LIGHTNOVELONLINE Stupid Skill
[Slane Theocracy]
The grand church, the most luxurious palace across the arguably oldest and most powerful human nation, a place of faith, hope and belief, a cornerstone of the six great gods' religion.
There reigned a deafening silence.
An emergency meeting was immediately conducted by the highest powers of the nation, the Supreme Executive Council.
12 people were currently in the room, they all held enough power to ruin entire nations, each wielded enough might and willpower to help govern an entire nation and make it what it was today.
But none spoke a word, silence remained a common point between all of them for a while now, but not all chose it for the same reason.
Some of them were too shocked by the situation to even speak, some were desperately thinking of the implications of what has happened today and finally, there were some of them who had the foresight to question their next actions.
But there was something common between them, something that plagued all their minds simultaneously.
The six cardinals especially, their stress was the most palpable of those present.
“T-T-The Bringer of Calamity”
It was the cardinal of fire, the old woman named Berenice Nagua Santini who interrupted the silence.
She spoke with great difficulty, her lips shaking and shivering from the fear that binds her body. It took a capable human to reach where she was today, but the severity of the situation had finally shaken her unshakable mentality.
And like a parasite, her words stroked the fears of her fellow men, which finally ceased the reigning silence.
“...The a-ancient t-texts were true…the world end is dawning near”
It was Dominic Ihre Partouche who spoke next, formerly known as the holy paladin of the sunlight scripture and now being the cardinal of wind, had helped his mental fortitude a little more than his female comrade.
But that wasn't helping much right now.
“...D-Dear g-g-gods”
Yvon Jasna Delacroix, the cardinal of light and the arguably most religious of the cardinals was clearly the most affected, which was highlighted by his regular demeanor of calmness and professionalism being thrown out of the window.
Which was instead replaced with despair.
“Calm Yourselves!”
A sudden gruff voice interrupted the minor panic attack that plagued the cardinals' hearts.
“How could figures such as yourselves fall to such a degree! Compose yourselves!!”
The gruff voice belonged to an old and wrinkled man, his red robes and silver pendant gave him a great air of authority and seniority, and from the sudden silence that came after his sudden outburst, it was obvious that everyone present greatly respected him.
“...We apologize, Pontifex Maximus”
“I'm deeply embarrassed by such a display”
“I'm deeply sorry, everyone”
After they had calmed down, the three cardinals gave their apology one by one, their faces quite confronted.
The old man just nodded slowly to accept their apology, his old wrinkled face displayed no emotions, his cold eyes staring directly at the center of the table, he looked like he was in deep thought.
And the silence continued for a small moment, just enough for the Pontifex to collect his thoughts.
He suddenly lifted his head and slowly looked around him, his gaze unblinkingly staring at each individual currently sitting around him.
“To everyone who thinks that this is the same entity that the six great gods had spoken of in the ancient texts, raise your hand”
His words spoken ever so quietly echoed like thunder in the ears of everyone here, it confirmed the belief that all of them had but refused to believe.
Slowly, out of the twelve humans currently present, all but one raised their hands.
And given that the one who didn't raise their hand was the Pontifex, the one who proposed the vote, it was clear that no-one disagreed.
Which was all the more dreadful.
“Then we all agree…Cardinal of Earth, would you care to announce the current state of affairs regarding the six Miko princesses”
The old man looked up from the table and directed his words to the leader of the six scriptures. A middle aged man that looked to be in his mid forties.
The middle-aged man was noticeably more composed than his fellow cardinals, and despite looking the youngest out of the bunch, his stony gaze and his confronted features spoke a great deal of his mental fortitude.
“...When the Miko Princess of Water suddenly erupted in flames, the windflower scripture was immediately called back and deployed to secure the Miko Princesses….But, they found nothing”
His words were calm and quiet, his features lacked any emotion other than pensiveness and as he confirmed the fears of everyone here, they slowly listened.
“...The four other Miko Princesses were found missing…likely meeting the same fate as their sister, and in addition to the Miko Princess of Earth having gone insane due to losing the Crown Of Wisdom…It seems that the Bringer Of Calamity words hold true”
The Cardinal of Earth, was the youngest of everyone that held a position in the supreme court, but being crowned as a hero for most of his life and serving in the most powerful unit in the entire country granted him credibility like no other.
So, when he confirmed what they all feared dearly, they had no choice but to believe him.
His words greatly shook everyone who heard it…not just because of the possibility of such an existence surfacing upon their world, or because of what he did or what that entails on their society or human kind as a whole.
But because they had angered him.
“The great gods spoke of a man…an angel…a demon…both”
The Pontifex spoke with cold indifference, his words appearing unconcerned with reality but harboring consequences beyond what is imaginable.
“The usurper of heaven and Bringer of Calamity…a being so powerful that was feared by Gods and Demons alike”
He seemed unconcerned with the situation but his shaking hands spoke volumes of his inner thoughts.
Because he knew…everyone knew, and without needing to confirm anything. They were all on the same page.
“It was said that those with the power to ascend to g-godhood be it monster or human…fear this being”
His voice worn out cracked slightly due to the strain that was put on him, his balled hands shook from the power of which he was clenching them.
“His existence greatly concerned the gods of old….so much so that no matter their differences, no matter their disagreements, no matter their alignment…they still passed down the being's name for those unfortunate enough to meet with him face to face”
It was true, no matter what religion you follow, be it the Six Gods Religion, the Eight Greed Kings or the Evil Deities. The same name kept being repeated over and over again…promising those who dared to forget it with a terrible fortune.
“Lucius Von Lucifer”
A shiver ran down their spine when the Pontifex spoke the name, it was like the name itself held power over those who dared so much as utter it without permission.
They felt so small, faced with a being so profound it defied their own comprehension, so powerful it brought despair into the coldest of hearts, so mighty it drove even the mightiest of gods into fear.
“We are likely the only ones who have come into contact with the Bringer of Calamity as of yet”
“So, for the future of humanity…no, the future of the world. Help me decide our future actions, so that our country doesn't fall into ruin, like he promised us it would”
……..
[Nazarick - Ainz's Office]
“According to Aura's report, there have been no contact with any other YGGDRASIL 'players', she's currently in the process of expanding the surveillance to the great woodlands near Nazarick”
Inside the office that houses the leader of the Supreme Beings day to day activities, his most trusted and most beautiful guardian overseer briefed him on the reports that the other guardians have been tasked with during his short trip to the outside.
Albedo, being the one directly under Ainz in the hierarchical pyramid and the one with the least amount of work at the moment, was the one who was currently by his side…to the annoyance of some.
“As for the ignorant human that dared to attack your majesty…I deeply apologize, but I couldn't gather any information about him yet, other than him being with the Slane Theocracy”
She hated not being of use to her Lord deeply, and coupled with their lack of information made her extra annoyed, not just at herself, but at Lucius as well.
But, despite being annoyed about it. Didn't mean that she didn't see the reason behind it.
Because like it or not, something significant enough for someone such as Lucius to act personally, factoring in his calculating personality that Albedo has come to observe since first seeing him.
'It couldn't be something harmful for Nazarick’
“Don't concern yourself with those human Albedo, Lucius promised me that he'll brief us on his discoveries here shortly, and in exchange, we'll brief him on our own discoveries. When we eventually come across some”
Ainz spoke lightly with no concern in his tone. He was obviously stressed about the lack of information and became even more stressed when Lucius killed their only lead to what was currently happening.
But when he asked Lucius to share his discoveries, he was relieved when the man agreed at the expense of him sharing his own discoveries, which made him more relieved.
The more facts circulating between them, the better. Knowledge is power, and despite Lucius being an all powerful god, knowing whether or not something or someone out there could potentially threaten it, is incredibly valuable.
“Speaking of the Slane Theocracy, the old village chief said that they despise those who aren't human, if I remember correctly”
“We should probably avoid contact with them for now. Thankfully, Lucius’ existence should keep them busy for a while, that's if they even survive”
The undead overlord's words may have been cruel, but they were correct.
And it wasn't only him that shared this opinion, Albedo and Demiurge, which were Nazarick's greatest minds also agreed.
Partially was to avoid annoying the Nephalem, but the other reason being that the nation hated non-humans and because Nazarick didn't fully know this word's full capabilities, they wanted to lay low for the moment.
“Then, what should we do about the village, Ainz-sama?”
“We should probably wait until Lucius arrives, but leave it as is for now. It should solve as our first foothold into the Re-Estize kingdom”
“Understood”
Albedo bowed elegantly once more, her tantalizing figure shone brightly like the most precious of diamonds, her alluring voice elicited the most the most of primal desires out if anyone fortunate enough to hear it and her snow white robe greatly enhanced her feminine look and brought out her greatest of assets into view.
It was a wonder that Ainz was able to fully remain focused while such beauty was at his beck and call…But then again.
With him being undead, it wasn't that much of a wonder.
“Good work, Albedo”
He lightly brushed her bow once more, and in response to that, a wide smile made its way on Albedo's beautiful face.
“I'm undeserving of such words! As the leader of the Supreme Ones, and the one I love, please use me as you wish!!”
Her dazzling smile and her heartfelt words slightly overwhelmed the undead overlord, so much so that he found himself at a slight loss for words.
He wasn't exactly affected by her appearance much, he wasn't capable of doing so to begin with. But what deeply affected him was the guilt.
The guilt that kept surfacing when he remembered that he was the one responsible for making Albedo harper feelings for him to begin with.
“Albedo, your feelings toward me are ones I wrapped inside you myself, that's why…”
He decided to tell her, come clean about him messing with how she was originally created, confess about him messing with how she was originally made to be.
She may scorn him, she may look at him with disdain, but nothing she will ever do could make him hate her in any way, it'll even lessen the guilt he's feeling every second he's around her.
…But never in his wildest dreams would've he ever imagined what she said.
“Is there a problem with that?”
'Huh?’ Was all he could think about at the moment, his brain had short circuited for a moment, giving the beautiful demoness to seize the opportunity and lean into him just enough for her chest was inches away from his face.
“Ainz-sama, there is only one thing that's important. Does it cause you trouble?”
Her hands were held close to her chest, her golden irises shone with incredible conviction as she stared at Ainz's empty eye sockets.
Her actions pulled Ainz out of his revere, and he was greeted with the demoness staring him dead in the eye.
“No, that's not the case”
He barely managed to let out his words despite the internal panic he was going through, which he didn't know if Albedo had picked up on or not.
“Then, isn't it fine?”
“Eh?!”
Thankfully, Albedo didn't seem to have noticed him panicking a little before, but her not missing a second and pushing on and on had truly troubled the overlord quite a bit.
“I messed with Tabula-san's settings Albedo, it isn't something that I can just ign-...”
“I'm sure that Tabula Smaragdina-sama would forgive you like a father would when marrying off his daughter”
With an adorable light blush that adorned on her cheeks, she swirled slightly like a teenage girl that fell in love. Which was finally the thing that affected the overlord's feelings…not that he was to be blamed.
At least, on the inside.
‘She’s so hecking adorable!!’
“Y-You think so?”
The minor stutter was something that he wasn't proud of, and it was something that Albedo found quite adorable, but before neither of them could speak further. A knock was heard from the door.
“A-Ahem...Enter”
The overlord lightly straightened his robes and couged to dispel the award atmosphere, and after permitting the one who knocked to enter.
Shalltear was the one who was seen coming inside. And after slowly strutting inside elegantly, she lifted the him of her dress and bowed a little in courtesy, she gave her greeting.
Or at least tried to.
“Ainz-sama, I hope you're w-!!! Hiaaa!!!!”
“Interesting choice of clothes there, little vampire”
Shalltear understandably panicked a little when she felt someone blow air beside her ear
Which resulted in some rather embarrassing sounds and a girlish scream that didn't fit the overall seductive demeanor she got going on.
Shalltear stumbled cutely to the side, but after getting her bearings back, she shivered quite violently.
She knew who this voice belonged to after all.
“Lucius, thank you for agreeing to meet us here today. Please, have a seat. Good morning to you as well, Shalltear”
Ainz didn't seem fazed when he saw the Nephalem suddenly appearing out of thin air, so he called out to him with surprising calmness.
But, he would like to get him away from Shalltear, for the vampire's sake that is.
“Momonga, would you kindly tell the little girl on the eighth floor to stop stressing about me so much, forcibly sealing the space just a little bit harder won't do anything to me after all”
He slowly walked from behind Shalltear and made his way to one of the two couches that surrounded a table in the middle of the room, and that's when everyone in the office got a clear look at him.
Ainz had only seen Lucius in his armor since he first knew him, so he was surprised to see him wearing something else.
A neat looking gray suit with a pair of similar looking fancy gray shoes, his signature white and black hair was as messy as usual, but given his handsome face, it didn't do much to diminish his looks.
There was no trace of the walking disaster that is the Nephalem, or the divine deity that is the Angel, and with the absence of his wings, he looked exactly like a super rich and refined human.
‘It truly suits him, god damn you for being too handsome, Lucius’ Was what Ainz secretly thought to himself, but he had more important stuff to do, and rather than fall to pity jealousy, he decided to focus on the matter at hand.
And from the words that Lucius had spoken, it wasn't too difficult to understand who he was talking about.
“I’m sorry about her, Lucius. It's just that Omega is a little affected by…what had just happened to her. You single handedly destroying her entire anti-teleportation array did quite a number on her psychic, everyone's really”
And as if in response to the overlord's words, the man leaned back into the seat and crossed his legs with practiced movement.
He looked like a mafia boss, an underworld criminal mastermind that truly doesn't care about the lives of insignificant pebbles.
Which for all intents and purposes could have been true at some point, nobody knew about the personal life of Lucius Von Lucifer before YGGDRASIL afterall.
“I see” Was all he said in response to Ainz's words, not seeming all that concerned about himself being the primary reason for the current situation at all.
Ainz waited for the man to speak again, hopefully about the subject of his visit, but all he got was silence.
Silence that was accompanied by a flat stare, that was honestly quite unnerving.
He wasn't the only one too, Shalltear in particular was giving the man a particularly pensive look, which was a first to see for Ainz, due to it being deeply out of character for the vampire.
“Lucius, would you mind if I address Shalltear first? Our talk may take quite a while after all”
He decided to relieve the vampire from some stress by bailing her out from the…situation.
“I don't mind, go ahead”
Seemingly unconcerned, the Nephalem just gestured lightly while leaning further into his seat.
But it was obvious that he was listening, which Ainz didn't mind really.
“So Shalltear, what brings you to my room here today?”
“A-Ah yes! I'm here to join with Sibas who has already departed on your orders, I may not be able to return to Nazarick for a short time. So I came to give you my regards”
Her pale skin gained a slight blush as she spoke, her beautiful features truly looked perfect.
She looked so perfect and volatile that one could mistake her for a porcelain doll.
But, unlike a regular porcelain doll. This one can bite, literally.
Appearances can truly be deceiving, and despite Shalltear appearing like a helpless little girl, she was one of the worst monsters in a tomb full of them.
And that's exactly why Ainz chose her to go on this mission.
“Is it about gathering talented users of this called martial arts?”
“Yes Ainz-sama! After discussing the details with Demiurge, we decided to hasten our process of gathering information as much as we can”
“Mmm. Good, then you are permitted to lea-”
“Wait”
Again, the act of interrupting the supreme overlord would normally be met with consequences soo dire that death pales in comparison, nevermind continuously interrupting him on different occasions.
But, due to the Nephalem being the one who does it everytime, doing anything towards him was…difficult.
“Vampire, come here”
Shalltear shivered when she felt the being she dreaded the most address her directly, and shivered even more uncontrollably when she felt those violet eyes stare at her from afar.
She didn't dare look at them directly, her body refused to look at them directly, reduced to only staring at the ground and continuing to shiver helplessly and wishing for the moment to pass. The true vampire felt true fear.
She felt trapped, dragged into an endless Abyss of darkness and despair, her mind desperately denying the memories of facing that abominable creation in combat before. And the consequences that followed doing so.
“I won't bite you vampire, come here”
Seeing Shalltear's current state, Lucius' voice didn't change much, but the obvious lack of interest in his voice signified that he won't do anything to actively harm the Shalltear, which slightly relieved the vampire in question.
But fear wasn't something that could be explained with facts and reason, and despite undead being technically unable to feel fear.
Some things are made to be feared.
“It's okay Shalltear”
This time, it was Ainz who spoke, and with a surprisingly gentle voice that greatly contrasted his undead overlord visage, he urged the vampire to head towards the nephalem.
What drove him to assure the shivering vampire wasn't his new physique, but his feelings towards his supposed friends' children, and his self imposed responsibility to care for them.
And seeing Shalltear like this, and knowing that practically all residents of Nazarick now feel the same towards the Nephalem, it broke his undead heart.
He wanted them to feel fear towards the man, that's true, but to drive an undead like Shalltear into despair…the overlord couldn't imagine what the more fragile of hearts would feel when they come face to face with the man regularly in the future.
So, he decided to help his ‘children’ to adapt to their new guest over time, and they'll eventually stop feeling terrified at the prospect of facing him again.
…Except for Albedo, who for some reason didn't display any fear when faced with the Nephalem, despite being one of the few who had faced him in direct combat before.
Or at least tried to.
"Y-Yes! A-Ainz-sama”
She slowly made her way towards the man sitting in the center of the room, with slow movements that echoed quite clearly in the empty room.
It may look like her slow and deliberate steps were that of a confident woman, but the truths to point out otherwise couldn't be more obvious.
Her face never left the ground, her shoulders were slumped and her posture was shrunk and lastly, or thankfully, her long dress hid away her entire body from view, so her shaking legs couldn't be seen by her lord, which she was internally thankful for.
“I did want to teach you all a lesson in being humble, but I truly didn't intend to bring all NPCs trauma…but that's beside the point”
Even after she was finally inches away from where he was sitting, she still refused to look at him.
The action honestly affected Lucius somewhat, it did help remind him that his actions had affected living and breathing beings, they had consequences that he should be mindful of in the future.
But as for him caring for it or not, that was still unknown.
“You have that stupid passive called Blood Frenzy, correct?”
The moment he inquired about the blood frenzy skill, Ainz's interest in the conversation immediately spiked than It already was.
It wasn't like he wasn't interested before, and it's not like he didn't know the skill, everyone and their mother back in YGGDRASIL knew about the passive after all.
Basically, the blood frenzy was a passive obtained from either being a vampire, or acquiring the berserker class, but despite it being a free passive, it wasn't necessarily regarded as being something good.
Because you see, despite the attack power of the user soaring when the skill is activated, it decreases their intelligence, which in gameplay terms translates to limiting their attacks into its most basic form, in addition to requiring them to continue the slaughter to keep the skill running and thus continue keeping the attack boost.
Obviously, nobody wanted their attacking capabilities limited in any way, because despite the boost in power being significant, variety of attacks was just as important if not more, and limiting your options practically meant your death, if not sooner than later.
And based on Ainz's brief tests since coming to this world, it seems likely that the passive will truly decrease her intelligence and drown her in blood lust if she activates it.
Slowly, Ainz began to imagine the consequences of such a stupid skill suddenly activating, being drowned in bloodlust sounded like a recipe for disaster, which he truly didn't want to deal with at the moment, considering what he already had on his plate.
‘Thankfully, Lucius had said that in front of me, or I wouldn't have noticed…I don't want to think about what would've happened otherwise’
But while his thoughts continued to shift and wander, the overlord never took his eyes off the Nephalem for even a second.
Because there's got to be a reason behind him saying this, right?
Those who had previously known Shalltear to be the sadistic and cruel vampire she is would be in for a great surprise to see her now.
Her size was comically small compared to the man in front of her, which was further magnified when he slowly stood up from his seat and looked down at her.
The scene reminded Ainz of a little girl being scolded by her father.
…Which as he thought about it, wasn't quite as wholesome as he thought it would be.
“Y-Yes, It is an inherit skill for all vampires”
Shalltear muttered in a low voice while stuttering and staring at the ground.
Her voice held none of her usual seductiveness in it, her fingers kept twirling and fidgeting in nervousness, her eyes kept darting about as she stared straight at the ground.
Her shoulders also remained slumped which makes one wonder how an undead can reach such a state, especially one such as Shalltear who for all intents and purposes, is a true undead.
“Look into my eyes, Bloodfallen”
His words were spoken with his usual cold and emotionless voice, but real dissatisfaction could be felt from them.
Especially Shalltear, who was but inches away from the man, his annoyance washed over her like an oppressive wave, causing her to flinch involuntarily.
She battled her instincts, and ever so slowly she looked up from the ground, and into those deep violet eyes of his.
She felt lost in them, charmed by their serenity, entranced by their depth, and soon, she found herself unable to look away.
Her fear slowly started crumbling, it felt like all her previous worries were fading away, and their place came an unfamiliar feeling.
'It's...so beautiful’
“I’ll get rid of it. So, stand still”
Shalltear suddenly woke up from her trance, only to find the man that had haunted her dreams holding her by the chin.
His words didn't register in her mind, she was too flustered to even notice what he said, but understanding the look in his entrancing but firm eyes, she obediently stood still.
‘Hmph! How arrogant!’
His words spoken ever so casually, it was as he wasn't claiming to change the fundamental components that made up vampires as a whole species. And that to Albedo, sounded beyond egotistical.
It was the natural law of the world, and while the supreme ones made them the way they are, even with their unparalleled strength, they had to abide by the rules of the universe.
Demons couldn't be made into divine beings, humans didn't have an extended life span and dwarfs were naturally talented at forging.
All of these and more were practically how the universe was constructed, nobody no matter how powerful, could change these rules.
Which coincidentally included vampires naturally having Blood Frenzy.
His claims were frivolous at best, complete and utter nonsense from Albedo's perspective really, there's nothing in a million years he could do that could be able to do something of such absurd magnitude.
That's what she thought, the logical and calculating guardian overseer didn't think without reason of course, and all reason and common sense alluded to his claims being simply impossible.
But, despite her greatest of grievances…part of her believed him.
And to her displeasure, he proved her right.
“...Fascinating, to think Miasma and Divine Energy could perfectly synchronize”
After staying silent for a while now, Ainz couldn't help but mutter in half fascination, half shock.
Miasma wasn't something new to him, undead wielded incredible death magic after all, but seeing it perfectly mixing with Divine Energy, which was supposed to be its polar opposite, was something he didn't think was even possible.
As Lucius gathered each energy in one hand and combined them into one, what formed was an energy that looked neither good nor evil, neither benevolent nor malevolent, and unlike its two sources, it was gray.
It was unlike any energy Ainz had seen before, and as it danced around the Nephalem's body as it finished forming it looked somehow odd.
‘It’s like it has a life of its own' was what Albedo and Ainz thought at the same time, and Ainz made a mental note in his head to ask Lucius about this strange power later.
…In addition to the million things he wanted to ask about as well.
Lucius coated his left hand with this strange gray energy and with an open fist, he slowly made his way to Shalltear chest.
Shalltear watched his hand slowly make its way towards her body, she wanted to swat it away and yell that her body belonged to her master, that any male who dared to touch it would have his hands separated from his body and fed to the dogs.
But, she didn't, she obviously couldn't. But when the hand was about to make a grab for her ‘chest’ it phased through her body.
Specifically, towards her heart.
Shalltear suddenly found herself staring at a hand that was going into her chest cavity, the scene looked quite gory if you looked at it from afar, but when you see the serious look in Lucius’ face contrasted by the stupefied look and Shalltear.
The scene considerably lowers in severity.
“It should be done, but I need to test it first”
Lucius' cold voice woke everyone up, after letting his hand out and dissipating the rest of the gray energy. He stood fully straight again.
His hand pointed upwards and half vanished into what looked like a storage space, and after rummaging through the content of said space for a few seconds, he slowly pulled out what looked like a living and beating heart.
It was a real heart, likely belonging to a rather large animal from Ainz's observation, and the way it pulsed in the Nephalem's hand alluded to it being recently pulled out of a living animal's fresh corpse.
It's just that…it looked rather large for a small animal.
And now that he got the source of the fresh blood, all he had to do was expose Shalltear to it.
…Which was what he literally did. By popping the heart over the vampire, and covering her entirely in blood, from head to toe.
“Ahhh!!! What is this?! M-M-My d-dre-...wait”
The vampire instantly flared up and looked upwards with a horrified look at the man who did something so disgusting without even batting an eye.
And in her defense, anybody would feel disgusted by suddenly being covered in blood from head to toe.
But as the situation slowly dawned on her and after finally releasing that she was indeed covered in blood, she froze stiff.
Not, out of fear this time, but out of utter disbelief.
“B-But h-how? My skill would've forced me into a mindless monster by now?”
For the first time since getting into this room, she finally looked at the man straight into his eyes, and this time, the dominant emotion that she currently felt wasn't fear, or fascination, but shock.
“I simply ‘erased’ your skill”
“What?”
“Your skill”
“...Yes”
“I made it vanish, like it never existed”
Shalltear just stared at the man like he grew a second head, her head tilted to the side cutely, like s little girl having trouble figuring something out for the first time, but unlike the innocent expression that normally came with such little girls.
Hers was significantly devoid of emotion, ironically mirroring that of Lucius’ expression in a way.
And after a few more moments of silent staring, it was the vampire who lowerd her gaze first.
“[cleanse]”
She casted a level one cleaning spell on her body, completely getting rid of all the blood, and returning her dress into its previous pristine state.
And after getting back to her previous elegant appearance, she did something that was quite unexpected. Even shocking Albedo, who was quietly watching at the side.
She bowed, not towards Ainz, but towards Lucius, which took the man himself by surprise.
“Lord Lucius, thank you very much for riddine of that dreaded skill, I can't find enough words to express my gratitude”
It was true that Ainz had ordered them to address Lucius like they addressed him, but that wasn't something that the gaurdians could juts do at a whim, especially when the question was someone that wasn't a native to Nazarick, or someone of their creators and lords, the Supreme Ones.
But Shalltear here, despite her previous scared and terrified demeanor, made it seem like it was all a lie, and with a complete shift in attitude, she calmly and elegantly bowed towards the Nephalem with practiced movements.
It was like she had done so for a million times before.
“It's fine, Bloodfallen. This was something I've done for my own self satisfaction after all”
Shalltear didn't seem surprised by the man's lack of interest in her words, but what she found surprising was how he had started using her name instead of just calling her vampire.
She may have known the man for just a short period, but she had never heard him say any name other than the overlord's own.
It was honestly a little flattering, but she suppressed expressing her thoughts on her face in any way, and slowly turned towards Ainz while remaining bowed.
“Ainz-sama, if you'll excuse me. I'll be heading out right away”
“A-Ah, y-yes. You may go ahead”
Ainz, seemingly equally baffled by how the situation had turned out as well, let out words of approval unconsciously, and only waking up to the sight of Shalltear quietly leaving the room while closing the door behind her.
Silence kept stretching for a few minutes after that, which Ainz didn't even notice, and due to the sheer number of thoughts that were currently going through his head. It seemed like he wouldn't be caring for some more.
Or that was going to be the case, until eventually, he came back to his senses.
“sigh. I guess we should start with what happened to the sunlight scripture”