Chapter 398: 376 [True Revival]
"Click..."
Amidst the faint sounds of metal scraping, Reiger sheathed his sword, which he had been hiding at his waist, while dissipating the flames that enveloped him like a mini sun.
His body ached and felt weak—the price of using the Secret Technique: Blossom.
By intensifying his breathing momentarily, he could concentrate all his power to burst forth in an instant, squeezing out his bodily strength to the utmost and momentarily boosting his power several-fold, enabling him to unleash an ultimate slash. The price for using it was complete immobilization afterward, losing all ability to fight.
However, after some time experimenting, Reiger had successfully modified the Secret Technique: Blossom, allowing him to adjust its power depending on the situation.
Just now, he hadn’t maximally drained his strength to the point of immobility; instead, he controlled the extraction to about one-third, using only one-third of his power to implement Blossom.
Even though this reduced the power of Blossom by a lot, in this case, Reiger wouldn’t fall into a state of complete immobility; he still had enough strength left to continue fighting.
Even with its power reduced by half, the strength of Reiger’s Sun Breath Secret Technique was still terribly formidable.
At least, Ainz had already confirmed that he couldn’t withstand a single strike of Blossom at this level.
Thus, as Reiger slowly sheathed his sword, Ainz, sliced into two behind him, burst into flames of the Sun’s Fire and was purified by it.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh—!"
Shalltear and Albedo, who had just flown back from afar, immediately fell into a state of frenzy—one turning into an ugly monster and the other’s armor swelling and distorting as they charged at Reiger together, bellowing a devilish roar as if erupting from the deepest pits of hell, sweeping a dark and evil aura over the entire royal capital.
"Swoosh!"
Reiger’s actions were as if he had already anticipated the two’s moves; he suddenly flickered and appeared in front of Shalltear and Albedo.
The irrational pair couldn’t react in time and were easily approached by Reiger who extended a hand to each, touching Shalltear’s chest and placing the other on Albedo’s head.
"Disintegrate."
A cold voice emanated from Reiger, and a crimson surge erupted from his hands.
"Boom!"
The red surge blasted onto Shalltear and Albedo, turning the two guardians into what seemed like weathered statues, instantly shattering them into pieces.
"————"
Everything returned to calm from that moment onwards.
Reiger withdrew his hands and the red surge, muttering to himself.
"Even Guardians, when they lose their senses and attack mindlessly, become much easier to handle."
"Though you are originally monsters without much rationality, I suppose I should still say this."
"It’s best to remain calm during battle; otherwise, as seen, your movements become predictable and your reactions dull, making it easy for someone to take you out."
Saying this, Reiger felt his own excitement gradually wane and couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Well, I’m not really one to talk."
After all, he might be the one who was least able to keep his cool during a fight.
Carrying such a thought that perhaps no one would believe, Reiger looked around.
There was no one left around him.
Whether it was Ainz, Shalltear, and Albedo, or Demiurge and Cocytus who had been knocked down from the start, all had vanished.
In the two deep pits on the ground, apart from some puddles of blood, there was no sign of Demiurge and Cocytus, and it was unclear whether they had died or escaped.
Beyond that, there was another individual who clearly had met with misfortune.
"..."
As Reiger descended from the sky, he looked at the lifeless body lying before him, remaining silent.
It was the corpse of Absolute Death.
Post Ainz using "King of Death: Every Life’s Conclusion" and "Banshee Scream," Reiger managed to survive thanks to the power of the god Merolaix, whereas Absolute Death clearly lacked any means to resist such potent abilities from the King of Death and was directly killed by "Banshee Scream."
If this event were to be reported back to the Holy Nation, it would doubtlessly cause a dreadful shock.
The one known as the human Guardian, ranked as one of the strongest among humanity, to die in such a frustrating manner in a foreign land, was surely a great loss for the Holy Nation and humanity as a whole.
Although the Slaine Theocracy, a nation extolling human-centrism and acting under the pretense of humanity’s interest, indiscriminately used everything at its disposal, treating demi-humans and heteromorphic races as mortal enemies without distinction and was even willing to commit fratricide as means to their ends. Yet, it’s undeniable that in this predatory world, if not for the Six Great Gods’ legacy inherited by the Slaine Theocracy leading humanity, humans might have long become mere livestock and food reserves for demi-humans and heteromorphs.
This was also why when Reiger sold the Slaine Theocracy’s intelligence to King of Death, he included a warning, cautioning Ainz not to rashly move against the Theocracy.
He had no fondness for that nation, which upheld humanism under the guise of divine mandate and was willing to do anything, but at the least, humanity still needed the Slaine Theocracy.
This world had no human nation stronger than the Slaine Theocracy, and Ainz probably thought the same, hence why he likely involved the kingdom, the empire, and neighboring nations into a war with the Theocracy to probe their strengths.
If the Theocracy ceased to exist, the treatment of humans in this world would likely plummet.
"Enough of that."
Reiger didn’t want to ponder too much; that wasn’t his style.
So, he decided to think more sentimentally.
"At least, this woman gave me a good fight."
Reiger reached out to the corpse before him and activated Magic.
"True Revival."
In the array of resurrection magics Reiger mastered, the ninth rank was undoubtedly the highest, and he employed it here.
...
A gentle sensation spread throughout the body.
It was something Absolute Death, who should have lost all consciousness and could feel nothing at all, suddenly experienced.
In a blurred haze, Absolute Death felt as though she was sinking into a bottomless ocean, constantly falling deeper as if departing this world for another, utterly unable to control her own body.
Nevertheless, when that gentle touch enveloped her, Absolute Death found herself ceasing to fall.
More so, there seemed to be a hand trying to pull her up, dragging her back to her original world.
Absolute Death could distinctly feel that the hand was large and thick, very warm, comforting both her disintegrating mind and body.
Thus, Absolute Death slowly reached out and grasped that large, thick, warm hand, and with the other’s pull, she was drawn up from the bottomless ocean.
Before long, Absolute Death felt as though she had leapt from the water’s surface.
At that moment, she found her body became heavy, completely devoid of strength, akin to her state after her mother’s brutal training during childhood—overwhelmed by nothing but a profound fatigue.
This fatigue even made Absolute Death not want to open her eyes, wishing to just sleep right then and there.
However, a voice rang out, waking the nearly slumbering Absolute Death.
"Now that you’re awake, get up quickly."
It was a voice she didn’t often hear, and it was somewhat unfamiliar.
But the calmness and the unruffled nature of the voice left an unusual impression on Absolute Death, so much so that she immediately recognized who it belonged to despite only having heard it moments ago.
In an instant, Absolute Death shivered and abruptly opened her eyes.
Upon opening them, the sight that met Absolute Death’s eyes was that of a young man standing before her, looking down at her from above.
"It seems the resurrection went very smoothly,"
the young man said.
"Resurrection...?"
For a moment, Absolute Death didn’t understand his meaning until she recalled moments later.
Yes, she had already died.
Killed mercilessly by the terrifying King of Death with power far surpassing her own.
Absolute Death still remembered the last scene she witnessed.
It was as if the whole world was dying, a horrifying sight where even the atmosphere seemed to wither.
Being in the midst of it, survival seemed absolutely impossible.
Therefore, she should indeed have been dead.
But now, it appeared she had been resurrected.
This wasn’t so difficult to comprehend.
Resurrection magic existed in this world, though it was a fifth-rank magic only capable of being cast by those who had stepped into the Heroic Domain, but the man before her surely could easily use it, right?
Absolute Death firmly believed this without reason.
At that moment, Reiger spoke again.
"I used the highest rank of Resurrection Magic, so your power shouldn’t have diminished too much."
"However, you must feel weak right now, unable to move; it’s best if you rest for a while before acting."
"Though the situation may seem very urgent to you now, there’s nothing else you can do but to rest here until you are able to move."
Saying such, Reiger seemed to cast several spells around Absolute Death, concealing and protecting her.
"I have done what I could; the rest no longer concerns me."
Reiger turned away.
"So, until next time."
Leaving these words, Reiger flew off into the midair.
"Wait..."
Absolute Death wanted to detain him but found herself unable to speak clearly.
Feeling frustrated, Absolute Death could only relent and fall into slumber.
At least, she had survived.