It's been about a week or so since my meeting with Ainz, and I am once again sitting in the room assigned to myself focusing on (not)Avalon. It's been a pretty productive week, both in terms of my understanding of (not)Avalon, and making headway against the Reincarnator Lilly.
It seems she has taken up a spot north of the Roble Holy Kingdom; somewhere in the open sea. Demiurge was able to find plenty of rumours about her around the said kingdom. And now that he knows what and who to look for, it turns out she isn't very subtle at all in trying to hide herself.
She made a rather big entrance on the Holy Queen's birthday, saying she was sent by the "Gods of Light" to turn this world away from the coming darkness and save everyone. Naturally, the religious fools bought it hook, line, and sinker. While the Queen tried her best to keep Lilly's appearance under the proverbial radar, you really can't hide something like that entirely.
She has been hard at work it seems, trying to remove the racism from the nation towards demi-humans as well. Saying all are loved by the Gods of Light, and such and such. Seems, not to my surprise, humans being humans are resistant to that kind of instant change. Even when it is being brought about by a literal agent of the Gods you believe in.
Honestly, she's doing a lot of good work for the world. And as a bonus, it's work that Ainz can build off of for his own world order.
Breaking out of my focus on my scabbard, I sigh a little and dismiss it.
'Well, after all this time, I can confirm that (not)Avalon has to do with fighting. No, that's wrong. Fighting isn't the right word. Hmmm… War. Yes, that's better. War.'
I was broken out of my musing by Yuri Alpha addressing me.
Yuri: "Pardon my interruption, Lady Artoria. Ainz-sama would like to meet with you in the throne room if you are available."
Giving her a nod I say, "I am, Yuri. Please inform him as such."
She gave me a bow, and went silent for a moment. She then gave a soft nod and addressed me again.
Yuri: "Ainz-sama says he will meet you in fifteen minutes."
Giving her a nod I stood up and stretched, even if it was pointless and I didn't need to. I then headed towards my bedroom.
Artoria: "I'll be in my bedroom for a few minutes. Just give the door a knock when it is time for me to leave, Yuri."
She bowed and said, "As you wish, Lady Artoria."
Opening and heading into my room, I closed the door behind me with a nudge of magic since I couldn't be bothered to turn around. I made my way over to the full length mirrors and dismissed all my clothes as I looked over myself.
'My corruption lines and definitely multiplying as I feel my connection to the AWE deepen. No, maybe deepen is the wrong word. "Reacquaint" myself with it maybe?'
Feeling like that was the right answer, I gave myself a nod and continued to look at myself.
'I am also starting to get taller? Am I ageing? My breasts have definitely gotten a tad bigger. I'll have to ask Lady Lilith about this, or maybe even Tearwyn will know?'
Looking up at my face the corruption lines were more numerous as well, like with the rest of my body. But my eyes are what really drew my attention.
My sclera was black, and instead of the normal dull yellow everyone gets when corrupted by AWE, my eyes were a very vibrant and glowing gold. A stark contrast to the rest of the black in my eyes. While my pupils were slits, like a dragons.
'This is also a different change. I like it, but I wonder what is actually happening? I understand Lady Lilith does a lot of things in the background, and what you see isn't what you only get but this has me curious. Honestly, I really like the glow.'
Looking up at the top of my head, yet another change had taken place that went unnoticed. My hair was still the same colour as before, a light yellow, but now it was extremely long. Willing my hair down, it draped along my back all the way down to just below my butt.
'I didn't realise my hair was so long! How was all of this kept in that tiny bun?'
Turning my head and body every which way I could to get a better look at my entire body, I eventually gave myself a nod.
'These changes are not unwanted, honestly. I wonder if I'll grow into the older version of Artoria Alter. The Lancer version. I wouldn't mind that honestly…"
When that thought crossed my mind, I instantly tried to focus inward to see if I could summon a mount.
'Tch, no luck. Oh well.'
Shrugging, I re-summoned my clothes and armour. Looking into the mirror again with everything equipped, I undid my hair again. Stepping away from the mirror and into a more open spot in the bedroom, I summoned my sword and started to phantom fight. I wanted to see what it was like with my long hair freely flowing.
Much to my delight, it didn't get in the way of my stances and swings. Dismissing my sword, and looking at the mirror I smiled.
'Yeah, I like my look a lot more with my hair flowing freely like this. Glad I took the time to finally look at myself. The changes are subtle for most of my body, and I would have missed them for a while. Got to remember to ask Tearwyn or Lady Lilith if at all possible.'
Nodding to myself, I head back to the meeting room. As I opened the door, I seemed to have caught Yuri mid knock.
Yuri: "Ah! My apologies Lady Artoria. Ainz-sama is ready to meet you now."
Artoria: "Excellent. Let us be off then, Yuri."
Bowing again, she then turned around to lead me back to the throne room. Closing the door again with a magic nudge I could only silently snicker at myself.
'I have gotten really lazy in some aspects now that I have magic.'
Several minutes later, Yuri and I were entering the throne room again. Looking past my maid escort, I could see that it was just Ainz and Albedo this time meeting me.
Walking up to the exact same place the few times we've been here, Yuri bowed to Ainz, announced me, and then went off to the side to wait.
'If I ever settle down somewhere, I need a real maid like Yuri. 100% professional is so refreshing.'
Ainz: "Thank you for coming, Artoria-dono. As we have planned, today is the day Demiurge has left to attack the Roble Holy Kingdom. From all the information we have gathered about Lilly, it is very likely she will appear to stop or convert him."
Giving him a nod, he continued.
Ainz: "I am glad that your Black Water will prevent that one outcome though. The tests he has done have been very enlightening to say the least about the substance. To think it would confer a 100% resistance to Holy damage as well? Very welcome to one such as myself."
Giving Ainz a wry smile and a nod I say, "I imagine so. I had a feeling it wouldn't really change anything about entities with a -500 karma score. Are you thinking about taking a dip yourself? I can confirm your soul and body are more than enough to withstand the conversion."
Ainz gave a soft hum and a light nod.
Ainz: "I would be lying if I said I was not considering it."
He reached out with his left hand and opened his inventory. His hand disappeared into a rip in reality as he reached for something.
'I am a little disappointed that I can not learn their magic. But it makes sense I guess. I was never connected to YGGDRASIL, so my soul was not modified.'
A moment later Ainz withdrew his hand and was holding a large vial filled with a black substance. I could instinctively tell it was my Black Water.
Ainz: "As such, I am keeping a sample with me at all times. I will use it in an emergency if all else fails, and I need it. For now though, I will abstain from taking a swim as you say."
Nodding my head I said, "That is a good contingency plan. Back to Demiurge though, no change in the plan?"
Ainz put the vial back into his inventory, and nodded his head.
Ainz: "Correct. He should be coming up to the Wall of the Roble Holy Kingdom soon. I will then open a gate for you."
Artoria: "Simple. But you don't need complex schemes all the time."
Ainz: "That is the tru- Ah. He has been confronted by her. Opening the gate. And Artoria-dono? Make it hurt. It angers me greatly that someone wants to change the children of my dear friends. [Gate]."
Giving him a smirk filled with malice, I nod as I step through the Gate spell.
~Several minutes before~
— P.O.V switch Lilly Lightwell —
As I was levitating above the Wall of the Roble Holy Kingdom under the effects of [Perfect Unknowable] I was a little sad at what I was about to do.
'You know, Rose, I don't want to have to kill Demiurge. It will hurt Ainz greatly, and will turn him against me for sure. Are you sure we can't do what we did with the Black Scripture people and Blue Roses and bless him with the Light?'
{I am sorry, Lilly, but it won't work on a demon like Demiurge. It would have if we managed to get at his settings and changed them, but sadly we were unable to infiltrate the Ainz Ooal Gown guild.}
I looked down in sadness at that.
'Yea. That was totally my failure. I came off too strong to Ainz at the time, and was a little too indifferent to his friends…'
{A little?}
'Okay, a lot! But, they wouldn't have followed us. And I was still just caught up in the moment okay? After getting my new body, and mentality, I really do see the error of my ways though.'
{I am still surprised you wanted to change your personality, Lilly.}
'Well, I was not the best person. I freely admit that. This transmigration to the New World, and my reincarnation with you? It was the perfect chance to build myself anew. To the person I always wanted to be, but couldn't because of life.'
{Understandable. I was a little worried, Lilly. You made some drastic changes. But I'll be honest, you are better for it. You are also a lot closer to your powers of Light, and even enjoy yourself a lot more.}
I smile, and nod at that.
'Yes, these changes are great, but they also opened myself to a different kind of pain. I truly feel horrible about what I am going to do to Demiurge, and thus to Ainz. Even with all these changes, I still love him. Silly, isn't it? To be in love with a fictional character at first.'
{I don't think it is silly. And he was never fictional, you know this now. You know a bit more about how the universe really works. And, unlike Demiurge, we can bless Ainz with the Light.}
Smiling a bit wider at that I nod again.
'That's true. But, as much as I love Ainz, I can not let Demiurge go through with this war. So many innocents, on both sides, will die a needless death. I wish we could have saved the Re-Estize Kingdom, but I trust the quest the Gods of Light gave me.'
{Admittedly, there was a lot of corruption in that country. And we can trust that the Gods of Light will do right by all the souls we had to leave to suffer that fate.}
'Agreed.'
I then brought up my status to check since I've been neglecting it lately to help the Holy Queen with problems in her nation.
Name: Lilly Lightwell
Age: 21(32)
Sex: Female
Karma: +600
Race: High Seraph Angel (14 wings)
Level: 189 (All levels/stats assimilated from Yggdrasil game)
Racials: Expand(+)
Magics: Expand(+)
Abilities: Expand(+)
Skills: Expand(+)
Passives: Expand(+)
Quests: 2 active, 3 unaccepted
Store points: 8
Attributes and Stats
Health: 1,900
Mana: 3,021
Strength: 150
Vitality: 100
Dexterity: 90
Intelligence: 700
Wisdom: 640
Defence: 200
Resistance: 500
'Not bad for how little I've put into it, right Rose?'
{Yes, that's true. You are easily the most powerful entity on this planet with those stats. But it never hurts to have more power, and our goal after all is to call down that evil Dark God and defeat it eventually after all.}
Getting a serious look, I give a nod.
'That's true. While I can stomp anything in this world, I am no match for a real Dark God that's for sure. Oh! There is Demiurge.'
With a sigh, I float down slightly and get ready to make my appearance. I really didn't want to kill Demiurge, it is not his fault he was created that way.
'I am sorry, Demiurge. I am sorry I couldn't save you.'
{Don't worry, the Gods of Light will cleanse his newborn soul and he will be reborn as something good, I am sure.}
I give a nod, and take solace in the fairness of the Gods of Light.
'Well, let's do this Rose.'
{I am with you, Lilly. Always!}
Revealing myself to the Demiurge, and the army behind him in a show of Light I try to appear as intimidating as possible.
Lilly: "Stop, Demon. Your war is not wanted here! Leave, or I will be forced to destroy you!"
Everyone stopped at my sudden appearance and the reactions were quite varied. The humans on the Wall all looked up at me with reverence, and some even started to bow down in prayer. While the demi-humans just all froze in shock, and backed away ever so slightly.
But before I could speak again Demiurge started to lightly chuckle, of all things.
'Not… the reaction I was expecting from a demon seeing an angel, I admit…'
{Something is wrong, Lilly. When I inspect him, he has a passive he didn't have in the anime, according to our knowledge. It's called [AWE] and gives him 100% holy resistance, and immunity to the Light's sway.}
'Eh? A demon with 100% holy resistance is troublesome. But I have other spells. But the fact it prevents the Light specifically is worrying. Did he somehow get blessed by the Dark God?'
{I don't know how, but it seems that way! Be careful Lilly.}
'I will.'
Demiurge: "Ah, and so the little bird has fallen into our trap."
Lilly: "You know I was going to be here, and still came, demon? I am a lot stronger than you know."
Demiurge: "Oh, I am quite positive you are stronger than myself, I agree. But Miss Agent of the Light, are you stronger than… her?"
'Wait, what did he say about the Light?'
{He knows we were sent by the Gods of Light? I guess that pretty much confirms the Dark God has interfered somehow. Well, maybe the Dark God also sent a Reincarnator? But I don't sense any other systems in this world at all…}
'That's good then, right?'
As I asked Rose that, a [Gate] spell opened near Demiurge. A moment later, my mouth dropped open wide when I saw who stepped out.
'Is… is… IS THAT SABER ALTER?!?!'
Without delay, I quickly used the systems [Inspect] skill on her.
Name: Artoria Pendragon Alter
Age: 19(3,502,341)
Sex: Female
Karma: -∞
Race: Corrupted Heroic Spirit (M̷o̶d̸i̵f̵i̷e̶d̵!)
Level: C̷a̶n̴ ̵n̸o̵t̷ ̴c̷o̷m̵p̴u̸t̶e̶
Racials: U̵n̷k̸n̶o̵w̸n̵
Magics: U̵n̷k̸n̶o̵w̸n̵
Abilities: U̵n̷k̸n̶o̵w̸n̵
Skills: U̵n̷k̸n̶o̵w̸n̵
Passives: U̵n̷k̸n̶o̵w̸n̵
E̸r̸r̶o̷r̵ E̸r̸r̶o̷r̵ Attributes and stats can not be quantified. E̸r̸r̶o̷r̵ E̸r̸r̶o̷r̵
'What in the… Rose, what is going on with this status display!?'
{We need to run, Lilly! That isn't a Reincarnator like you! She has no system, she is the real deal! You're looking at a REAL Artoria Pendragon who was corrupted by "All the World's Evils!" WE NEED TO RUN, NOW!}
'Don't need to tell me twice!'
Lilly: "[Greater Tele-]"
But much to my dismay and horror, Demiurge was faster.
Demiurge: "[Dimensional Lock]. Now now, we only just met, Miss Agent of Light. I would be saddened to part so soon after our first meeting. You were so serious just a moment ago. Where did all your steam go?"
With an internal apology to everyone who is about to get caught up in my spell and a prayer to the Gods of Light to look after their souls, I take out a cash shop item. Without wasting any time, I crush the little hourglass in my hand, and instantly cast a Super Tier spell.
Lilly: "[Sword of Damocles]!"
As my spell went off, the clouds above us broke apart as a massive Holy Sword broke through, and headed straight for my target: Saber Alter. This spell was meant to destroy large structures, as it acted like a magical orbital weapon. But with an entity like Saber Alter in front of me, I did not want to take any risks of either dying to her, or having her get away.
{Incoming!!}
The world went white as the sword impacted, the worryingly calm looking, Saber Alter. Followed by the blinding light, there was a massive thunderous roar as the spell blew apart the world around us.
About a minute later, with my ears still ringing from being so close to the impact zone of the spell, I looked around at the destruction as the dust was beginning to settle.
'I am sorry, everyone. I truly am! May the Gods of Light embrace your souls, and carry you into a life filled with Light and Love.'
Even through the dust that was still settling, I could easily see the massive damage my spell had caused. The area around me, around one kilometre, was totally obliterated. No wall, no trees, no hills. No people, human or otherwise.
'Rose… I…'
{I know, Lilly. I know. But I agree with your snap thinking. That was Artoria Pendragon of all people. And with her bugged out status? It was safe to assume she was not just a run of the mill version of her. This massive loss of Life is horrible, but you prevented many more deaths from taking her out so soon.}
'I know… know that. But I still feel horrible.'
{Wait, remember! Get to level 200! You could then learn the Super Tier spell [Mass True Resurrect], and bring all these souls back! We'll have to wait until level 300 for the other Spell we wanted, but we could bring everyone that is innocent back!}
My eyes light up at that. Rose was right! I could bring everyone I killed back with that Super Tier spell!
'Then we have a goal, Rose! We will be spending however long it takes to get to 200 in the I/D create. Set the time dilation to maximum, I don't want them to have to wait long.'
{My pleasure, Lilly! Let's do thi… what?}
Tilting my head in confusion, I ask Rose what was wrong.
{I… I can't create the dungeon.}
'What? Why?'
{Because… there is an enemy near…by…}
My head instantly snapped to where Saber Alter was standing when the spell hit. The dust was still very much in the way, so I didn't get to see if she was actually killed by the spell yet!
'No, you're joking… there is no way she survived that spell!'
Lilly: "[Gust]"
With a basic wind spell, I cleared all dust away from the impact site. And to my absolute horror, Saber Alter was still there. Standing, floating, in the air like it was just another day at the office.
{'Not possible!'} Rose and I both yelled in my head.
She then looked up at us and tilted her head.
Saber Alter: "Was that all, little bird? I expected more from a hound of the Light."
{Lilly, we're in trouble. If even that spell didn't phase her…}
I just gulped loudly as Saber Alter summoned her sword, and pointed it at me.
Saber Alter: "I am disappointed in your pathetic show of force. Die."
She then charged at me faster than I could even perceive, and I only was able to dodge and respond with a counter spell because of my new instincts.
Lilly: "[Time Stop]!"
The world around me turned grey, as everything came to a stop. Thankfully, even Saber Alter stopped. Well, mostly stopped. She was still moving ever so slightly. My skill [Accelerated Thinking] activated to give myself even more time to think.
{Good thinking, Lilly! This gives us a bit of breathing room. Now what?}
'I have no idea. We only have ten seconds of real time, and that spell has a one minute cooldown. Even then, she is slightly resisting it. Magic isn't going to work here. Maybe I call in my own Floor Guardians?'
{Maybe. But I don't think they'll stand a chance against Artoria. That Super Tier spell you used was no joke after all.}
With a sigh, I nod my head and agree with Rose. We were in a really tight spot. And since I still can't teleport, Demiurge also somehow survived. But I have no time to worry about him. It's clear Saber Alter is a much bigger threat than anything I have faced to date.
'I am worried we will lose, Rose. She is really strong. Too strong!'
{Enough of that, Lilly! Come, let's plan! I am sure we can come up with something, somehow!}
With 9 more seconds of real time left, Rose and I start brainstorming as if our lives depended on it. Because, they really did.
[author] And here is Chapter 22 for you all~. I hope you enjoyed it~! See you next chapter everyone, and Happy Halloween n stuffs~~~[/author]