"Captain, the target has been spotted in the village."
"Oh? It seems the prey has finally taken the bait." He smiled as the result of a week of work finally brought fruit.
"Let squad 20 bring him to us. Remember to keep your distance from him; he's still someone with one step in the Realm of Heroes."
"Yes, sir!"
The men acknowledged his orders and began to approach the village in the distance, leaving Nigun with his thoughts.
The Realm of Heroes… Nigun recalled some bitter memories at the mention of what he could never achieve.
No matter how strong you might be, you're still going to die by my hands today.
Nigun Grid Luin was a pragmatic man.
Born in a family that had not produced anyone of worth since his grandfather's generation, he was entrusted with the mission of preserving his family's standing in his country, for in the Slaine Theocracy, families were only as powerful as their members.
A family that produced powerful, competent individuals would receive many benefits from the higher-ups and rise in the ranks, while one that stopped producing them would quickly fall out of favor.
His grandfather had been someone who reached the Realm of Heroes, elevating the Luin family to one of the most powerful families in the country, but unfortunately, he died in battle, and his father's generation didn't live up to his name, putting his family at risk of becoming commoners.
If that were to happen, they would lose their territories and many other privileges that came with their status.
As such, from a young age, his useless father put him through the wringer to train and become someone powerful.
'You need to be powerful, just like your grandfather,' his father would always tell him after beating him half to death.
Luckily, Nigun was discovered to have a talent during his academy years, and he was quickly taken into the Sunlight Scripture once he could cast 3rd-tier magic.
His talent made his summons have better stats than the ones summoned by others, so he started to believe that he could be even stronger than his grandfather ever was.
But he was wrong.
The Realm of Heroes is not something one can reach with effort alone; if that were the case, his country would have hundreds, if not thousands, of them.
He looked at his side to one of the vice-captains of the Sunlight Scripture.
Emilia was an attractive young woman whom he had pursued once.
He didn't dwell on the rejection, for he couldn't quite force her to accept him, but last he knew, she was romantically involved with the 5th seat of the Black Scripture, the "One man army," Quaiesse Hazeia Quintia.
As they were both summoners, he asked the man for a spar, in no small part because of a petty jealousy he felt, but the results only served to prove to him that heroes were on a completely different level.
I heard his sister defected and is now being pursued by the Windflower Scripture. Serves him right, the smug bastard.
Right now, he should be with the rest of the Black Scripture protecting the Divine Artifact as they make their way to confirm if the Coffing Dragon Lord has resurrected.
They should cross this forest on the way, right?
Is this why you're stealing glances at the Forest of Tob, Emilia? Trying to see if your boyfriend will pop up at any moment?
This notion annoyed him. Killing someone like the Warrior Captain of the kingdom was a mission that would usually fall to the Black Scripture, a scripture composed only by heroes, but since they were occupied, the Sunlight Scripture, which would usually be destroying demi-human settlements, was charged with it instead.
Nigun found this situation irritating; it was as if the Sunlight Scripture were an afterthought to his superiors, a lesser scripture that would deal with the heroes' scraps, since they were occupied with something more important.
Then again, Nigun was not an idiot; he wouldn't have reached his position if he were. He understood well that power was the only thing that mattered when determining one's value.
He was weaker than Quaiesse, so it was natural for Emilia to favor him.
Likewise, any two members of the Black Scripture could wipe out the whole Sunlight Scripture if they so wanted, and he heard that their captain was even more monstrously strong, having the blood of the gods running in his veins.
For his country, it was obvious who they should prioritize. It was the same thing as with the families. The strong would be valued, and the weak didn't have the right to complain.
If he were ever to reach the Realm of Heroes, he would also be assigned to the Black Scripture, much like the former captain of the Holocaust Scripture.
"Captain, the target has entered the area."
He was interrupted in his thoughts by one of the squad leaders reporting the situation.
Nigun looked ahead, seeing a group of a few dozen men riding towards them.
At the front, he saw the figure of Gazef Stronoff looking every bit like a hero in the making.
"Squads 1 to 5 summon your angels!" He yelled his command, and with it, 25 angels appeared in the meadow.
They looked like large armored humanoids with shining wings. They carried flaming swords in one hand and looked like tough foes.
These were Archangel Flames brought forth by the 3rd-tier spell [Summon Angel 3rd].
The minimum requirement for one to be part of the Sunlight Scripture was to be a 3rd-tier divine caster, so every member was capable of summoning angels of this tier.
"Squads 6 to 20, on hold."
To conserve mana, the Sunlight Scripture implemented a rotation system. When the angels of a squad were destroyed, another squad would take their place, letting the members recuperate their mana in peace.
With this system, they had destroyed plenty of demi-human settlements throughout the years, so there was no confusion on his subordinates' part.
"[Summon Angel 4th- Principality of Observation]" He summoned his angel, and so did his 3 Vice-Captains.
Once a member of the scripture grew strong enough to cast 4th-tier spells, they would be promoted to vice-captain. These were people who, if they turned to adventuring in another country, would be classified as adamantite-class adventurers.
All of them summoned the Principality of Observation, an angel that could boost the defensive power of allies in its line of sight.
The angels flew towards the kingdom's warriors and engaged in combat.
Against a normal warrior, the Archangel Flames held the advantage and could guarantee a kill, but the Warrior Captain continued to interfere, only needing two or three swings to kill an angel.
Thanks to him, none of his warriors had died yet.
"A pointless struggle."
If Gazef had disregarded his subordinates and made his way towards them, then maybe he could have killed one or two of them, but by acting like this he wouldn't have a chance to do anything.
Not that he would allow it anyway.
"Squads 6 to 10, it's your turn." He ordered the rotation, and a new group of angels was quickly summoned to replenish the ones destroyed by the Warrior Captain.
"Also, someone deal with that horse of his, I don't want him coming any closer."
A subordinate promptly used a fear-inducing spell on the horse, and one of the angels pushed Gazef out of it before killing it.
The end is near, it seems.
To toy with a potential hero filled Nigun with a twisted kind of pleasure.
This, he thought, was the kind of power one could have when one had a country behind them.
Individually, Gazef could probably kill him very easily, but now, when faced with the whole might of the Sunlight Scripture, he was little more than a little child with a sword in hand.
It was funny, really. Many nobles in the kingdom's capital were so blinded by small benefits that they were willing to help another country kill their strongest protector, seeing this operation as an opportunity.
Had the Warrior Captain been equipped with the kingdom's treasures, then this fight might have turned out differently, but there were no what-ifs in the world, only reality.
By the time Squads 16 to 20 were deployed, there wasn't much more fight remaining in the Warrior Captain. He looked tired, and Nigun could see his body tremble from afar.
"Kill him." He gave a death sentence, and a group of more than ten angels flew towards the Warrior Captain and stabbed him with their flaming swords.
Or at least that was what should have happened, but as the angels approached, Nigun saw a strange scene in front of him.
At some point, all the warriors had vanished, and in their place, two masked men appeared on the battlefield.
The one in the lead looked like an arcane magic caster. He looked at the Archangel Flames and then at the Principality of Observations and nodded.
"These are really monsters from Yggdrasil." His voice was low and commanding. There was a great distance between them, and the man didn't yell, but his voice was still clear in their ears.
Nigun felt cold, his body reacting before his mind could even process the danger he was feeling.
He had fought in many battles, taking lives, and in many cases, almost dying in the process, so as he looked at the man talking alone, he could see his own death.
"Tell me, men and women of the Slaine Theocracy, where did you learn these spells you've been using? Can you tell me when they were developed?"
"Where's Gazef Stronoff?" He asked, trying to hide his fear under an aggressive front.
"The Warrior Captain? He's in the village, of course. I teleported him and his men there." The man spoke as if what he did was the most mundane thing in the world, but his words had a great impact on him and his subordinates.
[Teleportation] is a 5th-tier spell, but it can only move one person to a close location.
To teleport dozens of men at the same time… Could he be at the 6th-tier, or even higher?
No, no, no. 6-tier is the limit of humanity; if he is above it, could he be a God-kin?
For Nigun, anything higher than the 6th-tier was already in the realm of the gods.
He held a crystal in his hand. An item left by the Six Great Gods, an item that could even destroy a Demon God.
Would he have to use it?
I need to test him first.
Despite his fear, Nigun was, after all, the leader of one of the Six Scriptures, and as such, he made his decision immediately.
"All the Squads, summon your angels and attack!"
Suddenly, 100 angels materialized in the air, looking like a heavenly army ready to cleanse the mortal world.
They flapped their wings and flew towards the two masked men.
"Oh? You're quite rude. Sebas, retreat for a bit." The masked man ordered the other one and opened his arms, not the least bit concerned about the army going in his direction.
"[Negative Burst]" Once the angels got close enough, a black energy burst from the man, destroying all the angels in a second.
Upon seeing this scene, the battlefield fell completely silent.
Everyone was looking at the man who had done something that should have been impossible, but didn't seem to care.
"Hum?" The man then looked up at the sky, where cracks formed for a brief moment before disappearing.
"It seems you were being watched by someone, but thankfully, you're close to me, so my anti-divination measures activated. You should be grateful." The man seemed amused by his own words.
"Well, this is enough playing around, [Gate]."
A black portal appeared behind the man, and from it emerged a demon.
"Ainz-sama." The demon bowed to the masked man, looking like the very image of subservience.
"Demiurge, I want you to take these people for interrogation." He pointed at them.
"Of course, Ainz-sama." The demon got up and turned to them.
"[Make a line and follow me.]"
Nigun heard the command and suddenly found that he could no longer control his own body.
He saw himself and everyone in the Sunlight Scripture walking towards the demon, forming a line behind him.
His body trembled as he tried to resist this command. He didn't want to go there, but his body wasn't listening to him.
Seeing their struggle, the demon smiled happily.
"[Stop Resisting.]"
With these words, he realized that even the right to resist had been taken from him, his body reduced to a mere puppet controlled by the smiling demon.
Going into the portal, he was greeted by screams of pain and pledges of mercy.