Albedo clearly still had more to say, but faced with Ren Kuroda's firm attitude, she could only relent and step back.
That said, she didn't go far.
Instead, she remained just behind him, close enough to intervene at a moment's notice should anything happen. Her eyes never left his back for even a second.
As for Ainz's side—his opponents were nothing more than a handful of insignificant fighters from the Kingdom. There was no conceivable way anything could go wrong there.
Now that only two Supreme Beings remained in Nazarick, Albedo had no intention of allowing anything to happen to Ren.
Not only was Ren one of the Supreme Beings, he was also Ainz's most important friend.
For both reasons, she felt it was her absolute duty to protect him—even at the cost of her life.
"…So you're still worried about me, huh?"
Ren's voice carried a faint hint of amusement.
"In that case… I'll show you."
He turned slightly, just enough for his gaze to flicker back toward her.
"My third form. You've already seen the first two, right?"
—
Deep within Nazarick, in one of its grand chambers, nearly every high-ranking figure had gathered.
At the center of the room, a projection spell displayed the battlefield in perfect clarity—Ren and the others locked in confrontation.
The one who had summoned everyone here was, unsurprisingly, Shinya.
And at the moment—
He was in a terrible mood.
His sharp gaze flickered with barely restrained irritation as he criticized Albedo's judgment.
"Ren-sama already warned them… and yet she still allowed both Supreme Beings to face such dangerous enemies with such minimal escort…"
His tone was calm—but cold.
"The escort consisted of only herself, Kaito, and barely Yui as additional support. That level of preparation… is negligence."
The space had already been sealed by Ainz's artifact, cutting off any chance of reinforcement.
So instead, Shinya had gathered every available combat asset within Nazarick.
The moment the seal was lifted—
They would deploy instantly.
Inside the chamber were the Floor Guardians, the head butler Sebas, Pandora from the treasury, Sakura of the shrine domain, Aurelia, and the entire Pleiades battle maid squad.
Shalltear stood among them, her expression twisted with fury.
A suffocating aura radiated from her body—on the verge of spiraling into full-blown Blood Frenzy.
Because through the projection—
She had recognized them.
Among the Black Scripture… were the ones who had once controlled her using the World-Class Item.
And worse—
That wretched creature known as "Zesshi" had dared to say she wanted to bear Ren-sama's child.
A lowly insect—barely more than vermin—daring to covet him?
Unforgivable.
Shalltear's rage climbed with every passing second. If she could, she would have traded places with Albedo immediately and torn them apart herself.
Especially that woman.
She swore—
She would not allow her an easy death.
—
And Shalltear wasn't the only one furious.
Aurelia Omega stood quietly nearby, her usual gentle smile still resting on her lips.
But the air around her had changed.
Dark.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
The other Pleiades maids could tell instantly—
She was furious.
To Aurelia, Ren was not just a Supreme Being.
He was her creator.
A father-like figure.
And the one she admired above all others.
That someone would dare speak of him so casually—so shamelessly—
It was intolerable.
While Shalltear had been restrained—barely—by Shinya and Aura, Aurelia was… different.
She didn't shout.
Didn't lash out.
But that quiet anger?
It was far more unsettling.
And because of her special status—being deeply connected to one of the two remaining Supreme Beings—no one dared handle her carelessly.
In a sense, she and Pandora were alike.
If Ainz and Ren had no heirs, then calling them their "children" wouldn't be far off the mark.
—
The Pleiades had a particular trick when it came to calming their youngest sister.
Talk about Ren.
So Lupusregina, watching the projection, suddenly had an idea.
"Hey, little Aurelia~"
She leaned in with a playful grin.
"Ren-sama mentioned his third form, right? I've seen two of them before—back when he fought Shalltear-sama."
She tilted her head slightly.
"But even Kaito-sama said those were the only ones he's seen. Do you… happen to know about the others?"
The effect was immediate.
Aurelia blinked—
Then puffed her chest out proudly.
"Of course I do."
Hook, line, and sinker.
Lupusregina's eyes sparkled with interest as Aurelia began explaining eagerly.
"The first form is Father's Oni Transformation. In his partial oni state, his physical strength, vitality, and regeneration increase severalfold."
"The second form is the release of the spirit within his divine blade. In that state, his senses become extremely sharp, and the power of his techniques rises dramatically."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"As for the third form… Father rarely uses it."
"Because it's only meant for situations where his magic power is depleted—or when he needs to drastically increase it in a short amount of time."
"Even though Father's mana isn't quite on the same level as Ainz-sama's, it's still absurdly high. Under normal circumstances, he would never run out."
Her tone grew even more animated as she continued.
"The divine artifact 'Endless Sake Gourd'—it's something Father personally created. The original version couldn't keep up with his strength anymore."
"So he invested a lot of resources—spent a lot—and gathered rare materials, then had it reforged and enhanced with the help of the Supreme Being Midorikiroku-sama."
"And the third form… is used together with the high-purity sake stored inside it."
Her eyes gleamed.
"When Father enters that state… it's somewhat similar to Shalltear-sama's Blood Frenzy."
"But it's fully controllable."
"And more importantly—"
"His mana surges explosively… and his recovery speed increases several times over!"