"Fūrinkazan Style — Fierce as Fire: Greedy Wolf!"
After erasing Shalltear's Valkyrie with a strike as swift as thunder, Ren followed up with another slash. Empowered by Blade Spirit Release, the raging flames of Fierce as Fire surged forth—instantly swallowing Shalltear and every one of her summoned familiars whole.
This time, however, Ren infused the attack with a trace of "Evil of This World."
The flames turned pitch black—dark as despair itself.
Already a Level 100 existence, now further amplified by both Half-Demonization and Blade Spirit Release, Ren's single strike unleashed destructive power on par with a Super-Tier spell.
The bats, black cats, and other familiars Shalltear had summoned were the first to suffer. The moment the black flames touched them, they let out brief, agonized cries before being reduced to ash in an instant.
The battlefield had long since been reduced to a barren wasteland—but now, even the sand itself burned, coated in those ravenous black flames.
Greedy Wolf.
As its name implied, it was insatiable.
Until there was nothing left to burn, the flames would never die.
Shalltear still had uses of her special abilities remaining, but even if she activated Impure Shock Shield, it would be meaningless in this situation.
Because Fierce as Fire was not a single, instantaneous attack—it was continuous damage.
The shield could block the initial slash… but it could not stop the flames from devouring everything afterward.
Watching Shalltear writhing within the black inferno, her HP steadily draining away, Ren felt a flicker of sympathy. He was about to end it quickly—
—but she stopped him.
"Lord Ren's overwhelming power… it's simply irresistible…"
Hearing that strange voice echoing from within the flames, Ren's face darkened instantly.
…Yeah. That wasn't a scream.
No wonder it sounded so weird.
And if he remembered correctly—
Shalltear was definitely that kind of masochistic freak.
To preserve the dignity of the Guardians—and more importantly, to avoid being dragged into something deeply uncomfortable—Ren and Momonga both felt an overwhelming urge to end this as quickly as possible.
Ignoring Shalltear's "request," Ren delivered a clean, decisive blow, reducing her final sliver of HP to zero.
"Long live Lord Ren… Long live Lord Ainz… Long live the Great Tomb of Nazarick…"
The next day, within the Great Tomb—
After expending an enormous sum—five hundred million—the Guardian of Floors One through Three, Shalltear, was revived.
Just like in the original sequence of events, she had lost all memories from the time she had been controlled.
However, this time was different.
Because of Ren's presence, even though Shalltear herself remembered nothing, the denizens of Nazarick already knew the culprits: the Six Scriptures of the Slane Theocracy.
When Shalltear learned that she had been controlled—and worse, that she had raised her hand against both Lord Ren and Lord Ainz—
She immediately flew into a rage and attempted to charge straight into the Slane Theocracy for revenge.
Unfortunately for her—
Before she could take even a single step, she was pinned to the ground by Demiurge and Aura.
Albedo then stepped forward, formally requesting that Momonga and Ren administer strict punishment.
Because regardless of intent—
A Guardian of Nazarick attacking a Supreme Being was, by definition, an unforgivable capital offense.
"…Hmm. As for Shalltear's punishment, I'll leave that to Ren to decide," Momonga said after a pause. "Personally, I think she's already been punished enough… but judging by your reactions, that doesn't seem to satisfy everyone."
It wasn't that Momonga didn't want to discipline Shalltear.
It was just—
Her personality made it… complicated.
The scene of Shalltear writhing in ecstasy within Ren's black flames was still painfully fresh in his mind.
A harsh punishment was inappropriate—after all, she had been a victim.
But a mild punishment?
That might just excite her even more…
So without hesitation, Momonga smoothly tossed this hot potato straight to Ren.
And to make sure Ren couldn't refuse, he immediately changed the subject—cutting off any chance for interruption.
"As for the Slane Theocracy and the Six Scriptures—we know far too little about them at present.
But the fact that they were able to control Shalltear proves they are dangerous.
Charging blindly into enemy territory would be unwise.
For now, our priority should be strengthening Nazarick's overall military power."
"The undead can be mass-produced as long as we have sufficient materials and MP.
However, using humans as raw material results in relatively low-level undead.
And with the limited supply of YGGDRASIL recovery potions, continuously summoning undead will quickly drain our MP reserves."
"That's why I went to some trouble to recruit Enfrea and his grandmother. The boy seems exceptionally talented in that field.
Lupusregina, the next time you visit Carne Village, bring some MP recovery potions for Enfrea to study.
Also, inform Sebas and the others in the capital to stay alert. Since Shalltear was targeted, it's possible her companions have also been marked."
At this point, Ren really wanted to clarify something.
Shalltear's encounter with the Slane Theocracy had been purely accidental.
They likely knew nothing about Nazarick at all.
But considering Momonga's tendency to wage strategic battles against imaginary enemies—
—and the Guardians' equally powerful talent for overthinking—
Ren wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
At this moment, the entirety of Nazarick had already designated the Slane Theocracy as a hypothetical enemy.
Demiurge and Albedo even proposed an alternative:
Since humans made poor materials for undead—
Why not use the nearby lizardmen instead?
According to their intelligence, several lizardman tribes existed near Nazarick.
Compared to weak humans, lizardmen possessed superior physical strength and overall levels.
Thus, Demiurge suggested capturing them as materials to produce stronger undead forces.
And so—
The five lizardman tribes, completely unaware of what awaited them, continued their lives as usual.
Until one day—
Two adamantite-ranked adventurers arrived at the village of the Green Claw Tribe.
Faced with the sudden appearance of "humans," the tribe's chieftain, Shasuryu Shasha, showed obvious hostility.
Still, wishing to avoid conflict, the lizardmen made it clear they wanted Ren and his companion to leave immediately.
"Don't misunderstand," Ren said calmly. "We're not here to fight, and we're not here on a subjugation request.
We came to deliver a warning.
Your lizardman tribes have already been targeted.
If you want to survive…
You'd be wise to leave this area as soon as possible."
...
Want to unlock up to 60+ early-access chapters and exclusive novels and NFSW CONTENT ALSO? Join my Patreon today and dive deeper into the adventure!
patreon.com/denji21