She ran as fast as she could toward the forest while dragging her sister along with her, as the knight who killed her parents tried to chase after her.
She didn't have time to digest the fact that her parents were dead; the safety of her sister was the most important thing on her mind right now.
She looked back at her sister, feeling that she had already slowed down, and she noticed her sister's entire body was already drenched in sweat while trying hard to keep up with her pace.
Her heart clenched at the sight and she forced herself to look forward while encouraging her sister to keep running, as she could still hear the knight chasing after them despite wearing full-body armor.
"A-Ah!"
"Nemu!!"
Her sister Nemu stumbled over a tree root and fell to the ground, and in a panic, she hurriedly crouched down to help her get back on her feet.
But when she reached Nemu, she heard a clanking sound behind her, making her heart stop beating for a moment.
She hurriedly looked back in panic, and her eyes widened in horror as she caught sight of the knight raising his sword toward them.
"Die!"
"Nemu!"
"Big sis!"
She protectively hugged her sister almost instantly as she tightly shut her eyes to prepare herself for getting hurt.
Seconds turned into minutes, and she didn't feel anything, while the clanking sound of metal kept echoing in her ears, making her timidly open her eyes to see.
Her entire vision was filled with blue lights, she was surrounded by a barrier with her as the center, while the knight kept repeatedly swinging his sword toward the barrier, trying to break in.
She then noticed the soft light emanating from her necklace as she widened her eyes in realization and tightly grasped the necklace with her hand.
"Nfi...thank you."
Meanwhile, two other knights caught up to them and helped break the barrier by swinging their swords together, but after several minutes of attacking it with no effect, they finally stopped and tried to analyze the barrier.
"What the heck is with this barrier? It's unbreakable."
"Look! The girl's necklace is glowing; it must be the source."
"Oh! It must be a really precious magic item."
The three knights looked at each other and nodded their heads in some sort of agreement, and one of them got close to the barrier and then opened his mouth.
"Listen, girl! If you give us that necklace, we might spare you."
Her expression scrunched up in disgust upon hearing that demand; there was no way she would give her precious necklace and trust them not to kill her after the barrier was gone.
When she opened her mouth to reject them, the knights' eyes suddenly fixated on her back, and they slowly took a step back while raising their swords in guard.
Suspicious, she turned her head to see what they were looking at and instantly regretted it, as her eyes opened wide in fear and her heart thumped fiercely in her chest.
A terrifying undead emerged from a black swirling portal, wearing a majestic black robe adorned with a gold and violet edge, while its left hand grasped a beautiful and intricate golden staff with seven snakes holding different gems in each mouth on top of it.
The knight flinched when the undead directed its crimson eyes toward them, slowly approaching step by step.
"W-Who are you? D-Don't get close!!"
"What is this? You dare to attack women and children, but you're afraid the moment you have different enemies?"
The undead then raised its right hand toward one of the knights and clenched it into a fist.
"[Grasp Heart]."
The knight fell instantly to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, causing one of the knights to run away in panic.
"M-Monster!!"
"Hmm, die instantly from 9th tier magic. Let's try the weaker one, [Dragon Lightning]."
"Y-Yeeeaaaahhh!!"
Dragon-shaped lightning shot out of the skeleton's pointed finger and instantly electrocuted one of the knights, then jumped to the other knight, turning them black as charcoal, while the smell of burnt flesh wafted from their bodies.
"Even the 5th tier one, I guess I am overestimating them."
The undead then pointed its finger toward the corpse of the knight and said, "[Create Undead]."
A sphere of black blob suddenly appeared out of thin air and then entered the knight's body, making it twitch and tremble around crazily.
The blob devoured the knight's body and then expanded and transformed into an undead wearing spiked armor and a giant shield.
"Death Knight, kill all the knights wearing this armor."
Rooooaaaarrrr!!!
The Death Knight let out a bloodthirsty roar and then ran toward the village, making the ground tremble with every step it took.
The undead looked at the back of the running Death Knight for a moment and then turned his head to the two girls.
"Now then—"
"Please don't kill us!!"
"Please!"
She immediately knelt and bowed her body toward the ground, begging not to be killed, while her sister imitated her.
"How dare you lower life forms interrupt my beloved!! I am going to kill you!!"
A woman wearing feminine black full plate armor with a horn on her helmet suddenly appeared out of the portal and stood beside the undead, raising her axe toward the two girls and making them flinch from her threat.
"Albedo, you come."
"Of course I am, Lord Momonga!! If it's for you, I will follow you everywhere!!"
"O-Oh."
The woman changed her tune the moment the undead addressed her and instantly turned all her attention toward the undead while worshiping him passionately.
"But what are you going to do about this worm, Lord Momonga?"
Her body stiffened from hearing the disdainful voice and the intense stare on her back from this woman called Albedo.
"For now, the enemy is the knight. I want to ask her a question."
"Yes, Lord Momonga."
Albedo stepped back obediently, and the undead then approached the two girls, who were trembling greatly as if they were going to be killed at any moment.
"Raise your head."
"Y-Yes."
She slowly raised her head from the ground and gulped her saliva, seeing the towering and intimidating undead in front of her. Even though there was a barrier between them, she still felt uneasy.
"Where did you get that magic item?"
"I-It was given to me by my friend."
"Is he a magic caster?"
"Y-Yes, he is a magic caster and alchemist."
The undead paused and then looked at the sky in nostalgia, as if he were reminiscing about someone.
Then he turned back toward her and said, "I see, you have a good friend."
"Y-Yes."
Her cheeks blushed as the image of her "friend" flashed in her mind, causing her to forget about her current situation and making Albedo's eyebrow twitch in irritation.
"If you know a magic caster, it makes things easier; I am a magic caster [Anti-Magic Cocoon], [Wall of Protection from Arrows]. Your protection should be complete with this."
"A-Ahh, thank you."
"Also, take this."
The undead takes something from the void and throws it toward her, making her hurry to catch it.
"What is this?"
"Horn of Goblin General; it can summon an army of goblins to protect you. Use it if necessary."
"T-Thank you."
"Let's go, Albedo."
The undead then turns his back to her and walks toward her village, prompting her to hurriedly call him back.
"Wait! Can I know my benefactor's name?"
"Name, huh?"
The undead pauses his walk and looks down as he thinks about something. Then he turns toward her with a flourish and says,
"Remember this, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown!"
"◇"
"...my name is Ainz Ooal Gown!"
"Hmm, it's going more or less like the show, just a bit different."
A young man with blonde hair and a fit body stares at the recording in front of his eyes while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, at the very least, Enri is safe; that's what matters."
He then flicks his finger, and the recording screen disappears instantly, as if it were never there in the first place.
"Thankfully, it seems the physical recording is not being detected by them. It might be a different matter if there are automatons nearby, so I still need to be careful."
He then gets out of the chair and walks toward the mirror in the room, where a handsome blonde with clear blue eyes is reflected.
"Seventeen years I waited for this moment."
The reflected face scrunches up in determination, while a flame of ambition shines through the blue eyes, and the sound of a heartbeat echoes in the room, whether from uneasiness or excitement only he knows.
"All my preparations should be ready."
He closed his eyelids while all his plans flashed in his mind. After several minutes of silence, he then turned away from the mirror and walked toward the door.
"Clementine should be here at this time."
The door let out a creaking noise the moment it was opened, as he thought about a certain someone.
"I never fought someone at a hero's level before, so this might be the chance to test my power."
He then climbed the stairs out of his basement, at the same time an aura of power emanated from him.
"I can't wait."
A wide grin spread across his face.