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In the blink of an eye, Albedo's aura shifted.
It was no longer the restrained presence she'd kept hidden. Instead, the overwhelming authority of Nazarick's Guardian Overseer surged outward, dense and oppressive, though tightly contained within the small space around them.
"Rubedo!"
Her voice was sharp, absolute.
"I'm warning you for the last time, in the name of the Guardian Overseer. Return to the Eighth Floor immediately! Your actions have already violated Lord Ainz's will and are putting Nazarick at risk!"
Rubedo let out a soft laugh. The arm around Albedo's waist tightened, almost provocatively, her fingers pressing deep enough to nearly pierce skin.
"Heh… still putting on that Overseer act, I see."
Her tone suddenly dropped, turning cold, tinged with a strange, unsettling excitement.
"But right now… I just want to play."
Albedo's eyes sharpened.
(As expected. Orders won't work.)
She changed tactics instantly. Her voice remained icy, but her words shifted.
"Play? What do you think Lord Ainz and I are doing? Playing house?"
Her gaze flicked toward Illya, her tone lowering, guiding.
"Look carefully. That 'toy'… isn't like the trash you've torn apart before. In front of her, acting recklessly might cost you even the right to play."
Rubedo tilted her head slightly. Beneath the lace eyepatch, a faint purple glow flickered. For the first time, something like genuine interest surfaced.
"Oh? Even you think she's dangerous?"
"Not dangerous. Unknown," Albedo corrected precisely, laying out the bait. "If you want to enjoy yourself instead of getting 'broken' instantly, you need to understand how your toy works. Find its weakest, most interesting 'switch.'"
She glanced at Rubedo meaningfully.
"And right now… your appearance almost scared it off."
Rubedo fell silent for a moment, as if digesting that.
Then her smile widened, bright with the thrill of discovering new rules to a game.
"So this is the 'observe and find the weak point' phase?"
Finally, she let go of Albedo, instead patting her head like one would a pet.
"You should've said so earlier, my dear big sister Overseer sister.' This sounds fun too~"
Albedo resisted the urge to slap her hand away, calmly fixing her slightly disheveled hair.
"Then control your destructive impulses. Until we find the 'switch,' any reckless move will be treated as betrayal against Lord Ainz's will. I'll exercise my authority as Overseer and 'retrieve' you—no matter the cost."
A naked threat.
Rubedo, however, only seemed more excited. She giggled and stepped forward. Her nun's habit began to shift in color with her rising mood, black subtly bleeding into a strange cherry-blossom pink.
"Don't worry~ I'll watch very carefully…"
Standing beside Albedo, she fixed her gaze on Illya. Her tongue lightly traced her lips as she murmured, almost like evaluating an object's durability:
"She looks so soft and delicate… I wonder how many 'adjustments' she can take before she breaks. I can't wait~"
—
In the distance, Illya finally seemed satisfied with the street food.
She dusted off her hands, her gaze drifting until it landed on a grand building at the end of the street—a luxurious inn, complete with a courtyard and tower, clearly meant for wealthy merchants or nobles. It looked like a miniature castle, oddly out of place among the surroundings.
She walked over casually and exchanged a few words with the neatly dressed attendant at the door.
Then, with a flick of her finger, she tossed him a gemstone—one she'd casually conjured. Its pure magical energy made even the well-traveled attendant's heart skip a beat.
His attitude changed instantly. Bowing deeply, he ushered the mysterious and extravagantly wealthy girl inside through the grand, castle-like doors.
Illya disappeared within.
—
From the shadows, Albedo watched her enter the enclosed space and let out a quiet breath. A controlled environment made surveillance easier.
But when she glanced at Rubedo—whose purple glow was intensifying, whose body practically vibrated with anticipation—that brief relief vanished.
(The greatest variable has entered the field… Lord Ainz, your most dangerous 'weapon' has been unsheathed beyond control. What comes next… will be anything but stable.)
For the first time, Albedo felt true pressure. She had to monitor not just an incomprehensible "catastrophe," but also guard against the chaotic entity beside her that could drag everything into destruction at any moment.
This hidden game had just escalated to hell-level difficulty.
Rubedo, meanwhile, rolled her neck slightly. Her joints gave off faint metallic cracking sounds.
Staring at the "castle" where Illya had vanished, her smile grew more twisted, more dangerous. The pink hue spread further through her outfit, even tinting the ends of her hair and her stockings, as if soaked in some restless energy.
"Hide-and-seek in a little box, huh? Hehe… 'finding' and 'unwrapping presents'… those are my favorite parts."
Her whisper slithered through the darkness like a snake's tongue.
—
The two of them slipped silently toward the inn.
Rubedo's concealment was even more terrifying than Albedo's. It wasn't magic, but something instinctive—an eerie ability to erase her presence entirely. Even the inn's anti-thief wards didn't react in the slightest.
They quickly located Illya's top-floor suite.
Through a crystal window enhanced with special vision magic, the room's interior was laid bare before them.
The suite was lavish—thick carpets, exquisite furnishings—but neither of them paid attention to that.
At the center of the room, Illya had just finished bathing.
She wore only a white silk slip. Her damp golden hair draped over her shoulders, faint mist rising from it. The terrifying aura she'd displayed earlier was gone, replaced by a soft, almost gentle charm.
She stood before a full-length mirror, frowning slightly as she compared several dresses.
One was an elegant lavender court gown. Another, a practical adventurer-style leather dress. The last was a playful pale-yellow dress trimmed with lace.
"Hmm… which one should I wear?"
She tapped her chin, blue eyes flickering with a girl's simple indecision. She even held up the yellow dress and spun lightly, the hem fluttering as a shy, satisfied smile appeared on her face.
The sheer normalcy of it made Albedo's pupils contract slightly.
(…Just like an ordinary noble girl, fresh from a ball, choosing her outfit for the next outing.)
The overwhelming fear and caution from earlier began to loosen… and something else crept in.
(Could everything before have been some kind of phenomenon we don't understand? Or maybe she has power, but her mind is still immature? A child with immense strength but no idea how to use or hide it…)
Once that thought took root, it spread quickly.
Her love of food. Her fondness for cute accessories. This perfectly ordinary behavior…
Maybe Lord Ainz had been overly cautious. If her "weakness" was this obvious, then no matter how strong she was, she might not be impossible to deal with.
At that moment, Rubedo's low, metallic laughter cut through her thoughts.
"Hehe… look at that. Our 'great' mysterious being, the one who even moved Lord Ainz… this is what she's like in private?"
Her tone dripped with mockery and excitement.
"Albedo, tell me again. In detail. How exactly did she 'play' before? That light sword… that power to restore everything… I want every detail."
Albedo frowned, but to keep her in check, she gave a concise yet precise recounting—Illya summoning the giant sword of light, destroying the town, then restoring it instantly. The suffocating pressure. Lord Ainz's judgment: Level 119.
This time, however—
Rubedo burst into wild laughter.
"HAHAHAHA… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The sound echoed within their concealment barrier, filled with manic joy. As her emotions surged, her black habit rapidly shifted into vivid cherry-blossom pink. Even her hair tips and stockings glowed faintly with that hue, her entire being radiating unstable, dangerous allure.
Behind the lace eyepatch, the light flickered between black and purple, mirroring her chaotic excitement.
"Interesting! Too interesting!"
She grinned wide, almost tearing at the corners.
"She has that kind of power, yet she still eats, sleeps, picks pretty dresses… a human girl with flesh, blood, and a brain?!"
She turned sharply toward Albedo.
"Albedo! My dear big sister! Don't you see it yet?"
Her voice trembled with excitement.
"As long as she's human—with a fragile, intricate nervous system, with hormones, with emotions—then she will be affected by my [Mind Domain Weaving]!"
Albedo froze for a split second.
Then realization hit like lightning.
A smile—sharp, almost scornful—spread across her face.
"Of course…! How did I forget?"
Her earlier caution melted into exhilaration.
"No matter how strong she is, she's not like Lord Ainz, an undead without a brain. She still has human weaknesses—the most fundamental ones. Nerves. Desires."
She looked at Illya, who had now chosen a pale blue, star-patterned dress and was happily changing into it, humming a tune.
A sense of superiority filled her gaze.
"Rubedo…"
Albedo's lips curled slightly.
"Maybe… you really could… 'defeat' her."
There was even a hint of encouragement in her tone, like urging a child to dismantle an expensive toy.
Rubedo trembled with excitement at the near-confirmation. The pink hue deepened across her body.
"Then… let me test the 'durability' of this 'strongest toy' first."
Her tongue slowly traced her lips.
The next moment—
The light beneath her eyepatch turned into a deep, devouring black.
A visible darkness, like liquid shadow, began to gather around her. It wasn't lifeless—thin strands of violet lightning flickered within it, crackling softly. Beautiful, yet terrifying enough to freeze the soul.
She raised a hand, tracing lightly in the air.
The condensed dark lightning danced at her fingertips.
Then—
Toward Illya, who was completely unaware, just lifting a honey-drizzled cream pastry to her lips—
Rubedo exhaled a tiny black sphere, no bigger than a thumb.
It vanished the instant it left her lips.
And—
"Mm!"
Inside the room, Illya had just taken a bite.
Suddenly, she let out a muffled groan. The pastry slipped from her hand, dropping onto the carpet.
Both hands flew to her head. Her fingers trembled, turning pale with force. The color drained from her face, replaced by intense pain and confusion.
(What is this?!)
Her mind churned violently.
(This is directly affecting my neurons?! It's not magic, not a mental attack… it's something deeper—interference at the level of biological code?! That's impossible! There's no such mechanic in the game!)
"..."
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