46Alright, something to say. This is originally meant for The pen or The sword, the author of In These Strange Planes. But he is a bit too overwhelmed by the addition and expansion of content so I decided to make this into my own separate story with the guy giving me the green light through the PMs. It is a bit of a different take inspired by his work and his exceptional take on the Baldur's Gate 3 characters. I will be making some Original ideas in this fic, and you will see how different it is if you read that work. Enjoy mah brain meat and the slaughter about to come in Avernus!
Momonga sighed as he leaned back into the crystalline throne.
He was the last of the forty one supreme beings, the founders of Ainz Ooal Gown. While a few had shown up to wave the guild and Momonga a final goodbye none had stayed for the final moments. Pulled by their real life obligations they'd opted to leave before YGGDRASIL's final end, leaving him alone, surrounded by the NPCs designed by his wayward friends.
Albedo stood beside him, holding the Ginnungagap, a world item gifted to her by her creator in secret, the beautiful creation of Tabula Smaragdina, a model dressed in white with black wings spread from her waist. Sebas and the Pleiades knelt before him by console command…
He was alone. Surrounded by the digital legacy of his friends, cold, soulless substitutes for company.
The staff of Ainz Ooal Gown floated beside him, the golden caduceus with seven serpents entwined around the head, the staff below the serpents jagged like lightning, ending in a sharp, piercing point, the proof of their friendship and symbol of their guild.
Only ten seconds left before the game which he'd poured his life into would be no more. The connections he'd made, the accomplishments they shared would be rendered to nothing.
And he could do nothing about it.
There was only monotonous work when he woke up, adding more to the weariness pulling on his bones as he closed his eyes.
5
4
3
2
1
….
Momonga immediately opened his eyes as a strange sensation washed over him.
He couldn't help the grunt of surprise that escaped him, as instead of the apartment, he was in an endless sea of white. The ground and sky stretched into an endless horizon of blinding white.
A tinge of panic sparked for a moment, but it died as soon as it rose as he looked around, seeing nothing more than white in his surroundings. Shaking off the strange phenomenon he wondered if this was some sort of final prank by the devs and grasping the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown from where it floated in the air, he reached his hand forward to activate the GM call function. The menus and screens he was familiar with failed to materialize, leaving him only to grasp air.
Another flash of panic quickly vanished, attempting to remove or deactivate his headset also failed to garner any results. Frustration simmering, Momonga attempted [Message]. Despite the lack of menus and hotkeys, it felt like second instinct. He could feel the spell reach into the aether only to fail to connect, no response.
Out of grunting frustration, he attempted [Message] again, only to receive utter silence. Clenching his fist, he breathed deeply only to notice the subtle scent of vanilla causing him to pause.
Scent wasn't programmed into Yggdrasil, Such immersion went against the laws regarding virtual reality to not blur the line between fantasy and the real.
Clenching his fist again to test his situation, he noted the hardness of his own bones, his fingers pressed against the bones of his palms in such detail. Raising his hand to his face he stared at the oversized appendage. The gaps between the bones and lack of muscle once so familiar felt foreign as he truly felt his body.
Another feeling registered in the back of his mind as he stared at his open hand. A feeling of unease that hadn't faded with his other emotional turmoil. It was the disconcerting feeling of not belonging. The closest experience he could equate the emotion to was the time he'd been half asleep and walked into the wrong meeting room with several executives.
The feeling of the world itself wanting to reject you.
Despite recognizing the feeling, he simply couldn't place the reason as to why; the white void was hardly inviting but nothing about it felt inherently hostile.
Pushing the concerning feeling to the back of his mind, he examined his predicament. He was trapped in a white featureless void, no landmarks, no sun, nothing to give him a sense of direction; he could not reach the GMs or anyone else with the message spell, he was unable to exit the game or remove his headset.
Either he was part of a highly illegal experimental demo created by the devs for no discernable reason, was stuck in some form of glitch…or something truly ridiculous had come to pass.
The feeling of unease led him to another important question. He could use [Message] without a menu, as if it was second nature.
What about his other spells? Could he use them as the same?
Back in the game one simply needed to select the spell icon from the menus, but when he cast [Message] there was no menu.
[Fireball]
His magic answered with a wonderful explosion of fiery radiance that swiftly vanished. Focusing inward he could feel his spells, their range, effects, and power as intimately as if they were his limbs.
Feeling comforted by his spells still being intact he decided to test his skills. Having a tank on hand seemed the perfect way to test. Thus he brought forward one of his favored undead
[Create middle tier undead]
A black viscous liquid quickly rose from the ground forming the familiar avatar of pain and violence. The armored monstrosity was over two meters tall adorned in spikes with a black pavise and flamberge. Its glowing red eyes took in its surroundings for but a moment before it screeched in pain and shattered like glass.
Momonga was taken aback.
The Death Knight was only level twenty-five, strengthened to thirty-five, but had incredible defensive stats for a monster of its level. Moreover, its special ability ensured it would survive any attack with a single point of health remaining if received at full health.
Meaning it had either been hit with such a powerful attack it somehow bypassed its passive, or whatever damage it had taken was constantly being applied, thus it had technically taken two 'hits' in near the same instance.
That left the important question of what type of damage it had taken and why Momonga hadn't been taking any. Already he had a solid theory. The death knight was unique among mid-level undead in that it held no weakness to fire-based attacks, but was like most undead still weak to holy damage. Considering the speed of its demise, it seemed it died to Holy power.
One question was why Momonga wasn't affected by it. Was the damage something his High Tier immunities could stave off or was it something else entirely?
Grasping the staff in his hand he decided to test his theory, bringing forth a set of moonlight wolves. The wolves quickly formed from glowing circles and stood before him expectantly. This time he could feel a connection between them and himself. Moonlight wolves were rather weak level twenty summons used for low-level ambushes but they had decent resistance to holy damage.
As expected, Momonga felt their damage from their connection, their bodies were glowing brighter by the moment and they seemed to be in pain. Realizing what was about to happen Momonga raised his cape in front of him as the wolf exploded in a brilliant flash of light. He waved the smoke away, seeing the wolves gone.
This seemed to prove his theory that the death knight had taken holy damage but it still left many questions. The moonlight wolves exploding was unexpected, more was the effect. Something native to this void or an effect born of some unknown spell cast upon this specific part of the void?
If it was native to this entire void the only thing capable of such a widespread and powerful feat he knew of was a World Class item. If he remembered correctly, there was a specific World Class item with the effect of dealing constant holy damage to evil-aligned entities across an entire world.
The idea that someone used it, and he'd just happened to land in an area affected by it seemed… Unfortunate.
Considering his circumstances there was only one more test he could reach for. He activated the most powerful teleportation spell in his arsenal targeting The Great Tomb of Nazarick. The void of blackness stood in stark contrast to the ethereal white void.
Alas no connection was made and the sphere quickly winked out. Attempting the same with every other world he knew of bore the same results.
However, suddenly Momonga could feel gravity pulling him.
He blinked as his vision tilted upward as his robes flapped against the downward winds, Momonga confused as the blinding white void turned into gold. As he fell, he saw a golden sun lighting a golden sky, a golden dawn that did not herald night, but encompass the entire firmament.
Before Momonga could regain his bearings, he crashed into something, hard and heavy, cracks and rumbles as Momonga stared at the circular hole in the ceiling.
His back felt something off, and he was in some kind of rectangular container as he looked around. His bony fingers gripped the edges as he pulled himself out…
Only to realize that he was in a coffin.
And he was surrounded by the dead.
Momonga was surprised, the architecture he was in was a circular mausoleum with an open ceiling.
The structure seemed to be made from marble-like stone, smooth, white surfaces carved and sculpted into the right shapes and angles so flawlessly, it almost reminded him of Nazarick's interior design.
Statues of golden angels standing on marble dais stood by each alcove holding a stone coffin. Momonga spotted a flight of stairs leading downstairs and no stairways up. Was he on the top floor?
This looked like something a Player base would be like as Momonga climbed out of the coffin. He realized that the coffin he was in was the largest, a coffin, one made out of gold. He was surprised that his boney body could smash through the golden coffin lid. Behind the coffin was an especially large golden statue of an angel with multiple sets of wings, standing in a magnificent pose, holding a golden, flaming sword to the heavens.
Did he end up in one of the Heavenly Realms?
[Conflict Karma]
[Magic Ward: Holy]
[Greater Haste]
[Heavenly Aura]
[Greater Resistance]
[Greater Magic Shield]
[Indominability]
[Magic Caster's Blessing]
[Greater Luck]
[Greater Full Potential]
[Mantle of Chaos]
[Magic Boost]
[Infinity Wall]
[Paranormal Intuition]
[Penetrate Up]
[Freedom]
[Field of Force]
[Greater Hardening]
[Sensor Boost]
[Anti-Information Magic Wall]
Momonga casted magic to buff himself. He was in enemy territory, the worst environment for an undead being like him to stay.
As if on cue, just when he finished casting, golden light flashed around him in the room.
Momonga squinted his nonexistent eyes at the new arrivals. He could tell that they were of angelic origins, though the ones that look like dog-man Demihumans perplexed him.
He counted four angels with flaming swords for arms in the skies, twelve flying angels in full body armor with flaming greatswords, and a considerable number of canine demihumans in armor, all wielding great weapons.
He inspected the strange hound demihumans, each wearing an assortment of light leather armor, each and every one wearing a collar of different color… or material, from lead to copper to gold to platinum.
The beautiful golden angels in the air looked down on him with disdain, eyes, skin, hair, all part of them were gold, making Momonga wonder if they were made of gold, each wielding two-handed great weapons, either swords or axes, all on fire.
The four radiant angels with swords for arms were taller than the rest. Their eyes were bright and glowing, their hair silver and luscious. Their wings stood out the most, each with four, wide spanning wings of light-pink, each with a collar on their necks like the hound demi-humans. Unlike the golden angels with full-body armor, they wore garments, most of their toned, muscular bodies showing.
"Intruder. You have trespassed Mercuria, stood in one of our realm's sacred tombs without permission, and violated the coffin of our honored dead. What do you say in your defense?" The tallest of the sword-armed angels
Momonga nearly gawped at the accusation.
"Is this some serious roleplay or a terrible prank?" Momonga asked just in case this was a Player pulling something.
"Your question is unrelated to this matter."
The being's voice was like silk, angelic, multiple voices spoken in a conversational choir.
Momonga felt that there was no idle roleplay of a bored Player.
"...Then I plead innocence." Momonga responded as his mind wracked a response. "I mean no harm. Despite what it looks like, I am not here of my volition."
The sword-armed angel widened his eyes.
"...He's speaking the truth."
Momonga quirked a brow at the response. Many questions swam in his head, though the current situation did not allow him the time for answers. However, there was a chance that he might get out of this predicament.
He silently casted [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence] to inspect their health to estimate their level.
Only to find out that their HP is… low. He was not sure about their MP though, it looked strange.
Instead of an MP bar, there were blue slots, a dotted bar.
"He must be deceiving our senses! This… abomination has breached Mercuria! And somehow, he is unaffected by this realm's sun!" The golden angel with red hair pointed her greatsword at him.
"I assure you that this is a misunderstanding." Momonga attempted to defuse the situation.
"This is an unusual situation. Even if your arrival was unintentional, you are still trespassing hallowed grounds. And desecrated the resting place of a Tome Archon."
Momonga quirked a nonexistent brow.
Tome Archon? He had never heard of an angelic subrace called a Tome Archon.
"By the authority granted to me under the name of Domiel, I hereby request your cooperation as we place you under arrest."
"Arrest?" Momonga clenched his hands. "Am I under the assumption that I will be without my equipment?"
Momonga would not trust these beings with his gear.
"Unfortunately, all items on your person would be confiscated for identification per standard procedure."
"Is this up to negotiation? I promise that I will comply if I keep my belongings." Momonga bargained.
"That is not up to discussion, Lich!" Another golden angel roared at him. "Do not resist! You are lucky our blades have stayed up to this point!"
"Then I am afraid that we are at an impasse." Momonga cycled through his memory for the spells at his disposal.
He tried to teleport to any of the places in YGGDRASIL that he knew secretly, but all of his attempts failed.
"Then die where you stand!"
Without warning, two golden angels swooped, greatswords thrusted forth.
"Dyrlia! Namiu!" The tallest sword-armed angel shouted in protest, but it was too late.
Their flaming swords plunged into the skeleton's chest, metal blades pierced through rib and spine, holy fire roaring to life by their fanatical will with the intent to reduce the intruding evil to ashes.
However…
"As I expected."
The Lich was still alive. No, it did not sound like it was in pain.
The golden angels in armor were shocked as the Lich's hand reached for their throats, bony fingers clasping their necks with a vice-grip strength a Lich should not possess.
The Sword Archon couldn't believe his eyes as the Lich snapped the necks of the Justice Archons, dropping them to the floor, their lifeless bodies dissipating into the ether to be reborn once again.
The sight of him effortlessly murdering two Justice Archons with physical strength alone forced every other Archon to be on guard.
"I don't know where I am or how I got here. But I believe that my best choice is to fight my way out. I am sincere when I said I did not mean to break your laws, but I must move on."
The leading Sword Archon pointed his sword-arms at him.
"Attack!"
[Widen Magic: Negative Burst]
Within the eternally golden realm, darkness blossomed for the first time in many years, blooming at the resting place of Mercuria's previous Tome Archon.
The energy of unlife exploded from the undead and consumed all of the Archons present, bodies collapsing and falling from the air, raining down around Momonga before their bodies dissipated back into Mercuria.
Momonga nodded to himself, the angels around him were weak as [Life Essence] suggested.
The only one that survived was the tallest angel with the sword-arms. He looked weakened, barely clinging to life.
Momonga stood over the angel as his bright glowing eyes looked up at Momonga's condescending crimson gaze, the red light glowing from his eye sockets.
"I truly mean it when I said I don't want to be here. Now, answer me if you want to live. How do I leave this place?" Momonga demanded.
The Sword Archon gritted his teeth.
"It is of no use." The archon's complexion was pale, the light of his eyes flickering on and off, his light a step away from death's door, the color of his silver hair and radiant body looking sickly pale from the ingestion of negative energy. Momonga saw that this angel managed to raise a defensive shield at the last moment, barely managing to protect himself.
This angel was at one HP, just one. Was it a skill similar to that of a Death Knight's?
"You have raised your sword against the children of Mount Celestia. All of the Archons, all denizens of this realm will raise their swords against you in retaliation… but despite all that, I still sense the truth to your words… I am starting to lose trust in my ability to discern truth from lies. Did you not come here for any diabolical purpose?" The Sword Archon asked.
"So you call yourselves Archons…" Momonga muttered, making a mental note on the names. "Your ability is not failing you. I truly did not come here to desecrate the dead. I landed here by accident. Now, answer my question."
The Sword Archon stared at Momonga.
"...There is an exit leading to the lower Level. There, you will find your way to Lunia." The angel explained. "But be warned. If you lay your hands on the innocent…"
"I will not harm those that do not show hostile intent," Momonga swore.
The Sword Archon stared at Momonga.
"...you are telling the truth…"
"I am. Where is the exit?"
The sword archon pointed in a direction.
"Follow the road until you see a slope. You must not use flight, you must walk on the road to reach the first layer. There, you will find a way out of Mount Celestia once you pass through the mist. Assuming that you survive the wrath of my brethren, Lich."
Momonga nodded.
"Farewell. One day, I hope that we meet again under more amicable circumstances." Momonga took flight.
He flew out of the mausoleum's open ceiling, bathed under the irritating rays of the golden sun.
The outside was not like Momonga expected.
The landscape was dotted by jagged peaks, a forest plateau spires covered in grass with jagged stone scaling the sides, some holding a structure like the mausoleum he was in, others holding what looked like majestic cities of white polished stone and gold in the distance.
From one of the cities, Momonga could see many angels, or 'archons,' taking flight like angry hornets from a nest towards his direction.
Momonga suppressed a curse as he shot towards the direction the sword-armed angel showed.
He could see a beige paved road between the base of the jagged peaks. Momonga landed and dipped his hand into his inventory, pulling out a war horse golem and setting the miniature down.
The golem grew to the size of a large horse, body shining a lustrous black with sleek gems dotted across each side. He didn't have time to select which golem, he was being hunted by angels, and there was no telling when the higher level ones would appear.
He mounted the horse as he felt a connection to it.
"Hya!"
Without wasting time experimenting, Momonga commanded it to move by instinct. The horse galloped as he held onto its reigns, the golem galloping forth strongly, kicking up dust.
The path was curved, still trapped in the forest of plateaus, preventing Momonga's mount from reaching top speed in its twists and turns.
He furiously hoped that the angel wasn't lying to him. He was sure as hell that wasn't a Player roleplaying, it felt too real to be a game at this point.
He wasn't sure when the mists would appear, everything's unobscured under golden light of this realm's sun.
These creatures were new, acting like antibodies guarding against harmful foreign substances, Undead especially.
He immediately accepted that he was in another world, or a heaven of another world. Still, whoever decided to drop him in a sacred tomb to trigger their hostility must have a unique sense of humor.
Loud barks aroused him from his musings.
He looked back, seeing large hounds on his tail. In fact, a large pack of hounds were swarming him. He noticed that they were all wearing metallic collars of various metal colors like the hound Demi-humans.
"Cease your escape and stand trial!"
The nearest hound spoke.
"Of course they could. Leave me alone!"
[Despair Aura V]
Momonga unleashed his Despair Aura passive.
However, the hounds closest to him did not die despite their meager HP.
For some reason, their HP doubled instead.
"What?" Momonga was confused. Did they buff themselves?
[Despair Aura IV]
He switched to the insanity effect.
The hounds caught in his aura tripped on their paws, howling with bloodshot eyes filled with madness.
He at least confirmed that worked as the rest of his pursuers were shocked and maintained a healthy distance.
[Widen Magic: Shark Cyclone]
But Momonga refused them an ounce of respite after all of the trouble they caused him.
So he left his pursuers a cyclone of sharks behind him when the angels teleported behind him.
Every single one of them were caught in the hurricane, dealing with the flying sharks biting into their holy flesh as their cries faded behind him.
[Stop.]
And angelic voice, a soft melody that sounded gentle, divine, yet authoritative rang through Momonga's skull.
He felt a small compulsion to listen, but it lasted for a brief moment. A flash of divine gold appeared on the road ahead, Momonga forced to slow his golem's gallop.
It was an angel, the tallest he had seen, around twelve feet tall.
It was a golden creature, massive golden feathered wings, his skin and eyes also golden, the latter glowing like suns, yet strangely his hair was black, a contrast of the dominant color. The angel was masculine, bare-chested, handsomely androgynous.
His weapon was a golden sword wreathed in radiant flames.
His HP was much greater, meaning his level was much higher.
Many more angels teleported around him, making Momonga cuss inward. He should have anti-scrying magic established, how were they seeing him? If the trap spell did not trigger, they must've used some other means.
"...Haven't I had enough harassment for one encounter? Isn't this too much for accidentally falling into a tomb built at the top of a plateau?" Momonga asked the leader.
"...Strange." The golden angel spoke. Momonga couldn't get used to his voice, it sounded so crisp and enchanting.
"You should've been destroyed by Mercuria's sun, yet you stand unaffected…"
Momonga glanced at the golden sun in the sky. He wasn't sure if it was his High Tier immunities or something else as such environmental factors back in YGGDRASIL would damage him regardless of his racial protections.
"I am Domiel, the Mercy Bringer. I am the Ruler of Mercuria and I stand before you. You are wanted for crimes I am sure you have heard, along with resisting arrest. I implore you to stand down and lay your arms."
Momonga could feel a wave of foreign emotion washing over him, but he shrugged it off. It felt like remorse and sympathy, but it came not from his nonexistent heart.
"As I said before, I will not lay down my items. All I wish is to leave this realm. If you want my compliance, it will be on my terms, angel," Momonga refused to leave himself vulnerable in this dangerous environment.
Domiel stared at Momonga with a gaze that empathized… pity? Was he looking down on him? Momonga's grip on the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown tightened, planning on how to even the playing field. The army of angels that survived the shark cyclone have finally arrived, legions upon legions of winged angels and demi human hounds already surrounding him.
He even spotted golden dragons flying towards here.
Dragons. Momonga would be elated at the sight of excellent crafting materials if it wasn't for this situation.
"I see." Domiel sighed. "Your arrival in Mercuria leaves us with concern for the safety of Mt Celestia. Forgive me, for I will raise my sword for this realm."
"Then we are at an impasse again." Momonga dismounted, his horse golem already shrinking until it was within his bony hands.
[Body of Effulgent Beryl]
Momonga prepared the spell as he placed the horse golem back into his inventory.
"For Celestia!"
One of the Sword-armed angels roared.
[Widen Maximize Magic: Nuclear Blast]
Momonga casted the spell from his open palm.
The following war cry from the legions of Celestia was drowned by the largest explosion they had ever seen.
The sound alone was strong enough to shatter glass, the force of the shockwave shattering stone and rock, mountains scorched by the heat of the alien spell, an expanding dome of caustic fire erupting as it deafened the peaceful silence of the golden heaven.
Nearby mountains small enough cracked by the base, toppling over from the explosive force.
Hound Archons died in hundreds, Justice Archons died in hundreds, Sword Archons died in tens, Devas of all three types serving other Gods littered across the scorched fields, wings burned black, bodies dissipating into the ether to be reborn to fight again.
Grass was scorched and radiation poisoning lingered in the air, Momonga standing at the center, his eyes focused on Domiel.
"Not bad that you survived." Momonga was a little surprised to see this one with some HP left in it despite it withstand [Nuclear Blast].
It most likely suffered from Blindness and Deafness judging by how it casted a spell on itself to recover.
He perked when he noticed something landing in front of him, the fiery silver greatword of the angel before him. He was surprised that the sword didn't land further away, but he would take it as he grabbed the sword hilt and yanked it from the nuked soil.
"What… are you?" The golden archon asked in a pained voice.
"That is a question I would ask of you, as I do not know what kind of angel you are." Momonga replied as he inspected the greatsword, the design was standard but it felt powerful. Momonga casted a spell to appraise it, humming with interest in its unique features, great against evil beings, demons, and undead.
"Regardless, I do not have time for you. Unless you are willing to send me away from here." Momonga asked.
Domiel looked up at Momonga, pained and golden skin scorched charcoal black, half of his face scarred from nuclear fire.
"...You are a dangerous being. You look undead, yet your power surpasses the limits of such a creature," Domiel stated. "Your power surpasses that of Acererak… It might be able to rival with that of Vecna's."
Momonga quirked a nonexistent brow at those names.
"But if you wish to leave, then so be it. Your intentions are unclear, but you speak the truth. I can sense the absence of deception from your soul. However, I must punish you on behalf of Celestia. Thus, I shall send you to Avernus."
"Avernus?" Momonga wondered what realm that was, but at this point, anywhere was better than here.
"If you do not comply, the Gods will intervene. As powerful as you are, not even you can withstand their combined might. But with your power, I am confident that you can survive Avernus, nay, thrive even."
"I see…" Momonga wasn't sure if he should take his word, but he is an angel, one with the ability to tell if he was lying or not.
And he wouldn't risk the wrath of the Gods upon him.
"However, if I were to send you away, you must swear on your soul that you shall not retaliate against the heavens, nor bore future ills against the peaceful realms. Do you accept my terms?" Domiel asked.
"...This realm is the worst place for a creature such as I. I will accept." Momonga decided.
There was little information to go on, and he was pressed for time.
"Then by the power of Mercuria, I banish you. You may keep my sword. May it help you in your struggles."
Avernus was the first and largest layer of the Nine Hells, Baator, the most infernal plane, a blasted hellscape in the most literal sense, rivers of lava, barren hills, and low, rocky mountains as far as the eye could see.
Mountains dotted the horizon as far as the eyes could see, rocks and boulders omnipresent, some resembling tormented faces and shapes of creatures, jagged crystals surrounded each mountain, each sharp enough to slice through flesh.
A perpetual crimson light was the sky, mixed with rolling clouds of red and black.
The realm where the major battlefield of the Blood War rages as Demons of the Abyss sail from the River Styx, a river of blood formed from the pooled life fluids of every Fiend that died in Avernus, Demons, Devils, and Yugoloths of Hades, neutral Fiends that play both sides of the warring factions, crimson red carved across the infinite landscapes of Baator.
The River Styx was a gateway for the Demons of the Abyss to invade Avernus and vice versa for the Devils to invade Pazunia, the first layer of the Abyss.
It was a bloody, timeless, Primordial war between Law and Chaos. Even the skies were rife with battle between the winged forces of either side fighting for supremacy.
One side bearing organized regiments of warriors, ranging from Merragons and Bearded Devils, commanded by Higher Ranking Devils, somethings under Cambions such as Commander Zhalk.
The other side was far more disorganized, Balors whipping hordes of lesser Tanar'ri Demons to charge forth with little other command, countless numbers of different creatures disorganized and pushing each other away to get in the front lines not to displease their betters.
However, something fell from the blood-stained skies of Avernus.
It came down as a flaming comet as it landed near the River Styx, amongst the lines of the Tanar'ri Demons.
In the fiery crater, the Demons nearby stopped upon sensing a foreboding presence that aroused their most primal instincts as creatures of the Abyss.
Standing in the center, a skeleton brushed the debris off his robes, visage of his form unobscured once the dust dispersed.
Nearby Demons suddenly collapsed, the lesser Quasits first, bodies suddenly dead and without life, then came the rest of the various demons like the Nalfashnee.
"That bastard angel, where in… Oh."
Momonga was cursing Domiel when it banished him into this Avernus. He stopped after taking a look outside of the crater, seeing his situation.
The situation was best summarized as 'From the frying pan and into the fire.'
And he was surrounded by what looked like Demons.
There were so many kinds of demons of various putrid colors and shapes he could not compact the description in a clear sentence other than a chaotic mess without any sense of organization, different creatures intermingling into one messy swarm.
"...Fuck." Momonga could only curse.
So this was what the angel meant by Avernus. He literally sent him to Hell. He looked around… Yes, he did send him to hell, everything around him depicted the Christian Hell word for word.
He was in a staring standoff with demonic hostiles from all sides.
The various demons roared as they swarmed at him.
However, they all dropped dead when they got close to him, dropping like oversized flies.
Momonga remembered that he had [Aura of Despair] on. The noisy Demons couldn't get into range without dropping dead. Momonga smirked inwardly as he expanded the range of his Death aura. Many of the Demons many meters from him were swallowed by his Aura, bodies hitting the charred, wasteland.
The Angel did say that Momonga might thrive in this place now that he thought about it, now that he saw how easily the Demons died to his Aura alone.
He was starting to understand his words - he could kill his way out if he wanted to.
The Demons were apprehensive upon seeing the circle of corpses surrounding Momonga now.
He saw hairess four-armed, gray demons with skin that looked as tough as cured leather with a strange wetness, with two longbows drawn.
The demon was shouting something at him in the language Momonga… somewhat understood?
He heard words that weren't Japanese, but he understood them perfectly.
"Foul Lich! Are you here under Orcus?!"
Momonga did not know who Orcus was, but he did not care. He could kill them. He felt like he should let loose for a while upon seeing so many cannon fodder around him…
[Widen Magic: Cry of the Banshee]
Momonga answered with magic. The Demons tried to attack him first. If he was in Hell, he would kill his way out one way or another.
A banshee cry exploded and engulfed many Demons, cutting off their strings of life as their bodies struck the floor, as if showing that their prior vigor and life was a lie, that they were puppets of flesh all along.
[Summon: Primal Earth Elemental]
[Summon: Primal Air Elemental]
He called upon the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
He conjured a massive creature made of thick boulders with broad arms and short legs and a giant wind spirit, one to tank and deal damage and one to dominate the airspace around him.
The Primal Air Elemental surge and exerted its power, powerful gales dominating the skies as the winged demons in the air cried out, knocked out of the air and plummeting like fallen angels.
Momonga saw the Demons retreating from his summons, now wary of his presence.
"Lich!"
Momonga perked as he turned to see a massive Demon teleporting in.
It was a large demon with fiery scarlet skin. Its head was that of a minotaur's, two horns protruding from the side with each wearing two golden rings. Its wings were dark brown, bat-like. Metal vambraces wrapped in chains covered his arms and grieves with skulls covering his kneecaps wrapped his legs, its right shoulder wearing a skull as a pauldron.
In its left hand, it wielded a electrified long sword, and its right a whip made of fire.
Its sword was already swung and collided against Momonga's neck. Momonga stared at the creature, knowing that it was confused by absence of damage.
Still holding Domiel's fiery blade, he rammed the holy sword into the Demon.
The Sword of Domiel had an interesting ability. One of its power was that it enchanted all of the wielder's attacks with holy power, and every Fiend that the wielder slew cannot resurrect.
The demon howled as the divine light of Mercuria exploded from the blade, its organs ignited as the light of heaven burned its eyes from the inside, light escaping from all orifices before the Demon exploded in a fiery explosion in its death throes.
What remained was a charred skeleton. The Sword of Mercuria deals extra damage to evil entities, undead, and Demons, Momonga humming with intrigue at the result, unaffected by the explosion of fire due to his Divine equipment.
[Create Middle Tier Undead]
Momonga decided to summon some creatures that would help distract the horde, finding time to experiment with his powers.
However, something strange happened.
From his person, a black spectral ooze levitated towards the Demon's skeleton and swallowed it. Momonga found the amorphous ooze undulate as its shape reformed into a Death Knight.
A two-metered crooked undead equipped with a rippled sword called a Flamberge and a huge shield known as a Tower Shield. Death Knights are looked upon as huge creatures equipped with armor made of black metal with red bloodlines engraved on it.
Its armor was riddled with sharp spikes, an incarnation of violence. Two demonic horns protrude from the helmet, with the skeletal face visible underneath, empty eye sockets filled with hate and murderous intent glowing with a flashing red light.
The creature stood on guard as Momonga casted a spell.
[Summon Undead Tenth]
Momonga summoned an Elemental Skull, a floating skull surrounded by a magical aura that constantly changed color.
[Summon Primal Star Elemental]
He summoned a giant humanoid creature, its body condensed from the light of the sun itself, hovering behind Momonga as it burned with a bright shining aura.
He did not stop there, he summoned a Death Warrior, a monster similar to the Death Knight, only it wielded two curved longswords, although the summoning consumed another nearby Demon corpse in the process.
He flew and landed atop of the Primal Earth Elemental as his mount.
"We're moving!" Momonga roared as he pointed his looted holy sword forward in a random direction.
Thinking about it, he was surprised that he could use the sword in the first place. Normally, he wouldn't be able to use warrior weapons due to his class restrictions, something to experiment with later.
His summons moved, the Elemental Skull already firing spells at the opposition.
His Death Knight and Death Warrior roared as they charged forward against the Demons.
The Demon horde roared in response, no longer held back by their stupor and curiosity.
Many of the Demons fell to his Despair Aura when they tried to get close, the Primal Wind Elemental's aeromancy knocked the Demons in the sky with its constant twisting gale as the Primal Earth Elemental ran as fast as it could with its bulk.
Momonga squinted from his higher vantage point. From atop his summon, he could see numberless hordes of Demons of all shapes and sizes, a ridiculous number almost blotting the landscape with their bodies.
His Death Warrior carved through the lesser Demons with its blades, his Death Knight sending scores of Demons flying with its shield as its flamberge carved through the rest, his Elemental Skull firing a [Greater Chain Lightning] spell, electricity jumping from one to demon to another, downing groups of them as they fell.
His Primal Star Elemental fired a burning bright laser from its mouth, a beam of shining light instantly incinerating scores of Demons in its burning gaze as it turned from left to right, mowing down countless demons as their cries perished with their bodies.
Momonga might have to use Super Tier Magic. Should he consume a cash item?
He hummed in thought… he should test if these things were smart enough to try and harm him.
[Dimension Lock]
Momonga used his staff to lock down all teleportations around him as he ordered his mount to stop.
[Veil of the Moon]
Momonga summoned a magical shield from his staff as he prepared the one spell that was best for this situation.
[Extend Magic: Time Stop]
Momonga stopped time. Only his highest level summons from the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown weren't affected. Momonga grinned at the sight of countless frozen demons in front of him, unable to act in any way against his power.
Multiple magical circles appeared around him, some turning like gears, some with runes rotating around the perimeter as magical power channeled within stopped time.
From what he had seen so far, these creatures did not have any supernatural resistance to his Death Magics. Oh, he wondered how many of them he would be able to summon from their deaths.
Momonga waited within the extended duration of stopped time for any retaliation. No Demon could move within the stopped time, all helpless as he charged his spell to completion.
When time resumed its flow, the spell was ready.
[Ia Shub Niggurath!]
Momonga unleashed a black wind at the Demons before they could understand what he unleashed.
Hundreds of thousands, no, millions of Demons fell dead for the first time since the Blood War started under the might of this grand spell.
In YGGDRASIL, it was a peculiar spell, not a very strong one, only had a small chance of inflicting instant death to anyone caught in its grand range.
For the Demons of the Abyss, the spell inspired terror in their unholy souls, all bloodlust and desire to kill this undead interloper died at the sight of so many of their Tanar'ri kin dropping at once.
It was the first time they saw so many demons dying at once, from one spell entirely.
And the spell was not finished.
The first Demons that saw it were the Vrocks as they looked up.
An inky black sphere was in the sky. As it descended in a slow trickle, the other demons on the floor noticed the large cimmerian sphere. The demons backtracked when it hit the earth as it splashed, popping like a water balloon as the dark substance washed over the battlefield and consumed the corpses, demon bodies sinking into the black mud.
Within the ink-covered fields, tentacles sprouted from the abyssal soil like turnips, five turnips sprouted and bloomed. From the black mass, the tentacles waved as they heard an adorable sound of a goat bleating strongly.
[MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!]
It was a sound they could not process as the creatures that came forth were not adorable as the farm animals.
Each of these creatures were horrifying, pitch-black monstrosities, bundles of black tentacles and rippling muscle with drooling mouths covering their bodies, each with five hooks
The demon horde was wary of the five aberrations.
Never before were such monsters brought into Avernus.
A Molydeus roared and ran towards the nearest Dark Young, a wolf-headed demon with a crimson muscular body running on digitigrade feet, the serpent protruding from its neck hissing at the Dark Young as it raised its ax.
Only for it to be crushed under the Dark Young's tentacle, splattered into a puddle of blood and gore before its corpse turned to ash, its essence returning to the abyss.
"Trample them."
At his order, the Dark Young moved.
It was the first time in the countless years since the beginning of the universe were the Demons trampled like bugs, countless demons splattered under the hooves of the aberrations before their essence returned to the abyss.
Demons screamed in Abyssal, panic and fear on a level the Blood War had never seen in the forces of Chaos.
The Dark Young belated adorable goat sounds as Momonga watched the massacre.
"Good." The Demons were far weaker than he expected, leaving him breathing room as he turned around, checking his flank.
He was confused when he saw another army in the distance fighting against the demonic hordes appearing in the distance.
These demons were not disorganized, regiments of purple-skinned demons with barbed tentacle beards wielding spears and regiments of other demons wearing baby-faced metal masks battling against the chaotic hordes.
[Hail! I come in peace, undead!]
Momonga heard a voice in his mind as he looked up, seeing a Demon approaching him. It was a different language, but he understood it perfectly for some reason, which was odd.
It reminded him of the Demon he slew with the holy sword, but this one was more fiendish, armored in crimson scales, a darker red version with fangs, much more draconian than that bull-like demon with the fire whip.
Momonga turned off his Despair Aura to let the Demon land before his Primal Earth Elemental mount.
"...Speak." Momonga looked down on the Demon from his summon's earthly back.
"I am General Thadrik of Zariel's vanguard legion! We have witnessed your power from afar; you have decimated the Tanar'ri wretches and broken their formation. Lady Zariel sends her regards and her favor for your actions have benefited her crusade."
Momonga quirked a nonexistent brow. He was wary of this creature since he was also a Demon, a creature famous for deception in lore.
The Demons he was massacring was Tanar'ri, he noted.
"However, I speak for the vanguard. Your arrival is a comet. That sword you wield belongs to the pigeons of Mount Celestia. I can never mistake that light… Your motives eludes us… and your power is too great to dismiss."
The crimson demon was wary of him.
"Indirectly asking about my intentions, are we? I will say that my arrival is… Unscheduled. Alas, I was beset by savages the moment I arrived and I responded accordingly. You are the first to attempt parlay. Are you willing to parlay?" Momonga asked the Demon.
In the distance, Momonga saw metallic war machines, medieval furnaces on wheels with cannons was the best description Momonga could conjure at the sight. The cannons fired, arcs of hellfire streaking across the skies.
Momonga halted the Dark Young, the five aberrations stopping as the flames streaked over their bodies and exploded amongst groups of demon hordes.
"...We are willing to discuss a mutual alliance." The crimson demon offered.
"I know how your kind functions. No deception?" Momonga pointed out. "I am not very patient."
"You are too great to be deceived."
"I will hold you to that." Momonga ordered the Dark Young to resume the slaughter. "But I suggest you do not get in the way of my adorable goats. They might not be able to tell which side belongs to which."
Momonga could not read the creature's facial features. He was glad that his lack of flesh was a perpetual pokey face.
He had done quests for Demons in the game, but never once he had to deal with the looming threat of betrayal.
"I thank you for you generosity. If you wish, I can bring you to Lady Zariel. She would be delighted if you sign a contract with her as her war mage. With your power, we can move the main stage of the Blood War to the Abyss, just as the Lady wishes, to see the Blood War ending in our victory!"
Momonga should seriously ask questions about this Blood War, but he should not give away that he knew nothing to a demonic creature.
However, something streaked across the skies, punched through the hole in reality as Momonga looked up.
General Thadrik sensed it as he looked up behind him.
It was a massive fleshy structure, shaped after a boat, or battleship, with massive tentacles dangling from the forefront. It had slipped through some purple mist. The ship looked to be in rough shape, smoke leaked from its sides, and purplish blood seemed to be leaking from massive slices in its side.
Red dragons appeared, flying through what looked like light-purple gate portals of sorts, chasing after and harassing the flying ship.
"...Is this a common occurrence?" Momonga asked, pointing at that ship.
His mind went to work. There was an opportunity here, he just needed confirmation.
"A Nautiloid? Here? Do not worry, the aerial troops lead by Commander Zhalk will deal with that."
"It seemed functional. And ready to leave this realm." Momonga baited the Demon as his eyes looked down at the Demon.
"If they manage to planeshift, perhaps."
Momonga confirmed.
"I believe that I have other matters to attend to." Momonga decided, earning Thadrik's eyes towards him.
"My forces will continue killing the Demons in my absence. I suggest you make sure none of your forces go near them."
[Time Stop]
Momonga stopped time once more, the chaos and motion of the world stilled to a stop.
[Greater Teleportation]
Momonga teleported atop of the ship
He quickly searched for a way in, seeing a breach in the vessel.
[Triplet Delay Magic: True Death]
Momonga boarded the vessel as he jumped into the breach, leaving three presents for the dragons behind.
However, when time resumed, Momonga did not have long to explore the alien vessel of weaved organic flesh and strange solid stone as the ship entered another gateway, a portal out of Avernus and into the Prime Material plane.