Notorious

In YGGDRASIL, killing other players to take their equipment was commonplace, but unless they had some deep-seated grudge, few people made a habit of it.

Because YGGDRASIL's death penalty was relatively severe, dying didn't just cost a player five levels; they also randomly lost one piece of their equipment.

Although some players maliciously killed others to steal their gear, that sort of thing was common, but it wasn't the norm.

Yet there was one guild whose members made killing players for their equipment their main goal, and they were active on the YGGDRASIL stage.

Losing levels wasn't a big deal, but ordinary players put a lot of effort into crafting their equipment. Plenty of players quit after losing it in a PK.

And that infamous, villainous guild was YGGDRASIL's notorious heteromorphic guild: "Ainz Ooal Gown."

Hades had only started paying attention to the Ainz Ooal Gown guild after joining the 1,500-man raid. Before then, he'd just been a casual player who treated the game as a second life.

He'd joined a guild on a whim and leveled up without much effort. YGGDRASIL offered plenty of activities for players who weren't fond of fighting, and Hades had been one of them.

But that 1,500-man raid changed the course of Hades's time in the game. Influenced by his hotheaded nature as a young man, he'd resolved to topple Nazarick. In the process, he'd also learned the full story behind the raid against Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ainz Ooal Gown had killed Hades only once, and as he grew older, he'd long since forgotten Momonga's taunts.

But some things were impossible to forget. On the website for the 1,500-man raid, there had been countless players who'd quit after being PKed and losing their gear.

Although he no longer cared about Momonga's past taunts, Hades couldn't blindly trust him not to attack. His impression of Ainz Ooal Gown was so poor that he was on his guard to the utmost.

Before the assassination, Hades had hesitated over what he was doing. But then he'd watched Albedo kill without hesitation, while Momonga showed no concern at all.

He understood that it was time to let go of his illusions. Even in the real world, Momonga acted just as he had in YGGDRASIL. He had no qualms about killing.

Hades turned his gaze toward the soldiers casting low-tier spells and walked toward them. His move, however, sent them into a panic.

They all took a step back, their bodies trembling slightly. But without Nigun's orders, they could only remain where they were. Nigun's expression had turned grim. The man had slain the Dominion Authority with a single swing; his strength was probably on par with that great personage.

The situation left him torn. Since this man had killed the Magic Caster, then at the very least, he and the Magic Caster were enemies. The enemy of my enemy... Nigun decided to take a gamble.

If this man was as powerful as that great personage, then they were little more than lambs awaiting slaughter. Better to try something than do nothing. At the very least, he could obtain this man's information and relay it to the Theocracy.

"Y-Your Excellency, what should we call you? We're soldiers from the... Slane Theocracy."

Nigun hesitated, then gritted his teeth and gave the man their true identities.

At this point, anyone with even a little common sense could tell they were from the Slane Theocracy. And this man was far too powerful for that to be the only thing he knew.

Concealing the truth would only leave a bad impression and wouldn't help him with what he planned to do next.

"Oh? The Slane Theocracy?"

Hades was slightly taken aback. If he remembered correctly, Enri's father had said this place was Re-Estize. He didn't know where the Slane Theocracy was, but he was surprised that they'd openly admitted to being soldiers of another country.

That wasn't the issue he needed to focus on now, though. He'd already instructed Hanzo to stand guard at the edge of the area sealed off by Dimensional Lock. If he spotted enemy reinforcements, Hades would retreat immediately, so he still had some time.

"You don't need to know my name. Tell me, why have you surrounded this village? Do you know what happened here?" Hades asked.

The village had been intact yesterday, but by the time he arrived today, it had become this. Hades didn't know who was responsible. Though he hadn't been particularly fond of last night's meal, he wasn't a cold-hearted man.

If he hadn't suddenly run into Momonga, a player notorious for his misdeeds, Hades would already have gone into the village to ask what had happened. But Momonga's appearance had interrupted him.

Hades didn't want to face a player with such a notorious reputation directly. He was alone, while Momonga had at least an entire guild backing him up. What's more, Hades didn't know how many of its members had come here. Facing them head-on was too risky, and he couldn't stake his life just to repay the villagers for a meal.

Hades had grown up wealthy in his original world, and he understood the dangers of human nature better than most. That was why he had few true friends. Even though he'd joined a guild in YGGDRASIL with many members,

he'd acted almost entirely on his own before deciding to take down Nazarick. Later, while researching Momonga, he'd gotten along fairly well with Ulbert Alain Odle and the others, but that was all.