The work was both boring and fulfilling at the same time. Both Albedo and Demiurge tended to use overly complicated lexicons when writing reports and making the damn things near unreadable. At first, Ainz tried to somewhat wing it and approve most things, barely understanding what he was doing, but the fear of being caught took over and now he thoroughly read every piece of paper coming his way.
At least his undead nature prevented such things as a sense of boredom and mental exhaustion. The constant tranquil clarity of the mind was an insurmountable upgrade compared to his old human self. Long gone were the days of exhaustion and brain fog due to overworking, he had become far more than a measly human.
'Hmm, maybe I should take a break and enjoy a cup of a warm drink?' He mused. The tendency to overwork was still strong in him and that was a bad example to set for his servants, even if he could continue to work. Although changing form to something with flesh usually ended with Albedo catching wind of it and showing up for a prolonged lovemaking session, these pleasurable turns of events ensured nothing would be done once again.
The fact that his girlfriend was a borderline nymphomaniac was both a blessing and a curse. There was a saying one of his older and wiser guild members had used a few times: every man wants a nympho until he gets one. Pero had adamantly refuted such a statement, but then again, the guy was also complaining that all his girlfriends combined could barely keep up with what Albedo alone could achieve.
'I need to find a way to enjoy food and drink without fully changing form.'
As he contemplated if he wanted to risk a drink or not, the gate opened right in his office.
'Shalltear!?' There were very few people who could cast the spell and only he, Tabula, Ulbert, and Shalltear were able to do it inside the Tomb. Which meant that it was Shalltear who was casting. But even she would not be so daring without a serious reason, knowing her character inside and out.
Ainz tensed up, unsure what could have happened to warrant such action. 'Is she running from some sort of danger? But why then use the gate directly to my office? The protocol was to return to the first floor and sound an alarm.' Something was off. Ainz tensed up and stared at the gate, readying what little magic he could.
Then Shalltear flew through the gate, clad in her Valkyrie armor set, and struck him in the chest before Ainz could get out of the chair, radiating power. The sheer impact toppled over the chair and sent him into a collision course with the floor, his magic disrupted.
The intense pain this strike caused was enough to kick him into overdrive and Ainz performed an evasive maneuver in the form of a short-range teleportation, giving him the necessary distance to plan.
'What is she doing? I can't just leave before I get to the bottom of this.' Ainz prepared to dodge her next strike and summon a death knight as a temporary shield. Fighting Shalltear unprepared one-on-one would end with his defeat for sure. The vampire was almost custom-made to counter his build of magic, and hers was much more optimized for killing compared to his more roleplaying-oriented skill set.
Ainz teleported again as Shalltear charged in his direction, avoiding the flying furniture that Shalltear carelessly shoved out of her way in her seemingly single-minded goal of killing him. Before Ainz could do anything else his office doors exploded, Rubedo charging through the flying splinters with pure rage on her usually emotionless face. The angelic golem collided with Shalltear and both crashed into the wall with such an impact that the entire office shook.
{ Lord Ainz, Shalltear has betrayed us! Her status went into the red. } Albedo messaged him, sounding rightfully agitated.
{ I know! I had a chance to be on the receiving end of her lance. She and Rubedo are fighting in my office. } Ainz shouted back.
Whatever had gotten into Shalltear wasn't good news and he needed to stop her before Rubedo turned the guardian of the first three floors into mincemeat. Shalltear may be the strongest floor guardian, but she wasn't even close to the powerhouse that was Albedo's younger sister.
At this point, Shalltear was on full defense, unable to stand up against the strongest entity Nazarick had to offer. She tried to parry Rubedo's sword strikes, while simultaneously getting turned into a piece of Swiss cheese with the rotating metal balls that constituted Rubedo's halo and could be manipulated at will by the Golem.
The difference between the two was so great that it was less of a battle and more of a one-sided beatdown. Shalltear's [Einherjar] got annihilated in less than a second, giving the vampire next to no breathing room to go into any sort of offensive. The fight was effectively over.
In the next few moments, things grew even more chaotic as Albedo, Demiurge, Pero, Ulbert and Buku showed up, all in full gear and magics powered up.
"Shalltear, what the hell are you doing?" Pero shouted at his daughter, ready to jump between her and Rubedo.
"Kill the Ruler of Death. Kill everyone who stands between me and the target." She responded, her voice monotone and seemingly without any thought behind her words, her breath running shallow and ragged.
The pummeling Shalltear had received from Rubedo in the two minutes that had passed had brought her close to death if the status read was accurate. Ainz needed to decide what to do soon or the vampire would perish at the hands of the near unstoppable golem.
"Rubedo, apprehend her, but keep Shalltear alive." He ordered.
"Lord Ainz, this traitor should not be given any mercy!" Albedo protested his decision. She was inching closer, her weapon already drawn, ready to execute Shalltear herself if need be.
"My daughter is not a traitor!" Pero roared, ready to jump Albedo but was held back by Buku who was physically stronger than her brother.
"Everyone calm down. There is something off about the whole situation. I believe Shalltear is getting controlled by outside influence." Ainz stated, once again benefitting from a strike of emotional suppression.
"But what could control a high-tier undead like her? Shalltear should be immune to mind control." Demiurge cast doubt on Ainz's statement with a question all of them wanted answered.
"I don't know. Shalltear, who gave you orders?" Ainz questioned. There was little chance a brain-controlled person would answer, but it was better than not asking at all.
"Kill the Ruler of Death. Forget who gave the order." Shalltear attempted to extricate herself from Rubedo's grip, but she was far too weak at this point to offer any meaningful struggle with most of her life force and mana gone.
"I see." Ainz sighed, taking a ring with three stars and lines on it. This gacha item let him cast [Wish Upon a Star] without any permanent power loss three times. This spell in the game allowed the user to choose which of all super tier spells to cast with the number of options proportional to the experience spent, but now it gave the feeling that any wish would be fulfilled unless it fundamentally broke laws of reality or required more energy than the spell provided.
He chose the option to free Shalltear from mind control and cast the spell. The ring glowed with one of the stars fading, but nothing happened.
"This…" Ainz stared down at the ring for a moment and then looked up to face his friends.
"Ainz? What happened, why didn't the spell work?" Buku asked.
"You know why." Ulbert interrupted her while glancing at Pero, who was also struggling.
"I do- you mean?" She paled.
"World-level item," Ainz confirmed. "Only the effects of world-level items could ignore a super-tier spell."
"There's something we can do, right?" Pero choked, ceasing his struggle.
"Unless we can get the owner of the said item and take it away, there is only one thing we can try. You know what broke the effects in-game." Ainz grimly stated.
"If you touch her, I will fucking kill you!" Pero raged against his sister's grip, trying to attack Ainz the moment the undead had made the horrible suggestion.
Albedo, noticing that Buku was about to fail, came to help her restrain the enraged player with both women pinning the furious avian to the ground.
"Calm down. No one is telling you were are going to off your daughter right away." Ulbert chipped in.
"Then we'll put her in a cell and take away all her gear until we find who did this to her. Albedo, turn off her gate privileges within the Tomb." The inexpressive facade of a skeleton gave the impression he was in control of the situation, which he had to do quickly or else all would spiral.
'This is my fault. I sent her out without considering this exact possibility. Pero and Buku could have suffered the same fate if they would have run into the player who has the world item.' Ainz couldn't look into the eyes of his friends. He, as the leader, should have known better.
"She is not a goddamn item you can just put away!" Pero struggled even more, roaring in pure wrath toward Ainz. "You did this to her, you fucking asshole!"
"Pero! Pero!" Buku shouted over him. "Calm down. Screaming is not helping. Ainz is trying to find the best solution to not hurt Shalltear. No one will hurt Shalltear."
"But he wants to-" Pero continued to protest
"He wants to ensure everyone's safety! We have no choice but to put her on ice until we can break her out of mind control!" Buku shouted over him in a tone that spooked almost everyone present. When the slime player wanted to be intimidating she sure as hell could be.
Pero struggled a bit more but eventually rested his head against the floor. "Fine, do what needs to be done. But if anyone does anything else to her I will not just stand idly!"
"Nothing will be done to her without your permission. Now, can you remove her items so we can put her in a cell?" Ainz motioned at Shalltear who was near unconscious.
"You won't do anything stupid?" Buku asked her brother before slowly letting him go.
"No! Get off me!" Pero growled.
Buku and Albedo let go of him, ready to restrain him again. Albedo motioned at her sister to stand between Ainz and Pero which the golem did. Pero approached his daughter, his arms visibly shaking in anger.
"I'm sorry sweety. This is for your own good." Pero muttered softly as he took off piece after piece of her armor, leaving her in laced underwear; he had paid real money for her model to have it in the game.
"Kill Ainz Ooal Gown. Kill other players." Shalltear responded, weakly struggling against her father.
Without items and the ability to cast a gate, she could be safely held in the frozen prison. Pero did protest the harsh environment but was reminded that Shalltear, as an undead, couldn't suffer from the cold.
The first thing Ainz did was give world-level items to Sebas and Cocytus since both were on missions outside the Great Tomb. Luckily Albedo already had a world item in her possession and Rubedo was partly a world-level item, so she was immune to their effects, thus he could be sure the two closest people to him could not be affected.
For now, Demiurge would handle the first three floors and since Shalltear couldn't issue orders from her cell, neither vampire brides nor her thrall, Brain, needed to be put down. They could remain as defenses and were told that she was busy elsewhere.
The question still reminded me of whether he should give the rest of the world-level items to the other players and floor guardians. There was no telling how everything would pan out. Pero and Buku could decide to kill him off for this mistake and start an all-out civil war within the tomb, and he needed all the power he could get if that happened.
'I will take full responsibility once this is resolved, but until then I need to keep in mind the stability and not act upon my guilt.'
The worst thing about Shallrear's state was that there were no clues about where to start. A player with a world item could be hiding anywhere, and considering that said player would have been a lot longer than Nazarick, this player had the home-turf advantage.
For now, all Ainz could do was to ensure the Great Tomb of Nazarick was properly protected.
He had spent the day since the attack in the constant company of both Rubedo and Albedo, with Nigredo being the one to deliver items if the need arose.
He had next to no contact with other players since everyone was on edge, and even the NPCs and summons kept contact with others to a minimum.
Then Ulbert and Demiurge came right to his quarters. The demon goat and his son both took seats as the maid brought refreshments and didn't pay mind to Rubedo, who was ready to attack anyone who made sudden movements.
"So, we are in a bit of a pickle." Ulbert started.
"That's one way to put it." Ainz agreed, feeling Albedo's wing brush against his back. She was practically sitting in his lap at this point.
Seeing the guardian overseer's unashamed lack of manners in the situation, Demiurge nervously shifted around and inched closer to his father. Ulbert, sensing his son's intent, shot him a disapproving glance and Demiurge backed off a bit.
"You know I had time to think and I want to state it right away, Demi and I are on your side even if we have to battle the siblings and anyone who takes their side. I'm also fairly sure Tabula is fully on your side." Ulbert remarked while casually taking a sip of tea.
"I will do everything to prevent infighting. I think it would be best for me to step down as a leader and let you handle things." Ainz stated, leaning forward.
"What!? No! My beloved, you cannot step down. The position of the Supreme Leader is rightfully yours!" Albedo protested.
"I made a mistake a proper leader shouldn't have-"
"I'm going to stop you right there. I can't be the leader. You know damn well what I'll do without any oversight." Ulbert raised his hand in protest.
"While I think Father would be an excellent leader, I must agree with Lord Ulbert, there is no one better to lead us than you, Lord Ainz." Demiurge agreed with Ulbert.
"You see! They want to follow your lead. My father will also agree to that." Albedo leaned in even closer.
"OK, OK. I won't step down right away. But I think once we get Shalltear back to normal we should do another vote. If you aren't willing to take the leader's spot, then maybe Buku will." Ainz suggested. Such a near-fatal mistake clearly made him unsuited to be the Nazarick's leader.
"Give it a rest. You are stuck babysitting us all and that's final." Ulbert cackled, motioning for another drink.
Ainz gave him a pained look as much as his skeletal face let him do it and waited for Ulbert to continue.
"Anyhow, I plan to expand the spy network to hopefully find clues about who could've done it. The most likely culprit lives somewhere in Slane and runs the country from the shadows. Knowing that the bastard is careful, I think it's best if we avoid antagonizing that nation of fanatics openly for now."
"Take whatever you need. Finding the player who controls Shalltear is the top priority." Ainz agreed.
"Oh, we will find the fuck who did it, and when we do," Ulbert's expression darkened, "we'll show the bastard the true meaning of hell."
"Agreed."
With Ulbert expressing his loyalty, Ainz weighed his options for a bit. Considering that all unallocated world items were in his inventory, no one could get them without him directly handing them over. If Pero became unreasonable and Buku took her brother's side, which as his sister she likely would, it would be for the best to ensure his trusted allies had better chances to survive the ambush.
Obviously, the possibility that Ulbert played his own game existed, but then he would've had no reason to turn down the leader position.
'I think I should put some trust in them.' He finally decided and took two of the world items out of his inventory.
"Ainz, is that the freaking Hellgate Evoker?" Ulbert nearly choked on his saliva seeing the item he had hunted all his playing career.
"Yes, I got it from an empty guild base. It is yours now. Use it wisely. And this one's for you." He pushed the reflector orb towards Demiurge.
The world item he was giving to Demiurge could reflect any attack back at the attacker once a day and that included super-tier spells.
"Lord Ainz, I can't-"
"Don't argue with the man and take it!" Ulbert leaned forward and pushed the item even closer to his son, practically shoving it into the demon's hands.
"For now don't tell anyone you got them from me. I don't want any escalation of an already uneasy situation based on favoritism." Ainz urged both.
"Don't worry. No one will know. Hell, I won't even try it out no matter how much I want to. But do you have enough items for all the Nazarick's top people?" Ulbert asked.
"I have enough. But just in case I want to refrain from giving out more right now." Ainz tapped his fingers on the table nervously.
A schism in his beloved guild was the last thing he wanted, but there was no helping it right now. Until Shalltear was free once again there might not be neither a unified guild nor Nazarick, and thus even more situations had to be considered than before.
Ainz had a long night ahead of him, that was for sure, surrounded by stat pages, items, barriers, and one ever-paranoid Albedo.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by Sluethen, clagan, Saphire_Drake, nate051499j6, Clagan, Antilene, Thea, LionLover, Lighflan, aidan_lo, and NuggetLover.
AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).