Chapter 15: Dragon Slayer
Two days ago
"Who's more important? Me? Or Ainz?" She asked the Overseer of Nazarick.
Albedo's eyes opened wide at the Goddess's question. Never in her life was she expecting Lady Tiamat to force her to answer such a difficult question.
The Succubus remained silent as she thought through all the responses she could possibly give to the Supreme Being.
In the end, she decided on an answer that she thought was best.
"My Lady, I think that both of you are equally important," she bowed her head low, "Without Lord Ainz, there is no way Nazarick would be able to function. As you know, ever since the rest of the Supreme Beings stopped coming to Nazarick, you and Ainz-sama are the only one keeping the place afloat."
Albedo raised her head to look into Tiamat's eyes. She wanted to see her intentions.
But what she saw was a distant, endless void.
She had never seen Lady Tiamat like that before.
She was always kind and warm, to the point that many of the Floor Guardians began calling her the matriarch of Nazarick, including herself.
Her motherly and gentle nature was their sanctuary at the same time that Ainz-sama was their pillar. She had never expected anything from them in return, and she always provided for them with a smile.
That was why Albedo never expected that Lady Tiamat would reply to her question in such a way.
"You're wrong, Albedo," Her voice was stern, like a mother correcting her children when they did something wrong. "Ainz is much more important than me."
Albedo looked up at Tiamat, but she was looking at the throne with sorrowful eyes.
"Could you imagine Nazarick without Ainz? The place would be a mess, and in the end Nazarick would fall into ruin."
The Dragoness looked towards the flag insignias in the Throne Room and Albedo followed her line of sight. She realized that Lady Tiamat was not looking at one specific flag, but at all of them.
"You see," she continued, "In Ainz Ooal Gown, I am nothing."
Immediately, the Succubus rebutted the Dragoness's statement.
"That is not true My Lady. We have said this before, but just because Lord Ainz's strength and yours differ, doesn't mean you're any less important. You are one of the two who did not abandon us when we needed you!"
"Then, do you hate them?"
"What?" Albedo was caught off guard by her sudden question, reflexively replying without thinking.
"Do you hate them?" Tiamat repeated herself, her voice softer, much more mellow as she looked at the flags one by one. "If I were to leave you today, would you hate me too?"
Tiamat finally looked at Albedo and gave her a sad smile.
It was at this moment that Albedo realized the heaviness that the Dragoness carried with her. All this time, she was always supporting Ainz-sama, supporting them, the Floor Guardians, yet despite all of that, she still didn't believe in herself.
"No, I wouldn't," Albedo answered with certainty.
Tiamat looked at Albedo in shock, clearly not expecting that response to come out from her mouth.
"Why?" she asked in a small voice.
"Lady Tiamat, you are so much stronger than you imagine. Some people may call you weak or insignificant, but they don't know what they're talking about. If you are so hellbent on leaving Nazarick you would have done so, but you didn't. You kept supporting Ainz-sama even though you didn't have to."
"You put too much faith in me, Albedo…"
"No. I know this for certain My Lady. If you were to leave Nazarick, then it will be different from the other Supreme Beings. I am sure you have a good enough reason, and that I know you're too fond of Aura and Mare to leave them alone."
Tiamat smiled at Albedo, her true smile,"Ah, that's right. Bukubukuchagama's twins are too adorable."
"Forgive my insolence My Lady, but I will answer your question honestly."
Tiamat nodded, and Albedo continued.
"To be fair, the rest of the Supreme Beings who didn't stay may rot in hell for all I care."
Tiamat's lips quirked up bitterly. She never thought that the perfect Albedo would think that way about the rest of the members of Nazarick, but it wasn't too surprising to be honest.
"I know they're the Supreme Beings who created Nazarick, but they abandoned us. I always wondered what we did that was so wrong that they decided to leave Nazarick entirely."
The reality hit Tiamat like a cricket bat in the gut and her heart was flung across the entire room away from her body. The reaction was faster than even her brain's accelerated processes as it tried to register the emotional feeling that she was sure all the Floor Guardians had felt all this time.
Abandonment.
Tiamat softly replied to Albedo, "They didn't leave entirely, Albedo, they just…"
But the words stuck in her throat. How was she supposed to explain to Albedo that she mattered, how could she, a simple human, take away such a deep intense sadness? How could she explain to Albedo that her friends had things that were so much more important than Nazarick?
How could she explain this without hurting Albedo…?
It would have been so much easier for her to cry or sob, because Tiamat was used to dealing with that.
But the Floor Guardians were not children at the orphanage back on Earth. They were not in game characters or some unimportant NPCs.
They are now living beings who breathed, loved, hated, lived.
Perhaps deep inside, Tiamat knew this, which was why she was trying to make them as happy as she possibly could.
However, throughout the waves of sad realization, there was a silver lining.
In the end, the Floor Guardians and Ainz were not so different after all.
She knew that they were different creatures, but in their heart, they are thinking about the same things. They felt the same sadness and the same grief.
Tiamat reached out to give Albedo a hug.
The force of the Supreme Being slamming her body into hers had thrown her slightly off balance, but she managed to catch herself and Lady Tiamat. Albedo didn't realize how tight she was holding the Goddess as she wrapped her arms around her figure.
Tiamat rested her arms around her waist as she pulled Albedo's head to rest on her shoulder.
"My Lady…?"
Albedo felt the Supreme Being giving her a small squeeze.
"I'm sorry Albedo. I tried my best to keep them together, but…" she decided not to go on that path, "It was hard, wasn't it?" she said to Albedo, her voice as soft as possible.
"Serving the Supreme Beings such as yourself and Lord Ainz is a pleasure, My La—"
"You said you would answer all my questions honestly."
Albedo eyes watered, remembering what she promised, and slowly, she buried her head into Lady Tiamat's shoulder as she slowly nodded.
"I understand, it really hurts, doesn't it?"
Albedo slowly reached for the back of Tiamat's dress and clenched it tightly, just like a child clutching to their mother, and nodded again.
The warmth the Dragoness exuded was like a warm summer breeze in the depths of an eternal winter. When she hugged her, it felt like she was loved and valued. She knew that Lady Tiamat cared about her and her arms would keep her protected.
"Ainz feels the same way too, you know."
Albedo raised her head and looked up to Tiamat who was slightly taller than her, disbelief was clearly featured on her face. She couldn't believe that Ainz-sama felt the same way as she did.
"R-Really?"
"Yes," Tiamat gently tucked Albedo's black locks behind her ear. "It's alright to be angry, Albedo."
Albedo released herself from Tiamat's hold.
"Why should I be mad My Lady? It's not like I was just created by Lord Tabula. It's not like I'm sitting up all night thinking about why they left. Nazarick doesn't need those who leave it behind. Isn't that right My Lady?"
A strange feeling bubbled inside Albedo. She let the feeling consume her, as it burst like a broken dam.
"I got through my first raid without Lord Tabula, I learned how to manage Nazarick without Lord Tabula, I learned how to sew, I learned how to fight without him," her voice steadily grew louder and louder, "I have a wonderful job in Nazarick, the greatest honor that could ever be achieved as the Overseer of Nazarick!"
Finishing her rant, Albedo panted and Tiamat waited for her to regain her composure.
"I didn't need him then, and I don't need him now."
"Albedo…"
"No, My Lady, to answer your first question, no, I don't hate them. As I said, I don't care about those who abandoned Nazarick in the first place. In fact, I'll be even better than what he had designed me to do. I'm sure I don't need him for that as well, because there is nothing he could ever teach me about anything!"
Albedo screamed the last word, and Tiamat stayed quiet.
Unexpectedly, tears started streaming down Albedo's face.
"So how come he didn't want me, My Lady?"
Tiamat immediately rushed towards Albedo to hug her as Albedo broke down sobbing.
"Am I not good enough?" Albedo asked softly, and Tiamat knew, without her keen sense of hearing, she wouldn't have been able to hear what Albedo just said.
The feeling of fear and self pity exuded in waves from Albedo and shame washed over Tiamat as she didn't realize what Albedo had been feeling until just a few moments ago.
All she could do for Albedo was to lend her shoulder and be strong for her sake.
"Albedo…" Tiamat began, "You are good enough. You are wanted. No matter what happens, Ainz and I will always be here for you. We're never going to abandon you, got it?" Tiamat gave a watery smile.
"My Lady…" Albedo wiped the tears from her face, "Thank you…"
"I'm not going to leave, Albedo, but right now, there's something I have to do," Tiamat said looking Albedo straight in the eye. "I have something I need to tell you…"
( ﹏⁰)。
Ainz brought Albedo inside the innermost depths of the treasury, where all his friends' items dwelled.
He sported a full set of divine class items and all sorts of cash items, while Shalltear only had a single divine class item, her Spuit Lance. Ainz knew he had a massive advantage in terms of equipment quality. However, what Albedo had left unsaid was why Ainz's chances of victory were slim.
Ainz was fully aware of that reason as well.
It was because Shalltear Bloodfallen was the nemesis of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Ainz was an undead magician that focused on necromancer-type classes.
In other words, his character had been built for entertainment.
Shalltear on the other hand, had been made with an optimized build. In addition, Shalltear's divine magic caster classes could use many spells which were very effective on the undead, and she was adept at melee combat.
These two reasons were bad enough, and on top of that, the necromantic spells Ainz favored did not work well on Shalltear.
Ainz could not use his specialty against Shalltear, and Shalltear had an advantage when fighting the undead.
In addition, Ainz typically did not equip his best items because he feared that they would be stolen away. When they clashed, Ainz's chances would be very low. Worse, he might not have a chance at all.
"So you're saying that the circumstances don't favor me?"
That might be the case, Ainz agreed. He should not be able to beat Shalltear.
"—There is nothing wrong with your thinking, but it is in error. After all, you only possess the knowledge that has been infused into you."
"Eh? What does that mean?"
"The most important thing is how much combat experience you have."
"I see. As you know, I can make full use of the strength the Supreme Beings have given me. So I believe that counts as being very experienced."
Ainz shook his head to reject Albedo's answer. He had learned a lot when fighting that Clementine woman.
"That's not right. Being able to wield power and being able to utilize experience are completely different things. Do you remember the large-scale invasion of Nazarick? Are you familiar with Shalltear's memories of fighting players?"
"I did not ask in detail, but she said she vaguely remembered being killed once."
"Besides that?"
Albedo shook her head to indicate that she did not.
"Typically, she and I were the ones who handled lone intruders while Tiamat supported us with her healer build and tanked most of the attacks. That being the case, I should be the one who goes, since I have the highest chance of winning."
Ainz smiled coldly. Naturally, his face did not move.
"When I was the guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, my chances of victory in PVP combat were quite high… granted, I lost to people who had flawless builds, but how can I be defeated by someone who only relies on high stats? More importantly, I had a close friendship with Peroroncino. This is what they mean by The battle's over before it's begun..."
"I'm sorry Lord Ainz, I'm more inclined to disagree."
Ainz studied Albedo quietly, and then his jaw fell open. "Eh?"
"I have asked Aureole Omega to close all the entrances to Nazarick from this point forward. I have also blocked all the teleportation channels that will allow you to move out from Nazarick."
"What! Why?!"
"That is because," Albedo bowed her head down low. "I already made a promise with Lady Tiamat."
( ﹏⁰)。
Using the『Mirror of Remote Viewing』, Tiamat checked her surroundings, making sure there was no one was around.
She opened『Gate』from the Sixth Floor one last time, allowing the ethereal 『Seraph Empyrean』 to cross over from the Arena to where she was standing.
"『Dragon Saintess Angel Summon: Seraph Empyrean』."
The sound of church bells rang for the second time in the New World, once again announcing the descent of a holy deity.
The sky split apart and at its center, a golden colonnade descended towards Tiamat. In its wake, the Seraph glided to the earth from the heavens, accompanied by an angelic choir.
Now she had two of the highest tier angels to fight against Shalltear. She looked at the Divine Class sealing artifact in her hand, something she had grabbed at the last minute, and tightened her grip on it.
She could only hope that it would be enough.
( ﹏⁰)。
The last person to enter the room was Demiurge, who was shocked when he saw Ainz sitting down on the sofa. Demiurge's foul mood was clearly noted by the people in the room, but they knew that he would never act impolitely under any circumstances. Especially if a Supreme Beings was around.
"Well, is there an explanation for this?"
Demiurge narrowed his gemstone eyes as he intensely directed a question to Albedo who had the audacity to stand at Ainz-sama's right side.
From the 『Message』 he had received before coming into this room, he had an idea of what Lady Tiamat might have said to Albedo. However the question still plagued him.
"Why did you agree to such a foolish proposal?"
His tone was even, but that was simply a thin veil draped over the surface. Everyone could feel the barbs in his words.
Not even Ainz had seen Demiurge so worked up.
However, in this situation that was filled with so much hostility, all eyes were trained on Albedo's figure. She was calm, composed, and unmoving.
"This is Lady Tiamat's decision. How can we as her subordinates oppose—"
"—Why?"
Demiurge cut her off, and he continued.
"When she left all by herself to E-Rantel, even Lord Ainz insisted on having her guarded by her Dragon. You should be worried about her safety now even more than before. So why did you agree to this now?"
Albedo inclined her head in response, and Demiurge's face visibly contorted.
"Then I'll ask you again! Why did you permit this?!"
His anger seemed to shake the room. The intensity was completely unlike the Demiurge whom they were familiar with
Cocytus who was also inside the room, slowly turned his head, looking at his comrades staring each other down, worry visible in his eyes. Just as he was about to rebuke Demiurge for his unacceptable behaviour in front of Lord Ainz, the Undead raised his voice.
"That is enough, Demiurge," Ainz said with a sense of finality and Demiurge backed down, bowing while he did so.
He couldn't believe that he had lost his composure in front of Lord Ainz. Such behaviour was unbefitting of a Floor Guardian of Nazarick.
"Albedo, is there something you have kept from me?"
Albedo stiffly nodded. With that response, Cocytus and Demiurge exhaled sharply.
"So you were aware of this?" Ainz questioned the Succubus.
"Yes…"
"YOU FOOL!"
Ruled by anger and anguish, Ainz's shout echoed through the room.
The Floor Guardians who were present recoiled like they had been struck by lightning. Ainz felt something suppress his emotions, but even as his initial rage was cut off, it surged right back up instantly. There was no way he would let this shitty emotional suppression stop him.
"Why did you not tell me about this? Why were you trying to keep this away from me?"
"Lady Tiamat and I made a promise."
"Explain!"
"That's…"
Ainz's eyes flared as he looked on at Albedo, who was unable to answer him.
"Bring me the『Crystal Monitor』and locate Tiamat's whereabouts," Ainz ordered. "Now!"
( ﹏⁰)。
The beeps of『Message』rung twice, and Ainz's voice filled her head.
[Return to Nazarick. Right now.]
[That was quick…] she replied nonchalantly.
[What are you doing? You know there's no way for you to win this fight!]
[I know.]
[Then why?]
She looked up at where the watchful eye of『Crystal Monitor』was watching her closely. Even though she didn't know its exact location, she could still somewhat feel its general position.
She knew anyone who was there with Ainz would be able to read her lips.
That was why she said it outloud.
"I'm not going back to Nazarick. Not until I bring Shalltear back."
[Tia, listen to me—]
"Ainz, I'm not returning. I will bring Shalltear back."
"You'll die!" Unknowingly, Ainz had shouted out loud to both the『Message』and inside the room.
A sense of foreboding chilled Albedo's soul. Perhaps Demiurge was right. What was she thinking?
As the Overseer of Nazarick she should have planned more; she should've at least offered another solution.
But somehow the solution Lady Tiamat offered seemed to fit the occasion, which was why she had agreed.
"Please don't blame Albedo for this. I was the one who forced her to keep her promise."
[Why would you do this?]
"Because you are Ainz, the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown. Nazarick needs you more than me."
[You know that isn't true.]
"If you failed to defeat Shalltear, then who would be able to take your place? No one. I'm expendable, Ainz. Please understand, no one can afford to lose you..." she said, her voice almost cracking.
From what they could read from Lady Tiamat's lips, the Floor Guardians inside the room could grasp what Ainz-sama was trying to say to the Dragoness.
There was nothing they could do but to heed the order from the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown himself, so their eyes remained glued to the monitor in front of the Supreme Being.
When Ainz saw the tears streaming slowly down her cheeks, he quieted down.
He should've known Tiamat would react this way; she was never the most logical person. She always let her feelings and emotions lead the way.
He knew what she was thinking, and her concerns for the future. Especially if something went wrong.
Ainz laying dead under the Bloody Valkyrie, beaten down to the dirt.
The Floor Guardians on a crusade of vengeance, leaving her all alone in a broken, bleeding world.
She wiped her tears and looked towards Shalltear whose eyes were still impassive, and steeled her resolve. This was something she had to do. No matter how absurd.
For her, this was the only logical solution.
"Albedo, if you're there, I'm sorry. I have to break my promise to you. But as I said, Ainz is so much more important to Nazarick than I am. That's why I want you, all of you, to heed my words carefully."
Albedo couldn't take her eyes off the monitor as she clutched her hands to her chest while her heart hammered against her ribcage.
Even Demiurge and Cocytus looked closely, deciphering every word that came from her lips.
"If I die today, then using the information gained from this battle, I want Demiurge to create a new plan using the skills you've learned about Shalltear. I'll try to draw out as many skills as I possibly can so that you can counter each and every one of them. Ask Ainz if there are any skills that are left, their weaknesses, and how to counter them. If I'm not mistaken, aside from Pandora's Actor, Ainz knows more about Shalltear's skills than I do."
[All the more reason for me to fight Shalltear instead of you.] Ainz replied, voice heavy and tired.
"But can you do it?"
Tiamat looked up at the sky, her eyes hard and determined. It was as if she was staring right at the four of them through the monitor.
"Are you able to kill Peroroncino's creation? Can you handle that burden?" she continued, challenging Ainz to answer.
She already knew the answer to this question.
Ainz loved his friends' creations so so so much, that Tiamat couldn't bear seeing him hurt. Even though she knew it would be the wrong course of action.
"That's why I'll go. I'll carry this burden for you so you don't have to," she looked up into the sky and gave a shaky smile.
"If I die today, I want you to know that I love you all. Perhaps you won't be able to forgive me after this, but that's fine. No matter what happens, please know that I will always, always love you. All of you."
With that she ended the『Message』.
( ﹏⁰)。
Ainz put his hand down, staring at the blank monitor with flickering red eyes.
Albedo, Demiurge, and Cocytus had received Lady Tiamat's message to them loud and clear. Perhaps, this could be their last memory of her.
After a few seconds had passed, Ainz suddenly slammed his skeletal hand on the table, almost breaking it in half. The Floor Guardians who were present flinched at Lord Ainz's abrupt hostility.
Even with his unmoving features, they all knew that Lord Ainz was enraged.
"Albedo," he said in a deceptively small voice, hissing with hostility. "I'll ask you again. Why did you permit this?"
To him, what Tiamat and Albedo did was the essence of stupidity and recklessness. All the rage his emotional suppression had been holding down, burst up like magma and just as destructive. It consumed all that he was, everything underneath his smooth skeleton exterior.
Albedo shriveled, and Ainz continued.
"Tell me everything Albedo," he didn't want to threaten her, but if she insisted on being silent, then she offered him no choice. "Or you will be relieved from your position as the Overseer of Nazarick."
Immediately, all of the Floor Guardians' eyes went wide in disbelief. Cocytus even huffed out cold breath to show how shocked he was.
To pull someone, especially a Floor Guardian, away from their designated, coded, position was the worst punishment Ainz could ever bestow. It meant that the person involved was not needed in Nazarick anymore.
The lowest of the low.
If they didn't have a master to serve, then they were lower than bugs. But if the master himself said that he didn't need them anymore, then they might as well kill themselves. For even that could not cleanse the stain of failure.
"No!" Albedo fell in front of where Ainz was sitting. "Please, Lord Ainz! Anything but that!"
Of course, Ainz was not that stupid, this was just a mere threat. He knew how much the Floor Guardians valued their job, and it made him a little sick to resort to something this low. He knew no one in Nazarick would be able to replace Albedo or any of the Floor Guardians,
They were specifically designed for Nazarick and Nazarick only. A wave of possessiveness ran through him like a wave. They could only work for Nazarick, and he would kill anyone who would take them away from him.
Then he realized, perhaps this was what Tiamat was talking about? Even though his emotions were suppressed, he was still an undead. A being with intense possessiveness. There was a possibility that this particular desire would cloud his judgement while fighting with Shalltear.
Would he ever be able to face Peroroncino knowing that Shalltear's blood was on his hands? Or even on Tiamat's hands? His skeletal fingers grinded against the bones of his palm.
No, he wouldn't be able to.
But Tiamat was the same. In fact, she was far more emotional and possessive over the Floor Guardians than he was.
What angered him more was that Tiamat kept this to herself. It made Ainz realized just how little she trusted him. Even so, the plan that the two of them had created made no sense to him.
'If her purpose was to gather information, shouldn't she have started with the resources within Nazarick first? This absolute idiot...'
Seeing that Ainz-sama was still waiting for her response, Albedo finally relented.
"When you called me that day to the Throne Room to look at Lady Tiamat's status, after you left, Lady Tiamat and I...made a plan in case something happened to the personnels of Nazarick."
Ainz saw no correlation between this question and how they came to create that plan, but he urged her to continue, "And?"
Albedo furrowed her eyebrows in frustration as she struggled with the guilt of breaking her promise to her Lady.
"The plan was that in any occasion where something extraordinary happened and required either Lady Tiamat or Lord Ainz to step in, Lady Tiamat would go first. She convinced me that with her defensive build she would be able to tank any attack, or at least stall the enemy until Demiurge and I could come up with a plan. Our code was lemon chewies; whenever she cooked lemon chewies and if I ate them, the plan would proceed."
"However, Lord Ainz, Albedo should have known that Lady Tiamat was lying," Demiurge protested, his voice low and angry.
Deciding to disregard what Demiurge had just said, Ainz raised his voice. "Really now? She managed to convince you just like that?"
"Yes," Albedo answered instantly, "At the time, I found myself disagreeing with her proposal, but as she talked more and more, I was convinced in the end."
"What did she say to convince you?"
"Lady Tiamat talked about the state of Nazarick if you were to disappear. She stated that no one in Nazarick, including her, could lead Nazarick aside from yourself. She mentioned that in the game of chess, the King falls back and lets his subordinates carry out his will, while the Queen is the one who attacks. Although I am not familiar with the terms she was using, I understood what she was trying to say."
Albedo looked at the『Crystal Monitor』with a trusting expression on her face. But that expression of hers only angered the people in the room.
"If you look at Lady Tiamat right now, she has a look of great conviction on her face. Perhaps it is disloyal for me to think in this way, but I trust Lady Tiamat in her intent to see her conviction to the end. She also promised the twins that she would bring Shalltear back to Nazarick, and I believe in her. That is why I will not say anything more."
Ainz whose jaw was wide open from Albedo's explanation finally shut it. Because deep inside, he also felt that somehow there was a chance his friend would win.
Once they saw that Albedo would not continue, Demiurge finally let loose.
"You are being naive and irrational. You are making decisions based on your feelings. Lady Tiamat and Lord Ainz are the only two Supreme Beings who have benevolently chose to stay here with us. It is our duty to protect them when we know their life is in danger. Even when they disagree, we should still perish for their sake, should we not?"
Demiurge sprang up from where he sat and bowed to Ainz, "Lord Ainz, just give the word and I will send my minions."
"It's no use Demiurge," Ainz wearily replied, "Tiamat had asked Aureole Omega to lock the teleportation gates, and she has refused to accept any『Message』requests sent her way. And if you were to send your minions into the battle, they would simply be used to fuel Shalltear's HP. Anyways, it appears that they are about to fight soon."
Through the monitor he saw that Tiamat had walled off the spot with a 『Dimensional Lock』around Shalltear so that neither could escape, as well as limiting Shalltear's maneuverability.
"Cocytus," Ainz called out, "What do you think of Tiamat's odds?"
Despite the trepidation in his heart, Cocytus calmly informed the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown of his opinion.
"One. To. Nine. With. Lady. Tiamat. Being. One."
Albedo and Demiurge's shoulders quaked. They couldn't pretend that they didn't hear those words from Cocytus, the mightiest warrior present.
However, Ainz was indifferent.
"Is that so?"
Then he did something the Floor Guardians did not expect him to do.
Ainz Ooal Gown laughed at his friend's upcoming battle.
"I see, that possibility does exist, doesn't it? In that case, use this as an opportunity to learn about why you should never underestimate your opponent."
( ﹏⁰)。
After Tiamat closed the『Message』with Ainz, she took a deep breath.
She tried to recall the one time Perorocino blabbed on and on about Shalltear's build. All she had to watch out for was her 『Detect Life Essence』 the one that allowed the caster to view the health values of an enemy, 『Detect Mana Essence』 which allowed Shalltear to see her remaining MP, 『Time Reverse』a skill that allowed her to completely negate one attack, and 『Einherjar』 which was Shalltear's trump card.
'Right, so I have to buff myself as well to negate the effects of her attack.'
With her high resist, she wouldn't have to worry as much about debuffs, but a few precautions couldn't hurt.
'Remember. Remain calm, and don't waste time thinking about insignificant things.' A wonderful message from Punitto Moe, Nazarick's greatest strategist.
But she could not stop her hands from shaking.
Because she knew that what came next would not be a game with no stakes but a battle to the death. This was real, and one of them would die today.
She clenched her fist.
'You should've died there, but this time someone gave you another chance. This time, it's up to you to protect your loved ones.'
The memories of her painful past somehow gave her the strength to continue.
She slowly whispered, "I am Tiamat, the Goddess of Dragons. I can do this."
She promised the twins that she would bring Shalltear back after all. That was why dying was not an option.
Her sharp amethyst eyes looked at Shalltear's figure, remembering what happened a few minutes ago.
When she approached Shalltear, the Valkyrie didn't consider her action to be a sign of hostility, just like how it was in the game.
That was why she would make her first move.
"『Blessing of Fire』, 『Magic Ward: Holy』, 『Astral Sight』, 『Greater Resistance』, 『Greater Luck』, 『Draconic Power』,『Heavenly Aura』,『Greater Magic Shield』, 『Greater Agility』—"
Various buff spells were casted and surrounded her body in a shimmering aura.
"First of all," she raised her hand, "『Dimensional Lock』."
With this, Shalltear wouldn't be able to teleport away from the area.
She needed Shalltear to use up her mana and 『Einherjar』 first.
Looking at Shalltear one last time, Tiamat pulled out an ornate scroll with a myriad of priceless jewels orbiting it from her Inventory. Normally, only high-tier mages had access to the ridiculously powerful Super Tier spells, but there were a few ways to get around that.
Tiamat took a deep breath in and exhaled, activating the expensive Divine Class sealing scroll in her hand. The gems around the scroll shined with a brilliant light before bursting into pieces, the scroll burning up with them.
And so she activated her first Super Tier spell ever since she had arrived in the New World.
"Super Tier Spell - Plane of Nine Hells 『Phlegethos』."
The sound of sizzling filled the forest as the very air was burned away.
The spell which surpassed the very definition of tiers went off, and it was as if the sun had fallen to the earth, dying everything with a brilliant light.
Once the glare subsided, a large fiery mountain broke through the clouds, and quickly descended down to where the still Shalltear was standing.
The molten behemoth slammed into the ground with titanic force, instantly flattening all the trees in its vicinity, creating violent tremors that could be felt all the way from E-Rantel. Everyone in the city looked towards the direction of the impact in terror while Ainzach and the rest of the Mythril Adventurers broke out in cold sweat.
When the fiery light had died down, the area which was once a forest now resembled a fiery world of eternal damnation, filled with smoldering volcanoes, rivers of liquid fire, molten rock, ash hills, smoking pits, and an unbearable heat that would incinerate the lungs of any normal human.
The air itself was set aflame as burning lava poured out of the fissures of the earth's crust.
『Phlegethos』, A Super Tier spell that summoned the city of Abriymoch, an infernal metropolis built with hardened magma, obsidian, and crystals in the caldera of an extinct volcano
Super Tier Spells could be considered spells, yet were not spells at the same time. To begin with, they did not consume MP, but in return, could only be used a limited number of times per day.
Anyone, even people with a limited number of mage classes, could learn a single Super Tier spell per level. Every ten levels after level seventy gave the caster an additional use per day. Of course, they still required the requisite seventy mage classes to obtain access to Super Tier spells, a requisite that Tiamat had not met.
In YGGDRASIL, they were considered more to be skills than spells.
The insane change in temperature alone had consumed all vegetation in the area, leaving behind the stumps charred trees and smoking rocks.
But two beings could be seen from a distance, the only living creatures to have survived the fatal heat.
"Kakakahaaah~ Kahaaah~"
That laughter that was accompanied by the sound of teeth grinding against each other caused Tiamat to wince.
She turned to look at Shalltear, whose crimson pupils were filled with bloodlust and murderous intent as wisps of smoke trailed from her body.
"So even you can pack a punch when you feel like it, My Lady!"
Step by step, she walked towards the Dragoness, the Spuit Lance in her hand cutting the air she moved closer and closer. Shalltear slowly walked forward until she realized the two of them were separated by a small lake of lava.
The『Pit of Flame』, a boiling lake of magma. Shalltear paid close attention to it; if she were to somehow land there, she would most definitely be finished.
"To think I would get to defeat the Goddess of Dragons herself, arinsu!" Shalltear laughed and laughed, "Wonderful! Do you know what they say about you My Lady?" she leered at Tiamat, a patronizing grin on her face.
"You're the weakest dragon in all existence, an absolute loser, arinsu! A Dragon who can't fight, that's what they call you!"
"Is that so…"
The Dragoness replied nonchalantly, further enraging Shalltear. She wanted the Goddess of Dragons to awaken her hot passion for war, just like what she herself had.
"What if I say I don't want to fight?"
Shalltear's face scrunched up, confused.
"Not...fight, arinsu? Is that possible? No wait. In the first place, why should I fight with her? Is it because she attacked first? Why is that?"
Before long, Shalltear seemed to have come to a conclusion, and her twisted smile from earlier returned to her face.
"I'm not sure why we have to fight, but I need to destroy you with all my strength, My Lady~"
"Well, looks like there's no other option then..." Tiamat muttered to herself.
Shalltear who could not hear what the Dragoness said, desired to agitate her even further. She wanted to see her drowning in the carnal lust of blood and war, to have her attack with all her might before finally succumbing to her.
Her grin became even wider.
"Oho, what's wrong My Lady?"she taunted, "Is it possible for someone as weak as you to beat me?"
Moving with a speed that put tempests to shame, the lava suddenly surged towards Shalltear, catching her off guard, and she jumped further away from the Supreme Being.
"Ooooh, an automatic attack environment? How scary, arinsu~"
Before she could continue taunting, Shalltear saw something move at the very edge of the scorched ground, just behind Tiamat. An angel was slowly gliding towards her. Shalltear knew of this summon, but she wasn't prepared for what Tiamat was going to say next.
"Seraph Empyreans, attack Shalltear."
The highest tiered angels commenced their attack. 『Tune of the Black Song』was immediately casted twice, and with each line they sang, the Angels formed a ring of melodious runes that circled the area around Shalltear, slowly draining her HP.
Shalltear realized she had to get rid of that pest before it was too late.
Before Tiamat could even blink, Shalltear was right in front of the angel.
She thrust her Spuit Lance forward, aiming to end the Seraph Empyrean before it could deal too much damage, but before her hit could land, Tiamat activated her passive aura.
"『Phobos Ambience』," a warm and luminous emanation wrapped itself around Tiamat.
『Phobos Ambience』, a passive aura that set the hate values of allies to zero, thereby forcing enemy mobs to attack the wielder rather than another target. Now, Shalltear could only focus on Tiamat and no one else in her field of vision.
"How annoying!" Shalltear roared as she felt an unbreakable compulsion to target Tiamat instead of the Empyrean, and in the heat of the moment, she cast her spell.
"『Maximize Magic-Vermilion Nova』!"
She watched gleefully as the crimson blaze engulfed the Dragoness. "Ahahaha~! Are those flames too hot for you, arinsu?"
To her shock, she heard a resolute voice cry out "『Overloaded Dragon's Breath』!"
A split second later, a torrent of intense blue dragonflame engulfed her body. Shalltear snarled as she felt her health plummet from the furious inferno.
'There's no way such a skill should be able to dish out that kind of damage!'
Here, Shalltear realized that the spell Lady Tiamat had casted to summon the new environment might have buffed her fire spells and skills.
She clicked her tongue at the realization, but smiled in the end when she remembered that the environment affected both parties who were present, not just the summoner.
Shalltear examined the Dragoness's remaining health using『Life Essence』and was surprised to see it was barely scratched.
Her eyes widened.
No matter how powerful one was, one could not resist all elemental attacks. Even a heteromorph character who combined their racial resistances with job classes that granted resistances and outfitted themselves from head to toe in resistance-granting divine class gear could not make themselves immune to elements to which they should've been weak to.
And here, much to her dismay, Shalltear had found out that Tiamat, as an unspecialized dragon heteromorph, was immune to fire.
'Troublesome!'
"You casted 『Vermillion Nova』 this early, Shalltear? I thought you were going to defeat me," the Dragoness taunted, casually stepping out from the fiery depths of the Nova.
"Tch!" with the initial impact of『Phlegethos』, the two angels slowly draining her HP, and the empowered fire damage that Tiamat had just dealt to her, her HP was already more than half gone.
To see the Dragoness in battle was something rare, but to fight her one on one caused a warm sensation to build up in her belly. Never in her life had she been humiliated like this, but she should have known that Lady Tiamat would satisfy her through combat.
Shalltear looked at Tiamat with lust-moistened eyes and licked her lips. If she continued lengthening the distance between them, then the angel would definitely reduce her HP to nothing once it exploded.
Right now, she needed HP more than ever.
"Time to recover, 『Regeneration』!"
'This is it!'
This was the moment Tiamat had been waiting for.
"Nope! 『Censure of Vritra』!" a complex runic circle surrounded Tiamat as a serpent born from a pitch-black inferno wrapped itself around Shalltear.
Shalltear gnashed her teeth in frustration as she saw the 『Heal Block』and『Burn』debuffs show up on her status. The green aura surrounding her faded as『Regeneration』attempted to restore her health only to be devoured by the infernal serpent bound to her.
Tiamat let out a tired smile. This fight couldn't be going any better.
'What will you do now, Shalltear?'
( ﹏⁰)。
The Floor Guardians couldn't believe the incredible sight they were currently seeing.
Through the small monitor, they all watched as Lady Tiamat overpowered Shalltear.
"Cocytus, didn't you say that the odds would be one to nine, with Lady Tiamat being one?" asked Demiurge, confused with how well the battle was going.
There was no way the strongest warrior present had made a mistake in calculating the odds of the battle.
A chilly mist poured out from Cocytus's jaws, "That. Is. True. Considering. Lady. Tiamat's. Build. There. Was. No. Way. She. Would. Be. Able. To. Defeat. Shalltear. The. Strongest. Floor. Guardian. Out. Of. All. Of. Us."
A clear voice rang throughout the room, belonging to the only Undead present.
"No."
The Floor Guardians turned their heads towards where Ainz sat.
"You all may not recall, but Tiamat had once won against Touch Me in an informal PvP match thanks to her once per day summons. However, Shalltear is the worst possible match up for her since she can easily convert her summons into HP. "
Ainz drew in a deep breath as he saw her use『Censure of Vritra』 against Shalltear. Seeing her use that skill was a rare sight, and it proved just how strong of an opponent Shalltear was in this match up.
"Moreover," he continued. "With Shalltear's build, she can easily outlast Tiamat thanks to her life-sustaining abilities and the Divine Magic Caster skills she still has up her sleeves. What you've seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg."
Cocytus looked back at the screen, huffing his breath one more time.
He felt bad that he had judged his Lady's skills so poorly, but that was the truth. Lady Tiamat had the lowest physical and magical attack out of all the Supreme Beings in Nazarick save for a few. Her defensive build and her summons were her only saving graces.
He predicted that the battle they were witnessing would be a long one.
( ﹏⁰)。
The two Seraph Empyreans steadfastly continued their 『 Black Song』, and from『Detect Life Essence』, it seemed that Shalltear was at the end of her rope.
However, Tiamat was growing more and more wary as Shalltear still hadn't refused to use her trump card.
『Einherjar』.
『Einherjar』 allowed Shalltear to summon a copy of herself, without skills or spells. Although weakened in that sense, it still meant that Tiamat had to deal with two Shalltears at the same time.
One would most likely attack from a distance with spells, while the other would take advantage of her abysmal agility to chip away at her health.
Moreover, the fact that the copy had the exact same equipment as Shalltear meant that they would be able to quickly regain any health lost.
That was why she has to finish this as fast as possible.
Three more minutes. Just three more minutes until the Seraph Empyreans would reach critical mass and damage Shalltear in accordance to the HP they had stolen.
However, those three minutes felt like an eternity.
Because of 『Phobos Ambience』, Shalltear had given up on attacking the Seraph Empyreans and immediately shot towards her. Shalltear unleashed a barrage of her strongest spells, and even Tiamat's HP took a noticeable dip.
If it wasn't for her defensive build, her HP would have been significantly less than half at this point.
"『Firaga』!"
A bright red runic circle appeared on the ground where Shalltear stood.
In panic, Shalltear screamed out, "『Greater Teleportation』!"
Her plan was to engage the Dragoness in melee combat and force her into a battle of attrition with Spuit Lance.
However, as her field of vision distorted, she found herself forced back to her original location.
"Tch! So you blocked all methods of Teleportation huh?" she clicked her tongue, "Then, 『Wall of Stone』!"
Tiamat predicted that she would either attempt to block the spell or run away, but it didn't matter. Either way, she would make sure that Shalltear would taste defeat this day.
"『Holy Awe』!" A Priestess spell that focused on stunning opponents and had a more potent effect on targets with low karma. All she needed to do was to have Shalltear crippled for just a few seconds so that『Firaga』would hit her.
A blood curdling scream arose from Shalltear as her body steamed from the damage『Holy Awe』 and 『Firaga』 had dealt her.
Three minutes had passed.
"This is my win, Shalltear!" and like a quick gust of wind, the two angels circled Shalltear, who tried to escape only to be tailed by the two Empyreans.
Shalltear could not attack the angels due to 『Phobos Ambience』.
A resounding boom filled the forest.
The world became a hellscape of black and white as the explosion erased color itself from the world.
A pulse of heat ripped through the area as a blast wave wiped away the remains of the flattened and charred trees. Even those who were far away could feel it.
Just as Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix sat down on his red sofa, he could see a small tremor run along the rim of his wine glass.
A book fell from its stack in the library of Slane Theocracy, and Maximilian curiously looked up from his paperwork.
As the Golden Princess was pouring a cup of tea for Lakyus, her poised form trembled and spilled a few droplets of the tea onto the white table cloth.
That was how far the impact reached.
As the heat pulse grew in intensity, it burned Igvarge and his team's dead bodies to charred, unrecognizable corpses. The shockwave violently rocked the surroundings and nearly blew Tiamat away.
She shielded her eyes with her hands and dug into the ground with her feet as she felt the aftermath of the『Tune of the Black Song』.
The explosion was the Seraph Empyreans' last attack. Nothing could block it, and there was nothing Shalltear could do to postpone her inevitable doom.
Tiamat breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's over…"
However, she was still filled with a sense of dread.
Slowly, she carefully approached the crater where Shalltear once stood, her bloodstream pumping with adrenaline.
The explosion had completely wiped the 『Pit of Flame』 from existence. All that remained was rubble.
Just as she got close to the pile of ruin, she noticed blood was dripping onto the ground where she stood, and as her adrenaline slowly wore off, she felt a heavy pressure on her stomach. Tiamat fell to the ground as a tsunami of agony slammed into her
All she could feel was overwhelming pain as the Lance twisted more and more inside her stomach.
A quick look at her status, and she saw one thing in particular.
『Bleeding』, A debuff that ignored defenses and resistances.
"Oya~ Congratulations My Lady!" Shalltear's mocking voice could be heard from behind the smoke as the Vampire's silhouette gradually gave way to Shalltear in all her glory, unharmed.
The Spuit Lance shone brightly as it slowly drained away her HP.
She had to get out.
Unfurling her wings, she jumped a few meters away from Shalltear as she gasped for air, pushing down the unbearable pain that she felt.
"It seems that I have underestimated you, Lady Tiamat, arinsu~ You're the first person who's managed to force me to use my Resurrection Item in a one on one match. What an achievement!" Shalltear cackled as she gloated at the gaping hole in Tiamat's stomach.
Tiamat forgot that Perorocino had given Shalltear a resurrection item.
'DAMN IT!'
A wide grin was plastered on Shalltear's face.
"Ara~ Was that all My Lady? I hope you're not too tired, after all, I'm just getting started~"
A/N: Dang, now I understand why most authors on this website say writing fighting scenes are hard. I should've known when I wrote that Pandemonium battle. But the hardest part was to create new spells for Tia. My brainnnn… However, reading the chapter again was so fun! The tension, the blood shed, the panic! AAAAAAAAAA. If anyone of you readers had any input for what kind of spell or skill Tiamat might use, please tell me in the reviews!
Hackslashbash: Part two will be coming soon to a site near you! Leave a comment in the box below! And don't forget to smash that subscribe button and ring the notification bell, thumbs up, follow, fav, clean the dishes and throw out the garbage. Also, please join the discord. The link is both on my and Imaweeaboo's profile. Again, thanks for reading!
