This was how the united group ‘Foresight’ could stand against the mightiest individual, Ainz Ooal Gown.
A faint smile lifted the corner of Hekkeran’s mouth.
Until now, Ainz had been untouched. Certainly, he was very strong. But he was not invincible.
With this conviction in his heart, he swung his twin swords.
Hekkeran’s sword strike, the fastest his augmented body could produce, was deflected by the round black shield. The arrow flying in was interdicted by the black sword. Arche and Roberdyck made use of this opening to enhance Hekkeran even further.
Ever since Ainz had clicked his tongue, his hostility toward them had been rapidly weakening.
After considering whether or not to press the attack, Hekkeran decided to back down and calm his frenzied breathing. The undead Ainz would not get tired no matter how long or how hard he fought, but a human like Hekkeran and the others would become exhausted. Dragging the battle out was a bad idea. He had to rest whenever he got the chance.
“So… as I thought, I still couldn’t deal a decisive blow. I thought had the advantage in strength, skills and knowing what you could do, but when I’m actually engaged in battle, I’m still feeling some anxiety… something like, why haven’t I taken any of you down yet?”
Ainz shrugged his shoulders in annoyance. Hekkeran, who was watching from opposite Ainz, did not feel particularly irritated by his patronizing tone.
Truthfully speaking, this was the advantage of working as a team. Hekkeran smiled as though he had been praised.
In the midst of all this, the beauty who had been silent up till now finally spoke.
“Ainz-sama. Perhaps we should end playtime here.”
“What?”
“Forgive my rudeness, but I find it hard to believe that you would permit continued freedom to these base knaves, these thieves who dared use the name of the Supreme Beings to deceive you. Perhaps it is time for you to grant them mercy?”
“Hey, Albedo. If you talk to Ainz-sama like that—”
“—No, Aura. That is a good point.”
Ainz shook his head.
“And that is enough. I have gained sufficient experience from this battle.”
“Truly marvelous. As expected of the Overlord who rules me.”
“Hah, is it now. Well, this is certainly cause for celebration. Although I know you’re humoring me, praise from a warrior whose skills far exceed my own is still pleasing to me.”
“I would not dream of deceiving you with false praise. I meant every word of it.”
“Is that so? Then thank you. Cocytus can evaluate me later, and I still need to hear your opinions on future training sessions like this.”
After nodding a few times and looking very satisfied with himself, Ainz turned back to ‘Foresight’.
The air between them had changed, and Hekkeran had a bad feeling about it.
His instincts that had carried him through many life-and-death situations were screaming to him: there is great danger here.
“Then, playing around with swords is over. Now is the time for a different kind of amusement.”
Ainz cast aside the sword and shield he was holding, and they vanished before they hit the ground.
“What?!”
Discarding one’s arms was the universal sign of giving up the fight. However, Ainz’s attitude did not betray even the slightest hint of capitulation.
This was not a gesture of surrender.
Unable to figure out what Ainz was thinking, Hekkeran was filled with confusion.
“…What are you going to do?”
At this, Ainz smiled. Or rather, he seemed to smile.
He slowly spread his arms. It was an action that resembled an angel reaching out to the faithful, or a mother welcoming her child into her embrace; a loving acceptance of what lay before him.
“You don’t get it? Then let me put it in terms you might be able to understand,” Ainz laughed. “I’ll play with you, so give me your best shot, humans.”
The mood had changed—
He had forsaken his weapon and his shield. That should have meant he had been weakened. But Hekkeran had the feeling that the Ainz before him now was more powerful than before. Indeed, it seemed as though his body had physically grown in size before their eyes, so oppressive was his presence.
A being that grew stronger when abandoning the sword.
When you thought about it, only two answers remained. One would be that he was one of those warrior monks who honed their bodies into living weapons. But if that were the case, his fighting style from earlier—the way he evaded attacks—didn’t seem polished enough for him to be one of their number.
Then, the alternative—
“He’s a magic caster?”
The voice belonged to Arche, who had reached the same conclusion Hekkeran had.
That was it. This was the question at hand. The being before them, Ainz Ooal Gown—was he a magic caster?
It was understandable that they had not considered that earlier. Who could have imagined that any magic caster could have fought on even terms with Hekkeran, the party’s strongest and most skilled fighter?
Magic casters—especially arcane magic casters—had weaker bodies than warriors. After all, if one had time to train one’s body, one could easily spend that time on learning magic. As such, magic casters who could fight on par with warriors were nonexistent.
That was simple common sense.
A being who could turn that wisdom on its head—who could have imagined such a being would be standing in front of them?
As such, Arche’s voice carried the hope that it was untrue, and the desire that her hypothesis would be rejected. Because if it were true, that would mean that Ainz was far more confident in his skills as a magic caster than he was as a warrior.
What that meant, nobody needed to say out loud.
Even casting a few spells could greatly improve battle performance. As Hekkeran had been demonstrating, several enhancement spells made a dramatic difference. But if that was the case—
“Did you finally realize it? How foolish you lot are. Well, it’s only natural to expect this level of intelligence from you miserable vermin, who track your filth into my—no, our Nazarick.”
However, as long as Arche was around, Hekkeran and the others could deny it.