Chapter 55: The Decision
The forest air hung as still as stagnant water.
Ainz stood at the edge of the clearing, his gaze moving inch by inch across the ground beneath him. His movements were slow; behind him, Igfalge and his companions had already begun exchanging impatient glances.
But none of them spoke.
From the moment they had stepped into this clearing, an indescribable pressure had settled over everyone. The churned earth, the snapped trees, the web-like cracks spreading across the ground — all of it spoke without words of what kind of battle had taken place here and at what intensity.
Ainz crouched down and extended a finger to touch one of the deep furrows in the ground.
The edges of the furrow had taken on a glass-like quality — the soil had been fired by intense heat into hard grey-green chunks. His finger bones traced along the base of the furrow, and he felt the faintest trace of magical residue, almost entirely dissipated.
Holy attribute.
The dark red light in Ainz's eye sockets flickered.
In the center of the clearing lay an obvious depression — an irregular circle, roughly three meters across.
This was what remained when a force had collided with [Pure Lance] and its energy scattered outward.
Ainz formed his assessment.
Shalltear's [Pure Lance] — a special skill that could be augmented by consuming additional MP to grant absolute-hit properties, creating a spear of light carrying an intense holy attribute with lethal capability against undead.
That something had forced Shalltear to use this meant the battle had already reached a considerable degree of intensity.
A voice came from behind him — one of the adventurers, careful and tentative.
"Did you find something?"
Ainz didn't turn around.
"No." His voice was calm to the point of near-indifference. "Nothing at all."
Ainz genuinely hadn't found much — and even if he had, none of it could be disclosed.
He straightened up and took one final look around the ruined clearing.
Dusk had begun to seep in from the forest's edges. The light was failing, and the churned earth and broken trees looked more savage in the growing shadows.
"Let's head back," he said.
"Head — back?" Igfalge's voice came from behind, openly unsatisfied. "Just like that?"
Ainz turned and looked at the warrior's disgruntled face.
"What else?" Ainz's tone was flat. "Wait here? Or do you think you can pull some clue out of these marks?"
Igfalge's face went red. His lips moved a few times, but nothing came out.
Ainz was right. There was nothing here.
The walk back was silent in a way that pressed in on everyone.
Ainz walked at the front, his pace considerably slower than the walk in. He had no need of light to see the path in the dark, but the adventurers behind him did.
They lit torches. The orange-red flames danced between the tree-shadows, pulling each person's shadow out long and then short, long and then short again.
That battlefield had told him several things.
First: Shalltear had genuinely fought here. The marks left by [Pure Lance] don't lie.
Second: the opposing force was powerful. That it had pushed Shalltear to use [Pure Lance] meant the fight had reached a high intensity.
Third, and most important: Shalltear had not betrayed willingly.
The dark red light in Ainz's eye sockets brightened for an instant, then dimmed again.
If this had been a voluntary betrayal, Shalltear would not have been fighting here. She had been in the middle of carrying out her mission when something unexpected — something entirely beyond what she could have anticipated — happened to her.
"Narberal."
"Sir."
Her voice came from close behind. He could feel her gaze resting on his back, carrying the same focused, waiting attention as always.
"After we return, I need to make a trip back to Nazarick." Ainz kept his voice low, carrying only as far as Narberal's ears. "You stay in E-Rantel. Continue your activities as an adventurer."
"Understood." Narberal paused. "And these people..."
Her gaze swept briefly back over Igfalge and his companions.
"Leave them." Ainz's tone was indifferent. "They can't affect Nazarick."
Great Tomb of Nazarick. The Throne Room.
Ainz sat on the throne. Albedo stood below it, her pure white ceremonial gown spread across the black stone floor. Her hands were folded together in front of her, her posture composed and deferential.
"Shalltear wasn't in that cave." Ainz's voice resonated through the empty hall. "But she did fight there."
"Against whom?" Albedo asked.
"Unknown." A trace of frustration entered his voice. "And the Adventurers Guild has no information on her current location."
Albedo lowered her head.
"I've had Nigredo continue the search, but..."
Ainz completed the sentence for her. "I know."
Silence spread through the empty Throne Room.
"Then we try a different approach." Ainz said.
Albedo raised her head.
"Send out low-tier minions." Ainz had thought this through carefully before reaching his decision. "As many as possible. Take the battle site as the center, spread outward from there — systematic coverage in every direction."
"Low-tier minions?" A slight crease formed in Albedo's brow. Something like doubt moved through those golden vertical pupils. "But Lord Ainz, low-tier minions have limited capacity for independent thought. They can only execute the simplest instructions. If they encounter an unexpected situation..."
"They don't need to think." Ainz cut her off. The red light in his eye sockets pulsed once. "They only need to search. Anything anomalous, anything inconsistent with its surroundings — report it immediately."
Albedo was quiet for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood."
"In addition, summon a contingent of high-tier mercenaries." Ainz continued. "Low-tier minions handle the search; high-tier mercenaries handle anything unexpected."
His tone became heavier.
"If the enemy was capable of defeating and controlling Shalltear, our opponent may be considerably stronger than we imagined. We cannot afford to be careless."
An enemy strong enough to defeat Shalltear and possessing the capability to control her — the other Guardians couldn't be considered safe either.
"Recall all Guardians currently deployed outside." Ainz's voice came again. "Sebas is the exception. His intelligence gathering still needs to continue — but have him raise his alert level. If he detects anything unusual, he withdraws immediately."
"Understood." Albedo's voice was quieter than before. "I'll see to it at once."
The Throne Room fell quiet again.
Ainz sat alone on the throne, his gaze resting on some point in the empty air.
The dark red light in his eye sockets flickered unevenly — like two stars burning toward their end, making a last effort against the dark.
Shalltear.
He said the name to himself, silently.
Where are you?
No one answered.
In the empty hall, there was only this: old bones in an empty nest, sitting in silence, hoping for a child to come home.