Chapter 46: At the End of Distortion (7)
With a cry that carried both the will to live and the resolve to die, Monkyspanner launched his charge. His target was already decided. Ainz had said: if even one of the seven—including himself—were brought down to less than 10% HP, the field would collapse and escape would become possible.
That meant he did not need to defeat all seven. Just one brought to the brink would suffice. But with all seven seemingly his equals—or worse—there was no luxury of singling out one foe at leisure.
Worse still, he knew they had laid snares for him. They might think their plotting had gone unnoticed, but even the faintest nods exchanged told him messages were being passed in secret, strategies whispered beyond his hearing.
Thus, only one path remained.
He had to strike before they could even think of plotting further.
The answer was already in his hands.
"OOOOOORAAAAAH!"
The Ruyi Jingu Bang in Monkyspanner's grip suddenly accelerated. At its peak, the short cudgel, shorter than his own height, elongated in an instant—twice, thrice its size, the ends swelling with massive weight.
This divine relic, the [Ruyi Jingu Bang], gifted by his Creator, held a unique ability: to freely alter its length, volume, and mass within limits. In the hands of a mere warrior it was a weapon of shifting range; in the hands of an immortal sage and sorcerer, it became a nightmare.
"[Immortal Art: Mirage Heat-Haze]!"
"What—!?"
At the very front stood Shalltear, clad in crimson plate. She moved to intercept the blow with her Spuit Lance, only to gape as the staff's arc veered away. She was certain she had blocked it head-on—but the true trajectory was a grazing strike, the staff's apparent reach nothing like the real one.
And at the end of that impossible feint stood Ainz himself—standing idle, not even weaving a spell, merely observing.
"Tch!"
"Lord Ainz!"
Demuirge and Albedo, who had begun to fan out, spun back in haste to cover their master. The Ruyi Jingu Bang slammed against their guard with a booming crash. In the same instant, the staff snapped back to its original length, Monkyspanner recoiling with a great leap.
"You dare… to strike at Lord Ainz!"
Shalltear's fury erupted as she gave chase, Cocytus close at her side. Her lance lunged straight, his four arms swept outward with weapons like a storm—Monkyspanner met them head-on.
The clash told him the truth: strength and technique beyond his own. Against the crimson warrior he might have managed, but this insectoid Frost Warrior… in pure martial prowess, Monkyspanner could not hope to match him.
Yet Monkyspanner was no mere warrior. He was a sage, a sorcerer, and he wielded a divine weapon tailored to his very style.
In an instant, thirty strikes crossed. A domain beyond mortal vision, where thrusts and counters blurred. The next moment, Monkyspanner seemed hurled backward as if overwhelmed—yet when Cocytus moved to follow with the finishing blow, the simian sage had already vanished.
"[Immortal Art: Shadow Concealment]!"
His massive form melted seamlessly into the shadows scattered across the battlefield. He knew it well—he could not win by meeting them one by one. A head-on battle promised no victory. His only chance was to stalk from the edges, whittling them down.
Ironically, it was a plan not unlike the one Ainz himself had devised.
Yet, regrettably for Monkyspanner, the foes before his eyes were not the only ones he had to contend with.
Standing beside Ainz, watching quietly, the "dark elf girl"—who was in truth a boy, Mare Fiore—pressed a hand to the ground.
"[Nature's Detection], [Earth Surge]."
"Guh—!?"
The ground convulsed violently. Tremors spread outward, shockwaves ripping across the battlefield. The tremendous range of the spell, easily exceeding a hundred meters, struck directly into the shadows where Monkyspanner had concealed himself, forcing his form out into the open.
"[Binding Shackles]!"
Blasted free of the darkness, the great simian body was flung skyward. And the air, bereft of footholds, was nothing but a killing ground. Invisible chains of force wrapped around him mid-air, even as three Guardians' eyes lit with murderous intent.
Adamantite-rending claws, a thirsting lance, fivefold stance-shifts crashing down in an instant—Monkyspanner's only choice was to bellow and pour strength into his body, shattering the bindings through brute force. His feet struck empty air, yet they held; with another surge he leapt again, vaulting higher.
"What—!?"
"He's not finished yet!"
Though he hadn't spoken a skill's name, his survival was no mere accident. Inwardly, Monkyspanner's chest tightened in relief. Without the divine armor [Golden Chainmail], which shattered binds and shrugged off stunning force, or the [Cloud-Stepping Boots] that allowed him to tread upon air, that flurry would already have been his end.
The reprieve was short, but enough. Vaulting again, Monkyspanner tore free of their immediate kill zone and regained his stance in the sky.
All of this transpired in less than ten seconds. Yet the imbalance of power was undeniable—so much so it drew a wry grin to his lips.
Tch. Try to fight them one by one, and I won't even leave bones behind.
Landing heavily, the golden-furred sage swept a gaze around him. Guardians were closing in to tighten the noose. Snorting, he fixed his fiery golden eyes upon the one who remained still: the masked figure, merely watching.
There was only one target he would pursue.
"So, you let your servants do the fighting while you watch? Fine by me. I'll aim only for you. Surrounded as you are, you won't call it cowardice, will you?"
"What!?"
"Impudent fool!"
"Die where you stand!"
His words, like oil to flame, sent the Guardians into a frenzy.
The true clash had only just begun. The end of this desperate gamble was far from decided. Cocytus, Mare, Demiurge, and Shalltear charged at once, their wrath boiling. Aura, ill-suited to direct battle, and Albedo, whose duty was to remain by her master's side, stayed to guard Ainz.
"DIIIEEEE!"
Shalltear, nearly losing herself to rage, was the first to break from formation. Steam hissed from the winged crests of her armor, a great spear of azure crystal forming in her free hand beside her Spuit Lance.
Monkyspanner slid aside rather than clash head-on, fingers flashing through a mudra.
"[Immortal Art: Twin Monkey Phantoms]!"
With a crack, two identical doubles split off at his flanks. Indistinguishable from his true self, one was skewered by the azure spear. The remaining pair lunged forward still—and Demiurge and Mare unleashed beams of hellfire and woodlance that tore another apart.
In that instant, Monkyspanner had already swapped places with his clone. The true body broke past the barrage, surging straight toward Ainz once more.
"Foolish—!"
But there would be no second lapse. However swift, however cunning, the simian sage's intent to strike at Ainz had already been laid bare, and there was no overlooking it.
"[Immovable King's Strike]!"
From Cocytus's massive blade cleaved a strike among his deadliest. Even if his bulk lagged, the accelerated cut was swifter than sound itself. But Monkyspanner had no thought to parry, no care for the killing blow. His eyes, his mind, his entire being fixed only upon the masked lord at the center—his sole target.
From the very start, Monkyspanner had no intention of meeting the strike head-on. With a flick of his free hand, the golden rings coiled about his forearm broke loose, intercepting the cleaving blade. The treasured artifact, [Adamantine Rings], carried a deceptively simple power: anything it touched would be halted, frozen in place. But before Cocytus's swing, it could not hold even a full second.
Yet a second was all he needed. In that instant's delay, Monkyspanner accelerated clear of the strike's path.
"…What!?"
For a heartbeat, it was as though he'd vanished by sleight of hand. The Guardians' jaws clenched in silence, startled. They recovered quickly, moving to pursue—but in that sliver of time, Monkyspanner had already surged to within striking distance of Ainz.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang came crashing down with his full might. But even then—Ainz remained unperturbed.
Instead, a black halberd swept in to block the blow.
"How dare you raise your weapon against Lord Ainz!"
"Tch—too many of you!"
The mightiest of guardians, protector of the King, launched a furious counter. Monkyspanner muttered his complaint, retreating from the follow-through of her blade. Even from a single clash, his arms quivered under the weight of that force—was it merely the artifact's enchantment, or raw strength alone?
Already he understood: even if one stayed back, six more still remained. This was a battle he could not possibly win.
But Monkyspanner was the consummate trickster of Shinshi, famed as a schemer above all else. If strength could not prevail, then cunning would; and if cunning faltered, then deceit must see him through.
He bit down on a scroll clenched in his teeth, activating it mid-movement. The spell raced beneath Albedo's feet without warning.
"Hm?"
Her footing faltered just as her halberd met his staff.
The spell was [Friction Negation], which Monkyspanner had mockingly named "Banana Slip."
Her stance collapsed as one leg skidded violently, forcing her to brace with a hand. That instant of imbalance was enough: the lengthened Ruyi Jingu Bang fell straight for Ainz's masked face.
"Now—!"
With a sickening crack, something shattered, blood and flesh spraying.
But the strike had not found its mark.
Monkyspanner's expression twisted; the taste of triumph soured. It wasn't Ainz's masked visage he'd struck—it was the head of a monster that had appeared in his place, a grotesque blend of dragon and man.
A Dragonkin. Muscle and scale harder than steel armored its massive frame, standing taller even than Monkyspanner himself. Yet its flesh and blade were pulverized all the same, crushed beneath the sacred cudgel.
Only a shield, nothing more—a slab of meat to be broken. From the side, the dark-elf boy in a girl's guise sneered.
"Don't forget about me."
"Damn it—there really are too many of you!"
Monkyspanner's exasperation was cut short as Aura's whip cracked through the air. He took the lash across his body and retaliated with a swing, his golden armor groaning under the impact. But his cudgel plummeted for Aura's head in return.
If he was to die here, he would at least crush this one. Yet before the blow could fall, Albedo, stance regained, brought her bardiche across to intercept.
Sensing a chill at his back, Monkyspanner somersaulted away just in time, the space he'd vacated consumed by an onslaught of magic and steel.
Once again, the board was reset. Now the Guardians closed ranks, forming a fortress around their lord. The sight drew a bitter grin to Monkyspanner's face.
"Damn… it's over."
Dragging this out would only worsen the odds. He had gambled on provocation, on sowing chaos, but had reaped nothing. His final cards were spent, and he had not so much as scarred the enemy commander—barely even his underlings.
So this is the end…? Even if one hangs back, it's still six against one. From the start it was unfair beyond reason.
Still, he would not simply kneel. Monkyspanner's hands tightened on the cudgel. To the bitter end, he would fight. For there was a difference between resignation and surrender.
"Even in death… I'll land at least one blow worth remembering."
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