Chapter 10: The Greatest Trump Card
Part 1
Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th Day, 22:31
High above the Royal Capital, a group of people flew like shooting stars through the night sky. Two of them were magic casters sustaining a [Fly] spell, and the two others were their passengers.
One of the latter two was a man in a suit of jet-black full plate armor who carried two massive swords on his back, while the other was a ponytailed beauty. It went without saying that they were Ainz and Narberal.
That morning, the two of them had accepted a quest from the E-Rantel Adventurer’s Guild for an unprecedented amount of money. The client was Marquis Raeven. On the surface, it appeared that the Marquis wished to hire adventurers to enhance his estate’s security in the wake of the recent disturbances, whose causes were unknown.
Ainz knew that that was not the whole of the matter, and that he would find out more during the progress of the quest.
The reason was because they wanted to suppress the group known as the Eight Fingers, and they hoped Momon would fight alongside them, against the strongest members of the enemy, the Six Arms.
Ainz could not find any reason to reject this request.
Normally, adventurers had an unspoken policy of staying out of national matters. In order not to drive off Ainz — or rather, Momon the Black — they had gone to the trouble of preparing a proper request to serve as a cover, and aimed to attract him with a lavish reward.
After some thought, Ainz accepted the quest under a pretense of reluctance, in order not to make himself seem like a crass bargainer. The catch was that he had to make his way to the capital with all due haste.
In YGGDRASIL, there were waypoints that could be used to teleport from city to city, but in this new world, there were no such things. Teleportation magic was a 5th tier spell, which Momon and Nabe should not be able to use, and travelling overland by horseback would take an entire day.
What was to be done, then? The answer was simple, provided by the magic casters of Marquis Raeven.
They used accelerated flight spells in combination with the [Floating Board] spell, and together they took Ainz and Nabe with them to the capital at great speeds. How did they do this? The answer was very simple. Ainz and Nabe sat on the floating disk, which reduced their effective weight, so carrying the two of them would not slow them down appreciably. In this way, they had rushed straight to the capital all day long until now. However, time was still very tight even with the use of this trick, and they had already fallen behind schedule. Because of this, Ainz was slightly worried. If he arrived and was told he was no longer needed, what reward, if any, could he collect?
Though Ainz had been drawn by the unprecedented reward, it was doubtful that the requester would be willing to pay out to someone who had done nothing.
Ainz sighed quietly. He sounded like he was praying, like an employee with a poor performance review hoping against hope for some kind of bonus.
No matter what, he had to earn this bounty. He had already decided how he would spend it.
As these thoughts ran through his head, Ainz saw the capital for the first time from the sky at night. He regretted that he could not take his time to enjoy the view. The capital was dark, and it didn’t seem like a bustling city at all. Even so, it was a fascinating experience for Ainz, whose eyes could see clearly in the darkness.
Watching quietly from above, Ainz’s eyes spotted an interesting sight; a light in the distance.
Though nothing much happened at first, when he saw the rising black flames, he realised that this was an emergency situation.
“Wait! Look! There’s a glow of spellcasting, over there!”
“Indeed… it does look like… some kind of magic…”
The magic caster that had followed the pointing of Ainz’s finger did not seem to think much of it. A normal person would have had trouble making out the glow through the darkness and the distance, much less analyzing it.
“What’s wrong? Is this sort of thing commonplace in the capital? Or are these fireworks to welcome me?”
The magic caster did not laugh at the joke. Indeed, the expression on his face was very serious.
“That was one of the eight locations we were supposed to attack—”
“I see. I thought we’d arrived too late, but it looks like we’ll be doing some work after all.”
“Understood, we will head towards that location.”
“Stop. It looks like there’s a pretty high-level magic caster present. If you’re pulled into this, don’t you think you might lose your life?”
Then what are we supposed to do? Ainz looked away from the magic caster’s conflicted expression and turned to Narberal.
“Nabe, use [Fly] and take me in closer. On my mark, drop me right on top of them.”
“Certainly.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th Day, 22:33
To Evileye, who was on the brink of life and death, the black warrior’s question seemed utterly ridiculous. However, she immediately changed her mind. When one thought about it, both of them seemed very suspicious. After all, it was a confrontation between two masked figures and it wasn’t unthinkable that they might be seen as conspirators fighting among themselves.
Then, hoping that she’d correctly deduced the identity of the black warrior, Evileye cried out.
“Dark hero! I am Evileye of Blue Rose, and I appeal to you as a fellow adamantite-ranked adventurer! Please, aid me!”
The moment she made her plea, Evileye realized that she had made a mistake.
That was the difference in the fighting strength between herself and the enemy. Even with the help of Momon the Black, a fellow adamantite-ranked adventurer, what could they do? The demon facing Evileye was one she could not hope to defeat, even with his help. It would be like going from a scrap of paper to two — either way, they would both be scattered by the raging storm before them.
If he accepted Evileye’s request, she would be directly responsible for his death. What she should have done was to tell him to flee, and if possible, take the bodies of her comrades with him.
However—
“—I understand”.
The man stood before the demon, hiding Evileye behind his back.
Evileye held her breath.
In the moment that he stood before her, she mistook him for a massive, sturdy wall, the kind that would defend a city. A sense of security and relief filled her to the depths of her heart.
And the demon confronting them actually bowed his head, as though he were a commoner showing due deference to a nobleman. It could not possibly be respect; he must have been mocking him. Was this demon merely playing games?
“My, my, such an honor you pay us this night. Might I inquire as to your noble name? This one is known as Jaldabaoth.”
Jaldabaoth? She heard the surprised voice of the man underneath the jet-black helm, followed by a mumbled “What a weird name”.
She did not think it was weird. In fact, Evileye had no idea what to think of it. She knew quite a bit about the lore of demons and other infernal beings, but next to nothing about this name.
“Jaldabaoth, is it? I understand. My name is Momon, and like she said, I am an adamantite-ranked adventurer.”
Though bathed in Jaldabaoth’s disapproval, the warrior of darkness — Momon — carried on as though he had not noticed it at all.
So that’s what he’s doing, Evileye thought with approval. In order to draw his opponent out and learn from him, Momon exercised his iron discipline and kept his emotions from showing. It was clear why the man called Momon was recognized as a first-rate adventurer.
Evileye, who was ashamed of how easily her emotions had taken control of her, moved into the shadow of Momon’s crimson cape in order not to distract the two of them from their exchange of words.
Even though Momon seemed willing enough to assist, she had the feeling that she would be getting in the way.
Momon and Jaldabaoth did not bother acknowledging Evileye’s presence. In the moment that she moved, they began a duel of wits, each seeking the secrets of the other.
“Ah, I see. May I then inquire as to the reason you have graced us with your presence this evening?”
“It’s for a request. A certain noble hired us to defend his estate… but as I flew through the skies above the Royal Capital, I saw this battle. I assumed that it was an emergency, and naturally I jumped in.”
Said noble was Marquis Raeven, who had requested the presence of adamantite-ranked adventurers in the capital, heedless to the risk of running afoul of the unwritten adventurer’s policy of not getting involved in politics. One could tell he was desperately in need of the manpower to deal with the Eight Fingers.
“And what is your objective?”
“A mighty item capable of summoning us to this plane and commanding us has found its way to this city. We are here in order to retrieve it, of course.”
“And what if we gave it to you? Wouldn’t that solve the problem?”
“Unfortunately, that would be impossible. There can only ever be hostility between us.”
“What kind of conclusion is that? De- Jaldabaoth, must we be enemies?”
“That is precisely so.”
Evileye tilted her head at the surreal sight before her. They were simply exchanging information. How did that even make sense?
“Well, I understand, for the most part. In that case… you shall be defeated here, any problems with that?”
Momon spread both his arms, and the greatswords which were like an extension of his hands seemed to shine.
“That… would be inconvenient. Do permit me to put up a bit of resistance.”
“Then— here I come.”
He stepped forward — no, that was not right. The Momon standing in front of her had vanished. He was engaged in an intense melee with Jaldabaoth.
It had developed into a struggle that Evileye could not describe with words.
The after-images of countless swords, parried and countered by the extended claws of Jaldabaoth.
“Incredible…”
There were many ways to render praise, but at this moment, Evileye, who was entranced by the dazzling swordplay before her, could only offer up that single word. It exceeded the blows of all the swordsmen in her memory. She saw the form of a warrior who would cleave through the darkness that wrapped the world and all its evil in one stroke.
She felt like the princess in the songs of the bards. And the dark warrior before her seemed like a knight come to her rescue.
An electric current ran up her spine from between her legs, and Evileye’s petite frame quivered.
The heart of hers that had been still for over 150 years seemed to beat quickly once more.
Placing her hands on her breast, she found that of course there was no movement there. Even so, it felt real enough to her.
“…Please win, Momon-sama.”
Evileye clasped her hands together in fervent prayer, hoping that her knight would triumph over the fearsome devil before her.
Clang! Jaldabaoth was blown a good distance away, with a sound that did not seem like it could have come from a body of flesh and blood. Though he remained on his feet, he was still skidding over the cobblestoned floor at a rate that would swiftly wear out the soles of his shoes. After several dozen meters, he finally came to a halt, and dusted himself off.
“Truly spectacular. Crossing blows with a genius warrior like yourself might have been a mistake on my part.”
With a great wham, Momon stabbed his sword deep into the stone beneath him. Then, he used his free hand to sweep a chunk of stone away from his neck before calmly replying:
“Enough with the pleasantries. You’re hiding your true power too, aren’t you?”
It seemed almost unbelievable that neither party was going all-out despite the scope of this battle.
“Could he be a God-kin?”