The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

64 – EP5. Memory of the Wind

Ainz grimaced. In truth, he didn’t feel much pain, anger, or fear, but if he didn’t do this much, if he didn’t leave evidence for himself that he had died, he might truly accept death without a second thought. So he grimaced. He infused his disgust for himself, who needed such a signal to become aware of his own death, into the expression.

“…Fine, you bastard. If it comes to this, I have a way too.”

Ainz twisted his smile, then looked at the scenery once again.

Once more, the Titan and its forces came into view.

And not long after the standoff, the Titan began to prepare for the charge.

Ainz, together with Ricardo, evaded the Titan’s charge, and when the Titan charged, he did his best to withstand the aftermath.

Though he staggered, he didn’t fall. He grabbed Ricardo and spoke.

“…The Titan seems to be aiming for our rear guard, so it might get difficult when their main force starts to come in.”

“Ah… I see.”

“For now, I’m thinking of going towards the goblins to deal with them. How about coming with me?”

As Ainz spoke, Ricardo shook his head.

“Unfortunately, dealing with them alone would be quite challenging, considering how troublesome their venomous stingers are.”

Ainz said, “If you use a shield, the stingers can be dealt with.”

“Ah…! I see!”

The fairies didn’t use holy power. More precisely, only a minuscule number of fairies born with it used holy power.

A shield created with holy power deducted holy power proportionally to the momentum of the colliding object. In other words, a shield made with holy power excelled against things like goblin stingers.

However, a shield made with magical power continuously deducted magical power. In short, it wasn’t suitable for blocking goblin stingers.

“…Indeed, that’s true.”

“I can’t help but think that trying to stop the enemy’s rear guard alone is too much for me to handle.”

“Yes, in that case, I’ll cooperate as well.”

As Ricardo nodded, Angel looked at the aftermath. The sorcerers and summoners, led by the holy maiden, were holding off the Titan’s attack. The Titan seemed unable to break through the layers of barriers and shields that had piled up in such a short time.

Angel and Ricardo put on their protective shields and ran forward without hesitation. With their swords and bows, they pierced through the goblins one by one.

“Excellent!”

Ricardo pierced another goblin and spoke.

While Angel swung her sword, she couldn’t keep up with Ricardo’s speed.

Angel prepared her magic and swept away the goblins within a certain range.

And just as Angel finished dealing with the goblins, an ogre appeared.

Angel smiled with twisted lips. Honestly, the ogre was a formidable opponent, but it was just a story of fighting alone.

Ricardo smirked and shot a magic-infused arrow that completely pierced through the ogre.

The energy contained in the arrow was immense, and the attack instantly defeated the ogre that Angel had struggled to fight.

Then, a creaking sound was heard, and a goblin adorned with flashy decorations appeared. It seemed like the direct subordinate of the Titan that Angel had encountered before her death:

The goblin frowned and began to show anger.

“Kyaah!”

“…Isn’t there a way to deal with them all at once without making noise?”

“He is a clan lord. It would be difficult to deal with him all at once.”

Angel test-fired an arrow at him. With a ting sound, the arrow bounced off, and Angel frowned.

“…A shield.”

“Yes, it’s a shield. He uses magic.”

Goblins using magic? Angel frowned. Did it mean that they had to have such abilities to become a clan lord under the leadership of the Titan?

Moreover, that goblin seemed stronger than Angel just by looking at his magical abilities. She could tell from the level of the shield.

While Angel was holding her ground, the goblin snickered and prepared another spell.

“…Damn it, he’s maintaining that shield and using other magic!?”

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Angel rolled on the ground to avoid the magic.

Kwaaang! A tremendous explosion echoed, and Angel felt the experience of a giant pit being dug where she had just stood.

“…Damn.”

It was a devastating force.

The goblin continued to cast spells while snickering, and Angel had to keep rolling on the ground.

And then it happened. Ricardo shot an arrow at the goblin, catching his attention.

It was probably an action taken just to save Angel with little expectation. Of course. The goblin had cast a tremendous powerful magic, so it was difficult to expect what Angel would do.

Knowing that, and knowing that the enemy reinforcements were approaching, Ricardo shot the arrow to save Angel.

During that brief moment, Angel had enough time to analyze the enemy and make a judgment about them.

Angel thought, how can they use such powerful magic so effortlessly?

Angel discovered how they were able to cast such magic without depleting their magical energy.

In Angel’s eyes, he saw a goblin instantly collapse and knew that it was connected to the goblin mage.

They sacrificed the lives of their subordinates to unleash powerful magic without hesitation.

Then, Angel noticed many things. For example, the fact that the only spell the goblin used was a fireball, which he was clearly most comfortable with.

Upon discovering this, Angel chuckled. It was more of a hollow laugh than a normal one.

He examined the structure of the magic the goblin was manifesting.

A structure he had learned from countless battles and experiences in Feria.

Why didn’t he know this before?

It wasn’t because he was deceived by its power, nor because he was too occupied with the battle. Being deceived is just being deceived.

After lightly blaming himself, Angel began to reverse engineer the structure of the magic, seeing it down to its very core.

Crackle. The flow of magic was blocked.

Crackle. The circulation of magic was blocked.

Crackle. The essence of magic could no longer sustain itself.

“…Hm?”

The goblin looked at Angel with an incomprehensible gaze.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t understand.”

Angel started explaining what he had learned from Feria.

“It’s from the perspective of someone who uses magic without understanding the intricacies, right?”

“Ki- Kiluk…”

“Thought just hitting them with raw magical energy would be enough.”

But it’s not. What’s truly important is the structure of magic.

“Look.”

The beautifully arranged shapes of magic began to shine.

“This is what a real magician is.”

It was his complete creation, tailored from the knowledge of countless spells he had studied.

He proved himself to be the true magician that Feria had spoken of.

Lightning struck from the sky.

The goblin tried to block with a shield, but it was completely ineffective.

The goblin’s defense was sustained by their magical power, which was essentially their will. However, the Angel’s magic had a corrosive nature. The magical power maintaining the defense was plundered from deceased goblins, not their own, which left the goblins with limited control over it. Therefore, the gaps that appeared were not overlooked by the Angel’s magic, and the magical shield that had been formed was swiftly absorbed by the Angel’s spell.

In other words, the Angel’s magic was…

“The Shield Breaker.”

The Angel said with a smirk.

That was the name of this magic.

Discharge.

As the shield was pierced in an instant, the goblins were completely exposed to the lightning, which narrowly grazed them before spreading out.

Crackle!

The lightning expanded, forming chains that ensnared them—arms, legs, neck, everything was bound. Then, the goblins’ limbs were dismembered, and they perished.

After killing Clan Lord, Angel turned her gaze to Huyul. Huyul was somehow holding on.

Especially, Ferya was performing even better than expected.

“…High Expert.”

Ferya had also become a High Expert.

Angel reluctantly averted her gaze.

Ricardo approached and said, “Well done.”

“Yes. Now, only Titan remains, right?”

“No, it’s all over.”

“What?”

Titan turned around and realized that none of his reinforcements remained.

“Kuware!”

Titan quickly made his decision. It was a calculated move, understanding that there was nothing to gain from continuing to face the mages.

In the blink of an eye, Titan rushed away.

“…Unfortunately, Titan is never cornered. If he considers it a loss, he can escape in an instant, and we don’t have the capability to stop him. …We realized that too late.”

Ricardo said with tired eyes. His eyes were particularly filled with a burning regret.