Chapter Text
After the incident with Shalltear, Ainz had a very important issue to address. There was somebody out there, possibly a player, with a world item. Ainz could come to a few conclusions about this mysterious enemy. For one, it was not a member of his guild, as none of his comrades had that world item, nor would they need to use such a thing on Shalltear. Secondly, which was a bit more of a guess on his part, he guessed that they were on the move at the time, and had not expected to encounter Shalltear. Ainz had come to this conclusion because whoever didn’t seem to stick around afterwards, and as such, had nothing to gain from seeking Shalltear out just to use the item on her and leave.
And finally, based on this second conclusion, they must have had some business in the area nearby. Which lead him into making the decision to search the forest while there was still a chance that whoever it was with the world item was still there.
After resurrecting Shalltear and questioning her, Ainz had asked for Albedo and Demiurge to come with him to search the forest surrounding E-Rantel with him. It was probably a bad idea to have three level 100s out when looking for someone with an item that can mind control one of them, but the other option was going with someone much lower levelled, and Ainz couldn’t handle the idea of he himself being used to kill lower level NPCs against his will.
At least if he was with Albedo and Demiurge, together they’d be able to take him down pretty fast.
Their searching the forest wasn’t exactly organized, and Ainz shamefully knew it. All they had been doing was wondering the borders of the forest, it would be a case of pure luck if they ever found whoever it was they were looking for. Demiurge could almost certainly come up with some better method, but the demon would stay silent forever if that was how long it took, all for the overwhelming amount of respect he had for the guild leader.
Albedo, however, seemed happy to be spending so much time with Ainz, if her heavy breathing was anything to go by. Ainz mentally cringed. The Albedo situation felt incredibly wrong on many levels. First off, her obsession itself was almost entirely creepy, it seemed to be the only thing on her mind – the only thing she cared about, which was a little unsettling. Another issue was it wasn’t truly her feelings, she had been made to be like that, it would not be right for Ainz to take advantage of that.
There was also a final issue. Her contempt for humanity, seemingly like every other denizen of Nazarick. She viewed humans like bugs, but some part of Ainz, even if it was much smaller than before, was still Suzuki Satoru, a human salaryman. What would Albedo, no, what would all the NPCs think if they saw him as he was in IRL? Certainly not some omnipotent leader. More likely they would just think him weak and significant as all the other ‘insects’.
It was a melancholy thought. One that he shouldn’t have the liberty to have, and yet he had it none the less. Every time. Every time the servants of Nazarick spoke trash of humanity, it carved away at his very soul and fed into his growing paranoia. He was not good enough. He was not what they wanted him to be. He needed to do better. He needed to be better.
He saw the green flash of his emotional limiter and regained his sense of calm. He did not need to worry about that now. He had more immediate threats to worry about.
Something moved in the corner of his eye, and both Albedo and Demiurge snapped at the movement. A human man in what Ainz immediately recognised as high-level stealth gear stepped from out of the forest. High-level rogue gear, from YGGDRASIL. More specifically, a cash shop set. Avoiding a fight would be a good bet for now. Ainz needed to get more information.
“Why, hello there.” The man drawled casually. Ainz sensed Albedo’s anger flare and he quickly gave a signal to her to calm her down. “I haven’t seen any creatures as high a level as you lot in… this area. Let alone three! This is a treat.”
Ainz recognised the possibility that the rogue might not recognise that they too were players, although the man was obviously suspicious. Ainz sent a glance to Demiurge, who was also looking the man over with heavy scrutiny. Ainz wished that he had opened up a [Message] connection when they had started the mission because it would be really helpful if Ainz knew what his two companions were thinking right now.
Did they know how much a threat the stranger was? Did they notice that he didn’t know who they were? Did they notice something he didn’t, Ainz’ mind raced.
The rogue seemed to take their silence as a question. “Oh, forgive me, I am known by the name ‘Kageyami’. I am a wandering traveller who comes from far, far away. Now, might I ask who you are?”
Ainz wished that he could get more information before he started talking, but he wasn’t in a position to ask any questions before he answered the man’s question.
Ainz decided to take a chance, “I am known as Ainz Ooal Gown, and…” before Ainz could introduce his friends, the man’s face changed into a scowl. Albedo and Demiurge moved to take more defensive positions in front of Ainz.
“Well, aren’t I lucky? I was wondering if I was the only player around, and when I do come face to face with my competition, it’s a bunch of filthy heteromorphs from the dark guild Ainz Ooal Gown. Ha! What’s with that by the-”
“YOU DARE SPEAK THAT WAY TO AINZ-SAMA!” Albedo roared, swinging her axe at Kageyami. Kageyami, and disappeared into the darkness of the forest. A stealth technique, or possibly using illusion magic.
Ainz could hear the rogue laughing, but with the way it echoed, he couldn’t quite be sure where it was coming from.
“I would be careful girl, back in YGGDRASIL I used to cut down on heteromorphs for fun, do you want me to test out if the revival system works on you?”
So that’s what this was. It was players like this man that formed the need for Ainz Ooal Gown to be formed. Players could kill Heteromorphs without penalty, it seemed that even the devs had it out against them.
Kageyami came out from the trees to their left, twin knives showing.
“[Aspect of the Devil - Razor Sharp Claw]”
Demiurge blocked the blades with his improvised claws. Ainz backed him up with a spell of his own.
“[Fireball]” Kageyami ducked away from the third tier spell and back into the cover of the forest. Ainz had to make sure that they didn’t show their hand. As far as he was aware of, divination spells didn’t have audio capabilities – it had to be that way for players personal privacy, after all. Although Kageyami had claimed to be alone, there was no way for Ainz to be sure at this moment that he had been telling the truth. So they needed to make sure any allies the rogue might have, didn’t pick up on who they were.
Kageyami made another swift attempt, this time from their right, but Albedo swatted him away almost effortlessly.
“Okay, okay, I see how this is going. You guys are all the same level as me, there is no way that I can win like this.” Kageyami said from the dark. Fear clutched at Ainz. No, they couldn’t let Kageyami getaway! Ainz had so many questions, and also, Kageyami could get reinforcements. Ainz went into the forest, Albedo and Demiurge following in close behind him.
“Luckily for me, I have my trump card.” Kageyami made himself visible behind them, revealing a World Item that had filled Ainz’ heart with grief for years. “[Bane of Heteromorph - Activate]”
Immediately, Ainz was enveloped in incredible pain. His body was on fire. He could feel his bones get crushed and shrink down. Then came the pain of exposed nerves. So, was this what it truly felt like to experience bane of heteromorph?
Bane of Heteromorph. Bane of his and his comrade’s existence. In YGGDRASIL it would strip heteromorphs of their racial classes and turn them into humans with a most devastating effect. As heteromorphs often created their build around their racial classes, that cause enough problems, but it also meant that a level 100 player like him, who had put 40 levels into his racial classes suddenly became a level 60 player.
There were only two known methods of reversing this effect, death and revival or using the world item itself. Most players opted for the former. Though Ainz new that option might not be possible for him.
The blinding pain slowly faded, and he wearily looked around him. To his relief, Demiurge and Albedo remained unharmed. Kageyami was looking between the two with his jaw dropped.
“Wha-what? Ho-how is this? What are you?” Kageyami, stepped back, “Fuck this shit, I’m out.” And ran into the darkness. Demiurge and Albedo looked ready to follow him but halted when, to his great shame, Ainz emptied his guts out on the forest floor, drawing their attention.
“Ainz-sama?!”
“Ainz-sama, my love?!”
Albedo knelt down and in her frantic worry, grabbed Ainz’ shoulder to look him in the eye. A sickening crack filled the air. Ainz realised that he wasn’t in just any human body, it was his human body. His fragile human body from IRL, whose arm Albedo had just snapped without even trying.
He was so screwed.