Another summer, another time to yeet ourselves over into the new season of Overlord. And with new episodes of the ever-popular Isekai power fantasy being released, fans have driven themselves into yet another conundrum. This time tho, it doesn’t directly involve our protagonist but the strength of the guardians in their arsenal. And so, we have to ask: Is the ever-youthful Shalltear Bloodfallen the strongest guardian in the Great Tomb of Nazarick?
Technically, Rubedo is considered the most powerful character in Overlord. But Shalltear has been showcased early on in the series to be a veritable force of nature, going toe to toe with Ainz himself when she had been mind-controlled by members of the Slane Theocracy. She is a tactical genius, extremely knowledgeable about the world around her, and cute as a button! I mean, yeah, that last one might not sound important.
To fill in those of you who have not yet tackled Studio Madhouse‘s long-running series, Overlord is the tale of one Momonga, the guild leader of Ainz Ooal Gown in the popular VR MMO YGGDRASIL. Though unlike the juggernaut that is Sword Art Online, Overlord’s trapped inside a video conundrum begins when Momonga is left as the sole remaining player in his guild, the others have left for various reasons. And so, he builds his place as the Lich King, with guardians such as Albedo and, yes, the aforementioned Shalltear.
But where does the Vampire stand in the power hierarchy? Welcome to Character Analysis, a segment where we discuss characters from across the Otaku internet and break them down to their very core. We discuss what makes these characters so iconic, alongside answering some FAQs about them. Today, it’s all about Shalltear!
Ainz And Shalltear: How They Came To Meet.
As Momonga logged in for a final time before the game’s permanent shutdown, he dozes off on his throne, only to wake up later and realize that he has become his supremely overpowered Undead character. Now rather than attempting anything grandiose (at least not on purpose…), he decides to search the world he has found himself in the hopes he will be able to find his guildmates, longing for those halcyon days, which in turn leads him to change his name to that of the guild to better spread the words to any of his comrades that the guild was still active and waiting for their return, and so signaled the birth of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Now moving onto the meat of the topic, Ainz didn’t find himself alone when waking from his nap. The entirety of his guild’s base, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and its inhabitants was still present, albeit having been teleported to a world that wasn’t YGGDRASIL. Of the Great Tomb’s residents, the most notable are the Floor Guardians, non-playable characters designed by Ainz and his former guildmates to serve and guard the various floors of Nazarick against invading players who may have hoped to conquer the Tomb for themselves, these entities have also gained consciousness upon this mysterious teleportation, now acting out according to how their creators had designed them. While the Succubus Albedo serves as the Overseer of the Floor Guardians, she isn’t regarded as the strongest. That title ultimately belongs to the True Vampire Shalltear Bloodfallen albeit with a few caveats.
Ainz’s victory was mostly attributed to his tactical genius, usage of the guild’s strongest artifacts, and his knowledge of Shalltear’s weaknesses and limits. Aside from that, she serves as the Floor Guardian of the first three floors of the Tomb, a position granted to her in part due to her immense stamina and library of abilities that allow her to sustain her health throughout a fight, ensuring that none but the absolute strongest would be able to beat her and descend further down towards Ainz.
The Issue With Power In YGGDRASIL
Now as mentioned earlier, there are some caveats. Gargantua, the Floor Guardian of the Fourth Floor has often been noted by its colleagues to outrank them in terms of raw strength owing to its gargantuan (hahaha) size and strength.
That said, unlike the others, it isn’t a custom-designed NPC but rather an item that Ainz had won back in YGGDRASIL and had decided to set as a Floor Guardian. As such, it doesn’t have a will of its own and needs Ainz’s guidance to function properly, thus greatly diminishing its potential as it requires another person to control it.
In addition, Rubedo, Albedo’s younger sister, is referred to as the Strongest Entity of Nazarick.
Is Shalltear Bloodfallen The Strongest?
That said, she isn’t a floor guardian. Shalltear remains as the strongest of those, if on a technicality if we ignore the aforementioned characters. But she is not as powerful as Rubedo.
While we have yet to see her in either the anime or light novels as of yet, other residents of Nazarick have stated that Rubedo would have no trouble fighting and overwhelming Ainz and other members of the guild.
