2,372Cu's declaration was not a sign of over confidence or bravado. It was a promise. A Warrior's oath that he would stop at nothing to fulfill.
Wind began to pick up in a storm around him, deftly blowing across the forested area that he found himself trapped within. How ridiculous. A forest and plains inside an Undead Mausoleum. However, he wasn't all that opposed to it.
Yes. This feeling was one that he'd not felt in ages.
The calling of spring, the beginning of youth.
Distant memories that were from a time long ago began to play out within the recesses of his mind. Despite, the presence of enemies in front of him, his eyes momentarily closed.
The sound of the swaying grass, and the chill of battle boring down over his shoulders. The calm hidden within the desperation of a warrior people in an era of turmoil.
Take our peace, kill our countrymen, but there were things that no enemy could ever take from an Irish warrior.
It was pride.
Hands balled tightly into fists around the shaft of his spear, veins bulging over his skin as his muscles tensed in preparation for combat. The ground was quaking beneath him, obvious signs of a large contingency of enemies rapidly approaching his location.
It was honour.
Never back down. Never surrender. Fire ignited from within him, burning strong and flickering with the fury of a torch in the night.
It was home.
More than anything, and for Cu himself, was a stronger reason above all.
It was duty.
His eyes snapped open, crimson irises displaying a ferocity from a bygone era. Duty was his reason, and purpose was what separated him from a blood thirsty barbarian.
Be it one enemy, five, fifty, or hundreds more, he would not falter. It mattered not who or what he faced; he had his obligations. He was the man who stopped an entire army. He was the Hound of Chulainn. Warrior of the rolling hills and plains and Hero of the most boorish yet earnest people in the world.
Come.
His spear was ready. His body coiled into a spring, ready to show all the might of a son of Lugh…and they would know the tenacity of Ireland's finest warrior.
The undead came first. Low ranked and in hordes. They wore tattered breaches and torn armour, their hollow visages lit by dull crimson orbs constituting as eyes.
Decrepit undead. Surely, they could feel it even in their inhumanity. The curse upon his spear.
A barbed spear of death forged from the branches of white birch and hardened into deadly perfection through the runecraft of the Rune Witch herself, the Guardian of the Gates of DunScaith.
Gae Bolg, the Heart Seeking Spear.
The undead faltered in front of him, hesitating while a momentarily flicker of doubts filtered into the mind of the Lich who observed from a distance. Undead did not hesitate. They feared nothing, and felt nothing.
This was different.
Cu's eyes stared up into the crimson orbs of the Lich, wondering if the Lich could feel it too.
Undead do not fear death, because they were already creatures beyond life. However, Cu did not intend on simply 'killing' them. He was his teacher's proxy when it came to overseeing the regulations of the Land of Shadows. Undead that he defeated had a one-way ticket back into the gates of the Land of Shadows where they belonged imprisoned for an eternity.
If the enemy wouldn't come to him, then he'd come to them.
Feet digging into the ground, he propelled himself forward and began a slaughter.
The hollow echo of his spear while breaking the bones and caving the skulls of the lesser undead before him echoed out for all to hear.
His beast-like senses and reaction speed allowed him to dodge or bypass any attacks thrown at him with little effort.
His fingers twirled his spear loosely before thrusting with such power that he pierced through the ribcages of three skeletons at once before hurling them away with a single wide swing. There was no stopping him, and using wave tactics was hardly working.
He could do this all day.
The Lich must have understood this too because Cu suddenly felt his body grow heavier and heavier. His movements slowed and his thinking process felt addled. He scoffed.
A curse? Was that all?
'Disengage.'
He activated his Disengage skill, instantly clearing the debuff and healing the cuts and bruises on his body.
"Grasp Heart."
Cu felt a hand trying to constrict around his chest and directly to his heart. He momentarily stiffened; forcibly leaving an opening for the undead to exploit, but they turned into shattered pieces moments later when his anti-death properties quickly kicked in and he swung out with his spear.
"Bastard," Cu grimaced while looking at the Lich floating with a levitation spell above casting death magic on him. "If you see yourself as any kind of warrior, then do not resort to such underhanded means."
The Lich's eerie gaze remained impassive. "Fool. I am not a warrior. I am a Magic Caster. Do you think me bullheaded enough to play on my weaknesses?"
Cu brandished his spear in a full circle and cleared away the last of the lesser undead around him. "Would you believe me if I said that such Magic Casters exist?" Cu spat on the ground in contempt. "You aren't even the strongest of them."
The Lich hardly responded to the barb, but the two that appeared near the Lich were clearly incensed. One was a horned woman in a white dress intricately interwoven with web-like golden threads around her chest and waist areas. At the small of the woman's back sprouted a large pair of black bird wings slightly curled around her lithe figure.
"You dare," the woman was visibly seething, her long silk-like black hair framing her face rising up into the air like snakes. "YOU Dare belittle the strength of a Supreme Being!"
The other man wearing a striped orange business suit who stood near the woman adjusted his circle-framed classed over the bridge of his nose. He seemed utterly calm and composed; however, Cu could feel the wrath silently radiating from the man's body. His anger was on a different level from the woman's outrage.
It was always the silent ones who could invoke the most apprehension. If the woman's anger was born of outrage, then the bespectacled man's was born of irreconcilable fury.
Just as the woman looked moments away from charging at Cu, the Lich raised an arm not towards the woman, but towards the man whose hands had already morphed into clawed talons. "Demiurge, Albedo, do you truly wish to humiliate me?"
The words that the Lich spoke caused Albedo and Demiurge to instantly pale in panic and work themselves up into a fluster.
"L-Lord Ainz, that was not my intention, this bug, just dared to speak so disrespectfully that I…" Albedo's excuses died in her throat while looking at the hard gaze of her lord. She deflated and slumped her shoulders as a sign of her submission. "I apologize," she bit down on her lip all the while glaring at Cu who Ainz had kept distracted by summoning a few dozen more undead.
Meanwhile, Demiurge resisted the urge to berate himself. How could he have not seen it earlier? His Lord was testing them. Not only did his Lord recently give all members of Nazarick detailed information of key figures to be weary of, but now one just coincidently invaded their tomb? The premise itself already sounded suspicious. He should have realized it from there.
If anything, the sheer amount of precautions that he'd seen his Lord demonstrate in the earlier moments before confronting Cu must have been a demonstration for them to follow in future battles. Fully buff one's self, create traps in the terrain, and never play to an opponent's advantages.
"I apologize, Lord Ainz," Demiurge bowed his head. "I was foolish to not have known your intentions earlier."
Ainz seemed to freeze upon hearing Demiurge while Albedo looked scandalized at her present intellectual inability. Her eyes were all but screaming for Demiurge to explain, however, Demiurge felt that he'd shamed himself enough to his Lord and simply wouldn't elaborate at the moment. This decision caused Albedo no end of stress, but Demiurge was determined. Especially when Lord Ainz gave him a 'nod' of sincere praise.
"As expected of you Demiurge. I had hoped that Albedo would see it too, but it heartens me to have someone understand me so well."
Demiurge practically beamed at the praise while Albedo looked like she'd suffered a devastating blow, her eyes practically watering as her expression fell. Then came anger and bitterness, all forcibly concealed behind neutral features. Her anger was directed at Demiurge for not sharing what he'd discovered and her bitterness was pointed at herself for not being as smart.
Of course, Demiurge noticed the look in Albedo's eyes and felt conflicted, but he'd rather take a small grudge from Albedo than allow his Lord to perceive him as incompetent.
Ainz didn't notice the interaction between the two.
"This isn't a fight for the both of you. Instead, I want you both to observe in a learning experience." The aura around Ainz grew serious when Cu soon defeated all the summoned undead without difficulty. "Cu Chulainn is not an enemy to take lightly. One mistake can not only be the death of you, but the death of the whole party."
Ainz didn't mention it, but he'd seen the way that Cu had propped his spear into a stabbing pose. The moment that either he, Albedo, or Demiurge had entered range, the spear would have thrusted ruthlessly. Its anti-Evil properties would do more than just land a debilitating wound, it may as well be lethal. Everyone in Nazarick had Evil alignment. Sebas may be different but the head butler in charge of the Pleiades was currently out.
"Remember, never let an enemy's words goad you into an unfavourable situation. It's a key element of PvP and Boss Raiding." Ainz took the time to advise.
Albedo and Demiurge mulled over the concept, but didn't dare wish to disappoint their Lord a second time by admitting that they didn't quite understand what Ainz meant, therefore they simply nodded.
Ainz returned his full attention on the battle.
Everything starts now.
He'd casted all his buffs and made his preparations from the very moment that he'd discovered that Cu had infiltrated the Great Tomb.
When Raiding a Boss, various classes needed to fulfill specific roles. Damage per second, healing, buffs, debuffs, magic, all of it had to be taken account and accommodated for. Every role had its purpose, and not filling in a role was the same as trying to tie a wild beast with a broken chain.
Ainz was a Magic Class, and had the most experience dealing against enemy Raid Bosses and sub bosses. He would lead the flow of events and direct the actions of his present Floor Guardians in order to secure victory. This would be as much of a learning experience for his Floor Guardians as it would be for him. After all, this wasn't just a game anymore and Ainz had no intention of letting his cherished NPCs die or testing out what happens if he were to die.
Mare and Aura were already nearby altering the terrain and gathering the tamed beasts for attack. They would play supporter roles.
Demiurge and Albedo will focus on attack and damage. Although they could substitute as Tanks, it didn't play into their specialities. That speciality belonged to another.
The Guardian of the Fifth Floor, Cocytus.
Right before Cu's eyes, a lumbering four-armed white giant of an insectoid manifested just as he cleared all the paltry Undead out of existence.
A beetle?
Cu eyed his opponent with scrutiny, his lips slowly curling into a grin as the giant beetle armed itself with weapons exuding the chill of hoarfrost from their blades. Finally, something of a challenge even if it was another monster.
The beetle suddenly surprised Cu when it inclined its head and gave a fighter's salute to an opponent.
"I. Am. Cocytus."
No. Not a monster, but a Warrior.
Cu shifted his mentality toward his opponent who showed him a fighter's courtesy.
"Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster," he gave his name and assumed his stance.
He'd held himself back in order to gather intelligence on the enemy, but no longer. It would seem that the Lich, Ainz, had gathered all available combatants for the battle.
Good. They were all together.
No more playing around.
He tapped the butt of his spear with a foot to launch it into the air before he grabbed it with his right hand. Wind whipped around him, tendrils of magical power scorching the dirt around his feet. The vein-like patterns found over the shaft of his spear began to pulse.
The red spines are the same as thorns.
Activate.
He cast his skills and magic for the first time since the beginning of the fight; two of which gave him the nickname of immortal during field raids.
'Battle Continuation A.'
'Protection from Arrows B.'
He felt his skills settle in on his body in the form of a thin layer of energy blanketing over him.
"Prepare yourself," he said one word of warning to Cocytus. From this point on, there would no longer be a need for talk.
Prey and Predator. That was all that life ever was, and if there was one thing that life had taught him, it was better to be a Predator.
Red eyes narrowed before Cu's form utterly vanished. A howl in the wind, Ireland's greatest warrior unleashed.
Cocytus's senses worked on overdrive. Hard as it was for the armoured beetle to believe, he could feel that Cu would have no trouble bypassing his defences. Think. Think.
Cocytus's battle senses roared at him, seemingly slowing time in order to absorb as much battlefield information as possible. Although it appeared as if Cu had disappeared as a work of some form of tier magic, this clearly wasn't the case. There had been no fluctuation in mana in the air and Cocytus would not doubts his own eyes. Cu did not look the type to be a Magic Caster.
Listen. Feel.
Cocytus could see tufts of dirt forming clouds over the ground. Nearby, he could also hear the groaning of bark over the nearby trees in the vicinity. All pointed to a single conclusion.
Cu hadn't disappeared, but rather, his speed was plain monstrous.
Cocytus felt it before he could even react; the sheer bloodlust that appeared at his back. Suddenly he knew that he was going to die. His reaction speed was not fast enough in the least, and based on what lord Ainz had written about the specifics of Cu's spear, it would be a wound that his natural armour would not be able to block.
All kinds of defensive skills came to the forefront of Cocytus's mind, but cast times were all too long. There was nothing that he could do as he felt the cold sharpness of steel thrusting towards his left breast area.
"Grasp Heart."
Lord Ainz immediately acted.
Cocytus couldn't see what was happening behind him, but he sure as well heard it before seeing it for himself when he turned around.
"Bastard!" Cu was momentarily frozen mid-attack.
That's right. Do as Lord Ainz had instructed. He wasn't fighting alone. He had a role to serve.
"Reality Slash!" Cocytus held nothing back and unleashed a tenth-tier spell he'd been directed by Lord Ainz to prepare in advance.
Reality Slash was a skill that distorted space itself. All magic and physical defence was useless against it. Moreover, Cocytus as a Warrior-Class could utilize it to far more effectiveness than most other Floor Guardians.
Cu at such a close rang couldn't possibly raise up any form of defence of counter.
He didn't need to.
A flicker of indignation crossed Cu's features as his body literally blurred where Reality Slash was meant to hit him.
Ainz was unperturbed by the result, but the Floor Guardians were still taken aback despite already reading the effects of Protection from Arrows.
Three Absolute Evasions.
Worse, one would have to make Cu use them all up in the first place, and that meant catching Cu to begin with. The realization caused an air of trepidation to spread among the Floor Guardians. Even more so when Albedo and Demiurge, unlike Cocytus, had seen the lethality of the strike Cu had been preparing to skewer Cocytus with.
It aims for the heart.
There was no hesitation. It was only a matter of fact.
Cu was every bit as dangerous as Ainz had described him to be and the man didn't even look phased. He appeared more frustrated if anything.
He tried to back away from Cocytus's strike range, but the ground beneath his feet suddenly turned into sand, prompting him to lose any leverage that he had.
Cocytus struck again but to the same result.
This time, Cu grimaced. His Beast-like senses alerted him to more enemies hiding in the distance.
He pole-vaulted with his spear up into the foliage of the nearby trees where a sudden flock of birds attacked him and forced him back to the ground which attempted to swallow him. His present frustration was quickly mounting into annoyance.
Someone was shifting the ground and causing tamed beasts to attack him from the shadows. It clearly wasn't Ainz because Cu had been keeping a careful eye on his most dangerous opponent.
Cu had had enough.
"Sorry," Cu abruptly apologized to Cocytus. "This may not be a proper duel and I'm perfectly fine with fighting you all at once; however, if you are a true warrior like myself, then you should understand my opinion about those unwilling to show themselves during battle."
Cu's expression hardened without sympathy. Warriors often kill such cowards first if granted the opportunity. What more did Cu need to say?
With a click of his tongue, Cu disappeared just as Cocytus felt a swell of trepidation well up from within him. However, Ainz was the one who was truly the most concerned while hurriedly following after Cu. Unlike Cu, Ainz knew exactly where Cu was going. The only difference was speed.
Cu was too fast.
He arrived in the area where he'd sensed the presence of his attackers but suddenly balked when he met a pair of frightened eyes.
Children? He had to fight children?
One child, the girl dressed in a dress shirt and skirt cowered behind her elder brother who was wearing a fancy looking tuxedo. From the pointiness of their ears and tan of their skin, they were clearly dark elves from what Cu knew from his database.
The hell was this? He gritted his teeth, but the attack that he'd lashed out with since the beginning was already in motion. Forcibly redirecting his momentum, he set himself into motion. Children or not, they were acting as his enemy. Still, he shifted the blade of his spear at the last moment and ruthlessly sent out a kick instead, knocking the children unconscious and face first into the ground. They weren't undead. More than likely they must have had been under the Lich's influence.
"You YOU!"
An army of Undead, hundreds if not thousands of them manifested to life.
Cu looked up to see Ainz glowering from above while looking fixedly at the downed dark elves. It was the most infuriated that Cu had ever seen Ainz. The children must have been important tools, and yet the anger disappeared as if it were never there.
Cu remained unperturbed. "Come close, I dare you," he goaded.
"Grasp Heart."
Damn it. One trick pony. Cu was met by the same attack while Cocytus, Demiurge, and Albedo took the time to rendezvoused near Ainz.
"The same attack again?" Cu had had enough. "Do you really think instant death curses are going to work?"
"Grasp Heart."
Ainz fired the same attack regardless in order to slow Cu's movement speed down. No, Cu knew better. Ainz was forcing him to waste his Protection from Arrows skill.
Cu was too fast to be hit by any ordinary attack; however, Grasp Heart would activate as long as Cu was within range.
The bastard. Fine then. It's they who've sealed their fates.
The horde of undead that Ainz had summoned made a wall of bones that attempted to march forward in order to reacquire the two Dark Elves. Moreover, Cocytus, Albedo, and Demiurge were now beginning to actively participate under Ainz's instruction.
Cu would have the current arrangements no other way. They were directly opposite to him at this point, and although such a strategy may have had worked in YGGDRASIL where Cu was only limited to his in-game mechanics, this simply wasn't the case with the current him.
Who did they think that they were dealing with?
Red energy suddenly exuded up and down the shaft of his spear as Cu angled himself into a running crouch.
Gathering up in a group? He clicked his tongue in contempt.
Bad idea.
Ainz had been overseeing and involving himself in the progress of the fight since the beginning. All the Floor Guardians present in the Great Tomb were present aside from the Guardians of the fourth and ninth floors.
It was to be a learning experience, something that could be done within the safety of their own territory, yet when did things start to go so wrong? Of course, he'd tried to negotiate with Cu, however, just like in the game, Cu's affinity to undead was basically on the level of sworn enemy.
There was no talking to be had.
Cu was a monster. There were no other words to describe him. Unlike in YGGDRASIL where Ainz had had to form experienced parties to combat against a field-boss such as Cu, Ainz presently had no such luxury.
He had to deal with Cu himself using the help of the NPC's of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Fortunately, of all the places that Cu would have decided to fight him at, it was within the Great Tomb itself.
This was the main reason for Ainz's earlier confidence.
The Floor Guardians were experienced against defending against enemy Players, and he'd instructed them to treat Cu as such.
Cocytus, Floor Guardian of the Fifth Floor of Nazarick was the first to engage as planned while supported by Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fiore who acted from a safe distance.
Albedo and Demiurge, the Floor Guardians of the tenth and seventh floor were to respectively observe the situation and intervene if things went too far. Both had been taking note from Ainz whenever he'd cast a long-distance spell on Cu.
Ainz himself remained unaware of the awe that Albedo and Demiurge were directing on him. He was too busy strategizing.
He had the home-field advantage, and he had all the information that he'd ever need regarding Cu Chulainn, field boss of the Land of Shadows. This was winnable. It was supposed to be winnable. He just had to play it perfectly and hope that his Floor Guardians could endure against Cu's assault. Moreover, Cu was not receiving any field buffs from the Land of Shadows.
More often than not, the field buffs that added benefits to a boss were what truly made them difficult to combat against in game. In this case, the parameter buff of the Land of Shadows that dramatically increased Cu's basic attributes were not in effect. Leaving Cu to fight with only his standard boss-level attributes.
The strength that Cu was displaying was only at half of what he had been capable of in game; however, Ainz couldn't help but feel that something was off about 'Cu.'
Sure, Cu no longer had the buff from the Land of Shadows, but the general air and feel of him was several times more dangerous than his robotic movements in YGGDRASIL. The buff from the Land of Shadows only increased Cu's parameters which meant that Cu's skills and talents were still present.
The skill 'Protection from Arrows' was going to be a pain in the form of three absolute evasions from any physical or magical attacks. Piercing damage was the only method to bypass the skill, but as Cu had already proven in battle, he would not stay still and let such attacks strike him.
Grasp Heart had been the only answer available to Ainz. Its relative mana cost wasn't too high, and it all but guaranteed a hit if Cu was in the effective range. Three Grasp Hearts would nullify Cu's 'Protection from Arrows,' but if he wasn't fast enough to deal true damage to Cu, Cu's 'Protection from Arrows' would quickly refresh.
It was a damn cycle of frustration. Worse, the damn monster was too fast.
Ainz could barely keep track of Cu's movements even when he tried.
This was not going to be an easy fight.
On top of 'Protection from Arrows,' Cu also had two other skills: 'Battle Continuation' and 'Disengage.' All three skills combined and Cu was basically immortal.
'Battle Continuation' would revive Cu from any death blow or sequence of attacks, while 'Disengage' would remove any debuffs and simultaneously heal Cu's injuries. Give Cu enough time to breath, and he had the means to fully restore his health. His stamina and survivability were ridiculous such that Cu could outlast a Player who'd invested all skill points into endurance and vitality.
Did Ainz mention short cooldowns yet? Because Cu's skill cooldown times were bullshit. They were too short.
Bitter memories from past raids in YGGDRASIL caused vindictiveness to swell up from within Ainz, yet despite all of Cu's abilities, he knew how to counter Cu.
Most of all, he had to make Cu pay for daring to harm the legacies left behind by his cherished guild mates.
"Be careful and ready area of effect attacks! Once he moves, don't let him rest for a single second!" He ordered, casting death magic from the tip of his fingers. "If you have piercing skills, use those first!"
Even with all of Cu's skills combined, there would still be a window of opportunity when all of Cu's skill would be on cooldown. The trick was finding that window. In the game, Cu's movement would become more rushed or hurried as an indication, but in this case, Cu was giving nothing away.
It was another difference between YGGDRASIL and the current reality.
All things considered, Ainz was certain that a discrepancy existed. An ill premonition took root in his mind while watching Cu and willing his undead to take Mare and Aura to safety.
What was he doing?
Cu's current positioning and demeanor were nothing like he'd ever seen in the game. The aura exuding off of him was almost menacing, and if not for the emotional inhibition of the Overlord-class, Ainz knew that he would have been petrified with terror.
The air began to chill, violent winds dancing in wake of a torch-like magical energy suffusing Cu's form.
A skill activation?
Ainz didn't know. Nothing was making sense. If he used his Floor Guardians as any indication, then the powers and skills in YGGDRASIL were directly transferred into the New World. In which case, why was Cu different? What was he doing?
'Greater Magic Barrier.'
'Triplet Maximize Magic.'
'Mass Warp,' deploying.
Ainz would take no chances, but Cu wasn't giving him any time to breathe.
When Cu moved by directly leaping into the air, the sheer magical power converging into the tip of his spear was mind numbing.
The attack was beyond anything that Ainz ever knew that the cursed barbed-spear was capable of.
"Gae Bolg!"
The spear was thrown. The world turned red as the tip of the spear became two, then four, eight, then into the hundreds. There was no escape.
The anti-evil properties of Gae Bolg all but guaranteed that all evil-aligned would be wiped out due to the increased damage. Everyone would die.
Ainz acted, instantly activating his prepared spells and warping his Floor Guardians and himself to safety. From where Ainz warped towards, he felt the greatest sense of danger he'd ever experienced in the New World.
There was nothing left of the entire forest section of the Sixth Floor of Nazarick. It was a wasteland of splintered wood and ash drifting in the wind.
A flash of red in the air, and Ainz found his gaze drawn to the sight of Cu leisurely re-equipping his spear. The damn monster didn't even look winded. Worse, from the slight sheen of magical energy that he could sense around Cu's body, Cu's skills had obviously reached their cooldown times and were deployed again.
For once, Ainze didn't care.
No. NO. How many times could Cu pull off such an attack?!
That question alone took up the majority of Ainz's focus. The fact that he didn't know the answer only further fueled his desperation.
"Greater Bone Cage."
"Greater Silence."
He acted immediately. He'd casted a binding spell. Different from standard attacks which Protection from Arrows could evade, status spells could still hit. Before Cu could use Disengage, Ainz had effectively silenced him.
He couldn't let Cu do such an attack again.
Retrained by the shackles of bones that erupted around him, Cu could see Ainz and the Floor Guardians that had managed to dodge his attack preparing various attack spells aimed towards him.
Well, shit. This was bad wasn't it.
He could feel the silencing spell surrounding him and preventing him from Disengaging from Ainz's restraints, but so what? Was he that weak that he had to rely on a skill to escape a precarious situation? If so, his Legend would have been laughable.
"I am Cu Chulainn!" He resisted against the confines of bone that shackled him in place.
First were his arms that tensed and pulled, causing cracks to spread over his restraints. Then came his legs that were over twice the strength of his arms. More cracks and splinters began to appear.
"Son of Lugh!" He was a Demi-God. The blood that ran in his veins demanded that he always exhibit his full strength against enemies. He'd wrestled a dog to death when he was a wee boy. This was nothing!
"Disciple of the Rune Witch!"
She who'd taught him all that he knew would be disappointed if he had trouble now. Moreover, she always did lecture him about contingency plans.
Very well.
He moved a finger and began tracing patterns of light into the air that soon disappeared with a flicker into his body. Runecraft. Another skill that gave Ainz another feeling of foreboding in the distance.
Cu hardly cared.
"Shield of Ireland!"
He wrested his left arm free then his right before twirling his spear and shattering the restraints on his legs.
Azure light exploded from out of him like a torch.
"And you have not seen the limits of my strength!"
Crimson light once again emitted from Cu's spear, dying it in a potent blood lust. Ainz had escaped his attack before, but not anymore. This was going to be different. He had no need to throw it any longer.
He would show his true worth.
He could hear the phantom beating of a heart from his ears. Yes. This was it. He never missed his target. Quick and painless.
His body took the posture of eons ago; back in the time of the rolling plains of Ireland amidst the dancing of the Reeds.
His spear was held with both hands, his upper body leaned forward.
In the distance, Ainz shuddered. Death was something that he was well acquainted with as a Lich and Overlord, and he could practically feel it coming from Cu's direction.
No something was wrong. Very wrong.
Ainz had to stall Cu somehow or at the very least stop whatever attack Cu was planning. Otherwise, he feared that he'd have to see the death of one of his beloved NPCs. They were all he had left and he'd be damned if he saw them harmed. He'd rather die first.
"Grasp Heart."
Nothing.
"Grasp Heart."
Stall! C'mon stall!
"Grasp Heart."
Cu wasn't flinching. He was fully intent on releasing whatever attack he was preparing.
"Grasp Heart," Ainz activated one last time on impulse, a bonny hand reaching forward.
The skill was casted with minimal expectation, but the result proved far from expected.
"What kind of bullshit is this?" Cu spat out a glob of blood from his mouth, his eyes growing bloodshot.
Fuck Yes! YEESSSS!
"Luck," Ainz answered coldly. Inwardly, Ainz was celebrating. He couldn't believe the attack had actually worked especially against the anti-death chances that all YYGDRASIL field bosses like Cu possessed.
Death Chance although small, did not mean impossible. There was no such thing as Death immunity in YGGDRASIL unless your name happened to be the First Hassan, and Cu was no Hassan.
"There's just no way," Cu staggered at the reply. "Cursed Witch Morrigan, always laughing at my expense. Is this a joke to you, bitch of a Goddess I know you can hear me!"
In the distance, Ainz breathed a sigh of relief. Grasp Heart was an instant death skill for any of the living. Nothing could survive without a beating heart, and even better, Cu had been under a silencing spell preventing him from using Battle Continuation in order to revive from a lethal attack.
This was victory.
Ainz had done it, and based on the looks of awe and admiration on his Floor Guardian's faces, he had not sullied their image of him. He was Ainz Ooal Gown, and he knew no defeat.
Despite being caught up in a feeling of elation, Ainz soon became aware of an ominous sign.
How was he still standing?
Ainz couldn't believe it. Cu was still standing, back straight and expression defiant. Blood was seeping from his mouth and his body was trembling from the exertion of keeping himself up. If he was still in YGGDRASIL, Cu should have had turned into mots of data crystals by now as his health bar reached zero.
"I'll. Finish. Him. My. Lord." Cocytus spoke up and dashed forward. "He. Deserves. Respect. As. A. Warrior."
"NO! Don't get close!" Ainz's warning came too late.
Cu abruptly took on a familiar stance, veins popping over his forehead.
"You can stab me, cut me into pieces and throw me into the wind! However!" Rage mixed with indignation in Cu's voice. "I refuse to die a coward's underhanded death! I am a Warrior and I will die as one!"
This was it.
This would be the end.
One Final Howl.
If he had only a single regret, it was that he'd failed in his duties and had failed to carry out the only request that his teacher had ever asked of him.
'Sorry.'
A finger discreetly traced runic patterns in the air before his expression hardened.
He wouldn't be going down alone.
It doesn't matter where you are, or where you run.
"Gae-" Take this last parting gift.
A barbed Spear of Death.
"Bolg!"
A pair of red eyes abruptly opened revealing a breath-taking face framed by long strands of lavender coloured hair. It was a woman who looked no older than her early twenties and wearing a form fitting purple battle suit resembling spandex.
The room that she was in was dark, barely illuminated by a few candles.
If one looked closely, one would realize the striking resemblance that her attire had with Cu's own. After all, she had been the one to make it. Ridiculous as it may have looked, it offered more protection than any metal or leather could ever provide.
Cu.
A name appeared in the woman's mind, her teeth gritting in her mouth as a shudder travelled down her body.
How many times do they come and go into her life?
Heroes they were, and proud of them she was, but did they not consider what it felt like to lose them all one after the other until there was nothing left? A student was meant to surpass the teacher not die a premature death.
Slowly, surely, she placed a half-mask over her face and disappeared into the shadows.
Cu you bastard.
He was like a child to her. Her child.
Her hands balled into fists as her lips began to quiver.
You foolish bastard.
A shudder travelled down her spine. She couldn't believe it nor did she want to accept it.
The last one who'd ever understood her and her sorrows had left her alone again.
It wasn't fair.
He'd made a promise to her, and he was the only one whom she had believed would be able to fulfill it simply because it wasn't something that she had the heart to request of her creator.
Gone. He was gone. She couldn't feel his presence through her Runecraft anymore, and all he'd left her was a single vague message.
'Lich.'
She could remain still no longer.
This was her duty. More than anything, she had prey to hunt.
A life for a life.
Thanks for reading!
Next Update: Vasto of White
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious
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