At noon, the sun blazed high in the sky, its slightly hot rays shining down on the somewhat messy forest clearing, forcing a figure in a black evening dress to be exposed to the sunlight.
Who else if not Shalltear?
At this moment, she stood under the scorching sun, her expression dazed, her eyes void of light—the sight was enough to make anyone wonder if she had been struck by the heat.
Yet, in reality, her excessively pale skin didn't show even a single bead of sweat, nor did it gain the slightest hint of healthy color.
Shalltear dazedly stood in place, waiting for her enemy to arrive.
*Step* *Step* *Step*
Soon, a faint but undeniable sound of footsteps approached from the distance.
Ainz appeared before Shalltear, stepping slowly, just as Riezel expected—here to fight Shalltear, to kill her.
"Is it finally time?"
Of course, Riezel wasn't the only one waiting here, as there were others as well, apparently waiting for his arrival.
"Alright, stop hiding."
Riezel spoke up without even looking around.
"Do you guys ever get tired of surrounding me every time? Seriously, come out already. I won't bite you."
As soon as Riezel's words dropped, several figures appeared around him, one after another.
They were a group of three, each having extremely distinctive appearances—so much so that one could say their distinctiveness was taken to the extreme.
At this moment, they stood in a triangle surrounding Riezel—one ahead of him, one to his left, and one to his right.
On Riezel's left was a heteromorph radiating cold, frosty air.
He stood over eight feet tall with a massive build, resembling a two-legged insect with four arms. His body was light blue, almost ice-like, and his back had two sharp, icicle-like spikes protruding from it, along with a tail twice his height.
In one of his right hands, he held a silver halberd about his height, making him look like an alien creature designed for slaughter—utterly horrifying.
On Riezel's right was a devil he had met once before.
He had a face with an Eastern appearance and wore a British-style suit, dressed like a gentleman, yet exuding a sinister aura. Behind him trailed a tail covered in silver metal plates, its tip adorned with six sharp spikes, with black flames flickering around it and swaying constantly.
Every detail about him screamed that he was a genuine devil, not just someone who merely looked like one.
As for the one ahead of Riezel, it was a warrior who exuded distinctly feminine features.
She wore full black metal armor, spiked and menacing, with two horns on the helmet, making her look like a demon. In her right hand was a large battle-axe that gave off an ominous aura, indicating that, despite her femininity, she was probably more dangerous than the other two.
Now, these three, none of whom looked like 'good' beings, appeared before Riezel, staring intently at him, filling the air with an extremely fearful pressure.
Despite bearing this intense pressure, however, Riezel's expression remained unchanged, which in itself gave off an even stranger vibe.
"Looks like your lord really thinks highly of me, huh..."
Riezel gazed at the humanoid insect, then at the devil gentleman, and finally at the axe-wielding female warrior.
"Great Tomb of Nazarick's 4th Floor Guardian—Cocytus."
"Great Tomb of Nazarick's 7th Floor Guardian—Demiurge."
"Great Tomb of Nazarick's Guardian Overseer—Albedo."
"Sending three Guardians my way at once? You're really making me feel honored."
Upon hearing Riezel's casual comment, which was completely at odds with the indifferent expression on his face, the three immediately released a murderous aura and hostility.
Evidently, Riezel's arrival was met with the utmost disapproval.
"Riezel Brynhart..."
Albedo was the first to speak, staring coldly at Riezel as if she were ready to strike at any moment, every movement exuding hostility.
"Even though this is not my intention, since Lord Ainz has said we mustn't be rude to you, we will naturally abide by his order."
Following Albedo, Demiurge spoke next.
"You may watch the battle, but for Lord Ainz's safety, you can only remain here."
Demiurge's tone was rather calm, seemingly much friendlier than Albedo's blatant hostility, but if anyone had seen the darkness hidden in his eyes, they would know his enmity toward Riezel was no less than Albedo's.
Finally, Cocytus spoke.
"From now on, you're not allowed to take another step forward."
*THUD!*
Exuding a chilling aura, Cocytus slammed his silver halberd heavily against the ground.
*Crackle—*
Instantly, the ground began to freeze, the cold spreading outward, and soon, the entire hill started to ice over.
"I see..."
Riezel glanced at the surroundings, now transformed into an iceberg, and smiled nonchalantly.
"You're here to keep an eye on me, huh?"
At this, the three said nothing, seemingly tacitly agreeing with Riezel's assessment.
"Seriously, always so paranoid..." Riezel muttered lightly. "Don't worry, I'm just here to watch your lord's battle and have no other intentions. I won't be doing anything like you're imagining."
"Let's hope so..." Albedo slightly shifted her helmet. "But personally, I kind of hope you do something."
If that were the case, she would have a reason to act against Riezel.
"If you want..." Riezel raised an eyebrow, glancing at Albedo. "I can indulge you after watching this battle. What do you say? Wanna give it a try?"
"In that ca—"
"Albedo."
Just as Albedo was about to respond, Demiurge interrupted her.
"Don't forget Lord Ainz's order."
Hearing this, Albedo fell silent for a moment, then clicked her tongue in frustration.
Seeing this, Riezel immediately lost interest.
"Watch closely. It's about to begin."
Riezel's words made Albedo and the other two automatically look in Ainz and Shalltear's direction.
Over there, Ainz had already moved in front of Shalltear and begun to take action.
"Body of Effulgent Beryl."
Right off the bat, Ainz cast 10th-Tier Magic, causing a greenish light to radiate from his entire body.
Body of Effulgent Beryl, a magic that reduced blunt damage and could even nullify a single instance of it, held significant strategic value for Ainz, especially since, as a skeleton, he was extremely vulnerable to blunt attribute attacks.
It went without saying that Ainz's first magic was obviously this one.
Shalltear, on the other hand, remained perfectly still, causing Ainz to burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, just as I thought. As long as I don't take any clear offensive actions and keep my distance, NPCs won't enter combat mode just like in the game."
"Since that's the case, I'm sorry, Shalltear."
"Before the battle starts, just stay as you are and wait for me over there."
Following these words, Ainz began a series of classic moves.
"Fly, Bless of Magic Caster, Infinity Wall, Magic Ward - Holy, Life Essence, Greater Full Potential, Freedom, False Data - Life, See Through, Paranormal Intuition, Greater Resistance, Mantle of Chaos, Indomitability, Sensory Boost, Greater Luck, Magic Boost, Draconic Power, Greater Hardening, Heavenly Aura, Absorption, Penetration Boost, Greater Magic Shield, Mana Essence, Triplet Maximize Magic - Explosive Mine, Triplet Maximize Magic - Greater Magic Seal, Triplet Maximize Magic - Magic Arrow."
Right in front of Shalltear, Ainz grandly started buffing himself, chanting one magic after another, with the glow of magic constantly appearing around him.
After layering dozens of buffs on himself, Ainz spread his arms wide, causing a massive, dome-shaped bluish magic circle to expand with him at the center, covering a radius of about ten meters.
It was an intricate and dazzling magic circle, with layers upon layers, one on top of another, resembling an extraordinarily beautiful geometric shape, emitting bluish-white light while its patterns continuously shifted.
'Finally...'
Riezel's mind sharpened upon seeing this.
Such a magic circle—it was the complex magic circle that only appeared when players used Super-Tier Magic.
Eventually, the massive magic circle kept expanding, and after shifting for a while, the light emanating from it suddenly flared brightly.
Looking at Shalltear for a moment, Ainz then shouted loudly.
"Super-Tier Magic, Fallen Down!"
With this shout, the highest-tier magic was unleashed upon this world.
*Rumble—!!!*
In an instant, it felt like the entire forest clearing had its colors stolen away.
It was as if a giant sun had risen from the center of the clearing, and everything was suddenly bathed in white.
Amid the white expanse, the intense heat from the magic created waves of scorching air, expanding and exploding, burning everything around it to the ground like a pillar of light crashing down from the sky, striking the earth with such force that the entire forest seemed to tremble.
Before long, the pillar of light spread, tearing the ground apart and sending countless birds and beasts fleeing the forest in panic.
Not long after, the pillar of light slowly faded, and the intense heat rapidly receded.
It wasn't until then that the spectators could finally see the devastation left behind by the Super-Tier Magic, Fallen Down.
It was a massive circle, its interior and exterior showing stark contrast.
Outside the circle, the forest remained untouched, still intact with no changes.
Inside the circle, however, the land was charred black, resembling the inside of a volcano and emitting waves of heat and black smoke, with all the plants and animals within the circle burned to nothing.
Within the scorched earth, aside from the carbonized roots of giant trees, there were several spots that had turned into crystals.
"Aaah..."
In the center of this scorched, blackened land, an out-of-place sound suddenly echoed.
It was the only vivid red figure in this blackened land that could still maintain its existence and its color.
"It hurts..."
Shalltear finally stopped standing still, as if a doll had come to life, regaining her vitality.
Surprisingly, despite enduring a Super-Tier Magic head-on, Shalltear hadn't died.
"Hahahaha... that really hurt, Lord Ainz!"
Shalltear, who should have had no sense of pain, laughed and complained as she turned her deep-red eyes to glare at Ainz.
At this moment, she was clad in a full suit of armor that looked as if it were stained with blood—a deep crimson red.
It was a set of metal armor that covered her entire body except for her face, with the helmet shaped like a swan's head and two feather-like protrusions on either side. Decorative wing-shaped armor covered her chest and shoulders, while the lower half of her body was encased in a skirt-like design.
It was none other than Shalltear's formal equipment.
As a Floor Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and a Level 100 NPC, her equipment was a legendary-class, powerful armor.
Now, not only had she equipped her legendary-class armor, but she had also pulled out the divine-class item she had once used during her battle with Riezel—Spuit Lance.
Needless to say, this was her true form—the form she took when going all out.
"How unfair, Lord Ainz..."
Shalltear spoke in a tone that sounded like she was complaining.
"Using a Super-Tier Magic on me right from the start... As one of the Supreme Beings and the supreme ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, doesn't that make you seem kind of tasteless?"
She said something absolutely disrespectful, words she would never normally utter, causing Albedo, Demiurge, and Cocytus, who stood by Riezel's side, to glare at her with anger.
Ainz, however, didn't seem to care at all.
"Don't say that, Shalltear. It's just a little greeting." Ainz responded nonchalantly. "I'm someone who values face too, after all. I'm personally going to fight you, so I have to make sure I don't lose this fight. Otherwise, how could I continue being your ruler?"
"Using any means necessary for victory? As expected of Lord Ainz!" Shalltear said cheerfully, her words a mix of admiration and sarcasm. "However... do you really think that'll be enough to defeat me?"
Shalltear truly displayed overwhelming confidence, as if victory was already in her hands.
It was understandable.
Shalltear herself knew that, in terms of strength, she clearly surpassed Ainz.
Although Ainz was a player, the supreme ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and the guild master of Ainz Ooal Gown, his actual strength among max-level players was not that impressive and could only be considered mid-to-high at best.
Shalltear, on the other hand, was not only considered the strongest among the Floor Guardians in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, but even against players, her win rate was very high.
If Ainz fought Shalltear, the chances of him losing were quite high.
Ainz himself was well aware of this fact.
However—
"Sometimes, you have to try to find out..."
Ainz muttered to himself before extending his hand toward Shalltear, signaling the beginning of the battle between them.