Accompanied by a faint sound of air being torn apart, Riezel teleported back to the Frenzel residence together with Lizbeth and Euryale.
Luna, however, was not brought along.
Because she was still unconscious, Riezel had simply left her in Lizbeth’s palace residence, where she could stay together with Ivy and Leo.
When Riezel and the others returned to the Frenzel residence, it had, unsurprisingly, become a battlefield as well.
One magician after another, their eyes completely black, roared like madmen while unleashing Transformation System Magic in every direction throughout the Frenzel residence. Flames, frost, lightning, storms, and countless other phenomena appeared one after another, blasting apart every corner of the residence.
Knights were also locked in fierce combat.
Some belonged to the knights of the Frenzel family, while others were unknown knights with pitch-black eyes, charging about like berserkers.
Now, the once peaceful Frenzel residence had descended into utter chaos. Even the manor’s magical defenses appeared to have been breached, forcing the Frenzel family knights to fight under extremely difficult circumstances.
Riezel even spotted several black figures darting about like phantoms, slipping into the manor one after another as though they had some other objective.
Seeing the scene before him, Riezel’s expression turned cold.
Meteor-like orbs of light appeared behind Riezel and shot forward under his control, streaking toward the black-eyed knights.
A series of explosions immediately erupted across the battlefield, forcefully disrupting the black-eyed knights’ advance.
Riezel controlled the tracking magic with flawless precision.
Some orbs curved through the air in graceful arcs, some twisted around corners, and some even shot high into the sky before plunging downward. Yet without exception, every one of them struck a black-eyed knight.
As a result, the black-eyed knights cried out in agony as they were blasted away without any warning, stunning the Frenzel family knights.
Meanwhile, the black-eyed knights who had not yet been targeted by Riezel’s magic flew into a rage. Abandoning their current opponents, they immediately charged straight toward Riezel.
"Lizbeth, Eury."
Riezel did not draw his sword. Instead, he calmly called to the two attendants beside him.
Lizbeth and Euryale immediately rushed forward.
Lizbeth was the first to attack.
As soon as she charged into the crowd of black-eyed knights, she drew Moslow from her arms, the childishness that had once lingered on her face having almost completely faded away, replaced instead by an unusual calmness.
Transparent light flickered within her eyes, making the little princess resemble a wolf among sheep. Every movement of the golden sword in her hand produced a chilling flash of sword light that effortlessly sliced through the heavy armor of the black-eyed knights, cutting them down one after another.
Euryale was no different.
Her hands danced like afterimages, leaving streaks of claw-light behind while the Shadow Sword hanging at her waist remained sheathed.
Wherever the claw-light passed, black-eyed knights were either disemboweled or had their heads torn apart, their blood swept up by the countless claw-lights swirling around her and staining them crimson as flashes of scarlet continuously erupted around her body.
Just like that, the two, who looked almost like sisters, unleashed a merciless slaughter.
As for Riezel, seeing that the battlefield had been brought under control, he immediately activated and looked into the depths of the Frenzel residence.
It did not take long before he found the target he had been searching for.
Riezel’s figure abruptly vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared on the top floor of the residence, in a corridor some distance away from Yuri’s office.
Another fierce battle was taking place here.
A wave of purple energy shot forward and struck a magic doll clad in black robes.
In the next instant, the magic doll’s ghost-like body froze in midair before suddenly breaking apart like scattered ashes, vanishing without a trace.
A beautiful maid stood in front of the female magician who had fired the purple energy wave. Holding twin swords, she blocked the attacks of the remaining magic dolls and deflected the claw-shaped weapons they swung at her.
"Don’t get bogged down in the fight, Marilyn!"
Dressed like a noble young lady, the female magician, who was none other than Yuri, spoke in a deep voice.
"I know, my lady."
Marilyn, the beautiful maid, responded calmly.
At this moment, the two retreated while fighting. Although they appeared to have the upper hand, they were, in reality, already in considerable danger.
It was understandable, considering the magic dolls attacking them were anything but ordinary opponents.
They felt no pain, feared no death, and their modified bodies could not be seriously injured with ease. Combined with their ghost-like, silent mobility, even an ordinary Sword Saint would have had to spend considerable effort dealing with them.
Moreover, that was not all.
A closer look revealed that while Yuri remained largely unharmed, Marilyn was already covered in wounds. Her delicate skin had been slashed by weapons radiating sinister energy, and a strange black aura seeped from the injuries.
Clearly, her condition had deteriorated rapidly, as evidenced by how her face had turned deathly pale while cold sweat covered her forehead.
Against opponents capable of troubling even a Sword Saint in a one-on-one fight, the fact that Yuri and Marilyn had managed to endure for this long was already remarkable.
At this point, Marilyn had even unleashed her family’s inherited , continuously releasing spiritual power that battered the surroundings and hindered the magic dolls from approaching.
Of course, the reason they had managed to hold out for so long was also thanks to a third individual present.
No, not a person.
More accurately, a demon.
Lilith alone held back the majority of the magic dolls.
Her delicate hand pointed outward, causing black flames to surge forth.
Though the black flames appeared harmless at first glance, the magic dolls reacted as though they had encountered their natural predator. None of them dared to charge forward recklessly. Instead, they circled around in a guerrilla-like fashion, keeping Lilith occupied and preventing her from helping Yuri and Marilyn.
"Tch..."
Lilith clicked her tongue, irritation surfacing in her eyes.
Riezel had given her a simple mission: come to the Frenzel residence and protect Yuri and Marilyn.
It was merely a precaution.
Riezel knew very well that Sorren would use absolutely any means necessary to deal with him. Just as he had once kidnapped the original Riezel’s family to threaten him, Sorren would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
For that reason, after learning that Sorren had disappeared, Riezel immediately dispatched Lilith to Yuri’s side and tasked her with protecting her.
After all, everyone in the royal capital knew that Marquis Frenzel had a close relationship with Riezel. If someone wanted to take a hostage to threaten him, Yuri was undoubtedly the ideal target.
Perhaps that was also why the magic dolls had appeared here.
Riezel thought with relief for a brief moment before immediately activating magic.
A massive magic circle expanded instantly before the ghost-like magic dolls that had been darting around suddenly froze in place.
Everyone present was momentarily stunned before noticing Riezel’s sudden arrival.
One after another, expressions of delight appeared on their faces.
"Riezel!"
"Mr. Riezel!"
"Master!"
Yuri, Marilyn, and Lilith all called out.
"Are you guys okay?"
Riezel walked to Yuri’s side and asked with concern.
"I’m fine..." Yuri shook her head before turning toward Marilyn. "But Marilyn—"
"I’m fine too."
Marilyn interrupted Yuri’s words.
However, with her pale face and sweat-covered forehead, her claim was hardly convincing.
Riezel immediately cast healing magic on Marilyn.
Yet streams of sinister black energy lingered around her wounds like stubborn parasites, preventing the injuries from healing.
Riezel frowned and immediately activated a second healing magic spell.
A pure white magic circle appeared and began rotating, releasing countless particles of light that enveloped Marilyn.
As a top-tier healing magic, could not only heal injuries but also dispel curses.
If even this magic failed to affect Marilyn, then curing her would likely require the Super-Tier Magic
Fortunately, the sinister energy lacked the power to resist this supreme healing magic. Under the illumination of the countless light particles, it gradually dissolved into a black aura and disappeared.
Only then did Marilyn’s wounds begin to heal, the paleness gradually leaving her face as the cold sweat on her forehead disappeared as well.
Meanwhile, seeing that her master had reunited with the people she had been protecting, Lilith finally relaxed and began casting walls of black flame around the immobilized magic dolls.
Under the scorching black fire, not a single wound appeared on their bodies, yet every one of them trembled violently as though enduring unbearable agony.
Finally, the black flames, which burned the soul itself directly, allowed these dolls—who knew no pain—to experience suffering.
"Too bad you don’t have hearts."
Lilith looked at the magic dolls, who had already lost their vital organs, with obvious disgust.
With a wave of her hand, she summoned several more walls of black flame and burned every magic doll to death.
"Master."
Only after completing her task did Lilith return to Riezel’s side.
"Good work."
Riezel dismissed his healing magic and offered her a few words of praise.
"It was nothing. Being able to carry out a mission personally assigned by you is my honor, Master."
Even though Lilith spoke calmly, the delight on her face was impossible to conceal.
Looking at her, Riezel was reminded of the Level 100 NPCs of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
He still remembered how loyal those NPCs had been to the ones they served.
Whether it was Albedo, Shalltear, or Demiurge, those NPCs were either undead who hated the living or ruthless demons. Yet every one of them was absolutely loyal to Ainz Ooal Gown, even willing to die for him.
Such loyalty was truly remarkable.
Riezel felt that Lilith was exactly like those Level 100 NPCs.
From the very beginning, her loyalty toward him had already been maxed out.
In fact, it might even have exceeded the limit.
Riezel pondered thoughtfully.
"Riezel, she is...?"
Yuri, however, looked at Lilith with surprise and confusion after hearing her call Riezel
Needless to say, Yuri had no idea who Lilith was.
All she knew was that this horned woman had suddenly appeared when she was in danger and had blocked most of the enemies for her.
Judging from the current situation, Yuri couldn’t help but assume that Lilith was Riezel’s new attendant, and judging by her strength, she appeared to be another Sword Saint.
Yuri silently pondered the matter.
"She’s my summon..." Riezel didn’t hide anything from Yuri and explained it directly. "Well, you can think of her as my attendant."
Lilith gave Yuri a slight nod, but her expression was cold and detached, completely different from the attitude she displayed toward Riezel.
Even so, receiving a nod from Lilith was already an extraordinary privilege.
For a demon like her, humans were merely prey that could walk and run. Aside from their hearts, no part of them held any value, so they were no different from ants that could be crushed beneath her feet.
For that reason, the fact that she had nodded to Yuri was already extremely rare.
It was obviously because of Riezel.
Knowing that Yuri held an important place in his heart, Lilith had shown her that small gesture of acknowledgment. Had it been anyone else, she would have considered herself friendly if she had merely refrained from ripping out their heart and eating it on the spot.
"Nice to meet you."
Yuri hurriedly returned the greeting.
Lilith had protected her, and judging from her abilities, she was clearly a Sword Saint-level figure. Even if she was technically an attendant, Yuri could not afford to act arrogantly in front of such a person.
"My lady, the battle outside isn’t over yet."
With her injuries fully healed, Marilyn still gripped her twin swords as she reminded Yuri.
Before Yuri could respond, however, Riezel spoke first.
"No. It’s already over."
It truly was over.
Under Riezel’s magical bombardment, combined with Lizbeth and Euryale entering the battlefield, the continuous explosions outside had gradually faded away, and the sounds of battle were steadily dying down as well.
"Master!"
Not long afterward, Lizbeth hurried over with Euryale.
"My lady!"
"Are you alright?"
Two attractive female knights followed closely behind them.
They were none other than Ain and Ian, whom Riezel had not seen for quite some time.
"What about Mediste and Isaac?!" Yuri immediately asked her two attendants. "Are they alright?!"
Ain and Ian answered at once.
"Both of them are safe."
"We’ve already escorted them to a shelter."
Hearing that, Yuri finally relaxed.
"We should leave this place first," Riezel said at the appropriate moment. "The whole royal capital is in chaos right now, and there’s no telling if another attack is coming. We shouldn’t waste our time dealing with these people."
"What exactly happened? Why were we attacked?"
Yuri asked in shock, unable to hide the confusion and disbelief in her voice.
"I’ll explain everything later, after I deal with the one behind all of this."
Riezel offered no further explanation.
Instead, his eyes gradually narrowed, and a cold sneer slowly spread across his face as a chilling glint flashed through his gaze.