"What a coincidence. Never thought I'd run into you here."
After the initial flash of stunned shock, Sebas recovered his usual old-fashioned gentlemanly poise. Probably because of his occupational habit, the Great Tomb of Nazarick's longtime butler kept playing the part of a butler even when he was out and about.
The golden-haired young woman beside him was one of the combat maids under his command—Solution Epsilon.
EeDechi stayed silent, already weighing her options. Only two choices stood in front of her: fight or don't fight. If she didn't fight, did she really think Sebas would just pretend he hadn't seen her and let them walk past each other?
Even if Sebas agreed to let it go and they parted on friendly terms, he would still contact the Great Tomb of Nazarick at once and call in a swarm of level-100 warriors to hunt her down.
This area was still inside the Sorcerer Kingdom's sphere of influence. EeDechi was traveling on foot; she had no way to teleport instantly to somewhere the Sorcerer Kingdom couldn't reach. Another world-shaking battle would break out, and she wasn't sure she could escape again with that strange "spatial rift" trick.
EeDechi could not let Sebas walk away. From his side, Sebas had to keep her here and stall until reinforcements from the Great Tomb of Nazarick arrived.
The two stared at each other, expressions turning grave at the same moment. Sparks seemed ready to fly where their gazes locked.
"Looks like we have no choice but to settle this with a fight," Sebas said slowly. "Last time, our match inside the Great Tomb of Nazarick never reached a real conclusion. Let's finish that undecided bout right here."
EeDechi placed one fist in the palm of her other hand in salute, her voice cold as glacial ice. "I'll accompany you to the end!"
Sebas shifted his feet a fraction. A terrifying killing aura surged out like a crashing tidal wave, rolling and pressing into every corner of the tavern.
He wasn't trying to intimidate EeDechi with it. He simply wanted to drive every last person out of the tavern and keep innocent bystanders from getting hurt. As the only level-100 powerhouse in the Great Tomb of Nazarick with a Justice Value of 300, Sebas was one of the rare few who actually felt pity for ordinary folk.
That same soul-stirring aura had once made Golden Princess's personal guard Climb lose his footing and shattered the will of the Re-Estize's strongest swordsman, Brain.
Sebas deliberately eased back on the weight of his killing intent. Even so, a wave of raw terror surged through everyone in the tavern. They didn't need to be told twice—they knew exactly how to save their own skins and bolted for the doors. If ants dared to watch a tiger fight, the best they could hope for was getting accidentally crushed under a stray paw.
In the blink of an eye the patrons and serving girls had vanished without a trace. The tavern stood empty, chairs and wine cups scattered and rolling across the floor. Only two sharply divided sides remained.
"Looks like your companions have made real progress too," Sebas said. His gaze slid past EeDechi's shoulder to where Barrett stood ramrod-straight in the roaring killing aura, unmoved as a mountain. Cheeko crouched behind Barrett's legs, one pointed cat ear peeking out.
Sebas flicked a quick glance at the golden-haired young woman by the table—Solution. She caught the look instantly.
With strong backup on his side, Sebas wasn't foolish enough to fight EeDechi alone. All he had to do was stall her while Solution sent word to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The old gentleman unbuttoned his black tailcoat and tossed it aside, revealing the powerful chest muscles beneath his white shirt. A metal plate scarred with blade and axe marks suddenly appeared in his hand.
The plate shot outward, swelling in size and ripping open a dark-red portal in mid-air. Its four corners blasted outward, smashing straight through the foundation and punching clean through the tavern roof. Wooden splinters exploded outward like yellow moths dancing on an autumn wind.
The portal howled with savage winds. Powerful gusts rolled through the tavern, shoving wooden splinters, beer bottles, tables, and chairs straight into the doorway. Looking inside revealed an endless barren plain, its blood-red mountain ranges stretching and rising like a hidden pocket dimension.
"Please!" Sebas swept his hand toward the portal in invitation. He had clearly created this private duel space to keep any innocents from getting caught in the crossfire.
EeDechi frowned, trying to get a clear look at what lay beyond, but the dark-red portal suddenly yawned wide like the jaws of a massive beast and swallowed both her and Sebas whole…
The dark-red portal twisted and folded in on itself, spinning at blinding speed into a howling tornado. Purple lightning snaked and crackled through the crimson storm. For the moment, EeDechi and Sebas were both trapped inside.
Solution, still disguised as the golden-haired young woman, stretched one leg under her mink coat and nudged the black handbag by the table closer to her feet. She gripped the handle with one hand, ready to stand and leave—only for her other hand to be seized in an iron grip.
"Leaving in the middle of a date without so much as a goodbye? That's no way for a lady to behave," Franco said, licking his lips with a wicked grin. His left hand was locked onto Solution's slender wrist like it had been welded there. No matter how hard she yanked, she couldn't break free.
"Disgusting human!" Solution felt as if a cockroach had just crawled across her skin. She realized at once that this man was no ordinary threat. Acting instantly, she dropped the black handbag and hurled a small copper scroll into the air with her free hand.
It was a message scroll from the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The instant it unfurled, everyone back at Nazarick would know they were facing the most urgent emergency.
Solution's eyes burned with dark malice. Once Lord Ainz arrived with the level-100 Guardians in tow, not a single one of you would escape!
The message scroll unfurled in mid-air. Ripples of magical energy spread outward, only to slam back as if they had struck an invisible spatial wall. The opened copper scroll clattered to the floor with a metallic clang. Solution stared in disbelief.
Franco grinned smugly. He lifted his right hand from beneath the table, sparks crackling at the tip of his teal staff.
"You… cast a blocking spell!" Solution snarled, fury and panic rising in her voice. A spell strong enough to jam a message scroll had to be at least 9th Tier. She was no match for him. The hand Franco gripped suddenly turned soft and slick as an eel, slipping free. He clutched empty air.
Solution snatched her handbag. The cumbersome mink coat slid off, revealing her black-and-white combat maid uniform with iron-plated greaves. She leaped up and sprinted—straight into the path of Barrett's savage two-handed sword.
Her body split clean in two. The halves flowed around the blade and merged back into a full humanoid shape. Her long legs bounded across tables and chairs as she raced for the tavern door.
"So you're an amorphous slime? Like some kind of ooze monster?" Franco flicked his staff and unleashed a 9th Tier spell crafted specifically to destroy formless slimes.
"Wave of Disintegration!"
Solution took the blast head-on. Her form froze, then melted and collapsed into a shapeless puddle. She no longer resembled anything human, yet she still wriggled desperately toward the exit.
Franco cast again. An octagonal binding spell slammed down, trapping Solution against the floor. He watched the formless ooze churn inside the transparent eight-sided box and let out a relieved breath. "Good thing I didn't let her trick me into bed."
"Now we just wait for the captain to step out of that 'door,'" Barrett said, planting both hands on his sword hilt and staring at the half-collapsed tavern where the roaring, lightning-laced tornado still spun.
"EeDechi isn't coming out," Solution's voice rose from the floor, sharp and venomous as a needle. "Inside the Knife and Chopping Board, she's nothing but meat for Master Sebas to carve up!"