Ch.16 Assault Pt.3

Standing outside the palace, Ainz places his hand towards the barrier again, but this time, his hand goes through it. "Hmm…I should be able to pass through the barrier. Since the orb in my abdomen is a World Class Item. But, I should wait for Albedo."

Standing beside him, Narberal Gamma bows "My lord, shouldn't you be able to pass the barrier? Why not simply use a gate to infiltrate the palace? Or have one of us use an item and do it for you?"

He looks at the top and answers "No, I don't believe it to be a wise idea." He looks at his servants sincerely while saying "I've no doubts any one of you will be up to the task, but disabling the barrier isn't the endgame. Think about this, why attack after all this time? They were preparing for an assault."

Understanding, Yuri joins in the explanation "Meaning they must have taken added precautions to ensure their victory."

He nods at the maid in agreement "Yuri is correct. Say this, if I were to simply teleport into the throne room, there would be no guarantee that I'd be able to dispose of these threats swift enough to completely end their torture. Also, I believe them to be further aware of the items weakness." The servants look a little confused, hearing a World Class item has a weakness, but he explains " It was acquired by Touch Me back in our earlier days…" Hearing his creator's name catches Sebas' attention yet he remains silent, and Ainz continues "But it was a relatively weak item compared to its peers. While it is impenetrable once applied to a fortress, it has a crippling side effect upon its users.

9TH floor: Crimson Bath

Lakyus' body glows blue for a moment, but her aura fades away, and her face looks confused "What the!?" She grunts out and looks forward and sees a sphere of light shooting at her, which she barely dodges by jumping out of the way and she splashes into the bath water and sees more light orbs coming her way and she takes her sword, seeing them coming quicker, and swings upward to deflect some of them away as explosions are heard while pieces of stone fly.

She looks at her sword, and announces "okay…Dark Awakening!" and the crystal Blue aura appears again, but immediately fades away. Frustrated, she looks up and sees Gin casting another light spell with his spear as he points the blade at her. She points her finger at the foe and shoots her floating swords at him, but he spins his spear rapidly and the blades of blocked.

Smirking at her failure, he mockingly states "Guess your empress failed to mention the downside of that barrier."

Lakyus' eyes widen, shocked, she utters" The shield is up?..." She looks at her hands, which are shaking "Now I get what's going on with me." She looks at a nearby wall, and quietly says herself "I'd really rather not do this, but I'm low on options."

Gin holds up hand and the eyeball from the armor on his arm glows black again and shouts "Now, you will know divine retribution! Feel the blade of retribution!" He then spins his spear rapidly again as a lightning bold strikes it from seemingly nowhere and he announces "Volt Arrow!" and he launches an arrow-like bolt of holy lightning from his spinning spear that shoots at Lakyus, despite seeing it coming, she finds no room to dodge it as she feels a quick and painful surge of electricity course through her body and she screams from the pain.

8th floor Crimson Gate

Albedo stands before her foe with her weapon in hand, calmly saying "Last warning, lower life form. Move out of my way, and you'll get a head start."

The warrior just keeps her stance and the eye on her arm glows black and she announces "Strength Boost! Greater Ability Boost! Phantom Mirage! Power Acceleration!" Her body glows various colors, but Albedo doesn't even flinch.

The guardian of the throne of the Great Tomb simply begins walking forward without a care and simply states "Hmm, all humans truly are a waste of time."

The warrior charges at her with insane speed with the shape of a lion's face forming along her fist and she shouts "Volcanic Beast!" as her fist connects with Albedo's abdomen and an eruption of fire swarms the area and the impact shakes the ground. The warrior pulls her fist back and jumps back while striking her fighting pose "Sorry, lady, but you gave me no choice."

Albedo just brushes off the part of her armor that was attacked, mockingly asking "Hmm…. was that supposed to hurt me?"

The warrior's eyes widen with shock "No way…" she mutters with shock. She strikes her pose again and announces again "Volcanic Beast!" and she attempts the move again, but Albedo simply tanks the hit again.

Looking at her armor unscathed, Albedo shakes her head "Really? An attack that can create that kind of impact isn't enough to put a crack in my armor? I don't know if it's sadder for you or this building."

The warrior begins to sweat, but she moves her arms and assumes her stance once more and looks nervous.

4TH Floor Crimson Lake

The layout of this floor is simple as it home to a relaxing false chamber with stone floors and walls with a decoration along the walls like that of a lake. Running along the halls, the two members of Blue Roses make their way along a stretch of hall before stopping for a moment to think.

"Okay, Nikola, how many should that make now?" Evileye asks, sounding a bit annoyed in her tone.

Wiping her face, the masked Nikola looks around for a moment "Don't know, we've eliminated over a dozen of them. You haven't let their blood get on you, right?" She responds, concerned sounding at seeing her friend a bit clean.

Shaking her head a bit, Evileye takes off her mask for the moment, assuring "No, I remembered the research notes we saw years ago. I won't let them catch me off guard."

Smiling on the outside, on the inside, the thoughts are different "Father, if what I heard about you is true, then you must be anxious to save Justina. But coming in now, even if you could obliterate them quickly, you can't risk leaving a single moment to chance. We will make sure you have that chance."

9TH floor: Crimson Bath

Lakyus falls to the ground from the powerful volt arrow, and finds herself writhing a bit as she barely manages to stand up. She gets up, holds her sword forward, and begins to look around a bit.

"Can I do this? I need to strike just once, that's all I need." She thinks as she briefly looks at the ceiling.

He stops spinning his spear with a smirk "If that's all you can muster, then I was correct. You really aren't worthy of a pristine title. Just a lapdog of an inferior empress, who thinks she's better than us humans." He berates the empress with arrogance in his tone.

However, "Shut your idiot mouth." She states with anger in her voice. "You think you're so much better than her? Tell me, do you know what happened when she established her empire?" She asks.

"Hmm, why the indignant attitude all of the sudden? I thought you were calmer than this." He responds, confused a bit "But yeah, when the empress took over, she immediately enslaved the humans and all the other lesser species in the land."

Lakyus responds by throwing her sword into the ceiling A look of disgust in her face appears "I'm sure those bigoted fools YOU call leaders told you that." The ceiling above begins cracking her as says this "But no, when Lady Justina took over, she actually abolished slavery in every aspect, and had me along with the others hunt down all slave traders, forgot all debts, and eliminated any who opposed the idea. Because of this, slavery has all but ended in the Crimson Empire." The ceiling cracks more as she continues "Then, I'm sure they told something about how she treated them."

Failing to notice the ceiling cracking, he just looks at her condescendingly "Oh, didn't she exploit the refugees for cheap labor?"

Shaking her head, Lakyus just replies "You know nothing of the agricultural ecosystem she established. Lady Justina has conveyed that she dislikes humans more than any other species, but she is still capable of showing them compassion. She gave them resources, she has never attacked them at her leisure, and she has always honored her promises. "The ceiling above is at its limits as she states "And that's why she's still a far superior leader than anyone that the theocracy has ever known." The ceiling finally gives way as large chunk of stone falls and Lakyus looks up.

Throne Room

Still in her seat, Justina smirks as one of the blood pools near her throne begins to drain rapidly, causing her attacker to look away for a brief moment.

9TH floor: Crimson Bath

Lakyus stands below a fountain of blood as she places her palm into the stream of crimson and her body glows red and she announces "Dark Awakening!" as her body glows blue and her power increases as her eyes glow red.

She then charges at her opponent as he lifts his spear to guard, but she pulls his weapon away from his hands as she spins him around and throws him to ground near the bath as he slams into stone floor and coughs up blood from the impact. She then descends from the air, and swiftly slams the spear into the ground as she runs his abdomen through and the sheer pain makes him scream in agony.

"You should have never set foot in this palace. Now, I'll show you the terror of the Black Knight." She says with complete seriousness.

She then lifts him into the air and slams him on the ground again as the spear's blade leaves his body and he feels another slam to the ground. He struggles to stand up.

"Give me back my weapon, coward." He angrily says.

Lakyus looks at the spear and puts both hands firmly on it as she violently breaks the spear into several pieces by snapping it at multiple points.

"Damn you!" He shouts as he charges at her with his arm stretched out. Lakyus just angrily looks at him as she waits for him to get closer, and then grabs her sword and then he gasps and then she swings strongly at the ground as a dark shockwave erupts from the ground that shoots towards him. This causes the building to shake a bit. The impact creates a dark cloud as Lakyus stands still.

8th floor Crimson Gate

Albedo approaches the center as her foe lies on the ground, both legs broken and coughing up blood. Paying her no mind, Albedo reaches towards the center as the orb from before descends from the ceiling. With a simple tap of her finger, it glows brightly.

"Hmm, I'd be mildly impressed with your tenacity if you didn't fall so easily to me." She mockingly says to her defeated foe, her face not even showing much emotion as the defeated young woman simply coughs up more blood.

Outside the Palace

For a moment, Ainz sees the barrier begin to flicker, and his eyes glow with anticipation as he opens a Gate. "Battle Maids of the Pleiades, go now!" He announces as all the battle maids present all leap into the gate.

Throne Room

The threatening intruder turns her face for a moment as she hears a yell from somewhere, as she asks "What's wrong?"

But, as her face is turned away, she feels a powerful impact against her face as she is sent backwards, barely managing to keep her balance. Her vision, blurry for a moment, and her ally shouts "They disabled the barrier!"

She looks back to the throne, and her eyes widen under mask "No!" She shouts as she sees the maids surrounding the throne with serious looks on their faces.

Now, a powerful presence is felt as the a figure begins appearing from the portal, one with a very vicious aura. The two intruders both tremble at the appearance of this presence.

Coming from the portal, Ainz appears, and he appears very displeased. His first action is to look at Justina, who is impaled with many blades and bleeding profusely, but she appears to be moving. He immediately goes to her as the maids move out of his way.

"Justina, I am very sorry this took so long. But I had to make sure I could do this to ensure your safety." He apologetically says as he begins to remove the blades.

Even as the blades are pulled, Justina shows no fear or pain as she just smiles "I knew they were no match for you, father."

Suddenly, the vampire brides under Justina's control appear from the gate "My lady!" they all scream as they run to her side.

Ainz looks at them "Take Justina away and let her recover. I'll handle these intruders personally." He orders as he looks at the intruders. His eyes glowing red with his demeanor showing vicious intentions as faces the remaining two in the room. The vampire brides take Justina as they each carry a part of her to the backside of the throne room

The intruder just looks at her ally "Run! I'll hold him off! Tell the others the plan failed!" she yells as the other intruder begins running away.

"Hmm, that wouldn't be proper to allow you to escape." Ainz calmly assesses as he puts his finger to his ear "Albedo, put the shield back up." He says

"Yes, my Lord." Are the only words he hears from his subordinate, as his foe shakes a bit.

"Th-that's foolish! Why enable a shield that drains your power?" She asks nervously.

"Hmm, I am fully aware of the danger posed by this item. I, however, will not be affected as I am in possession of a world class item." He explains as he points to the red orb in his chest. "The only reason I didn't attack sooner was because I needed to distract you momentarily to get my daughter safely away from your torturous hands."

"Tch, it's not as if I enjoyed doing that. I am…" She tries to say, but Ainz lifts his hand and interrupts her.

"No, I understand your reasoning. You have a mission, and needed to use certain tactics to fulfill it. Had I employed my servants to do such a task, I'd expect the same dedication." He understandingly replies. But his eyes glow red "However, that being said, I fully intend to punish you for harming my daughter."

The woman disrobes revealing a simple outfit of a form fitting white top and cream colored pants with black boots, her hair is blonde and tied in a bun with red eyes. She then places a pod on her arm as it grows on her arm forming as organic arm armor.

"I don't intend to apologize, but I will say I am not proud of what I have done today." She proudly declares as she also produces a glowing item shaped like a feather from her pocket. "I had hoped to not use this, but I will use the sacred gift from the gods to assure my victory."

"Wait, is that…" Ainz says to himself, a bit surprised.

The woman then uses the item as she is engulfed in a light as a ring of light forms around her head, a pair of white feathered wings erupts from her back and her expression shows no emotion. She floats in the air and produces a sword made of ivory that glows with white light.

"So, you've used a heaven's feather to change into an angel. Hmm…I wondered if it was possible." He comments at seeing the angel in front of him. "But, this appears different from the ones I've seen. Possibly due to the different circumstances." In his head "In Yggdrasil, to change race, you had to fulfill certain conditions, but in this world, it appears that those circumstances are different.

The others all ready themselves, but Ainz just waves his arm "No, I will handle this alone. I doubt that this one could handle any of you. But I am far from in the best of moods and need to release my fury." He then looks at the woman's face, saying "Besides, I think I've met this one's kind before." Then a brief memory comes back to his mind, an image from his earlier adventurer days as he recalls someone, a woman with blonde hair and red eyes. "Although, she does at least appear less homicidal and honorable, but that won't help here." He says to himself.

6th floor Crimson Jungle

The final intruder runs through the maze on this floor, panic in his eyes. "So much time planning. Ruined by an Elder Lich of all things. Damn it, I can't die here." He quietly utters.

"This is a problem…." A voice says from nowhere.

He turns around and sees a new person with short disheveled hair with two eyes. At first, he puts up a defensive stance, but then backs off "Oh, it's you, Drei." He calmly says seeing a familiar face.

"Hmm, what exactly was your mission again?" He bluntly asks.

"Oh, right, we're supposed to slay the empress, and execute the vampires before they become problematic." The afraid warrior explains to his comrade.

"Does that include the children in the nursery?" He adds with his head tilted, and his eyes opening wide.

Nodding "Yes, unfortunately, those children have had the misfortune…." He tries to justify himself, but he feels a sharp pain his chest as he lowers his gaze and sees a hand run through his chest as the young-looking man pulls out his hand, which is spotless.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen if I have something to say about it." He coldy remarks as the hooded intruder fall to the ground dead. "Oops, I forgot to mention that Drei isn't even my real name. *Sigh* I need show more manners than that." He walks away towards the stairs to the next floor going up.

Throne Room

The angel floating in the air slashes down with her sword, creating a shockwave of light that Ainz simply blocks with magic immunity as it just seemingly moves his robe.

"You'll have to do better than that to do me harm." He confidently remarks.

"Is this better?" She responds seriously as she summons an orb into her palm, it grows as she lets it go, and then she strikes it with her fist, announcing "Sacred Shot!" as the ball expands and Ainz simply stands still. The orb then explodes in his face.

Despite this, Ainz just remains still "That magic is still too weak to harm me. But if you'd like, you can simply surrender and I'll reduce the punishment slightly." He offers sincerely as he sounds bored.

"Don't-You-MOCK ME!" She shouts as she now stabs her sword into the ground as a large image of angelic-looking woman appears holding a sword appears.

"Oh, this is a new trick." Ainz comments. But he feels strange "Strange, I can't move my body….Is this part of this trick?" He wonders.

The goddess swings her sword at him as a pillar of light erupts from the ground "Seraphic Epitaph!" The woman shouts as the light engulfs Ainz. Despite the image, the guardians don't flinch, move, or show fear. The area is covered in smoke as part of the building has been blown off, but remains intact because of the shield. After this, the woman looks a bit short of breath as she gasps for air.

"I lost my temper for a moment, but at least that should have crippled him." She comments looking at the smoke. However, her eyes widen when she sees Ainz's figure in the smoke, and he's laughing.

"*Laughing*"…..That was nostalgic. I can't remember the last time I've felt this nostalgic." He says joyfully like he's heard a great joke. "I'm actually impressed. That attack of yours, Seraphic Epitaph you said? It was more powerful than the last attack that dealt me damage from an angel."

He then raises his hand "Negative Touch." He announces and approaches the drained angel. "I guess you expended too much power. That's too bad." He says ominously as he approaches closer to the angel and his palm getting closer.

8th floor Crimson Gate

Albedo stands before her defeated foe with her weapon in hand "Feel grateful, I'm about to end your pitiful existence." She mockingly states as her weapon is raised.

However " Albedo, what's your status?" She hears as she puts her hand to her ear and halts her attack.

"I 'm about to put an end to the pathetic worm. Do you need me to do something else immediately, my lord?" She asks diligently.

"No, don't execute the intruder yet. Bring them here first. Oh, but before that, disable the shield." He orders as Albedo nods her head and looks down at the intruder. Albedo grabs her by the back of her shirt and drags her with her.

Throne Room

Albedo arrives not long after the order and casually tosses the defeated intruder to the ground before Ainz, who has the angel on the ground in front of him with her face to the ground. Then, another warrior enters the room as Lakyus enters from the destroyed pool with her foe over her shoulder, covered in wounds, as she looks around with surprise.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, but I thought Lady Justina would want to see this cowardly stranger." She remarks as she also tosses him near the defeated two.

Ainz sits before them with anger in his eyes "So, you three had the audacity to attack my daughter in her own home. I hope the three of you are prepared to face the consequences of this unforgivable transgression against both her and me." His voice menacing, while relaying this sentiment towards the intruders as they lie helplessly on the ground, and his intentions clear that this isn't going to be pleasant. But Ainz looks around for a moment.

"I wonder where Flamel is? She said she'd meet me here. Don't tell me she lied. No, I doubt she would…" He thinks until he hears the door opening and sees a young man walking through the door, and he bows to the overlord.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but I need to have an urgent thing to say to the empress." He remarks as Ainz looks at him with two eye colors and gets a glimpse of pointed ears. He a look of determination as he look upon the ruler of Nazarick.

"I sensed someone else on their way here. But it was foolish to come if you're another assassin sent to kill my daughter." He comments to the young man, who simply looks like he's waiting for something. But Ainz looks back for a moment "But then again, I suppose we should invite the empress to see her assassins receive their penance for these crimes." He adds with absolute confidence.

He then signals to the Battle Maids, who bow and walk behind the throne and move down a hallway to Justina's room to check on her. After all, like he says, the Empress should be here to witness these punishments take place, they all believe.