"You think these binds will hold me?"
I declared with scorn, matching that armored woman's murderous glare with my own. The armored woman simply laughed with a sneering gaze. The restriction spell wasn't anything serious; it was just annoying, a mere tripping hazard, so to speak.
I broke out of the chains then summoned all of my available shadows. The armored woman's expression slightly faltered, scoffing. She hesitated, even retreating a few meters to create some distance.
"A one versus three is hardly fair, don't you think? Your little red-haired friend is dead, and I doubt your little friends behind you can do anything."
The skeleton sorcerer said from the distance, slowly advancing toward me. The insectoid warrior placed its left palm on Reinhard's chest, freezing the upper torso. They were taking his body, and I didn't know why.
"I doubt your little shadows can even put up a fight, but I need you alive. You have the souls of my children, three of them to be exact."
"Are you seriously trying to convince me to surrender? In exchange for sparing my life?"
"Oh no, no, no, do not misunderstand. I want you alive, and I didn't ask for your surrender. I merely said that I want you alive." The skeleton sorcerer stretched out his arms at an angle, as if anticipating a hug. Its tone was full of overwhelming arrogance and power.
"Do not falter. I am alive."
A voice spoke echoed within my head, and I instantly recognized it. How could I not? That soft voice carried an overwhelming weight of power. It was Reinhard van Astrea's voice. The man I thought was dead was actually alive.
"What!?" The skeleton sorcerer said, and for once, its voice was tinged with apprehension. Reinhard van Astrea was now standing tall, as if nothing had happened. The insectoid warrior unsheathed all four of his swords from their scabbards.
The armored woman was also taken aback by Reinhard's resurrection. Her face, still a world-class divine beauty, was now bemused — time to return the favor.
"Now's not the time to worry about your friend." I whispered, standing close to her.
"You -!" The armored woman was attacked from four different sides at once the moment she realized my close proximity. I coordinated an attack with my shadows, instantly exploiting a rare opening from this monstrous tank.
My fist slammed into the armored woman's face with a forceful, shattering impact. Wham!
Beru slammed his fist from the left, causing another shattering impact. Wham!
Wolfgirl pounded from the right side. Wham!
Igris struck from behind. Wham!
It was the same attack that left that skeleton sorcerer dazed. The armored woman's face was the only unarmored section, but that didn't mean it was vulnerable. Seriously, it felt like punching a hard reinforced wall.
We all sank into the shadows as the armored woman spun her halberd, attacking in one swift sweep. We then emerged from the shadows a few meters away from her. The armored woman covered her face, using her right hand, then let out an ear-splitting scream.
The armored woman's face was disturbed but not necessarily damaged. She looked like someone who woke up on the wrong side of the bed now. Her eyes were now a shade of red, although less from foreign irritation and more from hateful abhorrence.
The woman was about to charge ahead when she instantly disappeared. A loud crash suddenly erupted in the distance, in the very far distance, behind us. Many grocery shelves flew into the air due to the sheer explosive force.
I turned my head around and squinted, seeing that the armored woman was crushed beneath the large insectoid warrior. The insectoid warrior's armored chest carapace was fractured, with massive fissures. Reinhard had pierced that impregnable carapace armor.
With a swift glance, I caught sight of Reinhard in the distance. Not a single blemish on his skin or clothing. It was as if nothing had happened to him, but his expression was grim, intent on defeating the skeleton sorcerer.
It was my first time seeing that kind of expression from him.
Reinhard glared at the skeleton king. His sword was now glowing in radiating brilliance, slowly extracting the sword from its scabbard.
"You are worthy of my sword, Ainz Ooal Gown."
Reinhard said, fully unleashing the sword. The illuminating radiance was blinding my sights, and my shadows instinctively stepped back, as if repulsed by the sparkling light.
"Mass Teleportation!"
That skeleton sorcerer shouted, magical runes forming above and below him, along with the armored woman and the insectoid warrior. In an instant, they vanished. Reinhard instantly appeared in front of me and took my hand.
"We have to leave now, as soon as possible!"
"I sent my shadows up ahead earlier and they found a ripple." I replied.
Megumi Fushiguro, Izuku Midoriya, Ryuen Kakeru, and Kiyotaka Ayanakoji perked up. They all quickly rose to their feet then saddled Tank with my powerful shadows at its flank, and pressed ahead toward the ripple, with me trailing slightly behind.
I glanced back to see Reinhard staring at the ceiling; he snapped his fingers, and moments later, he was running beside me. "How fast is this guy? Does he even have a limit?"
"What did you just do? You snapped your fingers while staring at the ceiling." I asked because he didn't seem to be activating any magic. The guy didn't even have any mana.
"Someone was watching us, and I merely clouded their vision." Reinhard playfully winked, then gestured a thumbs up.
"You stopped their surveillance?"
"Nothing like that. Their magic is extremely powerful. If they really want to observe us, they absolutely can, but I am going to make it difficult for them."
Reinhard answered; his face was still plastered with that perpetual smile. He just died, but it didn't seem like he was heavily affected by it. Was death cheap for this guy?
"I assure you, it's not," Reinhard answered, directly answering my thoughts. This guy...
...
...
...
We arrived at the ripple. We didn't even bother checking what was behind it; we needed to get away from this place as soon as possible. We all reached out, and our environment instantly changed.
We were now all standing in the middle of a modern road. There were street lampposts planted on the side of a wide and dark asphalt road. The light visibility was diminished, as if it was a world of eternal twilight or dusk. The persistent mist didn't help either. There was a mast arm traffic pole, the kind you see in big cities; the traffic signals were suspended above and in the middle of the road, held in place by horizontal poles.
A huge skyscraper was beside us; I looked up, and I could barely make out the silhouette of a building because of the thick mist from above.
"An empty city."