The main ensemble arrived.
Reinhard van Astrea, Jin Woo Sung, and Mahoraga. The demon, poised to inflict yet more casualties, smiled as his gaze fixed upon the ultimate prize. Empowered by his enhancements, he felt invincible, confident in the formidable patrons who stood behind him.
"Oh my. A triple wonder in my first mission." The demon announced.
"Good, that means I won't have to track you down." He said as he lowered himself and smiled, showing his claws. However, within a single second. He staggered and fell to the ground. The demon was dead.
The demon was not the main target; the demon was the distraction, merely the opening salvo of an even more destructive attack. The main target, the skeleton king Ainz Ooal Gown, was lurking nearby, in fact. Reinhard found the undead almost immediately.
"There you are," Reinhard muttered, appearing behind Ainz Ooal Gown. Ainz, expecting to be found and likely attacked from behind, activated his spell.
"Explode Mine!"
However, the hidden mine didn't explode. [ Divine Protection of Exploding Traps. ]
Surprised by the unexpected inactivation of his spell, he was a second too late to adjust. Ainz was driven to the ground by a straightforward but forceful blow to his chest, an impact strong enough to bring the entire structure down around him.
"Guh!"
The impact of the punch split the floor apart. Such devastating power was typical of Reinhard's strikes.
The assault broke through multiple layers of defense, particularly the magical spells. The repeated cracking sounds, resembling shattering glass, signaled that a physical protective spell had been breached.
Body of Effulgent Beryl. Broken.
Ward. Broken.
Piercing Damage Resistance V. Breached.
Bludgeoning Vulnerability V. Breached.
Hardening. Broken.
Greater Hardening. Broken.
Shield. Broken.
Physical Mantle. Broken.
Barrier. Broken.
Magic Shield. Broken.
And other physically oriented defensive spells.
However, the spells were just one avenue since most of Ainz's defenses came from his divine equipment, natural resistances as an undead, and higher base stats.
Try as Reinhard might. There were still several immovable layers of protection that were difficult to surpass. Still, some damage was dealt to the skeleton king.
Ainz tried to cast another spell, but Reinhard swiftly kicked the bony jaw. Ainz resorted to silent casting, but Reinhard kept up with his kicks; concentration was difficult.
Reinhard then grabbed Ainz's bony right leg, gripping it tightly with extreme force. Reinhard's expression soured; he tried to break or tear apart the leg but found it difficult. There was another layer of protection he couldn't quite pierce.
"You're quite spry, but you're forgetting. I am a god." Ainz declared, lying on the ground with sprawled arms, letting out a soft chuckle while his leg was grabbed by Reinhard. Ainz tried to sell his bluff that, despite the relentless attacks, there was barely any damage.
Reinhard grunted and smashed Ainz repeatedly to the floor, like a sack full of feathers. He kept this up until Ainz managed to silently cast a spell. "Penetrate Magic: Slow!"
Reinhard's actions slowed. Ainz was then able to free his bony right leg. "Haste!" Ainz cast it, but Reinhard snapped out of the spell's effect; his resistance to temporal magic was increased compared to before.
"Puny god." Reinhard muttered before punching Ainz straight in the head and sending him straight into a large water fountain, destroying the fountain. As the smoke dissipated and Ainz stood up, a massive silhouette emerged from behind him — none other than Jin Woo Sung.
Sung was about to push a dagger straight to Ainz's head when something massive crashed into Sung, which then sent him flying, crashing against a ruined building. The tank had arrived, donning a dark combat armor and intimidating halberd.
A large figure arrived shortly, landing behind Albedo. The air froze as the humongous insectoid then stepped forward, also freezing the stone ground. The three of them were communicating with each other; that much was certain from Reinhard's perspective.
"You've met my subordinates already, but I haven't quite introduced you all to them. This woman is Albedo, and the large warrior from behind is Cocytus."
Ainz introduced his allies with flair, stretching his arms as he said their names. The skeleton king had a flair for the dramatic, Reinhard surmised. Reinhard closed his eyes, wishing for some other protections.
The three also grouped up, their backs against each other, scanning their targets. Crystallized pieces of frozen ice flew forward. They hurtled toward the three of them, yet achieved nothing, they never even made contact, dissolving into nothingness as they neared their targets.
"A weak spell?" Albedo muttered, almost insulted.
"Some random elf, leave it be for now." Ainz assured.
The spell came from a female elf wearing a white almost regal dress. Emilia wanted to help from afar, shooting icicles at a distance to provide some distraction.
"Emilia-tan. You're strong, but let's just hide. That's no use." Natsuki Subaru said, grabbing Emilia's hand and pushing her down to hide her.
"They're obviously bad people. We should help them." Emilia softly protested.
"Betty thinks we should stay away from the fight. That much is obvious." Beatrice said, peeking from behind the hole of a wooden barrel.
"Please, do not give away our positions. If those three decide to attack us, we won't be able to stop them." Kiyotaka Ayanokoji had said, peering through a pair of binoculars that Izuku Midoriya had given earlier.
...
...
...
The magically invisible mines all exploded in unison, surprising Ainz. Ainz was in deep contemplation; Reinhard could tell. The mines were supposed to be invisible and placed in advance, yet the shadows, Sung's shadows, had found them all and forced them to explode.
Reinhard was about to pull out his dragon sword reid, immediately putting the three bunched monsters on their guard, but Reinhard hesitated, listening to Subaru's advice. The grey ground beneath the three clustered monsters shifted in color, covering the ground with a viscous shadow-like substance yet no other effect occurred.
Megumi Fushiguro, who was watching from afar, was stumped. A prime opportunity was there: a trio of bunched enemies, but they didn't even fall inside the shadows. His stealth attack had failed.
Ainz, seeking the opportunity and seeing the airspace was free, immediately flew upward while Albedo charged at Sung and Cocytus charged at Reinhard.
"You insolent trash. This time, I won't stop, and you will die by my hands!"
Albedo shouted, but a shadow summon wearing a maid outfit stopped her in her tracks. The shadow maid had a plump chest and spiral hair curls. The shadow maid still showed her outward beauty despite being turned into a shadow summon.
Albedo's expression clearly seethed behind her black horned helmet. An expression that Sung was clearly happy to extract from her.
"You. Are. My. Opponent." Cocytus announced, but Reinhard immediately appeared above Cocytus who was charging. Cocytus reacted a second too late and was immediately kicked straight to the ground, embedding the large insectoid warrior's head into the ground.
Mahoraga stepped in at the last moment, soaring upward to crush Cocytus beneath its foot. With an explosive roar, it unleashed a rapid barrage of punches.
Reinhard immediately snapped his head to Ainz, who was floating in the sky. The skeleton king was preparing something, and without a second to waste, Reinhard immediately leaped straight into the air.
"Time Stop."
(The next chapter is...)