Chapter 397: 375 The Strongest Sword Technique
It was not the end of the world, but its destruction.
This statement wasn’t an exaggerated metaphor.
At least, for that period of time, the world within the reach of the area-of-effect instant-death magic known as "Banshee Scream" was truly dying.
The gravel floating in the air turned to nothingness and died.
The insects flying about turned to corpses and died.
Even the lifeless air was dying, creating a vacuum zone over two hundred meters in diameter, leaving nothing but the scent of death in this world.
If the battleground had been on the surface, the earth would surely not have escaped the fate of death and would have turned into a desert in the blink of an eye, wouldn’t it?
This was a desperate situation where not even inorganic matter could survive, where both life and non-life would perish in an instant.
In such a predicament, even Shalltear and Albedo had disappeared without a trace, unnoticed, whether they had escaped using teleportation magic in advance or had completely vanished, utterly dead.
If they hadn’t escaped, it was without doubt that they would have died.
Whether it was Shalltear, who could reverse time, or Albedo, who could transfer damage to her armor, if they were in this space of absolute death, they wouldn’t even have the chance to activate their special abilities before suffering instant death, with no second possibility.
This was the trump card of Ainz Ooal Gown, the specialized necromancy Magic Singer, the true ace that brought death to all things, the supreme method of the ruler of death.
In the face of such terrifying power, in this world filled with the aura of death, probably only Ainz himself could stand here unharmed, unaffected.
Even for Reiger, being subject to such horrific power, there was not the slightest chance of luck.
...It should have been so.
"Huh————"
Fresh wind began to flow into this space, diluting the deathly atmosphere.
Ainz stood against the wind once more, hovering in mid-air, but now he was rendered speechless as he looked at the man also hovering opposite him.
In a world that should have contained only Ainz, a second person who did not die miraculously appeared.
"...Indeed, it is quite a fearsome power. For a moment, I almost thought I was going to die."
Accompanied by these words, Reiger’s body was surrounded by the glimmer of the "Flight" magic power as he calmly watched Ainz.
Yes.
Reiger was still alive.
"...Did you use a resurrection item?"
Ainz asked in his hoarse voice.
"Death is the end of all things" — This ability that could enhance magic and special skills with instant-death effects was supposed to be irresistible once Ainz unleashed his instant-death magic.
Even if Reiger had resistance to instant death, after Ainz activated "Death is the end of all things," his resistance would be as good as nonexistent, and he would undoubtedly die instantly.
The simplest way to resist this move would be to wear a precious resurrection item or use delayed-activation magic with resurrection effects to revive oneself immediately after dying.
As for resisting this attack without being affected, as far as Ainz knew, there should be no such method.
Unfortunately, Reiger shook his head, denying Ainz’s conjecture.
"I did indeed use an item, but it wasn’t a resurrection item."
As he said so, Reiger opened his clothing and showed Ainz the emerald pendant around his neck.
It was something Reiger had worn the first time Ainz saw him.
And now, the gemstone on the pendant was emitting a brilliant glow.
Without a doubt, this was the item Reiger had just mentioned using.
"Its name is Meloai’s Divine Artifact; it has two very powerful effects."
Reiger’s calm voice slowly reached Ainz’s ears.
"One of these effects is to completely isolate the holder from the outside world, ensuring that no power targeting the holder, whether harmful or harmless, can reach them."
Ainz understood what Reiger meant.
"...I see," Ainz said gravely, "because of this effect, setting aside my ’Death is the end of all things,’ ’Banshee Scream’ was kept at bay, preventing the instant-death effect from reaching you, right?"
"Exactly," Reiger replied tersely, "Your special ability is indeed strong, but ’Banshee Scream’ is just a spell. As long as its power is isolated from oneself, no matter how strong your ’Death is the end of all things’ is, if the instant-death effect does not occur, then it accomplishes nothing."
In simple terms, Reiger was as though existing in a space separate from the current world, seemingly present here yet completely cut off from the outside world.
Under such circumstances, no matter how powerful a skill or magic Ainz used, if it could not affect a world different from the current one, it would inevitably fail to touch Reiger.
If Reiger was untouchable, no matter how powerful it was, it would be irrelevant to him.
Realizing he couldn’t stop Ainz, Reiger chose to activate the effect of Meloai’s Divine Artifact to enter an invincible state, thereby evading this certain deathblow.
Grasping this, Ainz looked at the Meloai’s Divine Artifact on Reiger’s neck with a different gaze.
Such effect, such power, as far as Ainz knew, could definitely not be produced by an artifact of godly caliber.
What did that imply?
"...A world-class artifact."
Ainz’s voice was filled with a newfound trepidation.
"No, impossible, that can’t be a world-class artifact."
There were only two hundred world-class artifacts, which was common knowledge to any player.
In ’YGGDRASIL,’ Ainz had never heard the name Meloai’s Divine Artifact, nor that among the limited two hundred world-class artifacts there was one called Meloai’s Divine Artifact.
Thus, Ainz could assert definitively that it was not a world-class artifact.
However, this thought wavered due to Reiger’s next statement.
"Why is it impossible?" Reiger said indifferently to Ainz, "Even if ’YGGDRASIL’ doesn’t have such a world-class artifact, who’s to say that in another world, an artifact of this caliber cannot exist?"
Ainz fell silent.
"Is that what you’re saying?"
"Was it a world-level artifact that was born in this world?"
That was the only explanation.
However, to Ainz’s remark, Reiger simply responded with a noncommittal smile.
"It doesn’t matter either way."
Reiger sheathed the divine sword, glowing with scorching heat, into a suddenly appearing exquisite scabbard and attached it to his waist.
"Either way, you were unable to kill me, so now it’s your turn to die."
Ainz stared hard at Reiger as he declared this as if it were a mere fact.
"Secret Technique: High-Level Teleportation!"
The next second, Ainz cast a teleportation spell and chose to retreat.
It was unavoidable; he had realized that he couldn’t possibly win against Reiger.
You must be joking, the intelligence brought back by Shalltear was completely incorrect. The enemy’s strength had greatly surpassed their expectations and they were completely unmatched.
If one were to calculate using the levels in ’YGGDRASIL,’ the power Reiger displayed definitely exceeded the full level of one hundred and reached the realm of the Dragon Emperor he once mentioned.
To be able to fight against five characters at full level one hundred on his own, and with a well-equipped team that included offense, defense, vanguard, rearguard, skirmishing, and range attacks, Ainz had never even heard of such a person.
Under these circumstances, if not now, when?
But, Ainz had forgotten, in this world, there were others who could use magic to obstruct transportation and thwart someone’s escape.
"Magic Level Ascension·Dimension Lock."
Under such an incantation, an exceptionally powerful wave spread throughout the space, making the whole area incredibly solidified.
The original "Dimension Lock" was a spell that prevented people from using transfer-related abilities. Now Reiger had enhanced its effect and raised its level, turning it into a top-tier tenth-level spell. Once cast, even the strongest of teleportation spells could not escape from the domain that had been sealed off.
"Magic Disintegration!"
Ainz tried to use a spell specifically to break magic to dispel Reiger’s magic, but he was shocked to find that he had failed.
The reason was simple: the spell he used determined the chance of success and rate of dispelling based on the opponent’s mastery of magic. When the opponent’s magical power was superior to his, he had no way to break Reiger’s spell.
In other words, at this moment, Reiger’s magical power was, indeed, above Ainz, who specialized in necromantic magic.
"It seems my recent training in ’Magic Power’ was not in vain."
Reiger’s voice carried across again.
"As a return for your ace in the hole, I too shall use my strongest sword technique."
"To be finished off by this move is not an indignity to the ruler of the Nasalik Underground Tomb."
"Isn’t that right, Mr. Momonga?"
As this terribly informative statement reached Ainz’s ears, before he had the chance to respond, he saw it.
He saw a radiant sun rising in front of his very eyes.
The powerful flames spread.
The astonishing heat dissipated.
The entire night sky seemed to turn into daylight, illuminated by the brilliant sunlight.
"Breath of the Sun·Type Thirteen..."
The dazzling sun flickered, flashing through the world where day and night alternated.
"Lord Ainz...!"
Shalltear and Albedo flew in from afar, their appearance somewhat hysterical.
However, Ainz could no longer respond to them.
Because, before his eyes, the world had been completely replaced by a field of fire.
In the midst of the flames, a figure suddenly appeared, drawing a sword in an instant.
That sword was so hot it seemed it could evaporate anything.
That sword was so fiery red it seemed as if it had absorbed the sun that rose in the night sky.
An extreme sun slash flashed before Ainz’s eyes.
"Secret Technique: Blossom."
Reiger’s voice was no longer before Ainz but instead came from behind him.
"......"
Ainz opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.
But he was not successful.
"Crack..."
A crack suddenly appeared in his skeleton body, which was supposed to be resistant to slashing attacks.
Looking down, Ainz saw his body had been split into two from the chest, as if seared by a red-hot iron, the cut glowing red.
"Boom!"
Only then did flames burst forth from Ainz, enveloping his entire body.
Ainz gradually burned to ash within the flames until there was nothing left, completely disappearing.
"Lord Ainz————!"
The sorrowful cries of Shalltear and Albedo echoed under the night sky.
Long, long, without fading.