Ainz's eyes flashed with fire.
"Data volume"—this was standard gaming terminology, a term from YGGDRASIL used to describe how much enhancement data a weapon or item contained. Naturally, the higher the data volume, the stronger the item.
People in this world did not know this term. Instead, they used "magic power."
So why had this YGGDRASIL term emerged from the mouth of this old woman...?
The next moment, the "answer" to the question came flying at Ainz in a form he absolutely did not want.
"My 'friend' was very generous in sharing all this information. Ah... what an astonishing 'worldview,' Sorcerer King... no, Preya."
Friend?
She had a player friend!
The situation suddenly became grave.
From Rigrit's description, this player clearly had a deep bond with her, for otherwise, they would not have shared all the information, even using terms as suggestive as "worldview"...
In that case, the actions of Nazarick—his actions—amounted to a unilateral declaration of war.
Declaring war unilaterally when the enemy's intelligence was completely unknown. Was the opponent an individual? A guild? Did they possess World Items?—Dammit, could they be the ones who used mind control on Shalltear!
Given that Rigrit was a member of the Thirteen Heroes, it could be inferred that this mysterious "friend" had arrived at least a hundred years earlier than himself.
While many races had lifespans, even more had no lifespan or extremely long lifespans.
Dammit... I was careless!
Ainz's mood was like being doused with a bucket of cold water.
This was information that could have been known in advance—from the captured Iburiel. Since she was also a Thirteen Hero, there was a high likelihood that Iburiel knew about this mysterious player.
But in reality, Ainz had not obtained the information smoothly.
Of course, it was not because he could not get it out of her. Under the influence of [Command Undead], even if Iburiel was filled with grief and indignation, she would have eagerly spilled everything she knew.
And she could absolutely not lie or hold back anything—that was the pitiful position of a "dominated one."
But there was a concern that made Ainz hesitant to ask for information recklessly.
That was the precedent of Nigun, captain of the Special Forces 'Sunlight Scripture' of the Slane Theocracy.
This man had originally held a wealth of information that could have drastically expanded Nazarick's knowledge of this world from the start. However, the problem was that after asking only three trivial questions of Nigun, he died.
He was not killed by Nazarick but by a mysterious anti-intelligence magic that cut short his life.
Through experiments on other members of the 'Sunlight Scripture,' Ainz learned that this was a unique anti-intelligence magic in this world. Those who had this magic cast on them would die on the spot if they were asked three pieces of information.
The mechanism was unknown. Ainz had inquired everywhere in the guise of Momon and even consulted that girl pretending to be a boy... Ninya, when he was acting with the adventurer party "Black Scripture."... What distant memories.
However, this magic remained shrouded in mystery, and Nazarick had no more information about it.
Therefore, he could not be certain that Iburiel did not have this magic cast on her. Especially after Ainz asked the first question.
The first question was, "What trump card were you originally going to cast?"
As a dominated being, Iburiel, in order to help her dominator understand better, very "considerately" revealed everything, including the "warning" from the Platinum Dragon Lord.
The gist was that she had an innate ability that stored a certain mysterious magic of a Dragon Lord, and the Platinum Dragon Lord "feared the leakage of information," so he did not explain it to her in detail.
—Fearful of information leakage.
Then, why couldn't the Platinum Dragon Lord cast that anti-intelligence magic on Iburiel? Not just possible, but highly probable, right?
With this consideration in mind, Ainz's second question was very cautious and cunning.
"Who is waiting for you at your base ?"
He directly assumed that someone was waiting at the place they were originally going to, avoiding wasting a question. Moreover, by asking "what kind of person," he avoided the ridiculous situation of only getting a name in response.
Thus, he obtained the basic information about Rigrit Bers Caurau.
But that was where it ended.
Before formulating a complete response strategy, after much consideration, Ainz put aside the third question that might cause the loss of a valuable intelligence source.
And according to Iburiel's description, Rigrit had equal or more information. Therefore, capturing this Rigrit and making her a "consumable" was the best strategy.
—That was what Ainz had originally thought.
(Dammit... I was careless! If I had known, I should have asked about "players" even at the risk!)
"Oh my... Does Your Majesty also get flustered?"
Although her tone was playful and even slightly disrespectful, Rigrit knew perfectly well where she stood.
The limits of psychological warfare were clear; it could not overturn an absolute power gap. At most, it could only make the opponent hesitate slightly.
—A one-in-a-million chance!
Old friend! After a hundred years, let me shamelessly borrow your strength again!
Just as subhumans like lizardmen believed in "ancestral spirits," humans sometimes felt the blessing of departed ones.
"My 'friend' is a Preya who can make people open their hearts, unlike Your Majesty."
"Ho..."
The atmosphere emanating from the Sorcerer King was undoubtedly one of hesitation.
Hesitation about whether to confront his old friend who had passed away a hundred years ago—the captain of the Thirteen Heroes.
Right here, no more delay! This was the thin thread between cliffs, that one-in-a-million chance!
Without speaking further, Rigrit mobilized all the power she could use from her body, no, her entire life.
The opponent was a top-tier undead and a necromancer far superior to herself. Her skills as a "Necromancer" were probably nothing in front of him.
But it didn't matter; she had a trump card.
(...My hundred years of adventure weren't in vain. Let you see... the "Preya Countermeasure" I developed with Preya's help...!)
"「Magic Range Enhancement • Dragon's Breath Simulation • Flames of Karma」!"
"Hmm...?"
Successfully seizing the mere second when Ainz was lost in hesitation, Rigrit launched her attack first.
This was her self-created 5th-tier magic, simulating the breath of the three great dragons of the Council State, with three attack modes: karma fire, ice, and storm. However, the simulated breath not only had reduced power but also... counted as a magical attack.
Considering the restraint against undead, Rigrit chose the karma fire breath.
But of course, it was in vain. Ainz had complete resistance to fire and was even immune to magic below the 6th tier.
"...Hmph!"
With just a wave of his hand, he dispelled the fierce pillar of fire before his eyes.
But this was just a distraction.
She had specially used "Magic Range Enhancement" to create a blazing inferno that blocked the Sorcerer King's vision.
On the other side of the fire wall, Rigrit's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Only Azuth was firing futilely at the Sorcerer King, shouting, "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!!" Of course, all the bullets were deflected before reaching the Sorcerer King.
"Tsk, what a bothersome fly. 「Magic Triple... Double Enhancement • Lightning Strike」."
A lightning magic effective against armor instantly penetrated the reinforcement of the magical armor, striking down the adamant-rank adventurer Azuth, who lay dying on the ground.
(Hmph, boring. You once fought Albedo and even obtained the information that "unenchanted ammunition is ineffective"... yet you didn't improve your attack method at all...)
"I won't let you die. I still need to 'invite' someone to consult you about the magical armor." Then...
Ainz looked around, trying to find Rigrit's whereabouts, but there was no one.
"Is it 「Hide Aura」 or 「Unknowable」? But such tricks are useless against me... Hmm? What!"
No one was there.
In the eyes of the Lord of Death, who could see through 「Perfect Unknowable」, there was not a trace of Rigrit.
"What... What's going on!"
Ainz restrained himself from looking around anxiously like a lackey.
He thought calmly. Even if it was a self-created magic, Ainz did not believe it could surpass 「Perfect Unknowable」.
Then could it be a martial art? The unique power of this world, such as 「Flowing Water Acceleration」, which could even have some inexplicable effect on Ainz, who had taken full time countermeasures.
But Ainz thought it was unlikely; the possibility of it being a martial art was very low.
Although her attire suggested she might have some warrior classes, it was almost certain that she did not reach the "level" required to learn martial arts, a warrior skill.
To learn magic, one must have sufficient caster class levels. Similarly, although martial arts were unique to this world, one could not learn them by simply raising a few warrior levels.
Then there was only one answer—
"It's an innate ability!"
A talent far more special and unpredictable than martial arts, a blessing unique to the human race.
"You got it, Your Majesty!"
That was indeed Rigrit's innate ability, and the principle was very simple: hiding her aura—completely shielding her presence to the point where even the Platinum Dragon Lord could not detect her.
She suddenly appeared behind Ainz, a plain-looking sword shining with an inexplicable light.
—Could it really work?
The move she was about to use might be called the pinnacle of original magic in this world.
It was a true unparalleled trump card completed with the full cooperation of her old friend, Preya—a "sword" that could harm high-level demons.
"Data volume" was an insurmountable barrier for the native inhabitants of this world.
No matter how strong their resolve or how firm their will, trash with insufficient data volume was still trash and could not pose the slightest threat to high-level beings.
Therefore, during the Demon War, Rigrit changed her approach. Abandoning the thought of breaking through the bottleneck of total magic power, she instead focused on "the efficiency of magic power utilization."
If dispersed magic power was ineffective, what if all magic power was concentrated at a single point? As a result, her self-created 6th-tier magic was born...
「Maximum Magic Efficiency • Magic Sword」.
Although it was magic, it required the user to have a certain warrior level to use it smoothly.
And in essence, it was an enchanting magic that required the weapon used as a "carrier" to be a non-magical weapon; otherwise, the weapon would definitely be destroyed. This was why she wore such an ordinary long sword.
She squeezed out all her magic power and concentrated it on the tip of the sword, a "line" less than ten centimeters long.
This was a divine skill unique to Rigrit.
It was this ten-centimeter thread that successfully cut through the incredibly tough bodies of many demons two hundred years ago, shocking those who had an advantage in level! And her old friend had also given a positive evaluation, saying it "barely counts as a player countermeasure."
—But would it really work against the Sorcerer King?
I have no other wishes! Just one strike, just to avenge one strike...!!
The Sorcerer King began to turn around, so quickly that Rigrit couldn't help but lament.
The first strike might... no, would definitely be dodged; the second strike... probably not, and then he would cast a spell! By then, the time for her 「Magic Sword」 would be approaching its limit, and she could probably only swing it once more...
In her prime, she could swing it for a full minute and concentrate even stronger magic power. How time flies.
The probability of success... fifty-fifty!!
Old friend—old me...!
Praying, Rigrit swung her first strike, and as she predicted, Ainz chose to dodge to the side...
However—
There was a sensation of hitting the "target," albeit very, very faint.
A trace of liquid沾 (stuck) to the blade edge, probably blood.
As a skeleton, did the Sorcerer King have blood? Obviously not, so—
Rigrit glared with a cursed gaze at the being that had suddenly intervened between herself and the Sorcerer King.
It was a frog monster wearing an exquisite suit. He had caught her sword with one hand, and there was a barely visible wound on his finger pad.
It would have been easy to avoid.
But Demiurge recalled Ainz-sama's previous words: "If we don't actually experience the enemy's power, we will make wrong judgments sooner or later."
This was probably the most special card the human race could play, so he might as well feel it with his fingers.抱着 (With) this thought, Demiurge took the blow.
In terms of the amount of damage caused, it was probably slightly more impressive than Brian's feat of cutting Shalltear's nail.
"Demiurge..."
"I deeply apologize, Ainz-sama! If you need to punish me for disobeying orders, I am willing... No, please punish me! But this subordinate absolutely cannot allow this strike to land on Ainz-sama!"
"Dem... No, no... You did well... Thank you, Demiurge."
He couldn't blame him. How could he blame him? Ainz thought. He... No, they could not turn a blind eye to risks to himself; this was predictable.
"Sorcerer King—ah!!"
Sitting on the execution platform, the Emperor witnessed everything that happened to the human hero.
He saw her wield her sword, seize the initiative, and then be defeated.
The monster named Demiurge, who had been in front of him a moment ago, appeared before the hero the next. He blocked her assault like a solid iron wall blocking a child'sramming.
Then, his tail unceremoniously swept into the hero's stomach, sending her flying like a ragdoll, far, far away.
Then he... melted the hero's sword with a black flame.
The hero, perhaps the strongest human hero, lay on the ground unable to get up. But she could still move—she was coughing up blood, probably because the monster had "shown mercy" and not delivered a killing blow.
"Barjead... Did you see his movements?"
"Hey, hey... Please don't make fun of me like that, Your Majesty the Emperor."
"Right... haha..."
Jircniv could only laugh awkwardly, with two faint tears of sorrow in the corners of his eyes.
Could it be over now? Jircniv just wanted to throw himself into his concubine's arms and sleep soundly.
But his intuition told him that things were far from over.
Look! The Sorcerer King placed his finger by his ear. Jircniv had seen this before and knew that the 「Message」 magic was being cast.
The Emperor swallowed nervously.
The one who sent the 「Message」 was Edoma.
Her voice had changed to Iburiel's. To be honest, Ainz still felt slightly unaccustomed, but he had to say what needed to be said.
"The new voice suits you too, Edoma."
"Thank you for the gift, Ainz-sama."
"Hmm. So, what happened?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama. Nigredo-sama has detected new targets entering the surveillance range and moving toward Ainz-sama's position. At the same time, Aura-sama and Mare-sama have also visually confirmed them. Albedo-sama asks if new reinforcements are needed."
"Oh... Another one taking the bait. Humph, what is it?"
"—Dragons. A group of dragons."