Ainz's Second (Overlord Fanfiction)

- 8: Moving Things Along -

--- Arakan's POV ---

Several undead that had been left wandering the streets were easily cut down by the advancing group of adventurers as they made their way towards the palace. They had encountered resistance fairly often, but with Arakan at their head they rarely struggled against it. The vampire wanted to get to the palace quickly so that he could wrap things up...but now that they were following him he had to move slow enough that he didn't leave them behind.

Guildmaster: "It won't be much further now...but the amount of undead we've encountered until now is rising."

Arakan: "They won't be an issue. Just keep an eye out for those masked undead."

Naturally, Arakan hadn't killed Khamul and Isildur in the fight he'd had earlier. Killing his personally created servants for what essentially amounted to a glorified performance would have been idiotic, and they would not have gone down immediately. In truth, what he had destroyed had been mere copies.

The Dark Wraiths that made up the Black Riders each had a racial skill that allowed for the creation of two body doubles per day, each body double having strength rivaling the one who created them. These doubles were virtually indistinguishable from their creator, save for the fact that their HP can't be read via the Life Essence spell. This was because the doubles had no HP to speak of. Despite having all the strength and skills of their creator, body doubles would go down without fail from any damage directly received. That was why they had perished so easily against him. What this meant was that the only Rider that Arakan had fought during that battle after his encounter with Khamul in the guild hall was Talion, who was brought down to below 50% HP. Isildur and Khamul on the other hand were alive and well somewhere else within the city.

The great stairway that led up to the palace was within sight now, as was the army of undead standing at it's foot. 

Arakan: "Damn. I don't have time for these distractions..."

And, as if to make things for difficult for him, a black mass crashed down into the center of the small army, swirling around until it revealed itself to be Isildur. Many of the adventurers hesitated upon seeing this, but Arakan continued walking forward as if he hadn't noticed his arrival.

Arakan: I was going to leave the army to the adventurers...but I can't really do that now. They can't handle him. What now? Should I deal with him myself?

And then, as if prompted by his question, a loud crash was heard as two figures emerged from a destroyed building. One was clad in a brilliant white cloak, and one was a metal masked wraith wielding a bastard sword that Arakan was already all too familiar with. Yuri was engaged in a heated sword fight with Talion, who seemed to lack the injuries he had suffered when fighting against Arakan. The reason for this was revealed rather quickly once Yuri proved her momentary superiority over the wraith, inflicting a shallow wound on the wraith's waist. A minor injury. But that was enough.

The Wraith exploded into shadows, revealing his identity as a body double of Talion. Upon noticing Arakan nearby Yuri quickly moved over to him, bowing her head in respect without even a moment of rest or celebration after her victory.

Yuri: "Raan-sama. How have you fared thus far?"