The Invaders of the Large Tomb

Fluder sat in front of Momon, but he could not take his eyes off Nabe who stood at Momon’s side.

“Ah I see, so this is what’s going on, well then let’s begin.”

Begin what? However, before Fluder had any chance to ask, Momon continued talking.

“...Nabe, I think it’s about time to remove the ring.”

Nabe took off her ring, and in that instant—

Fluder felt as if he had been hit by a storm.

“What!”

He exclaimed without thinking.

Nabe radiated an overwhelming power.

This overflowing storm of pressure did not really exist. Only Fluder and others with similar abilities would feel the torrent of power washing over him.

His body shook violently, as if he was exposed to the icy north wind.

“Im-Impossible…”

Impossible. How could it be possible? How was it possible for someone stronger than himself to exist?

But, even if he tried to deny it, what appeared before his eyes was still reality. Up until this point, his ability to perceive a magic caster’s tier had never failed him.

“7th tier... No, with the huge amount of energy pouring out, could it be... proof of the 8th tier…?”

If that was the truth, then it bordered on the realm of legends.

Fluder was already unable to speak. The 5th tier was already in the realm of heroes, and the 6th tier that Fluder had reached was a realm that nobody had ever attained before. However, someone who had easily attained the higher tiers had suddenly appeared before him.

And it was a young and beautiful woman.

Does her age not correspond with her appearance?

While Fluder was still trembling in shock, he caught sight of Momon taking off his black gauntlet, then removing one of the rings he was wearing.

“———！ ”

In that instant, the world was dyed in bright light, and Fluder felt his consciousness fading.

What happened in front of his eyes was unexplainable. Even Fluder, who had lived for over two hundred years, someone who had reached the highest peak of magic attainable for humans, could not understand what was going on.

“What... what... how is this possible?”

Fluder felt something warm flow down his cheeks, but he did not bother wiping it off—or rather, he no longer had the strength to do so. The shock had caused his emotions to descend into chaos.

Who could have seen this coming? The person praised as the Dark Hero was in fact an arcane magic caster who had attained a level that Fluder could never reach.

“If that is the 8th tier, no the 9th tier… No! ……… What….. hoooo, god!”

The overwhelming energy released by the dark warrior Momon easily surpassed that of Nabe beside him. If he could surpass Nabe, who was presumably in the 8th tier, then what were the heights of magic that Momon could aspire to?

Fluder answered the question in his mind with his soul.

The 10th tier. Although it did exist in legends, there had never been anyone who could provide absolute proof of its existence. Someone who was in a position to do so had deigned to appear before him.

Fluder, who was standing before, knelt before Momon with tears flowing from his eyes as he spoke.

“……My faith lies in the god that rules and presides over magic. But if you are not that exalted being, then I shall immediately recant my faith, for the one true god has finally appeared before me.”

In his haste to prostrate himself before Ainz, Fluder struck his head on the ground. Yet the pain he felt was nothing compared to the joy he felt surging up from the bottom of his heart.

“I know it’s disrespectful, but allow me to kneel here! Please enlighten me with your knowledge! I want to peer into the abyss of magic! Please! Please!”

“...What are you willing to give in exchange for that?”

The voice was as cold as ice. If a hundred people heard it, they would all answer the same, but what Fluder heard was a sweet voice that soothed the heart. Even if he knew that the voice was laced with poison, what of it?

Fluder did not hesitate for a moment, even if it meant giving up his soul in exchange.

“Everything! Yes, I will offer everything to your royal being! The master of the abyss! The supreme being!”

“…Very well, as long as you are willing to offer everything, what I know will become yours. I will therefore grant your wish.”

“Oh! Ooooohhh!”

His head still pressed to the ground, Fluder cried tears of joy. The jealousy that had frozen his heart for so long seemed to have melted. At long last, his wish from over two hundred years ago might finally come true.

The absolutely overjoyed Fluder did not raise his head, but instead crawled towards Momon’s feet and kissed them. Although he had wanted to lick it at first, he realized that his god-like master might get annoyed if he did that, so he compromised, drawing on the tiny lucid fragment of himself in the corner of his mind.

“So be it. I accept your fealty.”

“Hooo! I am very thankful!… My master!”

“Now then, I will give my first order. Deliver sacrifices to my dominion—”

♦ ♦ ♦

“Gramps! Gramps! What is it, gramps?!”