"Reinhard..."
A young man clad in a fine butler's suit knelt before the door. It was Natsuki Subaru, and his expression was grim. Izuku Midoriya noted this horrified look, an expression he recognized because of his past experiences.
When he first encountered All For One, alongside some of his classmates, the stench of death had permeated the air, terrifying the younger version of himself. Subaru bore that exact same countenance that day.
"Please, stand up. Are you alright?" Izuku asked.
"He's been like this since morning. Betty is quite worried," she muttered, gently patting Subaru's back.
"What seems to be the trouble, Subaru?"
Reinhard van Astrea asked, appearing silently behind Beatrice and Subaru. Subaru visibly perked up at Reinhard's voice, hope returning to his mind. He shot Reinhard a glare that lasted a moment, slightly unsettling Reinhard.
"Yes, my face is pristine, right?"
Reinhard said, attempting a lighthearted joke. From Subaru's expression, he could sense grim seriousness of the situation and knew Subaru was asking for help. Reinhard's instincts screamed that there trouble was brewing.
Subaru opened his mouth. "Can you counter a time stop spell?" he asked, glaring directly at Reinhard. The moment the question left his lips, Jin Woo Sung appeared alongside Beru. The ant shadow was one of his most trusted commanders.
"What an interesting query..." Sung responded.
Subaru then explained what was about to happen and that trouble had already arrived. Detailing not just a plan, but the plan to counter the threat and neutralize it. Time, based on his explanation, was critically short. Reinhard and the others wasted no time in heading straight toward the danger.
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...
"Oh my. A triple wonder on my very first mission." A man clad in— *Boom!*
A deafening explosion erupted, obliterating the area where the man stood. The individual who uttered those words vanished; he was either reduced to ash or fine dust swirling wildly in the wind. Reinhard took a deep breath and stepped forward, instantly disappearing from sight.
"There you are!"
Reinhard called out, appearing behind a camouflaged enemy. The enemy, for its part, did not panic but began preparing a spell. Sung materialized directly behind the target and plunged his blade into the back, immediately dispelling the concealment magic.
The stab proved ineffective, yet it surprised the foe.
Delaying whatever magic it was about to activate. This was the same undead wizard they had fought previously; the skeleton king and sorcerer, Ainz Ooal Gown.
Both parties harbored a deep mutual antagonism and wasted no energy on pleasantries.
"Explode—"
"Nuh uh!"
Reinhard countered, punching the skeletal king's head, driving the undead creature straight into the earth. Beru materialized right beside Sung, and Mahoraga manifested from the shadow cast upon the ground.
The four immediately surged together against the downed skeleton king, striking and stomping relentlessly. They refused to yield; consequently, the ground fractured beneath them, giving way to a massive crater thanks to their unending assault.
"Fight back! Fight back!"
Sung taunted, his voice laced with anger toward Ainz.
"HOW DARE YOU INSECTS TOUCH AINZ!? YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE."
The words were filled with seething hatred; they came from a black-armored woman hovering above before landing squarely in the crater to stop the four versus one.
Reinhard spun, delivering a powerful kick to her head, sending the armored figure flying. "Guh!" The impact pierced through some of her defenses, nearly shattering her helmet. Sung watched the blow connect, noting its power in a fleeting moment, realizing...
Reinhard van Astrea was the strongest.
Reinhard's attack carved out a split-second opening that the skeleton king seized, freeing the undead from the barrage. "Teleportation!" Ainz had teleported elsewhere.
A massive shadow fell over the four combatants: Reinhard, Sung, Mahoraga, and Beru. Something heavy was crashing down toward them, a hulking insectoid creature. Mahoraga immediately leaped forward and tackled the enormous armored creature.
"Tch. We failed to breach its defenses, and I cannot track where it fled. My shadows around the area haven't seen it."
The armored woman, having regained her footing, let out a defiant shout and charged forward. She left a billowing cloud of smoke and a destroyed building.
Sung clicked his tongue, spinning the daggers in both hands as he charged, stopping the armored woman mid-stride by parrying her halberd.
"Still, that barrage should have dealt significant damage."
Reinhard murmured to himself, closing his eyes for a single moment; he did indeed possess a means of locating the skeleton king. "Found you."
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...
Subaru remained hidden behind some sandbags with Beatrice and Izuku. Ryuen Kakeru and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji maintained their distance, watching the battle unfold from afar through binoculars. Kiyotaka, however, refused to share the view, much to Ryuen's irritation.
"So, the plan is an offensive push? Don't we need more firepower for that?"
Beatrice asked, raising a thin brow. Izuku trained his eyes on the clash ahead, trying desperately to follow the high-speed action.
"Yeah, that's why I sent Emilia to contact Julius and Anastasia. This is their city; they will surely commit more resources to stop these invaders," Subaru muttered, growing increasingly uneasy about the fight ahead. He gripped his neck, glancing down at the cracked earth.
"That Ainz guy wields such an immense grip..." he murmured, recalling a grim memory.
Beatrice remained uncertain. "They'll get in the way; wouldn't evacuating the city make more sense?"
Subaru waved her off dismissively. "Sung's shadows are already assisting with the evacuation. We need more manpower and combat support to bolster the main fighters."
Beatrice surveyed the battle raging before them. Spells were being hurled, and a section of the city was already locked in ice. "I have to admit, they are quite powerful. Julius and some of the legends we have can barely hold a candle to Reinhard and Sung."
She turned to Izuku. "Even this young boy here possesses enough power to best Julius."
Izuku offered a wry smile, shaking his head. "I am not here to fight; I will merely get in the way. Honestly, I can't even follow the actions of our main fighters consistently."
The shadow on the ground, casted by an adjacent pillar resonated, and Megumi Fushiguro's head emerged. He revealed nothing more than his head.
"Midoriya, there is someone I located."
"Who is it?" Izuku inquired.
"Hard to say? A jester? A clown. They are in the eastern sector of the city; he has already claimed several victims with those strange cards," Megumi muttered as he sank deeper into the shadows. With that, Izuku rose and looked toward the east.
"A card based weapon?" Subaru's expression turned distinctly grim, his hand coming up to rest on his chin. "A clown...? I never saw one before."
"Hm?" Beatrice hummed in query.
(The next chapter is... both... rubber...and gum...)