-BLOP
'This is it.'
Stepping out of an obsidian slime that now condensed into a hand-sized ball, Nyssa looked around her immediate surroundings.
She wore her normal assassin attire, a bow on her back and sword on her hip, only now she had her face covered, only her eyes visible with a hood over her head.
The area around her was dark and cold, but she didn't mind this too much. No, she preferred it.
The ground and the wall beside her were both made of the same damp stone. If she didn't know any better, she'd have assumed she was inside a cave that had a man-made touch to it.
'He told me the purpose of sending me here, but he hasn't provided any reason as to why he's doing this.'
Nyssa thought. She was, of course, thinking of Ainz. Like she said, he had sent her here on a solo mission. She knew what her objective was, but that was it.
Not that she wasn't already used to this. She had quickly gotten used to Ainz being a rather distant and secretive individual.
-BLOP
The Eclipse in her hand morphed into a thin strip that extended into the dark abyss before her. Before moving, she lightly tapped her hand over the wall, tracing a small smudge along the rock, only then stepping forward to follow the Eclipse, knowing what it would lead her to.
She remained silent as she walked. Not that she had anything or anyone to speak to, but that wasn't all that was silent.
From the hush in her steps to the absence of breath, her near ghost-like existence made her fit to be called an assassin.
-BRR
However, after an unknown amount of time, she came to a stop, feeling the thread of Eclipse she held on to vibrate.
At that moment, she turned her head.
It was still dark, and at first glance, there was nothing to indicate anything unusual.
But upon turning, she witnessed the smudge made on the wall, prompting her to step forward to get a better look, furrowing her eyebrows in the next second.
'Something has changed.'
She had perfectly memorized the layout of the wall she'd marked. The centimetres between every crack, as well as the length and width of each disfigurement, not to forget where exactly the smudge was placed.
Though she had placed small other hints while she walked, this was the first she circled back to despite having walked in a straight line this entire time.
'He did mention I'd most likely have some opposition. Seems like I'm losing this battle before I have a chance to fight. If this goes on, I'll spend the rest of my time here.'
Thinking this, Nyssa's mind raced and finally solidified into one thought.
***
'Interesting. Did they leave?'
A man with white hair and a goatee leisurely sat with his back against an altar. With his arm perked up by his knee, he stared at the only entrance.
But most notably, laying on the altar behind him, unconscious, was a blonde-haired man in a raggedy suit, unbuttoned and unkempt as if he'd gone through a lot, the rough stubble around his face further suggesting this.
'It would appear so. I'm a little disappointed. They were the only form of entertainment I'd had this whole time.'
The man closed his eyes for a second, his consciousness delving into the earth below as it spread outward, canvassing the entire structure and confirming he was alone.
Therefore, he simply relaxed his body as his eyes shut, this time as a means of relaxation to…
-CLANG!!!
The man shot his eyes open as he noticed the ground before him rise, blocking something that let out an ear-piercing CLANG.
Watching the ground return, he shot to his feet as he was quick to notice the female in black garments standing on a tightrope of sorts made from an unknown obsidian material.
Where one would usually be tortured with wobbles of trying to hold their balance, Nyssa remained elegantly balanced, her back and legs straight.
"You…how did you get here?"
"I walked here. It was quite easy to figure out you were doing something to watch me. I didn't think my first instinct to tightrope and avoid any solid surfaces would work so well, but I guess you can never be sure with Metahumans."
Nyssa hopped down, pulling another arrow from her quiver as she did.
"That's what you are, right? A Metahuman?"
The white-haired man said nothing, his eyebrow instead twitching in annoyance.
"Well, either way, I'm assuming you aren't the man I've been tasked with retrieving, so don't get in my way." Nyssa's eyes shifted slightly to the unconscious man on the altar.
"I can't do that. Just wait a few more hours then I won't stop you. That's all I've been tasked with by the man in yellow. Then I can go home, you get your guy and we're all happy."
'Man in yellow?' Nyssa thought. Though it didn't show, her confusion grew by the second. She stared at the man on the altar from time to time, wondering who he could be to Ainz, yet the answers eluded her.
Nevertheless, in one swift motion, she drew an arrow from her quiver, shooting it.
-CLANG!!!
Once again, the ground rose to protect the man. However, it seemed he had more of a conscious decision now since the arrow wasn't blocked just in time like before.
"Fine. Die."
The same earth shot forward at dangerous speeds, spikes protruding from the front side until…
-CRASH
Nyssa barely dodged, leaping out of the way, all while her hand yanked at her thigh as she pulled something.
-WIZ
"GAH!"
The white-haired man tumbled, feeling a piercing dart hit his leg. Looking down, he frowned at the small projectile that was through his leg.
Clicking his teeth, he looked up, raising both his arms and abruptly brought them down.
The ground suddenly rose, like a wave all around the man before surging forward.
'Tch!'
Nyssa clicked her teeth. She was aware of the annoyance that would come with fighting a Metahuman and was further frustrated to see it was only worse than she'd imagined.
She shot an arrow into the ceiling as it pulled her up. Before she could touch the surface, a CHING rang out as she severed the line, prompting her to come back down.
But not before…
-BANG
The wall to the side of her protruded, smalling into her ribs as she was sent shooting through the air and slamming into the opposite end.
'Damnit. This is tedious. Fighting a Metahuman in their domain is like suicide.'
She thought, pulling down her mask for a moment to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth.
No matter where she ran, the Meta could catch her with a sneak attack from all directions. And after that first attack, something told her she couldn't take anymore.
Despite this…
-THUD
"You bitch…what did you do to me…"
The white-haired man dropped to one knee as he muttered, his eyes shifting to the wound on his leg every so often.
'All I have to do is outlast the poison.'
Nyssa thought, staring as she struggled to her feet, quiet.
"Die!"
However, that was easier said than done. Especially since she watched as a wave of earth rose and surged toward her, offering no escape and certainly no survival.
'Is this it…'
She thought, staring at the wave. Though most of her mind raced to find a way out of this, there was a small part in the back of her conscience that thought this.
It wasn't common for her to be on the receiving end of murder, therefore, she couldn't help but take a single moment to bask in this.
Some said they saw their life flash before their eyes, but all she saw was failure.
Failure to obtain the Throne.
Failure to attain revenge with her own two hands.
Failure to find…purpose in life.
For a long time, she saw herself as a lost goldfish suddenly let in the middle of the ocean.
However, there was one thing.
One thing that gave her a small reason to keep going.
One thing that made her life seem not so fruitless.
Or rather, somebody.
A single image loomed in her mind as a bitter smile crept up onto her face.
'Bastard…is it really his face I'm seeing in my last moments?'
And as if to mock her, a familiar BLOP rang out as the Eclipse spat out something before her.
A syringe with a purple liquid.
At that moment, she realized something.
'He did this all on purpose…'
He sent her here on purpose, despite knowing there were stronger forces than her such as Grodd, and the combined force of the mutated League.
He probably even knew there would be a Meta here.
'I guess this is his way of showing me I'm weak. My skills and weapons will only take me so far in a crazy world like this.'
And so, with her grin growing wider, not quite in joy but more so in annoyance at being proven wrong, Nyssa snatched the syringe.
***
"What are you doing?"
Nyssa stood behind the cloaked Ainz, the both of them in the dark tunnels leading to the dungeons holding their prisoners.
Her words sent a brief echo through the corridor, followed by his similar tone as he answered back.
"What do you think makes a Metahuman?" Ainz replied with a question of his own, prompting Nyssa to raise an eyebrow but answer anyway.
"Divine Judgment? You're asking the wrong person." She answered sarcastically, to which Ainz shook his head.
"No, see, that's just the thing. It's nothing so profound. It's nothing more than simple Science and Biology."
"It's something in the body. A gene activated in their DNA. A sort of mutation called the Meta-Gene that allows them to differ from regular humans."
"So?" Nyssa asked, to which Derek turned, brandishing a familiar syringe with a purple liquid.
"So, if it's just Science and Biology, it means it can be studied and manipulated. It's the same way Scientists at STAR Labs will soon figure out a cure for Metas."
She couldn't see it, but she could almost feel the menacing grin that was now plastered across Ainz's face as he stared at the syringe.
"But what if…we go further? What if…we have the balls to do what they couldn't? Nyssa…these Metas we have might just be more of a goldmine than I had once thought."
***
"Good riddance."
The white-haired man mumbled, breathing heavily as he watched the chaos that had ensued upon his wave-like attack landing.
He winced as he turned to his wounds. It wasn't the wound that had him so on edge but rather the fact it was the entry point to a poison that was now burning his insides out…
-SHUA!!!
'What the hell…'
The man darted his head up, momentarily forgetting about his pain as he looked around. But he wasn't able to see much.
That was because a pitch-black smoke suddenly kicked up into the air, enshrouding the entire area, extinguishing any flame that was lit and blocking out any light from coming in.
'What is she doing? No, can this really be her? I thought for sure my last attack had killed her.'
The man's mind raced with questions, his head flicking in every direction in an attempt to see anything that could help him make his next move.
"I don't know if I should be glad or pissed at the events that happened today…"
A familiar voice entered the man's ears, confirming his thought but raising a few more questions.
"What are you talking about? What are you doing?!"
The man yelled out in frustration.
"What am I talking about? Simply about the man who brought me here. The one pulling the strings from the shadows."
"Someone else? It doesn't matter. No one can beat the man who brought me here?"
"Hm? I thought the same thing when I first met him. He can't do this, he can't do that. But every time, without fail…he proved me wrong. There's something that feels oddly untouchable about him."
"Like the feeling you get when you finish a story that ended in a cliffhanger. But weirdly enough…I don't hate it as much as I should. Why is that?"
The man listened to this voice ramble on, waiting for the perfect moment. He couldn't use his senses, so he used his instincts.
Waiting for the feeling where his hairs stand up as if the breath were brushing against the back of his neck.
The feeling like now where goosebumps scaled his body…
'No-'
But before he could do anything, the smoke suddenly grew thicker, morphing into tendril-like appendages and rushing into the man's orifices.
"As for your latter question…"
A hand appeared from the darkness, gripping the man's neck as he struggled in the air, his body spazzing.
"I thought of giving you a taste of your own medicine."
The feeling of claustrophobia, knowing no matter where you turned, there would be danger. The same feeling a poor mouse would feel amid a stampede of elephants.
Nyssa was no longer the cornered one.
"He is the Fated Monarch…the one I aim to see fall yet stand side by side with…"
-SHING
The movement was so fast it was impossible to see with the naked eye. But in the next second, the smoke dissipated, only to reveal a familiar cloaked female, brandishing a sword in her hand.
And behind her was the same white-haired man, standing as he was last seen.
But in the next second, a thin line appeared on his neck that slowly grew more visible as blood trickled out until his head slid off his shoulders, his lifeless body dropping to its knees as blood gushed out from his wound like a fountain, the last bit of smoke swallowing him whole.
"His name…is Ainz!"
"The Fated Monarch…Ainz…"
On the altar, Eddie's eyes remained barely open, as if he'd just woken from a deep slumber, mumbling these last words that had entered his ears.
***
[The name "Ainz" has Spread]
[You have been awarded 15Sp]
'I don't know what you did…but thank you…'
Derek lay on the wall, in his own crater, unable to lift a finger as nasty bruising tainted his neck.
[Sp: 25]
'This'll be enough…to give me the time I need.'
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Who can guess what he's about to do?
I don't think I made it too obvious but test your luck with it anyway.
Next Chapter Title: Destroying Another Timeline
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