This is essentially a prologue, don't let the length deceive you. I also suggest you guys read Unfortunate Encounter, if you don't want to be confused while reading this. Spoiler: It's about Ainz versus a Dragon Lord.

Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord.

On top of the hill stood a small man. A man whose face was full of wrinkles, that it seemed as if his forehead and cheeks were about to fall. His head showing no signs of hair sprouting from it. His age indicated he was well past the stage of growing snow white hair, and thus having no hair at all. He wore a red crimson robe that did not seem decorated or outstanding in the slightest. It was a plain red robe worn just for the sake of not being completely nude.

He stood in awe and terror over the landscape that used to be a beautiful green land now tuned to scorched earth. He struggled to open his eyes due to his wrinkles completely covering his field of view, and yet he managed to get them wide open. That was a testament to how terrifying the scene he was witnessing was.

His field of view now covered in scenery that he heard about only in legends. Legends that he himself was part of. Complete destruction that covers hundreds of meters at the very least. In other words, the entire area. It didn't matter where he looked, it was always the same image that reached his eyes, and interpreted by his brain.

And on the center of his view, a crater that didn't seem to reflect light as it cannot, due to dark clouds covering the skies, and yet it seemed to glow a faint blue light that also seemed to glitter from afar, over 200 meters in diameter. Almost as if a celestial body has hit the earth. He would've deduced as much, if not for several other smaller sized craters that accompanied it. But he could argue it was a meteor shower. No, it would've been the most sensible argument and the most plausible for any other human being witnessing such event…

If not for the knowledge he possessed. Knowledge that brought him here in the first place.

As a sage of immeasurable experience, he inevitably knew that his world was spherical, and what the effects of gravity are. Most of the celestial objects that hit the planet burn in the atmosphere before they could even reach the surface, while sufficiently large ones can reach it, and the result is a massive impact causing a release of energy so destructive, that it is comparable to the power of the Gods he believed in, and perhaps even the primal magic of the past, the Wild Magic of the Dragon Lords.

"Precisely… as… foretold…"

His voice was faint enough that nobody would've heard him even if they were close to him. His throat struggled to get those words out, and his vocal cords carried a sense that said they were about to burst out of his neck. Granted, he could care less of what would happen to him, as long as it didn't affect his ability to move, or perform necessary activities. Not out of fear for himself or his wellbeing, but out of a duty that he promised to fulfil. As long as that task was done, he could embrace death with smile on his hundreds of years old face.

"Now… to carry my… part… of the prophecy"

He put his hand at the bag he was carrying, and with the other hand, lifted his cane, albeit struggled to. His eyes are now filled with endless determination.

"[Fly]…"

He cast the flight spell and he slowly started to float above the ground. The distance between him and the ground started to noticeably largen. He slowly started to rise, and the horizon started to reveal faraway lands. He is now about 200 meters above the surface, and he felt as if he could see the entire world.

Green lands are everywhere now, and the destruction that was seen before did not compare to the grandiose he is seeing now. 15 minutes have passed and he started to feel cold, and it was harder to breathe. He had heard about this before, that temperatures decrease with elevation, as well as pressure. He was experiencing the effects right now, and he thanked the Gods for the knowledge he received as it helped him in his course of actions in the past, as they are helping him now.

He has now reached an altitude of 12 kilometers, and he was finally above the clouds. The sun casting its shiny rays of light felt ever so greater, that he thanked his wrinkly face for covering most of his vision. And even though his vision was slightly blurry due to his age, that still didn't stop him from searching so vividly.

The atmospheric pressure as well as his hard breathing did not bother him in the slightest, knowing that he is so close of completing his long life goal. The old man turned left and right, traveling a small distance at a time, until a small dot was caught in his vision.

His eyes now wide open, he quickly hurried by increasing his speed, with vitality and spirit that rivaled a young man at his prime ages. The small dot started to largen until it revealed a mass of land floating in the air. It was akin to an island in size. At first sight, it could be compared to the Floating City of the legendary Eight Greed Kings, or even the city that floats above the sea. But what's distinguishable between it and the other two mentioned cities, was the sheer size of it. It was truly a floating island.

The way it looked, floating there with endless clouds with the sun in the background, made it sound as if this scene came straight out of a fairytale.

He started to decrease his speed as soon as he was about 50 meters away from it. He noticed a visible barrier of golden light that engulfed the entire island. But he was not afraid, nor did he not know of it. On the contrary, he was waiting for it. He placed his hand at the bag once again and it, in turn, started to emit a golden light from the inside. He witnessed that light and a smile replaced the dull look on his old-man face. It was what he was waiting for.

He started to advance after pausing for a brief moment and he crossed the barrier, as if going through walls made out of a thin layered moist material and he finally set foot on the land. He felt like the man of legends he was told about, from the world of his Gods originated from, who set foot on the moon. It was unimaginable how such feat was accomplished, but he was certain those feats were nothing but a walk through the grasslands for his Gods. He did not dwell too much into the topic when he first heard about it, since it was considered heresy to even think about doubting words that came from the deities themselves.

He cast away all those thoughts as he shook his head, because he recognized he had a much more important job to do, now that he reached his destination.

He walked through the empty piece of land. It didn't matter where he looked. On his left was empty land, on his right was empty land, behind him was the edge of the land, beyond that were distant clouds. In front of him was a statue.

It was a towering statue of well over 50 meters in height. A statue likely made of stone or some similar material. It was to that of a man… No, a horned fiend who was on a sitting possession, with his hand jerking his chin. If the old man recalls correctly, it was his master's wish to replicate a famous statue that posed the same possession before handing him his final orders. His memory was a bit fuzzy so he didn't recall exactly his words. He cursed his age for making him a weakling over the passing of time, as he made his way to the statue.

He looked up and he saw the face closely resembling his master. He exhaled a sigh of relief, knowing that he is closer to his God more than ever before, ever since he said his farewells a long time ago. A tear of joy ran down his cheek, and for the first time since decade. He felt indescribable joy coming deep within, a feeling that he longed for, but did not know he did until he experienced it.

"At last… at… long… long… last!"

His voice, as faint and cracked up as ever, still managed to mutter those words before climbing the statue. He struggled, but his determination outstripped the obstacles of time. Sweat filled his bald head as well as his red crimson robe. He made it to the top. He was standing at the hand that was jerking the chin, coming face to face with his master.

He looked at the still stone head, or whatever material it was made of. Although he was not interested in sculptors, nor did he appreciate the hard work of the people that work in that field, he cannot deny how close of a resemblance the face was when compared to his God. He appreciated, for once, the work made by the subordinates of his master.

He placed his hand at the stone statue once last time before initiating. It was hard. It was cold.

And then, out of the bag he was carrying, immerged a magical item. It was golden glowing orb that was the size of his head, bits of rocks and crystal like material covered some parts of the unexpectedly large orb, as if it was just extracted from a mining tunnel of the Azerlisia mountain ranges. The old man held it up high with both hands, and then he let it go. The effects of gravity would pull it down until it reached the surface. However, with power that defies gravity, the magical orb floated for moments before slightly rising in altitude and coming into contact with the forehead of the statue.

The part of the forehead which made contact with the magical item became liquid-like, absorbing the magical item inside the head. No, it would be better to say the golden orb sank into it, before turning solid again. The man witnessing such magic did not know how that was possible, nor did he know if the item in question was the one making said effects, or the stone statue, which made him curious over what was the materials used for the construction of the towering statue. What is it really stone? Or perhaps some otherworldly material he has never heard before?

Frankly speaking, he did not care. That curiosity quickly faded away as the previously nowhere to be seen head-sized orb started glowing from the inside. After that, the stone eyes started to glow golden all of sudden, sending electric currents throughout the entire 50-meter-high statue.

The hand that was previously jerking his chin started moving. In response, the man who was sitting on top of it cast another [Fly] spell to avoid any potential miscalculation that would potentially threaten his life. He did not know what was happening now. It would be awkward to die when one was so close of achieving his goal. He certainly did not want that to happen, especially for someone who had gone through a lot to be here in the first place.

If the statue was a living blood and flesh being, then the left hand would be resting in the thigh along with the other right hand, stopping its motion. The mouth now was the one moving, specifically the lower jaw.

Sounds of stone hitting against each other could be heard as the statue made its peculiar moves. Dust and dirt now falling from the wide open mouth, which measured in quantities, until it finally stopped. What it revealed now was a hidden room that nobody would've thought had been hidden. The old man slowly floated towards the secret room that was revealed, and then he set foot on it.

What was seen could only be described as historical.

The walls were circular, unlike the traditional four walls he was accustomed to. It was full of engravings and symbols that he never have seen before in any other tomb, dungeon, mansion, castle or any other place in his past adventure. Looking above, which would be the ceiling, one could say it was about 4 meters tall, and the room, overall, was 9 meters wide. It was full of yellowish glitters that resembled stars that appeared here and there, before slowly fading away, reappearing once again and repeating the process.

It was majestic. It was a tomb.

He knew that because there was what seemed to be a grave in the center of the room. He knew what that meant, and so he walked towards it.

It was about 2.5 meters in length, and stood about a meter tall. It was not particularly full of engravings and symbols, not like the circular walls, but it had a symbol that differentiated them from the one that was on the grave, and it was one that he recognized. If memory doesn't fail him, it was the language of the Gods. He touched it, waving his hand left and right as he felt its texture, surprised at how well it was preserved over the passing of years, and then removed the stone tablet that was on top.

At first glance, it was large and thick enough to weight over half a ton, yet the old man removed it with force that gave an impression contrary to his appearance. In fact, not even common muscular men could pull off what this old man has just accomplished. If not for his stamina, then he would be a force to be reckoned with in the battlefield. One would wonder how he would've been if he tuned young once again.

After the tablet covering the grave was removed, it made a bang sound that sent forth dust before settling down. And what it revealed was a corpse, the likes of which anyone would expect to see. If it was a traveling adventurer, then he would say this was the master of this tomb, buried here in this landscape as a final wish before inhaling and exhaling his last breathes, if that made any sense for a flying island between the heavens and earth. However, the man knew exactly what, or who that is.

It was the corpse of a God that once conquered the entire world in the past.

This was the stuff of legends. The likes that could not, and should not exist. One could argue it was just a human being, laying in there, if not for the broken horns that protruded from the bare skull.

It was a body that has long been deceased. Eye sockets were empty, and whatever remains of flesh covering some parts of the corpse was rotten and dehydrated. The mouth was open, with a tooth or two barely spotted.

So even deities decompose after death. How interesting

After expressing that thought. He quickly started doing as he was ordered to.

Haste could be felt in his actions. But they did not indicate carelessness, or his desire to quickly get it over with. Every move was done elegantly, despite in hurry, and the final result was a golden six pointed star that had a spherical hole in the middle. It was a pendant roughly smaller the size of his hand.

There were originally six pieces scattered inside the bag, and he put them together piece by piece until it formed its current shape. And then, another marble-sized gem that was yellowish in color had been taken out of the same bag. One didn't need to think much to tell what is about to happen next.

After the gem was stuck in the six pointed star pendent, which fitted perfectly, nothing really seemed to happen. Rather, the effects should start right after.

He held the pendant up high and muttered the words he made sure to memorize fully every night before sleep. He would've written it, but he did not understand the language, nor did he know what language it was.

"[Våkne fra søvnen din]!"

Right after saying those words, a flash of bright magnanimous light emerged, engulfing not only the room that was previously hidden, but the floating piece of land, as well as most of the sky.

That was no exaggeration.

The light was bright enough that saying another sun had appeared right above the clouds of this world would be in a literal sense. Anything that is at least a few dozens of kilometers away from the light would be blinded, temporarily if luckily far enough, or permanently.

That is to say, people down on the surface would've had their eyes burning by now, if he was only 12 kilometers away. But down at the surface was the Great Forest of Tob, where only demi-humans and maybe a few heteromorphs dwelled in, and the nearest human settlement was 107 kilometers away, in the Kingdom of Re-Crea. The old man could care less about some demi-humans getting blind.

In fact, he could care less about humans getting blind.

Then what of him, who would be considered to be at ground zero? That should go without saying, that the item in question did not affect the user.

After the passing of moments, the bright surge of light died down, and it was finally dimmer to the level of seeing again. There, stood the old man with the mysterious magical pendant pointed at the corpse that was laying… No longer.

It floated in just about half a meter above its grave, and it started twitching, and that was only limited to a body part, such as the finger, or the leg, but it gradually elevated and now the entire body started twitching, almost as if moving. No, there was no mistaken it. It was indeed moving.

The arms moved at the area where the head was. It was covering its ears. At first, it seemed faint and inaudible, but then a loud scream escaped the body's non-existent throat. A cry of multiple voices echoed through the walls and the entire room. The mouth wide open, as well as the eyes, which glimmered with sockets of bright golden light that replaced what should've been eyeballs. Even uncanny sceneries that went past its eyes could be seen from up close, passing and changing so fast that time seemed to move fast-forward. It didn't take long before all these uncanny motions ceased immediately, and the body fell down.

The old man who was witnessing in awe and amazement over the event which was occurring, couldn't do anything but move slowly and fearfully to have a closer look. And what he saw was not exactly what was registered in his mind before.

The body gained volume and weight. In fact, it was still doing that right now. The rotten flesh, or whatever was left of it seemed to go away, and what replaced it was muscle mass that filled some parts of the body initially, but then the entire body. It started to look more to that of a human being. After that phase was over, pale skin coated it in just about every part. The bony skeleton hands, legs, chest, hips that were previously devoid of flesh now was, coated with it. It goes without saying, that it was completely nude, albeit the private parts were nowhere to be scene.

The before-corpse-now-body has gotten up with movements that defied the laws of gravity, and its meaty head was held up high. The final phase was about to begin.

Hair started to sprout one after the other, until it covered the head, which had a snow white color that did not indicate it was that of an old-aged body, and it had beautiful snow white color. Eyebrows similarly grew and gained the same color. Nails grew on his fingertips as well as on his toes, which were black in color. Except for the abnormal white-colored hair and his gothic black nails, the body was humane in physic.

The old man could not do anything but once again, stand in amazement over the god-like happening. He did that as he took a step back one at a time, just so he could have a better view.

The body didn't seem that it was stopping anytime soon. Beautifully curved dark red horns replaced the previously cracked up broken ones, and a similarly dark red colored thin tail grew from behind it, slightly above its butt. It had an arrow-head-shaped tip towards the end. Overall, it was 150 centimeters in length.

After nothing seemed to add up after the already full perfect body, the motions finally seemed to stop. And the end results were unexpectedly outstanding.

It was to that of a man. A young beautiful and handsome man that looked like he was in his late twenties. Although the private parts were seemingly unapparent, it should still be enough to distinguish him from a female, from his relatively large muscle mass alone. He had a fit body incomparable to a common villager, and at the same time, he had less muscle mass than that of a war veteran. It was in-between. His pale white skin almost shone from the sunlight of the setting sun, it showed just how elegant and soft it was.

And with his head still held up high, he inhaled a deeper and a heavier breathe than one would normal inhale, and then exhaled slowly. His head now facing forward, with his eyes closed all the time… No longer.

He opened them. And what it revealed was white eyes that were pupil-less at first, but then appeared from the corner of his eyes, and they were black. Pitch black eyes that consumed all light that reached it. They were darker than black, and they looked sinister as spawn coming straight from the underworld. He was exactly that.

A demon.

The old man, stood agasp and slowly moved face to face with the demon that was unmoved.

He took off his bag that he was carrying with him all this time, and put the pendant that he held inside. He put it gently on the ground, and took a kneeling possession. He didn't just bend a knee, he kneeled fully and wholeheartedly. Now, with his head facing the cold hard surface, he spoke for the first time since he came to this very place:

"All… Hail… Aché Deus Cestia. King of the… Gods, and ruler... Of… this dammed… World!"

The fiend, did not move or tilt his head in anyway. He didn't seem to care of the fact there was an old man who seemed about to die any moment hailing his name as if some God. Instead, he kept facing the sun that was about to set. He did not even move his eyes to look at the kneeling half-dead man.

He took a step and he stumbled upon something hard, and from the first time since he opened his eyes, he looked down to see what was the obstacle hindering his march and he noticed he was in a grave. He realized it was the grave belt for containing his corpse, but didn't know what to feel about that. Frankly speaking, he had mixed feelings.

He did not care enough to go deeper into those feelings and interpret them, and so, he cast them away while stepping out of the grave. He marched past the shuddering man that was still kneeling and headed towards the edge of the entrance, where below was far away from his current possession.

He gazed. He simply gazed at the grasslands below, the horizon, the endless clouds that cover the sky which indicated it was well past afternoon, and night was about to fall. The beautiful sunset was about to mark the end of the day, with nearly half the sun remaining from the horizon.

He turned his head back, and there was the man kneeling still. He felt it was dull for him to stay in that possession, so he spoke up.

"Rise."

It was gentle. His soothing and manly voice rang like a bell for the man hearing it, and he rose accordingly. Not only was the demon handsome and physically fit, he also had a voice that would bewitch all the women in the land. There was no doubt, if he was human, then all of the women would fall for him.

"Groof…. Is this really you?"

The man called Groof rose his head and turned to face the demon that was standing at the entrance. It was the face of a man who has lived long fulfilling life, free of regrets. He smiled at him as he answered.

"Yes. Yes it… is."

The fiend turned to face the old man, scanning him from head to toe. He didn't recognize the fellow he used to know for what he believes to be a few days ago, and yet the same man was standing before him completely different, which shook the image of the young man that he has long craved in his head.

Not only that, but he also realized how his voice sound when he spook. His vocal cords almost seemed to burst out of his throat. He looked above and saw how the room was old and ancient, and no longer resisted the urge of asking him.

"How long has it been since my… Defeat. 40? 50 years?"

He turned around once again ad he said those words while hesitating to utter them. He recalled the bitter memories that he had in his final battle that ultimately led to his death. Unlike previously, anger surged through his heart and he recognized that feeling all too well. He clenched his fist in wait for his inevitable reencounter with those certain individuals.

"280 years."

That number left him stupefied. His face didn't express the shock fully, and no one could tell just from his facial expressions alone. He didn't seem surprised as he is expected to be at first glance, but he was definitely shook for a brief moment.

The fact that he asked '50 or 60 years' already said enough about how he didn't predict that, but now 280 years have echoed through his ears like a bell ring, and it was completely unexpected.

"280… Years? That long?"

"Is nearly three centuries… even considered as a passing of time… for a demon god… such as yourself, my… lord?"

"Of course not. I am simply confused at how that went completely out of my prediction range. I expected a few years, maybe a decade, but this?"

That statement was partially true. The first part was of course, a lie. He didn't want him, his servant, to know that he wasn't actually a demon. However the last part was indeed true. He planned for his resurrection bit by bit, until it reached perfection with the help of that legendary item, and he did predict that it might take a few years for that to happen, considering how much chaos and damage he caused to the balance of the world along with his other mates, or rather Gods, it would take at least that much for the earth to recover. However, beyond that point was completely unexpected.

"And you? How old are you?"

"349 years… old."

"You've aged, my friend"

The old man did not respond. Instead, he simply nodded back, even though he knew he didn't look at him. Normally, it would be disrespectful not responding to the one you call your own master or king, especially a God. But, he knew his master was the type which the likes of this world have never seen before. He was generous beyond description, and merciful beyond imagination. He used to agonize over his choice of words when he used to address him in the past, but he slowly got accustomed to the ways of his master, and thus this sort of relationship developed. Due to the sheer kindness and simplicity of his master, he deemed him worthy of worshipping him as a God, unlike the 6 others that appeared before him.

"Enough of the pity master student reunion now. Let's talk about something more important. Are the Dragon Lords ruling this world?"

The tone of the conversation now sounded more serious by the asking of this question. It would be no overstatement to say the man was waiting for it.

"No…they do not."

"Then who does if not Dragon Lords?"

"No one… does, my lord. The balance… of power quickly shifted… after you've conquered… the world in your campaigns. The Dragon… Lords no longer retain… the same power they used to… have."

The world was a dark sinister one that was no place for the weak. That was the sole truth the fiend has learned ever since coming to this world, and he remembers it as if it was yesterday. Apparently in the old times, there was an age in which Dragon Lords were the masters of the world, ruling with absolute power and authority, through the usage of exotic magic that was called Wild Magic, or Primal Magic. Following the principle of the strong feeding upon the weak, Dragon Lords were the pinnacle of the food chain, and it was that way throughout generations, until the eight legendary Gods came and sought war with the dragons, ending their rule.

On one hand, the demon was happy that his group's eternal rivals were finally vanquished for good, and it was his and his groups' doing. However, this isn't to say they were rivals in the sense of they were equals. On the contrary, it took about a number of ten Dragon Lords to match the fighting power of just one of his comrades. The problem was their numbers. They were in the thousands in the entire continent alone, each ruling over a territory, and since taking one down wasn't as easy as taking down any other being of another race, it was deemed 'a pain in the ass'. But that problem no longer concerns him.

On the other hand, he was certain that there were no other race in the entirety of this world that could come close of defeating him, excluding Dragon Lords. However, there was still members of his own kind. That was what he was concerned about. It was for that reason he couldn't afford to drop his guard, and in all honesty, he would prefer facing back endless hordes of dragons rather than meeting with one of his kind.

"Then what has become of my panoply? Has the residents of this planet taken their share of my power. Have they abused it enough?"

He mockingly asked that question, expecting a reply confirming his doubts as things like that could not be helped. He was instead greeted with what first appeared to be a joyful answer…

"Fortunately, they… are still preserved… all… in one… place"

… Which later appeared as the exact opposite.

"However… they are guarded by that… damnable… dragon!"

The demon didn't need to ask who that dragon was. He knew fully well to whom he was referring to. Another surge of anger greater than before surged through him splashing inside him like the waves of the sea. The bitter memories ran past him once again to recall him of his unwanted suffering. The past seems to hunt him even after 280 years.

The same dragon that was the bane of him and his comrades. Turning them against each other after conquering the world, burrowing help from the humans. He recalls it was the first time a Dragon Lord abandoned its pride to seek help from other races. Although that dragon cannot be associated with others of his kind, he knew that much. And it was none other than the humans, specifically a country that harbored items that were necessary to bring about the destruction of the fiend's group.

That country will go second on my list, right after that miserable lizard.

After making that mental note, he hurriedly asked what he thought was the most important question of them all.

"Right, I'll deal with that when the time comes. Tell me now, have there been any sightings of them yet?"

The old man hesitated for a moment there, before answering the fiend's question. He looked at the horizon, the sun had finally set. Feeling that he took too long to answer his question, he answered

"Would I be… here, if… they haven't… descended?"

Said the old man as he recalled the destruction he witnessed back at the surface. If it wasn't that indicator that told him it was time, that would either mean he was at the wrong location, or the World Class Item given to him by his master [The Eyes of Vanir] had made a mistake in its prediction, which was out of the realm of possibilities for such thing to happen.

"Of course, how foolish of me."

One would expect a reply of 'No, not at all master!' or something of this sort. However, that behavior was precisely what Groof got used to.

"My lord, what… should… we… do now?"

"First, let's get that voice of yours fixed up"

The old man chuckled over his lord's words, as the fiend preserved a warm smile over his face.

"I'm afraid my time has come, so that's out of the question."

He laughed one more. It seems that it comes from the bottom of his heart. He knew he was a human who has lived through generations and generations, countries has formed and fell through wars, he witnessed his loved ones and his comrades who served his masters alongside him pass away and he has lived his share of life both as an adventuring partner, and as a man of legends. And he knew well that this is the end of the road for him

He would very much like to be there to witness his master conquering the world once more, but he has before, and concluded that one time was more than enough. Resurrecting his lord and savior marked his last and final adventure, which he worked most of his life trying to complete, and he was met with successful results. Now he could die a happy man's death, anytime now.

"I won't allow it."

The old man opened his eyes wide upon hearing his master's words.

"I'm back, you know? I'll find an item to restore your youth after I take back my castle. Until then, I command you to stay alive"

Grey Czechs Mornoof, nicknamed Groof was overwhelmed with joy. He did believe that his master would want him to stay by his side. And even though he had enough and was ready to greet death fearlessly, he was met with another chance to fulfil one more duty, and that is to serve his master while sitting back as he watches him conquer the world once more. There was no greater reward than that.

And that perhaps, sparked his will to live once more after thinking it was long dead decades ago.

"Yes, master!"

The fiend looked from the corner of his eyes at the overjoyed Groof and shifted his gaze towards sky. He wasn't specifically looking at anything, besides the now apparent stars after the sunset.

He had lifted his arm and clicked the air, and then console appeared out of nowhere. That was particularly what he was looking for. He scrolled down the console as he checked his status.

It showed lines such as Stats, Racial Classes and Job Classes. He searched earnestly for three things he hoped to whatever gods he believed in were still there. He thanked the heavens after finding all three up lined on top of each other. One of which wrote [World Champion of Muspelheim].