Momonga worked as fast as he could, pulling off the theft of a potential World Class Item from under a potential enemy's nose in a textbook-example fashion.
However, the [Gate] he opened did not lead back to the Frozen Prison. Although that place was probably more suited to holding an enemy on a long term basis, at this point, with the suspicion that the guy possessed a World Class Item, it was too dangerous to leave him unsupervised.
The [Throne of Kings] blocked the use of World Class Items (WCI) in Nazarick and whose target was Nazarick, but it was a necessary risk for the tantalizing treasure that he's fishing. It is almost a miracle and a half to find a low-leveled character possessing a World Class item. But then, with its nature as an incredibly random find, it's no surprise that a low-level player could actually find one. It is also equally no surprise that the guy just got PKed.
Usually, WCIs were owned by one-hundredth-level players, and only those with the support of a strong enough guild behind them, who decided to give the artifact to either the strongest or most strategically fit member.
In that case, Momonga couldn't allow a potentially incredibly strong opponent who managed to maybe fool Nigredo's assessment and the opponent who managed to kill him to access the Fifth Floor immediately. While it is likely that Nigredo's assessment were correct, it is very unlikely that a WCI possessor to be so weak as to be level 5. And that the assailant that had managed to assassinate and figure out the location of a WCI to be a mere level 20.
So instead, Momonga moved the both of them to the first floor, next to the entrance to the Nazarick Tomb, to the room where the teleportation trap was located.
Momonga possessed his own World Class Item, in addition to the work of [Throne of Kings], and so could withstand a surprise attack by an unknown artifact, and the teleportation trap could activate if necessary, separating the enemies. Just in case Momonga found out that they weren't really in conflict with each other, or took out Momonga himself if they blocked teleportation in some way.
Fortunately, Momonga's magic worked without any problems, paralyzing the two potential opponents. And Momonga's cast spell, [Life Essence], which allows Momonga to see the opponent's health value, confirmed that the guy's HP, which had dropped to almost zero, recovered as he had used a [Minor Healing Potion].
Experienced players could control the information manifested by using [False Data: Life] spell at the same time as taking damage or healing. But most likely the guy wasn't using the spell after all and was indeed practically dead before Momonga's potion took effect, which means he was also not an ally of the fallen angel.
Even so, though, Momonga wasn't ready to settle down so easily – especially when it came to a potential World Class Item.
"[Mass Charm Species]!" Momonga applied another spell, whereupon the girl and the boy, who had previously been looking around and trying to wriggle out of Momonga's spell, slumped slightly as their facial expressions relaxed, and they looked at Momonga carefully.
"What's your name, friends?" Momonga addressed the two in the most 'friendly' tone he could.
"Raynare," The winged girl replied, after which her wings disappeared instantly.
"Hyoudou Issei," The boy replied soon after, then turned his head to the girl, "So your real name really is Raynare, not Yuuma?"
"Yes, that's my real name," She nodded, before Momonga took a closer look at the girl.
Dressed in the most ordinary clothes, at least for this world, since Momonga didn't think a light cream-colored blouse and dark dress along with small black heeled shoes would have lived long in his past world on the street. The girl was quite tall, with black hair and violet colored eyes…
'Not the strangest eye color I've ever seen' Momonga shook his head, remembering how his acquaintances from his past world were constantly changing their appearance. He then looked at the guy – a short-cropped brown hair with strands sticking out in different directions, maybe a hundred and seventy centimeters tall, and with brown eyes, silently looking at Raynare.
"I don't want to interrupt you." Momonga realized, however, that most likely his magic did work and Issei would start questioning Raynare about the cause of his death next. And thinking about what happened could break the spell, so Momonga decided to interject.
"Raynare, would you please step aside and wait in the hallway for me for a bit?"
She only frowned a bit at Momonga's 'request', proving that she's uncomfortable with the command, though her magic made her see Momonga as a 'close friend', and so she nodded.
"Absolutely," Rayanare replied, and Momonga nodded, as he lifted the [Mass Hold Species] spell in effect, allowing Raynare to leave the room, before turning to Issei, who had risen from his seat and was shaking himself off, looking around.
"Issei, tell me, do you have a World Class Item?" Momonga decided to take the bull by the horns and asked an important question.
"Um…" Issei was clearly embarrassed by this question, and not a little bit confused.
"I don't think so… But then, I don't know what a 'World Class Item' is."
"Hmm, I see," Momonga mentally noted that Issei probably didn't know the terminology of YGGDRASIL players, existing, literally, in another world entirely.
"In that case, maybe you have some artifacts? Magical ones, I mean."
Issei only frowned harder. "No, I don't think so… At least, I've never seen them?"
"Although Raynare said I had, um…" Issei frowned again, trying to remember the specific term.
"A [Sacred Gear]? Which was supposed to be dangerous, or something like that… Could that be it?"
"Probably," Momonga noted that this was probably what he needed, but decided not to tell Issei,
"And until now you, um… Didn't know you had it? You didn't check your inventory?"
"No, I didn't," Issei shrugged, "I didn't even know magic existed until today, I've never checked the storeroom either. Or is this inventory like in the games? Do I get one of those?"
"Probably." Momonga shied away again. "Can you summon it now?"
"No, I can't, but maybe now…" Issei frowned and then tried to concentrate, but after a few seconds he exhaled, no WCI in sight.
"No, I guess I can't. Or like I don't know how to do it? Can you teach me?"
"Umu, a little later." Momonga didn't even think for a second about teaching the guy how to use the World Class Item, not if the guy didn't know that he possessed the artifact and couldn't summon it himself. Hmm, if his [Sacred Gear] really wasn't summoned at the moment, the only answer to where it was now was the player's 'inventory'.
And to get an item out of someone's Inventory – it took thief classes. Something that Momonga didn't possess but could easily get.
For a brief moment, Momonga thought about summoning Aura, being a level one hundred [Ranger], she had good enough skills in thievery, but in the end decided not to do it anyway. She was specialized as a [Beast Master], while her stealing skills were rudimentary at best.
Most likely, Momonga needs to summon a specialist in order not to miss out on the World Class Item. He most likely needs to take a visit to Ashurbanipal, the Great Library of Nazarick, and summon a creature specialized in theft, a high level one… Momonga probably should choke his greed, thinking that it's a waste, and maybe summon a 100th level thief in that case.
'So, it's decided,' Momonga nodded before turning back to the conversation. "Umu, you said you only encountered magic today? Is Magic not common in this world?"
"'This World'?" Issei grasped at the strange wording before patting his eyes a few times and returning to the discussion.
"No, of course not. Magic in this world is nothing more than fairy tales and legends, though some temples or TV shows talk about practicing magic. But so far I haven't seen a single real magician, until I've met Raynare and you that is."
"Umu, I see." Momonga noted internally both the fact that magic was not common in this world, at least not that Issei knew, and the fact that magical beings, like fallen angels, were not commonly known.
"I take it that the only intelligent population of this world are humans… Speaking of which, what is it called, the world that is?"
"Yes, only humans live in this world… Um, well, at least I always thought so," Issei clearly remembered Raynare at the last moment and corrected himself "And, well, um, this planet is called Earth…"
Momonga blinked, hearing a very familiar name coming out very unexpectedly.
'Did I go back in time?!' The panic inside Momonga was instantly quelled, he did see some antic buildings that are common in the 21st Century, but just put the thought away at that moment.
'No, there were no other worlds on Earth… Or did I just not know? Issei apparently never knew that magic existed, and that non-humans lived nearby. Perhaps Earth's past really did, and then they were destroyed? Or did they continue to exist, it's just that I also, like Issei, never knew of their existence…?'
"What is the date now?" Momonga asked perhaps a touch a bit too urgently, wanting to be sure of Issei's words.
"Um, the thirteenth of April, Friday…" Issei thought for a second, then finished his thought,
"Two thousand and five."
'Wow, I really did go back in time…' Momonga blinked. 'One hundred and thirty-three years, to be exact, in the past. Ha ha, That's before… before the world turned to hell…'
Momonga hadn't had time to look at the world around him when he teleported to Earth, how strange it was for him to use that name and those words in that sentence now. Seeking to capture the World-Class Item that Nigredo mentioned, he ignored his surroundings. But if he really was on Earth in the past…
Momonga shook his head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts, then returned his attention to Issei. His [Mass Charm Species] should have lasted a long time on a low-level opponent, but this world had changed the effect of his magic somewhat, so he shouldn't have been distracted. Hmm, probably better to…
"[Message]," Momonga used magic to contact Ashurbanipal's Elder Librarian, "Titus?"
"My great Lord, Momonga." A moment later, he heard Titus' slightly husky voice resounding in his mind. "I have no greater honor than to answer thee - how may I serve thy cause, my Lord?"
'Um, yes, right, NPCs and their eccentricities, I almost forgot that.' Momonga sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, hearing the unfamiliar speech before continuing.
"I need you to summon the strongest NPC who specializes in surveillance and send them covertly to the First Floor, there's a fallen angel there who needs to be looked after. She's been affected by [Mass Charm Species], but we don't know how long it will last. I also need the strongest summon specialized as a thief to come to me, in the room next to the entrance on the First Floor,"
Momonga nodded, "Someone who can retrieve items of the World Class Item tier from an inventory is needed."
'Thy wish will be fulfilled with the highest zeal, my Lord.' Momonga was glad for the conversation to be over that his mind didn't have to work overtime to translate the overly flowery words, before turning his attention back to Issei.
"Ahem, Issei, by the way… umm, why, don't you tell me a little about yourself…"
At these words, Issei frowned slightly, scratching his chin, looking up, clearly not knowing where he should start his story before nodding. "Well, I'm an ordinary schoolboy, studying at Kuoh Academy, class 2-B…"
Momonga compared what he saw in front of him with the information that Issei was saying, coming to the conclusion that Issei was talking about a 'high school. A place that his low-class stature wouldn't allow him to even look at – back in his old world, that is. Looking at his clothing, Momonga could guess that Issei's family was comfortably middle-class, and yet were much poorer than what that economic class meant in his old world.
'Huh, how strange…' Momonga shook his head. 'I only finished elementary school, and it cost my mother a lot of money. Only a couple of people I knew graduated from high school… How strange to find that many people could afford high school in the past – even the random guy from the streets.'
"I live with my mother and father, I have two best friends, Matsuda and Motohama." Issei shrugged, then continued with something that almost made Momonga's world tumble.
"In the evenings I like to watch porn, peeping at the school girls clubs, the Kendo club, or swim team for example. Sometimes they catch me and beat me up, but overall I think it's worth it…"
Momonga blinked, then looked at Issei like he's some kind of alien. 'Well, at least I already feel better knowing what I'm going to do with him…'
"Are your parents influential? How will they react if you don't show up at home?" Momonga asked the following questions and only magic prevented Issei from understanding what the Undead Lord, who had taken human form, was now thinking.
"No, my father is just an office worker, while my mother is a housewife, though sometimes she took some side jobs when she gets tired of sitting at home," Issei smiled slightly at the mention of his family, causing Momonga to shake his head
'I really am not human anymore with what I'm contemplating doing… An office worker though, how nostalgic.'
"If I don't come home, they won't worry right away, I've gone to sleepovers with friends several times before, without even telling them before…" Issei smiled a little, as if remembering something fondly. "Ha, one time when I went to Motohama and didn't come home until a day later, my father put me under house arrest for a month, and my mother didn't cook my favorite food for a year… Ha, if I do that now, I don't think I'll get off that easily…" Momonga did feel a little bad in destroying a happy family, but he's willing to do much worse to keep his own family a little bit safe. Something that a World Class Item would definitely contribute to.
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"But anyway, they'll probably try to call me when it gets dark, then go to Matsuda and Motohama and their parents, and if they don't find me there, they'll definitely panic." Issei grinned a little, but not in a mockery of his parents' worries, but with a kind of warmth.
"Why are you asking?" It seems that [Charm Species] still allows some doubt and suspicion to appear, Momonga concluded. He would note that in the future, [Charm Species] does not instill absolute loyalty.
"It's nothing," Momonga looked away, then grimaced slightly.
'Office worker, housewife, loving parents…' Momonga looked down, feeling a bit reluctant to do what he's about to do.
He wasn't at all interested in the fate of the guy in front of him. If anything, the fact that he was peeping and harassing girls and thought it was 'worth it' rather made him look at Issei negatively. But the thought of his worried parents, especially considering the loving mother that Momonga remembered, and the office worker father that Momonga once was, made his soul stir unpleasantly.
'Haha, are these the remnants of my humanity? Haven't I completely changed yet?' Momonga shook his head slightly before deciding on a course of action. 'In any case, I don't yet know how this world works, so covering up the disappearance of a person, an entire family even more so, can be quite difficult… So, in the meantime, I need to experiment with my powers, so I'll just take it as if I were conducting another experiment on the effectiveness of my magic.'
"[Sleep]," Momonga held out his hand and Issei slowly closed his eyes, whereupon his breathing leveled out, instantly sinking into a deep sleep. "[Control Amnesia]."
After another moment, Momonga felt his magic sink into the boy's consciousness – images, sounds, sensations began to flash before Momonga's eyes, and Momonga himself felt his mana slowly begin to subside.
The mana waste wasn't immediately catastrophic, but it seriously overpowered his passive regeneration, so Momonga wouldn't be able to maintain the spell forever. He measured that even if he currently held the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] that he had returned to his inventory, it would still not be enough. In fact, even if he used all the equipment he could find in Nazarick's Treasury aimed at regenerating mana it wouldn't be… No, recalculating, if he were to do so, he would probably be able to get close to equilibrium, or at least reduce mana waste to almost imperceptible. It seriously depended on what exactly he could find in the Treasury. Momonga didn't thoroughly remember everything stored in the Treasury, but it didn't matter right now.
At the moment, Momonga didn't need to search for any specific moments or anything like that in Issei's past, otherwise it might have stretched out for a long time and the mana expenditure might have become quite obscene. Momonga only needed to erase Issei's recent memories, starting from the moment he fell asleep, to the moment when Raynare revealed her wings and her true nature, methodically erasing them completely.
After wiping those off, eventually Momonga stopped applying mana to his spell – almost forty minutes of Issei's life had been removed, summarily, since that moment. And while it wasn't fatal or obvious, the missing forty minutes of Issei's life would most likely raise questions.
Momonga wasn't entirely sure if he could, the spell had worked quite differently in the past, but he tried to trust his senses and add a new memory to Issei. Using the most recent memory, that is of Issei being killed by the Fallen Angel, Momonga substituted something else. Using Momonga's own memory of the Guardian of Asgard, or more their voice lines, he inserted a voice saying 'Hit the head!', followed by the feeling of a blow and loss of consciousness.
Now Momonga needed to rip the clothes on Issei and drop him somewhere on the outskirts of town. Perhaps he could even be dropped from some height a little so that he would simultaneously wake up and get a couple of fresh scratches on his face and body. In support of the theory of a 'gang attack' or something like that.
"It's not because of you, it's because of your parents… Though perhaps that's not exactly a consolation. " Momonga shook his head. It was strange to him, simultaneously frightening and pleasant, to find that he had at least some human feelings left. It was pleasant to find that he still had emotions – frightening to find that he had only these slight emotions left. He felt nothing and was ready to kill the guy simply because it was the easiest and simplest of the options to resolve a problem.
Even now he decided not to kill Issei not because he was human, a child, Japanese, or a combination of all three and not because Momonga, as a resident of 'Neo' Japan, felt some kind of kinship with him. It was simply because he saw in Issei's parents a parallel with his own situation. Though it was a little strange to him to see Issei's mother as he saw his own.
But in Issei's father he did see himself, and it led him to some strange associations that
Momonga would rather not contemplate.
Finally wading out of Issei's memory, Momonga heard a light knock on the door, then turned around to, "Come in."
A moment later, the door to the room opened, whereupon the silhouette of a man dressed in baggy black clothing completely concealing his features appeared. His head was concealed under a high-lifted black hood sealed with gold staples attached to the rest of his clothing. He wore a traditional but all-black short kimono, transitioning into wide, baggy pants that ended in straps that covered his legs and feet. With his feet transitioning, seemingly even merging with his wooden boots on perpendicular platforms, also black, on which he moved entirely silently.
"Goemon," Momonga nodded toward the newly summoned NPC, a level 80 Ninja-type summon that specializes in thievery, who dropped to his knees in an instant, in one fused motion.
"I'm glad to be in your service, My Lord," Goemon, one of the ninja-type beings kept for summoning in Ashurbanipal, specialized in stealing, so it was the right choice. Technically, he was level eighty, so it wasn't the most ideal of all the options that existed in YGGDRASIL, but Ashurbanipal didn't keep many books to summon creatures above eighty. And among that group, Momonga couldn't think of anyone who specialized entirely in stealing, unlike Goemon, so he really was most likely the best of the options.
"What does my Lord commands?"
"You need to completely free this guy's inventory," Momonga pointed at the lying Issei, "Try not to kill him… But freeing his inventory completely is of the highest priority."
"Absolutely, My Lord," Goemon bowed deeply to Momonga after his command, then rose from his knees in one motion and made his way to the sleeping Issei.
***
As Goemon made his way to the sleeping boy, he looked down at him through the hood that seemed to block his view. Though, it would be more accurate to say that his hood was his face and eyes, it was the shape that Goemon took, because that was the shape he was.
Goemon had been summoned by Titus Annaeus Secundus to serve the Supreme Being, Lord Momonga, the Greatest of Warriors and the Smartest of Rulers, the Most Cunning of Commanders and the Strongest of Mages. He who allowed no mistakes and gave light under the shadow of his gaze to anyone who bent his head and his knee.
And so Goemon was at a loss, why was his presence necessary? Was this but another test? But as a servant, it was not his job to question his Master's orders, he simply carried them out.
As he reached out his hands to the sleeping young man, Goemon instantly sensed exactly what the Lord wanted stolen in the boy's inventory – he even instantly knew exactly what was stored in his inventory.
'[Longinus: Boosted Gear]' Goemon noted to himself, but did not bother his Lord with unnecessary information that he already knew in his infinite wisdom anyway. What he found later however caused the ninja's thoughts to stall a moment later.
In addition to the object, [Longinus], there was another thing in the boy's inventory, or rather, a living creature.
Unlike his other summoned brethren, such as Hanzo, who specialize in gathering information and stealth, Goemon had no specialized abilities regarding enemy assessment.
At the same time, however, Goemon still possessed the skills of a related specialization, so it could at least roughly determine the dragon's level.
The dragon was considerably stronger than him. But at the same time, it was no surprise.
Though he was an eightieth level creature, it was primarily a thief, and mostly had skills related to that very activity, not fighting. Lord Momonga was much stronger than him as well… Then again, why state the obvious?
Of course, this couldn't completely appease Goemon's worry, knowing that he would let a potentially hostile monster out. But the Gordian knot of his doubts was dispelled by the words Lord Momonga had told him just a few seconds ago.
'Release his inventory completely.'
In other words, his Lord already knew that the boy's inventory contained a dragon, and so Goemon could only applaud his Lord's knowledge, and as his Master's faithful servant, do his bidding.
So, a moment later, a gauntlet came into the light in Goemon's hands, the [Longinus]… Which instantly cracked, releasing the dragon contained within.
A moment later, the room became packed, as the newly released red dragon crashed into the walls and immediately broke through them, as it crashed into the ceiling with a roar.
***
"You, the one who set me free!" The red dragon, as far as Momonga could tell from the dragon's appearance and color, but this time much smaller than the one he had slayed before, turned to Goemon, speaking clearly and loudly.
"Know that I will not forget your deeds! Know that it is in my power to give you much, and appreciate it, for I grant you this favor! Tell me, what is your desire!?"
Only Momonga's miraculous skill, saving him from sudden panic attacks, allowed him to hold his ground and not fall to the ground the moment a huge red dragon appeared in place of the young boy and some red gauntlet.
Although, Momonga admitted, at the moment his face did not express any emotion solely because it was frozen in shock.
'[Silent Magic: Life Essence], [Silent Magic: Mana Essence].' Momonga uttered silently to himself, casting his usual suite of magics, before sighing in relief.
'Less than the Great Red Dragon I killed a little earlier, but it's definitely a hundred-level dragon… It has almost as much mana as I do, and I had to go a lot to break the max cap of one hundred – and apparently this dragon is intelligent, so fighting it is undesirable… Tch, Dragons are filthy cheaters!'
A moment later, Momonga came back to reality again, watching as Goemon continued to stare silently at the dragon, perhaps waiting for Momonga's command, or was just finding a way to escape. And although the creature's face was not visible, because its size made his head far above the canopy, for some reason Momonga was sure that it was now glaring at Momonga. It was as if the dragon were trying to measure Momonga's mettle before he would fight him… or flee.
"Ahem, I'd like to…" Momonga wanted to finish the phrase 'start by introducing ourselves to each other!' but couldn't finish his thought before he was interrupted.
"Silence, you whelp!" The dragon responded with a swish of its tail, crashing into Momonga.
The creature's attack was clearly not serious, as Momonga was sure that the dragon could have attacked with far more force. Especially, considering that the tail attack was bludgeoning damage, and with [Body of Effulgent Beryl] still active, it had no chance in hell of breaking through Momonga's passive barrier.
But even without waiting for the tail to hit Momonga, Goemon reacted much faster – instantly striking the dragon that had dared to attack his Lord.
'A battle is undesirable, but apparently inevitable…' Momonga sighed, feeling the staff that had now become somewhat familiar appear in his hand, then releasing it beside him.
"[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!" A moment later, three kaleidoscopic slashes made their way to their target, crashing into the dragon's body. As three deep gashes appeared on the dragon's body, it howled in pain, and turned to Momonga.
The dragon's health had decreased by a decent amount, but Momonga needed to be smarter if he planned to win this battle. Though, he had achieved his main goal of distracting the dragon from the far weaker in battle, Goemon… He didn't exactly want to waste the NPC, which must cost a pretty penny to summon.
'Okay, until we know how he attacks, I shouldn't take any chances.' Momonga used the best trump card he had. "[Teleportation]!"
A moment later, and he was in a completely different direction from the dragon, who was busy releasing a fiery cloud of white and blue flame, where Momonga used to be. As Momonga appeared, the dragon instantly started turning around, looking for Momonga, rumbling in his growling voice. "[Boost]!"
Whereupon Momonga blinked. [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence] had just told him that the health and mana of the dragon in front of him had just… Doubled.
"Оh… That's just unfair!" Momonga shifted his gaze to the broken gauntlet that had already been turned into scraps of twisted steel under the dragon's feet. 'So that's what this World Class Item was capable of doing… I wish I had gotten it, but I need to finish the fight now! It would be best if he could only [Boost] once, but if he could do it multiple times, I would lose simply by a battle of attrition!.'
"[The Goal Of All Life is Death]!" Momonga activated his strongest skill, and started dodging like a madman for the 12 seconds needed for its activation. "[True Death]!"
The only thing Momonga could hope for was that the dragon in front of him didn't know how to instantly revive after death. Goemon attempted to attack again, a moment later he was joined in his actions by Hanzo, the guardian that was supposed to stay in stealth. It seems that the ninja preferred the opportunity to protect his Master over following orders.
"[Message]," Momonga dodged another fiery exhalation with [Teleportation], noting that three seconds of the required twelve had already passed. Still, he required another insurance just in case his strongest skill didn't work. "Albedo, prepare the guards – you will probably be called to battle if my ability doesn't work…"
'By your orders, Master Momonga!' Momonga cut the conversation with the girl short as he noticed that the creature's health and mana had doubled again, his mental clock told him that five seconds had passed after the previous [Boost]. Before he could think about it further, he turned his attention back to the struggling Goemon and Hanzo, who were desperately dodging the dragon's attacks.
Momonga needed to distract the dragon again. "[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!"
The dragon howled, but once again exhaled flames towards Momonga – this time flooding the surrounding area with flames.
'Learning fast…' Momonga noted the dragon's actions with some respect.'So it can amplify his attacks multiple times for the next attack, making it many times stronger… However, this only works for one attack and requires a considerable amount of mana - comparable to [Reality Slash], which is known for its huge mana waste. But the subsequent attack does not change in mana consumption, no matter how many times the attack is 'Boosted'... Cheat, indeed.'
"[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!" Momonga once again distracted the dragon, one last time as his mental clock struck 12 seconds, and the giant bronze clock hovering behind him completed its full revolution – after which he smiled. "Time is up."
There was a resounding sound of bells ringing… And the dragon simply dropped dead.
Goemon and Hanzo froze, as they stared at the slumping dragon, and Momonga himself waited a few seconds, ready to use [Teleportation] and send [Message] to the Guardians just in case the dragon was faking its death. There are many ways to fool [Life Essence].
The dragon, however, never got up even when the flames it had cast around it continued to burn, clearly not going out anytime soon.
'Huh, his fire spell is reminiscent of Demiurge's [Mantle of Hellfire]. That fire can ignore even immunity to fire attacks and is impossible to extinguish.' Momonga traced the still blazing flames of the dragon with his eyes, then shook his head.
'Okay, if it doesn't extinguish itself, some of Nazarick's creatures can put it out… As a last resort, I can use Nazarick's daily limit on recovery, it should cover the flames… I hope.'
Momonga looked around him, noting the ruined walls, and shook his head. 'And, of course, we'll have to rebuild the walls, at least they're relatively inexpensive.'
After he finished documenting the damages, without approaching the blazing flames, Momonga made his way to the dragon's body and thought for a moment about what he should do with the dragon's body. 'Hmm, I hope I can get that broken ability of his by using [Dark Wisdom] again. But our battle lasted fifteen seconds at most, the dragon must have had many other spells that it didn't have time to show.' But then again it's a red dragon, they're not exactly known for their breadth of abilities.
'Besides, it might not have been a spell, but a skill instead, and [Dark Wisdom] can only absorb spells along with the defeated bodies, but not their skills. If I lose the second most excellent body of a high-level red dragon and get something useless in return… I'll be quite salty. [Create Body] is a good spell, but it doesn't outstrip the high-end drop from the Great Red Dragon that I lost.'
Momonga thought for a moment, then remembering something urgent that he almost forgot, sent a [Message], "Albedo, you can clear the alarm. The enemy's killed… and send Aura to dismember the body, take it apart for resources, by the looks of it, it's a high level red dragon, so I assume it will yield excellent materials…"
"Of course, Lord Momonga!" Albedo replied instantly and Momonga shook his head at her enthusiasm, turning away from the body, trying to find Issei with his gaze.
And finding with his gaze only a bloody mess where his body should have been lying.
'Well, that wasn't such a good plan…' Momonga shook his head, finding that his 'mercy' had gone to waste anyway, simply because a dragon decided to pop out of nowhere.
Of course, he could try to resurrect Issei, but all resurrection magic required payment for the act of resurrection or the expenditure of valuable items. And Momonga, though he empathized with Issei's parents, was not willing to spend valuable items for nothing.
Not to mention that Issei was clearly a low-leveled person, so a simple spell like [Raise the Dead] probably wouldn't work on him. Most likely Momonga would have had to use [Resurrection] or [True Resurrection], which required large sums or expenditure of really rare items.
'Well, if it makes you feel better in your postmortem – I planned to just take your World Class Item, or, I suppose, [Sacred Gear] – and let you go home… Too bad that didn't happen' -
Momonga shook his head, then held out his palm and his golden [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] returned to his hand, before, a moment later, disappearing into his inventory.
After another moment, Momonga turned to the kneeling Goemon, Hanzo, and… Momonga blinked, "Raynare?"
Hearing Momonga's voice, the fallen angel slowly trembled, the acrid smell of ammonia spread around.
Trembling, slowly, Raynare looked up, full of madness and fear, while her face clearly tried to form a welcoming smile, but constantly turned into a grimace of horror halfway through. The strange expression made it look as if Raynare were having an epileptic seizure right now.
"Fa… " Raynare tried to say something, but her voice trailed off so high that she coughed, and then she looked up at Momonga again, her eyes bulging with an expression of fear and surprise. "Father?!"
"Umu," Momonga concluded that [Control Species] or perhaps [Charm Species] have some very interesting side effects, as he looked at Raynare's trembling form.
Raynare, a moment later, rolled her eyes before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
He needed to make sure to take into account the side-effects if he were to use the spells again in the future. He knows that [Charm Species] were supposed to make the target feel as if the caster was their best friend – he wasn't sure it was supposed to make them believe he was their parent, though.