The crimson figure pierced through the tornado head on and charged at high speed. With the tip of her lance pointing forward, the figure left behind a trail of heat like a jet.
Unable to react in time, Ainz felt a sharp pain all over his body.
The instant he had lowered his guard, Shalltear moved right up to his eyes and had pierced through his sternum with her murderous weapon. The tip of the lance crushed his bones and shot out of his back.
“Ugh!”
He cried out in pain. Shalltear had used her skill to give the lance a striking property and delivered a blow to his HP.
The undead Ainz was strong against pain. Like his mind, damage that exceeds a fixed threshold was suppressed. That was why even a complete novice of fighting like Suzuki Satoru could keep his composure without losing himself to the pain.
But this was intense.
The feeling of his life being carved away. A feeling similar to your vision darkening from losing most of your blood, it violently rattled Ainz’— no, Suzuki Satoru’s weak mind.
But Ainz’ will surpassed it.
The man fighting here was not Suzuki Satoru. It was the Supreme Ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown.
Even as Ainz was searching for his next course of attack, Shalltear’s assault did not stop.
With the end of her lance still penetrating through Ainz, she pushed forward again and again. As the blade stabbed deeper, the thicker part of the lance continued to dig into his body. The feeling of his body splitting in half and the pounding pain, along with his rapidly deteriorating health.
It triggered the activation of his 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」.
The green sheen that hugged his body shattered.
The 10th tier magic, 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」. For its duration, it had the passive effect of reducing damage from strike attacks. When activated, it had a one-time use of completely nullifying strike damage.
The damage dealt by the lance was absorbed by the 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」. As if time was reversed, the lance was pushed out of Ainz’ body.
Pushed away by the lance to his location, Ainz launched his spell at Shalltear who didn’t seem to understand what had just happened.
“「Wall of Skeletons」!”
A wall of bone made of countless skeletons wielding weapons appeared between the two figures. The skeletons that formed the wall swung and stabbed at Shalltear.
However, not a single one reached Shalltear’s body.
“「Maximize Magic: Force Explosion」.”
An invisible shockwave burst out with Shalltear at its center and crashed into the wall of bone. The wall bent, and unable to withstand the force of the shockwave, exploded.
The scattered bones showered down with the sound of rain. But it had proved useful in buying Ainz time.
“Release!”
Following his command, 「Greater Magic Seal」 released three magic circles, each firing 30 shots of white arrows of light, for a combined volley of 90 shots. What was released was normal attack magic, 「Magic Arrow」. The beautiful afterglow from the flying arrows resembled the wings of an angel. However, this was an angel that signaled death.
Magic of the 1st tier cannot penetrate Shalltear’s magic resistance. Sensing the danger behind the fact that Ainz used it regardless, Shalltear hastily tried to dodge to her side. However, the white arrows made a sharp turn and perfectly lodged themselves into the target, like a shower of rain.
The damage from 90 consecutive white magic arrows instantly destroyed Shalltear’s health.
The secret behind how they managed to pierce through her magic resistance was because he had used a skill that temporarily brought up their power to rival that of 10th tier magic.
His assault did not stop there.
“Dance! 「Triple Maximize Magic: Obsidian Sword」!”
Three swords that gave off a black light floated in midair. As if they had a will of their own, they immediately flew straight towards Shalltear.
Shalltear repelled them with her Spuit Lance, as if telling them to stay out of her way. However, 「Obsidian Sword」 continued its assault. It was incredibly difficult to destroy a sword made of magic with a physical attack.
“「Magic Destruction」.”
Shalltear used what little MP she had left to cast a magic canceling spell. With her MP now completely gone, her magic destroyed two of the swords in midair. But with one left, the remaining sword continued to attack Shalltear. 「Magic Destruction」’s success rate varied depending on the ability of the user. The result simply showed which of the two was the stronger magic caster.
“Ahh, annoying!”
Shalltear ignored the blade heading in her direction and charged at Ainz. Magic of that level wouldn’t be able to damage her.
The blow from the Spuit Lance threw Ainz to the side. Ainz was weak to strike attacks. Unable to ignore the damage, he steadied himself in the air using his 「Flight」 magic. And—
“Damn it!”
— For the first time in this battle, he lost his calm and cursed.
