(T/N: Some of the future chapters are too short, so I'll be combining two chapters into one.)
Kenichi, Erza, and Kagura had vanished from the stronghold where Brain was.
The next second, when they reappeared, they were already at the location where Wendy and Carla were.
"Kenichi-nii!"
Wendy, flying in the sky with Carla, was delighted to see Kenichi, Erza, and Kagura appear.
Carla also didn't hesitate, carrying Wendy as they flew towards where Kenichi and the others were.
After Wendy and Carla landed, Kenichi instinctively patted Wendy's head and asked: "Are you both okay?"
"We're fine!"
Wendy first shook her head, then said: "Thanks to Irene-san arriving in time!"
Hearing Wendy's words, Kenichi shifted his gaze from Wendy before him to Irene hovering in the air ahead.
Mare was the first to detect the sudden appearance of Kenichi, Erza, and Kagura.
"Three more people arrived?"
Mare, with both hands on his staff, his eyes instantly emitted a faint light.
Soon, his gaze fell upon Kenichi, Erza, and Kagura walking towards them.
[See Magic Power]
When Mare saw the magical power on Kenichi, Erza, and Kagura, the always calm expression on his face finally showed a trace of emotion.
Especially Kenichi.
In Mare's vision, the magical power around Kenichi was like crimson flames, dyeing half the sky.
That amount of magical power was many times greater than Irene's from before.
"Su-such strong magical power!"
Mare's hands gripping the staff trembled slightly, then he spoke in his timid voice.
At this moment, Ainz's words echoed in Mare's mind: 'If there are any problems, retreat immediately!'
'It seems we should retreat!'
Mare thought to himself.
Just as Mare was about to create a [Gate] to retreat, a black shadow descended from the sky at an astonishing speed.
The next second, Demiurge's figure appeared before Mare.
"Demiurge-sama!"
Seeing Demiurge, Entoma immediately greeted him.
"Mhm."
Demiurge nodded to Entoma, then turned his gaze to Kenichi, Irene, Erza, Kagura, Wendy, and the group ahead.
"Mare, the humans you discovered are these ones, right?"
"Indeed, very astonishing magical power."
Demiurge said to Mare.
"What should we do, Demiurge?"
"Ainz-sama said that if the situation seems unfavorable, prioritize retreat. However, these people will undoubtedly become obstacles for our Great Tomb of Nazarick in the future. First, let's test their true strength."
With that, the masked Demiurge stepped forward, walking towards Kenichi, Erza, and the group.
"Another one arrived!"
"This aura... a demon?"
Erza and Kagura, looking at the masked Demiurge ahead, both had slight changes in their expressions.
And an interested expression also appeared on Kenichi's face.
'Demiurge is already here. Now we're just waiting for Ainz Ooal Gown.'
After Demiurge approached to a certain distance from Kenichi's group, he proactively stopped, greeting them very gentlemanly: "Good evening, everyone. I am Jaldabaoth."
'No, you are Demiurge.'
Hearing Demiurge's greeting, Kenichi really wanted to say that.
But he didn't voice it. Instead, a curve hooked at the corner of his mouth, adopting a stance of watching the performance.
In front of the building entangled with numerous branch vines, Kenichi, Erza, and the group stood facing Demiurge from a distance.
Although Kenichi and Demiurge hadn't made a move yet, the air was filled with an extremely dense sense of pressure.
Even Gagaran, an Adamantite-ranked adventurer, found it somewhat difficult to breathe under this powerful pressure.
'What's with this atmosphere?'
'It feels like there's no room for me to intervene at all!'
Gagaran looked at Kenichi, Demiurge, and the others ahead, her face full of astonishment.
Whoosh-
Whoosh-
Just then, two figures suddenly appeared beside Gagaran.
These two figures were none other than.
The female ninja of Blue Rose, Tia, and the masked [Nation Destroyer] loli, Evileye.
"Evileye, Tia, you're here!"
Gagaran glanced at Evileye and Tia, then turned her gaze back to Kenichi, Demiurge, and the others ahead with a grave expression.
"What's the current situation?"
Tia slowly stood up, looked ahead, and asked Gagaran.
"As you can see, all of Fairy Tail is here. However, those monsters on the other side are also very troublesome to deal with!"
Hearing Gagaran's words, Tia prepared to go support Kenichi, Erza, and the group.
But the moment Tia took her first step, Evileye suddenly raised her voice and shouted with some urgency: "Don't go over!"
'Huh?'
Evileye's agitated voice startled Tia.
Her figure halted abruptly, and she turned to look at Evileye.
Although Evileye wore a mask, so her expression couldn't be seen, Tia noticed that Evileye's body seemed to have an abnormal reaction.
"What's wrong, Evileye?"
"Those two are monsters among monsters!"
Evileye looked at Demiurge and the other, her tone grave and urgent.
While Evileye, Gagaran, and the others were talking, Demiurge, playing the role of Jaldabaoth, also spoke to Kenichi, Erza, and the others: "You treated my subordinate so well just now. Now let me properly return the favor!"
With that, Demiurge waved his hand.
"Wall of the Inferno!"
Amidst a flash of red light.
A cluster of flames, like a giant wave, directly surged towards Kenichi, Erza, and the group.
"Flames of this level aren't even worth devouring for me."
Watching the wall of flames sweep towards them, Kenichi gave a light laugh.
At the same time, Kenichi activated the improved [Arc of Embodiment].
[Arc of Embodiment]
As Arc of Embodiment was activated, the next second, an illusory figure appeared before Kenichi.
Soon, the illusory figure gradually solidified, ultimately becoming a pink Slime.
The moment the Slime was manifested, its entire body instantly expanded, like a tightly sealed net, meeting head-on the surging wall of flames.
The moment the sealed net touched the flames, it instantly contracted, devouring all the flames in the sky.
Finally, the sealed net returned to its Slime form.
From Kenichi manifesting the Slime to the Slime devouring Demiurge's flames, it had only taken the blink of an eye.
Demiurge over there, seeing his flames being devoured, a light instantly flashed in his eyes beneath the mask.
Immediately after, Demiurge looked as if he had seen a ghost, his expression changing dramatically, his eyes flickering constantly.
"Bukubukuchagama-sama?!"
At the same time, Mare also looked like a believer seeing their deity, his small face full of fanaticism.
"It really is Bukubukuchagama-sama!"
That's right. The pink Slime now in the sight of Demiurge and Mare was no ordinary Slime.
It was Bukubukuchagama, one of the 41 Supreme Beings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Also, the creator of Mare and Aura.
Of course, this Bukubukuchagama was only manifested by Kenichi using [Historia of the Dead] and [Arc of Embodiment].
"Bukubukuchagama-sama, you've finally come!"
Mare, like a child seeing their long-lost parent, walked towards Bukubukuchagama with a delighted expression.
However, just as Mare was about to approach Bukubukuchagama, Demiurge flashed and blocked Mare's path.
"Mare, wait!"
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Demiurge block him, Mare looked up at Demiurge with confusion.
"The Bukubukuchagama-sama before us is fake!"
After saying this to Mare, Demiurge turned his gaze to Kenichi.
"Just now, for a moment, I saw this human's magical power decrease slightly. Presumably, he used some kind of magic."
"After that, Bukubukuchagama-sama suddenly appeared, and even helped these humans block my attack!"
"This seems very suspicious no matter how you look at it!"
"I think the Bukubukuchagama-sama before us was probably created by this human using magic!"
Hearing Demiurge's words, Kenichi couldn't help but inwardly praise: 'As expected of the brains of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, truly impressive!'
'However, the Bukubukuchagama I manifested possesses max-level attributes. How will you deal with this next?'