The First Floor of Nazzarick: The Graveyard.
If Hiro wanted to reach Shalltear Bloodfallen, the first obstacle in his way of conquering the floors of Nazzarick, then he'd have to make his way through the first and second floors of Nazzarick.
Shalltear resides in the third floor, The Catacombs. Nevertheless, she still surveyed him, hundreds of all seeing eyes, subordinates, and surveillance spells planted in every corner of the first three floors.
Shalltear could be classified as some sort of god in here. Not only did she spend a major part of her life living in those three levels, but she knew her domain more than anyone, more than Ainz himself, and her creator, Peroroncino.
"A mere mortal attempting to challenge Nazaricks defences is laughable at best; my minions won't have any difficulty adding your corpse to one of those graveyards-arisu~." Shalltear's haussements continued, one of the many challenges when entering Nazzarick, apart from the powerful entities, was the psychological trials. After all, you're diving into literal Hell, a never-before completed dungeon, filled with traumatic trials that made even the strongest and most notorious players in Yggdrasil proclaim Nazzarick as impossible to beat.
So what odds did Hiro have exactly?
The Graveyard was a simple yet complex cemetery that extends for billions of kilometers in all directions. The day-night cycle was always locked on midnight. In the sky, a gigantic crescent moon that illuminated the dark sky and the graveyard below. Crows and other hostile entities like skeletons and zombies were pretty common.
And while walking through the Graveyard, determined to exit this floor and move on to the next, Hiro was faced with an horde of vampire brides; vampire women with pale skin, crimson eyes, wearing a white dress, and armed with steel-sharp claws.
Hiro had no problem fending off those attacks as they were mere and low tier subordinates of Shalltear. But what stood out of the cargo was yet to come.
After many fights, Hiro reached a quintessential part of the Graveyard; The Main Mausoleum. Even with all tye blood of his face, Hiro manages to get to the mausoleum's scripture and read what it says.
"Well~, it seems like you've made it out to the end, unscathed. Congrats~ But you still have to face one of the strongest subordinates, and sub-guardian of the First Floor-arisu~..." Shalltear giggles.
"Here lies, the Witch of The Graveyard..." He reads. To progress in Nazzarick, summoning the Witch, which represents the Mini-Boss of the area, was mandatory. Doing so, required a well-built altar, in order to secure the path connecting between Hell and the Abyss.
Hiro follows the instructions carefully, gathering bones on the defeated undead, searching and digging up tombstones to extract hunted artifacts, then, pouring two liters of his own blood on the altar, which he did by fearlessly cutting his arm then regenerating it.
Then, it was ready. The altar glowed in a million lights as the mausoleum forward crumbled to pieces, and a notorious and sinister undead figure emerged from the ground, then flying up in the sky.
"The Witch of The Graveyard..." Hiro said.
Her entire body was skeletal. Wearing nothing but a used and cut white cloak, with a withered and rusty crown on her skull.
"Be very afraid, mortal... For my minions, the Witch does not know fear, nor defeat..." Shalltear announced, coldly.
"I... Will... Exterminate... You..." The Witch says menacingly. Her skeletal index poiting at Hiro, suddenly emitting a death Ray which traveled at light speed. Barely reacting, Hiro avoided the hit, which obliterated the ground below him and sent everything a mile back.
Hiro's eyes narrow as he steps forward, the ground crunching beneath his boots. Across the field, the Witch floats ominously above the ground, her gaze locked onto him.
"The Mistress... And his Majesty... Are... Watching... Don't... Disappoint them... Mortal..." The Witch whispers, her old yet clear and intimidating dusty and withered voice aspires fear.
Without warning, she raises her skeletal hand, and from the earth, hundreds of skeletons and zombies claw their way to the surface. The undead swarm toward Hiro.
"GRAAAAAAH!!" The undead roar a primal scream of pure agony and anger, directed towards Hiro.
But then, Hiro meets them with a devastating swing of his Katana, *fwoosh!* , dark energy erupting from the blade as it cleaves through the horde.
Bones shatter, and decayed flesh disintegrates as the undead are obliterated in his path. He moves with deadly precision, cutting down enemies left and right, seemingly unstoppable.
But before he can recover, the Witch reappears, casting a Tier 6 spell.
" 6th Tier Magic! Circles of Hell! " The Witch casts, a purple ray emitting from her skeletal hand, aiming at Hiro.
Hiro dodged the beam, but as it hit the ground, the floor below him started shaking.
A massive circle of necrotic energy surrounds Hiro, glowing with malevolent runes. A dark beam shoots toward him, striking his chest.
*BOOOOM!!*
The impact sends him flying backward, slamming him into a crumbling mausoleum. The building collapses on itself, it took a short period for Hiro to recover and stand from the rubble.
The Witch, laughs, overjoyed from the overall path this combat was following. All the odds are on her side!
Hiro grits his teeth as he staggers to his feet, but he feels it-the beam wasn't just powerful, it's draining his life force. His vision blurs, and the weight of the spell begins to bear down on him.
"Fufufu~... Did you feel... the pain? Your power is nothing here... I will drain... every ounce of strength... from you... and add your soul to my... collection..." The Witch threatens.
She raises her hand again, and souls of the damned begin to form around her. They howl in agony as they rush toward Hiro, their cold touch freezing his very bones.
Hiro swings his Katana, his body being drained and suffering in pain. He cut through the spirits, but with every strike, he feels himself weakening. The Witch's dark magic is unrelenting, pressing him from all sides. He drops to one knee, panting, his strength ebbing.
"Fuck..." He curses.
The Witch hovers closer, her skeletal face now visible beneath the veil. Her hollow eyes gleam with triumph.
"Haha–HAA~! You thought yourself invincible, didn't you? But only his Majesty is worthy of such title! Now, finish him, my loyal Witch! His weakness isn't even worth turning to an undead!" Shalltear says, her voice echoing throughout the entire Catacombs.
With a twisted grin, the Witch unleashes another blast of necrotic energy, the spell wrapping around Hiro's body like chains. Thanks to his armor, he was able to sustain the spell without much pain, dark magic was seeping through every break in its surface.
"I will savor your death... mortal..." The Witch says, her voice echoes, signaling a showdown.
"You think you've won?"
The Witch hesitates, sensing the shift in power.
Up until now, Hiro was putting on a great show, it was good enough to entertain Shalltear, Ainz and most importantly Akira himself. But recress was over, it was time to unleash the Elderich Power.
Hiro grits his teeth and forces himself to his feet, pushing through the chains of necrotic energy with sheer willpower. His armor, begins to glow with an unholy light. He raises his blade, and a dark, swirling vortex of energy gathers at its tip.
"Wh–WHAT?! A TRUMP CARD?! HIDDEN ALM THIS TIME?!" Shalltear's surprise is very clear.
"Im... Impossible..." The Witch grunts.
"You're not the only one who can control death." He shouts.
With a roar, he swings his sword down, releasing a hypercharged power that accumulated inside the World Cutting Katana.
It tears through the graveyard like a black hurricane, consuming everything in its path. The Witch's eyes widen in shock as her necrotic chains snap, and the souls she commanded are ripped apart by the force of Hiro's attack.
The vortex slams into the Witch, sending her flying into a crumbling tombstone. She shrieks in pain as the dark energy eats away at her, her skeletal form cracking under the assault.
The Witch, though weakened, summons the last of her magic, raising a wall of undead between her and Hiro. But Hiro, fueled by rage and determination, cuts through them with reckless abandon.
They meet in the center of the graveyard, Hiro's blade crashing against the Witch's staff in a violent clash of magic and steel. Sparks of dark energy fly as they exchange blows, each one more powerful than the last.
"St–Stay away...!!" The Witch shouts.
"GET UP AND FIGHT WITCH!! FIIIGHT!!!" Shalltear shouts.
Finally, with a furious drive, Hiro drives his blade through the Witch's chest, pinning her to the ground. She gasps, dark energy spilling from the wound as her form begins to disintegrate. Her torso broken to a million bones.
"Mi–Mistress... I... Y–Your maj–esty... I... beg for fo... forg...." What comes next is inaudible, as the Witch withers away, leaving on her loot, a majestic looking key.
Hiro stands victorious, though battered and breathing heavily. He wipes the weird matter from his face and sheathes his sword, his eyes scanning the desolate battlefield.
"Close, but not close enough." He says.
"CURSE YOU!!!! I WILL RIP YOU APART YOU INSOLENT HUMAAAAAN!!!!!" Shalltear was going insane, he could feel the weight of her words but Hiro wasn't as close as intimated.
"We'll see if you keep your words when I reach you, wicked vampire." Hiro points his Katana to the sky, releasing yet another hypercharged surge of power from the Katana which strikes the moon, destroying it to a million asteroids floating on top of the liberated First Floor: The Graveyard.
With a final glance at the graveyard, Hiro walks away, his steps heavy but resolute, ready for whatever awaits him deeper within Nazarick.
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