A/N: This is a little one-shot that occurred to me while watching Overlord. I fell in love with Demiurge's loyalty and concern for Ainz, and looked for some Demiurge/Ainz fics, but I found none (which I find it strange but oh well). So I'm making my own, even if it's unrequited love.

I hope you enjoy it, and please keep in mind that this is based ONLY ON THE ANIME, taking place before Ainz decided to be an adventurer. I know Demiurge's character is developed more at the manga and light novels to present a cruel and sadistic man, but there is no hint of it in the anime, and thus I'm taking that version.

Anyway, please enjoy!

4/2/2017: Many thanks to ImStillSleepy for telling me who the real creator of the fake sky on the sixth floor was! :)

It wasn't widely known, but every single being in the Great Tomb of Nazarik loved their Creators, especially their benevolent Master Ainz Ooal Gown, the supreme being who stayed behind with them.

Now, that sentence's phrasing might confuse most. 'It wasn't widely known'? Of course it was! Their love and respect for their Master couldn't have been more obvious.

And not only did they feel love and respect for him. They felt complete and utter adoration and loyalty too, to the highest extremes. They would do anything their Master requested of them, sacrifice their own lives, commit the most heinous of crimes… their Lord just had to say the word and they'd do whatever he commanded.

Now you understand my strange phrasing at the beginning, as what it wasn't widely known was not the fact that everyone loved their Creator, but the type of love they felt towards him.

Some, like the majority of low-level NPCs, just felt the love that led to reverence towards those stronger than them. Others, like the majority of the floor guardians of Nazarik, felt the love a devotee bestows their God on the altar, the kind of love that led to devotion and unbreakable loyalty.

And a few felt all those plus a deep, romantic love that burned like the fires of Hell on their (hypothetical) souls.

The ones in the last category were obvious: Albedo, leader of the guardians, and Shalltear, guardian of levels one to three. Their love, bordering on obsession, often led to fights between them that the other guardians always had to stop.

If asked, all the guardians would say that both female's feelings were equally legit and that they didn't support one over the other.

One of them would be lying, though.

Coincidentally (or maybe not), this one was an unknown member of the last category, and had plans to remain that way, not wishing to cause any unnecessary conflict that would get him into pointless trouble in the long run with the two ladies.

Indeed, Demiurge was quite content with how he was right now and had no wish of having his feelings known. Not only because he was an insanely private man, or because he had a cold, rational, unfeeling image to maintain, but because his feelings were highly improper, bordering on blasphemous, and as such had no right to exist except on the deepest part of his (inexistent) heart. He would exterminate them if he could, but like the aftermentioned fires of Hell there was no squashing them. He could only maintain them as low level as possible and attempt to ignore them.

Which was hard to do, as sometimes the ugliness called 'jealousy' showed its ugly head inside him, especially whenever Albedo or Shalltear had a 'moment' with his Master. Thankfully, he was a master on concealing his emotions in the few occasions this happened.

It also helped that he considered Albedo the only one with the right to sport those feelings towards his Master, not that he would ever say it. Because wasn't Ainz-sama the one who changed the winged female's settings so she would love him? In his opinion that was a sign from their God about who his chosen wife would be, even if Ainz-sama sometimes didn't act like that. So he gave her tips about their Creators preferences, some of which he'd overheard and some of which he'd deduced himself, whenever he could and turned a blind eye whenever her expressing her love turned into something he could only qualify as 'disturbing'.

And that was it. He knew his feelings were never going anywhere, and so he never did anything about them. Sure, sometimes he slipped slightly, especially when his Master placed himself foolishly in danger, but no one had noticed. Well, maybe Cocytus, the general was surprisingly perceptive, but he never commented on it so everything was fine.

But that didn't mean that some nights, when no one was around, he didn't allow himself to dwell on his longing for a few minutes. In those unguarded periods of time he sneaked outside (he, of course, had his generals tighten the security on his floor) and sat to watch the stars. It was a pleasure he liked to indulge in now that there were real stars, as the ones on the fake sky of the sixth floor were rather lacking in comparison (with pardon to Blue Planet-sama, who created it).

He hated this pathetic, love-sick routine, but he had to admit to himself that after watching the stars for a few minutes he felt calmer and more rational towards his feelings. He could then tell himself that he was lucky, extremely so, because what he dared to desire, in the depths of his mind, from his Lord and Master wasn't sexual in nature. He just desired companionship, to always be beside him, and as long as he served him faithfully it seemed like he was going to get his wish.

(Of course he also wished for Ainz-sama to look at him with tenderness and respect, to say that he was the most loyal of all his servants and that he would be lost without him. He also longed to hear him praise him, wich disgusted the devil a little as this was too needy for his tastes, but he consoled himself with the fact that feelings were irrational and thus uncontrollable.)

But mainly that was his wish.

There was an unfortunate side-effect to those moments he allowed to himself though, and it was the clear, sharp reminder of what caused his feelings to spark into existence. Which he hated because it showed something about his character that he really didn't like (which, he reflected, he should because it was something his Creator, Ulbert Alain Odle-sama, must've coded into him and it was blasphemous to consider it 'ugly' like he did. That was the only reason he had been making an effort to accept said part).

What caused them were, plain and simple, his feelings of abandonment.

Which were as improper as his eventual feelings for his Master, as he had no right to feel abandoned. But there was no denying them, as there was no denying that their Masters all left them completely alone sometimes.

Yes, that was the reason he'd had oftentimes felt abandoned in the past. They had been created by their Masters for their entertainment, and to serve them. Their Masters were their only reason for living. But still, they all left them for what he'd heard them call their 'real life', sometimes for days or even weeks. On those periods of time, he felt like he had no purpose. Because what use were you when those you've been created to serve weren't there for you do exactly that?

It didn't matter that they were Divine Beings and that it was their right to leave whenever they pleased, to do whatever they pleased, he still felt like that. Alone on his floor, he used to wish for some foolish adventurers to attack the Tomb, and for them to be strong enough to reach his level, just so he could feel fulfilled by fulfilling another reason of his existence: protecting his Masters's guild.

The funny thing was, he wasn't the only one who felt like that. Whenever their Masters left them for more than a day, there was this aura of depression in the air that was extremely noticeable. And when more than a week passed, it was so thick he could taste it.

Still, he seemed to be the one most affected by their absence. It felt like a physical ache in his chest, and even though he was still as efficient and logical as he was when they were there (home) he knew he acted a bit more cold, a bit more detached than normal. Again, this seemed to have passed unnoticed by all except for the good general, who again didn't comment on it.

In sum, the feeling was extremely unpleasant and he always dreaded the inevitable moment when it'd return to his chest. So when he'd heard that it was the last day and that the server would shut down at midnight, thus letting them alone again, this time forever, he hid on his floor and refused to leave, not wanting to see his Masters leave one by one.

He didn't know what would happen when the server shut down. Maybe they would cease to exist, which was what he was hoping it happened, as he then wouldn't have to feel anything, much less the cutting sensation of rage, pain and betrayal he was feeling then.

'Bastards' He'd hissed, not caring if it was blasphemous or an unforgivable sin or whatever at the moment 'We've all served you loyally, doing whatever you ordered us to do, giving you our complete faith and devotion, and this is how you repay us? By discarding us as if we were mere objects without any importance? Did our services mean that little to you?'

Then the rage turned into despair 'What did we do wrong? Did we displease you somehow? Did I displease you? Are you disappointed on us, on me? Why are you abandoning us without saying even a word of goodbye? Or at least informing us that our services were acceptable? What did we do to deserve this?'

And finally, the despair turned into resignation and acceptance 'Please forgive me for my words, even though I'm not worthy of forgiveness after my shameful behavior. You are our Gods, our Masters, and we are but lowly servants who have no right to criticize you. If this is how you wish to go, how you wish to treat us, then we can't do anything but accept it and be glad we'd had the opportunity to serve you in any way, and to thank you for creating us'

After that he'd glumly waited for midnight, dreading whatever would happen and hoping they would just fade into inexistence. But when the clock stroke midnight and he was still there, he realized his wish was not to be.

'So this is to be our fate' He'd thought 'To slowly succumb to the hell that is purposelessness and loss'

He'd stayed still, his hand hiding his face while he tried to control himself, reminding himself that he was second in command and as such he had a duty to maintain the rest of the guardians and NPCs for as long as he could. A duty that he would be doing when he gained some modicum of control over himself.

But just when he'd managed to wrestle his emotions into a semblance of control, it was destroyed again as he received Albedo's message.

Momonga-sama wanted him to reunite with his fellow guardians on the sixth floor.

At first he was confused. Momonga-sama? Shouldn't he be in his 'real life' right now? He then looked at the clock and saw that yes, it was past midnight, he hadn't hallucinated anything. Then the implications of that sunk on him and he broke.

Momonga-sama hadn't left them. Momonga-sama had stayed.

It was as if a dawn had broken as tears of relief fell from his jeweled eyes. The hopeless future he'd imagined had disappeared, and now he had a Master to serve, maybe forever as he was an undead and thus, immortal.

Momonga-sama was kind, so kind and merciful to not abandon them. In that moment he'd vowed to serve him with all the loyalty and devotion he possessed, to not let any harm touch his Master and to do everything in his power to prevent him from deciding to leave.

Composing himself had been hard after, but he'd managed it by the time Albedo came for him.

That moment of fierce decision had started all. The moment when his Master, Momonga-sama, answered their vow of loyalty, as none of the others had, cemented it. He'd been serious after, when he'd suggested Momonga-sama having children, as the vision was equally pleasant to him as it had been to Cocytus. He had been fully in control by then, and even though he intended to respect his vow, he was clear-minded enough to see that Momonga-sama could very well decide to leave them if he wanted, so having a little Master or Mistress to serve was a nice prospect.

But he hadn't realized what that implied, along with his feelings, until he'd felt that fierce flame in his chest that same night. The night he'd caught his Master wanting to go out without an escort and had accompanied him as he surveyed the starred night and the strange world in front of him.

"I believe this world shines so that my Lord can adorn himself with it riches" He had said.

"That might be true" His Lord laughed "I may have come to this land to obtain this box of treasures" He then proceeded to muse that maybe the riches weren't for himself but for Nazarick and his friends.

'My Master is perfect' Demiurge thought 'Wanting to honor our other Masters by taking the riches for them instead of for just himself'

"If you will it" He couldn't stop himself from answering "The entire of Nazarick would come together to obtain that jewel box for you"

"At this point, when we don't know what exists out there?" His Lord answered back.

Then, he added the words that lighted up that fire on his chest.

"But, well, taking over the world might be enjoyable"

He gasped. Such fierce ambition, he couldn't help but admire it while the flame in his chest warmed him from inside out. If there had been any doubt of him being a worthy Master to serve, not that there had been any, this would've erased them all.

After getting back to his floor and dissecting all those emotions he'd felt in that moment, along with the slight hurt when Momonga-sama had dismissively told him that 'I'll give you your ring later', he finally managed to put a name to them.

Love.

He had again frozen there, his hand hiding his face as he tried to process the new emotion. He was cold and calculating. He had no heart. How could he feel what he felt?

'Momonga-sama truly is miraculous' He had finally accepted with a sigh of resignation.

And like that he had stayed until this day. And like that, he mused as he made his way towards the room where Ainz-sama was, he would stay in many more days to come, or so he suspected.

When he finally reached the door he shook those thoughts out of his mind and knocked. His Master had sent him on another reconnaissance mission and now he had to present his report. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted.

He heard his Master's voice ordering him to enter and he did so, bowing respectfully at him before making his report, ignoring the warmth on his chest that always appeared when he was alone with his Master and being useful to him.

"Thank you Demiurge," His lord said. Taking it as the dismissal it was, Demiurge turned around and made for the door.

"Demiurge"

The devil paused and turned around, looking at his Master.

"Good job"

Demiurge gaped at him for a second before bowing deeply at him, saying "I do not deserve such kind words, Ainz-sama."

"You and everyone are working hard to protect Nazarick" His Lord pointed out "Do not think I didn't notice your efforts"

Those words made Demiurge want to kneel, and so he did, right where he was.

"We are your servants, Ainz-sama. Command us and we'll respond with all we have"

"It is appreciated, do not doubt it for a second. Especially yours"

Demiurge had to raise his head at that, startled, while trying not to gasp as the warmth in his chest increased.

"Master?" He managed.

"You are the fastest and most discreet guardian I have" His Lord explained "As such, I have been sending you all over this strange world for reconnaissance, and I'm afraid I might be using you too much"

"I'd go a hundred days without rest if that is what you require of me," Demiurge said fervently.

"That may be so" His master chuckled "But you are of no use to me dead on your feet. I need you in top condition. And to do so, I want you to try and rest the rest of the week"

"Master, I don't need to-"

"I insist. I can't afford to prescind of you, Demiurge. You are important for what is to come"

Demiurge couldn't talk, could move, so deeply humbled and moved he was at his Master's words, his chest burning. He knew that his Master only wanted him in top shape so he could serve him at the best of his capabilities, but hearing him say that he was important, that he cared, was too much.

"Demiurge?"

At his voice, Demiurge realized that he had been staring dumbly at his Master while still kneeling, and so he stood up with an embarrassed cough.

"I shall endeavor to do as you say, Master"
And with that he bowed deeply again and left, feeling half in daze from his Master's words.

When he reached his floor he sat on the closest chair, still processing. After a few minutes, he smiled.

Maybe his feelings wouldn't go anywhere, but he was right where he wanted and had just heard the words he'd longed to hear from his Master.

Yes, Demiurge was quite content with how he was right now, and he wouldn't change a thing. Not for anything.

A/N: So here you are. I hope you liked it. By the way, I'm rubbish at titles, so if anyone has an idea for a better title please do say so. Also, sorry for any mistakes you see, English is not my first language.

Btw, seeing as I'm the first one to think of this pairing, at least on this site and AO3, I've decided to name it Demainz, though if you have a better suggestion please say so! And if you know of any fics with this pairing say so too, please :)

Ps: I'm thinking of writing another one-shot, but this time from Ainz's POW. Would you like that? And if you like it, I have three ways of doing it:

Option 1: Ainz is completely unaware of his guardian's feelings. This would be less centered in Demiurge and more centered in Ainz's view of the situation he's in, though Demiurge would still be the main feature.

Option 2: Ainz is aware of the devil's feelings for him but does not return those feelings. Still, he's kind to the devil and tries not to hurt him too much.

Option 3: Ainz returns those feelings but is unaware of the devil's feelings, so this would be another unrequited!demainz (though is actually mutual, not that neither of them would know that)

So, which option would you like?

Please R&R!