His royal guards, annihilated. The shadow of the dragon’s vast body. Since he had already accepted these in the past, he could allow himself to accept what lay before him now.
Without these prior experiences to cushion the blow, the impact on him would have been greater. He might have shown an even more disgraceful side of himself.
This tomb is… How powerful is Ainz Ooal Gown? Those five Death Knights and those two. Even with that dragon included, that can’t be all, can it? Why is he hiding in this place? When did he start taking up residence here? Or perhaps his preparations are finally complete? I’ve heard that when many undead creatures gather in one place, an even more powerful undead being is born.
That’s why these Death Knights… no, could it be even more powerful than these Death Knights…?
Not good. There’s no time, but I still have to think of a way…
As Jircniv’s high-speed thought processes drove him ever further into confusion, Yuri cut in.
“Do not be afraid. These Death Knights were created by Ainz-sama himself. They are absolutely obedient to his orders, and in his place, I have gained the right to command them. I will not permit any of you to come to harm.”
Yuri’s words shattered the thoughts which Jircniv had tried to piece together like spun glass.
“He created them…”
Ainz Ooal Gown could birth these beings through the sheer force of his own will. That was the awful truth. The fact was that making such creatures would require resources and effort equal to their immense power. The nightmare was that either he could meet those criteria, or bypass them entirely.
No, this must be a bluff. How could anyone make things like that? He must be lying to inflate his own prowess. Because if he’s not―
A strange smile appeared on Jircniv’s face.
For some reason, everything seemed so bothersome now.
―Ah. I’m done with this. I don’t know anything anymore. This time, let’s just settle for seeing what the other side can do, yes.
“Fu, fuhahahahaha!”
Just as Jircniv decided to abandon all delusions of control, a laugh of sheerest joy rang out from beside him.
It came from Fluder.
Be they royal guards, acolytes or priests, the faces of everyone except Jircniv were frozen in shock.
Fluder Paradyne was a magic caster of the highest order, and a hero possessed of incomparable education and knowledge besides. Countless entries in the history books of the Empire told of how he single-handedly engaged monsters which threatened the safety of the nation, and emerged triumphant. His saintly demeanor also meant he was honored and respected by many people.
In truth, many of the people here felt the same way about him.
And now, Fluder was laughing in a way that shattered the mental image that everyone had of him.
There was power in that laugh.
The aura of a hero.
There was no doubt that Fluder was radiating a fearsome pressure, and not the warm feeling that Jircniv sometimes got from the man who was as close to him as his father.
He possessed immense magical might, enough to take on all the Four Knights at once. And his voice took on a demented tone as he seemed to be going insane.
It was only natural that the nearby royal guards would break out in goosebumps.
Amidst all this, only the people from Nazarick and Jircniv kept their cool.
“…to control Death Knights, and in such numbers! Marvellous! Marvellous!! Marvellous!!!
Fuhahahaha!”
A single tear oozed from the corner of his eye, and he smiled as though his face were broken.
―No, that wasn’t right.
This was the true nature of a man who had abandoned his position as a wizard of the Imperial court to glimpse the deepest mysteries of the abyss called “magic.”
Until now, it had been hidden under the mask of a hero, but in the face of a mighty magic caster, it could not help but surface.
“Well then, Your Majesty. What shall we do now? Should we flee with teleportation magic? I think if we teleported now, we should be able to make it, right? Assuming the terrain allows for it…”
Fluder said this to Jircniv, a mocking smile on his face,
“I like that face of yours, Gramps. Then, let me ask a question in turn. Do you think I will run?”
Cracks spread rapidly throughout Fluder’s face. That was the smile of a madman, which instilled incalculable terror in all who saw it.
“As expected of his Majesty, no, my darling Jir. My pupils, open your eyes and be grateful for the fact that you can lay your eyes upon the highest, the most exalted of all magic casters on the mainland. Now that you have seen the end of your journey, you must work towards it!”
The faces of Fluder’s disciples and the royal guards turned paler and paler as they realized the kind of person whose home they had visited.
They knew their comrades had been massacred by Ainz. However, the legendary magic caster from their history books had called him “the most exalted of all magic casters.” It felt like a huge stone had been lodged in their bellies.
“Your Majesty, this is bad, right?”
“…Do you mind if I run first?”
Baziwood seemed confused, and Leinas’ question was filled with despair.
Jircniv looked at them.
Fluder and his disciples aside, the tension of the royal guards was slowly increasing, and they looked like they might break at any moment.
This was because Fluder’s abnormal behavior and the description of the Death Knights’ power had shattered their morale.
“What else can we do? And if you want to run, go ahead. However, if you do that, they might think you’re not one of us. Which means that to them, you’ll be an intruder. You’ll be lucky if you don’t end up like those workers who came here earlier.”
Leinas ground her teeth and her face twisted.
“Which means it’s fine, right?”
“Baziwood, look at Gramps― no, Fluder. He’s the most familiar of all of us with magic and he’s like that now. All we can do is leave everything to our hosts.”
“What about praying that God will give us luck, and then escaping?”
“Do you really think we can escape?”
Baziwood glanced at the maid, who had clearly overheard them talking about fleeing, but calmly continued their preparations anyway.
“What if we took a hostage?”
“I don’t like to hear people talking about doing impossible things, ‘Lightning Bolt’, see what happens if you say that again.”
“…Forgive me. In truth, I feel that the maid is even more powerful than the Death Knights. They’re certainly more mysterious… ah, look at her, she doesn’t even care that we’re talking about such things right in front of her. How frightening…”
The maid was monstrously strong as well.