Ainz poured his strength into his hands.
The particles from the shattered hourglass flowed against the wind and into the magic circle surrounding Ainz.
With that — the super-tier spell activated.
“「Ia Shub-Niggurath!」”
A black wind blew toward the Kingdom’s army, which had just finished changing its formation.
Or rather, there was no wind. Nothing moved, from the weeds growing on the plains, or the hairs on the heads of the Kingdom’s soldiers.
There were 70'000 men in the left wing of the Kingdom’s army.
Every single one of them was killed on the spot.
What on earth happened?
Nobody could answer that question.
Every living creature that comprised the left wing of the Kingdom’s army — horses, conscripts, knights, nobles, everything— suddenly keeled over and collapsed on the ground like puppets whose strings had been cut.
The ones who realized the answer first were the Imperial troops, ranged against them.
It took a while for the human mind to properly parse the events that had just transpired. So after a short delay, as a terrible understanding dawned upon them, the Imperial army was gripped by shouts of panic.
After watching Ainz Ooal Gown deploy his magic circle, they had assumed that he was casting some sort of spell. That much they could understand.
However, who could have possibly imagined it?
Who could have imagined the horrific spell that had been cast here?
The spell that was cast had slain 70'000 people — more than the entire Imperial army— in an instant, utterly and completely snuffing their lives out.
Unable to believe their eyes, the Imperial knights prayed to whatever gods they believed in.
They prayed that the people of the Kingdom were not dead.
They prayed that such terrible magic did not exist in this world.
Of course, as they took in the truth before their eyes — that not a single person had stood back up from where they fell— they were fully aware that it was nothing but a childish hope.
Even so, there was no way they could accept it. There was no way they could accept this as fact.
The man hailed as one of the strongest in the Empire, one of the Four Knights, Nimble, could only stare in mute horror and grind his teeth in naked terror at the suddenly depopulated left wing of the Kingdom’s army.
Nobody stood back up. That was a reality which was far, far too horrible to accept.
But the awful truth could not be described with just these simple words.
Ainz Ooal Gown — this magic caster, all by himself— was a monster who was capable of taking on the nations forged by men and obliterating them in the way that a child would kick down a sandcastle.
That was a reality which was beyond the ability of any words to describe.
The panic enveloping the Imperial army gradually drained away like water. In the end, everyone simply fell silent, unable to speak.
Yet, a strange noise rose up among the silence of the Imperial army’s formation. The noise was born of many sounds blending together into a clamorous racket. It was the sound of every single knight gnashing their teeth.
This was the terror born of realizing that the Empire, where they and their families lived, now stood on the edge of extinction, just like the Kingdom.
This was an understanding that if they dared to raise their hands against Ainz Ooal Gown, that same awful magic might end up being turned on themselves…
Under these circumstances, Nimble suddenly thought of something. What kind of expression did a magic caster like this — who could work a sorcery that could slaughter the living in quantities that beggared mortal comprehension— what kind of expression did he have on his face?
Without moving his face, he spied on the monster standing beside him, Ainz Ooal Gown, but all he saw was indifference.
How can this be? How can this be possible? How can someone like him… like this… be so calm?
Even after taking 70'000 lives?! Granted, the battlefield is a place of death. The weak losing their lives is only a matter of course. But even so, shouldn’t he feel something in his heart after killing so many people?!!
Regret or guilt would be the natural response. If he felt joy or excitement, that might even be understandable, twisted as such a reaction might be.
However —
Is this indifference some sort of defensive ability to protect his conscience? No, for a monster like this, it must be familiar scenery! Whether it’s the pity humans feel for trampling ants underfoot, or some sadistic joy, none of these emotions are present!! What… what is this?!!! Why is this happening? Why does someone like this exist in the world?!!!!
“—What’s the matter?”
“Aieee!”
His body felt like it was encased in cold steel. In response to the sudden question, Nimble responded with a panicked squeal.
“No-nothing’s wrong. That, that spell just now, it was magnificent.”
Nimble gave silent thanks that he was still able to speak. More than that — the fact that he could praise Ainz under such circumstances was nothing short of laudable.
“Ha ha ha—”
And what Nimble got in return was nothing more than quiet laughter.
“Have, have I given offense?”
“No, none at all. You said that spell just now was magnificent, right?”
“Y-yes.”
Was that what he was laughing at? The sweat flowed down Nimble’s forehead like a river. After seeing the dreadful consequences of angering this person, he had no intention of incurring his ire.
“Please, be at ease. Although I must say, my spell is not complete yet. Now is when the real show begins. After all, when one makes an offering to the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, she will reciprocate with a gift of her offspring. Those cute, adorable children…”
That was right.
And just as ripened fruit would fall to the earth in the fullness of time —
The Imperial knights were the first to see it.
It was expected that the knights, watching from a safe distance, would see it first. Because they felt safe, they dared to peer outside from the narrow slits in their helmets.
After the storm of death had claimed the lives of the Kingdom’s soldiers, something appeared in the sky, a jet-black sphere that sent chills down the spine of all who saw it. It seemed to pollute the world with its very presence.
Then, who on the Kingdom’s side saw it? It was most likely the troops of the right wing, who had no direct line of sight to what had happened on the other side. Perhaps they sensed something abnormal was going on, but they did not know the details of what had transpired, and as they looked around to find out what was going on, they saw it.