The Great Tomb of Nazarick had once again entered a state of full alert.
The reason?
Shalltear Bloodfallen—the Guardian of the First through Third Floors—had betrayed them.
Unlike the earlier situation where Momonga had merely treated Ren Kuroda as a hypothetical enemy, this time Shalltear's betrayal was no speculation.
It was an established fact.
—
At Albedo's urgent summons, all the Floor Guardians of Nazarick gathered once more. Even Momonga, who had been outside living the life of an adventurer, was called back immediately.
The skeletal overlord stood there, utterly dumbfounded at first.
But once he deduced that Shalltear had likely been controlled by a World-Class Item, his expression turned grave.
If someone could control Shalltear with such an item…
…then that meant they possessed power capable of threatening Nazarick itself.
Ever since becoming an adventurer, Momonga had grown accustomed to underestimating the people of this world, believing them to be generally weak.
And now, that carelessness had come back to bite him.
Sending Shalltear to capture humans capable of using Martial Arts had been his decision.
Which meant—her current state was a responsibility he could not escape.
—
After fully understanding Shalltear's situation, Momonga made his decision.
He would take responsibility for his mistake—
…and personally go defeat Shalltear.
However, the moment he voiced that intention, every single Guardian present opposed it fiercely.
The reason was simple.
While Momonga was the nominal supreme ruler of Nazarick, he was by no means its strongest combatant.
Despite being a magic caster, his build leaned heavily toward support.
Shalltear, on the other hand, had been designed by her creator specifically to counter him.
Her overall combat ability ranked among the very top within Nazarick.
She possessed a perfectly optimized class build, was equipped head-to-toe in legendary-grade gear, and wielded a divine-class weapon—the Spuit Lance—which could absorb damage dealt to enemies and convert it into her own vitality.
On top of that, as a divine magic caster devoted to the progenitor of vampires—Cainabel—she wielded powerful holy-aligned abilities.
In pure melee combat, she might very well be unmatched within Nazarick.
A close-combat specialist with multiple abilities effective against the undead…
To the Guardians, sending Momonga alone against Shalltear was nothing short of suicide.
—
"I am aware that my chances of victory are slim," Momonga said calmly.
"But this is something I must do—as the one who created you."
"And as the ruler of Nazarick, I cannot stand by and watch creations lovingly crafted by my former comrades turn against one another."
"Of course… there is another reason."
"I suspect the one controlling Shalltear may still be lurking nearby. In order for me to fight her without interference, I entrust all defensive measures—and Nazarick's safety—to all of you."
—
The Guardians wanted to refuse.
They truly did.
But after hearing Momonga's heartfelt words, they found themselves unable to argue.
Handling a traitorous subordinate… was indeed a responsibility that fell solely upon the master of Nazarick.
As his servants, it was not their place.
And yet, as loyal Guardians, they couldn't ignore the fact that this decision was dangerously reckless.
—
"If it must be handled by one of the Supreme Beings…"
A deep voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Then perhaps… we should summon Lord Ren Kuroda back."
It was Cocytus who spoke.
And the moment he did, the eyes of every Guardian lit up.
Because they all knew—
This suggestion made perfect sense.
It wasn't that Momonga's life mattered less than Ren's.
Rather, as Guardians of Nazarick, they understood Ren Kuroda's combat prowess all too well.
Among the Forty-One Supreme Beings, each had their own specialties and interests.
Some were researchers.
Some specialized in traps.
Some devoted themselves to magic.
Naturally, there were also those who excelled in combat.
The so-called "warrior faction."
And among them—
Ren Kuroda stood at the very top.
His class was a rare one.
His combat instincts and experience were unmatched.
He was also one of the greatest spenders among the Supreme Beings, possessing an arsenal of rare and powerful items.
More importantly, he held the rare class of "World Champion."
Even Takemikazuchi—the strongest warrior of Ainz Ooal Gown—had once admitted:
To defeat Ren Kuroda, it would require a full party of equally equipped and equally skilled players.
—
Compared to Momonga, who was not specialized in direct combat…
The Guardians were convinced.
If Ren returned to Nazarick—
Defeating Shalltear would not be a difficult task.
And as one of the Supreme Beings, Ren would never act against Momonga's will.
—
"I did attempt to contact Lord Ren while reaching out to Lord Ainz," Albedo said.
"However… it seems he was occupied with something else."
"Additionally… there is something I find quite strange."
"If the enemy had the power to control Shalltear… why didn't they take her with them?"
"Could it be a trap? Leaving her behind as bait—to lure us in and eliminate us all at once?"
—
But just as Albedo voiced her concern—
A portal suddenly opened before them.
From within it, a familiar figure stepped out slowly.
Ren Kuroda.
"Albedo, my apologies for not responding sooner," Ren said calmly.
"I was dealing with something… else at the time."
"As for your concern—whether Shalltear is being used as bait—you no longer need to worry."
"The ones who controlled her didn't choose to leave her behind."
"They simply couldn't take her."
"The individual who used the World-Class Item was gravely injured and lost consciousness."
"In that state, they couldn't issue any further commands to Shalltear… which is why she remained in standby."
—
Ren paused briefly, then added in a casual tone:
"To prevent them from regaining consciousness and issuing new orders…"
"I went ahead and removed that problem."
"That's why I couldn't reply to you earlier."
—
Only then did Momonga—and the rest of the Guardians—notice something.
Ren hadn't returned empty-handed.
Dragged behind him…
…was a long trail of corpses.
Each one clad in high-grade equipment.
Each one clearly no ordinary human—
…but powerful elites in their own right.