a.n./ Hi, my readers! I'm sorry for disappearing. Well, like many other fanfic writers, I was in jail lol. But I'm finally back and ready to continue this story! Hopefully, it's still interesting enough for you guys to stick around!
---
The black vortex serving as my secret spatial gateway slowly closed without a sound.
Damp air, the smell of mud, and the scent of rotting leaves immediately assaulted my senses.
For the first time since this insane reincarnation, I—or rather, my Alter Ego—was standing directly beneath the night sky of the New World.
The sensory feedback felt almost excessive compared to the sacred marble corridors of Floor 10 or the dry, parchment-scented air of Floor 8.
While maintaining the position of my original body, which was still floating in the middle of the 『Vault of Wisdom』 and processing Aureole Omega's reports, I shifted most of my consciousness into this small avatar.
I raised both hands, covered by a dull gray robe.
The connection to my main body was extremely stable, but the specifications of this [Omniscient Proxy] avatar were honestly pathetic.
If my main body, an [Elder Aberration] Level 100, was a god-tier enterprise server, then this Alter Ego was basically an outdated smartphone with an unstable Wi-Fi connection.
This avatar's HP and MP were restricted to a tiny percentage of my main body's total capacity.
Its magical output was deliberately throttled to maintain absolute stealth.
If I took a direct hit from a powerful entity in the outside world, this avatar would probably be destroyed instantly.
"Well, I didn't come here to raid a boss," I muttered.
The voice coming from beneath the hood sounded quiet, nothing like the abyssal voice I normally used when acting as Administrator in front of Ainz.
Now, it was time to work.
Based on cross-referenced data from my knowledge of the anime stored neatly inside my mind, Shalltear should be somewhere in the forest near E-Rantel, hunting bandits before eventually encountering the Black Scripture.
I activated a low-level detection skill, carefully avoiding any magical waves that might attract unwanted attention.
Before I could fully map the area, I heard a rough rustling sound coming from the bushes.
A group of men wearing battered armor came sprinting through the trees.
Mercenaries or bandits, most likely.
Their faces were deathly pale, filled with pure terror.
I slipped into the shadow of a massive oak tree, allowing my body to merge with the darkness thanks to my illusion cloak.
"M-Monster! That silver-haired woman is a monster!" one of them choked out, tripping over a tree root and crashing face-first into the ground.
"She slaughtered the entire hideout! She sucked everyone's blood!"
Perfect.
The bandit hideout massacre.
Shalltear's Blood Frenzy had already begun.
I didn't need to waste time interrogating them.
The panicked screams of these thugs were the most accurate geographical navigation system imaginable.
I immediately shot through the forest shadows, heading toward the direction the bandits had come from.
The sharp scent of fresh blood began filling the damp air.
However, not long after, my avatar's sensory radar detected another group of anomalies.
Unlike the low-level bandits from earlier, this group was highly organized.
The magical fluctuations and quality of their equipment were on a completely different level compared to the remnants of the Sunlight Scripture equipment I'd previously analyzed through Demiurge.
I stopped moving completely, suppressing my presence until it was indistinguishable from a dead rock.
Then, from behind the trees, I saw them.
A group of humans wearing eccentric equipment.
And standing among them was an elderly woman dressed in a cheongsam-style outfit.
The Black Scripture of the Slane Theocracy.
Even with my avatar's severely limited sensors, I could feel the nauseating magical pressure radiating from the object held by the old woman.
It was powerful enough to distort reality itself.
World Item: 『Downfall of Castle and Country』.
Every chess piece was now exactly where it was supposed to be in the historical canon.
The disaster that would alter Nazarick's fate was only minutes away.
My brain processed calculations at maximum speed.
What was the optimal course of action?
Option A: Use telepathy to warn Shalltear directly.
Rejected.
Shalltear was drunk on bloodlust.
If an unknown shadowy entity suddenly entered her mind and started giving her orders, she would most likely attack me immediately or become suspicious that I was an enemy.
Option B: Contact Nazarick and report the threat to Lord Ainz or Albedo in real time.
Strongly rejected.
If I did that, I'd have to explain how I knew about the situation.
That would be equivalent to exposing this unauthorized [Omniscient Proxy] operation to them.
My long-term plan of establishing myself as a calm, logical Advisor who always respected the chain of command would collapse instantly.
I could even be labeled an NPC acting beyond my authority.
Option C: Intervene secretly with my own hands.
As a former corporate slave, taking unofficial action to prevent a corporate disaster before the CEO even knew about it was an extremely risky move.
But sometimes, it was the only way to save the company's valuable asset—Shalltear—while protecting my own political position.
In the distance, magical explosions and the sound of collisions echoed through the forest.
The deadly encounter between Shalltear and the Black Scripture had begun.
The shockwaves swept through the branches above me.
I could see the old woman beginning to take position, preparing to activate the World Item targeting Shalltear.
I took a silent breath.
My avatar's MP capacity was indeed extremely limited.
But my understanding of YGGDRASIL's mechanics was absolute.
I only needed to cast the right spell at the exact right millisecond to block the World Item's line of sight or disrupt its targeting without leaving behind a trace of my own magic.
From beneath the dull gray hood, my blue-violet eyes narrowed sharply.
"Alright, Lord Demiurge," I whispered into the night wind, imagining the Floor 7 Guardian's irritating smile.
"Let's see who can protect Lord Ainz's chessboard better."
I raised my shadow-covered hand, preparing to make the first move from behind the scenes.
The first move that would tear apart the canon scenario of the New World.