At least, it should have. However, Alpha kept running, with no sign that she had been hit at all.
"Kuh!"
Evileye took to the sky. Close combat was a very bad idea for an arcane magic caster. Putting more distance between them would increase her chances of victory.
As she floated into the sky, something bounced away before her eyes. It must have been an attack deflected by her ‘Crystal Wall’, but at the same time, the sparkling light wrapping her body began dimming rapidly.
Although it could neutralize fairly powerful attacks, she would be lucky if the only things they threw at her were things the ‘Crystal Wall’ could negate by itself. The ‘Crystal Wall’ would only work against attacks below a certain level, and it was completely useless for anything more.
"Again?!"
The one using ranged weapons was the maid in the rear, Delta. She had fired on Evileye when she was flying earlier.
"Hah!"
Alpha entered a stance, and lunged at Evileye. It made her click her tongue.
Normally, Evileye wouldn't even take anyone coming at her with their bare fists seriously, but that was only the arrogance she felt toward the insignificant beings who had always been beneath her. Shortly after fighting with Alpha, she was keenly aware of that. Alpha was truly a fearsome opponent. Every time she tried to open a gap between them, her opponent would come in swinging, several times faster than herself. If she took a direct hit without the protection of her barriers, she would be destroyed.
If she was still with Gagaran and Tia, she would not have been so careless. Now, Evileye felt like she was walking on a tightrope.
The most annoying thing was their flawless coordination. Teamwork could greatly increase the fighting power of adventurers. Right now, the two of them were giving her an object lesson in jolly cooperation.
"How can demons work together so well... what the hell!"
I have no right to say that, Evileye thought. The others in her party were human, but she was one of the undead.
A gang sound rang out, and the protective ‘Crystal Wall’ grew ever thinner. One more hit and it would be pierced.
Evileye cursed, trying to get away from Alpha, who was intent on chasing her down and beating her up. Although Evileye's body was superior to a normal human by virtue of being a vampire, Alpha's body was even more so. The only reason why Alpha had not caught her already was entirely because of her flight spell.
Using magic required focus, during which the body could not move. As a result, having to constantly back away was very difficult. Movement would disrupt one's sense of balance and make concentration difficult. This was why magic casters stood still to cast their spells. Because of this, Evileye had chosen to use ‘Flight’ to maintain a distance without disrupting her concentration, and thus fight a mobile battle. That was nothing special by itself; any magic caster who could use ‘Flight’ had mastered that tactic. How well they did it was a matter of talent, but as a vampire, Evileye had the natural ability to fly and 250 years of experience to master it in.
Even so, it took effort to escape from Alpha. And although she could kite one opponent in circles in the large plaza, there were two opponents.
Another gang sound rang out, and the barrier protecting her was completely destroyed.
It was hard to believe anything could break the ‘Crystal Wall’ in three hits, but there was nothing to be done about it.
“「Sand Field— All」!”
Sand particles dispersed throughout the surroundings. Although Delta was too far away to reach, Alpha was completely caught in the area. Because it would affect one's comrades too, this spell was useless in a group fight. Any opponent within its area would be immobilized, as well as being blinded, silenced and dazed. On top of that, because of Evileye's trump card, the sand was infused with negative energy that would drain life force.
This 5th tier spell was her own creation. It was one of the strongest cards Evileye had up her sleeve.
However, Alpha did not slow down, nor did she look like she was hurt at all.
"But how?!"
Was she immune to immobilization and negative energy?
"You deserve praise for that! What a splendid set of resistances!"
Alpha's answer was to vanish. As though she had performed a short-range teleport, she materialized in front of Evileye and kicked her in the face.
Her mask cracked with a mekii sound as Evileye was flung far away.
She bounced off the floor with a dang, dang before she managed to recover, groggily shaking her head.
"「Crystal Wall」!"
Alpha's fist collided with the suddenly-materialized crystal wall, producing a thunderous crash. Cracks spread where Alpha had struck it, as though it had been hit by a wrecking ball.
"...Hmph!"
Another "dang" rang out, and as Alpha's foot struck the ground, she transmitted her inner force into the cracks in Evileye's wall, and it crumbled before her eyes.
"Is this ‘Charged Energy Release’?!"
At this moment, while trying to clear some distance, Evileye felt a great tremor run through the earth. She did not know where it came from, but her instinct told her that it was the aftershocks of the battle of those two.
"Are they still fighting... no, most likely their fight has reached its climax. That means... I have to buy more time!"
As she said that, Evileye charged at the attacking Alpha.
She just needed a little bit longer. She had to drag this fight out. With that in mind, Evileye fully prepared herself for death, and carried out her kamikaze attack.
Alpha's hands were moving in circles in preparation to receive Evileye. She stood tall, like an invulnerable fortress, but even seeing this, Evileye did not stop—
♦ ♦ ♦
Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 5th Day, 03:53
While Ainz and Jaldabaoth struggled with each other, they crashed into a house. The door shattered as Ainz drove Jaldabaoth into it, scattering splinters everywhere. The interior was dark and cramped, unsuited for Ainz to swing his sword.
Ignoring Jaldabaoth, Ainz rose to his feet and walked off. Jaldabaoth got up as well and followed him. They entered another room, with a small table, two chairs, and Mare.