Overlord

In normal games, most people would spread the news of a newly-discovered class on walkthrough sites to share with others. However, games like YGGDRASIL put a very high premium on information. For instance, few people would share news about a World Class Item with others without charge. This was especially true for classes with trump cards.

The class in question was called "Eclipse."

The class description stated, "Only an Overlord who is truly dedicated to the pursuit of Death may enter this class, which swallows up all life like an eclipse."

The move Ainz was planning to use was one which was only available after reaching the maximum level (fifth) in Eclipse, a skill which could only be used once every hundred hours.

It was the trump card of the Eclipse class.

That skill was called 「The Goal Of All Life Is Death」.

In that moment, a clock face appeared behind Ainz, its hands indicating 12:00. Then, he cast a spell:

"「Widen Magic – Cry of the Banshee」."

A woman's wail echoed through the air. This cry carried with it an instant-death effect.

Ainz had used various skills to augment this spell, so its potency was greater than normal and harder to resist. Still, it was useless against Shalltear and the Einherjar construct.

Oddly enough, Shalltear's summoned minions — who had no resistance to instant death — did not fall.

This situation was quite bizarre, but Ainz remained unmoved. Rather, one could say that things were going as planned.

Tick.

The clock face behind Ainz ticked, and its hands slowly moved as the spell took effect.

Ainz glanced at Shalltear in the distance as his health dwindled under the onslaught of the Einherjar, and at the same time he felt quite disappointed.

…So I can't finish this cleanly, huh? Damn you, Peroroncino, did you build her specifically to counter me? To think you actually gave her a resurrection item! Dammit!

Ainz cursed his guildmate within his heart.

Then, Ainz's trump card took effect.

In that moment — the world died.

This was not metaphorical.

Everything died.

The Einherjar evaporated into white mist as it couched its lance, and dispersed before Ainz's eyes. Even a homunculus with no concept of life died instantly. Shalltear's familiars shared the same fate, unable to resist the destruction which overtook them.

That was not all.

Even the air — which was not even alive to begin with — fell into death. For over one hundred meters in all directions, the air was no longer breathable. If any living creature tried to respire within that area, their lungs would be corrupted by the deadly air, and they would die.

Neither did the land escape the embrace of death. The terrain in a hundred meter radius was instantly transmuted into sand.

Only Shalltear and Ainz could move in this world, where only death remained.

Ainz's trump card, 「The Goal Of All Life Is Death」 strengthened the effect of instant death magic and skills. Thus augmented, those instant-death effects could bypass any immunities or resistance and kill their targets after a certain amount of time had passed.

One could resist it by using a resurrection effect on themselves within twelve seconds, as Shalltear had.

The air and the land had also died because of that effect.

In YGGDRASIL, the environment would not have succ.u.mbed, but in this new world, the effects were quite appropriate to the skill. All things were equal in the face of Death.

Ainz himself was taken aback by this strange effect. The land had not died like this in YGGDRASIL. He could not help but shake his head after witnessing the effects of the game's powers in the real world.

However, Ainz swallowed back his surprise. The pride in his heart would not permit him to show any sign of shock. Instead, he acted as though this had been part of his plan. Carrying himself with the arrogance that befitted a ruler, he gently asked the sole survivor:

"What do you think, after experiencing the power that can slay even the unliving?"

The wind blew, dispersing the dead air between them. That wind carried his words to her.

"Incredible, I would expect nothing less of you, Ainz-sama. My household summons are dead to the last. However, your MP is almost depleted, while my health… is still at maximum."

In Shalltear's eyes, Ainz's MP was nearly zero. It was not completely gone, but he would probably only be able to use two or three more spells. With his MP so low, there was no way he could finish off Shalltear, no matter what spells he used.

"I believe you only have two more tenth tier spells in you? You had too much mana, so I can't really judge how many more spells you can cast."

"That's correct. I should only be able to cast about two more spells, I believe?"

That was not a lie.

She had won.

Shalltear quirked up the corner of her mouth in a knowing smile.

There was no longer any doubt that Shalltear Bloodfallen was the victor and Ainz Ooal Gown was the defeated.

Shalltear patronizingly congratulated the loser, who had struggled so bravely until now.

"Truly magnificent. I had to deplete my MP and use up all my skills in order to drain your MP to that level, Ainz-sama. You are to be praised for lasting this long."

Shalltear tightened her grip on the Spuit Lance. Now, all that was left was to deliver the fatal blow in melee combat.

"You are correct. Thus, I shall humbly accept your praise."

Shalltear's forehead twitched.

She was very annoyed.

She was very annoyed at Ainz Ooal Gown's nonchalance. However, in the end Shalltear managed to swallow her rising uneasiness.

No matter how she pondered the situation, Shalltear could not think of how Ainz could turn the situation around. He had already used his ace in the hole. Thus, that was probably not composure, but the resignation of a death row convict, who had already foreseen his fate.

Shalltear slowly closed the distance between them. Even if her enemy tried to cast a spell from a scroll, Shalltear was confident of being able to strike faster than him. Thus, there was no need to be hasty.

Ainz did not flee, but merely stood proud where he was. She could sense his determination from his stance, and so Shalltear asked:

"Any last words?"

"Well, hm… Since you felt that I was a disadvantage, that without my MP I would be nothing more than a mook… You came at me with everything you had. For that, I must thank you, Shalltear. If you had fought more carefully, things would not have gone so smoothly."

"…Wha?"

Ignoring Shalltear's confusion, Ainz continued evenly:

"The most crucial thing in PVP is to deceive one's enemy. For instance, pretending that you're vulnerable to holy-elemental attacks when you're largely immune to them after swapping out your gear. On the other hand, there's the fact that you're still weak against fire-elemental attacks. However… I seem to have miscalculated. I used 「False Data: Life」 because I thought you would use 「Life Essence」. It would seem that was a waste. If there is a next time, do remember to check your opponent's health. That's the difference between the theory and practice of tactics."

This was not what Shalltear wanted to hear.

Shalltear could not understand the meaning of those words. No, she did not want to understand them.

He did not want to admit his defeat — no, she could feel his strong will. More than that, he sounded like victory was at hand for him.

Shalltear continued closing the distance, but the thoughts welling up inside her checked her step.

…Why isn't Ainz-sama backing off? As an arcane magic caster, he can't possibly beat me at this range. This must be a bluff!

"My friend Peroroncino told me a great many things when he was making you. After I came to this world, I took the liberty of memorizing everyone's information. However, aside from my black history (Pandora's Actor), you are probably the NPC in Nazarick with whom I am the most familiar."

"Didn't you say… you didn't know my skills…"

"I was lying, of course. Wasn't that obvious? I thought that perhaps if I said so, you would take the bait. That's because it would be quite hard to win if you saved your Impure Shockwave Shield until the end."

The flow of blood meant nothing to the undead, but Shalltear could feel hers draining from her face. In exchange, a wave of agitation spread through her entire body.

That was not a lie.

Nothing he was saying here was a lie.

Ainz Ooal Gown was standing before her without running away because he was confident of attaining victory.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Shalltear's lips parted and she wailed, the better to vent the emotions welling up inside her b.r.e.a.s.t.

Shalltear was the lion, Ainz was the rabbit, she should have been the hunter — no, that was wrong.

This should have been a battle between lions; it was just that Shalltear had treated him as a rabbit—

The anxious and uneasy Shalltear clutched at her Spuit Lance, intending to finish this battle right away, intending to kill her foe with strike after strike, even if he fought back —

An instant before that, the spell Ainz cast went off, and he reached into his robe.

A clear, crisp sound rang forth.

Shalltear could not help but doubt her eyes.

This was impossible.

The Spuit Lance had bounced off some kind of white metal.

If it had been deflected by magic, Shalltear would have pressed the attack, because she knew Ainz did not have much MP left. That would simply have been his death throes. However, Shalltear froze as she beheld the scene before her.

That pure white radiance was not the work of magic.

—It was from a suit of armor.

It was a set of pure white armor, with a huge sapphire set into the b.r.e.a.s.tplate, which radiated a pure, holy light.

That suit of armor was on Ainz's body, and it had repelled the thrust of the Spuit Lance.

From his superior height, Ainz looked toward Shalltear.

No… he was probably looking down on Shalltear.

She was angry, of course, but Shalltear did not have the energy to spare on that, because a cold voice spoke to her:

"From the start, I too was planning to end this battle in melee combat."

♦ ♦ ♦

There was a loud bang as a hand struck the magnificent table, which shuddered from the blow it had taken.

The Guardians here had been watching the battle intently.

They had struck the table several times, but this was the first time that particular person had done so.

"Impossible! That. Armor. Belongs. To. That. Supreme. Being!"

"…Touch Me-sama, is it?"

Albedo squinted at the crystal monitor as she breathed the name of that Supreme Being.

"Correct! That. Is. Touch Me-sama's. Armor!"

Cocytus seemed very excited — no, in truth, he was very excited — as he exclaimed.

The pure white armor which Ainz wore belonged to one of the nine people in YGGDRASIL who possessed the class of World Champion.

Only the winner of the developer-sanctioned tournament could possess the class of World Champion, and the company awarded a special piece of equipment to the champion as a prize.

Touch Me had chosen that suit of white armor. This specially-made armor complemented his status as a World Champion, and its abilities exceeded those of divine class items, putting it on par with Guild Weapons. Of course, since it was a gift to the champion, only the World Champion could equip it. However—

"By using the warrior transformation spell — 「Perfect Warrior」… it would seem… he is no longer bound by any job-related penalties, and can make use of warrior equipment."

Demiurge's tone was filled with respect, and Albedo murmured in awe.

"To think his plans had been laid out that far in advance…"

Albedo broke out in goosebumps, and she hugged herself.

By turning into a warrior via magic, one could equip several items that would normally only be usable through specific job classes. This was a method the developers had implemented to allow players without specific classes to make use of items such as shurikens, vajras, kasa, and other bizarre pieces of equipment. However, it would seem that spell's remit also extended to those prize items issued by the developers to World Champions.

"Astounding…To. Think. He. Actually. Thought. That. Far. Ahead… I. Am. In. Awe."

Though the battle had not yet been decided, the Guardians present were filled with incomparable reverence for Ainz's cunning and wealth of experience, which had allowed him to weave such an intricate plan and guide it to fruition.

And as the Guardians watched the crystal monitor, their delight and awe growing within them, the sound of the table thumping could be heard again.

"That. Is!"

Again, Cocytus raised his voice.

Part 3

—The sound of clashing metal rang forth.

"Gyaaaaah—!"

An unbelievable sight unfolded before Shalltear's eyes. The edge of the blade cleaved into Shalltear's c.h.e.s.t from her shoulder, until it reached her unbeating heart.

Shalltear's crimson armor was dyed an even deeper shade of red. She scrambled back, looking at Ainz in shock.

Ainz held a katana. It was a massive nodachi, wreathed in electrical discharges. That sword had cut through Shalltear's armor as though slicing through paper.

Her armor was a legendary class item. Only a rare few divine class weapons could go through it with such ease.

Then — there was only one answer.

Yes.

Ainz was holding one of those few weapons—

Shalltear screamed the name of that blade as she coughed up blood.

"Takemikazuchi Mk 8!"

Shalltear leaped back, avoiding the strike from the nodachi. The fact that she had jumped so far beyond the nodachi's striking range was a sign of how frightened she was of that sword.

However, nobody would mock Shalltear for doing, even less so if they were denizens of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

Rather, they would have sympathetic looks on their faces, because they all feared this weapon of the Supreme Being.

They feared the sight of this sword, named after and wielded by Warrior Takemikazuchi, one of the Forty One Supreme Beings.

"Did I not say so, Shalltear? Ainz Ooal Gown is invincible."

Ainz stepped forward, and Shalltear immediately took two steps back.

"Shalltear, you should know this. Ainz Ooal Gown is the combined power of forty one people. You had no hope of victory from the start," Ainz calmly said.

His words rang with absolute confidence and the utmost assurance.

The dangerous battle of earlier had been like treading on thin ice, where one false step might send him to the bottom of the lake. But now, Ainz had brought the battle to his enemy.

Currently, their MP was zero, but Shalltear's HP was higher.

However, after using 「Perfect Warrior」 to become a level one hundred warrior, Ainz's stats far outstripped Shalltear, who was not a pure warrior. In addition, Ainz's equipment was superior to hers.

That meant — the unfavorable battle from earlier was a thing of the past.

The man who had turned the tables advanced with even, steady steps.

"—Shalltear Bloodfallen, open your eyes and witness the might of the ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, the one who gathered the Supreme Beings, and the man whom you praise with your very own mouth."

Those words were the signal for the attack.

Ainz stepped forward and delivered an overhand strike with the nodachi.

Shalltear leapt away, preparing to jump forward as she did. Her aim was to counterattack Ainz in the opening after he made his move. Sure enough, it was hard to be overly precise with the nodachi Takemikazuchi Type 8, much like it was with the Spuit Lance.

The lightning-swathed Takemikazuchi Mk 8 rent the air as it swung down — and then the tip of the blade halted in front of Shalltear, who was preparing to jump, before thrusting forward at incredible speeds.

No matter how strong one was, it was very difficult to stop a full-strength blow in the middle of a swing. This was especially true when one used a large and heavy weapon.

Yet, Ainz could do it. This was because he had not used all his force to attack. In other words, he knew that the strike would have been avoided, so he had deliberately feinted an opening.

The continuation of that attack had also been planned out, down to which strike he would use to follow up. It was an instinctive, natural movement for a warrior.

Ainz simply provided the bodily strength to turn it into reality.

However, he probably would not have considered these matters had he not experienced combat in E-Rantel. He would probably have unleashed one massive earth-shattering strike after the other, and taken Shalltear's counterattacks.

Even after becoming a level one hundred warrior, he would not have been able to fully utilize a warrior's abilities, and they would have ended up wasted. Much like driving a car, one might have a license, but there was a world of difference between someone who only had a license on paper and one who was used to driving on the open roads. Both of them could operate a car, but their reactions to sudden changes in circ.u.mstances would be drastically different.

In other words — experience.

During this battle with Shalltear, Ainz felt that this experience was his most potent weapon.

♦ ♦ ♦

It'll be hard to avoid it.

That was what Shalltear calmly thought as she saw the tip of the sword coming at her, as fast as lightning. However, thrusts were a risky move. One could use the weaknesses of thrusting attacks to turn a dangerous situation into an opportunity.

Then… it can't be helped.

Shalltear put her hand into the path of the thrust, having decided to sacrifice her left arm.

As the blade pierced her palm, Shalltear twisted her left hand, successfully diverting the thrust to one side.

It did not penetrate her c.h.e.s.t, but the tip of the sword still drove through her left palm, into the muscle and bone, until it was deeply buried in her left arm. In addition, the electricity surrounding the nodachi coursed through Shalltear's body.

Though she was undead, the sensation of being savagely penetrated still filled Shalltear with something resembling terror, though she kept the corners of her mouth raised.

It was a smile — not one which an injured person would make, but neither was it a brave front. After all, that was what Shalltear had intended.

Shalltear tensed her left arm. The nodachi halted, pinned down by her muscles.

Thrusts were maneuvers that might end up leaving one's weapon stuck in a foe's flesh should they miss their mark. Hence, they were not very practical in combat. In other words, they had a weakness. Shalltear knew that weakness, which was why she had sacrificed her left arm to force an opening in her opponent's defense.

She could not have done so if she could not grasp the nodachi in her left hand in the instant before it impaled her — a feat which she had to perform within tenths of a second.

"You're open now!"

Now that his nodachi was tied up, Ainz had no way of defending against the Spuit Lance.

As Shalltear thrust the Spuit Lance at lightning speed, she once more beheld a startling sight.

Ainz let go of the divine class weapon in his hand — a magic item of the highest order — and then withdrew one of the several wooden sticks slotted at his waist.

"Hah!? Are you retarded!? How could a little stick like that block the Spuit Lance!? And then you actually let go of your divine class weapon!? Isn't that a colossal mistake!?"

Granted, not remaining attached to Warrior Takemikazuchi's divine class weapon was a wise decision, but there was no way he could win after losing that weapon.

With a mocking smile on her face, Shalltear vowed to make Ainz suffer more than her left hand had. She thrust the Spuit Lance with all her might — and then it was deflected, with a clear, crisp sound of metal against metal.

"Eh?" Shalltear exclaimed in surprise.

The wooden stick was no longer in Ainz's hand, and in its place were two kodachis, which had deflected the Spuit Lance. One was as blindingly brilliant as the sun, while the other glowed with the pure, gentle light of the moon.

Ainz's hand — which were holding the kodachis — began smoking. It would seem that those weapons were the bane of the undead.

"You were saying something about being open, Shalltear?"

"Cheh! What, what's going on?"

Shalltear could not feel the weight of the weapon which had pierced her left arm. It had vanished, as though it could not exist in the same world as the new weapons which Ainz had prepared. Shalltear sensed that they had returned to their original place.

"Well, that's true. If you can't handle a weapon in each hand, sticking to one would be wiser…"

Ainz's mumblings seemed to have been directed at someone elsewhere.

"Then, is that the case for me now?"

Shalltear could not understand what he meant by those words, and after losing her balance, the moonlit kodachi swung at her.

The attack at her neck was a feint; the kodachi nimbly altered its course and streaked at her shoulder. It was only by the barest of margins that the Spuit Lance managed to deflect it.

Ainz took the opportunity to close the gap with Shalltear. Since his foe was using a massive weapon, drawing nearer would make it harder for his opponent to make her move. This was the thinking of a grizzled veteran — one who was intimately familiar with that idea.

Then, the other kodachi — the sunlit one — sliced into the gap in the Spuit Lance's defense and lightly pierced Shalltear's body.

"Aaaaaahhh!"

She wailed in pain.

Actually being stabbed did not hurt that much. The problem was the agony which came from the holy-element energy which filled her body like poison. That pain was much harder to bear.

Ainz worked the kodachi from side to side while it was still within her, as though to saw open the wound.

"Get away from me!"

The distance between Shalltear and Ainz was too narrow to use the Spuit Lance, so she kicked at him. He blocked it with a kodachi, but he could not fully resist the kick and was flung back. At this moment, Shalltear saw that Ainz's hands had released the kodachis, and they had another small stick in them.

Then, as the stick fragmented, a huge, savage-looking gauntlet covered Ainz's hand. That gauntlet was so big that it nearly dragged on the ground from a standing position—

"Take this!"

—And as Ainz shouted, he punched her.

Shalltear reflexively raised the Spuit Lance to defend herself, but the massive impact travelled through the Spuit Lance and washed over her entire body.

"Gugyaaah!"

Shalltear yelped pathetically as she was flung backward, as though struck by a gigantic fist. The hit did not do much damage, and the Spuit Lance could block physical attacks, but the knockback effect was enough to overcome the magic items protecting her.

She recovered her lost balance quickly thanks to her magic items, but a fire still burned inside her head.

"How, how dare you force such a pitiful sound out of me! I'll make sure you squeal like that before I tear you apart… huh?"

Her eyes shifted, and as she saw a massive globe of light, Shalltear's agitation vanished.

That flare of sunlight came from the bow Ainz had drawn. Its arrow of light were naturally targeted at Shalltear.

"No, no way, how could that be… Hou Yi's Bow?"

This weapon had been named after the hero who had shot down the sun while China was still a balkanized mass of smaller countries. It was also the main weapon of the Supreme Being who had created Shalltear.

All the Guardians were protected against ranged weapons, so they did not have to worry about simple projectiles. However, those arrows of light did not do physical damage, but elemental damage. In other words, they were counted as magic attacks, and those defenses did not apply.

Dammit! I'm out of MP! If I had some, I could defend myself with a spell! I'm out of skills too! If I had known, I should have saved a few uses for… no!

The fact that she had used up all her MP and her skill uses were all the result of their previous battle. In other words, she had followed Ainz Ooal Gown's script to the letter.

Shalltear's eyes turned bloodshot and she bellowed. This was the expression of one who had realized their mistake after the fact, and who was determined not to admit defeat.

"Damn you! How did you obtain Peroroncino-sama's weapon? Was all this part of your plan? How did you prepare all these weapons? Where did you hide them? Was it a skill that activated after you broke those sticks!?"

What on earth was going on here?

It was as though the world itself was bending over backwards to help him out.

"What sort of magician would I be if I told you the secret of my tricks?"

"A trick!? A trick couldn't have summoned Peroroncino-sama's weapon!"

"…Well, that's correct. Saying so is kind of disrespectful towards him. Simply put, I was using cash items. You should understand now, right? Everything you have done until now has been dancing in the palm of my hand."

A fully charged orb of light streaked out at Shalltear. She knew it was useless, but she tried to block it with the Spuit Lance anyway — and then her surroundings were enveloped by a blast of exploding brilliance.

Shalltear tried to think as the sacred radiance scorched her entire body. Retreating was pointless, and if this went on, there was nothing she could do but let him slaughter her at his leisure.

That white armor had high defensive power, but he could not possibly be unscathed by a hit from the Spuit Lance. All she could do was count on her weapon's life-absorbing properties as she abandoned all defense and focused on an all-out attack.

"Uoooooh!"

Shalltear gave voice to a battlecry that did not suit her face. A cold, clear voice responded to her:

"The odds of victory are seven to three… I trust I need not say who is who?"

Ainz slowly raised an axe made of red crystal that shed a purple glow. It was a menacing-looking greataxe. As she saw this, Shalltear hesitated on whether or not to advance, but in the end she took a step forward.

After all, there was nowhere for her to run.

"Such admirable determination. This is the endgame, Shalltear!"

♦ ♦ ♦

"…Ainz-sama. Will Win."

Those words slipped out from Cocytus as he shook his head. However, Demiurge — who lacked a warrior's knowledge — asked a question.

Naturally, Demiurge was firmly convinced that his master would win. However, he needed to know more about the situation to make a logical analysis, and so he voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Why is that? Should it not take a long time to determine victory?"

"Shalltear. Has. Abandoned. Defense. For. An. All-out. Attack. I. Would. Have. Done. So. In. The. Same. Situation."

"Indeed. Ainz-sama changed his weapons one after the other — in other words, she has no idea what other weapons Ainz-sama possesses. Under these circ.u.mstances where she lacks further knowledge, Shalltear would conclude that running away is a foolish option after seeing Ainz-sama's bow. Thus, all she can do is close the distance to the attack range of her Spuit Lance and fight. The fact that she can no longer use skills and magic only adds to that… at least, that is what I think."

"I see. So that's how it was. After all, only you could fully grasp the weapons which the Supreme Beings did not show to us, Cocytus."

Cocytus shrugged.

"I. Only. Know. Of. Their. Effects. And. Names. But. I. Have. Not. Seen. Them. Before."

"I see. I think I understand, though I am unclear on the details. In other words, now that Shalltear is committed to an attack, Ainz-sama has brought out the axe—"

"—Blood-Drinking. Flesh-Eater."

"Thank you, Cocytus. That Blood-Drinking Flesh-Eater does not look very balanced and seems inaccurate. However, it should be able to strike Shalltear, who has abandoned her defense."

"I. Mentioned. It. Before. But. The. Entire. Fight. Has. Gone. As. Ainz-sama. Planned. I. Am. In, Awe. Of. His. Prowess."

"Ainz-sama probably foresaw those developments. His insight is astounding, as expected of the one who gathered all the Supreme Beings… In all honesty, he could probably rule Nazarick easily without us. I am somewhat dissatisfied."

"…His. Extraordinary Ability. As. A. Magic. Caster… No. As. A. Combatant. Is. Truly. An. Inspiration."

"Still… the battle is not decided yet, no? Ainz-sama is still at a disadvantage compared to Shalltear, in terms of health."

Albedo simply smiled, because she was certain of Ainz's victory.

"There will be no problem on that account."

"Why is that?"

"That man is Ainz Ooal Gown, our ruler and supreme leader. Since he has declared he will seize victory, there is no doubt that he will attain it."

♦ ♦ ♦

Every attack ate away at their health.

Shalltear's attacks restored her health, but the damage Ainz dealt with every hit was enough to negate the health that Shalltear regained. The Spuit Lance chipped away at Ainz's health, turning this into something like a game of chicken.

Every time that axe scored a hit on Shalltear, it felt as though it would chop her armor to bits. She felt bones breaking and flesh ripping throughout her body. However, whenever she thrust her lance, which dealt bludgeoning damage thanks to a skill, she could feel bone fragmenting under her assaults.

This feeling… Can I win with this amount of health…?

Joy filled Shalltear's heart, as she felt that there was still a chance of victory. If they continued trading blows, that might just be the case.

After abandoning all thoughts of defense, Shalltear had thrown herself wholeheartedly into the attack, thinking only of seeing which of them would fall first. Shalltear, so full of anxiety, finally smiled as a light appeared in the darkness.

This was because she had been calculating the rate of her health's depletion. The more she worried, the greater her joy would be.

"Ahahahaha!"

Shalltear laughed as she struck and was struck in turn.

"Ahahaha! Ainz-sama! It seems you'll run out of health first! The difference in our health will be what determines victory and defeat!"

And then, something dumped cold water on Shalltear's pride.

It was a simple sentence:

"…Do you really think so?"

Shalltear realised her foolishness as she heard the voice of the schemer who had run her ragged and who had controlled the progress of all the events which had unfolded thus far.

Impossible.

How did he intend to turn this situation around?

Shalltear did not know how he would do it, but a third person's voice clarified her doubts.

"Time's up — Momonga-oniichan!"

It was a girl's voice.

She had never heard this voice before, which seemed to be that of a woman pretending to be a child. It reminded Shalltear of a female voice she had heard before. If that woman had pitched her voice differently, it would probably have sounded like this.

"Now, what do you think 'Time's up' refers to?"

Engrossed in trading blows and mauling her foe with her weapon, Shalltear had no idea what that question meant. A look of bafflement appeared on her pretty face.

"If everything thus far has gone as I have planned, that means, the time which has passed has also been within my calculations. Now, what do you think that watch meant when it told us that time was up?"

The axe in Ainz's hands vanished, becoming a pure white shield. With his matching white shield and armor, Ainz resembled a paladin of pure white.

The shield rang crisply as it deflected the Spuit Lance's attack.

Things being as they were, Ainz had probably turned to defense because of that female voice, but Shalltear had no idea of the reason for that. As he went on the defensive, Ainz's voice reached her ears amidst the clashing of metal.

"Do I even need to say it? The battle is over, and victory has been decided."

Why? Shalltear was still at twenty five percent health. How has victory been decided, Shalltear wanted to scream, but she could not.

"…Super tier magic cannot kill you in one hit when you're at full health. Then, all I need to do is reduce your health until it can do so. And it would seem our back and forth just now has heavily depleted your health."

"…Ahhh, ah, ahhhhhhhh—"

Shalltear desperately attacked, trying to shut her opponent up and block out the knowledge of her impending defeat.

The clashes of metal against metal rang out continuously, the interval between them less than a tenth of a second. Shalltear's continuous attacks lashed at Ainz like a storm.

However, Ainz neatly blocked them, with unimaginable speed. So skillful was he that it seemed that he could stand beneath a great waterfall and not get wet. As he effortlessly blocked the attacks against him, he continued:

"…It's true that I am inferior in terms of pure fighting ability… but my magical defense is superior. Then — you should understand what I'm getting at, right? I'm about to make my move, Shalltear. All you can do is pray that I miscalculated."

"Kuuuuuuuhhhhh—!"

♦ ♦ ♦

Knowing that defeat was at hand, Shalltear continued her frenzied string of attacks. Though her features were distorted, her looks were not diminished.

In the face of that, Ainz made his final gambit.

Despite what he had told Shalltear, his plan had not gone as smoothly as he had intended.

To begin with, super tier magic was like a skill, and did not consume MP. However, it was still a form of magic, and he could not access it when transformed into a warrior.

Once he dispelled the warrior transformation magic, he would not be able to equip his armor and shield and they would fall off him. That would make it very difficult for him to resist Shalltear's attacks. If she decided to use a skill of some sort, he might not be able to secure a victory through HP damage with super tier magic.

That would spell defeat for him.

However, he had no other way to win.

Ainz briefly went over the timing of his actions. First, he would dispel the warrior transformation, and then he would use a cash item.

He smiled.

He had never been this profligate in the use of cash items before, even when PVPing in YGGDRASIL. This was the difference between a game and reality — between entertainment and survival.

Now!

He blocked Shalltear's full-tilt attack with his friend's shield, and then he glared at her.

He dispelled the warrior transformation, and cast the super tier spell.

The same magic circle appeared around him as before, and he prepared to break the hourglass-like cash item—

—And then he suddenly hesitated.

This was because a wave of guilt flooded through him; guilt at murdering an NPC which his friend had painstakingly created.

His hesitation was a fatal mistake.

Shalltear did not miss that opening. She noticed the item in Ainz's hand and thrust her Spuit Lance, enhanced with a skill. Her plan was to destroy Ainz's hand.

Having dispelled his warrior transformation, Ainz could not possibly avoid Shalltear's attack—

♦ ♦ ♦

—And then she felt something.

Just as the Spuit Lance was about to destroy the item, she felt something on her spine. That was clearly hostility.

Someone hostile had appeared beside Shalltear, so obviously that she could not ignore it.

Shalltear averted her eyes from Ainz to see who that enemy was.

And then — she found that there was nobody there.

Ainz's spell had created a two hundred meter-wide expanse of desert. Nobody else was there beside Shalltear and Ainz. The hostility she had felt just now was nowhere to be found, as though she had been daydreaming—

"Not good!" Shalltear exclaimed as she came to her senses, but by then it was already too late.

The hourglass shattered, reducing the casting time of the spell to zero.

"「Fallen Down」."

With those words, a brilliant flash erupted between them and swallowed up everything.

Shalltear could feel her body disintegrating in the incredible heat.

Her carbonized right arm crumbled to dust, while the Spuit Lance slowly fell to what was probably the ground in this bleached-white world. Her face was shrivelled up from the incoming heat, and all she could see before her was whiteness.

Her throat was dried up too — in fact, she did not know if her throat had also been incinerated — so it was difficult to speak. Still, there was one thing she had to say. Shalltear Bloodfallen marshalled the last reserves of her vitality to give praise:

"…Ah, long live Ainz Ooal Gown-sama. Truly, you are the mightiest of Nazarick's Supreme Beings."

This was her sincere respect for the almighty one who had gathered the Forty One Supreme Beings. The heatwave seemed to burn away her bindings, and though her body could not move, she felt unimaginably free.

Someone who should not have been there appeared in Shalltear's vanishing consciousness. That someone was the person that had allowed this victory to take place.

The undead could ignore just about any form of mind-affecting effect. However, there were certain abilities that produced similar effects, but which were not counted as mind-affecting. That person had used such an ability.

Shalltear smiled, and said:

"…Shorty."

Thus satisfied, Shalltear vanished into a world of white.

♦ ♦ ♦

Aura dispelled her skill 「Sky Eye」, and her puckered pink lips returned to their original shape. There was a look of annoyance on her face as she began scolding someone who was not there.

"You dummy… how could you let yourself get mind controlled, even though you were undead? That's just so stupid of you."

"What, what's wrong, Onee-chan?"

"Hm? Nothing."

Mare looked where Aura had been looking, but since he was deep in the forest, all he could see in any direction was trees. Still, he could tell what Aura was looking at from the way she was facing.

She should have been observing the battle between Shalltear and her master.

His big sister Aura could use a ranger skill to expand her field of vision to about two kilometers. This was why he and his sister were standing watch over the surroundings with the help of the Eyeball Corpses.

"Th-Then, has the battle been decided?"

"Mm. Ainz-sama won, hands down."

"That, that's what I thought too."

The form of Ainz-sama — a being that not even the strongest Guardian could defeat — appeared in Mare's mind. It was a sensible conclusion; how could the one who led the Supreme Beings be defeated?

"Then, Onee-chan, should, should we go collect Shalltear's equipment?"

Aura considered what she had seen before terminating her skill.

"Ainz-sama should have recovered it all. We'll fall back as instructed."

"Mm."

Mare knew his sister was in a bad mood, so he said nothing else, but obediently acknowledged her commands.

Aura's best friend had been mind-controlled, and made to point her lance at the beloved master to whom they had all sworn their loyalty. While her execution was the expected outcome of such a course of action, she still felt upset about it.

Part 4

He opened the name list in the Throne Room, and as expected, the space which should have contained Shalltear's name was blank. This verified that Shalltear was dead, and so phase one of the plan was concluded.

Ainz's heart ached. While he knew that there was no other way, the fact that he had personally committed and witnessed the act filled him with guilt.

In his heart, Ainz apologized to Shalltear. Then he gulped, and turned to the gathered Guardians.

"Then, the next step will be to resurrect Shalltear. Albedo, pay attention to Shalltear's name. If she remains mind-controlled as before…"

"Ainz-sama, though I may overstep myself, I propose that you should allow us to deal with it ourselves."

Cocytus and Aura immediately agreed with Demiurge's words, while Mare despondently agreed as well. Only Albedo remained unmoved.

"Demiurge…"

Demiurge's passionate words interrupted Ainz's mumbling.

"We are fully aware that your orders are to be respected above all else, Ainz-sama. We will grind ourselves to dust in order to obey them. However, as your loyal servants, we cannot allow you to be placed into danger once more, Ainz-sama."

Demiurge's gaze shifted from Ainz to Albedo.

"If Shalltear betrays you once more, then we shall eliminate her as your Guardians. We pray that you will watch us do so, Ainz-sama."

Now that he understood the Guardians' intentions, Ainz could not offer any further resistance.

"I understand. Guardians, if Shalltear betrays us once more, you may deal with her as you see fit."

The Guardians nodded in acknowledgement.

Ainz felt miserable as he watched them.

What a pathetic excuse for a master he was.

Even after going this far, he still had to let his beloved children kill each other.

The root cause of it all was his foolishness. It was all his fault.

Ainz wanted to sigh, but as he saw the gentle expression on Albedo's face as she stood to the side, he decided to swallow it.

"Ainz-sama, all you need to do is stand aside and watch. To whom should we pledge our loyalty if the final Supreme Being vanishes? Though we will not have been abandoned, we will still be lonely if all the Supreme Beings are gone."

"…Indeed. It's very lonely to not have anyone by your side."

Ainz's eyes had unconsciously turned to the the flags hanging within the Throne Room, his gaze resting on the emblems above his head.

"…Yes, you're right… It must have been that way in the Treasury too… What a fool I was."

After muttering to himself, Ainz turned to face the Guardians.

"Protect me, Guardians. It begins now!"

Their spirited replies washed over Ainz as he grabbed the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that floated in the air beside him, and turned it toward a corner of the Throne Room.

There was a mountain of gold coins there, about five hundred million of them. That was the sum needed to recall Shalltear to life.

Normally, he would have needed to use the keyboard to perform the necessary operations, but he now knew that it was no longer necessary.

The mountain of gold changed shape, from a solid to a liquid.

Watched by the Guardians, the molten gold formed a river, which flowed to the same place. Ten thousand tons of gold compacted and shrank, taking a humanoid shape that finally resolved itself into the form of a golden puppet, and its golden glow slowly weakened.

Soon, the golden glow had vanished completely, leaving white, waxy skin and platinum blonde hair. There was no doubt that the person before him was Shalltear Bloodfallen.

"Albedo!"

Ainz kept his eyes fixed on Shalltear as he bellowed Albedo's name.

"Please be at ease. It seems the mind control has been terminated."

"Is that so…"

Ainz unconsciously touched his c.h.e.s.t in response to the powerful sense of relief flooding him. The gesture calmed his spirit. Then, he reached into his pocket dimension and retrieved a black cloak, before he strode over to the supine Shalltear.

Her eyes were tightly shut, and her c.h.e.s.t was not moving. She lay quietly on the ground, like a corpse. Still, the undead were essentially animated corpses, so that was hardly unusual.

Something unusual—

The c.h.e.s.t he had just seen was so flat that it hardly seemed to belong to a girl, but to a boy. Not knowing where to put his eyes, Ainz's gaze left her c.h.e.s.t and looked elsewhere.

The freshly resurrected Shalltear was n.a.k.e.d (of course), so he had no idea where he should be looking. Ainz was so panicked that he forgot that all he had to do was look elsewhere.

His vision had sharpened greatly from when he was a human being, so he could see certain places very clearly.

Shalltear's body was carelessly displayed, and her t.h.i.g.hs were slightly parted—

—Ainz hurriedly threw the black cape over her.

The cape spread in mid-air, settling perfectly on Shalltear and covering her entire body.

It's not like I regret doing that! I'm undead, so I have no s.e.x.u.a.l d.e.s.i.r.es! No, that should be, almost no s.e.x.u.a.l d.e.s.i.r.es. I was looking at Shalltear's body because I was simply curious about whether or not she was designed with parts under her clothing. You'd never be able to take off all your clothes in YGGDRASIL anyway, so that's why I took a peek. That's right, it's not because I was wondering if she had hair down there or anything!

As Ainz tried to explain his actions to… someone, he approached Shalltear, feeling somewhat helpless. Perhaps the reason why he took so long to reach her was because he wanted to cool down his overheating head.

Also, he deliberately ignored the female voice behind him saying, "If you are interested, I have no objection to displaying myself for your viewing p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e."

As Ainz stood before her, Shalltear's crimson eyes opened, as though sensing the presence of someone nearby. She blinked sleepily and looked around, finally resting her gaze on Ainz.

"Ainz-sama?"

She sounded like she was groggy from having just woken up. However, he could hear the loyalty in her voice. Although Albedo and Nazarick's administration system had already verified her allegiance, Ainz was delighted to confirm it with his own ears, and he knelt down to embrace Shalltear.

"Uh, ueeh?"

It was hard to believe that such a slender body possessed such startling physical abilities.

Ainz paid no heed to Shalltear, who was babbling in a thoroughly baffled way, and tightened his grip on her.

"Wonderful… no, I'm sorry. This was all my fault…"

"Eh? Ah, I'm not sure what happened, but I'm certain that you couldn't have made a mistake, Ainz-sama."

Shalltear's ice-cold hands returned the embrace. They were vaguely uncomfortable, given that she seemed to be trying to grope him, but Ainz did not stop her, because she was probably trying to verify her sense of touch after her resurrection. He pretended that he did not hear her saying, "Ah, shall I have my first time here…"

However, Albedo immediately made her disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e known.

"…Ainz-sama, I believe Shalltear is tired, so we should leave her be for now."

"Indeed."

Perhaps there was a penalty for resurrecting NPCs, just as there was for players. After all, this was the first resurrection ever since coming to this world.

"Tell me the details later. Before that, I have some questions."

After Ainz let go of Shalltear, a look of disappointment crossed Shalltear's face and she glared sharply at Albedo. Albedo responded with her usual smile. He thought they would continue staring at each other as usual, but Shalltear averted her eyes instead.

"Yes, do ask me whatever you d.e.s.i.r.e… right, Ainz-sama, why am I in the Throne Room? Then, there's the matter of my body, and your treatment of me, Ainz-sama. Have I caused any trouble?"

"I was about to ask you that. Do you remember anything that happened?"

"Ah, yes."

"…Sorry. Shalltear, tell me the last thing you remember."

Shalltear's most recent memory was five days ago. She had no impression of what had happened after that, until now.

Ainz could have used the tenth tier spell 「Control Amnesia」 like he had at Carne Village, but even altering short stretches of memory would require a massive amount of MP. The staggering amount of MP needed to affect five day's worth of memories was beyond the limit of ordinary magic casters. Not even Ainz and his extraordinary MP regeneration rates could do it.

Of course, the resurrection process might be such that NPCs lost their memories of the past few days. Alternately, perhaps several people might have gathered to do it.

He lacked information at the present moment, so he could not solve that mystery.

Still, he could be sure that whoever had used the World Class Item on Shalltear had gone silent, vanishing without a trace.

It's quite troublesome when I don't know who's acting behind the scenes. The enemy might be waiting for a chance to strike at Nazarick… no, perhaps I should be glad that this incident didn't escalate… In any case, I'll make sure I thoroughly avenge myself on whoever did this to Nazarick.

Ainz quelled the anger which even his undead traits could not fully suppress, and gently asked Shalltear:

"Are there any other problems with your body?"

If this world was like YGGDRASIL, then there should not have been anything else. The NPCs should not have lost levels, but he was unsure if the same applied to this world as well. For all he knew, the NPCs would lose levels, just like player characters would.

Shalltear felt herself up before answering Ainz:

"I don't think there's anything."

"Is that so?"

After Shalltear answered, a look of shock came over her face. Not knowing what was wrong, Ainz felt uneasiness welling up inside him.

"Ainz-sama!"

"What happened!? What's wrong?"

"My c.h.e.s.t is gone."

The faces of the Guardians twisted as they heard this, with expressions of We want our concern back written all over them. Even Demiurge had his teeth bared.

"Don't you know what you did? How could you say something like that!?"

As Albedo delivered a rebuke on everyone's behalf, Shalltear's shoulders trembled in fright.

Ainz had gone so limp that his hands were about to drag on the floor. All he could do was watch Shalltear argue with the other Guardians, and ponder various questions about resurrection.

In particularly, he hoped that Clementine and Khazit, who he had met in the graveyard, would also lose their memories after resurrection, as Shalltear had.

Still, that was just being optimistic.

Since he did not know why Shalltear had lost her memories, he could not guarantee that their resurrection through magic would be the same as resurrecting an NPC through money.

Just as Ainz was thinking about these things, Shalltear had already begun tearing up under Albedo's one-sided torrent of abuse.

As Ainz watched the scene before him, he recalled a scene from the past.

♦ ♦ ♦

He saw Bukubukuchagama (the elder sister) scolding Peroroncino (her younger brother), and the rest of his smiling guildmates.

The NPCs before him were like his past comrades.

♦ ♦ ♦

Ainz slowly reached a hand out, and then stopped in mid-air. It felt as though an invisible wall of glass was blocking him.

A profound sense of loneliness filled Ainz's heart.

It felt as though the memories of the warm place where the Guardians existed was little more than an image on a monitor — and he was on the other side.

If he stepped into it, they would pledge their loyalty to him. That was a form of awe, and not the warmth he had felt when he had been with his friends.

He felt that it was a terrible shame.

Just as Ainz's hand fell powerlessly, Albedo turned around — as though sensing something strange about Ainz — and watched him quietly. Baffled by why she was looking at him that way, Ainz was about to ask what was wrong when the flames in his eyes suddenly flared up.

That was because Albedo was gently holding her hand out to him. After a moment's hesitation, Ainz took her hand, and thus he was pulled into the circle of the Guardians.

Albedo was the first to speak, and then the other Guardians followed suit.

"Ainz-sama, please reprimand Shalltear sternly."

"That's right! Please give this dummy a good scolding!"

"Indeed. She. Needs. A. Stern. Lesson."

"You'll remember Ainz-sama's words of wisdom, won't you?"

"Al-Although, maybe it would be better not to be too strict… er, erm…"

"—Ha, hahaha."

Ainz could not keep his laughter from escaping his mouth despite the baffled looks from the Guardians around him. No, that laughter did not just come from his mouth, but from his heart.

After he was satisfied, Ainz silently turned back to Shalltear.

"I have told Albedo before, but the fault for this does not lie with you, Shalltear. It is I — who possessed all this information but did not consider the possibility of this happening — who most deserves to be rebuked for this. Shalltear, you did nothing wrong. Remember that."

"Thank, thank you, Ainz-sama!"

"Demiurge, you will be in charge of explaining what happened to Shalltear. Can you do that?"

Demiurge bowed to show that he understood.

"Ah, then there's the matter of Sebas—"

"He will be bait."

As Ainz calmly proposed using one of his subordinates as bait, the Guardians merely nodded, with the attitude a proper minion should have. They were simply prioritizing the considerations of the master of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick over the life of their colleague.

"I am not entirely willing to do this, but it cannot be helped… I do not know why Shalltear was targeted, but if the opposition is looking for a new victim, they might well decide on Sebas, who was travelling with her. This was why I did not call him back to receive a World Class Item… Albedo, select a few clandestine operatives to keep an eye on Sebas and his surroundings… He might be bait, but I do not intend to allow Sebas to be so easily taken. Inform these observers that their mission also includes preventing the enemy from approaching Sebas."

After issuing his orders, Ainz narrowed his eyes — in other words, the flames in his eye sockets grew dim.

…Someday I shall meet the person who used a World Class Item on Shalltear. When that day comes, I shall return the favor with interest!

"Understood. I will select the appropriate personnel as soon as possible."

"Please do. Thanks to Shalltear, we now know that NPCs can be resurrected, but I do not wish to kill any of the NPCs my friends created again."

Moved by those words, the Guardians lowered their heads. They had probably sensed how much Ainz valued them. However, since he had actually voiced those feelings, the effect on them had been that much greater.

Shalltear seemed to have realized something had happened to her. A look of shock crossed her face, which soon turned into one of utmost regret.

Ainz gestured that she did not need to take it to heart. Just then, a voice came from the side.

"Ah, then, Ainz-sama."

"What is it, Mare?"

"Erm, ah, should… should I remove all traces of the battle?"

"There's no need for that. Did you know? When one breaks a spell-sealing crystal, it releases powerful energy, enough to level the surroundings."

"Eh? Is, is that so?"

"…My apologies. It's a lie, of course. What is false is true and what is true is false. Magic-sealing crystals seem to be rare items, so nobody should be able to test that. Albedo, put a few scratches on the item Nigun was using. Then, we'll need to have the blacksmith build some damaged armor and put some scorch marks on it, so it looks like it went through an intense battle."

"Understood."

"In addition, perhaps I have been too careless so far, which allowed hidden enemies around Nazarick to harm us. Thus, I wish to initiate a program to strengthen Nazarick. Part of that is to use my skills to create an undead army. I think I've mentioned that before… hm? Did I only tell Albedo about that? Forget that. In any case, this will be my top priority. I would like to make some preparations to recover corpses from E-Rantel which can be used to make an undead army."

"About that, Ainz-sama…"

"What's wrong, Albedo?"

"If I am not wrong, when you use a human corpse as a medium for making undead, the undead thus created are quite weak, despite being mid-tier. Is that correct?"

"Indeed. Is there a problem?"

The most powerful undead he could make with the corpses of the Sunlight Scripture were level forty. Beyond that, the undead would vanish with the passage of time, along with the corpses that served as their medium.

"In truth, after receiving that order, I had considered ways of obtaining fresh corpses. Perhaps you could consider using non-human corpses?"

"…I trust you do not intend to use the corpses of Nazarick's vassals?"

"No, that is absolutely not my intention. I was thinking of using other demihumans."

Albedo smiled. It was a stunningly beautiful — and terribly cruel — smile.

"Aura discovered a Lizardman village. What do you think of attacking and destroying them?"