The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

45 – EP4. Crossroad of Life and Death

The place he woke up in was a dark place where he could see the window bars. Angel realized that it was the bars of a prison.

He reviewed his memories. Perrya was suddenly taken by some knights, and as he chased after them, he ended up here.

…Seems like his memories weren’t much help.

Honestly, he was a bit flustered. What is this about a prison? Even Luderan’s noble would rather kill him than imprison him. So why a prison?

He bit his lip. It was frustrating. He didn’t know what situation he was in, where he was, or even what time it was.

He felt a familiar sensation. The feeling of being played unknowingly, becoming a puppet in a big scheme. It was a feeling he had experienced countless times before.

“…What in the world?”

He said with a mixture of disappointment and powerlessness. His throat felt dry and irritated.

And someone appeared in front of him.

“Nice to meet you, hero.”

Debos Serindel. A familiar face.

“…Who are you?”

Ainz reflexively asked. He clearly remembered that the author was the second-in-command of the military. But why would the author suddenly appear?

“I heard you were following our knights.”

“…Were those knights from your family?”

Ah, a mistake. He accidentally exposed the fact that he knows nothing.

Viscount Debos Serindel shrugged.

“No, you’re mistaken. They were knights from the palace.”

“The palace?”

They’re connected to the palace if they’re pursuing her? And just because they followed them, they’re being imprisoned like this?

He realized what he was associated with.

“The Shadow… Knights….”

“Yes, that’s correct. The official name is a little different though.”

A city legend that handles the dark affairs of the palace. He couldn’t tell whether he should be surprised by its existence, or by the fact that Peria was involved with such people.

“…What exactly do you want?”

“To mind your own business, keep your mouth shut, and die.”

“What is it about this matter that they’re threatening a hero like this?”

As soon as Serindel heard those words, he chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. It was an obvious mockery.

“What’s so special about being a hero? You’re just one of the pieces on the board…. But if you are so curious, I’ll tell you. The next Martial Lord will disappear like this. Forever.”

“What?”

Ainz’s face twisted.

“Just take it as it is. If you take this potion, we’ll escort you to your quarters.”

“What kind of potion?”

“Just a potion that will keep you from causing any trouble.”

“What if I refuse?”

“You will be tortured.”

There was no trace of any emotion in Viscount Debos Serindel’s eyes.

It meant the truth.

“What on earth happened?”

“You don’t need to know.”

From Noble mtl dot com

Angel glared at him.

“Do you have any idea what I’m going to say?”

“Well, no.”

Count Serindel added a single word.

“I don’t think I need to know. Even if you keep your mouth shut… you’ll think differently after experiencing torture once.”

“Is that so?”

Angel still cast a sinister gaze at him, flashing a wicked smile.

“Interesting.”

In the end, he crossed a river he could never return from.

“Why don’t you give it a try? I’m curious to see if I’ll win or you will.”

And from that day, the torture began.

It began with needles being inserted under his fingernails.

Each time a needle was inserted under his fingernail, it felt like the associated nerve was set on fire.

It was excruciatingly painful, but he endured it.

Because he had already experienced the feeling of pain directly flowering in his nerves.

Burning to death was a much greater pain than he had thought, and it was certain that it was worse than the needle under his fingernail.

“Is this the end?”

Angel looked at the torturers with bloodshot eyes.

Fear began to creep into their eyes.

“Do you want us to continue?”

He raised a menacing smile, and they began to break out in cold sweat.

Soon, the torture of inserting needles under his fingernails became even more intense, and the blazing needles were inserted under his fingernails.

And he endured that too.

After that, he started nailing one by one of his fingers to a board and cutting them off. Each time a finger was cut off, there was no bleeding because a priest healed him. The fingers never grew back, though.

He endured that too.

Next, he began cutting his wrists and ankles.

He endured that too.

And finally, he had all his arms and legs cut off.

“Please, spare me, spare me.”

Count Serindel was trembling and bowing his head while looking at the man in front of him.

The white-haired man was sitting in front of him, wearing only a mysterious smile and not saying a word.

“Why should I?”

“Please, please, I won’t interfere anymore.”

Certainly, he had never expected to find himself in such a situation until he took on this mission.

Clearly, it was just a matter of subduing and killing a single enemy, right? With just that, he could have secured his position as the leader of the army. But… the current situation was far from what he had expected.

Now, it was no longer a matter of power but a matter of survival. He had to survive no matter what.

“Wouldn’t it be cleaner to just kill you?”

Ainz chuckled as he looked at him with composure.

“Please, please spare me!”

“Do I have to?”

Count Serindel trembled but continued to look ahead.

He saw the remains of his subordinates, who had all been killed by the hero, and the skeletal remains that had been created from them.

And when the hero noticed his gaze, he made a sound of realization.

“Oh, right. I need to deal with this. I almost forgot.”

He quickly incinerated the skeletal remains without leaving a trace.

Count Serindel bit his lip as he watched this. If he could so easily eliminate the undead he himself had created, what chance did he have against the one who had attacked him?

Ainz grinned mischievously.

“What should I do…”

The more he contemplated, the more Count Serindel felt his insides crumbling.

“All right, I remember now. You owe me something.”

“Yes, yes?”

What did that mean? Had he met this man before?

Ainz waved off the question, flicking his hand a few times.

“Okay, I’ll spare you. But in return… bark.”

“What?”

Count Serindel’s eyes widened.

“W-What does that mean?”

“Why, as I excelled in being the Emperor’s dog, I thought I might as well try being a dog myself.”

Count Serindel buried his head in the ground.

Shameful.

To stoop to such actions as a mere sinner, dare I, dare I…

He gnashed his lips and contorted his face with all his might, but Angel only urged him on.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up. Oh, if you want to preserve your honor and die like a knight…”

“No, no, I can’t.”

He made up his mind.

“Bark! Bark! Bark, please, spare me!”

Desperately, he imitated a dog’s whimper in his efforts to survive.

Angel covered his face with his palm, then burst into laughter.

“Pft, pft, pft, hahahahaha!”

Count Serindel stared at him with an anxious gaze.

“Well, you really did it when I told you to.”

His expression turned into one of terror at those words.

“P-please spare me!”

“Oh, don’t worry.”

Angel said while laughing heartily and clutching his belly.

“Sure… I had a good laugh thanks to you. So, of course, I’ll spare you. Yes, it’s a promise.”

“T-thank you!”

Count Serindel desperately lowered his head. It seemed like he could see a way to survive.

Rip.

“…Huh?”

Crimson blood splattered.

“I said I would spare you. I never said I’d spare you without harm…”

Angel said, smiling as if about to split apart.

“aaaHHH!”

Before he knew it, all of Count Serindel’s limbs had been severed.

“Oh, right, if you die like this, it’ll be because of me, won’t it?”

He used his divine power to heal the bleeding wounds. The places where the limbs had been were now smooth and devoid of any trace of the severed limbs.

And in the distance, the howling of beasts began to be heard.

“Ah, it seems they’ve caught the scent of blood,” he said with a grin.

Soon, wolves appeared and started approaching him.

“Yeah, it’s over there, not me, over there,” Ainzel said with a smile towards the wolves.

Before long, Count Serindel began to be torn apart.

“P-please, spare me…”

He died pleading for his life.

“Oh well, what should I do? He’s gone,” he said with a voice devoid of any emotion.

“Well… I’ll make good use of the corpse.”

He drew a crystal-embedded sword.

Then, the flesh and organs, from the torso to the head, from the limbs, disappeared without a trace, leaving nothing behind.

The bones clattered, vibrated, and in an instant, they assembled themselves in mid-air.

The now perfectly aligned skeleton became a suit of darkness, forming itself into armor and a cloak.

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It was the birth of a Death Knight.

“…Oh, right.”

Ainzel scratched his head.

“It feels like there was a little rat or something… I can’t remember as I get older. Oh well.”

He rested his chin on a tree.

“Never mind.”

He turned and walked away with the Death Knight.

Behind the tree where he had rested, a soldier remained hidden, breathless.