Chapter Text
"I'm still here. I surely was here for an hour or so."
Lost in his thoughts, he ventured into the imaginary world of his mind. He deeply thought about what had happened, what to do next, and if he still was himself or an Overlord with the memories of a human. To see it from that perspective changed him somehow.
Hovering toward the window, he hesitated to look out, but eventually, the light crossed his gaze. Nothing changed, everything was still the same, and the same grasslands could be seen.
"Found out this here is the region of the lord in that castle." Ainz looked at the poorly maintained castle at the peak of Limgrave. He could swear it would crumble at every moment. Yet somehow, it stood there, on top of everything in the province, shadowing everything beneath it. "Don't know if he's gonna let me live here or not, but it's all a matter of time until he finds out."
Moments later, he teleported a couple of meters before his tower. His hand unexpectedly surrounded a black liquid that sank to the ground, forming something larger, seemingly out of nothing.
"Can't let this stand here alone." [Create Mid-Tier Undead: Death Knight]
Still, the [Death Knight] wouldn't be permanent, but he wondered if he maybe had a corpse, he could let it be in existence forever.
"That should be enough."
The summoned Death Knight knew immediately what it had to do. It grunted and casually made its way before the tower, only moving when enemies were in sight.
Satisfied, Ainz opened a rift in space and took out a note. One that he had bought from the mysterious merchant in the ruined church. He inspected the fragile sheet that seemed to contain a mysterious riddle. Something Ainz was not fond of having to guess. But he relished a challenge of his mind.
The ruins near the woods, yet afar from them, you shall seek. A master of magic you shall meet. Be careful of the guardian that guards deep.
The riddle didn't offer a specific location but told about other places.
"A place that is near the woods yet far away…Mmh…" Ainz thought hard about that first part. That must be the key to the riddle if he only could solve it. "The only forest here is the one to the east. Maybe the map will help with this."
As he looked at the map, he scouted the surroundings of the nearby forest. But there wasn't any hint on the map either. However, there was a clue he could use at last.
"On the map, there are many places near the fore-" Then the realization eventually came. How could he have forgotten such a vital component of geography? Height. "Wait. That's it! The spot is near the forest, but only on the map. In truth, it is further away because it is placed higher or lower! I am a genius!"
As he searched for such a place, he could conclude that he had effectively found the desired site he was looking for. He was sure of it.
"The Waypoint Ruins. That must be it! I can finally find someone who is an actual sorcerer in this world. This could be the ideal opportunity to learn more about this world's magic. Just have to hide my undead features."
Excited, at last, Ainz knew what was to do. He only had to think about the desired location, and he would appear there instantly. And as the world changed, he found himself in front of the foreign ruins. It was nothing exceptional for Ainz. He only desired to seek the person inhabiting this place.
There was almost nothing left of the ancient structure that once stood there. Only some stonewalls endured whatever happened to this destroyed place.
The wild inhabitants of the ruin tried to strike the intruder but were merely exterminated by the leaking aura of the Overlord. It seemed the negative energy was strong enough if activated.
As the Overlord discovered the entrance, he slowly proceeded into the basement below the ruins. Yet down there, he found a not-so-pleased foe waiting for him.
"You must be the guardian of the riddle. Well then. Let us begin." "[Maximize Magic: Black Hole]"
Before it could even react, the giant creature suddenly felt a force sucking it in from behind. The creature couldn't do anything against the black hole and instantly got sucked into the unknown. Horrible but efficient for Ainz.
"Huh. That was it? Interesting."
He went on his way to the next room. He could feel the magical energy dwelling in it. His conclusion: In there, he would find his target without question. His hands made a gesture towards the gate separating him and the room, and soon the door began rattling and crackling into a small metal sphere. A terrible sight for whoever was behind the door. It would be frightening to witness that from another perspective. Yet Ainz simply didn't want to use his hands to open such a dirty old door and leave himself vulnerable. And he wondered why such a person would be in here, trapped.
And then he saw her. It was a slim woman dressed in an academic robe with an awful mask on, which even put the ridicouldness of his mask to shame. It somehow represented a stone face, yet nothing interesting to Ainz. Even he wouldn't wear such a thing. It was simply bad taste. "Must be some sort of cultic mask. But, from a very weird cult."
"Who-Who are you?" The witch, surprised by the sudden visitor, asked furiously. She could feel that every part of her body wanted to scream at the sight of the person before her. And her magical knowledge only increased her fears. Yet even without them, she would feel the tension the Overlord imprints on his surroundings. She saw how the plants that dug themselves through stone withered near his presence, the light around him getting sucked into his magnificent robes.
"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. But shouldn't you tell your name first before asking for others?" Ainz countered her question with another, trying to ease the situation before she fainted.
"I-I am Sellen, the Sorceress. W-What exactly brings you to this place?" She asked, but her mind was pure chaos. Was this her end? She knew she couldn't die here. But the being before her surely had other intentions. Nothing this mysterious would seek her out random.
"Well, you see, I felt someone reside in these ruins. Someone who holds magical knowledge and power. Someone who can tell me… about this world's magic and its properties, if I want to be precise." Ainz thought for a second about keeping it a secret that he was not from this world. But it would be useless to tell or not tell her, as it would not bring him any gain, or from her looks, she already figured out that he wasn't from around here.
After he explained his origins, a scream escaped Sellen's mouth. She couldn't believe it. She caught on to the stranger's words faster than anything else. Was this an Outer One? Legends say they come here from totally different worlds, worlds they can't imagine exist. Or was it just a bluff? The feeling she has from him says otherwise.
"W-What?! Y-You are an O-Outer One! I can't believe I am meeting one of your kind!" Completely stunned, she couldn't even make a clear sentence. Her brain simply stopped working at this point. This being before her was the abyss of magic, as their kind portrayed powers that did not exist in this world.
The woman seemed unusual as before. And Ainz didn't know what was making her go this bizarre. "Don't tell me I broke her." Did he tell too much in his introduction? No. She was just plain psychotic or long mad. Every other person would be surprised, but not as much as her. She clearly wanted to meet one in her life.
"So, Sellen. Are you willing to exchange your wisdom with me? I would gladly offer some of mine, maybe even more." He was a little taken aback by the woman's temper. She acted weirder every second and started to stare at Ainz without pause. As if she wanted to stare into Death's soul. He could see that even through her mask.
"Y-Yes, of course, I can. What do you wish to know?" She was impatiently waiting for the Overlords' reply, or rather, question. Nothing she wouldn't answer to get magical knowledge from a being of his origins.
"Well, best would be if you could explain magic in your sense, step by step. And I will tell you something of… equal worth."
The masked man, no, the obscure entity, gave her a deal that she couldn't deny. Even if it wasn't obvious, she knew the meanings of his words.
Confused about the simple question Ainz gave her, she answered honestly whatever she could find in her mind. Did the being before her really tell the truth? No. It was just a cover. It would never ask such a simple question without a suitable justification.
"W-Well, I am well versed in glintstone sorceries. It is a school of magic, just one of many. With it, I can make use of basic spells, which can produce a projection to the caster's inclinations. It is not a very strong school of magic, but it is easy to master. We use glintstones in our wands to channel their power through it and cast a spell. Wait! Let me show you an example."
Out of her robes, she took a wooden staff imbued with a medium-sized blue crystal at the head. It was nothing special, but Ainz found the stone most interesting. He would likely want to keep it. That was his collector's desire.
She pointed her staff at the wall and cast her spell. "{Glintstone Arc}"
A wave of blue light appeared and widened with every distance it crossed. It could have been faster. It was a simple spell, just as she said. As it hit the wall, it disappeared into dust, returning to its natural form of nothingness.
"So it injures multiple enemies with low damage?"
"Correct? H-How did you know? I was just showing the spell to you. I-I didn't even explain it."
"Anyone with enough knowledge could guess that. And let's say I can see the properties of things with just my sight." Ainz pointed to his eyes, still hidden behind his vengeful mask.
She wondered if this was the beginning of his abilities. How much could this person do? She didn't want to think about it.
"Hah…Good…Maybe y-you want to see another spell of my school?"
"Sure. Continue as you wish."
This time, she lifted her wand towards the entrance. "{Star Shower}"
Several small blue lights appeared from the wand's tip and flew in the pointed path. They traveled out of the current room into the other and stopped existing after a set distance.
"So this spell casts multiple projectiles with low damage and mid-range. Do you have any other spells, some that might do more or much damage?"
"O-Of course!" She knew she would have to impress him this time to satisfy whatever he had come here for. For that, she used one spell she thought to be the most destructive she knew.
"{Rock Blaster}"
She thrust her staff into the ground, forming a shock wave all over the room. Books, papers, and other decorations were forced away from the spell, yet Ainz stood there motionless, with his magic immunity protecting him from any damage.
"Better than the others, but still disappointing." He said but thought otherwise. "Maybe if I kill her and use Dark Wisdom, I could gain her spells or see if I could gain them. Seems like arcane magic to me."
Having her back towards the Overlord, she heard what he said and shivered with dread. She presented him with the best she could do, yet it was not enough. She had to offer something more, a secret. Yet the Overlord didn't give her enough time to let her speak.
"But let's get back to my first question. About your magic. What are these so-called schools, exactly?" She was in luck. He asked another question. For a moment, she thought to have lost his interest.
"W-Well. Every school teaches different magic. L-like how to produce spells of other forms. But all use the same source, the focus points of each individual. If there is none left in the body, a spell cannot be cast anymore." Sellen explained the basic principles of magic to Ainz, who knew this already. It was common knowledge for him. And she hoped the answer would satisfy the being before her.
"Interesting. So this so-called magic school uses spells to form an element of sorts for an attack. Could guess that much, but still information I lacked." "So mana is the same here. I thought they used some sort of power of that big tree there. Good that she doesn't seem to have anything to harm me, to be honest."
As Ainz fell into his thoughts, he realized that the woman before him had long stopped speaking. One would tell she is frozen in fear. "Uhm. Yes. Thank you for the information. And about what I'm going to give you in exchange…" Ainz opened his pocket dimension and took out a mysterious bell. It was made of pure silver, covered by bright, minor runes. "... This is an item to open any door, gate, or everything that is locked from the user. I know it isn't much, but I am not very enlightened about your… goals."
As Ainz passed her the bell, she gently took it from his giant hand into hers. With her touch, she could feel the magical essence in it. As foreign as it felt, she could feel it. And what else she could feel was the power of the Overlord, even when she wasn't touching him directly.
"Now. Ring the bell. Trust me."
For her, it was more of a command than a suggestion. The entity knew what she needed, what would free her. And as she rang the bell, the runes lit up blue as the magical energy slowly did its purposed job. Chains dropped, and the feeling of freedom finally entered her mind. She could feel it. Her mind and body were once again reunited.
"W-What is this? I-I am free?! I can feel my body!" She was aghast that it would happen so soon. But there she was, free of any chains binding her.
"I…guessed you needed this." "I just gave her a trash item, and she flips out about it? My intellect must have seen this coming because I certainly haven't."
"I-I thank you for this gift. I-It helped me in my… dire situation." She almost went to her knees, but somehow she remained barely standing, her knees shaking wildly.
"Well, I am satisfied that it could assist you in… some way. But if you excuse me, I will have to go now. There are places I need to be." "This was a lie, again. I just don't want to be with this mad woman any longer. I got what I needed. Time to go. No excuses."
"Of course. But… please, you can visit me anytime if you desire more knowledge. I-I…"
"Yes, I will keep it in mind. Farewell!" Ainz interrupted her drastically. And as soon as he said his goodbyes, the eyes of the sorceress lost any sight of the being.
"No! I forgot to ask him!.. I finally had a chance…" After such a long time of enduring the pressure, she finally fell to the ground, exhausted from even chatting with the Overlord.
Back in the sky, Ainz could finally smell the fresh air of the grasslands, even without an appropriate nose. He took off his mask briefly to look at the fabulous world around him. The mask didn't hinder his vision, as how many would think, but he simply wanted to see it with his own eyes or flaming orbs in his case.
"What was that again? Ah, yes. I wanted to visit one of these big trees. Something's off with them. Like they manipulate the environment somehow. I can feel it. How exactly? I can't tell."
The vast forest was sure to be packed with creatures of the wild. Deciding not to go on foot, the Overlord made its way to the minor Erdtree with a simple flight spell.
"I could just teleport there, but I'm not going to risk that. These trees could have a guardian for all I know. Heck, even a ruin had a guardian."
The brown crust of the massive tree was now more noticeable than ever. The roots looked to be deep and grasp a wide range. Whatever it was feeding on to get this enormous must be something providing much energy. Its leaves were golden, each brighter than the other. This was where one could think of it not as a typical tree anymore but as something else. Maybe even sentient.
"It takes the appearance of a tree, but that is just a symbol of what it does. It provides the world's rules in this area or keeps feeding the surroundings with life. I don't know exactly, but I have this weird feeling..."
Standing before the tree gave Ainz an understanding of how tall and wide it was. He felt to touch it, yet the tree was noticing his presence. It was aware of death. Subconsciously, it called for help, even when its signal was drowning in his aura.
When his fleshless hands finally touched the ebony tree, he felt a presence, a feeling of sorts, one he had never felt before. And it pleasing him with all its might.
"Burn… Let it burn. A parasite… End its life."
A voice, strong and dark, filled the head of Ainz. It demanded the desire to burn, to end the existence of life itself. He felt to follow the command given by the unknown entity. Its voice was so ever soothing to Ainz as if it charmed him with a spell. He knew it was calling him to bring the tree to ashes.
"Life is a disease… You. You know it. One as you… A perfect being… knows that life is only meant to bring suffering… It is… simply… a Parasite."
The rested hand began to emit heat, slowly setting the tree on fire as an inflamed powder had expanded from his hands. Like veins, the fire ascended around the giant tree, gradually making them gleam red. Ainz could feel the satisfaction of it, inflaming the tree and ending its life. It felt good.
"No. Wait! I… must… make… my… own decisions! How can I be affected by such a thing? Arent I immune to mind-altering abilities?!"
Putting his second hand on the tree, he poured negative energy into it and secured the turned energy from it. He couldn't resist the flame any longer but secure his other desire to gain the tree's vitality for himself. What's better than joining something that isn't a part of life at all? Well, the tree clearly didn't want that to happen. Yet it could do nothing.
And as the leaves turned and the crust slowly lost its brown color to an ashen one, the tree withered away in its most distanced parts. Now, it was already deceased. Burned and sucked alive of its life force. Deserving this pain was the least of what it was. But the Overlord didn't care. He couldn't.
"This feeling… It makes me feel… emotions. Satisfying as it is… I… need more of it."
He seemed to succumb to the wishes of the unknown voice. The being knew precisely what was to do. And it was certainly happy about the decision Ainz made and what its champion achieved.
"You have done well… My… Champion. Let the Greater Will try to command you, but with me, it is nothing more than a foe."
"Who are you?" Startled by the direct sentence of the voice, Ainz asked the mysterious being. Even if it wouldn't answer, he wanted to know.
"You have many questions… I will allow you to see the truth."
Abruptly, the area around Ainz went dark. It was nothing to be seen, nothing to be touched. Simply a void. Yet, there appeared a gigantic red flame in front of Ainz. One as big as a colossus. And as its flames finally gave form, it was clear what was before him. A vast blazing eye of flames. Full of hatred and disgust at everything that was in his gaze. But in Ainz's case, it wasn't like that. It was as if a father would look at his child.
"Now… You see… The Frenzied Flame."
The fire burst vast and tall as it said its name. But it wasn't ringing any bells in Ainz. He just recalled the memories of meeting the Greater Will in a similar dimension.
"What does this thing want from me? It has interest in me. But why?!" "Why all this? Why am I here?" Desperate for an answer, Ainz asked the flaming eye. With the hope of receiving a reasonable response.
"My Champion… You have been chosen… Chosen to end this world… To end… Life. As I have said many times… Life is a disease… It brings…suffering. But now that you came… A being that does not live…yet is not of the dead. You…will bring balance and end all meaningless life."
"Balance? By ceasing everything?" "This thing, is it oblivious to reality? Killing everything wouldn't be balanced at all, just darkness."
"Exactly…" It answered, bitter and strict. "... And for that quest exists a high reward… Look over there."
The giant flaming eye put its sight to the right of Ainz, and as he saw what it wanted to show him, he couldn't believe it.
"Touch Me! Ulbert! Punitto! Pero! How? How are they here?"
Forty-one beings stood there, yet motionless. They were his former friends, his guildmates. Detailed illustrations of them. He knew them perfectly, and these here could've been real as much as the eye goes.
"The reward is high… You will only have to…accept. I will even try to remove the curse from you given by the Greater Will. And then… your friends can join you. Momonga, Ruler of Death."
The offering was enough to make the Overlords' head overload. His friends, the ones and only, could finally join him. What would he do to make that happen?
"I…accept. But what about Nazarick?"
"A wise choice. And about that, there are some things I can manipulate to make that happen as well. But now… Let us come to the important part. You are powerful. Yet you need something… And that is me. With my power, you will be able to do so much more… So much more…much more…"
"What more can I do? I am at my peak! The line of power cannot be crossed by me." Even when it was not so long that he knew the being, he spoke confidently to it as it was in his undead nature. "I need to take control of this situation! Dammit!"
"That is my part. I will become one with you… And together we will be greater than any gods… Yet the fusion must be made to achieve that. It will bring you knowledge and power. Enough to rule over the Lands Between as us, together."
It was not to be trusted, yet Ainz could not think of declining at this point. It was too late to go back. The only thing he could do was take a step forward.
"Then let us begin, Frenzied Flame."
"... As you wish…" The flame of the gigantic eye swept into Ainz, filling him with more energy yet constant pain for the moment. "From now on… You will be known as… the Frenzied Overlord…the Frenzied Undead…and we will be known as…The Frenzied Gods! Together, yet separate beings. With you, my influence over the material world will grow."
The toxic flame went into every being of Ainz, adding the Frenzied Flame to his avatar. He could feel the fire go through his bones, making them look as if the fire was burning in them at all times. His skull was bursting into flames, surrounding it completely. His burning red eyes slowly fused with the yellow blazes and made them even glow more intently as red and yellow, but not creating any orange. The suffering was not ending, but he could feel the power forming inside him. His red orb, The Orb of Momonga, slowly formed a yellow flame in the middle of it, showing an almost duplicate of the Frenzied Flame's burning eye. As if it was inside him from this moment on.
The pain was so intense that the mighty Overlord went to his knees. He touched the black surface with his flaming hands, wishing the pain would go away, that it would just disappear.
"It…is…done…"
The flames rested, and the inferno lost its wind and settled into the Overlord. Still on his knees, waiting for the right moment to stand up, he was grateful that it had ended.
And as the pain submerged, his vision saw rotten grass underneath him, which wasn't in the Frenzied Flames dimension.
And there he heard it. Footsteps, once again. Multiple. Armed to the teeth from the sounds of their movements. And surely not here for a friendly occasion.
Ainz raised his head menacingly. Flames still engulfed his skull, and the blazes of his red and yellow eyes reached the sky behind him. As he gazed forward, he only saw five knights, all in bronze armor with swords and shields. He rose, reaching a total of two meters in height. Yet his scorching aura made him look bigger than regular.
The five knights stopped, grasping the threat was even more significant than they thought. Yet, they went on their walk to oppose the Overlord. Even in the greatest dangers, they had to face death.
"You must be the reinforcements the tree called for. I will grant a merciful death to whoever wields."
The offering was plain and simple to understand. But the knights didn't hesitate. They were not to be convinced, as their duty was to defend the Erdtree, especially from the being before them.
"I see…"
Ainz prepared himself to attack the knights before they could strike. As his new powers made themselves visible, he thought, why not test them?
"[Frenzied Meteor]"
Soon appeared, a flaming giant meteor from the sky, directly targeting the five knights. They tried to escape, though they were too slow in their heavy armor to evade the flaming rock. The meteor flattened the knights on impact and let a slight explosion engulf the area. The surroundings were now full of flames, making everyone hitting them insane.
"A helpful skill. And strong, too. These new powers are suiting me great. Good to know that I kept my consciousness after the fusion."
The fight was not yet complete. From the crater emerged one soul. The knight, yet injured, moved towards Ainz with all it had left. Its walk was filled with pain, his breath getting more desperate.
"Only it survived out of the five? They must have a skill that allows them to reduce incoming damage, but only to a certain percentage."
"[Frenzied Lightning]"
The knight didn't even flinch at the attack. It just collapsed, with no hint of pain or suffering.
"So he was just about to die. Poor creature, I did not intend to attack you, but you attacked me first."
Ainz watched his first spell's destruction, which pleased him the most. "This spell could become my new favorite. But it is very easy to evade; a teleport would do. But the AOE damage is too good to be true. I will keep this one in mind. It seems most of my spell got a frenzied variant, I wonder..."
The results of his new power were better than he thought. Now he could eventually be able to beat Touch Me in a duel. But was it worth it? There would surely be consequences for gaining this strength by agreeing to be one with the Frenzied Flame. But for now, everything seemed normal.
Unknown Palace:
"My lord. I bring forth news."
As the man bowed, he awaited the response of his longtime master. He was sick of him yet had to serve him to his death. Whatever was keeping him attached to him? Fear. No servant survived, fleeing from the master's wrath. You serve, or you die...
"Tell." One word was all that he got. He knew he wasn't worthy of more recognition. And he would have to do great to impress him.
"There is a person, no, an unknown being of great power. I-I thought of him as nothing but a lowly Tarnished. Yet I was wrong. It could see through my lies as if I had told the truth. This…being, it might disturb your grand plan, my lord." Shivered, the servant told the undesirable yet interesting news. How the lord would react was out of his reach.
A loud impact could be heard. The master hit the ground with his great trident, most unpleasing of the news his servant brought him. But the servant didn't flee. He knew he had to talk his way out of this one.
"And you are sure about that?"
His rough voice let the servant shiver from fear. However, he replied accordingly.
"I would never lie, my lord. This being could potentially be an Outer One. Maybe even an Outer God. He gives me a feeling I never felt before."
"An Outer God! You have lost your mind!" The furious master pointed its trident at the masked man. Threatening him, therefore. "Be careful with that tongue of yours."
"Forgive me, my lord. But he was not of the flesh. I didn't sense anything from it. As if it was sucking all the life force into itself. T-There was no blood in him."
The servant remembered the time he saw him. How could he ever forget the time death spared him? Not even his master could inspire such fear in him. But he would never tell that. Or it would be his demise for hurting his self-esteem.
"Mmh… Maybe your words do hold truth. Yet the next time you spell such peasantry… you will sacrifice your tongue to me…"
The life he chose was undoubtedly dangerous. And this moment reminded him of his decision. But it came with great power and might over the forces of blood itself. Did he choose wrong? He knew the answer. If he could rewind time, he would never have chosen this life of misery and suffering.
"I will do my best to please your commands, my lord." Shaking, he hoped his master would turn his weapon off him, and such he did. He turned his back to him and looked at the view. Even if there was nothing to see on the open sea of nothingness, he didn't want to look at his shameful servant anymore.
"You will, nevertheless. Tell me how I can find this entity you're speaking so proudly of."