Hekkeran steeled himself. After all, words spoken could not be taken back.
“…Yes.”
“Kuhahahahaha!”
Ainz laughed when he heard Hekkeran’s answer. This was not a happy laugh. It was a laugh that could be best described as volcanic.
“Hah… well, so much for that. Though really, when you think about it calmly, there were bound to be holes aplenty in that story.”
Ainz’s movements stopped, and he turned to look at Hekkeran. The crimson fires blazing in his eye sockets turned dark, consumed by the black which surrounded them and reducing his pupils to points of red light. Hekkeran and the others took a step back, as though Ainz’s mere line of sight was exerting physical pressure on them.
Within that glare was the purest rage.
“YOU TRAAAAAAAASSHHHH! YOU DARE! YOU DARE TO TREAD YOUR FILTHYYYYYY! YOUR FILTHY BOOTS INTO THE NAZARICK THAT I, THAT WE, MY FRIENDS AND I, CREATED!”
So intense was his fury that Ainz was struck speechless. His shoulder blades moved as though he were breathing, and he continued.
“AND YOU! YOU DARE USE THE NAME OF ME, OF MY FRIENDS! YOU DARE USE IT TO TRICK ME! YOU SHITS! DO YOU THINK THAT CAN EVER, EVER BE FORGIVEN?!”
Ainz was shouting in a furious tone.
It would not have been a surprise if his anger had gone on forever. However, his rancor suddenly vanished, and he returned to his usual calm.
It was a sudden change, as though the emotion had simply been switched off. The abrupt change was enough to make Hekkeran and his team, who were facing off against Ainz, think that something was amiss.
“…Although it made me angry, the fault does not lie with you. Of course you would tell an outrageous lie to preserve your lives. To tell you the truth, I’m still very mad… I guess I’m still too willful. Albedo. Aura. And all the Guardians who can hear my voice, everyone, cover your ears!”
The absolute beauty and the dark elf boy listened intently. The boy stuck his fingers into his ears, while the beauty delicately covered her ears with her hands. This was without a doubt to show that they were not going to listen to what he said.
“From the beginning, I was opposed to this plan to invite filthy thieves into my Great Tomb of Nazarick. But that said, I understand that this was the best method and I accept it.”
Ainz looked back up, and regretfully shook his head.
“Well, that’s all. Rant over. As a final mercy, I wanted to grant you an honorable death as a warrior, but now I’ve changed my mind. Now I will dispose of you like the thieves that you are.”
While talking as though it were somebody else’s problem, Ainz shed his gown.
Naturally, there were bones below. A dark red orb floated under his ribs, emanating a feeling of dread. He had nothing equipped besides his pants and boots… No, there was one more item. There was a leather collar around his neck, with a chain, broken halfway down, dangling from it.
“Ohhhhh!”
A strange sound came from above them.
Looking up, they could see the upper body of a silver-haired girl leaning out of the VIP box. She was immediately pulled back by an arm wearing what looked like a blue gauntlet.
“…What the hell is she doing?”
“I’ll go scold her later.”
By the time they had managed to recover their senses and focus them back onto Ainz, he had produced a black sword and a round black shield out of nowhere.
“Then, I’m ready over here. Let’s get started.”
He stance had his feet slightly spread out—it was a fighting stance.
“Albedo and Aura, you can remove your hands now.”
The two people addressed reacted immediately, and returned their hands to their sides.
“I’m in a very bad mood now. To think I would encounter fellows like this. So I’ll toy with them without killing them, and I’ll leave the disposal to you. Now, let’s begin.”
As Hekkeran stared down the sword-and-shield-equipped Ainz, Hekkeran’s first thought was that his opponent was not a warrior or a swordsman. If pressed, he would say that he was like a monster, the kind who would use their excellent physical abilities to overwhelm their opponent.
Both his posture and stance looked like those of an amateur. But he radiated a heavy pressure, appearing larger than life.
For a being like this, the deadliest move they could make might be to simply attack.
“Not coming? Then, allow me.”
Ainz rushed over as he replied.
His was a frightening speed that shrunk the distance between him and his foes to nothing in an instant.
He followed it up with a grand slash downwards from above.
The attack had openings all over it, but it had great destructive power. In the hands of a mighty being with incredible physical ability, it was a sword strike that could kill anything it hit.
Taking it would be very dangerous.
Hekkeran came to this conclusion in an instant, as he sensed the high-speed blade descending on him. A hard block would turn this into a contest of power, and he knew that he would be overwhelmed if he pitted his strength against Ainz.
That being the case, there was only one option—
Ainz’s sword struck down into the ground, the lingering echo and vibration of steel against steel fading into the air.
—Parry the blow and guide it away from his body.
Normally, an attacker would be thrown off balance after being parried, and this would be a prime chance for a counterattack. But Ainz had not even moved. It was as though he knew that particular sequence of events was going to take place, and he had reset his stance to its original position.
Hekkeran realized that he had made a big mistake.
No good! I underestimated him! But, the only thing I can do is fight on!
He aimed at Ainz’s head. The martial art he used was—
“「Twin Blade Strike」!”
The two swords inscribed gleaming arcs in the air as they scissored toward Ainz’s head. Normally, bludgeoning weapons would be more effective against a skeleton-type enemy like Ainz, but Hekkeran was more proficient with slashing weapons, and not nearly as confident with blunt weapons.
His main objective was to try to inflict some damage on Ainz. He flurried as many attacks as he could against Ainz, not caring if they hit or missed, in the hope that at least one of them would get through and strike him.