"Is she gonna meet momonga"s friends after 100 years and steal his harem with fwuff?"
- Sirlolisalot
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In an alternate universe somewhere...
[Shalltear has betrayed us.]
Eh!?
Ainz was still in his room under the Shining Golden Pavilion, all by himself as he managed his income and expenses for Nazarick. However, upon picking up Solution's emergency call via [Message], and confirmation from Albedo, his fears came to worsen as his automatic calming trait triggered, enveloping him in a green light before having it fade. Ainz didn't enjoy it. Despite being calm, he was still stressed beyond what he could have said he was.
.....Shalltear betraying us? That should be imposs- no it's at most unlikely. It would make sense if she decided to do that under unsuited working conditions. I can't automatically assume that however, I need more information.
[Solution, please notify Albedo that I'll be returning shortly.]
[Yes.]
"Sigh... how could have this have happened?" Ainz muttered to himself moodily, but he knew there was no use sulking around. He had to take action immediately as he was the one in charge of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. "[Gate]!" A dark portal opened to envelop the embodiment of death out of existence.
The doors to the throne room opened as all the homonculus maids bowed in unison, Albedo standing across near Ainz's seat. "Welcome Ainz-sama. We hope we didn't disturb you with this news."
"No, it is fine. It's a superior's job to take care of the affairs below. It's a responsibility I don't mind doing." Ainz responded.
"Ah, of course, Ainz-sama. Your generosity towards us knows no bounds." Albedo fluttered her pitch black wings in excitement upon hearing her fiancee's powerful words. The maids also similarly shared awe upon his arrival.
"Er... yes. Well onto the main matter. Report."
"Yes!" Albedo then proceeded to pull out sheets of paper with information compiled tied to the events that are the most concern to the state of Nazarick. In a venomous tone, Albedo stated: "Shalltear has betrayed us."
"Yes, I knew that. Have Shalltear showed any signs of wavering commitments before she did so? And were there any others as well?"
"No, Sebas have already stated that she showed no signs of rebellion following capturing the disgusting humans."
"Disgusting?"
"Ah, the human bandits. Solution and Sebas were undercover during the time it happened. It was to expand our knowledge of politics and the world around us, then eventually to engrain our influence over the kingdoms."
"Umu, I knew that. So no one else had these thoughts of rebellion? What about those serving under Shalltear?"
"No, She was only assigned her vampire brides upon this mission. They were both found to be destroyed upon investigation."
“...Is that so? But mooks like that… no, that means something happened which destroyed them. Then, I’ll summarize what happened on my end.”
Ainz had almost finished his report by the time they reached the stairs to the throne. However, he had not gotten to the events of the tomb yet, so he continued speaking.
After it was all finished, Albedo — who had been listening attentively and silently — nodded in acknowledgment.
Ainz wanted to ask if he had handled the situation well, but there was something more important that he wished to know.
He looked to the throne and recited the designated password.
“Master Source — Open.”
A translucent window appeared before his eyes. It looked like the console but was completely different from it. The window had multiple pages within it, each covered in densely-packed characters.
This was the administration system for the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
It recorded the daily maintenance costs, the numbers and types of vassals present, all sorts of magical traps, gimmicks, and other such things. One could exert large-scale control over them all from here. While they had still been in YGGDRASIL, one could access this system from anywhere, but after some experimentation, Ainz found that in this world, the system could only be operated from the heart of the dungeon, the Throne Room.
Although it’s troublesome to have to come here every time… at least I have the ring to teleport me… so it’s not such a big deal.
With practiced movements, Ainz brought up and enlarged the NPC status page.
This page recorded the names of all the NPCs made by the guild members. After changing the sorting method from alphabetical (katakana) order to level order, from highest to lowest, Ainz’s eyes traveled down the list — and then his eyes halted on a single spot. Then, he silently turned his gaze to Albedo’s face.
“Yes, it has become like this.”
Amidst a sea of names written in white, only Shalltear Bloodfallen’s name was shown in black.
Ainz knew what this change meant, but—
He looked over it twice, three times, and after realizing that his eyes had not been mistaken, he screamed Impossible! within his heart. If his skeletal face could display an expression, it would be one of shock.
“...Is she dead?”
Ainz continued questioning Albedo. In his heart of hearts, he hoped that something had happened to the system when they had been brought to this world. However, the truth Albedo spoke was unbearably cruel.
“If she were dead, her name would have vanished and left a blank space. In all likelihood, this represents betrayal.”
“Well... that’s right.”
As Ainz replied thusly to Albedo, he recalled the meaning of this change when he had last seen it in YGGDRASIL.
Albedo called it betrayal, but that was slightly different from what the system was displaying. Indeed, broadly speaking it was similar to betrayal, but this color change occurred when a third party used mind control to temporarily make an NPC take hostile actions.
Impossible.
Ainz voiced that denial in his heart once more. Shalltear and Ainz were both undead, which meant that they were of races that were immune to all sorts of mind-affecting effects. How had Shalltear been mind controlled, then?
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—Shalltear shivered.
This was the first time which Shalltear — as a Guardian, one of the highest-ranking entities in the Great Tomb of Nazarick — had ever shivered. It was a subtle observation, or one could call it a warning from a sixth sense.
Shalltear’s eyes turned, intending to seize the old lady her instincts were warning her about.
That beastman had to die at all costs.
A kitsune was wearing a bastard's smile as she walked forth in front of Shalltear. Her presence was very abnormal from any other entities she had noticed before.
[Silence Magic: Mana Essenc-
"O-Ow!!" Blood leaked out of Shalltears eyes as the kitsune stopped in place, her devilish smile still plastered on her delicate face.
"Don't you know it's impolite to see a woman's stats?" The nine-tailed figure taunted. She stifled a laugh as she enjoyed watching the vampire's suffering from the counterspell.
A deep crimson rage emitted from Shalltear as her blood boiled with frenzy. "You bitch!" She screamed as she donned her Valkyrie Armor. She was encased in large red plate mail as she equipped her Spuit Lance, a divine class item granted to her by her creator.
The Kitsune Queen's smile faded, as she analyzed the quick-equip made by her opponent. "Finally getting serious now? It's been a long long time since I've seen such expensive divine items like those. How wonderful would it be to add it to my collection..." Shion smiled once again in a sickening glare.
"You... you'll pay for disrespecting the creations of the Supreme Beings!" The vampire venomously spat as she thrust herself at a blinding speed.
Shalltear batted her aside with all her might. However, when subjected to a strike that would pulverize a weak beastman, the woman was simply knocked back and did not perish on the spot. In addition, her will to fight was still intact despite being blown away.
Shalltear cast a spell centered on the kitsune.
“[Purifying Javelin]!”
A large brilliant ray of light was held in her one hand. It radiated in pure holy energy. She wanted to use her skills that didn't count as a spell that used up MP. Her opponent was probably someone that had high magic resistance, and therefore a skill could bypass that. However, for one opponent as powerful as this to appear in this world, one could say Ainz's paranoia didn't come without reason.
As she thought that, Shalltear suddenly found that she couldn't move. Unable to launch her attack, she examined herself to see a number of restricting binds, no they were tails, all wrapped around her legs and arms. All of these tails seemed to have emerged from the ground below her. "W-What the hell is this!?"
Shalltear looked forwards to see the kitsune standing there in the exact same place, or rather she couldn't move from that place. Her tails were all tunneling towards the earth behind her, shifting dirt and rocks as if only a simple matter. "Ergh... that armor is annoying. How am I supposed to fluff you with that on?"
Shalltear couldn't comprehend what was happening, but based on the look of her opponent's deadly gaze, she had to counter whatever she was planning.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
"[Negative Impact Sheild]!" A red glow expanded from the vampire as all the queen's Fluffy bindings unraveled in sharp pain and significant damage. The kitsune grunted in mild dissatisfaction as she reeled her tails back into the ground.
"[Earth Surge]!" The beastman shouted, as the earth around them all rumbled in violent forces and soon dragging whatever stood upon it to the ground. Shalltear quickly reacted as she used her wings to fly into the air, only to trigger massive explosions across the sky, inflicting massive damage as she plummeted downwards with an unsightly yelp of pain.
"Tsk." Soon Shalltear decelerated her fall, flying in place as all the blood on her armor retracted back into her body. She was confused but ultimately pissed at her for making her emit such a disgraceful sound. "Bitch! When the hell did you cast those traps!"
"Hmm? Did you really think I would enter battle unprepared?" Her opponent smiled as the earth turned around her, ceasing to a stop as her tails retracted from the dirt and writhing behind her.
"You- There's no way you could have cast those traps beforehand!" She shouted in anger.
"Ara? Maybe you didn't see me do it?"
"Impossible, I have countermagic to [Time Stop]. I would have noticed if you did!"
The fox smirked. "Maybe I had magic that bypassed your sense for time manipulation." She shrugged mockingly.
"You-" Shalltear couldn't understand what the hell was happening, but this magic caster obviously had large area effects and had the advantage in both airspace and on land. However, she couldn't leave without winning. She refused to bring Nazarick to shame because of this beastman. The only way for her to win was to go on the offensive.
She bomb-dived towards the kitsune, at intense acceleration. The queen prepared herself by unleashing another spell "[Mountain Wall]".
A large mass of potent stone and earth forced up, blocking the vampire's Spuit Lance. Raising her arm, the vampire unleashed another skill: "[Force Explosion]!" causing an unseen shockwave across the construct and reducing it to rubble. However upon seeing what laid beyond it was an empty spot where the kitsune once was. "Where-" she turned her head around the battlefield to see no one there. "...[Life Essense]!" Shalltear's eyes glowed green as he scanned the area. The skies and land were empty, "Wait, below!"
A pair of hands emerged from the ground as they latched on to both Shalltear's legs and armor. Magic stirred as the vampire kicked off her enemy's attempt of restraining her, flying once again half-way towards the sky, making sure not to half-hazardly trigger any floating drifting mines.
The queen dug herself up from the earth as she wore a nasty smug aura off of her. "Just what the hell are you planning?!" The vampire cried out. All her attempts of attacks were to restrain her and limit her movement.
Did she want to capture me? A creation of the Supreme Beings? What is her aim?
Suddenly the kitsune obliged to answer. "[Greater Seal Release]!" The vampire engulfed into holy flames as her screams resounded across the battlefield. She continued burning in agony for a few more moments, it didn't seem to stop. Shalltear panicked as she kept on sustaining damage, she was rapidly losing health.
The queen laughed as the vampire cursed out She kept on screaming pure unbridled hatred upon her opponent as she proceeded to use all her recovery spells and skills like [Time Reverse], but she still burned in place. She didn't understand. Her skill was supposed to negate any attacks afterward, but she was still engulfed in holy energy. "What did you do!!!!"
"Hoh? What did I do I wonder?"
"DON'T BULLSHIT ME!!!"
"Heh. Well if you're so insistent on yelling so much" the queen sadistically smiled, "as long as you wear that armor you'll eventually burn into a holy crisp. I placed a permanent seal on you."
A moment of clarity reached Shalltear as she remembered the times the vixen tried coming into direct contact with her. She wanted to curse out at herself for allowing her to be fooled like this, and wasting her precious skills needlessly. However, the vampire had to address the immediate problem and de-equip her armor as it plummeted towards the earth.
The queen happily tunneled her tails into the earth again, quickly acquiring the item that fell and dispelling the holy flames before tossing it into her inventory.
"You... you shall pay for this..."
"Ara? And how will you do that?"
"I'll- I'll KILL YOU!" She then gathered her MP together, unleashing another attack. "[Vermilion Nova]!"
"A 9th level spell!? Oh God fuc-" a massive column of fire came down from the heavens as it engulfed the fox in flames. It sent the fox reeling in pain as her clothes became tattered in scorch marks.
"So, I finally managed to hit you! How does it feel to experience the same pain as I have!?" The vampire taunted, relishing the pain that she inflicted back while laughing excessively in frenzied joy.
However, her laughter came short as the fox queen cut her off with the laughter of her own. The column of fire ended with the player resting on the ground with both her arms upon the dirt. She got up in an amused laugh as she cackled madly towards the sky. "So this is what pain feels like!?" The queen excitedly exclaimed. "I haven't felt it in a long time! Hahahahahahahahaha!"
"Eh? What are you a masochist?" Shalltear rebuked. She wasn't really in a position to talk since she was also a masochist herself, but she wasn't going to say that out loud.
"Hah! No of course not, but thank you for giving me the experience to feel alive! Now let me return the favor! [Teleport: Item]"
A large wave of blue dark liquid formed above Shalltear as it splashed onto her clothes and skin. "W-What the hell is this!?" The liquid then seeped into her skin as it slowly drained her all her MP away. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"
"How do you like my unique brand of Mana Poison? I even added the artificial flavor of blueberry into it. So? How does it taste?"
Something like this was impossible to convince. Items that manipulated how much MP you had were non-existent in Yggdrasil. Having her mana points depleted was the worst possible scenario. "YOU BASTARD!"
"Oh? But I'm not finished yet." The queen then silently cast the spell [Message] and informed her subordinates to take action.
[Do it now!]
[Immediately Hitomu-sama.]
Unbeknownst to Shalltear, a large 700ft radius magical barrier erupted into existence, preventing all types of skills and abilities for an extended amount of time. The vampire suddenly felt her abilities being locked away, she found that she wasn't able to use her skills either.
"What!?"
She was stripped away from not just her armor, but spells and skills as well. This was a devastating blow to Shalltear as she realized what was her plan all along. All she had left was her Spuit Lance, and she had to use it.
"YOU BIIIIIIITTTTCCCCHHHH!" She bomb-dived with all she had. If she were to die here then she would have to at least kill her for she was a threat to all of Nazarick.
I have to kill her. She cannot be allowed to live.
Her undead heart raced as she plunged towards her target, like a bullet streaming straight from its pistol. She felt her lance plunge straight through the kitsune, slowly activating the lance in an electrical pink as it restored the vampire's HP. Her eyes opened to see a bloodied kitsune smiling with red pouring from her mouth. She coughed up blood as she continued wearing that bastard grin.
"What?! Why aren't you dead!?"
The queen coughed again as she lifted a silver statue of an angel in her hand before it crumbled into dust. "Gachapon Item. 1HP bitch."
The queen tails enveloped around Shalltear as she was forced to let go of her lance. Her fluffy tails wrapped all around her with inhuman earthly strength. Her fluff consumed the vampire as each of its hairs brushed against her cold skin. Shalltear could feel an unexpected ecstasy as she could feel her body going limp. Her body responded in surrender as waves of fluff sent her into a state of ravenous pleasure.
It felt as though part of her thought processes were gone because she could not comprehend what was happening. And then, when she realized what had happened, Shalltear was shaken to the core, fear filling her undead heart.
This was fluff was a form of mind control.
As an undead being, she should have had complete immunity to mind-controlling effects, yet her will was still being dominated. She desperately tried to engrave hatred and anger on her gradually-whitening consciousness, and as her mind pondered countless variations of the worst-case scenario—
“Giiiiiiiiih—!”
—She wailed, weeping tears of blood as she struggled to fight back against the dominating force which was corrupting her, a Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
However, despite Shalltear’s frantic resistance, her will was steadily bleached away. Nor could she use teleportation magic. This was because her mind would be completely overshadowed if she allowed herself to be distracted by such matters.
As she marshaled her utmost opposition, Shalltear glared at the user of the technique, the woman who was planning to defile her. She held onto that hatred with all she had.
As her mind went white.
The last thing Shalltear knew was that she gained a new fetish
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Ainz stared at his ring.
Ainz hoped that he would be given a choice to negate all effects on a given target. He had also thought of several other alternatives, but that was the most direct option which came to mind.
Very few people would pick that wish since it would also negate all positive effects. Thus, Ainz laughed at himself for thinking of it.
“Then, hear me, oh ring. I WISH!”
Of course, he did not need to speak those words to activate the item. However, he was driven by his desire to be granted the most optimal choice from over 200 available options, hence his cry. It was like how one might shout during a tense moment in a game or over a throw of the dice.
Since the magic of this world seemed to operate along the same lines as YGGDRASIL, the ring should be able to remove Shalltear’s mind control. Or rather, that was what Ainz hoped would be the case.
The scenario Ainz most feared — that the spell did not work — did not come to pass. The ring released the magic stored within it into this world… and then the red points of light within Ainz’s eye sockets shrank.
“What… is this…”
It felt as though new information was being entered into his mind — something along the lines of displeasure. At the same time, he felt like he had been connected to something vast — something like joy, perhaps. Many of the emotions Ainz had felt while he was still human washed over him.
Once the ripples of emotion faded away, Ainz realized that 「Wish Upon A Star」 worked differently here than it did in YGGDRASIL.
When Ainz had first learned of Nfirea’s talent, he had idly wondered if he could steal it with 「Wish Upon A Star」. Now, he realized that he could have done it. In this world, 「Wish Upon a Star」 was a spell that would grant its caster’s wishes. Although it would still expend XP, 「Wish Upon A Star」 was now a spell that could make the impossible possible. In addition, by sacrificing five levels — five hundred percent of his XP bar — one could one could make even greater wishes come true.
With that in mind, Ainz felt certain that he could dispel the magical effects on Shalltear. As triumph surged through him, Ainz shouted:
“Dispel all effects on Shalltear!”
A beat later, the lights in Ainz’s eyes grew steadily larger.
“—What, what is this?”
Albedo realized that something had changed when she saw Ainz’s agitated reaction. She uneasily asked:
“What’s the matter, Ainz-sama?”
Ainz had no time to answer. He was recalling the news he had absorbed from various walkthrough sites, his own long experience with YGGDRASIL, then combining them with what he had learned ever since coming to this world. The most important parts of that were the information concerning the use of 「Wish Upon A Star」, the spell which had completely overturned Ainz’s accumulated knowledge.
Anxiety and anger filled Ainz as he came to a conclusion. However, he could feel something else even though the emotion suppression that should have kept him calm — fear.
Ainz shouted pathetically:
“We, we’re falling back! Albedo, over here! We’re retreating now!”
“Y-Yes!”
Ainz cast his teleportation spell, and in the next moment, a berm of earth filled his eyes. Though he was now safe at home, Ainz ordered in a panic:
“Albedo! Watch out for anyone who might have teleported after us!”
“Yes!”
Albedo drew her weapon and stood by Ainz’s side. Ainz raised both his hands, taking a stance to deal with anything which might come.
As time passed, Ainz allowed himself to slowly relax. Albedo too stood down from her ready stance, back into her normal posture.
“Dammit!”
After he calmed down, he was filled with furious anger. His emotional peaks were automatically cut out after becoming undead, but even though they were suppressed, the anger welled up inside him once more.
“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!”
Ainz kicked at the ground over and over again.
Since Ainz’s physical strength was far greater than normal, each kick sent forth a massive quantity of soil. If it had not rained just a few days ago, the surrounding area might have been engulfed in a huge cloud of dust. Even so, it could not quench Ainz’s anger.
“Ainz, Ainz-sama, please, be at peace…”
Ainz noticed the undercurrent of fear in Albedo’s voice, and he finally realized that his behavior was not fitting of an absolute ruler. He swiftly calmed himself down, forcefully exhaling the breath he did not possess. It felt as though he was expelling the fiery wrath consuming him through that breath.
“...Forgive me. I seem to have lost my senses for a moment. Pay that unsightly scene no heed.”
“Please do not say that. However, I am grateful that you took my suggestion to heart, Ainz-sama. If it is your wish that I forget ever seeing that, then I shall remove it from my mind. However — what happened? Did I displease you, Ainz-sama? If you are willing to tell me, I shall strive not to let it happen again.”
“...My anger was not directed at you, Albedo. It was because I learned that my wish did not come true, even after activating the power of the ring.”
Seeing how Albedo remained silent, Ainz knew that his explanation was insufficient, so he continued:
“...There is only one thing which can trump the power of the super tier spell 「Wish Upon A Star」.”
Perhaps earlier, he might have thought it was interference from something in this world, but Ainz was confident that it was not the case. This was because he had sensed it as he activated the ring.
“It, it can’t be… that would be…”
“Yes, Albedo. There is only one thing which can do that… the power of World Class Items.”
"Actually it wasn't."
"Eh?"
Albedo was already in a defensive stance upon the unexpected voice that appeared behind them. Ainz didn't feel any of his Teleportation counter-measures trigger at all and it left him speechless, even more so when turning his gaze towards the being that said it. It was a kitsune.
"It was actually my fluffy tails that mind controlled her."
"EH!?"