Just as Certain Death's heart trembled while gazing at Riezel, who stood midair, sheathing his sword, a figure suddenly appeared behind him.
"Aspect of the Devil - Razor Sharp Claw!"
A devil with wings spread wide and claws extended lunged at Riezel's back, fierce and urgent.
"!!!"
Such an unexpected and sudden attack nearly exposed the hidden Certain Death, who instinctively wanted to shout a warning to Riezel.
However, even shouting out now was already too late.
Certain Death was sure that the devil launching a sneak attack on Riezel was undoubtedly a very powerful being. Its attack strength might not have matched the vampire's, but its speed was undoubtedly faster.
Meanwhile, the devil's fingers, which had transformed into a sharp, claw-like shape, were each about eighty centimeters long, so sharp they could easily cut through the air, faster than the sky-splitting sound could catch up with them.
In that instant, the devil's claws had already reached Riezel, piercing through his back, leaving Certain Death no time to warn him, no time to save him.
A transparent gleam flickered in Riezel's eyes as a voice, almost like a warning, echoed in his mind, alerting him just before the sneak attack landed, making him sense the incoming danger.
As for why this happened, it was thanks to the magic called 'Paranormal Intuition' that Riezel had cast before engaging in battle with Shalltear. When this magic was activated, the caster gained a literally enhanced intuition ability, essentially strengthening their sixth sense.
Because of this magic, Riezel became aware of the threat and quickly activated the Transparent World, allowing him to spot the devil coming from behind and figure out who it was.
Who?
Who else but Demiurge?
"Body of Effulgent Aquamarine."
Without wasting time, Riezel immediately cast a 10th-Tier Magic from the same category as Body of Effulgent Beryl.
While Body of Effulgent Beryl was defensive magic used to defend against blunt attribute attacks, Body of Effulgent Aquamarine was used to defend against piercing attribute attacks, making it the perfect choice for this situation.
Immediately, Riezel's body shimmered with a brilliant aquamarine glow.
*Whoosh!*
Demiurge's sharp, piercing claws thrust deep into Riezel's back, going straight through his body.
However, as the aquamarine light flared up, Riezel's body seemed to shift through time and space, moving back a short distance, causing Demiurge's claws to miss, and it instead struck air.
Ultimately, Riezel's back was untouched, showing no signs of being pierced.
"Maximize Magic - Brilliant Radiance."
Without even turning around, Riezel quickly cast another magic, summoning a dazzling holy light pillar from the sky that crashed down onto Demiurge's body.
"AAAAAHHHHHH—!!!"
Screaming in pain, Demiurge, in a frog-like form with membranous wings on his back, cried out in agony as his body seemed to burn, with smoke rising from him.
Only then did Riezel prepare to turn around, placing his hand on the sword at his waist, seemingly ready to draw and strike at Demiurge, but suddenly, a shocking scene unfolded—one that stunned the hidden Certain Death.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH—!!!"
Shalltear, who had been split in half by Riezel, suddenly let out a scream that could not be determined whether it was from pain or hysteria. Her body, which had split and fallen to either side, froze for a moment, then, at an incredible speed visible to the naked eye, quickly returned to its original state.
It wasn't just her body, even her blood was flowing backward, returning to her body and crawling back in as if everything was being rewound—the phenomena happening to her were reversing.
Needless to say, this was one of Shalltear's trump cards, a special skill that allowed her to reverse time and restore herself to full condition—Time Reverse.
In the face of death, Shalltear could no longer hide this special skill, so she immediately activated it, reversing her time and returning to a perfect, unscathed state. Now, even her equipment had been restored to its original condition, not a single drop of blood on it, as though she had never been in a fight.
Nevertheless, the fact that she nearly died could not be erased, so as a result, after struggling on the brink of death, Shalltear's eyes turned red with rage, and her beautiful face twisted into the form of an ugly monster due to her fury.
"Purifying Javelin!"
In the next moment, Shalltear raised one hand and, under the influence of her burning rage, threw a javelin of light that formed with astonishing speed.
It was a huge javelin, over three meters long, made entirely of pure, radiant light with a particularly massive tip, reflecting dazzling silver light under the increasingly deep moonlight, blinding in its brilliance.
It was one of Shalltear's special skills, an offensive skill with a holy attribute capable of inflicting great damage on her opponent—Purifying Javelin.
Glittering with brilliant radiance, the javelin of light cut through the air and shot toward Riezel, as if intending to purify him.
Bizarrely, it wasn't vicious like its user but instead had a holy feel to it.
"Finally getting serious, huh?"
Riezel remarked calmly and stopped drawing his sword.
Wrapped in magical energy from Fly, Riezel quickly leaped backward to avoid Purifying Javelin.
However, Purifying Javelin was a special skill that could ensure a perfect hit by using extra magical energy when launched, making it impossible to avoid by mere evasion, so the more Riezel tried to dodge, the fiercer the javelin chased him, and no matter how he changed direction, it quickly followed, like a meteor chasing lightning.
"Silent Magic - Arcs Ray!"
Realizing he couldn't dodge Purifying Javelin, Riezel quickly switched from defense to offense, raising his hand to fire a beam-like light arrow.
Naturally, this wasn't Tier Magic learned in this world but Lefiya's magic from the world of Danmachi. Normally, Arcs Ray required chanting to release, but with the Metamagic Enhancement of 'Silent Magic', Riezel turned this magic into an instant cast that didn't need any chant, movement, or preparation.
Coincidentally, since Arcs Ray had a similar effect to Purifying Javelin, possessing tracking capabilities and almost ensuring a perfect hit, Riezel aimed Arcs Ray at the approaching javelin of light.
*BOOOOM!*
In an instant, the beam-like light arrow collided head-on with the javelin of light, neither able to avoid the other, creating an explosion in midair that canceled each other out.
However, the shockwave from the explosion burst out like fireworks, sending Riezel, who was relatively close, flying backward for quite some distance.
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
Suddenly, two sky-splitting sounds rushed in.
They were none other than Shalltear and Demiurge—both spread their wings and darted out of the explosive wind, pursuing Riezel.
"Purifying Javelin!"
Shalltear used her special skill again, raising the javelin of light that emitted a holy aura and shone with silver brilliance in her hand. At the same time, she imbued the javelin with a guaranteed hit effect and, propelled by its power, charged toward Riezel at a speed that shattered the sound barrier.
"Aspect of the Devil - Stout Demon's Gigantic Arms!"
Demiurge raised one arm before it suddenly expanded several times, becoming a giant demonic arm, as if it were the massive, muscle-bound arm of a giant. Not wasting any time, he quickly swung his giant hand toward Riezel, causing a roaring gust of wind to explode through the air.
As the two Floor Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick launched a full-force attack on Riezel at the same time, the pressure and aura they gave off were truly overwhelming.
"Thunder Breathing - Sixth Form - Rumble and Flash!"
Seeing Shalltear and Demiurge attack him from different directions, leaving him with no space to retreat, Riezel drew his sword as fast as he could and unleashed the sixth sword form of Thunder Breathing.
*Schwing!*
As the sound of Riezel unsheathing his sword resounded, countless lightning-like slashes erupted in all directions from his position.
*BOOOM!*
*BOOOM!*
Because Shalltear and Demiurge could not stop their attacks, the javelin of light and the giant arm ultimately collided with the incoming lightning-like slashes, causing explosive, thunderous sounds.
In the end, the shockwave from the astonishing impact sent all three of them flying back, distancing them from each other as they were carried away by the wind.
"NOT YET!"
Shalltear yelled in anger, her eyes turning even redder.
Failing once, Shalltear prepared to charge at Riezel again, seemingly having lost all rationality.
"Stop it! Shalltear!"
Demiurge grabbed Shalltear's shoulder to stop her.
"Let go of me!"
Unfortunately, the current Shalltear would not listen to Demiurge's words—she was clearly at her boiling point.
"Enough! Don't be unreasonable!" Demiurge scolded sternly. "The plan has already started! We need to retreat first!"
"But—!"
Shalltear turned her bloodshot eyes toward Demiurge, but he withstood her murderous glare and spoke coldly.
"Remember, this is Lord Ainz's order. Do you want to disappoint him again?"
As soon as Shalltear heard these words, the anger burning in her heart was immediately suppressed.
"Let's go. Take the information you've gathered back first." Demiurge continued quietly.
At this, Shalltear was still angry and unwilling, but she had no choice but to obey.
"Wanna leave?"
Riezel spoke up, his eyes squinting as he clearly saw their intentions.
"Shalltear!"
Just as Riezel was about to take action, Demiurge's voice became urgent.
"Aaah! I know already!" Shalltear exclaimed in an exasperated tone before immediately using a special skill.
"Summon Household!"
Countless Vampire Bats and Vampire Wolves immediately emerged from Shalltear's shadow, charging at Riezel.
"Greater Rejection."
Seeing this, Riezel used the same magic he had previously used to repel the high-tier undead summoned by Shalltear.
Greater Rejection was a 9th-Tier Magic that could forcibly expel summoned monsters. Despite being only 9th Tier, however, it could even remove monsters summoned by 10th-Tier Magic. Against opponents who favored summoning, this magic proved powerful.
As Riezel unleashed the magic, his magical energy surged outward, easily clearing the countless Vampire Bats and Vampire Wolves, but when they vanished, Shalltear and Demiurge were already gone.
"...Did they run?"
Riezel furrowed his brow, his eyes flashing with a transparent gleam as he scanned the area, but he couldn't find the two of them.
Before long, Riezel realized that the Dimensional Lock he had cast had apparently been dispelled, so they must have used teleportation magic to escape.
"Tch..."
Riezel clicked his tongue before sheathing his sword with a look of displeasure on his face.
"Guess I just don't get along with those guys."
He reaffirmed this fact, confirming that his future would be as an enemy of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.