Thanks for all of the reviews, everyone! I'm glad you all enjoyed this ride with me. This is the final chapter of this story, but I do have a few ideas for other stories that could be told in this continuity, such as Ainz getting lessons from Jircniv. I'm going to focus on my other story Griefers for a bit first, but you may see more from the Sasuga-verse soon.
And a note on Albedo using Gate: I could have sworn she used it in episode 3 of the anime when show showed up late to Carne Village after Ainz saved Enri, but going back to check it looks like she piggybacked on the Gate that Ainz casted. My bad. I might go back and edit that later.
—
—
—
Demiurge stared down at the letter he had penned with a dissatisfied frown. He crumpled it up and set it aflame with his demonic hellfire, then tossed it aside to smolder in the ashes of his past attempts. "Not quite," he muttered.
He'd been agonizing over this simple letter to Jircniv for hours, particularly over the sentences that implied Lord Ainz was less knowledgable than a mere human about, well, anything. In the same way that Ainz was unable to truly accept his own competence, it seemed that Demiurge found it unnatural to consider any part of his master as ignorant.
Well, that was something he needed to get over. Some part of Lord Ainz had decided that it was best for them to operate in this manner, and as a floor guardian, it was his duty to adapt. His tail flicked in anticipation as he wondered why Ainz chose now of all times to reveal this side of himself to the guardians. Was some major event on the horizon that required them all to understand the multifaceted nature of the Supreme Ones? The fact that he quite literally could not get an answer out of Ainz only made him more curious.
As his mind continued to wander, he realized that he was in no state to produce a suitable letter. He almost felt the sting of failure strike him, but then he remembered that his master wouldn't be leaving for several days, which gave him plenty of time to complete the task. No doubt Lord Ainz was sympathetic to how frazzled the minds of the floor guardians must be after today. He wasn't about to use this as an excuse to leave the task for the last moment, of course, but he felt that he could afford to take a walk and clear his head.
Demiurge put down the pen and stood. He didn't want this walk to be a complete waste of time, so he would take the opportunity to check in on the other guardians, and make sure they were recovering well.
He strolled through the dark hallways of his own floor of Nazarick, enjoying the sight of his demonic minions lumbering about and the sound of the hopeless screams of his various test subjects. At first his wandering was aimless, as he was not sure whether it would be right to move up or down a floor first.
Of all the guardians, he was most worried about Albedo. She was likely overcome by frustration that she hadn't noticed her beloved Ainz's true nature before Demiurge had, and combined with the general stress of the day so far, he could scarcely imagine what kind of downward spiral she might be caught in. The very thing that had him so worried was the same thing that made him hesitant to pay her a visit—he might be the last person she wanted to see.
Ultimately, he decided it was best to give her some space. He headed for the north end of the 7th floor and ascended the stairs to the 6th.
As much as he enjoyed the sweltering heat of his own lair, the cool fresh air of the 6th floor sent a refreshing tingle across his skin. He found himself in the secret back room of the arena, only accessible to denizens of Nazarick or intruders who completed the 6th floor's challenge. He slipped through the heavily barred metal door before him like it was nothing but air and stepped out into the open arena floor.
When Demiurge last saw this coliseum, its floor was a dry expanse of packed dirt and crushed stone. Now, it was flooded with fresh water, with a ring of earth around the pool only wide enough for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder. The water churned as some great beast writhed around in the center of it.
"Hold still!" he heard Aura yell from somewhere in the center of the pool, behind the veil of spraying water. "Or else this is going to take all day!"
The gigantic beast, which Demiurge still couldn't make out clearly, bellowed in displeasure.
"Yes, I do need to get behind your ears!" Aura snapped back.
Seeing that Aura's efforts were leading her nowhere, Demiurge stepped up to the edge of the pool, and spoke using his Command Mantra: "Freeze."
With that, the beast calmed suddenly and immediately. The splashed water rained down and settled, giving Demiurge a clear view of the creature, a bright red wolf with black horns protruding from its skull. Its muscular body was as long as five horses and as wide as three. Aura sat on the back of its neck, clinging its crimson fur with one hand and holding a large, soapy scrubber in the other.
She brushed her dripping wet bangs out of her eyes, then beamed when she saw her visitor. "Hi Demiurge! Thanks for the help. What are you doing here?"
"Simply checking in on the other floors." He cocked his head in curiosity. "What is it you're up to?"
"It sounded to me like Lord Ainz wants to visit the empire the way other kings do, so he's probably not going to [Gate] there, right?" Aura scrubbed the now docile wolf's ears as she mused aloud, ignoring its quiet whimpers of complaint. "If he's going to ride into the city, he should have a procession! Or at least something cool to ride on." She glared down at the wolf. "And you're not going anywhere near Lord Ainz smelling like this. Yuck."
Demiurge narrowed his eyes at the beast. Sure it was a good size, large enough to be impressive but small enough to fit on city streets, and its fur was a lovely color, but it was also weak enough to fall for his Command Mantra. "Are you sure this creature is… suitable?"
"I know she's not very strong," Aura confessed. "But Lord Ainz is going to visit Jircniv. That guy gets scared real easily." She pouted, probably recalling how the emperor had reacted to her beautiful pet dragon that time she'd landed in his castle. "We can't have Lord Ainz ride in on something that would scare Jircniv off. That would ruin the whole mission!"
"Indeed." Demiurge nodded. He himself had considered Lord Ainz's entrance, and how they would need to be careful to strike a balance between grandeur and approachability in order to manipulate Jircniv while maintaining the respect of the people. Still, he was not convinced that this creature was right for the task. "Are you sure this beast won't scare him?"
Aura shrugged. "Pretty sure. I asked Narberal what animals humans like, and she said they think dogs are cute." She scratched the wolf's cheeks. Demiurge could feel it straining against his Command Mantra, trying to wag its tail in happiness. "When it comes to dogs, you can't get much cuter than a big puppy!"
All of the pieces clicked together in Demiurge's mind. The beast did seem familiar, but he hadn't recognized it because this one was juvenile. Normally, Giantsbane Hellhounds were ten times this size, had rows of dark spines running down their backs, and had flames rippling all across their body. Either the young of this species hadn't sprouted back spikes yet, or Aura had done something to remove the spikes and make it more comfortable to ride. She had likely removed its fire aura for the same reason.
"I see. Excellent work, Aura." Demiurge gave her a satisfied smile.
"So, will Demiurge be tagging along to keep your mutt under control?" A third voice chimed. "You can't seem to do it yourself."
Shalltear slid into the arena, bathed in the shadow of her open parasol, a sly smile across her face.
Aura bristled when she saw the vampire. "Nuh-uh! I've got this!" She released her grip on the hellhound and crossed her arms, as if to prove she had this under control, but the fact that Demiurge was still the one commanding the beast didn't help her case. Personally, Demiurge wasn't worried; it was only natural for a hellhound to resist a bath in water, no matter how well trained.
"What are you even doing here?" Aura asked with a pout.
Demiurge was ready for a long round of bickering between the two of them—sometimes Aura and Shalltear acted more like siblings than Aura and Mare did, especially during arguments—but instead, Shalltear lost her smile. She looked to Demiurge with frightening intensity. "I need to speak with Demiurge," she said.
He took a split second to examine her expression more closely. While deathly serious, she didn't seem angry or hostile. "What do you need, Shalltear?" he asked.
"I…" Her red eyes softened. "I thought of something, about Lord Ainz. I may be wrong, but you know a lot more about the minds of Supreme Beings than I do…"
"Even I know very little," he said, as if to assure her.
"Still, you would know better than anyone if this makes sense," she said.
He nodded, signalling her to continue.
"When you were talking about his conscious mind and unconscious mind, you said that was an oversimplification," she said.
"Correct."
"Does that mean there could be more than two halves to his mind?" she asked.
"In all likelihood, there are more than two," Demiurge said. "The vast intellect we've seen from him has to be more than the product of just two minds."
The topic of conversation caught Aura's attention. She leapt off the wolf, clearing the distance between the center of the pool and the edge in a single bound, and landed behind Demiurge.
"Yes. Well." Shalltear cast her eyes downward, and tightened her grip on her parasol. "When I… when I fought Lord Ainz, he said that I was facing the might of all 41 Supreme Beings. I thought he was referring to their weapons that he was using, but now…"
She didn't need to complete the thought, because Demiurge already knew. His breath caught in his throat. "Of course." The revelation left him shivering. "How did I not realize…?"
He felt Aura tugging on the back of his suit jacket, bringing him down to earth somewhat. "What's wrong, Demiurge?" she asked, clearly worried.
In response, all he could do was laugh. To outsiders it would have been the sick, bone-chilling cackle of a heartless monster, but his close friends could hear the pure joy and relief in it.
Shalltear clasped her hand together, her eyes sparkling with hope, so giddy one might have thought Lord Ainz himself just complimented her. "Am I right, Demiurge? Is it true?"
"It must be!" he declared with a flourish. "Why else would he rename himself Ainz Ooal Gown?"
After watching her friends celebrate, Aura didn't seem worried anymore, but she plainly wore her confusion. "What are you two talking about?"
Demiurge turned to Aura. Usually when he explained his complex thoughts he would remain calm and collected, but that couldn't be farther from the case now. His tail lashed back and forth, almost like that of an excited dog, and he wore a wide small filled with excitement and childlike wonder.
"I was wrong before," he said, as bubbly as a schoolgirl. "Lord Ainz isn't Momonga's avatar."
Aura's brow furrowed as her confusion deepened. "Then what is he?"
His arms flung out to the side as joyous words exploded from him. "He is the avatar of all 41 Supreme Beings! Lord Touch Me, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Lord Ulbert Alain Odle… All of them are within him, guiding Nazarick!"
Normally Aura would have been amused by Demiurge acting so undignified, but she was too blown away by the news to care. She looked up at him with shimmering eyes as wide as the moon. "A-and Lady Bukubukuchagama?"
"Her too. And Lord Perorochino." He clutched his hands over his heart, as if it were about to burst. "They never abandoned us. They ascended so they could better watch over us!"
For a long while, all of them were too overcome with emotion to say anything more. Aura remembered each and every bit of praise or kindness Lord Ainz had ever bestowed upon her, and wept with joy as she realized that all of those gestures came from her creator too. Shalltear realized that laying with Lord Ainz now meant laying with all of the Supreme Beings at once, and that raunchy idea alone thrusted her nearly to the edge of climax. Demons could not cry, but if he had the capacity, Demiurge would have been sobbing right along with Aura.
"I need to tell Mare!" Aura shouted as soon as she came to her senses. She almost sprinted away, but Demiurge caught her by the shoulder.
"Wait," he said, his voice suddenly more somber. "You can, but before you go, I should make something clear."
Aura and Shalltear both listened with rapt attention.
"I believe it's best if we do not tell Albedo about this," he said. "Although she tries to hide it, I have noticed that she is not as enthusiastic about the other Supreme Beings as she is about Momonga. Not even about Lord Tabula Smaragdina."
Demiurge didn't need to explain to the other guardians how suspicious that was. They all nodded in silent agreement.
"Likewise, I am not yet sure if it is the best idea to tell Lord Ainz at this moment."
"We can't keep secrets from Lord Ainz!" Aura countered. "Not when he just promised to be honest with us. Shouldn't we be honest back?"
"I agree, but I cannot predict how he might respond to this revelation," he said. "I'm not even sure if he is already aware or not. I want to observe him further before deciding how to go about this. However, it should be safe to tell Mare, and Cocytus as well, as long as they are clear on these terms."
"Okay!" Aura chirped.
Demiurge released her shoulder and patted her on the back, giving her permission to go along. She leapt off over the walls of the coliseum, leaving the other guardians and her hellhound behind.
"My deepest thanks, Shalltear," Demiurge said once Aura was gone. "I completely looked over this possibility. Perhaps some part of me thought it was too good to be true."
"Oh, I'm sure you would have thought of it eventually," she said. Still, she wore a proud smile; it wasn't every day that a guardian besides Albedo had their ideas complimented by Demiurge.
"Perhaps. But, I am thankful I didn't have to wait for that." He stared blissfully up at the open sky above. Were the Supreme Beings limited to seeing out of Lord Ainz's eyes, or was his creator looking down on him now? Either way, it was more than he could ever have asked for. "To think, I believed that they really had abandoned us. I've never been so glad to be wrong."
Reenergized, he felt a fire igniting in his belly, a burning desire to serve. With forty more Supreme Beings to dedicate himself to, he was forty times as eager to please them—perhaps more. He couldn't stand procrastinating any longer, not while there was glorious work to be done. "If you excuse me, Shalltear, I must return to my duties."
