NOVEL NEXT Chapter 536
Chapter
536. The Madness of It All
Q. How was your first time witnessing the ‘True Performance’?
Barbara: “It’s different from what I thought.”
Arthur: “It’s different from what I thought.”
Lexar: “It’s different from what I thought.”
Other Sacred Spirit Team: “It’s different from what I thought.”
Adamas: “It’s different from what I thought.”
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“What? Are you saying you’re going to use my horn as material!?”
Ante’s eyes went wide open.
While he tried his best to maintain the dignity of a Demon God, his cheeks flushed, and he twitched as if holding something back, making it clear he didn’t have much presence at all.
“That’s right. It’s the perfect material.”
“Oh…♡ As a Demon God, I am to become the material for a sword…♡”
He nodded calmly, clutching himself and twitching in excitement—a mere two seconds passed, and just like that, the dignity of a Demon God vanished…
“I’d heard that a Demon’s magical power doesn’t belong to any particular attribute of this world, but seeing it in person, I can confirm—your magic feels completely different. It’s like darkness, yet not darkness. It seems to contain everything, yet is nothing.”
Ainz, who had transformed into a ‘True Performance Machine,’ observed Ante with a calm demeanor.
“Chaos… Yes, precisely chaos. The light of the High Elf and the White Dragon. The darkness of the great Demon Clan that rivals those two. A chaotic blend that encompasses all, merging together—perfect. The completed image I saw a moment ago has completely vanished, but it will surely be something extraordinary.”
Despite his calmness, Ainz spoke as if he were under a feverish excitement.
((Well, it certainly will be something extraordinary.))
No one vocalized it, but it seemed everyone shared the same sentiment.
“But Ante, what’s the extent of the effect? Demons aren’t living beings, so you can’t use the teleportation spell, nor can you receive the miracles of healing, right?”
I inquired, not out of concern for Ante, but out of reflex.
“If I were to become human, I could be treated in any way, but my horn would vanish.”
In other words… If it breaks, would it remain broken forever? Or would it naturally heal over time, like Sophia, who was charred black after being blasted by Faravgi but returned to normal eventually?
“Does your existence have any influence?”
Ante, who had been twitching, suddenly fell silent.
“Hmm. There shouldn’t be much effect. My magic may weaken a bit, but if left alone, it will grow back.”
Ante sat up straight and cast a sidelong glance at me.
“Well—if I chose not to heal it and leave it as it is, it might enhance its value as ‘material’.”
So that was the implication. I thought he was making a snide remark.
“For us, the horn is somewhat special. I am merely a part of the Demon God, yet to break a Demon God’s horn is unprecedented. However, my true self’s status is so high that a small effect would change nothing. My status won’t drop either. How boring…”
So, there’s no problem at all. Why does he look disappointed!
“Moreover, even though it’s said to be material, our bodies are originally made of magical power, so if separated, they’ll decompose and disappear. Isn’t it difficult to utilize effectively?”
“On the contrary, it’s quite convenient.”
Ainz replied immediately to Ante’s question.
“I intended to reforge Adamas while kneading it. This will save me the trouble of breaking it.”
“Oh!♡ So my symbol as a Demon God is set to be cruelly smashed…!♡”
And again, he’s twitching and collapsing…
“Um… So in regard to materialization, both sides are good to go.”
As Ante continued to twitch on the floor, creating an unbearable atmosphere, I decided to wrap things up.
“Yes, but…”
Ante abruptly stood up again, sporting a melted smile.
“It’s the same as with Leila. You will take my horn. It is Demon God’s horn, and it won’t break easily—turn Avalon into a saw and take your time to carefully cut it off. That’s the condition for providing the material.”
“………Okay.”
All eyes were on me, and I nodded with my eyes closed.
Why is there such an indecent atmosphere…? This is unprecedented even in the long history of Dwarves.
Even Kusemon didn’t make a fuss over materials like this—
“…”
—Liliana was getting all thrilled over my skin.
In the long history of Dwarves, perhaps this kind of thing is surprisingly commonplace…
†††
If Ante’s horn is separated, it will decompose into magical power, so we would collect it when needed.
Likewise, my horn too needed to be postponed for collection, as if my magical power weakened, it might disrupt the supply.
As a result, it was decided to deal with my nails and teeth first.
…This is incredibly painful.
Sure, I’d gotten good ones during actual combat training with Platy, resulting in both my front teeth shattering and nails peeling off…but during those times, I was too pumped from battle to feel much pain. Doing this during regular times, though, is downright agonizing. The individual treatment from the Night Elf was also quite brutal, but when it comes to severe wounds from battles, it wasn’t too bad owing to my experiences…
“Yes, yes. This is good, this is good material…”
While I writhed in pain, Ainz seemed satisfied.
Before I knew it, the sun had set while I was repeating the process of heating Adamas, pouring magic power into it, and then heating it again.
Thanks to the heat of the forge, I was drenched in sweat; the Forest Elf team seemed to have a rough time with the heat and withdrew early (only occasionally did Liliana come to check on us).
“However… this is the ‘True Performance’ huh…”
“It’s quite different from what I imagined…”
“I wonder what kind of sword will be made…no, really…”
The Ghost team was also watching from a distance, whispering to each other.
The flames of the forge are deadly even to ethereal beings.
I refuse to believe that they’re just put off by us.
“Alright, let’s take a break. From here, we’ll be going non-stop.”
“Got it, then I’ll take a little stroll.”
After heating Adamas thoroughly and pouring enough magical energy, I decided to take a break.
I quickly changed clothes and planned to head outside the city with Leila, Liliana, and Ante, who had returned to me…
…Because I needed to collect Leila’s materials.
Thanks to the arrival of the night, I could move without drawing attention. The town, which had been bustling due to the Demon Lord Army’s invasion, was now eerily quiet.
The castle walls surrounding the town were lined with a multitude of guards due to the wartime situation, the gates were tightly closed—but we had High Elves, Demon Vanguard, and Dragons in our group. Crossing such walls would be a piece of cake.
Thinking about how weak the defenses were even amid the invasion was a bit heavy though.
In a deserted forest outside the town, Leila transformed back to human form.
“Ugh… it… hurt…”
I had broken a couple of Leila’s fangs, and I genuinely felt sorry about it as she writhed in agony.
“The book said ‘If pain is given by someone you love, the pain itself is dear to you,’ but there’s a limit to everything—pain is still pain…”
“I’m really sorry…”
Leila looked at me with a solemn Dragon face. Luckily, Liliana treated her quickly, so it seemed her suffering was brief.
“Ku ku ku… You’re still not at that level. If it were me, I’d treasure the pain you gave me, even if it was like that of a Night Elf…!”
Ante began to boast from within me. That’s because you’re a pervert.
“Humph. I won’t allow it. I demand plenty of head pats.”
On the other hand, Leila, with no one around now, rubbed her head against me and cuddled without reservation.
The ghostly ones were also checking out swords in Ainz’s mansion, and neither Helena nor Orderju accompanied us. Initially, I’d planned to borrow Avalon, but Ainz wanted to touch it while we were on break, so we settled for an ordinary sword instead.
In response to her request, I petted Leila’s scaly head as much as I could. I tickled the scales around her eyes, rubbed the area below her throat, and oh, how I loved to rub my Demon horns against Leila’s horns.
“Ahhh~”
Leila squinted her eyes in bliss. It felt like it had been ages since I’ve seen Leila in her Dragon form. Because she had been on long-distance runs in human form recently…
“…Thank you. That’s enough for today.”
After a while, Leila seemed satisfied. Though the predator-like gaze she had was a little unsettling…
“Liliana, you must have felt pain too. I just went through it and can confirm how painful it was.”
I literally felt that pain. I looked at Liliana.
“…I’m sorry. And thank you again.”
“No problem at all! I’m used to it!”
Liliana answered cheerfully—
…No, wait!
Though it appeared she was carefree, there was a void in her eyes.
The same look I had seen in soldiers’ eyes during my time as a Hero in a desperate battlefield. Having experienced an overwhelming amount of suffering, everything else felt like ‘not a big deal’ and she had likely lost awareness of her own limits…
“Liliana.”
Gently, I placed my hand on Liliana’s cheek.
Startled, Liliana flinched, surprised that she was afraid of my touch.
“…I’m sorry for making you overdo it.”
“Used to it?” There’s no way you’d be okay with that.
But she must have told herself she was “used to it,” doing her best as if nothing was wrong…
A mix of remorse and self-hate for being unthoughtful, as well as uncomfortable gratitude, left me at a loss for words.
Liliana also seemed unsure of how to respond.
…And so, we naturally transitioned into the most familiar interaction, as if licking each other’s wounds.
“Come here, Liliana.”
“…Wuff.”
With a soft thud, Liliana jumped into my chest.
“Kyuu-kyuu, kuu-uun.”
“Alright, alright, alright…”
I petted her.
For a while, it had been tough with both the ghostly ones and even Helena and Orderju around, making it hard to do this…! I rubbed her belly, ruffled her head, and squeezed her cheeks…
I remembered the moment I parted with Liliana.
I had resigned myself to the idea that I might never see her again.
I truly felt this moment was a miracle.
“Wuff… thank you.”
Liliana, who had been in dog mode for a while, eventually regained her rationality, her eyes sparkling with clarity.
“…I’m fine now.”
Apparently, through animal therapy, Liliana’s state of mind had recovered.
“What should we do next? Are we heading back?”
“No, let’s take a little detour to check the front lines.”
With Liliana tilting her head in her Dragon form, I answered while gazing at the western sky. I was eager to reforge Adamas, but the movements of the Demon Lord Army, from whom I had received no information, also intrigued me.
With Leila’s wings, it would be quick.
It was well worth spending a few dozen minutes on reconnaissance.
“And Leila, you’d love to fly again, wouldn’t you?”
“…Yes!”
Leila nodded excitedly, unable to contain her joy.
She had been pent up from that long-distance run…!
Thus, we took off into the night sky, cloaked in invisibility magic.
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Adamas: “What happens to me?”
Ainz: “I don’t know. I don’t know, but it will surely be something extraordinary.”
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