"Iri-chan!!!"
Xia Jiu's roar could be heard from far away.
Iri also thought, it's coming!
After all, Insect Lord Cocytus had practically carried her out without permission, so Xia Jiu was naturally anxious, though Iri was quite displeased with Xia Jiu's way of addressing her.
Calling her Little Yi sounded very cute, but it always made Iri think of a certain tone-deaf, idiotic idol with the same name next door.
That guy also referred to herself as Iri-chan, so it was easy to get them mixed up.
"Cocytus, where are you trying to abduct my Iri-chan to?!" When Xia Jiu came rushing over, smoke and fire trailing behind her, Iri was speechless.
Because Xia Jiu was fully armed, clad in Valkyrie Armor and holding a Droplet Lance… it was clearly a stance to fight Cocytus to the death.
Sure enough, Xia Jiu lunged with a spear thrust the moment they met. Insect Lord was no easy opponent either, instantly drawing his God Slaying Emperor Blade from thin air to block the attack.
"What do you want, Shalltear!" Insect Lord Cocytus asked sternly.
"You know what I want!! Give me back my Iri-chan!" Xia Jiu attacked again with her lance without further explanation. Cocytus blocked each strike without retaliating.
Uh… it was clear Xia Jiu had misunderstood, and quite severely at that. She probably thought Cocytus was trying to abduct Iri, which was why she reacted this way!
How could this misunderstanding be cleared up? With Xia Jiu's intelligence, once she got worked up, she wouldn't listen to anything. Insect Lord Cocytus was also a man of few words; he wouldn't be able to explain things clearly.
Iri looked back at Sebas and Shizu. Sebas simply stood in front of his wife, protecting her from the aftershocks of the battle.
As for Shizu, she calmly watched the two Guardians fight it out.
In this situation, the only way to resolve it was to call Anzi Papa.
Hmm? Anzi Papa? That's it… Iri thought of a good way to stop Xia Jiu, but… was it really okay to do that? It felt like such a loss!
"Cocytus! Cleanse Throw…!" Xia Jiu roared. This idiot! Using a special skill in a place like this, was she trying to demolish it?! Iri didn't think any further.
"Sha…lltear, Mama, st…op." Iri called out helplessly. Of course, while she felt helpless inside, she still had to put on a good act on the surface.
"…Throw… Throw… Throw…" As soon as Xia Jiu heard Iri call her Mama, she immediately softened. The Cleansing Throwing Spear, her signature special skill, which had already manifested in her hand, instantly vanished.
"Sha…lltear, Mama, Cocy…tus was just taking… me… for a walk." Iri's mood was incredibly complex right now, calling Xia Jiu 'Mama'.
"Just… a walk? You weren't kidnapped?" Shalltear, with a dazed expression, bypassed Cocytus and rushed to Iri, asking.
Cocytus also disarmed, putting away his God Slaying Emperor Blade, and exhaled a cold breath, saying nothing. However, Iri could sense that Cocytus was likely very displeased right now.
"No… no, just a walk." Iri replied. Was there a need to be so nervous about just taking a walk? Besides, ever since she was born, she had been treated like a dress-up doll by Xia Jiu's Vampire Brides every day, which Iri was already very displeased with.
Although Cocytus suddenly carrying her out was indeed quite unexpected, it was also a rare chance to see what the inside of Nazarick Great Tomb truly looked like.
"But, Iri-chan, you have Despair… Huh!! It's gone!! Ainz-sama's aura is gone!! The aura identical to Ainz-sama's is gone!! This feeling?? Isn't this Cocytus's Ice Aura?! Cocytus, what did you do to my Iri-chan?!"
Xia Jiu noticed that the Despair Aura fluctuations on Iri were gone. She once again raised her Droplet Lance, intending to cause trouble for Cocytus.
Iri reached out to stop Xia Jiu, but Xia Jiu's strength was not something Iri could hold back. With such a Dump, she lost her balance and was about to fall.
"Elizabeth-dono… are you alright?" Sebas caught Iri just as she was about to fall to the ground. Wow!
As expected of the good man Sebas, he was reliable at crucial moments. Iri's heart instantly fluttered. Uh… *cough*… Sebas has a girlfriend, so she shouldn't 'think' wildly.
"Ah ah… Iri-chan, are you alright?!" It was only then that Xia Jiu noticed Iri had nearly fallen. She quickly dropped the Droplet Lance in her hand, wanting to rush over to Iri's side.
But seeing Sebas's stern expression, she realized her impulsiveness had almost caused her precious daughter Iri to fall, and she hesitated.
"I'm… fine." Iri struggled a bit. Sebas, being tactful, also let go of Iri. Iri could only lean on the wall again and extended her hand towards Xia Jiu.
"Shalltear… Mama, I'm… fine. The Despair Aura… for some reason… changed to Cocytus-ojisan's Ice… Aura before it could harm Qiya Lei." Iri explained with difficulty.
It was really inconvenient not being able to speak fluently. Iri truly didn't know why the aura had switched so inexplicably.
At that moment, she hadn't thought of anything else… she had only thought that if she could use it, her butt would be saved.
Hmm? Didn't think of anything else? When she first activated Despair Aura, she also simply thought that if she could use it, then… should she test it out?
"Thank you very much, Elizabeth-dono, for thinking of Qiya Lei." Sebas, standing beside them, bowed to Iri in a very gentlemanly manner. Qiya Lei, who didn't understand what was happening behind Sebas, also mimicked Sebas and bowed her head to Iri.
"It's… alright… it's all my oversight…" Iri responded.
Hmm? Did Sebas not notice why she knew Qiya Lei's name? Hmm? Wait a minute! Qiya Lei being here means she missed the Kingdom Hero Chapter?!
No!! She missed important plot points!! What should she do?! The incredibly exciting Kingdom Hero Chapter!
"Iri-chan… what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?" Xia Jiu noticed Iri's face was 'off' and asked with great concern.
"No… I'm… fine." That's what she said, but she had something on her mind!
Could she be fine after missing such an exciting and important plot? How long had she been stuck in that wretched place?
She had only just appeared during the Lizardmen Chapter, and now the Kingdom Hero Chapter had already passed. Could it be that the nation had already been established?
Ugh… she had so little information now, and she couldn't just ask directly. So conflicted!
Iri, worried about missing the script, completely pushed the issue of skill release to the back of her mind.
However, Xia Jiu, who was worried about Iri, looked very anxious. Sebas then had time to look back at Shizu, who had been standing idly by.
"Shizu?" Sebas saw that Shizu seemed to have something to say.
"Trap… not… activated." Shizu said very calmly, and then everyone, including Iri herself, looked towards Shizu.