Chapter 153

The dwarves saw the demons coming long before they arrived, a dozen of them, large red creatures with pointy tipped tails, large bat wings and blood red bodies wreathed in flame.

They were few in number, but would tower over any of them with ease.

The great bell of the last dwarven city tolled again, its deep ring bouncing off the walls calling all the strong to arm themselves and fight, or the weak to hide themselves and stay the hell out of the way.

Ainz was well prepared for this, and by luck was near where Hejinmal lay reading when the dwarves fell into chaos akin to what happened when an anthill was kicked over.

Ainz reached out and put his hand on Hejinmal's head, which dipped down to make that easy for his master. "Hejinmal… it's beginning."

No sooner than the words were out of his mouth than it hit him. 'That was… oh god, that was so edgy and melodramatic… no… Pandora's Actor really did get all this from me?! I can't still be a chuunibyou! I can't be! No! I grew out of that shameful phase!'

It was enough to really piss him off, and Hejinmal steeled his heart as he detected his Master's resolve to fight hardening within.

"At your command, Master… I'm still not much use, but I'll do my best." Hejinmal promised as Ainz swung himself over the back of the dragon's neck.

Without any other outlet for his anger, he turned it on the summoned demons. As he ascended to the sky he shouted down to the dwarves, "You have your weapons! Use them!"

It was the right thing to say, dwarves who panicked froze stiff and looked at what their hands held as if they'd forgotten they had a means to defend themselves.

Their terror turned into resolve as they watched the new King on dragonback ascend above their heads and head the only direction a King should go. Forward. Towards the enemies of his own, he soared beyond the wall, and eager to unleash his temper, Ainz immediately began blasting spells.

[Maximize Magic], [Thousand Bone Lance]. And thousands of bones shot toward the demons, knocking several from the sky as the others scattered.

[Black Hole]. He pointed at a more distant demon, and a void opened up to suck the horrified summon in with a scream of pain.

The dwarves were galvanized by the soaring dragon and soaring King, the blast of icy breath raking over demons and the dread, impossible magic of their new Lord threatened to take the whole on by themselves… and win.

"Come on you lazy bastards! Earn your beer! Are you going to let our King fight them all for us by himself?!" The dwarven commander shouted and it spurred the briefly stunned dwarves to renew their vigor. As demons came toward the walls, dwarves locked their shields as one and held out their long spears, they stabbed and jabbed as claws raked over metal, only for the demons to draw back and seem… confused.

"They have trouble against runecraft! Take heart! You can beat them! You can win!" The dwarven Commander yelled as dwarves below nocked arrows.

"Loose!" he shouted, and struck by holy rune enchanted arrowheads, the demons howled and flailed, they drew back for a spell as the Commander shouted for them again, "Draw!"

The sound of bows being nocked with fresh arrows followed his command, but the demons dropped down to charge the wall directly and avoid the flight.

"Hold!" The Commander shouted and held up his axe over his head.

The demons charged the wall while their King's spells obliterated another of their ranks.

Before the eyes of every living, doubting dwarf, the foreign King became their own as he put himself beyond the wall for their sake while their people held the walls.

The demons struck the line on the wall, and dwarven bodies flew backward to strike the stone buildings, some were unable to move, while others would never move again, and others began to rise to their feet, slowly, but they rose with groans of pain.

Atop the captive part of the wall, the dwarves formed up a fresh line.

"Loose!" The commander's axe came down and the twang of bowstrings echoed against the wall that stood between their families and destruction, their arrows arced up and struck the demons at close range, piercing their burning red flesh and sending some to fall over dead while others howled at the infliction of holy damage.

"Infantry advance!" The dwarves dropped spears and drew their short rune enchanted holy axes. Hacking began as the dwarves locked shields again and faced the demons on both sides.

The Commander watched from below, turning an eye toward the King who still fought six more demons alone while his people struggled against the rest.

It was at that moment that he heard a terrible roar of furious rage under the mountain, "No… it couldn't be…" The dwarves on the wall, and the demons themselves, all briefly paused to look at what fresh nightmare came, not knowing for whom it was bound.

"Mothers! Brothers! Sisters!" Hejinmal shouted with relief at their coming for the first time in his life as the frost dragon clan survivors soared into battle, their claws snatching demons from the air and hurling them to the ground. Able to use their wings, size and breath to best effect in the open area, the crash of demon bodies harder than stone cracking the mountain base made the truth of the origins of the Great Rift obvious to all.

The dragons took a demon each and roars raged loud enough that mothers clutching children could not even hear their children cry right beside their ears.

The ancient walls of the city threatened to collapse from the shaking, but the tide was clearly turning in favor of the dwarves. Demons began to fall one by one, cracking the foundations further, or tumbling into the abyss where none came back up.

Until at last there remained but one embroiled in battle with the King over Nazarick, caught in a close battle between the two, the dragon mount bit and clawed against the demon until a wayward backhand caught his head and tumbled the dragon to an audible and ugly thud.

The watching city and the family of the dragon gasped collectively as the King was left without his mount, grappling the demon and tumbling faster and faster toward the stone until they landed with such force that rocks became dust and shrouded them all.

"Get up…" The Commander said from that wall he'd raced up to, "Please be alright… Please… we need you…"

The dust began to settle with the noise, and as the dust settled, there stood their King, his white robe dusty as could be, but the demon caught in both his hands and held aloft at the arms.

"Now… just… die!" Ainz bellowed and tore as the demon screamed, and its arms were torn from its body.

It fell to the dust, and howled with its open maw one more time before the King raised up his foot and brought it with inexorable decision down onto its skull, crushing it into fragments and ending the fight.

Still… nothing moved. No one spoke.

If anyone breathed, it couldn't be heard.

Ainz approached the fallen body of Hejinmal and put out his hand to touch the unmoving mount. "Hejinmal… are you alright?" Ainz asked in a delicate whisper, breaking the silence that held before the city walls.