"Teacher, what are your thoughts on this?"
In the Empire, within the royal palace, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, known as the Bloody Emperor for his past parricide and the great purge of nobles within the country, sat high upon his throne, propping his chin with one hand as he asked his teacher below.
Before him, a scroll-like magic item projected the scene of Nazarick easily slaughtering the Kingdom, the scene ending with the death of the last member of the royal family, the one known as the Golden Princess, Renner.
With this, the last living human within the entire Kingdom was declared dead, and the entire Kingdom was completely destroyed.
"Too... wonderful! This... this is what I have been seeking, the abyss of magic!"
Below, Fluder Paradyne, known as the Bloody Emperor's teacher and the strongest magic caster among humans, the only human capable of using Sixth-Tier Magic, stared intently at Ainz Ooal Gown's figure in the image. His aged body trembled constantly with excitement, especially when he saw Ainz Ooal Gown using Super-Tier Magic at the beginning of the footage. His expression was as if an ordinary person had personally witnessed a god.
When the thing he had devoted everything to pursuing appeared before his eyes, no words could describe Fluder's inner feelings at that moment.
"Teacher, while I understand your excited feelings at this moment, you must also pay attention to us. After all, our positions are destined to be enemies."
On the throne, the Bloody Emperor El Nix looked helplessly at his teacher. He was not surprised by his current performance. After all, he had already understood the consequences of telling his teacher about this matter after receiving the news and magic tool from the front lines a few days ago.
After all, this man's ideal and pursuit in life was to seek the abyss of magic. Even if Fluder expressed that he would immediately defect and become one of their members, he would not be surprised. In fact, that was what his teacher would do.
However, understanding did not mean support. After all, the Empire was the closest country to the Kingdom at this moment, and most importantly, judging from how the force called Nazarick handled the Kingdom,
even if they wanted to surrender, there was no possibility of survival, because...
"These monsters simply treat us as livestock; there is no possibility of surrender or submission!"
Saying this, the Bloody Emperor El Nix looked at the undead monsters in the image who were dissecting the corpses of the Kingdom's residents after their deaths, using different methods to process them. Judging from their skilled movements and various reasonable classifications, Nazarick's method of handling spoils had reached its peak, with absolutely no waste.
And next, if their remaining kingdoms did not resist, then the next to be processed would be them.
"Teacher, I hope you understand that before pursuing the abyss of magic, you are still a human and a member of the Empire. This war is no longer the kind of battle between humans. It is a battle between humans and monsters. If we lose, perhaps the entire world will be ruled by those monsters in the future, and we humans will be raised like livestock, then harvested!"
After speaking, the Bloody Emperor El Nix stared at his teacher with unprecedented seriousness. At the same time, the Four Knights had already appeared silently beside him, looking down at Fluder, waiting for his answer.
If Fluder's answer did not satisfy the Bloody Emperor, then he would mercilessly kill his teacher. After all, rather than his teacher defecting to pursue the abyss of magic, he would rather let him die here as a human.
"...Is there any meaning in that?"
After being silent for a few seconds, Fluder raised his head and looked at the Bloody Emperor expressionlessly. He believed that with the Bloody Emperor El Nix's wisdom, he must already understand that there was no difference between resisting and not resisting. Facing such beings, all they could do was prostrate on the ground and quietly wait for death.
At least doing so would make their deaths less painful.
"There is no meaning... Facing an existence that destroyed an entire kingdom with one blow, our once proud army and warriors are completely meaningless."
Hearing his teacher's question, the expression on the Bloody Emperor's face could no longer be maintained. He looked at him with a ferocious expression and roared. It was because he faced the powerful and incomprehensible power displayed by Ainz Ooal Gown that he placed his last hope on his teacher, who was known as the strongest magic caster among humans.
But now, Fluder's words had shattered his hope. Even he didn't know how to face monsters like Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown.
"But... even if it's meaningless, we must resist. Since the result is death anyway, then I will never allow myself to give up resisting and wait for death!"
After speaking, the Bloody Emperor El Nix suddenly stood up from the throne and walked down the high platform, grabbing Fluder's shoulders tightly with both hands. His bloodshot eyes were filled with madness under despair.
If it was the Bloody Emperor El Nix in the original story, he would still have a choice when facing Ainz Ooal Gown, and even plan to unite other kingdoms to deal with Ainz Ooal Gown.
But now, after clearly witnessing Ainz Ooal Gown's power, that one magic spell not only destroyed the Kingdom's army, but the Kingdom was also destroyed in one day under the rampage of the Dark Young.
After that cruel and ruthless approach of not accepting any surrender and simply treating humans as livestock to be disposed of at will.
At this moment, the Bloody Emperor had completely given up the idea of surrendering and submitting. The only thing he wanted to do was to at least welcome death in a manner befitting his status as a king. This was the only thing he could do!
"Heh!"
Opposite him, Fluder, who already understood what the Bloody Emperor El Nix wanted to do, gave an undisguised sneer on his aged face, then turned around and walked directly out of the hall, completely ignoring the others.
Finally, as he walked out of the hall, Fluder raised his head and looked at the cloudy sky above, then turned his head to look at the people inside the hall and left this place.
"Since being human prevents me from pursuing the abyss of magic, then wouldn't it be better not to be human!"
In a low murmur, Fluder's figure slowly disappeared around the corner. At the same time, cold raindrops slowly fell from the sky, and the entire royal capital was shrouded in heavy rain for a time.
In this heavy rain, at the entrance of the royal capital's city gate, a man wearing black armor appeared here. After raising his head and glancing at the absent-minded soldiers at the city gate, he walked into the royal capital.
.........
"The time should be about right."
In the Slane Theocracy, inside the central capital's church hall, Khaji casually leaned against a pillar, looking at the people above with a completely indifferent tone.
“ क्लाइमेन्टाइन, watch your attitude. This isn't a place for your arrogance. Don't forget you were once just a traitor to the Black Scripture. We are already showing immense mercy by forgiving you and giving you a chance to atone!”
Above, a middle-aged woman with red hair slightly opened her eyes, speaking to Clementine with a hint of coldness in her tone.
If Clementine hadn't suddenly returned to the Slane Theocracy, bringing crucial information to the church and demonstrating strength nearing that of a God-kin...
...they would never have allowed this traitor of the Black Scripture to live, let alone let her spout nonsense here.
“Yes, yes, High Priest. You are right.”
Faced with the rebuke from the High Priest who controlled the Fire Extinction Scripture, Clementine gave only a perfunctory reply, but in reality, she maintained her rebellious demeanor, making some of the High Priests, who prided themselves on their self-cultivation, want to say something.
“Enough. Compared to this trivial matter, the sudden appearance of the Great Tomb of Nazarick is the most important thing right now!”
Before the High Priests could speak, the Chief High Priest at the very top suddenly interrupted them, his vulture-like, gloomy eyes sweeping over everyone present as he spoke.
Seeing that they had all quieted down, he retracted his gaze and looked at Clementine. Not long ago, Clementine, who had been a traitor to the Black Scripture, suddenly returned to the Slane Theocracy.
Furthermore, she displayed power that was extremely strong. Even if they had sent out the Black Scripture's trump card, the strongest God-kin, Zesshi Zetsumei, who possessed divine blood and had awakened, she was only able to suppress Clementine, but unable to seriously injure or kill her.
Afterward, with the information Clementine brought back, the matter of Clementine's betrayal of the Black Scripture was no longer important. After verifying that Clementine's information was true, the High Priests began to fully prepare for this matter.
But unexpectedly, just as they were getting started, the Great Tomb of Nazarick launched a war and directly destroyed the Kingdom.
“Currently, the most important thing is to unite all the kingdoms. We must gather all our strength to eliminate those monsters. Don't forget that those monsters come from the same place as the Gods!”
The Chief High Priest's cold voice echoed in the air. For the oldest and most powerful Slane Theocracy, they still understood something about the fact that new Players descended upon this world every hundred years.
After all, the Slane Theocracy was established by the first batch of Players who descended upon this world. Although five of the human Players later died of old age, and the last undead Player was eliminated by the second batch of Players...
...the matter of the Players has been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, after learning of the information Clementine brought back, they instantly understood that new Players had descended again.
Moreover, this time, all those who descended were inhuman monsters. For the Slane Theocracy, which now advocates human supremacy and eliminates all heteromorphs, this was an intolerable matter.
“Your Eminence Chief High Priest, subordinates have already reported that three kingdoms have already reached an alliance agreement with us. In addition, the envoy from the Empire has also arrived today, and news will be delivered by tomorrow at the latest.”
After listening to the Great High Priest's words, a High Priest spoke out about the recent news he had received, and a rare smile appeared on his serious face, especially when he spoke at the end.
Although it was not very ethical to say so, it was precisely because the Kingdom had been destroyed by the Great Tomb of Nazarick that the remaining kingdoms understood that surrendering was the only hope for survival. This made the Slane Theocracy's alliance plan unexpectedly smooth.
After all, whether it was commoners or nobles, who could not be afraid of death? Even those who usually clamored that they were not afraid of death ran faster than anyone else when death really came, and were willing to pay anything to survive.
“Yes, strive to unite all human kingdoms as quickly as possible. In addition, the Argland Council State has sent a message of truce and alliance. Currently, everything is focused on eliminating the Great Tomb of Nazarick.”
After speaking, the Chief High Priest at the top specifically looked at Clementine. Although he understood that Clementine's sudden surge in strength and return to the Slane Theocracy must have had some purpose, for the current situation, as long as Clementine did not do anything unforgivable, the Chief High Priest was willing to turn a blind eye.
After all, Clementine's current strength was only one step below the Theocracy's strongest God-kin, Zesshi Zetsumei, and she would be the main force in the future.
“Understood, Your Eminence Chief High Priest!”
Below, Clementine, of course, understood the Chief High Priest's implied meaning, straightened her body with a hint of a smile on her lips, and slightly bowed to the Chief High Priest.
Then, she turned and walked towards the outside of the church. The members of Eight Fingers, who had been waiting there, walked out of the corner and knelt on one knee in front of Clementine, waiting for orders.
“You may begin.”
“Yes!”
The Eight Fingers member kneeling on the ground revealed a surprised expression on his face after receiving Clementine's order. He was one of the first Eight Fingers members to leave the Kingdom and infiltrate the Slane Theocracy.
However, after he left the Kingdom and came to the Slane Theocracy, he realized that the difficulty of spreading forbidden knowledge here was completely different from other places.
Because the Slane Theocracy itself was a country governed by faith, and all residents believed in the Slane Theocracy's gods.
This also led to many Eight Fingers members, who did not understand this at first and began to spread forbidden knowledge, being hunted down by the Slane Theocracy's members because of the forbidden knowledge's ability to forcibly pollute and erode.
And now, when he received Clementine's order, he understood that the Slane Theocracy had compromised. Next, they could completely spread forbidden knowledge openly, of course, on the premise that they did not expose the true power of forbidden knowledge in the early stages.
“You shouldn't need me to teach you what to do next, right?”
“Yes, Lady Clementine. Before receiving your new orders, we will only spread simple ‘knowledge’.”
After speaking, the Eight Fingers member silently left, leaving only Clementine standing in place.
“Heh! You guys better work hard next!”
Clementine looked at the inside of the church and sneered. How decisively these High Priests agreed at this moment, how much they would regret it later.
After all, in the eyes of those High Priests, what Clementine wanted to do was just spread the knowledge of an unknown god, and the Slane Theocracy had long been under the rule of the church for hundreds of years, with all members believing in the Six Great Gods. What Clementine was doing was just a futile effort.
But what they didn't know was that Clementine didn't want to spread so-called faith, but those, in their eyes, boring pieces of knowledge.
Even more, they didn't know what kind of power was contained in those ‘knowledge’.
