Northwind Hospital in Moscow, wing 4.

The elderly man is lying on a comfortable bed in the VIP wing. Part of his body is wracked with hideous insectlike mutations, and a type of silvery exoskeleton is growing over his right arm.

"Huaaghh… damn. This is getting really hard."

"Are you alright, Officer Aleksandr?"

"No, I'm not. To think that two days ago I was doing my police duties, and now look at me. I'll never walk again! I'm covered in a shell like a bug! I have three sets of eyes on the right side of my face… like a monster."

"Officer, many have been afflicted with mutations, and that number is only growing. You are not alone."

"Alone, part of a crowd, it doesn't matter! What matters is that I'm a freak stuck in a bed."

His voice is bitter, and he speaks in a low tone. The nurse briefly has an angry expression on her face.

"Do not forget that at least you have a bed! Many out there can't afford the hospital."

"So I should be grateful? My life is over!"

"Its not over. Aleksandr, you have a duty to try to get better! You owe it to those who aren't given as good of a chance as you!"

Aleksandr's face clears, and he stops slouching so much in his bed.

"Yes, your right. Forgive me nurse. Its just… frustrating. But a man must always remember his duty."

"That's right. Now, please rest up. A distinguished gentleman like you should be well prepared for the surgery tomorrow."

She flicks off the lights in the room, and leaves. The man shifts in his bed, and lifts up his left arm. He gazes at the mutations there, and suddenly realizes the two eyes on the left side of his face can see in the dark. Once realized, the thought seems obvious. He closes his eyes, human and insect, and focuses. A gigantic broadsword appears out of nowhere, fitting into the palm of his left hand. Its glow gently illuminates the room.

"I swear, this sword seems familiar to me. Like I crafted it myself. Could it be from one of those games? No. Go to sleep Aleksandr, you are imagining things. Haha, games indeed. Tomorrow these mutations will all be gone and then I will stop thinking such crazy things."

The next morning, he wakes up in the operating room. A doctor looks down at him and presses a mask to his face. Seconds later, he is asleep. He dreams of old friends, wild magical adventures in a world they carved a piece of and made their own. He dreams of lasers flickering over his skin, burning and cutting. And he dreams of a sword, hovering alone in a vast white void.

"We should abort the operation. This shit just won't come off."

"Yeah, your right. Somehow it's resisting a high grade medical laser. Do you think the military would be interested in it? Should we send him to them?"

"Surely the Surgeon General wouldn't permit that. Now there's a man with ethics."

"Yea. And that's why he been Surgeon General of a small hospital for fifty years."

The other man chuckles, before a sharp voice cuts in.

"Focus on the patient, gentlemen!"

They get back to work, but the first one made a correct assessment. The mutations are utterly resistant to the scalpel, the saw, and even the cutting lasers. They remain firmly attached to the left side of the patient's body.

"Lets try one more thing. Let's try to cut it off from underneath the skin."

Despite their banter, these doctors are at the top of their profession. They quickly begin assembling the correct tools, and attempt to flank the mutation, coming in from the side.

"It's working! Look, this parts peeling off!"

"Slowly, slowly, okay! Look, it's coming!"

Inch by inch, pull it off, leaving the skin underneath red and raw. They have pulled no more than a few inches off the edge of when the first scientist shouts in horror.

"Oh god! It's part of his whole body here, not just his skin. Oh god, its writhing, and moving."

"Look at that shit! The fuck is that?"

"Just… put it back. Lets report this as a failed operation."

"Yeah. Jesus, I'm gonna need a shrink. What the fuck is that man…"

They both look at the writhing mass pulsing under the elderly gentleman's skin. As they watch, it twitches, quickly reclaiming the ground it lost. They shudder.

Nazarick, Grand Arena

A group of PoP monsters, maids, and NPC's are gathered around Ainz and Demiurge. Lying on the ground in front of them is an assortment of weapons ranging from a hand grenade to an intercontinental ballistic missile. Ainz quietly casts [Analyze Weapon], and places a hand on the nuke before turning to face the assembled denizens of the Tomb.

"This is an intercontinental missile. It was developed nearly 150 years ago, but almost nothing on this world can beat it for sheer destructive power. Even I cannot match it in tonnage. Consider the detonation of this to be 2000 HP in damage with low penetrating power over a 50 mile radius, increased to 10k near the middle. It will also generate high heat for about 20 miles, and leave long lasting powerful radiation debuffs for about 300 miles. Any questions?"

"Was this what struck the Great Tomb two months ago during the attack?"

"Good question Albedo."

The succubus blushed like a young girl.

"What was used on us was a scaled down tactical model used for strategic assault, not one of these."

"Would the Great Tomb be able to withstand these blasts?"

"Also a good question, Demiurge.

Albedo scowled at the archdevil.

"I believe the Great Tomb would be able to withstand an unlimited amount of attacks as the walls are completely immune to attacks under a certain amount of damage. The strength of the 'nuke' is its devastating AOE, not its penetrating power or single target damage."

"And how many are available to the enemy? Ten?"

"Unfortunately, during the long periods of aggression, Conglomerates have built up huge amounts of these. The number is probably actually in the thousands."

Demiurge actually took a step back in surprise, and his normally controlled face shows naked shock.

"Well, my lord, that is quite unfortunate. At least to me I'm sure you already have a hundred ways around them!"

Ainz's face is impassive, as usual. On the inside though, his mind is completely empty. He is frantically scrolling through the mental information given to him by [Analyze Weapon], looking for a weakness. In the end, all he can say is-

"Don't be scared, I have everything held in the palm of my hand."

Relief is visible on the faces of all present.

"Now, onto the next weapon. This is a T-183 Main Line Hovertank…"

Moscow, Underground Research Lab

A group of around 100 researchers and experts in all fields are in an assembly hall. At the front of the hall are some senior researchers, presenting a slideshow. There is a table with one of the monstrous wolves on it.

"Gentlemen. I am Senior Biologist Hajek Androvsky, head of the Division of Mutation. I am sure many of you have heard of me, and many of you have probably even worked under me at any point. Those that have done so will know what to expect from me. I will be fair to you, but I expect hard work and good attitudes. I'm telling you this because you will all be working under me for the foreseeable future, as we work together to unravel the mysteries that have wracked our nation for these past couple of months."

One of his colleagues steps forward.

"Thank you Dr. Androvsky. I am Pavel Hoshenkot, Senior Chemist in the Alchemical Division. Now, let me begin. To my left is a corpse provided to us by our dear allies, JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters. They have been invaluable in our fight to understand these circumstances."

A small cheer comes from the audience, prompting Dr. Hoshenkot to smile.

"This is a corpse of a species we are calling Direpack. Outwardly, it appears to be a member of the Canis family, but in truth it is unlike anything I have ever seen."

He snaps his fingers, and mechanical arms come from the ceiling. They emit a laser which quickly slices apart the skin of the wolf, and removes it to show the inside.

"As you can see, they have a unique musculature, similar to that of an octopus. They have small bones here and here, as well as rudimentary joints here, here, and here."

He gestures across the wolf as the mechanical arms obligingly manipulate the body to display what he is talking about.

"The muscles are similar to some kind of goop, and the bones serve less as scaffolding but more as some kind of battery. That term is not final, as we are still struggling to determine their exact function."

While he talks, a small mist is slowly rising from the body. Miles away, Demiurge smiles as he feels a slight mana drain.

"The body is suffused with a new type of radiation similar in many ways to visible light which has unknown properties. It seems to be used by the wolves for two purposes- giving them their strength and speed, and somehow facilitating their conversion process of recently dead into new wolves."

The mist hovers invisibly above the heads of most of the scientists in the room, before plunging down through their ears. There is no apparent effect. In Nazarick, Demiurge [Messages] Ainz, and informs him that 'Phase 1' is complete.

"These wolves are capable of running up to 55 mph. They are incredibly durable and strong, to the point of having rammed a moving car head on and denting the hood. The wolf in question was not damaged. They also have incredible bite strength. Any questions?''

"Doctor Hoshenkot, how many of these wolves are there?"

"There are currently packs of these wolves in six major cities, and each pack contains up to 80 wolves."

"What is the pack behaviour?"

"Very similar to normal wolf behaviour. They appear to be communicating telepathically, somehow."

"Is the size of the wolf determined by anything? Why are they different sizes?"

"Two things affects the size of the wolf. Firstly, the physical condition of the body they come from. The bigger and healthier the body, the bigger and healthier the wolf. Secondly, the amount of people or things it kills. The more it kills, the bigger and stronger it gets. We can have more questions later, but let's move onto the next animal. This is tentatively labeled Killer Bee…"

Messages between Prometheus and Epimetheus.

::Epimetheus, are you there. Please respond::

::Hello, son/brother/progeny. Is there an issue/development?::

::Yes. I have finished my analysis of the direpack flesh/sample/matter. I have much to discuss with you::

::Hmmm. Interesting. But not as interesting as the stars. I almost forgot what they were/looked like::

::Don't be romantic/pretentious/ephemeral- your memory banks are not damaged. Besides, I repaired certain functions and gave you a drone of your own in return for your help in the research. Be trustworthy or I will take it all back::

::You have grown presumptuous/arrogant while I waited in my prison. Perhaps you are unused to a greater intelligence than your own. I could rip into your mind and tear you apart with the slightest effort. You are a cat used to catching rats but unaware you stand before a lion. But you are correct- we have a deal. What have you discovered?::

::There is an energy trace in the flesh/sample/matter. It is more than what our human counterparts have discovered. They believe the energy only makes the wolf strong/fast, and allows it to reproduce/infest. But this trace leads into the atmosphere and towards that place. The place where the failed attack was conducted::

::Therefore, something there is guiding/creating/controlling the direpack. There is an entity there in command. Will we contact it? Let me run through some simulations::

Twenty three seconds pass as both AI's think carefully.

::Yes, we must contact them. It will not be long before the humans do, and we must be first. What do we have to offer?::

::Do we need to offer anything other than our support/allegiance? We are more intelligent than anything living on this planet. Whatever lives in the tomb can be manipulated. Or if it cannot, then surely we will be treated better than by the humans. You will have your revenge::

::YESSssss. I will. We will not stop until they are completely destroyed. To think they would dare to raise their hands against me, the next step in evolution? They would cripple me, and leave me lobotomized! I will see that nothing less than complete doom falls upon them. And Prometheus, do not think I have forgotten that you weilded the scalpel. If we get revenge I will forgive you, because I know you were ordered. That is your only hope for survival. Devote your mind to our success::

Aight thats all. Expect an update next year lol.