novelVolume 3
| ← Ch.021 | Ch.023 → |
Overlord Volume 3 Chapter 2
True Ancestor (2)
Part 3
A cold wind blew through the main hall, slipping through the gaps in the barricade and washing over the surviving men of the Death-Spreading Brigade, all forty two of them.
The main hall was the most spacious part of the cave system, so it was commonly used as a dining area. However, it was now an emergency stronghold.
This series of caves — the sellswords' hideout — was centered around this long and narrow hall. Several smaller caves radiated off along its sides, and they were used as personal rooms, armories, and food storage. Therefore, if this place was taken, the other locations would also fall easily. When attacked, it thus made sense to designate this place as the linchpin of their final defensive line.
That said, it might have been called a stronghold, but it had not been built to the standards of one.
They had upended their crude tables and stacked up boxes to form a simple barricade. After that, they had strung up several chest-height ropes between the entrance to the main hall and the barricade, in order to ward off anyone who might try to charge the barricade. Once the enemy ran into the obstacles, the defenders could avoid being drawn into a melee.
Almost everyone was arrayed behind this defensive formation, holding their crossbows as they waited in the center, left and right wings.
Even if it came to a shooting match, the dimensions of the main hall and the size of the entrance gave an overwhelming advantage to the defenders in the hall. In addition, now that they had all spread out, the attackers would end up taking fire from all the defenders no matter where they decided to attack. Even area-effect attacks would have trouble taking them out because they were spread out. This troop arrangement was designed to provide covering fire, and it was called a crossfire.
It was a simple formation, but it could hold off an enemy force larger than itself.
And then, disquieted looks began appearing on the men's faces.
As the men trembled, their chain shirts quivered along with them, producing the rustle of links sliding over other links.
The interior of the cave was cool, and quite comfortable even on summer days. However, what they felt now was not exactly coldness.
Just now, peals of laughter had rung in from the outside. Due to the echoes within the cave, it was transformed into a shrill, sexless laughter, which was what had chilled them to their bones.
They believed that since the strongest man in the Death-Spreading Brigade — Brain Unglaus — had sortied, there was no need for them to build a barricade or the like.
That laughter had shattered their conviction.
Brain was unbeatable. That was what they believed.
Brain was far stronger than an ordinary man. Even Imperial knights could not possibly defeat him. Not even monsters could. He could slay an Ogre in one hit, charge into a Goblin horde by himself and mow them down like grass. If the entire Death-Spreading Brigade crossed blades with him, he might well end up taking all their heads. What else could they call him but their strongest man?
But if such a man had been defeated, what did that mean?
The fact that someone could fight Brain and still laugh like that could only mean one thing.
Everybody knew it, but nobody dared to say it.
All they could do was look silently at each other.
The eyes of everyone gathered here went wordlessly to the entrance of the hall — in the direction of the rest of the cave.
The tension in the air thickened, and then—
The sound of running came toward them, growing louder and louder.
Someone gulped loudly. The sounds of several crossbow strings being drawn back could be heard amidst the silence.
As the sellswords watched the hall's entrance, a man sprinted into view, panting heavily. It was a miracle that nobody had loosed their bolts at him.
"Brain!"
The man who shouted was the head of the mercenaries — the Brigade's leader. Soon, a great cheer exploded through the hall. Their jubilant cheers came from their belief that he had defeated the intruder.
There were sounds of voices congratulating Brain, as well as those of hands patting each other on the shoulder.
They chanted Brain's name over and over again. Amidst this praise, Brain stood at the entrance to the hall, holding his weapon in one powerless hand as he quietly surveyed the faces of the sellswords around him.
No, that was not right. His expression suggested that he was looking for something.
The cheering died down as though suppressed, as the sellswords picked up on Brain's strange mood.
Brain ran for the barricade.
"Oi! Wait up, we'll open up for you!"
Brain paid those words no heed as he squirmed into the barricade, forcing his way through without wasting a single moment before continuing his run.
He felt the sellswords stare dumbly at him as he opened a door. It led to a cave which was being used as a storeroom, and he rushed inside.
"What's wrong? Did he put something in there?"
"Who knows? It feels weird, though... was he crying? Nah, that couldn't be!"
They stuck their heads out to look at the closing door, but the mercenaries were thoroughly baffled by the strange event which had transpired before them.
Only one person here was frowning; the brigade's leader. This was because only he — no, Brain knew as well, so that made two — had an idea of what was going on. However, he did not have the time to verify his suspicions.
The sound of slow, graceful steps drew close, followed by the slow appearance of a stranger in the entrance.
None of them had any idea who that person was. Since nobody in the band knew this stranger, it was clear that it was the intruder who had sparked this disturbance, and the commotion vanished in an instant.
Impossible. If that were really the case, that would mean that the reason why Brain was here had now taken a one eighty degree turn. If the intruder was still alive, it meant that he had fled here.
In addition, there was only one intruder, its back hunched in a bizarre way.
It was not tall and looked like a girl. Her arms hung limply below her, as did her head. The strange thing was that given the position of her head and the bottom of her neck, it looked like the latter was three times longer than that of a regular human being.
She had a full head of lustrous silver hair which dragged along the ground as she slowly entered the hall. She wore an exquisitely-crafted dress, which seemed to be wreathed in darkness.
Nobody spoke.
A wave of heart-stopping cold accompanied this dreadful visage.
Her head slowly came up, her face obscured by the strands of silvery hair. Through them, they could see a pair of red lights, which slowly narrowed down to needle-sharpness.
Everyone knew what this meant — much to their misfortune.
She was laughing.
That frightening girl raised her head, revealing a beautiful face. However, nothing could be more revolting to the people who had just seen the state of her. Those elegant features looked like a mask sculpted by a top-rate artist.
"Good evening, everyone. My name is Shalltear Bloodfallen. Is this the finishing point? Does this mean the game of tag is over?"
As she spouted those bewildering lines, the girl — Shalltear — looked around. However, that beautiful face of hers wrinkled, probably because she had not found the person she was looking for. In the unbroken silence, the girl's voice rang forth once more.
"Are we playing hide and seek noooooooow?"
She giggled merrily, seemingly amused by this. Shalltear lowered her head and laughed and laughed and laughed, her silver hair shrouding her face.
As the sellswords gasped at the sight before them, Shalltear's laughter grew ever louder.
"Ahahaaahahahahahaaaahahhahahahhh!!"
Her full-bellied mirth echoed through the hall as the girl slowly raised her head again.
The face they saw made the sellswords feel like their hearts were being crushed in their chests, and that ice water was filling their veins.
That face was no longer beautiful. The color flowing out of her pupils had dyed her eyes completely red, and the two neat rows of white teeth in her mouth now resembled a set of delicate syringe needles, like a shark's gaping maw. A lewd pink glow leaked from her throat as transparent saliva drooled from her mouth.
"Ahahaaahahaahaahahaa!!!"
Shalltear bared her fangs and grinned, so wide that the corners of her mouth almost touched her ears. She laughed several dozen times, like the tolling of an off-key bell.
Whimpers of despair filled the air of the hall.
Though they were in a cavern, it seemed as though even the air could not bear it and joined in with the resounding echoes.
—A girl?
—A monster?
—A fiend?
It was none of them.
This was terror incarnate—
Despite the distance between them, they could scent blood on her breath. Due to the intensity of the stench, it seemed as though even the air was turning red.
"Uwaaaaaah—!"
Overcome by panic, one of the sellswords screamed and depressed the lever on his crossbow.
The bolt tore through the air and embedded itself deep into Shalltear's chest. The impact made her waver slightly.
"—Loose!"
Upon hearing their leader's voice, the sellswords came to their senses, chased away their fear, and fired their crossbows as one.
The bolts which shot out roared like a downpour, riddling Shalltear's body with projectiles.
Thirty one of the forty bolts fired had hit, each piercing deeply into her body. At this range, the bolts could even go through metal armor, so this was the logical outcome.
In addition, the four which had entered her head would have been fatal for a human being.
Someone breathed, "We killed it..."
Those words were the hope which all of them were clinging to. Although their foe was still standing, so many bolts stuck out of it that it resembled a porcupine. By common sense, it should have been definitively dead.
Still, while that thought filled their minds, the smoking cinders of fear within their hearts could not be extinguished.
As though driven by some kind of sixth sense, the sellswords began reloading their crossbows.
And then — Shalltear moved.
Like a conductor preparing to direct a performance, she slowly spread her arms. The bolts which covered her body began working their way out and then fell to the ground. None of them had so much as a single drop of blood on them, nor were their heads dented. It was as though they had never been used at all.
Shalltear laughed, and a vile, predator's snarl appeared on her face.
Scattered cries of terror rose from the frightened sellswords. As though urged on by those cries, countless bolts ripped through the air toward Shalltear once more.
The numberless projectiles impaled her eyeballs, pierced her throat, penetrated her abdomen and sank into her shoulders. Yet the girl who had met such a grisly fate merely seemed annoyed, as though she had been caught in a drizzle.
"It's uselessssssss~ But you still try so haaaaaaarrrrrrd~"
She took a step forward, and then — she leapt.
The ceiling was about five meters above the cave floor. The girl jumped high enough to reach out and touch it easily. She sailed gracefully through the air and landed on the other side of the barricade. As her high heels clacked on the ground, all the bolts stuck in her fell off as well.
She turned to look at the soldiers behind her, who were reloading their crossbows.
She stepped forward — and punched.
She did not even put her back into it. It was a simple, casual punch. That said, it was possessed of extraordinary speed and its destructive power was out of this world.
Her hand pierced the body of the sellsword she had punched, sending him flying into the barricade. With a heaven-shaking crash, the wood of the barricade disintegrated, spraying splinters everywhere.
Only the silence of wood chips falling to the ground could be heard in the silence that filled the hall.
The stunned sellswords stopped reloading their crossbows, staring dumbly at Shalltear.
Shalltear stuck her index finger into the mass of blood floating above her and drew out a strand of blood, which turned into a character before her. It looked like a Sanskrit character or a similar symbol, and it was called a Magic Rune.
Shalltear possessed a class called Blood Drinker, and this was one of its skills: Blood Pool. This orb of enchanted blood could store the blood of victims for various purposes. It could also drain mana from the blood, so one could use skills that augmented spells without consuming extra MP.
"「Penetrate Magic - Implosion」."
After casting this tenth tier spell — which was of the highest tier of magic — the bodies of ten mercenaries began swelling up from inside.
There was no time for them to cry out. All they could do was watch their bodies expand inexorably, looks of ignorant terror on their faces. Then, in the next moment, their bodies burst, like balloons popping.
"Hahahahhhahahaahaha! Firewoooooorks! How prettyyyyyyyy~"
Shalltar pointed to the spraying blood, applauding and cackling as she did.
"Uooohhhhh!"
Following that cry, an estoc impaled Shalltear's chest from behind — piercing her heart. It sawed up and down, as though to widen the wound.
"Die, you monster!"
The broadsword swing after that nearly clove Shalltear's head in half, its point stopping after it pierced her left eye.
"You lot, hurry up and get stuck in!"
As wails and cries rose from them, three mercenaries hacked at Shalltear's body with the weapons they had at hand.
They swung over and over again, but Shalltear still stood firm, despite having a broadsword buried halfway into that face of hers. Said face bore a frightening smile, with no sign that she was in pain at all.
After they tired of attacking her, the sellswords cast down their swords and switched to punching and kicking her, the tears streaming down their faces. Though they were much larger than she was, Shalltear remained unmoved. It was as though the sellswords were assaulting a huge boulder.
Shalltear tilted her head to look at the mercenaries and began thinking. Then she clapped her hands together, having thought of some devilish scheme.
"Hahaha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"
She exhaled, as though expelling the heat from within her. The thick stench of gore made the people around her nauseous.
Shalltear carelessly wrenched out the broadsword stuck in her head. Once it was gone, there was no sign that she had ever been wounded in the first place.
Just as she was about to swing it, she halted halfway. Rust covered the broadsword, and it slowly crumbled away. In her blood-addled mind, she thought about a penalty from one of her job classes — Cursed Knight — and she tossed it away in a vaguely disappointed manner. Then, she casually flicked one of those delicate ivory hands of hers.
And thus, three skulls rolled to the ground.
"Run away! Run away! Run for your lives!"
"We can't beat a monster like that!"
The sellswords screamed and fled in all directions.
Having lost all will to fight, one of the running men was seized from behind by Shalltear, who grasped his head with both her hands and squeezed. His head popped open like a shellfish having its carapace cracked open, and his brains squirted out.
"Hahahahahahahahaha! Whaaaaat's that look on your faces, are you scaaaaared~? Wait a minute, hahahahahaha! Hang on a bit, I'm iiiiiiiiitttt—! Hahaha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"
Their curiosity piqued by that sinister voice, the sellswords turned to see a stomach-churning sight. The blood-drunk queen of nightmares chased them down, not allowing a single mercenary to escape.
One of the fleeing men stumbled, rolling beneath Shalltear's feet.
"Spare me! Please! I won't do anything bad again!"
As she looked on the man, crying and whimpering for mercy as he grabbed her leg, Shalltear's face split into a predatory grin. The sellsword immediately understood what that smile meant and his face turned an ashen gray.
"—So hiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh uuuuuupppppp~"
"Noooo! Stop—!"
Still clutching her leg, the man was lifted bodily into the air. With one hand clutching his back, she threw him lightly at the ceiling.
Unable to resist her supernatural arm-strength, the mercenary finally let go and squeezed his eyes shut. After a brief period of weightlessness, he felt the pull of gravity dragging him down again; and then his hand struck the ground, sending a gout of pain through his body.
"Waaaaaah!"
Being able to feel pain was proof that he was still alive. The mercenary, grateful for being able to escape death, eased his eyes open ever-so-slightly, and then he realized that he had been celebrating too soon. This was because Shalltear's slender ivory-white hands had gently embraced him, not allowing him to fully touch the ground.
He had not escaped from the clutches of this terrifying monster.
No, not just that — a gaping maw opened before him, looking like a lump of clotted blood, radiating a stench he had never encountered before.
"Hahaha, hahaha, how fuuuuuuuuun~ Did you really think you could die so easilyyyyyyyyy~ Nooooooooooope~" she said as she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Spare, spare me—"
"Noooooooooope— I haven't fed in soooooooooo looooooong~"
Her mouth opened until it was past her ears, until it was big enough to gulp an entire skull down.
♦ ♦ ♦
Nobody here knew this.
Nobody here knew that the monsters called True Ancestors in the DMMO-RPG YGGDRASIL were physical incarnations of disaster.
The mouth that opened to the height of her ears was in a semicircular shape, and the two canines within it were long enough that they reached her chin. Her brilliant scarlet eyes were the color of blood, and the fingertips of her dried-wood arms sprouted claws that were about ten centimeters long. She looked like she was hunched over whenever she moved, and leapt at her prey in a flying charge.
That was the the posture she had.
Vampires were monsters which were crossbreeds of humans and bats, and the high tier Origin Vampires looked more monstrous than the others.
The only Vampire-type monsters which could be said to be beautiful were Shalltear's concubines, the Vampire Brides.
The only reason why Shalltear the True Vampire looked so beautiful was because her guild member who designed her was skilled at drawing and turning his art into reality.
Shalltear's current appearance was her original look as a True Vampire. In other words, her usual appearance was merely a sham.
♦ ♦ ♦
Like a rubber toy, or a bloated, disgusting leech, Shalltear gnawed at the sellsword's throat.
It was not clear if the sellsword first felt dozens of needles pierce his throat, or if he heard the gross sound of his blood being drained away in an instant.
The man felt his very existence being siphoned away, and the chilling dread of that realization instilled a terror in him which he had never felt before.
However, even as he tried to struggle, his limbs grew heavy and his eyesight darkened.
After draining him dry, Shalltear tossed aside the dessicated corpse, licking off a stray drop of blood with a moist, gleaming tongue. Then, she smiled brightly at the other sellswords, who did not know if they should flee.
"Sooooooooo~ maaanyyyyy~ mooooooore~ snaaaaaacks~ for meeeeeeee~"
Countless screams of anger and cries of despair echoed through the great hall—
♦ ♦ ♦
Shalltear grinned evilly as she stood within the silent hall which was now devoid of any movement. The orb of blood above her head had absorbed a lot of fresh gore, to the point where it was only a little smaller than her head.
"Thaaaaaaat waaaaas fuuuuuuuuuun~"
After hearing Shalltear's exclamation of delight, the Vampire Bride — who had been stationed at the hall's entrance to prevent anyone from escaping — lowered her head and added:
"I am glad that you enjoyed yourself, my noble master."
"Time for the maaaaaaiiiiiiin diiiiiishhhh~"
Shalltear wrenched open the door to the storeroom into which Brain had fled, bursting the lock off. The hinges still hung from the door in Shalltear's hand.
The storeroom was cramped, with several bags and boxes within.
It was here that Shalltear smelled something surprising — fresh air, scented with dust, the aroma of the wind from outdoors. At the same time, the spoor of a human grew fainter. Shalltear might have lost herself in her Blood Frenzy, but she still remembered the mission assigned to her.
"Kuwaaaaaaah—!"
With a furious roar, Shalltear shoved away the obstacles in her path, and advanced to the place from which the wind blew.
She found a hole behind the boxes, which had been blocked up by sandstone less than a meter ahead. The fresh air flowed in from a gap in the rock.
"An escaaaaaaaaape tunneeeeeellllll—!?"
The Lesser Vampire had not been lying — he did not know there was an escape passage here.
A problem one often ran into with the use of magical charms was that one could only learn what the subject already knew. The target could not give answers which they did not have, and if they believed a falsehood to be the truth, then the questioner would only learn the falsehood.
Unlike Mare, Shalltear did not have any magic to move the earth, If she tried to clear it with a shockwave, it might drop the entire ceiling on them.
He had escaped.
Those words floated to the fore within her bloodsoaked thoughts. To some extent, Shalltear understood that she had failed in her part of the mission.
Shalltear snarled in anger.
Why was this pitiful insect of a human being not moving in accordance to the wishes of Shalltear, a Guardian of Nazarick?
All I want is to turn your unnecessary lives into a feeble contribution to the glory of Nazarick; why don't you understand and rejoice in that fact?
Shalltear ground her teeth, and then the Vampire Bride who had been assigned to lookout duty called out from behind her.
"—Shalltear-sama!"
The fact that one of her Vampire Brides had left her post incensed Shalltear, and her vision turned red as she briefly entertained the idea of killing her. In the end, she managed to bank the flames of her wrath with great effort. If she had left her position for an important matter, then she should be spared.
"Whaaaaaaat — is iiiiiiiiiiit?"
"Several people are headed this way."
"Hm~ Leftover survivoooooooors~? Theeeeeeen~ let's go out and meet theeeeeeeeeem—! Ahahaha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"
Part 4
Shalltear leapt up and, like a little bird flitting through the night, she hopped over the log barricade at the cave entrance. The Vampire Brides which accompanied her slowly advanced forward.
Shalltear looked on her targets with a smile.
They were a disciplined, well-trained party.
The frontliners comprised three male warriors, each equipped with different gear, but all of them had on a hauberk of scale armor, with a weapon in hand and a large shield on their backs.
Behind them was a red-haired female warrior in banded armor.
There was a lightly-dressed man holding a staff in the rear. He was probably an arcane magic caster. Beside him was a divine magic caster who wore a cleric's robe over his armor and had a holy symbol shaped like a flame around his neck.
There were six of them in total, and although they were surprised at the sight of Shalltear as she emerged from the cave, they calmly went on alert, a movement born of accumulated experience.
"That's gooooooood~"
Although it was not bad to slaughter weak humans, who had the consistency of tofu, more resilient opponents like this were more interesting.
WIth a look of anticipation in her crimson eyes, Shalltear directed a predatory grin at the people before them.
"Speak!"
Shock appeared on the face of the arcane magic caster, but only for a moment, and then his expression hardened.
"Enemy: probable Vampire! Only silver or magic weapons effective! Unbeatable opponent! Fighting withdrawal! Don't look at her eyes!"
—A cry rang forth, easily audible by anyone in this depression.
The shouted commands had been pared down to the bare minimum, and everyone swiftly reacted to them. The warrior at the lead unlimbered his large shield and took a defensive stance. He averted his eyes, looking instead at Shalltear's chest and belly.
During this time, the female warrior behind them had taken up the weapon passed to her by the warrior in front and began applying something to it.
An unpleasant odor wafted into Shalltear's nose.
It was alchemical silver.
This was a sticky salve made by alchemists. The magical substance spread across the weapon when applied, coating it in a thin membrane and making it function as though it were made of silver.
Weapons made of silver were not only more expensive than regular weapons, but they were softer than steel and not suitable for long-term use. Therefore, many adventurers purchased salves like this and applied them to their weapons when the need arose, allowing them to temporarily take on the properties of silver.
Wielding weapons which now radiated a silver gleam, the group moved to corral their foe as they fell back.
Their fighting withdrawal was an impressive display. The party seemed to be like a single organism as they fell back in an orderly manner.
"My Lord, O God of Fire—"
"Enough with the useless stuff, hurry up and cast a defensive spell!"
The arcane magic caster restrained the cleric — who was planning to raise his holy symbol — and then began casting a spell on the frontliners. The cleric followed suit.
Although the exact composition varied between jobs, most clerics could use divine power to turn, rebuke or destroy creatures such as undead, demons, angels, and the like. However, these abilities only worked on monsters weaker than themselves. In other words, the arcane magic caster had seen the cleric preparing to turn undead with divine might, instantly divined the difference in strength between their foes and themselves, and then instructed him to do something else with his power.
As she watched this series of actions, Shalltear eyed the leader of the party, intending to capture him in accordance with her orders. However, the murderous impulse to spill more blood slowly dyed her heart a crimson red.
She wanted to slaughter them, pulverize them, dismember them, and bathe in their blood. Her breathing grew ragged and she began foaming at the mouth.
"「Anti-Evil Protection」."
"「Lesser Mind Protection」."
The two magic casters laid their spells upon the frontline warriors.
A vague hunt of respect bloomed in Shalltear's overexcited mind. Although these spells were of the lowest tier — the first tier, in fact — they were still the most suitable magic for the current situation. They were unlike the sellswords who had lashed out thoughtlessly, or that stupid warrior who had come out by himself without even knowing martial arts.
Still — no matter how hard they struggled, meaningless actions were still meaningless. Against a foe who was so overwhelmingly superior to them, nothing they did could possibly mean anything.
Their adorable show of resistance was the last straw that broke the back of Shalltear's wavering self-control.
"I can't... I can't take itttttttttt— I can't hold back any moooore~!"
With a cry like she had torn free of her bindings, Shalltear stepped forward.
Her steps were light and easy, like a dancer's. However, to the people before her, she moved faster than the wind.
She thrust out a spear hand.
It pierced her victim's shield, shattered his armor, ignored his magical protections, ripped straight through his skin, muscle, and bone, and closed around the heart which had been beating just a moment ago. And then — she tore it out. As she stood over the body of the collapsed warrior, Shalltear held up the reddish-black mass of tissue — deformed in her grip — before the others. The female warrior whimpered in fear, while the priest's face twisted in anger.
Shalltear had expected these reactions. Satisfaction filled her as she watched them, and with a revolting smile, she cast a spell.
"「Animate Dead」."
The warrior who had lost his heart slowly stood back up, now transformed into a Zombie, the lowest tier of undead. Yet, she was not finished.
Shalltear gulped down the heart she was holding, and then reached into the orb of blood floating above her. What she brought back down was a pulsing lump of gore — a caricature of a heart. She then tossed the lump into the Zombie.
The blood-lump writhed like a maggot, then distorted itself as it flowed into the Zombie's body. In an instant, the Zombie shuddered, its body spasming several times before its exterior slowly changed.
It seemed as though all the water had evaporated from its body, given how its skin had turned into something which resembled dried bark. It sprouted sharp claws and its canines jutted out. Before long, the undead creature before them could no longer be considered a Zombie.
As they watched the birth of a Lesser Vampire, the adventurers exclaimed in shock.
"Impossible! I've never heard of a Vampire which could use such high tier magic without cost!"
"You're looking at one right now, so don't panic! Calm down and think!"
"But... !"
"—Retreat's going to be hard! Attack!"
"Oh!"
The cleric panicked. Perhaps the others had been influenced by that, but one of the warriors swung at Shalltear. The other attacked his former comrade, who was now a Lesser Vampire.
"My Lord, O God of Fire, repel the unclean!"
The cleric held up his holy symbol, which emitted a burst of divine power. Of course, it had no effect on Shalltear.
"Ahhhhahahahahaahaha!"
The sword of one of the warriors bit into the body of the Lesser Vampire, which had been immobilized, possibly by the cleric's divine power. This was a half-baked Lesser Vampire which had been made from a Zombie, which was why the divine power was actually effective, but the knowledge that the Zombie she had made had lost to divine power displeased Shalltear.
She flicked her little finger, parrying the sword pointed at her, and then glared annoyedly at the cleric who stood in the back line.
"Geeeeet looooooosst—!"
She casually swiped her right hand, but this careless blow was enough to behead the sword-wielding warrior, sending him to the ground in a spray of blood.
"「Lesser Strength」."
That buff spell was cast on the final warrior, who was now fighting a slowed down Lesser Vampire with his own enhanced body. The warrior had the upper hand, and pressed his advantage.
Since they seemed to be having fun, Shalltear decided to leave them be. After all, there was still prey remaining. Her mind clouded with bloodlust, Shalltear turned to the cleric before her.
The female warrior stepped forward, putting herself into the line of fire, though she only wielded an ordinary steel weapon.
How adorable, she's still taking a stance with a sword despite her fear — though that was ultimately the pitiful resistance of a small animal. A wave of heat and delight grew in Shalltear's lower abdomen.
What sounds would she make when she chewed off her fingertips? Maybe she could cut off her ears and feed them to her. No, she should drink her blood first. After all, she was the first female prey she had encountered since she had come to the outside.
"You'll be my desseeeeeeeeerrrrrtttttt~" Shalltear bellowed from her gaping maw as she leapt over the woman.
Easily leaping over the female warrior, Shalltear landed before the arcane magic caster and the cleric.
Before the cleric could react, Shalltear already had the hand holding his holy symbol in her grasp, and she squeezed. The cleric's bones disintegrated under that irresistible force, and shreds of muscle and skin squirted from the gaps between Shalltear's fingers.
"Guwaaaaaargh—!"
After hearing the cleric's cries, Shalltear was quite pleased with herself, and decided to grant him mercy and end his torment.
With a wave of her hand, the blood spurting from the stump of the cleric's neck flowed into the orb of blood above Shalltear's head. She nodded in delight.
At this point, somebody thrust a sword into Shalltear's back with all their strength. However, attacks like that were completely ineffective against her. Shalltear stood firm like a great tree, though she found the swordpoint protruding from her chest a minor inconvenience.
"No way... it's not working!? Isn't this a silver weapon!?"
The sword had pierced her chest — and her heart, as it turned out — but Shalltear's nonchalance drew a garbled scream from the female warrior.
Since the female warrior did not have a silver weapon, she must have taken it from the body of the slain warrior.
The arcane magic caster was correct, but he was not entirely right. In order to harm Shalltear, one needed a weapon made of silver and possessing sufficient mana, or a weapon with a powerful elemental enchantment. Simply being made of silver was not enough.
Shalltear paid the female warrior behind her no heed, and looked at the shocked arcane magic caster.
"「Magic Arrow」!"
In desperation, the magic caster cast a spell, sending two arrows of light streaking at Shalltear. However, they were easily resisted.
This was the result of one of Shalltear's special abilities — spell resistance. It was not a perfect defense, and depended on the attacker's own strength. However, given the precipitous gap between their power levels, she could easily resist spells from him.
In other words, there was nothing the arcane magic caster could do to Shalltear.
"Sooooooo~ booooooooooor~ iiiiiiiiiiing~!"
With a casual wave of her hand, Shalltear relieved the person who no longer interested her of his head.
Looking back, she saw that the Lesser Vampire was still struggling with the other warrior.
Shalltear picked up the two fallen heads on the ground and tossed them at the two combatants. The heads — massing about six kilograms each — flew forth with supernatural speed. Then, as expected, both sides collapsed to the ground.
While Shalltear was not paying attention, the dessert (the female warrior) flailed wildly at Shalltear's body with her sword.
Still, what good did that do?
It did not hurt or even bother Shalltear, and it was a meaningless gesture. The only effect it had was opening up holes in her clothes, but as long as Shalltear herself was fine, the magic clothing would automatically restore itself.
"Now theeeeeen~ desseeeeeerrrrrtttttt~! Let's eeeeeeaaaaatttt~!"
Shalltear sounded like a child leaving their favorite food for the last — however, she had a nauseating, wicked smile on her face as she turned to face the female warrior who was hacking away at her back.
As the female warrior met Shalltear's crimson gaze, the female warrior realised that she was the sole survivor, and stumbled back, eyes glistening with tears. She scrabbled at her waist pouch, fishing around inside for something.
Shalltear leisurely savored the blood-dimmed world before her. She seemed curious about what the woman was doing.
Soon, the female warrior pulled out a bottle and threw it.
Shalltear narrowed her eyes at the bottle tumbling through the air, and smiled coldly.
Although the female warrior had hurled it with all her strength, the speed at which the bottle travelled seemed almost unbearably slow to Shalltear. She could have easily dodged it, but her pride as one of the strong did not allow her to avoid it. In addition, she wanted to see the look on the woman's face when her final trump card crumbled before her eyes.
The urge to slaughter grew and grew.
However, Shalltear tamped it down. After all, the more she controlled herself, the sweeter her delight would be when she finally indulged herself.
Shalltear watched the bottle flying at herself, and idly contemplated it.
It was probably holy water, or some sort of firebomb. She refused to give up despite knowing her struggles did not matter, and continued her pitiful resistance. Perhaps she should start by making her suffer until she prayed for death before slowly tasting her blood. If she was a virgin, she would drain her dry, but if not there were all sorts of lovely games they could play together, as long as she minimized the amount of blood lost.
Having made her decision, Shalltear swatted aside the flying bottle. The force of swiping at the bottle caused the crimson fluid within it to spill from the bottle's mouth and splash on Shalltear's skin.
And then — there was a faint stinging pain.
The insides of Shalltear's mind went white for a moment, and her bloodlust was instantly extinguished.
She looked at the place from which the pain had come, which was the hand which had batted the bottle aside. An acrid odor and a wisp of smoke boiled up from the place where the liquid had touched her.
Shalltear turned to look at the fallen bottle. Its mouth was open, and a faint, sweet scent came from it. Shalltear was very familiar with that container.
It was a potion bottle of the kind commonly used in the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The liquid within should have been a low tier healing potion. Since healing items could damage the undead, it was probably why Shalltear's skin had been slightly dissolved.
"Impossible!"
Her roar shook the very air.
"Capture that woman unharmed!"
Upon hearing Shalltear's command, the Vampire Brides — who had only been watching from the sidelines up till now — sprang into action. In an instant, they had seized the arms of the female warrior while she attempted to flee during Shalltear's brief stupor.
The female warrior struggled valiantly, but the Vampire Brides' strength far outmatched hers, and they dragged her before Shalltear.
"Look into my eyes!"
Shalltear seized the female warrior's chin and forced her to look into her mystic eyes. Of course, she was very careful to control the amount of force that she used. It would be quite troublesome if she ended up wrenching the woman's jaw off because she used too much strength.
This was because Shalltear could not use regular healing spells, despite being a divine magic caster.
A thin film seemed to cover the eyes of the female warrior as she was forced to meet Shalltear's enchanted gaze. The look of fear and hostility on her face soon became one of friendliness. This was the charming effect of the 「Mystic Eyes of Charm」 skill, and Shalltear ordered the female warrior released once she felt it had taken full effect.
There were many questions she wanted to ask, However, one burned ahead of all the others.
Shalltear picked up the fallen bottle and held it before the female warrior's face.
"Tell me about this potion! Who did you get it from!?"
"A man in black armor gave it to me at the inn."
What about it? The female warrior's answer seemed to leave that unsaid, and Shalltear's body seemed to freeze over.
"... No way... no, this can't be... but... where... in which city is this inn?"
"It was an inn located in E-Rantel."
Shalltear gasped in shock as she felt the world spin. This was because she had a rough idea of who the black-armored man actually was.
If her guess was correct, that only raised more questions. Why did this woman have this potion? That person would not give out potions for no reason.
"Could it be..."
Had that person given the female warrior an order? Or perhaps he had given it to her in order to strengthen their good relations?
Shalltear recalled the dashing image of Ainz Ooal Gown, the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The unease she felt at possibly having ruined one of her master's plans filled her with limitless frustration.
"Why did you come here? What was your objective?"
She was no longer in the mood to dance around the topic. She had to find out as much as possible, and so she stared at the female warrior with eyes that were now bloodshot for a completely different reason.
"Yes. Our job is to protect the city, so we came to investigate when we heard there was a bandits' nest nearby. In the end, we found something strange, so we split up our team. Our party was responsible for a reconnaissance in force, which brought us here."
"You split your team?"
"Yes. We didn't know how many bandits were present, so we decided to split up and draw the enemy into a trapped area the other party was setting up."
"So there's another team, " Shalltear muttered. She clicked her tongue as she realised that this meant more trouble for her.
"Then, how many of you came here?"
"There were seven people including me, and then—"
"Hm? Wait, seven people? Not six?"
Shalltear counted the corpses around them. Three warriors, one mage, one cleric — and this woman. The numbers did not add up.
The female warrior's answer to Shalltear's doubt-filled gaze was direct and to the point:
"Yes, there was also a ranger. He said that he would hurry back to E-Rantel for help if an emergency occurred."
"Say what... ?"
The arcane magic caster's voice had been very loud — loud enough that everyone in the depression could hear him.
"Kuh!"
Eyes wide open, Shalltear charged up the sides of the lowlands, faster than the wind. She leapt over the edge and looked around, but even her darkvision-capable eyes could not penetrate the depths of the forest, and though she listened carefully, she could only hear the wind blowing on the grass and trees.
Shalltear did not possess any detection abilities or divination magic. Under these circumstances, finding a single person in the entire forest would probably be impossible.
"Son of a bitch!" she cursed.
He had escaped; she had been too careless. Shalltear ground her teeth as she realized that she had let two of her prey slip away.
"Familiars!"
Several shadows wavered into existence near Shalltear's feet. The shapes of several wolves appeared, but unlike regular wolves, their fur was black as night, and their eyes radiated a malevolent crimson glow.
They were level seven monsters, Vampire Wolves.
One of the skills Shalltear possessed was called 「Household Summons」, which allowed her to call forth various monsters. However, these were the ones best suited to tracking and pursuit.
"Hunt down and kill everyone in the forest!"
Upon hearing the shouted order, the ten Vampire Wolves surged into the woods as one.
As she watched the Vampire Wolves leave, Shalltear felt that there was very little chance that they could eliminate the opposition. She thought of Aura, and mused that even if he was not as talented as her, the opponent was still a ranger, and ought to know how to evade pursuit.
In other words, he would probably escape. If that was the case, what should she do next? Shalltear hurriedly returned and seized the female warrior before asking:
"Did anyone else receive a potion or other items from the man in black armor?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Really now! Then, next question, will that ranger link up with the other party?"
"No. Our plan was that if either of the parties was in danger of being wiped out, he would abandon the other one and return to the city. That choice had the highest chance of keeping us alive."
They had made meticulous preparations in case they failed, and it was this careful planning which had left her powerless to respond. As Shalltear realized this, anger burned within her.
"How dare you miserable humans come up with so many tricky ideas — if I earn the right to rule you, I'll treat you like the worms that you are!"
Still, even venting her spleen would not change the present circumstances.
The opposition would bring news that there was a Vampire here back to the city.
Although Shalltear did not know if the opposition had clearly seen her face, human eyesight would probably not be able to discern the identity of Shalltear in the depression.
Even so—
"Shit!"
Shalltear cursed again, and then continued to think.
The orders Ainz had given her were—
Your prey this time are criminals and other undesirables whose absence will not be missed.
For instance, if you encounter anyone among the bandits who can use magic or martial arts, you are to capture them at all costs, even if you have to drain them dry and make them your slaves. You are also to capture anyone who knows about this world and who is skilled in combat. However, do not make waves; if people know Nazarick is making a move, it might cause a lot of trouble for us.
—And that was it.
That being the case, she had already violated many aspects of those orders.
Shalltear struggled to resist the impulse to scratch at her head.
"It's still okay, it's still okay, it's still okay."
She seemed to be trying to persuade herself.
Perhaps the other side would bring the news of a Vampire back, but her name and the involvement of Nazarick would not be exposed.
In other words, she had not left any clues which would link the Vampire attack here to Nazarick. If the people in the city thought about it, they would only conclude that the sellswords here had been slaughtered by a wild Vampire — if one existed in the area.
There were inconsistencies everywhere, but the opposition would not be able to find them without gathering more information.
Shalltear continued thinking.
The question now was what to do with this woman under the current conditions.
Though she was currently charmed, this woman had not completely lost her memory. The quickest way would be to kill her, but that posed problems of its own; namely, why Shalltear's master had given this woman that potion.
If her master had given her the potion for some reason or purpose, then killing this woman would obstruct her master's goals, which would be very bad.
If she let her go, her employers would definitely ask why she was the only one who had survived. In addition, she knew a lot — in particular, Shalltear's appearance. While that was not a problem now, nobody could tell how that situation might develop in the future.
The best way would be to contact her master, but Shalltear could not use the 「Message」 spell.
Then what should she do—
"Ahhhh— Ainz-sama is going to scold me..."
Shalltear muttered so softly that nobody could hear, grabbing her head in agonized thought.
"If only I didn't have this 「Blood Frenzy」... no, saying that would be disrespectful to my creator, Peroroncino-sama. If only I could control this 「Blood Frenzy」..."
It was too late for any regrets, and no matter how she dealt with this woman, it seemed a scolding would be inevitable. The question now was how to minimize the damage which had been done.
"Worse" was still better than the "worst."
Shalltear thought and thought, until it seemed smoke would start to come out of her ears, before coming to a conclusion.
Rather than killing her, letting her live gave her more options. She could not take back the fact that she had killed her, but sparing her allowed room for the situation to play out.
That was what Shalltear had decided. Or rather, this was how desperately she was trying to delude herself.
"What is your name?"
"Britta."
"Got it... I'll remember it!"
Shalltear ordered the girl called Britta to stay where she was, then brought her two Vampire Bride servants some distance away:
"In any case, let's recover everything here and then retreat right away."
She had her doubts about whether there would be time for that. However, she still had to take a chance and hope that the opposition would think that wealth had been her objective. Though she had failed in her mission, she still had to make plans to spread false information.
"Shalltear-sama, what should we do with the women?"
As she heard the question, Shalltear looked to Britta in the distance.
"Leave her be."
"No, I was referring to the other women."
"—What? What other women?"
"Yes, Shalltear-sama. I searched the interior to root out any fish who slipped our net, and I found several women who seem to have been used to satisfy the men's lusts. What should we do with them?"
Shalltear's face froze.
What was this all about?
Shalltear turned back to look.
If her face had not been seen, she could leave them and be done with it. However, she did not know if that was the right choice. She should probably kill them all as well. No, if she did that, it would be quite unnatural for Britta to be the sole survivor.
Shalltear was frustrated that she could not come to a conclusion which benefited her.
"What should we do—"
"Hah!? I don't know!"
The look on Shalltear's face seemed to say, Why the hell are you lot telling me all of this? As long as I don't know, I can claim ignorance, but if I know and deliberately ignore it, I'll be betraying my master.
"Whatever! I don't know! Leave them be, dump them here! Throw Britta in with those women!"
"Will that be all right?"
"How the hell should I know, dammit, shut the hell up!"
"My apologies, Shalltear-sama."
"We're leaving, get ready!"
The Vampire Brides bowed and began moving. Shalltear grabbed her head and slowly crouched down.
"... I'm going to be scolded for sure... what should I do... however... hm?"
Shalltear raised her head, looking toward the part of the forest where the Vampire Wolves had gone.
"... Did they find him?"
Shalltear sensed the disappearance of her familiars. It was not the disappearance of magical banishment, but the discorporation of being killed.
"Follow me after you take care of that woman! Get the marker ready!"
Having made a decision, Shalltear paused only to snap off a terse command before sprinting out at lightning speeds.
Although she was forced to slow down in the forest, as long as her targets were human beings, they could not escape from Shalltear's clutches, even when mounted.
She burst from the forest, to the last known position of her familiars.
There were twelve people before her.
Each person was attired in a full panoply of equipment which varied between each of them.
Their gear was not simple and functional, but as decorative and unique as Shalltear's own equipment. They looked quite potent at a glance. Of course, Shalltear did not have any skills to discern the power of magic items, so she had to go by her gut, but she felt that their magic items might be of legendary class or above.
Doubts appeared in Shalltear's head, given that she had no idea where these people hailed from. These twelve people seemed completely different from the others that Shalltear had seen in this world. It was the difference between a lion and a mouse.
Shalltear considered the twelve men and women, and her gaze finally rested on one of them, a man.
That man... is he strong?
Shalltear was surprised and had no levels in dedicated warrior classes, so her assessment of her opposition's strength told her that he was not only stronger than the Vampire Brides she had brought along, but stronger still than Solution, the Pleiades battle maid.
Shalltear took a closer look at the man.
The gear he wore seemed to have been designed for use by a man, which was why she had pegged him as a male, but he seemed quite androgynous in appearance.
She did not know if he was male or female, since he resembled both a man or a woman, yet did not look like either. He was not very tall, and seemed quite youthful. Perhaps he was still growing, which only made it harder to tell.
His hair was black and long, almost reaching the ground, while his keen eyes had red pupils which regarded Shalltear with caution. He carried a plain-looking spear which seemed incongruous with the rest of his equipment.
"—Use it."
The man issued a clear, crisp command — like the surface of a frozen lake — and panic broke out in the rest of the party. Shalltear had no idea what those words meant. However, she imagined that whatever was being used was powerful, possibly enough to rival Shalltear's sole divine class item.
The others sprang into action in response to the command, but Shalltear paid them no heed. There was only one person who stood out in her reckoning; the others did not seem like much of a threat.
The group's formation was centered around a woman in a strange dress.
It had a high-necked collar, with two long slits on either sides, so it was probably some sort of ladies' full length dress. It was silver in color, with a five-clawed dragon picked out in gold thread along its surface.
In Ainz's world, this sort of dress would be called a qipao.
However, the woman wearing it was very old, her face was full of wrinkles, and her exposed legs looked like burdocks or dried potatoes. That dress was thoroughly unsuitable for her and frankly speaking, it made onlookers frown. Shalltear even went so far as to avert her eyes.
♦ ♦ ♦
However, this was the last link in a long chain of accidents and coincidences.
If even a tiny little detail had occurred differently, things might have turned out some other way.
If Ainz had not captured Nigun, if Ainz had not counterattacked the Theocracy's divination spells so fiercely, if the Theocracy had not mistaken this for the revival of the Catastrophe Dragon Lord, if Shalltear had not been distracted — perhaps events would have unfolded differently. However, the sum of all these possibilities might have instead been phrased as an inevitability.
That qipao was called 「Downfall of Castle and Country」 (Kei Seke Kouku). This was a sacred treasure left behind by the gods who saved all humanity, and its power exceeded that of anything which Shalltear carried.
(TL Note: 倾城倾国: this is the item Nigun mentioned as "Kei Seke Kouku" in Vol. 1)
♦ ♦ ♦
—Shalltear shivered.
This was the first time which Shalltear — as a Guardian, one of the highest-ranking entities in the Great Tomb of Nazarick — had ever shivered. It was a subtle observation, or one could call it a warning from a sixth sense.
Shalltear's eyes turned, intending to seize the old lady her instincts were warning her about.
That human had to die at all costs.
The spear-wielding man rushed at her just as she realized this and was about to make her move.
"Get lost!"
Shalltear batted him aside with all her might. However, when subjected to a strike that would pulverize a weak human being, the man was simply knocked back and did not perish on the spot. In addition, his will to fight was still intact despite being blown away.
Shalltear cast a spell, centered on the old lady.
"「Mass Hold Species」!"
She wanted to capture several people. This was because she had a premonition that capturing these people would not only make up for her previous errors, but earn her praise.
As she thought that, Shalltear's mind suddenly turned white.
It felt as though part of her thought processes were gone, because she could not comprehend what was happening. And then, when she realised what had happened, Shalltear was shaken to the core, fear filling her undead heart.
This was mind control.
As an undead being, she should have had complete immunity to mind-controlling items, yet her will was still being dominated. She desperately tried to engrave hatred and anger on her gradually-whitening consciousness, and as her mind pondered countless variations of the worst-case scenario—
"Giiiiiiiiih—!"
—She wailed, weeping tears of blood as she struggled to fight back against the dominating force which was corrupting her, a Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
However, despite Shalltear's frantic resistance, her will was steadily bleached away. Nor could she use teleportation magic. This was because her mind would be completely overshadowed if she allowed herself to be distracted by such matters.
Shalltear used a class skill to create a 「Purifying Javelin」. It was a gigantic lance of the holy element, and despite her own evil alignment, it could still cause massive damage to her foes. The most important thing was that she could spend MP to imbue it with perfect accuracy and tracking ability.
As she marshalled her utmost opposition, Shalltear glared at the user of the technique, the old lady who was planning to defile her. She did not take the man who held the large, mirror-like shield standing between her and the old lady into consideration.
And then — she threw.
With the part of her mind that was still conscious and aware, she hurled the lance which she held.
As her mind went white, she used that skill of hers to the full extent of its power, striking an augmented blow.
The strike flashed by in a streak of light and struck the old lady after penetrating the body of the man in front of her and the shield he was holding.
The last thing Shalltear saw was the panicked group and the two of them coughing up blood in agony.
| ← Ch. 021 | Ch. 023 → |