"Lady Shalltear, please leave this to me. If you were to get hurt, Lord Ainz would be heartbroken," Sebas said respectfully.
"Lord Ainz would... would be heartbroken if I got hurt?" Shalltear covered her cheeks with both hands, her expression turning into a classic lovestruck maiden's.
"Yes, Lady Shalltear."
"Then I'll leave this to you, Sebas. I won't allow you to lose."
After giving her order, Shalltear dismissed her armor and slowly descended to the ground.
"Hehehe, Lord Ainz would be heartbroken for me….."
"Then allow me to be your opponent, human." As Sebas spoke, dragon scales emerged on his body, and massive wings resembling those of a dragon spread from his back.
His true Dragonoid form appeared in front of Kizaru.
"A Devil Fruit user?" Kizaru felt an increasing headache.
As Kizaru transformed into light, attempting to use his speed and laser attacks just as he had against Shalltear, he soon realized that his attacks couldn't even scratch Sebas's scales.
He cursed internally, "Is this crew full of monsters? How did the intel department mistake someone this strong for a rookie? Are they even doing their job?"
"Human, when you enter your light-elemental state, there's a brief moment of vulnerability."
"Martial Art—Swift Step."
Using his martial art, Sebas's speed temporarily reached a level close to Kizaru's own.
"Martial Art—Cleave."
Sebas's fist, infused with Armament Haki and the energy of a warrior, struck toward Kizaru with terrifying force.
"Ama no Murakumo!"
Faced with this attack, Kizaru could only hastily summon his sword of light to block it.
"Boom!"
Sebas's punch shattered the sword effortlessly before slamming into Kizaru's body, reopening the wounds he had sustained in his fight against Shalltear.
"What monstrous physical strength... This level is almost comparable to old man Garp. Just what kind of beast is this guy?"
Kizaru gritted his teeth through the pain and retreated several meters away.
"Yata no Kagami!"
Sebas flapped his wings, his body transforming into a blur, leaving afterimages in the sky. Kizaru's lasers failed to hit even once.
"It's useless. I've already seen through all your attacks. Even if they hit me, they won't do a thing."
Just as Sebas closed in on Kizaru, an ice lance shot toward him from a distance.
Sebas had no choice but to evade the incoming attack.
"Kizaru, you look like a mess," said a voice laced with cold air.
Kuzan, with half his body turned to ice, walked toward them from the sea. Every step he took froze the water beneath him, turning the area into a frozen wasteland.
"Aokiji, these pirates aren't easy to deal with."
Kizaru used the brief moment of respite to retreat to Kuzan's side, his body flickering into light.
"To think they could injure you this badly… This isn't something a rookie crew could pull off. Did one of those New World monsters make a move?"
Kuzan's eyes narrowed as he examined Kizaru's injuries. He had been on leave in a nearby sea region when Sengoku's urgent orders came through.
Initially, he thought Sengoku was being overly cautious, but now, seeing Kizaru's condition, he was relieved he had come—otherwise, Kizaru might have died on this island.
"No, this isn't the work of the New World pirates. The Shalltear Bloodfallen Pirates aren't as simple as we thought."
Kuzan's expression turned serious. He knew Kizaru well, despite his carefree attitude, he would never joke about something like this.
"What about Momonga and the others?" Kuzan asked, concerned for the three Vice Admirals who had been sent on this mission.
"They've been taken out. I actually envy them—they get to rest peacefully."
"An ice-based fighter, huh?" Sebas furrowed his brows.
As a Dragonoid, he had high resistance to both physical and elemental attacks—while not on Albedo's level, he ranked second among Nazarick's denizens in this regard.
However, ice-based attacks were a glaring weakness of his draconic nature.
"Another human joins the fray... I wonder if your blood will taste as awful as the one in yellow," Shalltear mused, now clad once more in her battle armor.
Sebas retracted his wings and landed beside Shalltear. Feeling the combined presence of the two, Kuzan finally understood how Kizaru had been injured.
Just as Shalltear's bloodlust was about to explode, ready to attack—
"Lady Shalltear, I suggest we withdraw for now," Sebas suddenly spoke.
"Sebas, are you afraid of these two humans?" Shalltear's eyes narrowed.
If Sebas uttered even a single word that tarnished the honor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, she would have no hesitation in driving her Spuit Lance through his body.
"Lady Shalltear, if we continue this fight, Lord Ainz's mission will be jeopardized."
Sebas maintained his respectful demeanor. At their level of strength, battles could last for hours without either side collapsing entirely.
However, if they kept fighting, it could trigger an all-out war between Nazarick and the forces backing these two.
That was something Nazarick, still in the process of recovering its strength, could not afford.
As Lord Ainz's butler, Sebas was just as intelligent as Albedo, so using Lord Ainz's mission as an excuse was the best way to make Shalltear stand down.
"Humans, I'll let you live for now!" Shalltear hesitated for a moment before choosing to retreat. Lord Ainz's mission took priority.
However, if these two dared to pursue them, she would show no mercy.
Kuzan and Kizaru merely watched as Shalltear and Sebas departed, making no move to stop them.
Unlike Akainu's hardline approach, the two of them weren't ones to act rashly.
Continuing this battle would only ensure the deaths of other marine officers—a devastating loss for the Navy.
Worse, if one of them were to fall in battle, it would be a disaster. Right now, the Navy simply didn't have the manpower to engage a force that possessed two Admiral-level fighters.