"What's wrong?"
Seeing Kael's sudden reaction, Lakyus asked in a concerned tone. The brief pause in the battle had caught both of them slightly off guard.
Kael took a deep breath, calming his surging emotions, then looked at Lakyus with an unhappy expression. "If my guess is right, those monsters down there are the last of them. Ainz Ooal Gown and his group... they must have escaped."
Kael's narrative felt logical. Although he had successfully forced Ainz's army back with brutal attacks, something odd still bothered him. Given the arrogant personalities of Ainz and the Tomb Guardians, it was impossible for them to just sit and wait for defeat. The fact that they had never appeared in previous counterattacks could almost be explained by a tactic of conserving strength, but the Eighth Level was the last line of defense. They shouldn't have given up at this point. At the very least, they should have sent NPCs to lead the troops to help with the defense, or arranged a more coordinated counterattack.
Kael also realized something else was strange. For days, the mercenary monsters had continuously appeared, but now they were gone. That could only mean one thing: Ainz and the others had stopped summoning them.
What were they planning? To surrender?
That possibility felt impossible. They were the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, noble and powerful alien entities. They would never surrender to a weak race like humans. They must also have been aware that the Church of Destiny would never accept their surrender. Doing so would only bring them humiliation. So, only one possibility remained: they no longer needed the mercenary monsters to buy time.
"Damn it! We had the war priests close off this battlefield, and we never stopped attacking them. How could those people have escaped!?" Lakyus said through gritted teeth, frustrated.
She was determined to wage this war to destroy the demon's lair, kill every member of Ainz Ooal Gown, and protect the kingdom's populace. But if Ainz and his group escaped, there was no guarantee they wouldn't take revenge on humanity later. Without a headquarters, these reckless monsters could become an unimaginable threat. This was a terrible piece of news.
"Calm down."
Kael stepped forward and patted Lakyus on the shoulder. "It's pointless to think about it now. Our top priority is to completely destroy this demon lair. Without it, Ainz Ooal Gown and his pack of wild dogs won't be as difficult as you imagine."
"...Hmph! This is the only way now," Lakyus whispered.
Having regained some composure, she took a deep breath, looking at the remnants of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick below. With a disgusted expression, she drew the longsword transformed from [Hell's Abyss] and gripped it tightly.
"Let's destroy this sinful place."
Boom, boom, boom!
After realizing that Ainz and his group had escaped, Kael and the others wasted no time. They launched an all-out attack, destroying every inch of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
Perhaps because it was too integrated with the rest of the guild's headquarters or for some other reason, the World Item [Throne of Kings] on the tenth floor of the Great Tomb was not taken by Ainz and his companions. Ultimately, the item fell into Kael's hands.
The forest priests and earth mages immediately used their magic to control the earth, filling the huge sinkhole left by Nazarick's destruction. Although not a single stone remained, Kael decided to build a forbidden city on the site. This action was intended to completely eliminate any possibility of Ainz and his group restoring the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
On the southern edge of the Great Duwu Forest, near Nazarick's original location, all the Great Tomb Guardians, Area Guardians, general maids, and other NPCs gathered. They were waiting for the arrival of the Supreme One.
A light of teleportation flickered. Ainz appeared in the middle of the forest, his elegant black scholar's robe now stained with mud.
"Lord Ainz! You've returned safely!"
Albedo and the others rushed forward with joyful faces, immediately surrounding Ainz.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting," Ainz greeted them, his heart filled with relief.
Although the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had been destroyed, nothing bad had happened to Albedo and the others. Nothing could make him happier than this.
"Ainz-sama, you are covered in dust," Albedo walked forward, her voice as soft as a wife welcoming her husband home. She reached out, wanting to help Ainz tidy his messy robe.
Ainz didn't refuse. He just stood there, letting Albedo gently clean the dust from his clothes. "There was a small accident in the tunnel. I was almost buried under the dirt," he said.
As he spoke, a mark suddenly appeared on his bony forehead. The change was immediately noticed by the NPCs, and many of them cried out nervously.
"Lord Ainz! What did you do!?"
"Ainz-sama! Are you okay?"
Seeing them stare at his forehead, Ainz realized what had happened. He pulled a mirror from his storage backpack to look at himself.
Seeing the mark, he was stunned for a moment. Then, as if nothing had happened, he waved his hand. "Oh, it's nothing, I'm not affected at all."
In the world of YGGDRASIL, when a guild was defeated by an enemy, a "loser's mark" would appear on the forehead of every guild member. This mark had no effect on a player's attributes, it was only symbolic. The mark could be easily removed: simply recall all the original guild members to establish a new guild, and the mark would disappear.
However, this was the New World. That condition was almost impossible to fulfill, so this mark might follow him for the rest of his life. Ainz didn't mind too much. He turned, looked towards the location of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, and silently made a decision.
One day, I will lead all of you back there and rebuild the glory of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick!
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