First fight 2

With the brilliant dominion authority lost, the light in the area dimmed all at once. The wind rushing over the plains, rustling the grass, seemed to echo. In the midst of the silence, a hoarse voice spoke. "What are you...?!" Nigun asked the impossible being again.

"Ryoumen Sukuna. But my name is irrelevant to someone with such little time left."

Suddenly space broke over his crouching men—like a clay pot shattered. But it was back to normal in an instant, leaving no trace of the abnormal view.

"Oh- and there goes the anti-eavesdropping magic Ainz-sama had cast. Now that all the canon events have happened, your use is over"

Realising what he meant, a chill went down Nigun's spine. And he was so scared he couldn't stand it. Just like everyone whose life he had taken so far, he was terrified to have his life stolen away. The eyes of his subordinates gathering on him was bothersome.

He felt like he might start to cry.

He wanted to cry and scream and beg to be spared, but Ainz didn't look like he was big on mercy. Even then, all he could do really was depend on Ainz's mercy.

"W-wait! I'd like you to wait a moment, sir—Lord! Lord Ryoumen. Please wait! I want to make a deal! I swear you'll come out ahead! I'll pay you whatever you want if you'll spare our lives—no, even just my life!"

"Hmm… I think I will pass. Now be prepared, I'm going to kill you now. Well, except one anyways. That 'lucky' one has a special place in the deepest of hells."

"NO! WAIT!! PLEASE STO-" one of the soldiers besides Nigurn said before voice was cut off as his head disappeared.

_________________________________

"Ainz-sama, I have returned."

"You did well, Sukuna. Also, I apologise for my caution causing you to waste your time against such a worthless trump card. I should have gone myself."

'You went WAY too overboard at the end there. If I had gone, at least they'd die painlessly.' he thought.

"Not at all, Ainz-sama, it was my utmost honour."

'Also, I got to test out all my powers with no threat so it's a win-win for me.' he thought inwardly.

"I-is that so? Then good job. I hope you serve me this well in the future too. The knight captain is safe and the villagers are taking care of him. It seems we have nothing more to do here."

"Understood, Ainz-sama."

"...Do you not wish to know why I saved him?"

'SHIT! I know the plot so I already know his motivations. I didn't expect him to throw me a curveball.'

"This one is not smart enough to understand your intentions. But if you would be so kind, please enlighten this ignorant one."

"O-oh so you WOULD like to know. W-Well…It was a problem we brought on them, so I figured we should be the ones to solve it if we could."

"Then, why did you give him that item?"

"That was strategic planning. Him having that was handy for me, too."

"I see. But why wait so long before stepping in?"

"If you reach out to help someone when they're on the verge of death, they'll be extra grateful. Also, since the enemy we were up against was a special-ops unit, even if they were to go missing, their country probably wouldn't be able to launch a high-profile search for them, so I felt like if I had the chance I wanted to intervene."

"Ahh, I'm impressed as always, Lord Ainz. Such deep thoughts... I suppose that's why you ordered me to capture the commander alive? Brilliant."

"Yes, exactly so. Now, let us say our final farewells."

When they exited the headman's house, everyone came out to greet them, led by the death knight. In the midst of their countless praises and thanks, Gazef Stronoff appeared.

"Oh, Captain. Glad to see you up and about. I would have liked to save you sooner, but that item I gave you takes a little while to warm up. I apologize that things got so down to the wire."

"Not at all, Sir Gown. I am grateful. After all, you did save me. By the way, what happened to...?"

"Oh, I drove them off. I figured it would be impossible to take them all out, and I was right."

That was a lie, of course. He'd had them all killed, except the leader who was sent to the tomb for further interrogation.

"Wonderful. You've saved us from danger so many times now, Sir Gown. How can we thank you? You must stop by my manor if you are ever in the capital. I would like to give you a proper welcome."

"Oh? Well, then, I may take you up on that, thank you."

"You won't come with us now, then, I take it? What are your plans, Sir Gown? My men and I will rest here."

"I see. As for me, I intend to head out, although I haven't decided where I'll go yet."

"I hope you'll remember me if you come to the capital. My gates will always be open for you. And I don't have enough words to thank you for allowing me to have one of the suits of armour from the knights who initially attacked Carne."

Ainz nodded and judged that everything he had come here to do was finished. Somehow or another, a lot of unexpected things had happened and he had stayed longer than he meant to.

"Let's go home," he said in a voice only Sukuna could hear. He nodded in response.

The two then quietly open a gate in the forest before teleporting away.

____________________________________________