"Why am I here…? And why are the two I admire most—Lord Ren and Lord Ainz—standing before me?
"And more importantly… I know I shouldn't, but… why do I feel this overwhelming urge… to defeat them both?"
Even under mind control, Shalltear had not lost her memories or her personality. Her rationality remained intact.
However, something fundamental had been altered.
She had gained the attribute of a 'neutral hostile entity'—a change imposed by the World-Class Item Allure of Absolute Beauty.
And in terms of priority, that setting overrode even the core behavioral directives of Nazarick's NPCs.
That was why, despite everything, Shalltear now chose to attack Ren and Ainz.
Having entered her "Blood Valkyrie" state, Shalltear stood clad in full armor. Her defenses—both magical and physical—had risen to extraordinary levels.
What made matters even more troublesome was her spellcasting.
Despite being a vampire, the magic she excelled at most was holy-element and fire-element spells—
Both of which were precisely the types that undead like Ainz were weakest against.
The moment the battle began, Shalltear immediately attempted to capitalize on her advantage against a magic caster by closing the distance and forcing a melee fight.
But the instant she approached, the hidden spell—Maximized Magic: Triplet Magic Minefield—detonated around Ainz, forcing her to retreat and switch to ranged combat.
Because of the effects of the divine-class weapon Spuit Lance, Ainz refrained from summoning undead.
Any subordinate weaker than Shalltear would only serve as fuel—restoring her HP upon dealing damage.
And in truth, Ainz's situation wasn't as favorable as it seemed.
Though his MP reserves were vast, he had already consumed a significant portion casting enhancement spells to compensate for his undead weaknesses.
Now, the battlefield had turned into a relentless exchange of high-tier magic.
The shockwaves alone were enough to instantly annihilate even adamantite-ranked adventurers.
"Maximized Magic: Thousand Bone Spears!"
"Maximized Magic: Gravity Maelstrom!"
"Maximized Magic: Reality Slash!"
"Maximized Magic: Black Hole!"
As a pure magic caster, every spell Ainz cast began at the 10th tier, and his arsenal was vast and varied.
In contrast, Shalltear used fewer types of spells—but she had already taken the bait.
Instead of relying on her highly effective fire magic, she had switched to holy magic, which Ainz had specifically prepared defenses against.
When Shalltear unleashed Maximized Magic: Sacred Radiance, the damage dealt to Ainz was actually quite limited.
And yet—
Ainz acted as if he had taken devastating damage.
Thanks to the skill False Data: Life, Shalltear fully believed that her holy magic was highly effective.
Even so, despite Shalltear's usual lack of subtlety—and despite successfully being misled—
The fundamental gap between them remained.
From a purely statistical standpoint, Ainz was still at a disadvantage.
The reason was simple.
As a magic caster, Ainz's physical abilities were relatively poor.
Nearly every spell Shalltear cast hit its mark.
Meanwhile, Ainz often needed two or three attempts to land a single effective strike against her superior agility.
Yes, Ainz's MP pool far exceeded Shalltear's—
But when factoring in hit rates, their effective damage output became roughly equal.
And while Ainz might have had an edge in magical resistance…
Shalltear possessed something else.
Special Skills.
Unlike tiered magic, these abilities didn't follow conventional rules—yet their power rivaled even super-tier spells.
Naturally, such overwhelming abilities came with strict usage limits.
And interestingly…
Shalltear was being unusually cautious.
Because she had noticed that Ren was also present on the battlefield.
If she exhausted her strongest abilities now, she might not stand a chance against him afterward.
As a result, she held back far more than she had in the original timeline.
Back in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Guardians had gathered before a massive projection screen, watching the battle unfold in silence.
Demiurge's expression was particularly grim.
To him, Shalltear's actions were utterly unforgivable.
If she were simply defeated by Lord Ainz, that would be acceptable.
But if anything were to happen to Ainz…
Then it would be a failure on all their parts.
Worse still—
A Guardian defeating one of the Supreme Beings would deal a devastating blow to Nazarick's very foundation.
"Cocytus," Demiurge spoke, turning his gaze toward the warrior.
"What do you estimate Lord Ainz's chances of victory to be?"
Among the Guardians, Cocytus—like his creator—was a true warrior.
His insight into combat was unmatched.
As all eyes turned to him, Cocytus gave his answer without hesitation.
"…Three to seven. Lord Ainz has a 30% chance of victory—and that is only if his strategy succeeds."
"Only thirty percent…? Though I suppose that's not surprising," Demiurge said with a sigh.
"I've heard that Shalltear was specifically designed by Lord Peroroncino to counter Lord Ainz.
"After all, my creator, Lord Ulbert, was quite close with both Lord Ainz and Lord Peroroncino. They even formed something called the 'No-Spending Alliance.'"
"Oh! I've heard about that too!" Aura chimed in excitedly.
"My creator, Lady Bukubukuchagama, and Lord Ren were part of the opposing faction!
"I think… they were both super famous—Lady Bukubukuchagama was a voice actress, and Lord Ren was a model or something? So they were really rich and spent a lot in the game!"
Standing behind the Guardians, the Pleiades battle maids listened with fascination.
They had never imagined that the Supreme Beings had such… colorful stories.
Lupusregina tilted her head curiously.
"…What exactly is a 'voice actress'? And what's a 'model'?"
"Well," Aura said thoughtfully, recalling what she had once heard,
"A voice actress is someone who gives life and soul to characters.
"And a model… is probably a high-level profession reserved only for those with exceptional appearance and physique."
"…Giving life and soul… that sounds like an advanced form of spiritual manipulation," someone murmured in awe.
"Indeed. As for Lord Ren—setting aside appearance, since standards differ by race—
"But in terms of physical prowess… I doubt anyone in Nazarick—or even among the Supreme Beings—could rival him."
Clearly, their understanding of "voice acting" and "modeling" was wildly off the mark.
But to the denizens of Nazarick, it didn't matter.
In their eyes, anything associated with the Supreme Beings had to be extraordinary.
...
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