"— Aaaaaaaaa!"
Brain cried out like some sort of strange bird. It came from the depths of his soul, carrying the full power of his being.
He executed an incredibly high-speed ‘Instant Flash’, aiming it based on the information gained from the use of his ‘Field’. But it didn't stop there— from the ‘Instant Flash’, he continued into another move.
That move was—
Four simultaneous sword strikes.
That was Gazef Stronoff's technique, the very same one that had defeated Brain Unglaus at the martial arts tournament where they had first fought. It was a move that Brain had admired, even as he told himself he was only learning and imitating it in order to fully understand his opponent. It was a technique that he had sealed away with his hatred and resentment.
But now, in this moment, freed of all self-doubt and restraint, Brain used it without hesitation.
"「Fourfold Slash of Light」!"
In truth, the Fourfold Slash of Light had a massive weakness.
Executing four simultaneous attacks would place a massive burden on the body, and it would cause the attacks to scatter in different directions. Because this technique's accuracy was low, even its creator Gazef only used it when surrounded by multiple opponents.
Although the Fourfold Slash of Light did not make as many attacks as the Sixfold Slash of Light, it was easier to direct all the attacks toward the same opponent. Even so, getting them all to connect was still quite unlikely.
This wild attack should not be able to strike Shalltear Bloodfallen. Brain was very clear on that.
But Brain possessed a martial art that Gazef did not. It was a support technique that provided an incredible power-up within its radius— ‘Field’.
The four wild swings were corrected mid-flight by the superhuman precision of ‘Field’, following the path Brain had visualized for them. All four blows struck home with complete accuracy at super-speed.
Even a hero — one who had surpassed all other humans — would have had trouble blocking that attack. Mortals, wrought of weak flesh and bones, would not be able to even muster up the stamina to defend against it. This was a strike that had transcended the realm of mortal ability.
But Shalltear Bloodfallen was well above humanity herself, standing in a league of her own that nobody could ever hope to exceed. To someone like her, those four simultaneous strikes were little more than a snail taking a stroll in the sun.
"Hmph."
Shalltear snorted at him as his left hand moved faster than the eye could see. A sound of metallic clashing rang out through the night air. What had happened was that the simultaneous deflection of the four strikes had blended into a single sound.
All four blows had been repelled, leaving her untouched.
Shalltear shrugged her shoulders, laughing under her mask. It wasn't directed at the foolish warrior before her eyes, but rather at herself for having played along with him thus far.
But then, in the next moment, Shalltear's eyes went wide.
Right now, if someone had converted their ability into data and compared them, he would undoubtedly be cheering for Brain. It was a miracle, like the sun rising from the west, a sight that would fill people with awe and respect.
"…eh?"
Before her eyes, the nail of her left pinky finger had been shortened. It was a tiny flaw less than a centimeter in length.
Shalltear considered the current situation. The place which had been cut was the same place which had been used to repel all the strikes.
Come to think of it, those four strikes had been executed in two pairs, one above and one below. They had intersected on the spot where Shalltear had intercepted the attacks.
"…were you aiming for this?"
"Kuh— Ahahahaha!"
Suddenly, the man in front of her began laughing. Is he insane? Shalltear wondered. But it did not feel that way. More likely, he was laughing heartily over the fact that he had managed to slice off the tip of her fingernail, but she did not understand. So what if he managed to do it?
Shalltear’s nails and teeth were natural weapons, so using specialized weapon-destruction techniques to sunder them was technically possible. However, they would simply grow back with the application of healing magic, and in comparison to manufactured weapons of a similar class, they were far more resistant to harm. They were not on the same level as Divine class magic weapons like the Spuit Lance.
As such, Shalltear could not understand the reason for this man's laughter.
Cutting off a fragment of her fingernail would not change anything. Shalltear looked at the other four fingers of her left hand. Even if the nail of the little finger was shaved down a little, it would still be enough to tear a human body to pieces.
"…so, cutting it off means you pass, then?"
The man's eyes went round, and his jubilation intensified.
"I'm very grateful to you for such praise. My sword… my life was not spent in vain, after all. At the end, I still managed to make some progress toward the peak!"
That was not praise, however. Shalltear was just mocking him.
However, she could tell that his feelings were honest. In other words, the man was truly rejoicing about being able to clip a fingernail.
Did he have a few screws loose? Come to think of it, he had spouted a pack of rubbish when they had first met. All in all, it made her feel uneasy, so she had better kill him quickly. With that in mind, Shalltear stepped forward and—
— and Demiurge's call to battle came through.
Shalltear knew what that meant. Despite herself, she looked over to the distance, but she could not sense a presence.
"Is that the effect of Master's ring?"
One of the rings that Ainz wore would completely conceal him from all kinds of divination-type magic. It was normally issued to all the guardians, but it could also erase the presence of the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
With a sense of regret for not being able to sense her master, Shalltear turned her head back, and found that the human with a screw loose in his head had vanished.
Ah! I completely forgot about that strange fellow!
After a quick look around, Shalltear discovered that the man had turned his back on her and was busy jumping down into an alley. He must have made his move while she was distracted.
There's no way a mere mortal could escape unscathed from me.
If she used magic to slow down the flow of time, she could catch up to him before he even hit the ground. Without hesitation, Shalltear cast her spell.
"「Time Accelerator」!"
The air felt thick and viscous as Shalltear moved through it at incredible speeds, heading toward the place the man would land. As she descended, she observed his posture as he leapt down with glacial slowness. Although she could not harm him directly while the spell was in effect, she could still set up an ambush and make other preparations.
Just as well. I'll open my arms to receive him as he falls. Surely a human like him will be overjoyed to be embraced by a beauty like myself.
The corner of Shalltear's mouth quirked up as she thought of the expression that she could see on his face. As she landed on the ground, just before the spell ended, she sensed another presence close by.
— What's this?
It was a young man in a suit of pure white plate armor with a roguish-looking companion.
Brain landed in the alley and looked back up, but Shalltear was no longer there.
She didn't pursue me? No, that's not right, what if she wants me to lead her to the others, like last time?