Remedios raised her sword and shouted at the three demihumans.
Remedios could still fight, like she had said. She placed a hand over her wounds and used her healing abilities. Her pain was carried away by the sensation of warmth.
A lot of paladin techniques won’t work on him since he’s not evil… but since the two of them were dazzled by it, I’ll save them for those two instead.
All she had to do was fight Vijar as a pure warrior.
“Heeheehee. Well then, we’ll leave her to you, Vijar-dono. We’ll be hunting the humans in the rear.”
“What? You scumbags!”
All the paladins she had called up were dead. The militiamen could not possibly stop them.
“As if I’d let you have your way!”
Remedios backed off and repositioned so she could face the three demihumans at once.
“It seems you’re ready to take the three of us on at once, but Vijar said he wanted to take care of this.”
“Heeheehee. Our aim is to wipe out the humans in the city as needed, not to serve as your opponents. Nasrene-dono, may I count on you to wipe out that rabble in the back with your power?”
“Ah yes…”
There were masses of magical power in three of Nasrene’s four hands. One was ice, the other was fire, and the last was lightning.
“Damnit!”
Remedios ran toward the female demihuman―
“I told you just now! I’m your opponent!”
―And blocked the battleaxe swung at her with a roar, but she was flung far away.
At this moment, Remedios realised that there was no way she could deal with Nasrene while fighting Vijar at the same time. While she could have just jumped right to Nasrene’s side, defending against Nasrene’s attacks would have left her defenseless body exposed to Vijar.
What do you mean no way… I won’t accept this! Not being able to do anything is just an excuse!
The moans of the militiamen stirred up Remedios’s emotions.
These people had not fled in the face of terror because they believed in her. She could not show them a disgraceful side of herself.
She would not abandon Calca’s ideals ― to make a country where nobody would cry.
“Militiamen! Everyone, fall back!”
As she gave the command, Remedios gathered her resolve.
I won’t die from taking a single hit. I’ll rush that female demihuman while activating 「Fortress」!
Vijar laughed as he watched Remedios break into a run. It would seem he had misunderstood something.
“Ho. It seems you’ve made up your mind. That’s the way! Fight me with all you have! Give me a battle worthy of a legend! 「Showdown Declaration」!”
“―Huh?”
Vijar roared, and there was a special power in that roar. Remedios’s legs, which were supposed to carry her towards Nasrene, charged towards Visha like they had gone mad. Nor was it just her legs ― her sword, her mind, her vision, she could not pull any of them from Vijar.
“「Fireball」.”
A third tier spell flew past Remedios’s body and at the militiamen. Remedios could endure that spell, but it would be fatal to the militiamen―
“―「Wall of Skeleton」!”
The fireball collided with the grotesque-looking wall of bones that had sprung up in front of the militiamen and vanished.
Someone exclaimed in surprise.
Initially, it was because they had no idea what had just happened. However, it slowly changed. That was because they saw something descend lightly ― like it was unaffected by gravity ― and land on top of the frightening wall of skeletons.
That person possessed none of the intense emotions of the battlefield, and spoke with a gentle tone that seemed completely out of place with his surroundings.
“While this is a common enough occurrence on the battlefield, I find it a little difficult to watch a three-on-one battle. You don’t mind if I join in, do you?”
The owner of that voice was undead.
Everyone in this city recognized him. He was the person who had originally refused to fight in order to recover his mana.
He was the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.
Ohhhh! An earth-shaking cheer came from the other side of the wall.
Remedios tightly clenched her sword hand.
“What, what’s that, who is that?”
“…By the looks of it, I think it’s an Elder Lich. So there’s a type without skin. Still… does a mere Elder Lich have the power to stop my spells? Is it because of his robe? It does look quite impressive. Or no, is it because its summoner possesses great power?”
Remedios did not comprehend the demihumans’ words at all. She heard the sounds, but she did not understand what they meant. That was because all her energy was focused on quelling the intense hatred welling up within her. She did not even notice that she was standing defenseless in front of Vijar
―Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! Why did he show up!? Why are they cheering for him!? Why! Why!! Why!!! For this filthy undead being!!!??
A corner of Remedios’s mind was calm enough to note that it was a natural reaction to help someone in difficulty. However, it was overruled by her inability to forgive the civilians for cheering on the undead. The corpses of the paladins who had sacrificed themselves as shields to protect the people were clearly visible.
You’re not cheering for the people who fought as your shields, but for someone who showed up late!!!!!
She was so angry that she wanted to rip her helmet off and scratch her head while rolling around on the ground.
Remedios struggled to curb the anger in her heart, and she addressed the undead being on the wall.
“―Why did you come here?”
The Sorcerer King’s movements stopped, as though he had been frozen in place. The red flames in his empty eye sockets turned to Remedios.
“…Why?…I came?…To help you?”
“…I see.”
Why had he not come earlier? Was he waiting until the paladins had died? Did he plan to make a stylish entrance in front of the people?
She wanted to shout that at him, but―
“Then I’ll leave it to you.” She did not phrase it as a request. She could not. “And get rid of the wall.”
“Hm?”
“I said I’ll leave it to you!” she shouted without thinking. Remedios strove to quell her rising emotions. “―And tear down that wall. You can’t?”
“…Certainly not.”
In an instant, the wall beneath the Sorcerer King’s feet vanished. The Sorcerer King did not fall down, probably because he was using a 「Fly」spell.
Remedios turned her back on Vijar. She did not mind if he killed her from behind. That way she could laugh at the Sorcerer King for not protecting her.
Having abandoned herself to despair, Remedios found it somewhat regretful that the demihumans did not attack her as she trudged back in front of the militiamen.
There was a hint of fear in the militiamen’s eyes. Was the look on her face so horrible?
“―We’ll let the Sorcerer King handle this place! Let’s go help where they need us more!”
After hearing Remedios’s orders, the militiamen looked at each other, and they seemed confused.
“Are you disobeying orders!?”
After Remedios glared at them, one of the militiamen quietly asked:
“Ah, n-no. But… the Sorcerer King, by himself…”
“The Sorcerer King is strong! Isn’t that right!? In that case, something like that won’t be a problem for him! Let’s go!”
Remedios led the militiamen to another battlefield. They repeatedly looked back at him as they left.
Ainz looked at the empty space where they had been and muttered to himself.