Chapter 16: The Guardian of Humanity (7)
"Nazarick, huh."
Evil Eye murmured, lost in thought.
No one was around. She preferred it that way — solitude had long become her natural state. After spending so many years alone, she needed silence like air.
Now, sitting in that stillness, she reread the documents Kaiser had given her.
Much of it was opinion, personal notes from someone who had lived far too long — but that only made them more credible.
And if Kaiser's instincts were right, the conclusion was grim: Nazarick was dangerous.
Perhaps the greatest threat humanity had faced since its recorded history.
Thankfully, it didn't seem like the Overlord — Ainz Ooal Gown — sought destruction for its own sake.
But the same couldn't be said for the others under him.
That, Kaiser wrote, was the true question: What would Ainz do if his subordinates committed atrocities in the name of Nazarick?
Would he stop them?
Or stay silent, believing it necessary for their cause?
Kaiser himself had never denied the existence of slaughter during war — even he, for all his heroism, couldn't deny the ugliness of it.
But those who caused such massacres rarely had the power to erase entire nations.
Nazarick's denizens did.
A single Guardian, Kaiser noted, could wipe out the world if things went wrong.
Even if the Thirteen Heroes gathered again, they would likely lose — not even to the entire army, but to one Guardian alone.
Evil Eye drummed her fingers lightly on the table.
Could even her trump card work against them?
Her honest answer: no.
If even Kaiser would struggle, no one else had a chance.
At least, she mused, Ainz seemed cautious — aware that other beings on this world might rival him.
That much was a relief.
A dangerous man who understood danger was preferable to a fool blinded by arrogance.
"What's got you thinking so hard?"
Kaiser's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She glanced up sharply. "That report you gave me. Nazarick. It's too absurd to believe… but it's you who said it. So it must be true. If this is a joke, tell me now — I'll forgive you with only one spell."
Kaiser gave a weary smile.
"If only things were that simple."
He sat across from her with a faint sigh — the sound of a man who had already resigned himself to an impossible fight.
If it were just one enemy, he could win.
Evil Eye knew that as fact.
No matter the artifact, the talent, or the unknown trick — in a duel, Kaiser didn't lose.
His strength ignored all reason.
And his skills — the ones tailored for killing — were terrifying in their precision.
Techniques that grew stronger against undead.
Abilities that multiplied in power the larger his foe.
Self-imposed curses that increased his destructive force.
Evil Eye had tried to adapt a few of them into magic, but only one had ever worked — barely.
It was inefficient, exhausting, and dangerous to use… but it was her strongest spell.
"Probably pointless to ask," she said, "but is there any way to cause division among them?"
"Without mind control? Not a chance," Kaiser said.
"They're all too powerful. You'd need a world-class item just to influence one of them. And even then, what's the point of controlling a single servant?"
"Blind loyalty doesn't mean unity," Evil Eye countered.
"Even among artificial beings, they must have personalities — different interpretations of what it means to be loyal. If we exploit that—"
"It's inefficient," Kaiser interrupted. "The moment you try, you become their enemy. And who do we have that could even fight them? Maybe the Theocracy's Pandarion or the Council's dragon, but even they'd lose one-on-one."
Evil Eye frowned. "Then maybe not individuals — a faction?"
Kaiser chuckled. "Give it a few centuries, maybe. But for now, forget it. They share a kind of collective consciousness — they were all created by the same beings. You, of all people, should know how terrifying that is."
Evil Eye's silence confirmed it.
Even among humans, a shared will to survive could become overwhelming.
But among creatures who dwarfed humanity in every way?
Touching that unity would be suicide.
"This will be a hard one," she muttered. "People will die."
"If it comes to a final battle," Kaiser said quietly, "it'll end in one of two ways: everyone dies… or no one does. I see no middle ground."
Evil Eye nodded. "You're leaving soon, aren't you?"
Kaiser's only reply was a shrug.
He had always been a wanderer — a man who never stayed in one place long.
Evil Eye studied him, a strange question rising in her mind — one she would never have asked before.
"You know… were you always like this? Even before you became the Guardian of Humanity?"
Kaiser laughed softly. "That's harsh. No, I wasn't. Back when I was just an adventurer, I was… different."
Not the kind of "adventurer" Evil Eye knew — not like her, nor like Arche the Worker.
Kaiser came from an older age, when adventurers truly adventured — exploring uncharted lands, studying unknown monsters, seeking discovery over coin.
In that distant age, the unknown itself had been the greatest treasure.
But dreams didn't pay for food.
Even then, few dared to chase them.
"Maybe if my old teammates saw me now, they'd be horrified," Kaiser said with a soft chuckle. "They'd probably say, 'Wait—you actually know how to speak politely?'"
"Oh?" Evil Eye raised an eyebrow. It was the first time she'd heard him talk about his past like this.
From the very beginning, Kaiser had always seemed… strange. A fool, perhaps, but an oddly well-mannered one. The kind of man who smiled while quietly sizing everyone up.
He'd always given off that dual impression — courteous on the surface, but with something dark, unreadable lurking underneath.
She had assumed he was born that way. But apparently not. He'd learned it. Somehow, the thought surprised her.
Kaiser smiled faintly, a touch of nostalgia softening his expression.
"There were four of us back then," he said. "Me, a thief, a ranger, and a magic caster. Normally you'd want a priest in the party, but our mage… well, she was talented enough to cover that role herself. If we're talking pure ability, she could've made that Fluder Paradyne look ordinary. Brilliant woman. Physically fragile, though — that was her only weakness."
He paused, eyes unfocused, lost in memories of laughter and battlefields long gone. Then, with a shake of his head, he returned to the present.
"But enough reminiscing. Tell me — who are you most wary of in Nazarick? I'd guess Cocytus, since you actually crossed blades with him. Or is it their master, Ainz Ooal Gown?"
Evil Eye folded her arms, thinking. "If we're judging by strength alone, I'd say… Shalltear. The vampire. That's just from what little I've seen, of course. Truthfully, they're all dangerous."
"That's true," Kaiser murmured. "Shalltear, huh… To think she's the same kind of being as you, yet the gap is that wide."
Evil Eye gave a short, bitter laugh. "Hmph. Hearing that from you doesn't help."
Kaiser's assessment was probably right. If she ever stood before that vampire, she wouldn't even have time to scream.
If Shalltear toyed with her, maybe she could stall for a minute. But if the vampire came to kill… it would be instant.
Evil Eye silently hoped that day would never come.
"You're hardly human yourself, you know," Kaiser teased.
"When you say it, it sounds like mockery," Evil Eye replied dryly.
Her tone was sharp, but there was no hostility in it.
Kaiser chuckled. She was still the same, after all.
And that made him strangely happy.
He had always worried that the undead corruption might one day consume her mind completely.
Her natural talent could've kept it at bay, but the artifact he'd given her long ago made it unnecessary — letting her retain her sanity without relying on her Talent at all.
That was why Kaiser trusted her.
Among the few who knew even fragments of his true circumstances, Evil Eye was one of the very few he could still call a comrade.
The woman from the Theocracy didn't quite qualify, and the dragon from the Council was… complicated.
Evil Eye, however — she was solid ground.
"Well then," she said, rising from her chair, "I'll take my leave first."
"If you're going, use teleportation," Kaiser said casually.
"What? Why?"
"Because," he replied with a perfectly straight face, "if you walk, even with your speed, you'll still get lost before you arrive."
Evil Eye stared at him for a long moment — then deadpanned, "You're one to talk. You couldn't find your way out of a straight hallway."
Kaiser's mouth opened, then closed again. He had no defense.
Back in their adventuring days, Evil Eye had spent half her time either guiding him through dungeons or searching for him after he wandered off.
"…I'm… sorry," he said finally, smiling awkwardly.
Evil Eye rolled her eyes but allowed a faint, amused smile to slip through her mask.
"Some things," she said, "never change."
**********************
If you want to read 20 advance chapters ahead.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Vanity01