Tears of Nazarick

Antilene's cuffs hit the ground, her head still dazed from what had just transpired moments prior.

"Prove. It. To. Me. Then."

'A declaration. No, a challenge?'

It didn't matter in her mind. She had a weapon in her hand, and her enemy was just a few feet ahead, counter-strike already aimed at her.

'If that's the case then…'

"[Flow Acceleration]!"

Antilene held her stance for only a second before the dazzling light ripped through her body, her nerves raging on to the extent of her limits, sending the priest-warrior's afterimage head-on to Cocytus' striking range.

'I know I won't break through, but I need to see just how hard that armor is!'

After barely being able to scratch through Mare, Antilene knew better to not misjudge the strength of a servant of Ainz Ooal Gown, especially one that was wearing something that could actually pass as armor this time around.

"Looking. For. A. Weakness?"

Antilene pretended to pierce through one of the many blue orbs in his chest, but somehow the giant insectoid in front of her managed to completely block the strike, not even flinching as the blade bounced-off his arm.

"I. Promise. You." The mandibles that were near point-blank to her face suddenly exhaled, a subzero wave of frost that felt like it had slit through the skin of her cheeks. "That. Is. No. Weak. Spot."

"[Vidyārāja Strike]!"

'Tch, not good!'

"[Instant Counter]!"

She barely managed to push herself back as Cocytus suddenly swung his halberd upwards, slicing the air with such force the heat from the strike dissipated in vaporous steam inside the Frozen Cell, splitting up the two fighters by a thin veil of smoke.

Antilene frowned as she sized-up her opponent again. He seemed enormous in comparison to her now, and if she couldn't even break through the 'skin' of his arm with that strike…

'!'

She felt a sudden warmth atop her lips. Little splashes of blood had been forming beneath her, along stray strands of hair that must not have been so lucky as to dodge Cocytus' blade.

'A nosebleed already, he didn't even hit me and I had to push my body this far…'

"No matter! [Regeneration]" A warming green light enveloped Antilene's body from head to toe before dissipating. After a deep-breath, her nosebleed stopped, and she had enough insurance to pursue attacking like she had been.

Cocytus scrutinized every movement of the warrior-priest, hoping to garner as much from her character from her fighting style as possible. It was already rare, by this world's standards at least, that one could cover their weakness from using martial arts with healing magic, since most warriors wouldn't have enough levels to strive for both spells and skills.

'From. Her. Previous. Strike. I. Can. See. She. Must. Be. Used. To Assassinations.'

He even let her take a breath before continuing his attacks, eager to see what she still had to show him.

'What. Will. You. Do. Now?'

"[Triplet Magic: Ice Pillar]!"

The girl's eyes widened as her battle-senses flared up. The icy walls of the cell rumbled lengthily before the ceiling itself felt like it was going to give away.

'The first one is coming from…' Another spell broke her out of her thoughts.

"[Double Widen Magic: Ice Pillar]!"

"Kuh- [Greater Wind Stride]! [Greater Evasion]!"

The Frozen God wouldn't give her time to think. Her body automatically moved for her, almost dislocating half her leg as she forcefully pushed herself to the side, narrowly evading a pillar from behind that would penetrate through her skull.

Using [Greater Wind Stride], Antilene continued the pace [Greater Evasion] gave her, drifting through the ice floor and running up the wall. She almost felt like she was walking on air as two other pillars tried to stab through her.

'One is coming from the ceiling, and the other one…!'

She crouched and slid forward, losing her momentum on the wall but dodging another pillar that would surely decapitate her. Now for the third one!

"There!"

Her senses had grown sharp throughout the fight. The last one would come from the wall she was sliding down on, it would hit her for sure with her current positioning and speed, penetrating through her abdomen, unless…

"[Flow Acceleration]!"

Antilene constrained her body back just in time not only to avoid the pillar, but to be just in the right place to grab onto it. With her body on overdrive, her acrobatics defied the New World's standards as she reached on and spun on top the pillar, her eyes nearing-bloodshot and a crazed smile on her face, she activated another martial art before using Cocytus' own spell as a springboard against him.

"Now! [Greater Piercing]!"

"Humph. Aren't. You. Forgetting. Something?"

Cocytus was impressed with the mobility and awareness displayed from the girl, it certainly beat out anything he had seen before here, but if she can't even dodge a premeditated spell because of her battle frenzy…

Between Cocytus and Antilene, two massive pillars of ice stabbed through the floor and the ceiling. Antilene's whole momentum would be stopped if she hit them now, but Antilene wasn't done with her onslaught just yet as she roared out:

"[Fourfold Slash of Light]!

Her talent, Psychometry, would allow her to innately understand and copy the trump cards of whoever held the weapon she was wielding. That's why she was able to instantaneously replicate Brain's move on the best possible scenario.

Before her body would close the distance, four slashes of iridescent light blasted out from her katana, ripping through and removing the pillars out of her way.

Cocytus turned to her in awe. Two of the slashes still followed his direction, not to mention Antilene herself, even burning up as she was with all the martial arts bleeding out from her. Her nails had dug deep in her skin from clutching the Katana ever more tightly every time she used another art. Even though Cocytus was yet to land one single hit on her, her body was as bloodied as if she was fighting an entire army by herself.

And she still had a smile in her face as she did.

'Impressive.'

Cocytus stuck one of his hands in a dark void, reaching out for God Slaying Emperor Blade.

He parried the remaining two slashes of light with it, leaving only Antilene to go through.

'Truly. Impressive.'

"However. –"

"Pierce Through!" Antilene accidentally interrupted him as she went for her finishing strike, landing herself as a missile, one arm holding her blade forward while the rest of her body was almost limp. She was betting it all on [Greater Piercing] being enough to penetrate Cocytus' defenses.

In a way, she did already. She made him pull out another weapon.

That's how Cocytus would think of it, at least.

'But. Allowing. A. Scratch. To. Land. On. Me…'

Antilene didn't understand. She thought she had figured her enemy out, yet…

Why was she on the floor away from him? Was all that blood...hers?

'It. Would. Dishonor. The. Supreme. One.'

"[Ice Pillar]."

Without restraining himself this time, Cocytus instantly summoned a pillar from behind him. Before Antilene could even react, it hit her side with enough blunt force to barrel her towards the opposing wall. The sound of her ribs breaking could be heard upon impact, and the rest of her bones made another nasty crunch as she hit and fell from the wall, leaving a crack behind where she landed.

Cocytus thought that hit would have been enough, but she was unconscious only for a few seconds before perking her head up again.

"Your. Passion. For. Fighting. Is. Extraordinary. Truly. Commendable."

She still hadn't fully recovered from her daze yet. Her head was bleeding from the impact with the wall, and she couldn't fully comprehend what her elvish ears were telling her.

'He's… giving me props? Why-'

"But."

She heard the wind whistle against her ears, and then the cracking of ice behind her. Turning her head back, the wall had been completely sliced in a straight line just an inch from her, in a sword strike so fast she couldn't even perceive. Bits of ice that had already broken off from when she hit the wall fell on her head now, adding insult to injury.

"You. Lack. Specialty. Your. Talents. Are. Spread. Far. Too. Thin."

Cocytus thought about it. She may be stronger than any warrior of this world while being able to keep herself up like the best of priests, but had she instead focused her strength in just one path…

'It. Can't. Be. Helped. That. She. Was. Not. Created. By. The. Supreme. Beings.'

It was the truth. Only they could realize beings such as the Floor Guardians into fruition. If Cocytus thought about it hard enough, he would remember hearing a passing conversation where Warrior Takemikazuchi talked about "Min-Maxing" with Touch-Me.

Antilene wasn't sure if she wanted to scoff at him or if she wanted to cry. After all she went through, he was saying they trained her wrong? There wasn't anyone in this world that could beat her! Anyone...That could beat her…

She looked at the blood pooling beneath her again, her own blood.

It was building up in her throat, she spat more of it out.

'What if… What if he's right?'

A burning question had imprinted itself on her mind then.

Then she remembered. What they talked about before this. How she said she would always be a fighter, even if the Theocracy hadn't raised her.

'What kind of fighter could I have turned into on my own?'

She wondered it. She wondered if she could have been stronger than what she was now, but that was ridiculous. She'd never have access to the items of the Six Great Gods, or all the weaponry from the Theocracy itself.

But then another question pervaded her mind. One far more intrusive.

'What kind of fighter could I have turned into with the Sorcerer Kingdom?'

The next words Cocytus continued with brought her back to reality. A far more grim reality, where she belonged cuffed to the walls of a frozen cell.

"I. Was. Hoping. You. Had. Fallen. Unconscious. With. The. Last. Strike. But! You. Proved. Tougher. Than. That."

The insectoid warrior exhaled another smiting wave of frost, sealing Antilene's fate.

"If. You'll. Still. Resist. I. Will. Be. Forced. To. Break. All. Your. Limbs."

Antilene gasped from where she was standing. What air she could still gasp, at least.

She knew the insectoid wasn't kidding, but she wouldn't back down either.

She will prove to him.

Prove she's strong enough.

"Bleed. Out. Or. Stay. Fighting! Choose. Your. Fate!"

"[Triplet Maximize Magic: Ice Pillar]!"

Antilene saw the three spikes, all poking out the ceiling and floor out to puncture her.

She wasn't going to allow it.

It didn't matter how much blood she lost already, she picked up the Katana off the floor again. She started chanting another martial art-

Blood burst from her face.

Crimson streaks of viscera ran beneath her eyes.

She couldn't see anymore.

She didn't need to see anymore.

"[Field]!"

A red bubble spread out from the ground beneath her feet.

Despite all the blood she had lost, the eyes she was missing, she was still standing.

And she wouldn't lose any more body parts.

This was the only victory she still had in her grasp.

'Glorious.'

The three pillars of frost sprung out from the ground. All aiming for Antilene.

Cocytus did not hold back on the attack.

The pillars made their way inside Antilene's [Field]-

One shattered.

Two shattered.

…

'Simply. Glorious.'

All three of them shattered before reaching her.

Though she couldn't see, she could feel the ice that had crumbled beneath her feet.

She was smiling. She could almost start laughing now.

One small victory.

One step towards-

Cocytus watched as the three spikes closed-in on Antilene. He did not expect her to break through them. Nor would he feel happy or sad either way.

That's what he believed anyways.

No. The resolve of warriors. He saw it already.

It all starts when you realize you can yet grow stronger.

And Antilene…

She broke through all the Ice Pillars he put before her. She utilized the technique from Brain Unglaus to perfection.

Cocytus wasn't expecting he would ever see it in action again. Seeing that fate defied, however...

'This. Feeling. Is. It… Pride?'

Pride is something you should feel for the warriors you raise, or for your children.

Indeed. He felt proud of the Lizardmen when he trained them. He liked seeing them push past their limits.

He also felt the pride from someone like Brain Unglaus when he put his life on the line for his kingdom, and honored it until his last breath.

But this woman before him… She wasn't either of those two. Not one of his warriors, nor the child of Lord Ainz-

Before he could process it further, the half-elf started laughing to herself.

Cocytus clacked his mandibles together, expectantly.

'Generally. This. Means. She'll. Black. Out. Any. Second. Now…'

He was glad, he didn't want to actually puncture her after all that. He'd feel bad if-

"What?!"

Antilene stopped laughing. The feeling of blood building up in her throat, all the bruises and damage to her body she had done, she started remembering.

Her mind went astray, should her eyes have regenerated by now, they would be staring off into an empty horizon.

First, her mother. She saw her, she could truly see her, she tried holding her hand out to her-

It was slapped away. Then a punch, landing right in her stomach.

Antilene Zesshi recoiled, landing on her knees. That's who she was.

"As proclaimed by the Pontifex, you are Zesshi Zetsumei." Zesshi looked up, no longer seeing her mother but one of the Six Cardinals of the Theocracy.

Those damned Cardinals.

She saw him then, her father, Decem, the Elf-King. The Cardinals made gave her a weapon, and pointed her to the direction of the Elf-King.

She walked towards the smug portrait of her father then, but something stopped her.

A pitch-black wall that she couldn't cross, and couldn't walk away from, as she heard the voices of the cardinals inside her head.

"Can we really trust this child?"

"She has the blood of an Elf. She is filthy."

"Her mother was one of our strongest assets. She could have potential!"

She tried to cover her ears with her hands, but the voices never stopped. She didn't want to hear them anymore, she didn't-

"Who will train her?"

All voices went silent, if only for a second.

The answer was obvious to all the old cardinals present, at least to those who knew of It's existence.

The Guardian Angel.

Zesshi started sweating, she didn't know why.

She looked to the portrait of the Elf-King, trying again and again to break through the invisible wall. She couldn't.

She couldn't run away from it.

What was she running from?

She felt it. A presence entered the pitch-black room she was in.

She couldn't see it's face, it was obscured from her for some reason.

Before she knew, she was fighting it. At least trying to. She couldn't land a single hit.

It evaded every hit, neglected every blow she threw against it, and mocked her while doing so.

"The scythe of my Lord, and they give it to someone pitiful like you."

Zesshi was thrown to the cold floor, she could see her father's portrait looking smugly at her while she tried dodging a summon's flamberge that was trying to pierce her stomach.

Decem, always behind her, haunting her past.

The Cardinals, their voices always inside her head.

And right in front of her, Rufus The Guardian Angel.

It stepped above her bruised body and called off his summon, intending on finishing the job himself.

"[Hell Flame]"

From the edge of a black, gloved finger, a purple ember whisked away inside Zesshi's chest, before imploding it into a raging inferno.

She felt her armor scalding on her skin before it all turned to ash, leaving her defenseless. Even reaching out for her scythe turned out a futile struggle as a gravely boot stomped her hand out before she could reach it.

"Someone as weak as You. Shouldn't even be wielding Lord Surshana's weapon in the first place."

He grabbed her off the floor by her neck. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free from his grasp, all her limbs had been broken by now.

But this was still training.

"See that you're strong enough for your mission when the time comes. [Call Greater Thunder]"

Normally, this spell would immediately assault the target, piercing through their defenses in a single, enormous lightning bolt.

But for someone with a Talent like Rufus'…

Zesshi looked as the spell enveloped his glove, the shining chaotic sparks of lightning merged with his fist, turning it into a deadly torturous tool.

He punched her exposed stomach.

The electricity of the spell spread out, burning through the defenseless skin, Zesshi felt like she was being ripped apart.

The punches continued, again, again and again as Zesshi screamed out in pain.

"Welcome to the Black Scripture."

Cocytus couldn't grasp what was happening. Antilene had been laughing after shattering all the Ice Pillars and proving her worth, but now…

'This. Is. Terrible.'

The girl was looking straight to the ceiling, her hands seemingly trying to cover her stomach while she let out a blood-curdling scream.

'I. Didn't. Hit. Her. Stomach.'

Cocytus tried to rationalize the scene before his eyes. Antilene's body twitched unnaturally, he started worrying she would die of shock as a result of her usage of Martial Arts during the fight, but…

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!"

Those were the words she wanted to scream out back then, but Rufus would always end their training with a quick and dirty [Memory Flash], a much lesser version of [Control Amnesia].

His existence was supposed to be a secret even in the Theocracy, after all.

Antilene's body jerked unnaturally before finally giving out, almost lifelessly as she fell limp on the floor, still clutching to her stomach even with the pool of blood leaking from her mouth, and the holes where her eyes had been.

Her pale body made a stark contrast of the crimson that surrounded her, and the blinding blue light of the frozen cell they all inhabited. It could even make a grim, beautiful painting were the right artist chosen for the job.

Cocytus mandibles clacked once more.

…

'She. Is. Still. Alive. [Life Essence]. Can. Only. Tell. Me. As. Much.'

Still, he didn't know what to think of the scene that just played out before him.

He would have to bring it up with Lord Ainz later.

'I. Will. Contact. Pestonya. To. Come. And. Heal. Her.' Antilene could use as much. 'The. Frost. Virgins. Can. Lock. Her. Up. And. Fix. The. Room.'

For now, Cocytus could only exhale another wave of frost, out of relief this time. He only turned back once more to check on Antilene with [Life Essence] again before exiting the room. He still had to answer to Nigredo's request.