(BONUS) 25: Chapter 25: Do You Even Need to Ask?
(BONUS) Bonus for 5 reviews, next bonus at 10 review ◇◇◇ Lucien noticed an extremely important detail.
He had once been hired to participate in a raid on the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The attempt had ultimately failed, but Shalltear had been the first major boss they encountered, so Lucien had done more than enough research on her beforehand.
First of all, she was one of those infuriating bosses who effectively had two lives.
She possessed three combat states: her usual gothic-lolita appearance, her armored Valkyrie form, and her grotesque true vampire form.
Her combat ability increased as she progressed through those transformations, and right now she had already entered her second stage, clad from head to toe in bright crimson armor.
That confirmed Lucien’s suspicion.
Shalltear had definitely fought someone here, most likely the dragon whose traces he had detected.
But players could not choose Dragon as a race in YGGDRASIL, which meant that dragon was probably native to this world.
Being strong enough to force Shalltear into her second combat state was impressive, but whoever fought her clearly had not won.
Shalltear had obviously never been pushed to her limit.
Lucien jumped down from the broken tree trunk and moved close to the ground, carefully examining the traces left by the battle.
The level of destruction was astonishing.
Great swathes of towering ancient trees had been severed cleanly through the middle, their smooth cuts showing that some kind of edged weapon had sliced through them in an instant.
Deep craters from heavy spear impacts covered the ground, mixed with scorched patches left behind by large-area offensive magic.
However, magic had not been used very often.
The two sides had probably fought only briefly, but every exchange had been lethal.
The battle must have been extraordinarily intense.
Lucien carefully searched the devastated ground, examining every patch of churned earth and every snapped branch.
Before long, he found a new clue near the location where the residual energy of the World Item remained.
Lucien crouched beside the edge of a broad crater.
A pool of dark-red blood stained the overturned soil.
He touched the dirt with his fingers.
The blood was almost completely dry, but it had not yet weathered into a black, cracked stain, meaning it had been spilled relatively recently.
There was a considerable amount of it, distributed in a spray pattern.
Judging from the angles of the blood and the depression in the ground, the victim’s torso had probably been punched straight through, causing blood to erupt in two different directions.
Lucien was a professional killer.
Decapitation or the loss of a limb did not leave a pattern like this.
Not far from the bloodstain, he also found several fragments of shattered metal armor.
Lucien picked one up, weighed it in his hand, and examined it carefully.
The material was crude.
The forging technique was primitive, and traces of poorly executed enchantments still clung to the surface.
After confirming those details, Lucien frowned again.
The materials used in this armor were complete trash by player standards.
No normal player would ever wear defensive equipment of such a low level, much less a powerful hidden expert capable of using a World Item.
Lucien rose to his feet and looked toward Shalltear, who was still standing motionlessly in the distance.
In his mind, all of the clues began fitting together.
Someone wearing native equipment had been carrying a World Item?
Lucien rapidly reconstructed the most likely sequence of events.
One person, or perhaps a group of people wearing equipment native to this world, had encountered Shalltear.
One of them activated a World Item that imposed mind control on her.
During the brief activation period, or perhaps at the exact moment the item’s effect took hold, Shalltear sensed a lethal threat.
She counterattacked desperately, striking the user with her spear.
The impact shattered the person’s armor and punched straight through their body.
The World Item still activated successfully, placing Shalltear under control, but for some reason she ended up in an unowned neutral state.
Lucien looked at the blood on the ground and recalled Albedo’s earlier theory.
The user had been injured and fled.
No.
If the person had merely been wounded, then anyone with the resources to possess a World Item would almost certainly have been capable of issuing an order before retreating.
There was only one explanation that fit better than serious injury.
Death.
After going through the evidence and his reconstructed sequence of events once more, Lucien confirmed that the logic held together and activated teleportation.
Light flashed, and he returned to the wilderness where Ainz and Albedo were waiting.
“I found something.
It can barely be called good news.” Lucien released his stealth and spoke directly to Ainz.
“What is it?” Ainz immediately stepped toward him, his words coming much faster than usual.
“Tell me.” “Judging from the traces at the scene, the person who used the item was probably killed by Shalltear on the spot.
That’s why she entered an unowned state.” Ainz froze for a moment.
“Killed?” Confusion entered his voice.
“Lucien, how can you be certain?” Lucien began laying out his reasoning clearly.
“There are extensive traces of a battle at the scene.
Blood, pieces of shattered native armor, and residual energy marking the precise location where the World Item was activated.
Near that location, I found a blood pattern that could only have come from a penetrating wound.” Lucien looked at Ainz and pointed out the flaw in Albedo’s earlier theory.
“Even if Shalltear wounded the user before the item fully activated, or during the activation itself, there would be no reason for that person to flee in panic.
Anyone capable of carrying a World Item that imposes mind control would understand that Shalltear would submit within an extremely short period of time.
Her attacks wouldn’t continue indefinitely.” “So the user could simply remain nearby, heal with magic or an item, and then take Shalltear away.
Correct?” “Correct.” Ainz nodded, the red lights in his eyes flickering as he followed Lucien’s reasoning.
Albedo, however, still had doubts about Lucien’s conclusion.
“What if the enemy wasn’t carrying healing magic or recovery items?” “That’s a reasonable possibility Albedo.
So let’s assume that someone carrying a World Item somehow had no emergency recovery items and was forced to leave immediately because of severe injuries.” Lucien continued calmly.
“Then why didn’t they give Shalltear an order before leaving?
They could have told her to follow them through teleportation, or ordered her to wait at a designated location.” “Leaving her standing there would risk exposing information.
For someone still capable of using teleportation magic to escape, taking the time to issue one final command should not have been difficult.
Once Shalltear was fully controlled, she would have obeyed absolutely.” Lucien emphasized his next point.
“But she’s still standing at the original battle site in her Valkyrie combat form, completely motionless.
That means either she never received an order, or the person controlling her died before one could be given.” “So there’s only one explanation that fits all the evidence.
The World Item activated successfully, but at that exact moment, Shalltear’s counterattack killed the user outright.” “As for why there was no corpse, the user’s companions may have cleaned up the scene and retreated after Shalltear became motionless, since they themselves couldn’t command her.
Or the body may simply have been destroyed by one of Shalltear’s abilities.” “The user died, the mental connection was severed, and Shalltear never received any follow-up instructions.
However, the mind-control effect itself remained in place, leaving her stuck as an unowned neutral monster.” After listening to Lucien’s tightly reasoned explanation, the red lights in Ainz’s eye sockets flickered several times.
He thought for a while, then slowly nodded.
“That makes sense.
It does fit the current situation better than anything else.” But his tone did not become any lighter.
“If that’s really what happened, then it is good news.
However, whether the user is alive or dead no longer changes our immediate problem.” Ainz looked at Lucien with a faint trace of hope in his glowing eyes.
“Lucien…
do you possess any World Item with a similar effect?
Something capable of overriding the control on Shalltear?
I can pay an enormous amount of gold for it.” Lucien shook his head immediately.
“I don’t have anything like that.
World Items are too valuable.
I only kept the one I personally use.
Whenever I managed to acquire any others, I usually sold them fairly quickly.” Ainz fell silent.
After a moment, he exhaled heavily.
As a former guildmaster, he understood the underlying mechanics of the game better than almost anyone.
“If we don’t have an item capable of overriding the effect, then only one solution remains.” Ainz’s voice became exceptionally low.
“We kill Shalltear and resurrect her.
Death will reset her status and remove every debuff affecting her.” His voice wavered slightly as he said it.
Lucien could hear how much the idea hurt him.
This was the same man who had spent entire nights agonizing simply because Yuri might not be treated with enough care.
Shalltear, too, had been personally created by one of his old companions.
To Ainz, the NPCs of Nazarick were the living continuation of the friends he had lost.
Personally killing one of them would probably feel like tearing open his own chest.
“Can you do it?” Lucien asked calmly.
Before Ainz could answer, Albedo suddenly spoke.
Her beautiful face was filled with murderous determination.
“Lord Ainz!
Betrayal cannot be forgiven.
Regardless of why she left your control, betrayal remains betrayal.
A traitor guilty of such an unforgivable offense must be executed!” The NPCs tended to see loyalty in absolute terms.
For Albedo, the process that led to the current situation did not matter.
Shalltear was no longer loyal to Ainz, and therefore she deserved death.
It was that simple.
Lucien glanced at Albedo’s resolute expression but said nothing.
He returned his attention to Ainz.
The decision belonged to him.
Ainz remained silent for a long time.
He lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
Memories passed through his mind: laughing with his old guildmates in YGGDRASIL, Shalltear competing for his attention, Shalltear behaving spoiled and affectionate in front of him.
Seconds passed.
The cold wind swept across the wilderness.
Eventually, Ainz raised his head.
The red light in his eye sockets stopped flickering and settled into an absolutely cold stare.
As the Supreme Ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, he could not allow his feelings to endanger the guild.
“We already know the optimal solution.
I can’t continue hesitating, Lucien.” “I have to kill her.” Ainz turned toward the succubus beside him.
“Albedo, return to Nazarick.
Inform every Floor Guardian to immediately suspend their current duties and assemble in the Throne Room.
We will hold an emergency meeting.” “Understood, Lord Ainz.” Albedo assumed Ainz intended to gather all the Guardians and move against Shalltear together, which aligned perfectly with her own thinking.
She bowed respectfully, then activated the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown on her hand and disappeared in a flash of teleportation magic.
Only Lucien and Ainz remained in the wilderness.
Ainz cautiously scanned the empty terrain around them, the red lights in his eyes flickering.
“This place isn’t safe.” His voice was grave.
“If the enemy possesses a World Item, we cannot rule out the possibility that they also possess top-tier detection magic or even a World Item designed for surveillance.
Discussing strategy in the open could allow them to listen in.” Open terrain had always been a common place for PvP ambushes.
After encountering an unknown enemy with top-level resources, remaining in an unprotected field after sending away their tank was needlessly dangerous.
“Lucien, I would like you to participate in the emergency meeting with me.” Ainz paused before extending a formal invitation.
“This is the first time I’ve invited an outsider into our guild base.” “Please come with me to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.” Lucien was somewhat surprised.
A guild base was the most important and secret location any player organization possessed.
It contained the guild’s accumulated resources, defensive layout, trap mechanisms, and most importantly, its Guild Weapon.
If the Guild Weapon were destroyed, the guild itself would be forcibly disbanded by the system, and ownership of its base would be lost.
Under ordinary circumstances, a non-member would never be allowed inside.
Such an exception would only be made during a genuine crisis.
“Lead the way.” Lucien accepted without wasting words.
Ainz nodded.
[Gate] An oval portal radiating deep, dark light formed in front of them.
Bright illumination spilled through from the other side, sharply contrasting with the empty wilderness.
Ainz stepped through first, and Lucien followed.
The moment he passed through the portal, his field of vision opened dramatically.
Lucien looked around and found himself standing inside an enormous circular arena.
Its architecture resembled an ancient Roman colosseum, but on a far grander scale.
Smooth enchanted stone covered the ground, towering stands surrounded the arena, and above them stretched an artificial night sky created through magic.
The surrounding walls were layered with the highest-grade anti-divination and anti-teleportation barriers.
This was the Sixth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The Amphitheater.
At the moment, the arena was completely empty.
Ainz led Lucien directly toward the VIP seating at the highest point of the stands.
Several large, luxurious chairs had been placed there, offering a clear view over the entire arena.
“Please, sit.” Ainz indicated one of the chairs.
Lucien sat down without ceremony, adjusted himself into a comfortable position, and continued examining the guild structure that had once been famous across YGGDRASIL’s forums.
“How does it look?” Before beginning the serious discussion, Ainz asked the question almost reflexively.
Lucien continued surveying the enormous arena.
Judging by its scale, it could probably hold more than ten thousand people if every seat were filled.
“More impressive than I expected.” He answered honestly.
“I see…
thank you.” Normally, Ainz would have been delighted to hear someone praise Nazarick.
Right now, however, he could barely feel any satisfaction.
He sat beside Lucien, folded his hands over his knees, and remained silent for a moment.
Even after deciding that Shalltear had to die, he still hesitated when it came time to formulate the actual battle plan.
“Lucien.” Ainz turned his hollow gaze toward him.
“If you were facing Shalltear in her current state, what do you think would be the best way to defeat her?” Lucien visibly paused.
“Me?” He pointed at himself.
The question seemed strangely unnecessary.
Lucien was certainly skilled at no-damage clears and speed-running difficult content.
He had also spent years carrying paying clients through raids.
But this situation obviously did not map cleanly onto his past experience.
He was still thinking of Shalltear as a hostile boss that needed to be killed, so he did not understand why Ainz needed his advice in the first place.
“I’d think you’d be able to work out the tactical details much faster than I could.” Lucien looked at him.
“She’s an NPC your own guild created, isn’t she?” Ainz nodded.
“Yes.” “Then what is there to ask?” Lucien spread his hands.
To him, this was almost too obvious to discuss.
Her equipment, resistances, skill cooldowns, limited-use abilities, and every other combat parameter should all be documented somewhere in Nazarick’s guild database.
Fighting a boss when you already knew her stats, abilities, equipment, and practically every last detail of her build was an open-book exam.
Why would anyone need to ask him how to solve it?
(To be continued.)