun to piss off those people who get all emotional when their friends come up. Oi, why aren't you getting mad? You're no fun! Or could it be they weren't your friends?"

"…Well, under the right circumstances, I might have done the same thing as you. So blaming you for it would be hypocritical."

Ainz slowly raised his greatswords:

"…Still, they were tools for building my reputation. Once they returned to the inn, they would have spread word of my deeds to the other adventurers. They would have told everyone about how the two of us were heroes who drove off the Wise King of the Forest by ourselves. And now you've gotten in the way of my plans. That greatly displeases me."

Clementine seemed to have sensed something in Ainz's tone, and she laughed uncontrollably:

"Really now~ oh woe is me, to have made you mad~ oh yes, it was a poor decision to fight me~ That pretty girl's a magic caster, right? Then she won't be able to beat Khazi-chan~ though if you two swapped out, maybe you could have won. Though that girl couldn't beat me either~"

"Nabe alone would be more than enough for you."

"Don't be silly~ how could a measly little magic caster beat me? It'll be over in two or three blows~ It's always been like that~"

"I see, so you're that confident in your abilities as a warrior…"

"Yup, it goes without saying. No warrior in this country can beat me~ no, wait, almost no warrior in this country can beat me~"

"Is that so… well, that gave me an idea. I shall give you a handicap, and have my revenge on you at the same time."

Clementine's eyes narrowed, and for the first time she had a look of annoyance on her face.

"According to the info from those chaps in the Windflower, there's only five people in this country who can give me a good fight. Gazef Stronoff. Gagaran of Blue Rose. Luisenburg Albelion of Red Drop. Brain Unglaus. Also, the retired Vestia Croft Di Lofan… though none of them could beat me even if they went all-out. Not even if I was without the magic items from my country."

Clementine smiled to Ainz. That smile was a disgusting one.

"I don't know what sort of ugly face is under that helmet of yours, but there's no way that I, Clementine-sama — one who's left humanity behind and stepped into the realm of heroes — could possibly lose!"

In contrast to the agitated Clementine, Ainz's reply was calm and composed.

"Because of that, I will give you a handicap. Under no circumstance will I use my full strength on you."