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98

Chaos Labyrinthos.

The Eternally Unchanging Labyrinth.

The great shackles of the Minotauros. The prison for a Monster.

Born a monster, Asterios was doomed from the moment King Minos learned of his wife's infidelity. Tormented by the betrayal of his beloved and the treachery of the gods, and blind to his own fault, Minos chose not to execute the monstrous offspring. But instead to gain the retribution that he considered deserved, chose to torture the one named 'The Ruler of Stars' in the worst way possible.

"If he was born as a monster, then he will live as a monster - and as a monster he will die."

Having imprisoned the then young boy in an inescapable labyrinth, Minos doomed him to a monstrous life. To make sure that the monster he hated truly becomes a monster, King Minos sent slaves and criminals into the labyrinth as the only food source. He raised a monster from a child that did not distinguish between animals and people, turning him into a murderer, a cannibal, a beast.

The Labyrinth of the Minotauros remained as the eternal shackles of Asterios. A sign and the symbol of his monstrous nature. A prison in which anyone who entered its domain was destined to wander eternally until the day of their death.

Asterios was destined to know and carry the prison in which he himself died in. As a monster, as a man, and as a child.

The Labyrinth of Despair.

The very essence, the very perception of Asterios, changed the labyrinth. And so the bare walls of stones created by the great Daedalus, now turned into the indestructible barriers of Aterios' own suffering.

Asterios, born of a monster, adopted his legend.

No one leaves the labyrinth, dead or alive.

And therefore, the walls erected by the power of his Noble Phantasm that instantly swallowed the Servants, was by their very essence their doom.

Weakness. Despair. Suffering. Pain. Anger. Madness.

All that Asterios experienced looking at the walls of his prison.

All that, he brought to his enemies.

Each parameter of the enemy dropped by one rank. But, what was much more deadly is the fact that they found themselves trapped in an inescapable maze. The labyrinth that started it all. An unsolvable trap created by Daedalus on the orders of his king.

However, Asterios' labyrinth had a peculiarity that is strange for a Reality Marble that is supposed to represent an ever changing individual.

Asterios' maze was static.

As it was summoned once, so it will always be summoned forth the same way every time. Exits, turns, traps - all this was static and could never change.

For someone who first entered the labyrinth, most likely also their last time, it was an insignificant detail that had little effect on them. If the labyrinth you are trapped in remains static and unchanged each time it's summoned, but you find yourself lost in it without any map or any understanding of it, what difference does it make?

However, even with its unchanging nature, for Asterios the labyrinth remained as a trump card. Indeed, during the days of his imprisonment - he had studied his prison well.

"YOUR TRAP IS NOT!.." - Spartacus had time to exclaim before the mighty ax of Asterios separated his head from the body.

Nobody leaves the maze.

"I should have guessed!" Sanson was able to react to Asterior better, having had time to rush away... However, within the walls of the labyrinth, where the very strength and desire to live left anyone within, he had no choice but to fall victim to Asterios's ax.

Neither alive nor dead.

Asterios moved through the maze, easily distinguishing between true paths and false dead ends.

Asterios fought.

He didn't need to do much.

For someone to smile at him, for someone to consider him a child, to be forgiven for his sins. For someone that called him Asterios, and not the Minotauros. 'The bull of Minos', the final humiliation from King Minos.

Therefore, Asterios was ready to fight again, kill again, to re-enter his eternal prison, just for that.

After all, the labyrinth was the prison of the Minotauros, not Asterios.

Asterios was able to easily find the Demon King - as he had not moven from his original position. However, the reason as to why is a mystery, it is not like the Demon King would have trouble moving around the Labyrinth. Perhaps it is because the Demon King finds wandering around the Labyrinth to look for an enemy that would come to him anyway as a waste of time, or perhaps it is because of a more insidious reason...

"A Reality Marble created from the legend of the Minotauros…" - The many eyes of the Demon King, for the first time in the whole battle, were not lazily surveying his surroundings. Now some semblance of interest is concentrated on his gaze on Asterios, which had appeared from one of the endless corridors, - "An interesting ability, but... Hmm, alas a fixed one."

Asterios ignored the words of his opponent. Instead, he grabbed his axes tighter as he rushed forward.

"I admit, if your plan was to lure your enemies here, then it was not so bad." The barriers that appeared in the path of Asterios' axes were like a wall of shields that appeared in the path of a charging warrior. However, Asterios' monstrous story and his presence in his own Noble Phantasm gave him a power exceeding the strength of any Hero, so a second later, Asterios' weapon crashed into the Demon King's body, - "However... Hmm, perhaps you have gotten the single most unfortunate enemy you could have gotten."

Asterios ignored the Demon King's banter, continuing to strike blow after blow into the flesh of the column.

"My name is Belial," Belial breathed out, "A master of Matter Disintegration. Indeed, a Reality Marble which always takes on one single material form... How unfortunate for you indeed."

A second later, Asterios felt an enormous amount of pain.

His bestial instinct made him jump away from the source of pain, but the pain did not stop. Asterios tried to ignore the pain and grab his axes, only to finally realize where his pain was coming from.

Asterios' gaze fell on his hands - however, instead of his normal hands, he only found bloody stumps where his hands are supposed to be.

A moment later, as if waiting for Asterios to acknowledge the damage, blood spouted from the stumps that is Asterios' hands. Asterios let out a plaintive howl of pain that resounded from the walls of the labyrinth.

"Beast, what more do you expect...", - Belial breathed out, - "And now, hmm... For me to destroy the labyrinth manually will take a lot of time, but fortunately... Well, you did forget to kill Spartacus, didn't you?"

A moment later, the headless body of Spartacus, under the influence of his Noble Phantasm, let out its last soundless roar - "CRYING WARMONGER!"

A monstrous stream of power crashed into the walls of the Labyrinth.

Medea understood that for her to raise arms against Jason was a fool's errand. No matter how many times he will betray her, no matter how many times Jason tries to kill her, she will not be able to hurt him in any way. She will not be able to overpower her reluctance to hurt him and attack him, nevermind kill him.

But Atalanta could have hit Jason.

Atalanta, having sworn to protect the children once in the temple of Artemis, would never have been able to strike her own self or any other children. Even her enemies. No matter how many times and no matter the method to convince Atalanta, she would hurt children. Even if the child in front of her is even older than Atalanta herself. As long as their guise is that of a child, no harm would come to them from Atalanta.

However, Anne Bonny and Mary Reed shared the wounds inflicted on any of them.

And so Medea rushed forward.

Ignoring Jason's effort to attack her, Medea rushed forward. Jason's blade slid across her magic-cloaked body, while Medea closed in on her enemy.

Atalanta vowed to protect all children. And no matter how many times Medea tells her that Medea was not a child, she will always see her as a child. And so does the current enemy that is fighting them.

Therefore, after only a couple of seconds, Medea was next to Anne Bonny.

Jason was standing next to Anne and Medea found Atalanta with her eyes.

Now Atalanta is in a dilemma. Atalanta could prevent Jason from tearing Medea apart, but by doing so she could not protect Medea from Anne. Or she could protect her from Anne and so leave her to be torn apart by Jason.

Atalanta and Medea, two comrades who once joined the Argonauts in their quest for the golden fleece. During the time that they spent together, their teamwork reached the level when one glance was enough to understand each other's intent.

And therefore, when Atalanta caught Medea's gaze she exhaled, understanding her plan.

"Phoebus Catastrophe!" Atalanta fired an arrow upward.

Medea smiled while she looked at Jason, as understanding flashed in his eyes on what is going to happen.

A trick Medea had learned from watching Jason fight, very recently actually.

"Pain Breaker!" - Medea's Noble Phantasm opened like a flower, protecting Medea from death.

And then the pain came.

The sky was dark as if the dawn that had come before was just a dream. The stars and the moon were visible in the dark sky of the Singularity. As if the night had never left the firmament, not giving away its right to rule the day.

In the ensuing darkness, the flickering of the most beautiful man on Earth, Chevalier d'Eon, was like the indulgence of a heavenly grace.

As if the world itself played along with him in her small performance.

Although Nero or Baal were not affected by his charm, Drake froze for a moment, allowing the precious seconds needed to activate her Noble Phantasm to drain.

Blackbeard approached Drake with a completely inhuman speed to capitalize on it. Blackbeard ignored any obstacles in his path as he moved towards Drake without seeing anything.

"Aestus Domus Aurea!" Nero smiled as she also unleashed her Noble Phantasm in the night sky.

The Golden theater of Rome. The theater, the magnum opus built by Nero herself during her life. The pinnacle of her greatest ambition. Of her greatest wish.

"I wish to see only the most beautiful things of this world."

And the most beautiful thing in this world was Nero herself, of course.

The Golden Theater, which was built according to her wishes and dreams, is a place where she could enjoy all the beauty of this world and bring all the beauty of this world to her people.

The theater, where Nero was given the best of roles.

In the golden theater, Nero is the greatest artist. Whether it's singing, dancing - or even the beauty of battle - nothing can overshadow Nero's beauty. Any great artists, creator, or even the bravest of warriors - each will give up their laurel wreath to the fairest of Emperors.

Like the Reality Marble that took the guise of a great theater, the scenery that arose at the request of Nero meant that from now on the whole battle has now turned into a performance. Into a play where Nero is assigned the most important of roles. The role as the winner.

However, even so, all that Nero could achieve was to match Blackbeard in strength. The fairest of Emperors against the fearsome pirate captain. Refined grace against deliberate vulgarity. Hedonist versus Hedonist.

However, Nero's golden theater was created not only to glorify Nero. It was created in order to admire the beauty of this world.

And the fairest of all men and women, Chevalier d'Eon have become one of the exhibits.

And therefore, the greatest beauty of Chevalier's Noble Phantasm, instead of hindering Nero, only became part of Nero's strength.

There were claps as the audience applauded Nero's performance.

The Chevalier, whose body is slowly disappearing under the power of his Noble Phantasm, also clapped.

Chevalier knew exactly when she had lost. And therefore he applauded from the bottom of her soul the most beautiful defeat that he was able to contemplate in her life.

Blackbeard did not even have time to understand what exactly was happening. His actions now simply are a part of a scene from the spectacle.

The villain who seemed invincible takes a step forward. The hero, who has found new strength in himself, strikes. The villain falls, never realizing the futility of his battle.

People clap their hands. The actor bows. The curtain falls. The End.

Nero smiled at what beauty as the play unfold, and so she then turned her gaze upward as if to bask in the glory of her performance.

However, her gaze which was so smug before, was suddenly filled with fear.

"FLUCTICULUS DIANA!" - alas, Caligula also knew how easy it was to lose himself in the zeal.

The walls of the Labyrinth, the indestructible prison of the Minotauros, crumbled away. The remains of its walls were swept away by the final blow of Spartacus, sending the burnt body of Berserker away with a shock wave.

However, Belial could not help but applaud the fallen Minotaur. He was able to dispose of his two Servants and even wound him. It seems the minotaur has achieved his goal.

How little… oh, how little did they know...

Belial sighed, looking at the body of the still living Asterios and shifted his gaze.

Alas, once he had recreated the Labyrinth, the Minotauros lost the support of his allies. A weakness for which he paid for in the end. Now without the Minotaur, his allies have lost the support of their main attacking force...

Belial then found Mozart standing in the distance… smirking at him.

Hmm?

Belial blinked in confusion.

He did not find the girl with the shield.

Mozart, looking at the confusion that flashed in Belial's figure, just grinned even more.

Mozart was delighted to see that Asterios had knocked out the two enemy Servants from the battle, leaving only Belial. However, Mozart did not believe that Asterios would have the strength to defeat the Demon King. One could even say that Mozart had used Asterios for his own benefit, but... In the end, Mozart himself was well aware of his hypocrisy.

"LORD!" - A shout came from the heavens and Belial raised his gaze upward. - "CAMELOT!"

Mashu had no offensive Noble Phantasms and Mozart was far from the best Servant in a direct fight.

However Mashu possessed a very strong protective Noble Phantasm.

For as long as the Knights sit at the Round Table, Camelot will not fall.

The Noble Phantasm of Galahad that Mashu had brought to life represents that surety. The legend of the courage and honor of the Knights of the Round Table which took the form of the indestructible walls of Camelot.

Alas, Mashu could not use it to attack, only to defend.

However, if you look at it in another way, Mashu could summon Camelot itself, a huge stone castle.

And Mashu could also fly, very high in fact. And what is more important in this instance is that she can fall.

Mozart, although he did not possess strong attacking spells, possessed a whole heap of spells of various dubious purposes. For example, a spell that increased the speed of falling objects.

And although Mashu and Mozart were not particularly suited for a direct battle, castle Camelot falling on the enemy's head was difficult not to count as a devastating attack.

The arrows from the sky pierced Medea's body but her Noble Phantasm kept her alive.

Somewhere in the distance, Mary Reed screamed bloody murder. Even in the midst of great pain, Medea was happy that her plan was going exactly as she foreseen. After all, if Atalanta could not hurt Mary Reed, all Medea needed to do was to make her hurt Anne Bonny instead.

The deadly blow of hundreds of arrows striking from the sky was so loud that Medea could barely make out the rumble from afar. And, given the great amount of pain coursing through her body, Medea did not care at all.

Medea's Noble Phantasm worked at its full power, saving her from death and not from pain.

Altera, for the first time no longer distracted, was finally able to concentrate on her opponent fully. And even if Romulus was far from weak - Altera's strength surpassed anything that the simple human mind could imagine.

Romulus did not even have time to use his Noble Phantasm. As soon as the other Servants were curtailed, Altera had appeared next to him. The blade in her hands flashed with extraordinary grace - and its collision with Romulus's body finally deprived him of any opportunity to win. And, more importantly, of his head.

A second later, when Atalanta's arrows stopped falling, Medea was able to slowly open her eyes full of tears of pain. And yet, she immediately turned her eyes away from the scenery in front of her.

Anne Bonny and Mary Reed were dead, their bodies no more than a slowly disappearing blood stains. The now headless Romulus fell to his knees with blood pouring out of his neck, having received the fatal blow from Altera.

Medea shifted her gaze and...

Jason was alive.

Medea froze for a second.

Jason was in front of her alive and not even wounded.

Medea opened her eyes in shock, then closed her eyes in resignation. She could feel new tears run down her cheeks.

Of course. Of course, of course, of course!

How stupid! Why is she so stupid!

Her ability, her Noble Phantasm...

Pain Breaker. The crystallization of her belief that every illusion can be broken. Her foolish belief that everyone can be saved. And directed by her subconscious thought...

If she couldn't hurt Jason intentionally, why did she think that she would let him die?!

A Noble Phantasm, a reflection of the Servant's legend itself. Pain Breaker is the legend about the naive princess of Colchis. A Princess who believed in miracles, who believed in a stupid cheerful Hero that she accompanied along great adventures. Medea tried so hard to reach her goal, that she herself forgot about her own self...

So, obeying her most secret desires and thoughts, her Noble Phantasm reached out to Jason as well, and saved him.

Medea closed her eyes, expecting death...

"Thank you", - But instead of a swift death by his sword, Jason's arms hugged her for a second, - "Medea."

Then Medea opened her eyes only to see Jason's figure rushing away.

Nero's body froze in agony.

Madness. The curse of Rome.

Nero was always close to madness.

When her mother poisoned her, hoping to make her an obedient puppet. When she sent legions to quell the riots. When she met her death on the streets of Rome

A madness that ran through her blood. A madness that had consumed Caligula. A madness that should have consumed her.

Nero felt the moonlight slowly penetrating her mind...

And then, as if it was all an illusion, it all was gone. Nero blinked, then turned her gaze to Caligula.

Caligula, her uncle, took a step back in confusion, and then turned his gaze to the blade that had pierced his chest.

A second later, thunder rumbled.

"After 'that' time... I opened my mind a little to modern trends", - Medea, slowly rising from the ground, exhaled, looking at the incomprehensible Caligula, - "Lorentz force, hmm... The driving force behind the function of a railgun."

And of course, since the projectie shot by the railgun was Rule Breaker, Caligula's Noble Phantasm vanished before he could manifest all of its power.

"It took a long time.", - Drake smirked, then exhaled, - "But now everything is ready. Golden Wild Hunt!"

The rumble of Camelot merged with the rumbling sound of Drake's fleet cannons.

Mashu leaned on her shield and breathed out as the power of her Noble Phantasm dwindled and dissipated.

"What an..." - Galahad was perplexed by the plan that his host just told him, but it could not be said that he did not support Mashu's actions at all - "Unorthodox method of attack..."

Mashu exhaled once, and then slowly rose onto her feet, leaning on her shield.

They have won.

They won!

Mashu would have happily jumped up with a joyful cry if she still had the strength to do so. But instead she just muttered something indistinctly joyful, falling to the ground.

"Congratulations", - Mozart, although not as exhausted by the battle as Mashu, also smiled languidly. After which, his gaze fell to the unmoving Asterios, concerned, - "He needs help…"

Mozart only managed to take a step towards Asterios before an animalistic roar made him freeze in place.

Quickly turning around, Mozart managed to notice in only the smallest fraction of a second how a monstrously huge hand, speckled with blood-red flashes, crashed into him. Instantly, he could feel all his ribs and both arms lifted in a defensive instinct break from one blow.

A second later, from the force of the blow, Mozart was thrown away with such a speed that even the ring of flight could not save him. The moment stretched into eternity before he crashed into the ground, feeling his spine tremble under the force of impact with the ground. After which, as if he was a stone being launched along the water - Mozart easily bounced off the ground, then again and again, before finally stopping, rolling from the remnant force of the blow.

Mashu froze, equal parts amazed and horrified.

Megalos...

The monstrous thing that Ainz was fighting… Is here.

Mashu tried to grab her shield to defend herself, but Megalos's gaze, full of hatred, found Mashu's gaze faster.

No thought of why Megalos was here appeared in her mind. Even the thought of what might have happened to her Senpai did not have time to form in her head when Mashu's gaze collided with the eye of the beast.

"Hey, Heracles, buddy!" - But an annoying voice, a voice that brings to mind seaweeds and an energy drink for some reason, distracted her for a second, - "Have you already forgotten your old captain?! Man, that's not how things are done in the Argo!"

Mashu only managed to see blurs as Megalos rushed forward with a guttural roar - at Jason.

It seemed as if the Demon King was trapped in a surreal horror. Cainabel's blood continued to run from her wounds, from her eyes, mouth, and ears. The blood streamed endlessly as it became mixed with sand, water, and sand as they literally dissolved into herself in a black viscous slurry. Even more, the surrounding around her began to warp, it was like reality itself was like melted sugar, slowly mixing with the black world around her. As if her blood was trying to paint, no, smear the whole world around her in the color of black tar.

The night sky completely consumed the surrounding beach. However, if until that moment the bright stars were shining in the sky, now, gradually, as if the black blood of Cainabel had risen up and smeared the sky. Slowly the stars and the sun were slowly extinguished.

The world then plunged into darkness, illuminated only by a lonely moon.

The Demon King's spells crashed into Cainabel's body unceasingly, twisting her body apart like a doll. But, Cainabel expression stayed the same. She just continued to smile, looking ahead with eyes that did not see the enemy.

"M-my name is Aim, the lord of the flame!" Even desperately trying to be brave, Aim understood that he was afraid. For the first time in its entire existence, his mind is possessed by fear, a primal horror that kept people locked in their caves at the dawn of the world in fear of night terrors that they could not see or even imagine - "Y-you! You can't even imagine what powers we have!"

"Oooh", - As if in an ecstatic fit, Cainabel shuddered when another spell crashed into her, - "Oh no, believe me, I know... About your plan, about your petty tricks... Where did your complacency disappear, Aim? Where did your ridicule go?"

"Tell me, Aim", - Cainabel slowly raised her head, finally looking at her opponent. With that Aim could only see a face on which streams of black blood flowed - "Are you afraid? Where is your vaunted strength, Aim? Where is your King? Where are your Servants? What about your plans?"

Aim realized that he could not escape from this Singularity, but every particle of his being shouted to him that he had to escape. That he had to hide, to lock himself in the darkest corner of the most remote prison cell and tremble in fear, waiting for the black shadow of a predator to go past him - "Go away, monster!"

"Monster? Aha..", - Cainabel put her hand to her face, as if trying to imitate a slight flirtatious laugh, but the blood did not stop running down her face, - "What nostalgia... How long have I seen such sincere emotions, such a sincere expression of fear... Ahahaha! How pleasant this forgotten feeling is!"

"M-monster!" Aim shuddered. Even his body, an immovable pillar of flesh, bent backward, trying its damndest to move away as far from Cainabel as possible. And slowly, the roots of flesh that had grown into the ground were pulled out of the ground, moving Aim's body away.

"Oh, no, no, you're mistaken. I'm not a monster at all," Cainabel paused for a second, after which, as if on command, blood stopped flowing from her body. All her blood, the rivers of blood that blot out the sun, rested around Cainabel in the form of a huge puddle. Slowly, waves started to appear as the lake of blood started to move. Then, from the very center of the lake of blood, blood rose to the feet of Cainabel, merging with the streams from her eyes, mouth, ears, wounds, - "My name is Cainabel. The Elder Blood."

"And although my title was trampled upon", - Cainabel bit her lip in frustration for a second, - "His essence will forever remain with me. True Ancestor of Vampires. Goddess of Blood. The Elder Blood."

Slowly, the sea of blood spilled under Cainabel's rumbled uproariously. After which, mouths, grinning in terrible hunger, appeared in the bloody lake. The nondescript faces, then opened their mutilated mouths, full of teeth sharp as needles.

"My blood was the first - and everyone after me was only blood of my blood", - Cainabel smiled, - "Come Forth, My Kin ~ A Hungry Night Is Upon Us!"

"I can see by your shudder", - Baal smiled, - "You are trembling, you are confused, you are scared. And now… you don't know where to run to…"

"Shut up!" The Demon King cried out in desperate anger, casting spell after spell, watching his attacks crash powerlessly against Baal's shields.

"Oh, there is no need to be so afraid", - Baal smiled a good-natured smile, - "I did not come into this battle to kill you, humiliate, or even insult you, Astaroth."

For a moment Astaroth froze.

"How do you…" - dozens of Astaroth's eyes were now riveted to Baal.

"Oh, it was difficult, but not impossible", - Baal smiled, - "Predicting the future is not such a common trick among Demon Kings, and more so I got this information from Focalor. It was not at all difficult, Astaroth. All that I wanted to do was, hmm, to get to know you better, to have a friendly conversation…"

Astaroth froze.

He saw the future of what Baal could do to him. He saw what was in store for him. He knew he was in a desperate situation.

"Stop, we!.." - Astaroth tried to convince Baal to stop talking, however...

"Shhh", - Baal put his finger on his lips, - "We know, Astaroth, we all know... And it does not change anything, Astaroth."

Astaroth froze in painful anticipation.

"Now, my friend", - Baal smiled, - "Let me give you an offer you cannot refuse."

A moment later, Baal's cane appeared in his hands. With an easy twirl of the cane in his hands, Baal smiled.

A second later, his cane was engulfed in a smokeless flame which hid the shape of the cane in its flame. After which, obeying an otherworldly laws of physics, it rose upward, slowly turning from a cane into a steel spear covered with rust and old blood.

A second later, the spear - not at all impressive in its size or shape, was in the hands of Baal. The spear was nothing more than an ordinary looking spear, nothing extraordinary about it, but Astaroth knew what this spear being summoned meant to him.

"What is it, my friend, Astaroth? It's only...", - Baal smiled, and then slowly aimed the spear point at his opponent, - "A Contract On Your Soul ~ An Offer Which You Can't Refuse."

Name: Satoru Suzuki \ Momonga \ Ainz Ooal Gown

Status: Grand (?)

Class: Foreigner

Strength: D ++

Agility: C

Endurance: B

Luck: A ++

Mana: *

Noble Phantasm: EX

Skills:

Existence Outside the Domain: EX

Charisma: A ++ (C)

Magic Resistance: A +

Emotion Suppression: EX (A +++)

Physical Resistance: B +

Denial of Life: EX (B)

Eye of the Mind (True): EX

YGGDRASIL: * (E-)

Deicide: EX

Higher Being: EX

Death Magic: A ++

Magic of Yggdrasil: A ++

High Tier Immunity: B

Master of Many Resistances: EX

Golden Rule: EX (A +++)

Supertier Magic: A +++

Noble Phantasms:

The Goal Of All Life Is Death ~ The Last Hour Strikes (EX)

The Great Tomb of Nazarick ~ The Story of Ainz Ooal Gown (*)

YGGDRASIL ~ [NP_NAME] ([RANK_NAME])

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