Chapter 20 - Volume 3 (1/2)

Overlord Volume 3 Chapter 5

PVN

Part 1

—There was the sound of sizzling, as though so torch into water

The spell which surpassed the very definition of tiers went off — and it looked as though the sun had risen on the land, dying everything in his field of view a brilliant white

The exother wave of heat, which greedily consu within its radius

This hell of a vision lasted only five seconds, but it felt dozens of tier than that

Eventually, the brilliant white world disappeared In the wake of the vanishi+ng pulse of superhot energy was a large circular area — vastly different fro outside the area of effect was affected The trees were still trees, the earth was as full of vitality as the forest, and the forest itself was untouched — an extremely normal world

In contrast, the area within the circular area was charred black, converted into a dead zone of jaw-dropping proportions

The awe-inspiring teetation in the area, leaving only a few carbonized tree sturound which were still e beyond the bounds of that world which per out from within

It came from the only person who re could have survived that fatal heat

“Kakahaaah~ Kahaaaah~”

That strange sound, acco of teeth, filtered into Ainz’s ears

He turned to look at its source, and saw a point of red amidst a world scorched black

He saw Shalltear isps of s off her body, and a look on her face which seeun” Her crimson pupils, filled with hostility and bloodlust, focused on Ainz’s body

“Ainz-samaaaa! That really hurt!”

Shalltear sloalked forward, her footfalls fracturing the charred ground underneath

Step by step, she shrank the distance between Ainz and herself, the Spuit Lance in her hand cutting through the air with a whoosh which indicated that she was still able to fight

Arcane e Ainz had no frontliners to cover for hi his foe to draw near to him Yet, Ainz did not scrae of a chaantly taunted Shalltear:

“That was just a less present Did you like it, Shalltear?”

“Ahahahaha!”

Shalltear laughed, and her mirth came from the bottom of her heart

“Wonderful! To think I have to kill you, the all-powerful Ainz-sama!”

“-Sama, you say Why do you address e question Is it not natural to address a Supre like yourself with -sama? As for my present h confused

“…Why do I have to fight you, Ainz-sama? …Ah, is it because you attacked me? But ould you attack me, Ainz-sath? Why is that?”

Before long, Shalltear seemed to have come to a conclusion, and her smile from earlier returned to her face

“Well, I’m still not too sure why, but since you attacked me, I must destroy you, Ainz-sama!”

“…Is that so… I understand I understand what kind of state you’re in…”

“Oho, what’s wrong, Ainz-sama? You look a little weak there How can you beatwrong? Do you think someone like you can defeat me — defeat Ainz Ooal Gown? The name of ‘Ainz Ooal Gown’ is invincible Shalltear, you will kneel in submission beforewith a speed which put gales to shaed, wreathed in bloodlust The scorched ground exploded beneath her feet with every step she took Clementine’s assaults were swift, but Shalltear’s speed was in a class of her own

For an instant, Ainz was grateful that he did not need to blink, because Shalltear was fast enough that he would lose track of her if he took his eyes off her for a hter behind her, Shalltear continued her charge, ai forward The lance charge was originally a technique used by ht of their mounts behind it However, Shalltear’s strike — th and her awesome speed — easily surpassed that attack

The word “one-shot kill” could not even begin to describe that assuredly fatal blow, and it tore through the air towards Ainz

However, despite the ever-approaching tip of the lance, Ainz reentle voice, he said:

“It’s dangerous, you know”

The tender warning he gave Shalltear, as though concerned for her well-being, referred to the countermeasure he had prepared for Shalltear’s attack

As Shalltear attacked, the 「Triplet Maxi Mine」 spell which he had cast beforehand autoered

The three explosions blew Shalltear’s body away

As Ainz saw this, he apologized in an even iveActually, there were ic – Gravity Maelstro back from the force of the explosion when Ainz hurled a black sphere after her It was a spinning vortex of hyper-intensified gravity that could significantly daet, even one of Shalltear’s level

At this moment, Shalltear stood back up from her downed state and held out an empty hand

“「Wall of Stone」”

A vast wall of stone eravityit to bend, twist, and cruravity ic – Hold of Rib」!”

As Ainz followed up with another spell, massive ribs erupted from the earth and closed in on Shalltear like a bear trap The sharp points of white bone bit deeply into Shalltear’s body

“Kah!”

Noret after daed free This was because she was i in the failure of the atteot to tell you, but I’ve already setme from the air instead?”

“—Ainz-sama, I won’t take the bait You’ve put traps in the air too, haven’t you?”

“Was that so obvious?”

“Yes, I saw through it long ago”

She chuckled, and the red fla of the sort The mines Ainz had laid just noere the only set Neither had he set traps in the air This battle was not an easy one where he could waste MP on ineffective spells

Therefore, he had used the mines as a bluff to hamper Shalltear’s mobility He had narrowed his eyes after she had stepped into it However, noas not the tier in this battle He alking a very fine tightrope, and he would fall if he was not careful Ainz knew this, and he was not stupid enough to become complacent over a small victory like that

“Still, that’s Ainz-saap between us”

There was genuine admiration in Shalltear’s eyes and her voice At the sa spirit she radiated from her entire body

The real show’s about to start

If Ainz’s body could produce sweat, his back would probably be a flowing river by now

In any case, I need to keep doing dae until my MP runs out

If he could not do that, then Ainz would be set on the road to defeat

♦ ♦ ♦

Shalltear braced the Spuit Lance, narrowing her eyes at the ic caster before her — at her master, Ainz Ooal Gown

She had no idea why she had to oppose her beloved master, but her mind told her that it was not an important question All she had to do was kill hith afterwards

As she calmly considered this, Shalltear considered the current situation — a one on one fight, against an undead being — and how favorable it was for her

Magic casters — particularly arcane ic casters — were incredibly powerful, but that power derived from their MP Once their MP ran out, they would naturally lose their fighting ability On the other hand, Shalltear ic caster, but she was also adept atas long as she had HP

Therefore, even if she could not deplete her foe’s HP to zero, she could still win as long as her enemy expended all his MP This was especially true for an arcanehis health

So, please tre HP and MP Ahaha, my heart pounds so hard whenever I think of Ainz-sama’s terrified face!

Then, as the best way for her to fight? It would have to be a drawn-out battle

Shalltear gripped her divine class Spuit Lance as she hastily threw a battle plan together

That weapon’s special ability was to recover the wielder’s health in proportion to how e it did to an opponent No, one could say that this divine class itened around that special property This hy Ainz, the eternal backliner, had not suuard He was very aware that su weak monsters to tank for him would only serve to recover her HP

Ah~ Poor Ainz-saht all by himself~

Shalltear cast 「Mana Essence」 as a sadistic grin formed on her face

That spell permitted her to perceive her opponent’smana appeared before her

That’s a lot of mana… how did he amass that much?

Ainz had about one and a half times the MP (mana) of Shalltear There was probably nobody else in Nazarick who had a mana capacity like that

He truly is a Supre One could call him an extraordinary undead… a super undead… no, a Godly undead

That said, she still did not think that she would lose Perhaps it ht be different from the other Guardians, but to Shalltear, Ainz and his enhanced necroe for her

Of course, Ihis divine class equipment?

The robe Ainz wore now seenity of his usual black robe

Could it be that he wore it to deal witheach other down Nothing will happen So let’s restore some health first in preparation for a drawn-out battle…

“「Regenerate」”

The spell Shalltear had just cast could even recover the health of the undead Currently, it was restoring the health lost from the super tier attack spell At this ravity sphere like just now

“「Maxiic – Gravity Maelstroreat speed She considered casting the 「Wall of Stone」 from before, but that would not put any pressure on her opponent She would have to reatly decrease her foe’s mana

Shalltear selected—

“—「Greater Teleportation」”

The plan was to teleport into close range and begin melee combat

Her field of vision distorted, but the scenery that should have instantly appeared before her eyes felt like it had been slowed down

Cheh!

Shalltear guessed that this was the effect of the teleport-i spell, 「Delay Teleportation」”

As Shalltear had guessed, she was quite a distance away froe of her Spuit Lance Instead, she saw three sparkling balls of light before her eyes —Master Mine」 spell

Shalltear sensed the mines and assumed her mist form to evade them as they fleard her This skill transmuted the body into mist, and it was quite a flavourful skill for vampires However, it did not transform the body into the physical phenomenon called mist, but instead phased the body into the astral plane Thus she could use it to completely avoid attacks in the physical world — the three explosions which resulted

“Naive!”

After Ainz’s shout, he followed up with a 「Maxiic – Astral Smite」”

That spell could strike astral entities, and it found its mark on Shalltear’s body, whose defense had been soony, Shalltear ter soft and slippery escaped from within

“Truly marvellous, as expected of you, Ainz-sama!”

Ainz did not respond to that honest praise He merely studied his opponent with doubtful eyes

“You can’t believe ht? But I do feel you are soood at spell combat, after all

Still — Shalltear’s lips could not help but curl up in a sreatly

Shalltear’s health had decreased soe ithin lione much further down than anticipated, so it orth the loss In other words, Shalltear was one step closer to victory

Then, how about this one?

Shalltear made her move

“「Force Sanctuary」”

White radiance filled the area around Shalltear, a defensive barrier made of pure mana While this barrier iate her opponent’s attacks

Through this barrier of light, she saw Ainz scraht If you don’t cast a spell soon, it will go very badly for you”

Shalltear already knehy Ainz seemed to have the upper hand in this battle

Was it because of his abilities — no

Was it because of his equipment — no

Was it because of his preparations — yes

Indeed, these favorable circumstances were due to Ainz’s extensive preparations and ic casters varied greatly with their preparations for any given situation, and the same applied to Shalltear Therefore, Ainz should have been trying to break Shalltear’s defenses before she could buff herself up

Shalltear was poor at defensive spells, and she had no intention of casting them Her aim was purely to drain Ainz’s mana She smiled to Ainz as he frantically cast his spell

Myto plan, Ainz-sa scrolls, staves, or wands; are you trying to preserve your strength? Are you too panicked? Or did you know they weren’t effective against ated the effects of low to ardless of hoerful their casters were In contrast, Shalltear’s ic resistance was affected by her opponent’s stats and levels Even a tenth tier spell by a weak ic caster would not be able to breach her resistance, but against a powerful ic caster — like Ainz — first tier spells were the limit

Some scrolls were affected by their creator’s skills, but for the most part, they were made at the minimum possible level that allowed for their creation, which also meant that they were fixed at the lowest possible caster level Thus, there was a high chance that scrolls would not be able to breach Shalltear’s defenses Was that why Ainz had not done it?

As Shalltear analyzed the co a spell

“「Maxiic – Thousand Bone Lance」!”

Countless — well over one or two thousand — lances of bone erupted from the earth around Ainz The ivory spears assailed the defensive barrier from all directions Soon, she heard the sound of what see, and Shalltear’s protective barrier shattered with it Scattered chips of bone flew in all directions, ness

“Cheh!”

She had not expected this nificant amount of mana — to be broken in one move Shalltear was unable to believe this as the attack on her continued

“It’s not over yet! 「Maxiic – Thousand Bone Lance」!”

“—「Greater Teleportation」”

Her teleport destination was an open space in the air, outside of the 「Delay Teleportation」 spell’s area of effect

“Don’t think you can get away — 「Maxiic – Gravity Maelstrom」”

Shalltear had expected Ainz to folloith so over, as though ai

She seemed calm and collected as always, but Shalltear was quite fascinated by Ainz’s incredible prowess Theseexperience

“You see this quite easy”

Shalltear’s opponent — she was not quite sure why she had to kill him — asked:

“Why is it that you are so at ease while fighting er than yours Granted, ht to bear — which is to e — but that is all Still, I can sense the confidence froe and that victory is assured”

A sense of superiority filled Shalltear

“Ahahaha, then I shall show you the one of the reasons why I can take it so easy Did you know I had a skill like this?”

With a smile of victory, Shalltear evoked an Impure Shockwave shi+eld A wave of force — colored reddish-black like clotted blood — spread forth, disintegrating the gravity orb upon contact

This was one of Shalltear’s skills, which combined offense and defense

“Cheh!”

Ainz clicked his tongue at this Shalltear had done so earlier because things had not gone as planned, but for Ainz, it was because he could no longer relax around her

“Aha!”

Shalltear laughed at Ainz’s expression, and then she showed off another special skill of hers

A gigantic divine lance appeared in her hand It ell over three e head The aura of purity it emanated proved that this was no ordinary weapon It reflected the rays of the sun in its silver radiance, producing a beautiful and eyecatching display

“Oh… I’ve never seen that before Did you su?”

“Ahahaha, we’ll see how long you can act tough, Ainz-sama Since you don’t seem to know this weapon, allowJavelin!”

Shalltear released the platinunorance She did not throw it like a javelin, but instead it rose by itself and darted out This was a weapon which was guaranteed to hit if she spent additional MP—

“Guwaargh!”

—And hit it did, piercing Ainz’s chest In Shalltear’s eyes, that un skull seemed to twist in pain

“Ahahaha! That’s a holy-element weapon for you; it seems like it was quite effective!”

Shalltear suain, and cast it forth once more The lance travelled at unavoidable speed, this ti Ainz’s shoulder

“Kuh! Don’t look down on ic – Reality Slash」!”

Ainz cast a powerful spell

When one reached the highest level of the strongest warrior class, World Champion, one would learn the supreme, ultimate skill called 「World Break」 This tenth tier spell wasthe h the very fabric of space, and fresh blood fountained from Shalltear’s chest

A hit froard virtually any fore dealt converted back into health and flowed back into her body, as though time itself had reversed to render the attack completely ineffective

Ainz howled at this:

“What did you just do!?”

“There’s no need to get worked up, Ainz-saloated over him

“Cheh! In other words, my skills won’t work and you can do as you please, huh!?”

“Please don’t think this is unfair This was an ability which Peroroncino-sa is superior to you, a, Ainz-sama?”

“—That felt like it came from the heart”

That emotionless tone — or perhaps it was so calm that one could not pick out any emotions from it — filled Shalltear with doubt However, before it could settle in, Ainz shouted again:

“Here I come, Shalltear! I’ll show you that no matter what skills you have, none of theic!”

“Aha! You want a shon of firepower then, Ainz-saic – Reality Slash」 spell crossed paths with a Purifying Javelin, each tearing into the bodies of their targets

As the two of thehed at Ainz’s foolishness in her heart At the sa Ainz-sama?

Shalltear Bloodfallen was a Floor Guardian of Nazarick, set over the First to Third Floors At the sa Peroroncino That being the case, was it not bizarre that she would be fighting Ainz Ooal Goas for battle with Ainz-sas?

If her creator had so ordered, she would obey and fight with all her strength Even if all of Nazarick were her enee at them without a moment’s hesitation Yet, this was not the case

She thought and she thought and she thought, but she could not find an answer

Still, she could not stop herself It was as though so into her ear, “Shalltear, you have to kill the ene you have”

Shalltear inspected Ainz’s MP consuht to suppress the laughter rising in her heart At the same time, she reversed time to recover her health

More powerful spells consumed more mana 「Reality Slash」 was one of those spells, and it was quite inefficient, in tere caused forit Shalltear thought that perhaps Ainz was hoping to deplete her health and claim victory before the battle beca it quickly is the right thing to do, because drawn-out battles are to e… Perhaps it’s also because Ainz-sama knows that debuff spells have little effect on the undead

Shalltear narrowed her eyes and focused on Ainz, as still casting big spells

Very well, then I shall adapt to whatever he comes up with

Shalltear’s skills were divided into the at-will and lie could only be done three ti Lance was also only usable three times a day, while the Impure Shockwave shi+eld could only be used onemiserly about theht Her MP and skills were essentially tools to deplete Ainz’s MP

I can fight without MP, but Ainz-saht with the total of her HP and MP, but Ainz could only use his MP This was the great disparity between them

She looked on Ainz — as lientle expression in her eyes One could call the upon her child… or rather, the look of pity which theher final Purifying Javelin, Shalltear accepted the 「Reality Slash」 counterattack, and decided to move into the second phase of the battle

“How about this, then? 「Summon Monster Tenth」”

“As if I’d let you! 「Greater Rejection」!”

The su laughter reached her ears

“I won’t let you draw out the fight, Shalltear”

I can’t s to use upall my special abilities

Shalltear faked a stern expression, and then cast another spell

“Really now? Then how about a direct attack? 「Maxiic – Veric – Call Greater Thunder」”

The criulfed hi earthed theh Shalltear’s body

This was the first time in this battle that she had felt her health drop like a rock, which put a look of displeasure on Shalltear’s face

Did he make preparations to resist fire?

No matter hoerful one was, one could not prepare to resist all elemental attacks There was a limit to that, even if a heteromorphic character coranted resistances and outfitted the divine class gear However, by focusing on specific resistances, a character could make themselves immune to elements to which they should have been weak

In other words, Ainz had forsaken his other resistances and focused on raising his fire resistance

This ht be troublesoave up

The only way to discern Ainz’s elemental weaknesses was to use 「Life Essence」 to check his HP and barrage him with attacks of multiple elements, then see which one hurt hi tedious like that I’ll target an eleainst

“—「Maxiic – True Dark」”

Holy-ele his body, while Shalltear’s body was corroded by non-elemental darkness

In this moment — Shalltear did not h he was trying to cover it up by changing his stance, there was no way he could cover up the fact that he was trying to remain stoic in the face of pain

Shalltear smiled inwardly, because she had found his weakness

No, she could not blahly vulnerable to holy-element attacks It was very difficult to reeared himself to resist the fire element, there was no way for him to do so

The two of them locked eyes, and Shalltear cast her next spell

Naturally, the spell Shalltear had chosen was still 「Brilliant Radiance」

They exchanged ic in this back-and-forth fashi+on for some time Even Shalltear had lost a sizeable aht well be zero had she not secretly used MP on skills which defended against spells

That’s Ainz-sama for you… he’s far superior to me in spell battle, be it in attack or defense I used several holy-elee than me Still, I also made him burn a lot of MP too

Froreatly reduced from how it had been when they had first started out Even so, she could see Ainz’s fighting spirit burning in his eyes

It’s getting hard to take, I want to break Ainz-sa

Shalltear forced herself to ignore the sensations welling up from her lower belly If she were in her room, she would have called a Vampire Bride over, but she was on the battlefield, ret And of course, she could not comfort herself on the spot to slake her desires

That being the case — she would satisfy herself through combat

Shalltear looked at Ainz with lust-thening the distance between them, what sort of face would he ic – Greater Lethal」”

Positive energy restored the health of the living, while negative energy would dae them However, the opposite was true for the undead Thus, 「Greater Lethal」, which channelled vast quantities of negative energy, was thespell that Shalltear (one of the undead) could cast

“I see It would seem I’ve lost quite some health as well — 「Greater Lethal」”

Shalltear blinked several ti before her eyes However, she had to accept the fact that Ainz’s wounds were recovering before her eyes, even if she could not quite believe it

“…Eh? Why is it that you can cast the divine spell 「Greater Lethal」? Was it on your class’s spell list?”

“No, sadly, this is not an innate ability, but an effect frole specific spell, and requires me to use an equipment slot, nor can that spell be enhanced with skills It is alsothe spell off their own list, so you could say it has many drawbacks”

As Ainz co Shalltear in turn to mumble, “that’s a spanner in the works, isn’t it?” Still, her aim was to deplete her foe’s MP, so the plan was not yet ruined

With that in「Greater Lethal」 to recover her health Since Shalltear was a level one hundred character, it took a while for her to fully recover

At the end, she cast—

“「Maxient Beryl」”

—After healing his wounds, Ainz cast a defensive spell on hiic caster, and she had not received e froent Beryl」 spell did However, the green radiance that surrounded Ainz appeared once more, so Shalltear concluded that it ic

That seeht I’ll launch a direct attack next

Shalltear brandished her Spuit Lance, but just as she was about to move, the words which had slipped froeous fight”

Shalltear had not expected this, and she loosened her grip on the Spuit Lance She was about to say, “Did you only realise that now?”

Well, she wanted to say that, but Shalltear concluded that it would be disrespectful to mock Ainz, her master, so she did not speak those words

…Myin hersteel at her master, Ainz-sas in the world which were difficult to understand, and this was si made that decision, she sensed that Ainz’s actions lacked consistency Thus, in a casual tone which did not belong on the battlefield, she asked:

“If you feel it is disadvantageous, why not retreat?”

“Mm, well, you do have a point…”

Ainz’s skeletal face could not show any expressions, but for so bitterly at her

“I… yes, that’s right I’m very stubborn, Shalltear I don’t want to run from this”

Ainz looked at one of his empty, skeletal hands Shalltear’s eyes went to that hand as well

“Perhaps others will not understand why I have done this Soht now, I aht have been guildmaster, but all I did was mainly coordinate events or other sundry tasks I hardly led fro on the frontlines for the sake of the guild… Perhaps it was simply to satisfy myself”

“Is that so? Is that what they call a ht be… Well, to soned myself to my fate It seems ere alies, let’s start again”

Part 2

Ainz cal her Spuit Lance He had to triumph in this melee if he was to attain victory

The back of her arh going straight through the plates Ainz kneould happen next

Several giant bats flapped out from behind her to the sky These were Elder Vah her Household Su Va monsters, but he could not let them do as they pleased Ainz cast a spell:

“「Sharks Cyclone」”

A tornado, one hundred h and fifty ulfed the bats before they could flee, trapping the shapes could be seen within the rapidly-spinning tornado These creatures were six h they were in the ocean The desperately fleeing bats were like bait which had been dropped into the water, and the sharks sprang on the creatures, and the proof of that was adequately shown as the sharks ripped the Elder Vampire Bats limb from limb in an instant

Just as the Va torn apart — a shadow broke free of the tornado

It was a cri out of the tornado at top speed The lance it thrust before itself left an afterie in the onlookers’ eyes, like the fiery plume of a rocket

Ainz could not react in tih his bones were cru

In the instant in which Ainz had failed to pay attention, Shalltear had appeared in front of hih Ainz’s chest and protruded out his back

“Guwaaaargh!”

The weapon which had struck hie, and the ony from Ainz

Any pain which the undead Ainz felt would cut out once its intensity exceeded a certain threshold, much like his emotions did This hy even Suzuki Satoru, who lacked combat experience, could endure this pain and calmly deal with it

That said, this was no ordinary pain

Ainz’s — no, Suzuki Satoru’s —away His vision grew dih he had lost a great deal of blood

However, Ainz’s as stronger than that weakhere was not Suzuki Satoru, but the Supreround Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown

Shalltear did not cease her attack, even as Ainz considered what steps to take next

Having i it forward, ra the thicker part of the lance behind it into hi apart, as well as a burst of intense pain, acco further

Thus, Ainz decided to activate the 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」

The green light which enfolded hient Beryl」 reduced the effectiveness of bludgeoning attacks against its subject while it was in effect, and it could coe after it was cast

The 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」 absorbed the dah ti back outside Ainz’s body

Ainzbefore the lance had impaled him As Shalltear watched him in bafflement, Ainz cast another spell

“「Wall of Skeleton」!”

A wall composed of numberless armed skeletons erupted between the two of the, stabbing, and slashi+ng at her

However, none of theic – Force Explosion」”

An invisible shockwave exploded from Shalltear The wall of skeletons buckled under the invisible irated

The pulverized chunks of bone pattered like rain as they fell Still, it had bought some time for Ainz, so it had been hile

“Release!”

In accordance with Ainz’s coered three ht, for a total of ninety These white bolts of light were non-elee left behind as they travelled through the air were like the spread wings of an angel — an angel of death

First tier spells could not breach Shalltear’sso odd, Shalltear desperately tried to evade therees inon her like hail

The ninety ical bolts scored hit after hit on Shalltear, rapidly dropping her health

The reason why they could pierce Shalltear’s defense was because Ainz had used a skill to teic arrows to the equivalent of tenth tier spells

Ainz was not finished yet

“Dance! 「Triplet Magic – Obsidian Sword」”

Three longswords appeared inThey streaked after Shalltear, as though they had a mind of their own

“Out of my way!” Shalltear shouted as she batted them aside with her Spuit Lance However, the obsidian swords continued attacking her even after they were deflected These weapons, created as they were through h physical ic Destruction」”

Shalltear used her scant few reic

Two obsidian swords vanished fro MP However, one had not vanished, and it continued attacking Shalltear The success rate of 「Magic Destruction」 was directly dependent on the spellcasting ability of its caster, and this was conclusive evidence of which !”

Shalltear paid no heed to the longsword attacking her and pressed onward to Ainz Dae like that was barely a scratch to Shalltear

The Spuit Lance sent Ainz flying to the side With no way to resist bludgeoning dae He stabilized himself in mid-air with 「Fly」, and then—

“Dammit!”

—This was the first ti this battle

Ainz had enough health to weather an attack like that, but the probleht before his eyes This was because the health lost by Ainz had been used to restore Shalltear’s own health

Her recovery rate was enough to surpass the dae done by the obsidian sword, so in order to cut down her rate of healing, Ainz cast an attack spell

“「Triplet Maxiic – Reality Slash」”

The three diouts of fresh blood fro forward, the implacable obsidian sword at her back

Shalltear’s depleted of MP, so all she can do is advance and fight within the effective range of the Spuit Lance… is that it? But that’s the kind of fighting I hate most…

Ainz retreated with a 「Fly」 spell, and continued attacking

“「Triplet Maxiic – Reality Slash」”

Even as he kept backpedaling, the distance between the moment This was the difference between the speed of a 「Fly」 spell and a fly speed which had been augmented by skills

Shalltear pulled herself before hi blood as she did Then, she suddenly curled herself up The air distorted — and a massive shockwave erupted from Shalltear’s body

That isn’t a 「Force Explosion」! That’s an Ienerated by the skill shattered the obsidian sword and s into the distance

“Guwaaargh!”

Perhaps the Impure Shockwave shi+eld had been enhanced by another skill, but Ainz ended up turace of his 「Fly」 spell and the ht

Perhaps it was because he lacked semicircular canals or because of his undead traits, but Ainz was not dizzied by the rolling, and made to open the distance between himself and Shalltear

This was a fortunate consequence Ainz did not want to be locked in melee, and he now had a chance to cast other spells

Just as he was about to do so, Ainz saw a ball of white light coalesce in front of Shalltear, which slowly shaped itself into a humanoid form

Ainz was very aware of what that was

His unrinned like she had scored an overwhel victory

“It’s here… It’s finally here, huh? I knew she’d use this sooner or later, but to think Shalltear would use 「Einherjar」 — her truht fully resolved itself into the shape of a person

If one ignored the bleached-white are of Shalltear

Ainz understood that the resemblance was not merely cos ability and several skills, and had no ic items, its weapons, armor, and stats were otherwise identical to Shalltear’s It was not undead, but a golem-like Construct The two creature types had nearly identical resistances and immunities

In other words, there was another Shalltear, who could only fight in melee combat

Ainz had anticipated this would happen, but facing two level one hundred opponents at the sa

In addition, Shalltear had summoned countless minions, like wolves, bats, rats, and the like—

These summoned minions were not as powerful as the Einherjar, but he could not discount their power in a group

I could wipe them all out with an area-effect spell… but what should I do about the Einherjar?

Just as Ainz was thinking about his next ed, and that surprised hi? Did she not intend to gang up on him?

Ainz learned the answer to those questions after shi+fting his line of sight At the saht in his eyes blazed up

“Now that’s just unfair!” Ainz cursed To think she would actually do soht of Shalltear’s su one after the other, their bodies pierced by the Spuit Lance

Shalltear was killing her summoned minions with the Spuit Lance to restore her health

It ithout saying that the amount of health restored by the Spuit Lance depended on the ae it inflicted When she attacked Ainz — as of equal level and had a high defense — and her weak suive her more health in return Indeed, Ainz could see Shalltear’s health refilling rapidly

The summoned minions steadily died and vanished

This was an unexpectedly cruel fact

Since friendly fire was in effect, this too should have been an expected outcoained his calm, and altered his battle plans to take this unexpected development into account

However, Ainz could not co their own suht which could not take place in YGGDRASIL As a result, the charging Einherjar landed a solid hit on hih!”

The expressionless Einherjar continued attacking, the blows knocking Ainz back

Forced back by the continuous string of attacks, Ainz decided to use his own trump card

Shalltear’s summons were not unlimited, so they should have been almost used up by now Still, it would be bad to let Shalltear heal herself by using the surrounding inal plan was to use the trump card once the Einherjar appeared That plan did not account for Shalltear healing herself by killing her summoned minions

♦ ♦ ♦

Ainz had sixty levels of job classes, and one of them was quite special

It was a class that was very rare even in YGGDRASIL, held only by a small number of players

Ainz could enter this class because he was not fixated on pure power, but had instead focused on roleplaying a necromancer to the hilt Had he pursued character power, he would not have discovered this class — which required a very unorthodox build — by chance

This was because the class’s entry requirements were five levels of Overlord, a focus on necromancer-type job classes, as well as an overall character level of ninety five

In norames, most people would spread the news of a newly-discovered class on walkthrough sites to share with others However, gah premium on information For instance, few people would share news about a World Class Itee This was especially true for classes with trump cards

The class in question was called “Eclipse”

The class description stated, “Only an Overlord who is truly dedicated to the pursuit of Death may enter this class, which ss up all life like an eclipse”

Theto use was one which was only available after reaching the maximum level (fifth) in Eclipse, a skill which could only be used once every hundred hours

It was the trump card of the Eclipse class

That skill was called 「The Goal Of All Life Is Death」

In that mo 12:00 Then, he cast a spell:

“「Widen Magic – Cry of the Banshee」”

A woh the air This cry carried with it an instant-death effect

Ainz had used various skills to augreater than norainst Shalltear and the Einherjar construct

Oddly enough, Shalltear’s summoned minions — who had no resistance to instant death — did not fall

This situation was quite bizarre, but Ainz re as planned

Tick

The clock face behind Ainz ticked, and its hands slowly lanced at Shalltear in the distance as his health dwindled under the onslaught of the Einherjar, and at the same time he felt quite disappointed

…So I can’t finish this cleanly, huh? damn you, Peroroncino, did you build her specifically to counter ave her a resurrection iteuildled to avoid the attacks of the Einherjar After twelve seconds had passed, the hour hand had completed a full circuit, and it pointed to the heavens once more

Then, Ainz’s trump card took effect

In that moment — the world died

This was notdied

The Einherjar evaporated into white mist as it couched its lance, and dispersed before Ainz’s eyes Even a homunculus with no concept of life died instantly Shalltear’s familiars shared the same fate, unable to resist the destruction which overtook them

That was not all

Even the air — which was not even alive to begin with — fell into death For over one hundred er breathable If any living creature tried to respire within that area, their lungs would be corrupted by the deadly air, and they would die

Neither did the land escape the embrace of death The terrain in a hundred meter radius was instantly transmuted into sand

Only Shalltear and Ainz could move in this world, where only death remained

Ainz’s truthened the effect of instant death mented, those instant-death effects could bypass any iets after a certain amount of ti a resurrection effect on themselves within twelve seconds, as Shalltear had

The air and the land had also died because of that effect

In YGGDRASIL, the environment would not have succumbed, but in this neorld, the effects were quite appropriate to the skill All things were equal in the face of Death

Ainz hie effect The land had not died like this in YGGDRASIL He could not help but shake his head after witnessing the effects of the game’s powers in the real world

However, Ainz sed back his surprise The pride in his heart would not perh this had been part of his plan Carrying hiently asked the sole survivor:

“What do you think, after experiencing the power that can slay even the unliving?”

The wind blew, dispersing the dead air between them That wind carried his words to her

“Incredible, I would expect nothing less of you, Ainz-sama My household summons are dead to the last However, your MP is almost depleted, while my health… is still at maximum”

In Shalltear’s eyes, Ainz’s MP was nearly zero It was not coone, but he would probably only be able to use two or three more spells With his MP so low, there was no way he could finish off Shalltear, no matter what spells he used

Not even that super tier spell which could grievously dae the undead — 「Fallen Down」 — could do so

“I believe you only have two more tenth tier spells in you? You had too e how many more spells you can cast”

“That’s correct I should only be able to cast about two more spells, I believe?”

That was not a lie

She had won

Shalltear quirked up the corner of her er any doubt that Shalltear Bloodfallen was the victor and Ainz Ooal Goas the defeated

Shalltear patronizingly congratulated the loser, who had struggled so bravely until now

“Truly nificent I had to deplete my MP and use up all my skills in order to drain your MP to that level, Ainz-sa”

Shalltear tightened her grip on the Spuit Lance Now, all that was left was to deliver the fatal blow in melee combat

“You are correct Thus, I shall humbly accept your praise”

Shalltear’s forehead twitched

She was very annoyed

She was very annoyed at Ainz Ooal Gown’s nonchalance However, in the end Shalltearuneasiness

No matter how she pondered the situation, Shalltear could not think of how Ainz could turn the situation around He had already used his ace in the hole Thus, that was probably not conation of a death row convict, who had already foreseen his fate

Shalltear slowly closed the distance between them Even if her enemy tried to cast a spell fro able to strike faster than him Thus, there was no need to be hasty

Ainz did not flee, but merely stood proud where he was She could sense his determination from his stance, and so Shalltear asked:

“Any last words?”

“Well, he, that withoutyou had For that, I ht one so smoothly”

“…Wha?”

Shalltear doubted her ears It would see Shalltear’s confusion, Ainz continued evenly:

“Thein PVP is to deceive one’s ene that you’re vulnerable to holy-eleely iear On the other hand, there’s the fact that you’re still weak against fire-elemental attacks However… I seem to have ht you would use 「Life Essence」 It would seem that was a waste If there is a next time, do remember to check your opponent’s health That’s the difference between the theory and practice of tactics”

This was not what Shalltear wanted to hear

Shalltear could not understand theof those words No, she did not want to understand them