Gods Among Mortals

by supertruckin

Momonga was unwilling to let the Great Tomb of Nazarick to pass without one last time within the game he so loved. He is joined by the oldest member of the guild that everyone affectionately referred to as Gramps in its final moments. How will the Lord of Death and the Lord of Illusions fare in this new world they find themselves in?

4. Sins of the Faithful

AN: Big chapter this time around. Been working a lot last year and didn't have the time to work on this pretty much so sorry for taking so long. Reviews and comments seem to be a little bit on the scarce side so far. But then again, not much has happened yet. Thanks for all of the favs and follows so far folks. Just an FYI, I'm a simple man with a mental disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder AKA Asperger's syndrome). But don't let that little bit dissuade you from speaking up. I'm very easy to talk to for the most part. It takes a whole hell of a lot to get under my skin so don't worry about offending me by putting your honest opinions in reviews. I can't improve my writing unless it's pointed out to me. I do not claim to be a professional writer at all nor do I aspire to be one. This is just a hobby that I enjoy.

Edit AN: Corrections to numerous spelling errors. Ugh, I don't know how I misspelled Momonga's name so many times but I did somehow.

Basic disclaimer: I do not own Overlord. Nor do I intend for this to be monetized at all. No one has my permission to repost this anywhere else for profit.

Chapter 3: Zealots, Settling in, Sins of the Faithful

Unknown destroyed village

"Shana. Your new task is to track down and observe the ones responsible for attacking this village." Baphomet ordered over the [message] spell.

"Yes, Master. It shall be done."

"Before you leave the village, what were you able to learn that could give us any idea as to why this village was attacked?" Baphomet curiously asked.

Shana gathered her thoughts on everything that herself and her squad of eight-edge assassins had discovered. "The attackers did not take anything truly of value from the village. So that rules out the possibility of this being done for purely monetary gain by bandits. Also, my eight-edge assassins reported that they heard some of the trapped villagers cursing a 'Baharuth Empire' for the attack."

"So… the plot thickens. Good work, Shana. Continue with your new mission."

"As you command, Master." Shana answered as she gathered her squad to inform them of their new task. After she had done so, they set off after the horse tracks that led away from the village at speeds greater than any simple horse could achieve.

While they were following the tracks left by their targets, one of the eight-edge assassins asked a question. "Lady Shana? Why are we bothering with tracking down these lower life forms? Shouldn't they be beneath our attention?"

Shana focused on her task as she answered back stoically. "Lord Baphomet instilled within me the importance of never letting anything fall beyond your scrutiny. You never know when something could be used against you or be used against your foes. Everything about your foes and their allies could be a potential weakness to exploit. Only fools rush in without knowing as much as possible about their enemies."

"Yes, Lady Shana. We understand and obey." The unnamed eight-edge assassin replied.

Some time later, the dust left behind by horses galloping came into view. They slowed down as they approached and watched intently. The horses carried a number of men wearing similar armor types and colors. A group among them though, were wearing completely different gear with vastly different markings and armor types. 'Perhaps the men in uniform armor are mere foot soldiers and the others are support? This needs more observation before I report back to my Master.' Shana thought to herself.

They kept their distance as the men on horseback continued further on into the darkening hours of the day. Eventually, they slowed and made camp for the night deep off into the forest beside them. Shana and her assassins stopped a safe distance away from the group and observed. "Stay at a distance and watch. I'll move in closer and determine if we need to be wary of their abilities."

"Yes, Mistress." The assassins saluted as one in response.

Shana's tail wagged slightly back and forth as her wings shuddered in anticipation. This is what her Master had created her for. This one solitary purpose was ingrained into her very existence from the start of her life. She and her sisters were specialized mercenary NPC's that were allowed to leave the Great Tomb of Nazarick if their creator needed them while they were still within the world of YGGDRASIL. Baphomet had of course spent a lot of money making sure they could all do the things that he wanted them to be able to do. He had taken her on many missions to observe the Great Tombs' targets numerous times. And one thing that was always done by herself and her Master was to activate their special anti-divination items and spells. After doing so, Shana slowly and silently crept closer to her targets.

Casual banter among the regular looking soldiers met her ears as she neared the unaware men. Shana's expression twisted slightly in disgust under her mask as their conversations mainly focused on their recent raid on the nearby village. "Well, what can you expect from faithless filth? Without the blessings of our God's they didn't stand a chance." Shana held no respect for those who attacked and killed innocents who couldn't fight back.

'Willing puppets carrying out the wishes of the corrupt.' Shana mentally scoffed at the monsters in human skin in front of her.'Master always did say that corruption will ultimately lead to the downfall of any race if it isn't rooted out before it's set its claws into everything.'

9th Floor of Nazarick

Supreme Beings Lounge

"Well, that handles that for now." Baphomet said after he ended his [message] spell with Shana. "Care to look at the surroundings of Nazarick while we wait on Shana to report back?"

Momonga looked over to Baphomet with a slight tilt to his head before nodding his agreement. "Yes. Being that you can't fully use your Astral Observatory without Shana for now we should continue learning about our surroundings."

"Indeed. Sebas, would you please bring me some hot tea?"

"Of course, Lord. What brew would you prefer?" Sebas said.

Baphomet stroked the short white beard on his chin. "Hmm, surprise me. Nothing too bitter."

"Yes Lord. I will return shortly." Sebas then turned on his heel and left the lounge.

Momonga turned to fully face Baphomet after Sebas had left. "I take it you sent him away for another purpose other than to get you some tea?"

Baphomet casually nodded. "Yeah. So… what do you think about there being humans here in this world without a scrap of technology anywhere to be seen so far?"

The Overlord dipped his skeletal head in thought. "I'm not sure yet. But one thing that I know for sure is this. I will not allow this world to fall into ruin as ours had before."

Shaking his head at his memories, Baphomet replied. "Watching our world die like it did was more painful than you can imagine." The Lord of Sin sighed. "Considering how primitive everything we've seen looks so far we've got plenty of time before things start getting out of hand."

"Yes. It seems that way for now at least." Momonga's eyes blazed for a moment as he looked at Baphomet. "What kind of engineering did you specialize in before?"

Baphomet shrugged. "All kinds really. I had experience in mechanical, electrical, and a little software engineering as well. I copied over a lot of different books on all kinds of engineering from historical examples, all the way up to what we had in the modern day into Ashurbanipal. And even a few books that I wasn't supposed to have access to." He added in a conspiratorial tone at the end.

"Oh…" Momonga trailed off as he looked back through his memories about the library of Nazarick. "That's right… I had forgotten that the guild had done that in order to make the library look more… authentic… to those who saw it." He motioned a cough. "Anyways, I forbid you from creating any machines that could lead to this worlds' eventual death by pollution like our own."

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Baphomet agreed. "I hear and obey, guild master." He laughed as he lowered his hands. "Magic… it has soooo many possibilities. I wonder if there are any limits placed on what I can build in this world?" He smiled. "Only one way to find out."

"Yes, well… we'll look into experimenting on that at a later time." Momonga said as he noticed Sebas walk into the room holding a tray.

Sebas set down the tray and poured a cup of steaming tea for Baphomet. Baphomet reached forward and brought the cup to his nose and took in the scent before taking a long sip. Despite being steaming hot, Baphomet noticed that it didn't even feel that hot to him at all. "Mmm… Thank you, Sebas. Good choice on the tea."

"Thank you, Lord Baphomet. Do you require anything else of me at this time?"

"Not at the moment, Sebas." Baphomet replied as he looked back to the mirror of remote viewing that momonga had started using again. "There was an area that I hadn't been able to view near the Tomb yet as the smoke we saw from the attacked village had distracted us earlier." Baphomet said as he leaned forward and turned the view on the mirror in a direction close to Nazarick.

Momonga nodded as he started moving the view in the mirror in the direction stated. Open plains and light forest filled the view as the image moved along. A small wagon trail came into view as they moved further along. Momonga and Baphomet shared a short look. "This appears to be around ten kilometers or so away from the Tomb's location I believe. And a well travelled path can only mean one thing." Baphomet stated.

The image followed the path and before long a small village filled the view. "Potential civilization is nearby." Momonga said as he finished Baphomet's statement.

The two supreme beings watched the daily lives of the villagers in silence until a [message] notification rang in Baphomet's head. Answering, he put a hand to his head. "Yes? Do you need something?"

"Lord Baphomet. I have found the ones who attacked the village." Shana's stoic voice came through the connection.

Baphomet nodded and then spoke out loud. "Good work, Shana. What have you learned?" He then listened intently as she described all that she had seen and heard. Baphomet kept his inner comments to himself as she finished her findings. "Understood. I'll contact you again once I have new orders for you."

Momonga waited patiently until it appeared that Shana had finished giving her report to her creator before speaking. "So, what do we appear to be dealing with here?"

Baphomet held a hand to his chin in thought as he took in a breath before letting it out in a huff. He let his hand fall to his side as he looked over to the overlord next to him. "It seems to be a group of around thirty uniformly armed and armored soldiers with a secondary group wearing a completely different set of gear to the first." He finished the tea in his cup before setting it down in front of him on the table. "She said their conversations revolved around doing the work of the Gods and luring out a target that they're after."

"Luring out a target?" Momonga mused out loud.

"Yes, and the innocent villagers appear to simply be collateral damage in the political games of those pulling the strings." Baphomet ground out with a slight growl before taking a breath and calming down. "However, they present us with a chance to test the strength of those of this world."

"Hmmm… yes, indeed they do." Momonga agreed as he processed the situation as they currently understand. "And seeing as how they appear to be religious zealots, superstitious beliefs and fantastical ideas might be prevalent in their society." He nodded to himself at the plan forming in his mind. "Yes… placing a small number of low leveled expendable pop monsters and a stronger one controlling them in their path would act as a sufficient test."

Forest near the unknown enemy encampment

Shana and her squad of eight-edge assassins had moved away from the group of unknown humans so they could more safely report what they had learned. After finishing her short report to her master, they all waited patiently for further instructions. "These worthless lifeforms boast too much." One of the eight-edge assassins said with obvious contempt in their tone.

The succubus assassin tuned out the derogatory comments of her squad as she thought about the ones they were charged with watching. From what she could see, the gear the soldiers were wearing looked simplistic and low leveled. 'But then again, looks can always be deceiving.' She was interrupted in her musing as a [message] spell connected several minutes after her initial report to her master. "Yes master? Do you have new orders for me?"

"Yes. You will observe the group of unknown humans fight against expendable pop monsters that we'll be sending to your location soon. You will not be assisting these monsters as they are merely a means of testing the strength of the humans. Do you understand your orders?" Baphomet calmly ordered over the [message] to his NPC.

"Yes master. A simple probing attack to test their strengths and weaknesses. I shall watch from a distance and learn all that I can." Shana said as she accepted her new orders.

Later that night. Enemy soldier encampment

The night watchmen were barely paying attention to the surroundings around them as they casually conversed with each other. "Captain Belius is such a coward. I can't believe he nearly ran from a group of farmers that surprised him with simple tools." One of the soldiers said.

"What do you expect when they put the children of nobles in with regular soldiers?" Another commented before a new sound met his ears and he raised a hand. "Hold up… anyone else hear that?"

It was a faint fleshy shuffling sound accompanied by distinct rattling. The soldier grabbed a nearby torch and stood from his seated position near the fire pit. Two other soldiers also stood and brought torches with them as the three walked towards the edge of the encampment. They all looked intently into the darkness before them as best as they could. They couldn't see very far into the forest around them but could make out something moving further in. The three pulled out their swords as they moved forward while one barked out an order. "WHO'S THERE?! SHOW YOURSELF!"

A low groaning echoed out as something came close enough to be seen in the torchlight. The three soldiers gripped their swords tighter as the intruder revealed itself. "UNDEAD!" They yelled out in unison to alert the rest of their comrades in the encampment behind them. A flurry of activity began to occur as tent flaps were flung open at the shout and soldiers with hastily grabbed gear woke to combat the abominations.

Shana watched the ensuing skirmish with a critical eye. The group of low level undead zombies and skeletons outnumbered the humans but weren't meant to outright kill their targets. As such, they were putting up a convincing fight but were ultimately losing out to the humans. That is, until the lich that was leading them appeared and began casting magical attacks that nearly broke the ranks of the common soldiers.

Defensive magic spells and counter magic attacks were then cast by the secondary group that Shana noted earlier had vastly different gear. The lich was given orders to do its best to bring out as many abilities as it could. It cast its own defensive spells and avoided as many attacks as it could that came its way. Her ears then heard a distinct order being called out by a man with an obvious facial scar. "SUMMON YOUR ANGELS TO DEAL WITH THE LICH!"

'Angels?' Shana thought to herself as she prepared to potentially flee if necessary. She calmed down in the next moment as the angels that were summoned only appeared to be low leveled Archangel Flames. The lich managed to kill two of the attacking angels before it was swarmed by the low level monsters and cut to pieces by the blades of holy light.

'Those were definitely low level Tier magic spells and Archangel Flames. It would seem this world shares similarities with YGGDRASIL.' Shana mused as she continued her observations. The humans began tending to their wounded using low tier healing spells and low quality potions as far as she could tell. They began piling all of the zombie corpses and scattered bones into one spot before setting them ablaze.

'At least they clean up after themselves.' Shana mentally scoffed. She silently watched as the humans began settling down after the battlefield had been cleared of undead corpses and all the wounded had been tended to.

9th Floor of Nazarick

Momonga's office

The next morning

After Baphomet had given his orders to Shana the previous day, he had retired to his own quarters while Momonga continued to use the Mirror of Remote Viewing late into the early morning hours. 'There really isn't much around Nazarick except grassy plains and forests.' Momonga internally thought. 'At least we don't have to worry about being discovered immediately while we hide Nazarick from prying eyes.'

Momonga was good at distracting himself mentally as he worked on the mundane reports and paperwork that was arrayed on the desk in front of him. 'The bane of anyone in a leadership position. Paperwork.' Albedo was of course loyally standing next to his desk as he worked away at the neat stack of paper. His internal musings were interrupted as a knock sounded from his door. "Enter." Yuri Alpha opened the door and Baphomet walked in wearing his divine gear set of a showman's stage wear.

Baphomet had a grin on his face as he walked towards the desk of the guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown. "Well, do I have news for you." He stated in a grandiose tone as he sat down on the chair in front of the large desk.

"Indeed? What have you learned?"

Baphomet laughed quietly as he leaned forward and grinned. "They were using low level Tier magic and even summoned Archangel Flames for their defense."

Momonga's eyes blazed and then dimmed. 'Tier magic?!' He internally thought. "Is that so? And how did they fare against the forces we sent?"

Baphomet smiled. "The regular soldiers struggled a fair bit against the low leveled undead, until their magic casters began throwing around tier 3 spells and lower of various sorts." Baphomet casually said as he lightly drummed his fingers on the arms of the chair. "That is, however, until the lich revealed itself and began its attack." He shrugged before he finished his thoughts. "They at least know how to cover their weaknesses with teamwork. The magic casters defended their foot soldiers with defensive spells while a few summoned low level Archangel Flames to attack the lich directly."

"Hmpf." Albedo scoffed derisively. "Not even capable of handling a common lich. Pathetic weaklings."

"Yes it would seem so." Momonga agreed. "How long did the lich manage to survive?"

Baphomet leaned back into the chair as he answered. "It managed to kill two of the angels before it was swarmed and cut down."

Momonga put a hand to his skeletal chin. "Hmm… I would imagine that their levels didn't even come up to thirty then. The common soldiers even less so as they seemed to struggle against low level undead." 'Thank God they're not overpowered monsters!' He internally sighed in relief at their luck so far.

Albedo bowed as she spoke. "Merely give the order, Lord, and we shall dispose of these nuisances with haste."

"As easy as that would be to do…" Momonga said as he turned to face the succubus. "We may have a use for them yet."

"Yes… killing them outright would be easy, but they can serve us in far more useful ways than just simple bloodsport." Baphomet added. "Only fools rush in without at least knowing the bare minimum about what they're getting themselves into."

"Of course, Lord." Albedo replied as she straightened.

"I've ordered Shana to continue watching them. She will inform us of any new developments as they occur." Baphomet said as he got up from his seat. "I'm going to check on Mare's progress. Some of my custom items may be able to help him accomplish his task faster."

"Hmm… do so. I'll observe his progress later. Let me know if you discover anything new about your items." Momonga said in a commanding yet respectful tone.

Baphomet nodded before turning and walking out of the room. Albedo turned to face Momonga. "You hold a great deal of respect for Lord Baphomet."

Momonga had a number of different memories play through his mind after what Albedo said. Chief among them, times he had had casual and comfortable conversations with the oldest member of the guild over just about anything dealing with normal life outside of YGGDRASIL. "Yes. He held a special place in the hearts of many members of the guild. Willing to listen and offer his wisdom on just about anything that was asked of him." He turned to face Albedo. "There's a reason we called him the unofficial grandfather of the guild."

Albedo looked over to the door and then back to Momonga. "Yes, Lord. He has an air of experience and wisdom that's hard to miss. Is that why he doesn't challenge your right to rule Nazarick?"

"Yes, he acknowledges that he isn't suited for leadership. He's wise enough to recognize his own faults and misgivings in that respect." Momonga nodded as he replied. "He will, however, make his voice heard if you are making a clear mistake in judgement."

"Understood, Lord."

9th Floor of Nazarick

Baphomet's workshop

The Lord of Sin was looking over several shelves containing completed items tailored for magic casters. "Hmm…" He scratched at his chin as he went down the items displayed. "Ah, here we are." Baphomet reached forward and grabbed hold of a set of items that would work well for Mare's task. "Boosters and efficiency enhancers. These should do nicely." Before using the ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to teleport out of his workshop, Baphomet turned and looked to a section of wall that was empty of any obstructions. "Later." He then disappeared in a flash of light.

Baphomet reappeared in a flash of light at the entrance of the tomb. He was greeted to the sight of Demiurge with several of his summoned Evil Lords. Envy, Greed, and Wrath to be specific. Demiurge turned and noticed him walking up the stairs towards him. "Greetings Lord Baphomet. You honor me with your presence." He said as they all went to their knees. "May I ask what you are doing here without an escort?"

'Oops! I knew I was forgetting something.' Baphomet sheepishly thought to himself. "Lilith and Cynthia are still busy with setting up the Tomb's information sharing network. I did not want to interrupt them in their task." He looked over Demiurge's Evil Lords. "I'm simply checking on Mare's progress, and maybe a short test of items of my creation."

Demiurge hummed to himself. "Ah of course, Lord. Experimentation is always important." He stood and looked towards the exit and then back to Baphomet. "However, I implore that you not exit the Tomb without a proper escort."

"Very well, come." Baphomet accepted and walked past the four NPC's. Demiurge smoothly fell into step with his Lord as they walked towards the exit.

As Baphomet stepped out of the Tomb and into the sunlight, he stopped and closed his eyes. He breathed in deep through his nose and savored the fresh smell of nature all around the Tomb. Letting out his held breath slowly, he opened his eyes and looked over to Demiurge. "One must learn to appreciate the simple things in life. Whether it is the sunlight of a clear day on your skin or a cool breeze on a hot day. Otherwise, how are you supposed to enjoy the finer things with any clarity?" He then triggered his [All Seeing Eye] skill in order to find Mare faster.

Based on the Sun's position in the sky, he could sense Mare on the south side of the encompassing walls' top surface. He turned and walked as Demiurge followed. Baphomet could see Mare using his magic and skills as he came into view. "[Fly]." He rose from the ground and smoothly floated to the top of the wall. Demiurge simply jumped from his position and landed quietly next to Baphomet.

Mare noticed the new presence behind him on the wall. "Hmm… Lord Baphomet!" He turned and jogged over. "What are you doing here? I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?"

Baphomet smiled as he looked down to Mare. "No, not at all. I'm just checking on your progress… mostly." He reached into his inventory and pulled out several items. "Would you mind testing these for me? They are magic boosters and MP efficiency enhancers."

Mare looked at the items in awe. They were a pair of intricately crafted bracelets and a gold and silver chain necklace with a jeweled medallion. "I… I-I couldn't p-possibly use s-such important i-items, Lord Baphomet!"

Before Baphomet had the chance to reply Demiurge spoke his own conclusion of the words spoken so far. "Lord Baphomet wants you to use them, Mare. This is a new world, after all. Who knows if our items and spells will have the same effectiveness as they had before. It's best to know all that we can before it becomes too late."

'Very perceptive. I'll have to watch what I say around Demiurge in the future.' Baphomet mused. "Well said, Demiurge." He commented as he looked over to Demiurge and then back to Mare. "Don't worry about using the charges of the items completely. They will refresh daily."

"A-are you sure? I-I won't do anything w-wrong if I use all of their c-charges?" Mare asked timidly.

Baphomet nodded with a smile. "Of course not, Mare. I'd rather see these items used for an important purpose than simply gathering dust on a shelf in my workshop." He gestured forward with a hand. "Go ahead. Let's see how effective they are."

Mare smiled widely. "Yes, Lord!" He turned and happily jogged over to the edge of the wall after he equipped the offered items.

The Lord of Sin put his jewelers eyepiece up to his eye as he watched from behind. "Hmm… good. They're working as intended."

Demiurge turned and regarded his Lord with a satisfied smile. "You created them, Lord Baphomet. Of course they are."

Baphomet huffed a short laugh in response. "Indeed." He let his jewelers' eyepiece fall back to his chest. "Mare. I'm looking forward to your success."

Mare turned and gave a happy smile. "Yes, Lord Baphomet. I won't let you down!"

Baphomet smiled and turned back to the interior of the Great Tomb of Nazarick's surface grounds. "Let's go back inside. I've taken enough of your time already, Demiurge."

Demiurge bowed in deference. "Hardly, my Lord. Any time that is spent in your presence is a blessing to be treasured above all else. Any who would think otherwise are blind to your supreme nature."

'Man! They sure do see us as damn near God's and nothing else.' Baphomet thought internally as he floated down from the wall and walked back into Nazarick.

9th floor of Nazarick

Momonga's office

Baphomet returned to Momonga's office to find him still working away at the paperwork on his desk. "It seems the items I've created work just as intended." He said as he sat back down in the chair in front of Momonga's desk.

Momonga nodded as he brought a skeletal hand to his chin. "Hmm… good. Come, let's go to my wardrobe in order to do some more testing concerning items." Baphomet nodded and rose from his seat. "Narberal, Solution, you shall come as well." The two Pleiades battle maids bowed in response from their position near the door to Momonga's office.

Upon entering Momonga's rather spacious wardrobe, Baphomet had one particular thought going through his mind. 'You sure didn't skimp out on anything when it came to your wardrobe! This could've been someone's whole house for crying out loud!'

"If your items are working like they should, then our own build limitations should apply to us as well." Momonga said as he walked over to a large crate that had swords nearly spilling out of it.

Baphomet watched as Momonga reached for a sword and pulled it free from the crate. The Overlord then raised the sword above his head and attempted to slash it downwards. Partway through the motion the grip on his held weapon failed and it dropped from his hands and clattered down to the floor. 'That works like it should at least. In YGGDRASIL it would just say that we couldn't use the item we were attempting to equip.'

"Shall I get that?" Narberal asked as Momonga answered in the affirmative. She continued to hold onto the sword for the moment after she picked it up.

"[Create Greater Item]." Momonga said as he cast an item creation spell. Items created in this way were never meant for anything more than cosmetic purposes with basic effects and essentially useless in any combat roles against similarly leveled players or enemies. Momonga was then covered in a set of full platemail armor that had a fully encompassing helmet with a thin horizontal slit to see out of. It was pitch black with gold trim and had the right shoulder covered in a red cape similar to Touch Me's own style.

Momonga then reached over and took hold of the sword in Narberal's hands. A slight glow was seen by Baphomet as he watched the Overlord raise the sword a second time as he successfully swung the sword down.

"Your created armor allows the use of melee weapons?" Baphomet asked as Momonga nodded. "Let me try. My limitations are a bit different than the norm." He took the offered sword and went to swing it as well with much the same results as before as it fell from his hands.

Solution offered to get the sword this time. "I'll get that." Her tone had a suggestive tint to it as her eyes promised mischief. Baphomet watched as she smoothly walked over to the sword and bent over at the waist directly in front of him in an over exaggerated fashion instead of her knees like Narberal had. And in doing so, presented her perfectly white panties that clung very tightly to her. Nearly every contour of her proof of being female was visible to the Lord of Sin. Baphomet was transfixed for a moment before he shook his head and politely looked away in thought. Solution had a small satisfied smile on her face as she stood back up as her nature as a slime allowed her to see everything around her without 'looking' in any direction. Momonga had been looking away in thought as this happened and was spared being subject to Solution's display.

Baphomet reached into his inventory and pulled out a pair of simple iron gauntlets that covered his hands and forearms completely. Upon putting them on a series of symbols and magic circles shone over their surface before fading back out. "Unlike you, I can't use item creation magic to make items like your armor or the perfect warrior spell to bypass my limitations. I can, however, use an item that was hand crafted by myself with its effects enchanted into them." Baphomet explained as he took the sword from Solution. Baphomet raised the sword and swung it down much like Momonga had with nearly the same results occurring.

"As you can see, we've got more than enough strength to swing these swords around with ease." Baphomet explained as he looked at the sword in his hands. "However, our attempts to swing them will look off to those with formal training like with what Touch Me had considering how much strength we're putting into the swings."

"Hmm…" Momonga trailed off in thought at Baphomet's observation. 'Shit! I didn't even think of that at all!' He then nodded to himself. "What would you suggest then if I wanted to limit that image?"

Baphomet tilted his head to the side in thought and then answered. "Some basic lessons from Cocytus would be the best option."

Momonga nodded with a hand to his helmeted chin. "Agreed. Are you going to join me?"

Baphomet waved a hand in denial as he answered. "I'll only join you at first to explain the situation so that Cocytus understands your intent. I imagine that he would be more than ecstatic to cross blades with you if given the chance."

'Right! He's the very embodiment of a warrior according to his settings. Of course he'd want to fight with me.' Momonga sarcastically thought to himself. "Yes. Another time then. I've got work to get back to for the time being."

Baphomet nodded his head in answer as he handed the sword back to Solution. "I'll let you get back to work. I have tasks of my own that I need to see to." He left the wardrobe and returned to his own set of rooms for the rest of the day.

The next morning

Baphomet's bedroom

Baphomet's awareness slowly started to take in his surroundings as he started to awaken. Once again he found himself in the very pleasant and soft embrace of his succubus NPC's. There was, however, a slight difference from his first morning waking up to this. Baphomet raised his head to find Lilith's tail firmly wrapped around his right leg and the spade tip playfully slapping against his morning condition. 'I guess that's one way of waking me up.' Baphomet thought to himself as he was becoming more accustomed to his NPC's behavior patterns.

Lilith's head tilted up and Baphomet could see the smug smile of satisfaction on her face as she looked at him with lidded eyes. "Good morning Master. I'd be more than happy to take care of that if you'd like."

'You don't know how hard it is to say no like this, but I just can't for now. I feel like I'd be taking advantage of you all if I gave in.' Baphomet thought as he looked down at the three incredibly beautiful succubi clinging to his body. "I know. But I'm just not ready yet. I feel like I'd be taking advantage of how I created all of you."

Lilith giggled at that as she clung even tighter to him. "We don't see it that way. You created us to heal the damage done to your heart in the past. And we wholeheartedly will see that done someday."

Baphomet shuddered slightly after he processed her words. 'Oh boy… I guess it'll happen eventually. I just hope I'm ready for it.' Lilith reached a hand up and caressed his cheek for a few moments before she teasingly trailed it down his chest and abdomen before she was stopped at the waistband of his underwear. "Down girl… I'm not ready yet. Please have patience."

Lilith smiled before replying in a sultry tone. "Just testing."

"I think I'm going to work on some of my projects today." Baphomet said as he started to rise from his bed. Lilith smiled and nodded as Cynthia and Cathy rose from their sleeping positions. "Speaking of which, how is your information sharing network coming along within Nazarick?"

Lilith shamelessly rose from the bed in her nearly naked state and faced her creator with a provocative pose. "I have messengers set up on every floor now. It still takes time for said messages to move from floor to floor unfortunately."

Baphomet appeared to pay no mind to her half naked state, but his body gave another impression as he cupped his chin in thought. "I think I can make that part of your message delivery system easier. I'll create some message boards that will share any messages and notes placed on them with any connected boards in the network."

Lilith crossed her arms under her bust and squeezed them together further emphasizing her rather impressive chest as she answered. "Mmm… you know just what to say to please me, Master." She purred out as she leaned forward with her wings fluttering and tail swaying.

'Good lord almighty woman, quit trying to make my pants explode! I'm outta here!' Baphomet thought as he quickly turned and faced his wardrobe and answered back. "Ah… um… I'll be in my workshop if you need me." He quickly put on a dark mechanic's jumpsuit complete with a tool belt and left the room for his workshop.

Lilith smiled at his reaction and giggled. "Of course, Master."

Momonga's office

Later in the early afternoon Momonga found himself sighing internally as he had finally finished the large stack of paperwork that had been on his desk the last few days. 'Finally! I thought I'd never get done with that massive stack! Guess not having to eat or sleep has its perks afterall.' He turned his head to look over at Albedo who had been faithfully standing by his side nearly this whole time. 'Come to think of it, did any of them take any breaks at all?'

Momonga's internal musings came to a halt as a knock came from his door. "Enter." Baphomet walked in wearing what looked like a dark jumpsuit with a tool belt that someone working in a mechanics shop would wear. "I haven't seen you wearing that before."

Baphomet shrugged as he answered. "I never really wore it outside of my workshop. It gives several passive and active buffs to my item creation skills." He stood in front of Momonga's desk rather than sitting in the chair this time. "Finally done with that stack of paperwork?"

Momonga nodded. "Yes, for now at least." He then looked over what he could see of Baphomet's gear. "Were you working on something in your workshop today?"

Baphomet nodded as he reached into his inventory and pulled out a large message board and held it up. "I was busy making these in my workshop today. They're message boards that communicate with each other."

"Message boards? How do they work?"

"Lilith has the main message board that all the rest are connected to. It'll allow her to spread any important information throughout Nazarick more quickly as she has already set up messengers on each of the floors. Any written notes placed on the main board will be displayed on any board connected to the network and vice versa." Baphomet explained as a written note suddenly appeared on the board. "Speaking of which, here's a note now. It reads 'This is a test. Reply with your own test messages.' I had just gotten done with distributing these throughout the Tomb. Where would you like yours placed?"

Momonga nodded his head in approval. "Good work, Baphomet. Yuri, Narberal, place the message board over there." He gestured with a skeletal hand over to the side wall behind his desk. They both briefly bowed before walking over and taking the large message board from Baphomet and placing it where specified. Momonga looked back over to his friend. "What materials were used in their creation?"

"Common materials really. Nothing that we can't replenish from local sources around the Tomb." Baphomet waved a hand in explanation. "Since they didn't need any major experience requiring enchantments, all it took was my own MP to create them."

"Excellent. We must wisely use our limited resources sparingly." Momonga replied as he rose from his seat. "I find myself lacking in a task for the time being. Would you join me in the colosseum?"

"Yes. I think I will."

6th Floor of Nazarick

Colosseum

The two remaining players of the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown appeared in the grounds of the colosseum in a flash of light. They briefly looked around the floor of the amphitheater for a few moments. "You said that Cocytus would be the best choice in getting some basic lessons in how to use melee weapons, correct?" Momonga asked the Lord of Sin next to him.

Baphomet nodded. "Yes. Give me a moment. [Message]. Aureole, please open a gate for Cocytus to the 6th floor colosseum. Thank you." He ended the message and cast another one. "Cocytus, step through the gate that will open for you soon. We require your warriors' insight in the colosseum."

A whorling portal opened soon after and Cocytus stepped through. He walked forward and went to a knee in front of his Lords and leaders. "I have come as commanded, Lord Baphomet." Cocytus spoke in his powerful booming tone.

"Wonderful Cocytus. We have called you here because we would like to use your knowledge as a warrior to help us better understand melee combat." Momonga said as he spread his arms.

Baphomet looked over to Momonga with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk. "Well, for you at least. I'm just here to help along in the process."

Momonga motioned a cough. "Anyways, Baphomet pointed out to me the other day that despite us having more than enough strength to swing a sword… our attempts to do so won't look authentic to someone like yourself."

Cocytus nodded as his grip shifted on his halberd and he let out a puff of frigid air. "Hmm… I agree. You lack the proper training of a warrior in the melee arts as a magic caster. I assume you want me to help you with some basic lessons, Lord Momonga?"

Baphomet reached into his inventory and pulled out a wooden staff with a rainbow colored gem at its top that seemed like it was always slowly shifting colors. "You would be correct. I'll provide some simple targets for you both to practice on." He walked over to the side and turned to face over in front of the two of them. "[Convincing Apparition]." Convincing Apparition is a simple low tier spell that projects distractionary solid enemy targets that are dispelled easily with a single hit while their attacks do no damage. Armored and unarmored knights of various types wielding different weapons and gear appeared on the colosseum floor. "Now then, Cocytus, let's get started with the lesson."

Momonga then summoned his melee armor and two massive greatswords that had crescent battle axe-like edges at their tips. They were covered in ornate art as well with the intertwining bodies of serpents with their heads facing out towards the crescent edges at the end.

"Oooo… fancy." Baphomet joked from the side.

"Before we start, I need to see how you are going to swing your swords, Lord Momonga. I need a baseline of what we need to work on first." Cocytus said after he walked over next to Baphomet. "The basics are the core of any true warrior's style."

"Very well, I will defer to your judgement on this, Cocytus. I will be in your care." Momonga agreed as he set about swinging his swords. The next several hours were spent as Cocytus offered his insight and instruction to Momonga as he learned how to more properly swing his greatswords. The lessons ended late into the darkening hours of the night.

After the last illusory knight had been dispelled by Momonga's swings, he put away his swords. "I think that's enough for now. I've got a good handle on how to use these more effectively now thanks to you, Cocytus. I'm greatly appreciative of your help in this."

Cocytus bowed his head. "You humble me with your praise, Lord Momonga. Lord Baphomet's illusions made the practical side of attacking and defending against live targets more effective."

"Just doing my part. I'll always help my friends and family within the Great Tomb of Nazarick." Baphomet said as he put his staff away into his inventory.

"You may return to your duties, Cocytus." Momonga commanded as he still wore his created armor.

"Yes, Lord Momonga." Cocytus answered and left the floor of the colosseum.

After Cocytus had gotten far enough away, Momonga slumped in apparent exhaustion. "I need some air." He looked over to Baphomet. "I don't suppose you wouldn't mind going outside for a bit?"

Baphomet stretched before he answered. "Yeah. Some fresh air sounds good right about now." He snapped his fingers a few moments later. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. Demiurge and his summoned Evil Lords are guarding the entrance to the tomb for now. He's going to insist on coming along as an escort if you don't bring one with you."

Momonga sighed in frustration. "I was afraid of that. Don't you feel a little… I don't know… suffocated by their constant need to escort us?"

Baphomet's expression was exasperated as he answered. "Yeah, it can feel that way. We'll get used to it eventually." He huffed out a short laugh. "We are the supreme rulers and leaders of this guild base, are we not? Might as well start acting like it." He went to step towards the exit before he turned and spoke again. "I'm going to go and change real quick. I'll also be bringing Lilith along as my escort."

Momonga nodded. "Alright. I'll see you near the entrance in a few minutes." They both teleported away after that.

1st Floor of Nazarick

Momonga appeared near the entrance to the first floor of The Great Tomb of Nazarick wearing his created armor. He sighed to himself as his perceived exhaustion suddenly hit him. "All of their expectations and sheer devotion is just so… suffocating."

He didn't have to wait long for Baphomet and Lilith to appear nearby. Lilith was of course hugging tightly onto one of Baphomet's arms. Baphomet had changed out of his workshop set of gear and was wearing his dark priest set. "I told you already, this isn't a date." Baphomet seemed rather frustrated and maybe a bit flustered when he said those words.

Momonga internally laughed before the emotion was squashed. "You've already had the pleasure of being outside the Tomb, Baphomet. Now I think it's time that I do as well. Come."

Lilith giggled and hugged herself tighter to her creator's side and arm as the three walked towards the surface exit of the Tomb. And as Baphomet had warned earlier, Demiurge with his three summoned Evil Lords were standing guard near the entrance of the Tomb.

The four of them all turned and dropped to a knee at seeing the supreme beings walking up to them. "Lord Momonga, Lord Baphomet. What are the two of you doing here, and… wearing such armor."

Momonga paused for a moment as he thought of something to say. "Well, there is a reason for all of this."

'I should've warned him about saying something vague like that! Too late now.' Baphomet mentally mused.

Demiurge appeared to contemplate that before coming to his own conclusion. "Ah, so that's how it is."

'What?! I just wanted to go outside and get some fresh air! Gah! I sure hope Baphomet knows what's going on!' Momonga screamed in his head.

Demiurge stood and looked behind him towards the entrance. "However, if you're looking to go outside of The Great Tomb, I would suggest a more substantial escort to take with you."

Lilith opened her eyes fully and slightly pulled away from Baphomet's arm. "Are you suggesting that I'm not good enough to guard them, Demiurge?" Her tone was sickly sweet with a slight dangerous edge to it.

Without missing a beat, Demiurge replied. "Not at all, Lilith. They are the last remaining Supreme Beings after all. I'd rather not take anything to chance."

"Hmph, I'll ignore your slight against me for now." Lilith said as she resumed her tight hug to Baphomet's arm.

"Hmm… then I will allow you and Lilith alone to accompany us outside of the Tomb." Momonga commanded as he started walking forward with Baphomet and Lilith just behind. Demiurge turned and fell into step with the three as his Evil Lords remained behind.

When the four stepped outside and looked up into the incredibly clear starlit sky, two of them had distinctly awestruck reactions. 'I've never seen the sky so clear before! Not even the night sky of the 6th floor Blue Planet created was this beautiful.' Was Momonga's internal reaction.

'Damn! Not even when I was a kid was the night sky so clear!' Baphomet's thoughts were much the same as Momonga's own.

Because Momonga was wearing his created armor, he couldn't use any spells. So he compensated by pulling a flight item out of his inventory and putting it on. "[Fly]."

Momonga shot up into the air leaving the others behind. "Show off." Baphomet lightly laughed and spread his own wings. He was stopped as Lilith refused to let go of his arm. Looking up at him with an expectant smile she tilted her head in anticipation. "You made your point." Baphomet begrudgingly reached down and picked Lilith up in a bridal carry and jumped while flapping his own wings to follow his friend into the sky.

Demiurge used his shape shifting ability and sprouted his own wings while changing into a toad faced demon.

Momonga was the first to break through the light cloud cover that was in the sky. He removed his helmet and tossed it to the side as it dispelled. A moment later, Baphomet emerged next to him. Looking down at Lilith in his arms he spoke. "Come on, you can fly on your own."

Lilith pouted and squirmed in his grip. "But I don't wanna." Baphomet raised an eyebrow and started to loosen his grip. "Ok ok, it was worth a shot to stay in your arms longer." She allowed herself to fall out of his grip before rising back into the air and flying next to Demiurge.

"A miracle of beauty, wouldn't you say, Momonga?" Baphomet asked his skeletal friend flying next to him.

Momonga hummed out a few laughs. "Yes. The stars in the sky glitter like jewels in a treasure box."

"Oooo I want some jewels!" Lilith childishly bubbled as she wiggled about.

Baphomet hummed out several laughs. "And you'll get them, more than likely. The moonlit world beneath us glows with splendor as well. Not even this world should be the only limit we adhere to. No, the world below and the skies above are all within our grasp if only we strive to reach for them." He raised his hands with palms up towards the sky at the end.

Demiurge's face gained a smirk. "I believe this universe exists so that you may adorn yourselves with its infinite riches. And we guardians exist to help you do so."

"Hmm… perhaps you're right about that. Maybe we were sent to this world to attain all of its jewels for ourselves, along with every treasure that shines beneath them and above. But, hoarding all of it for ourselves would be the height of selfishness." Momonga monologued and looked up before continuing. "Instead, we could use the riches we discover to enrich Nazarick, its residents, and all our friends of Ainz Ooal Gown."

Demiurge bowed and offered a suggestion. "If the Supreme Beings wish it we shall use all the power available to Nazarick to attain them for you, my Lords."

Both Baphomet and Momonga lightly laughed at that. "We're still discovering the world around us for now. But then again, it could be both fun and dangerous to be hasty for once." Baphomet said with excited anticipation for the unknown.

"Right you are. But, it's a little early for a quest. Then again, it makes me think. The most enjoyable thing to do now might be taking over the world." Momonga let his role playing self take over.

Demiurge and Lilith audibly gasped as Baphomet mentally face palmed. 'Ah fuckin hell Suzuki! Guess world domination is the name of the game for our future! Oh well, might as well ham it up like me and Ulbert used to back in the day.'

Baphomet started to let out a rumbling laugh that began low and increased in volume as time passed. "Yes, that does sound fun!" He calmed down from his excitement and looked out over the world beneath them. "But we should do so slowly, carefully, methodically. We've both seen what happens when fools rule with an iron fist after all. Believing themselves to be all powerful and unchallengeable."

Momonga turned to face Baphomet. "Yes, we have, haven't we. And fools, we are not."

The anticipation grew inside Demiurge's chest as his Lords spoke of world domination in front of him.

'He's really getting into this now. I didn't know David had this side to him.' Momonga thought to himself as he looked down to see Mare hard at work on the Tomb's natural camouflage.

"What are your intentions, my Lord?" Demiurge asked.

A [message] spell then sounded in Baphomet's head. He tuned out the next short conversation of Momonga and Demiurge as he focused on the message. "Yes? Do you have something to report?" Momonga and Demiurge then left himself and Lilith to head for the surface.

"Master, we have discovered that the humans plan on attacking a village near Nazarick tomorrow morning. We have also seen the target that they are after." Shana reported in a simple manner.

"Very well. What is the purpose of their attack on the village tomorrow?"

"They will use the attack to lure their target out and into a fight they cannot win. Judging by the number of simple soldiers that their target has, they will not survive the ambush."

"Hmm… yes, even low leveled magic casters can have a devastating effect on those without proper magic resistances. Good work, Shana. Keep watching them and inform us when they start their attack on the village." Baphomet mused before commanding his succubus NPC to continue her work.

Baphomet then looked down as Lilith glided over closer to him. "I'm going to go down and check on Mare's progress and see how well the items I gave him have worked." They then flew back down to the surface.

Before they reached the spot where they could see Momonga, Demiurge, Mare, and Albedo now interacting, Momonga teleported away in a flash of light. Demiurge turned and jumped down from the wall and walked towards the entrance while Albedo teleported away as well. That left Mare alone as he heard the wing flaps of Baphomet and Lilith before he saw them. He greeted them with a happy smile as they landed. "Lord Baphomet, Lady Lilith!"

"You've done well, Mare. How have the items I gave you been working?" Baphomet asked as he looked out over the surrounding area of Nazarick.

"They work really really well, Lord Baphomet! It's been so much easier to use my magic for long periods of time!" Mare excitedly explained.

"Wonderful news, Mare. I'm glad that I could help." Baphomet smiled and noticed the glint of a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown on one of his fingers. Namely, the ring finger of his left hand.

Lilith noticed this as well. "Mare? Do you know what the significance of wearing a ring on one's left ring finger entails?" She asked in a slight teasing manner.

"No… d-did I do something wrong?"

Baphomet laughed before he explained. "Mare, the ring finger of your left hand is generally reserved for wedding and engagement rings."

Mare was still for a moment as he processed that. His face turned beat red as he gasped and scrambled to move the ring to his right ring finger instead. "I-I-I would n-never presume to b-be engaged to L-Lord Momonga!"

Baphomet simply walked forward and put a hand on Mare's head and lightly patted it. "No worries, Mare. You simply didn't know. There's no harm done."

"Are you s-sure?" Mare timidly asked.

"Positive. Now then, come, Lilith. Let's go back inside." Baphomet assured and turned away to head back into the Tomb.

9th floor of Nazarick

The next morning in the Astral Observatory

Before Baphomet had gone to sleep for the night he had informed Momonga of the coming attack on the village near Nazarick. So it was no surprise that the Astral Observatory was filled with various NPC's from around the Tomb along with the two remaining players of the guild. Without Shana there to complete the array, it would simply act as a large mirror of remote viewing.

Baphomet and Momonga watched the simple farmers of the village near Nazarick with seeming indifference as they went about their morning routines. "Quite a simple life these villagers live." Baphomet observed as the villagers moved about. He was wearing his showmans gear set today.

"Playing in the dirt like the insects that they are." Albedo commented in a derisive tone. "How befitting of them."

"Insects they may be, but they still play a part in the circle of life in this world." Baphomet calmly explained as they all kept watching. "While we wait for the attack to begin, let's see the supposed target that this raid is going to lure into a trap."

The view then rose higher into the sky before it started moving rapidly towards the remnants of the destroyed village they had seen before. The dust cloud from a group of horses galloping towards the village they were just looking at came into view. It looked as though it would take them around half a day in order to reach the village.

"Hmmm… I see. That's why Shana said these soldiers wouldn't survive an ambush from the other humans. Their gear looks rather simple. Their leader has plate armor, but that wouldn't be enough to even the odds unless he's higher leveled." Baphomet observed as they all looked at the image displayed.

"There's a distinct lack of any magic casters or even any support as far as I can see." Momonga added.

Demiurge's crystalline eyes peered over the group of humans as his mind worked on deciphering everything he saw. "It's a rather unbalanced group of soldiers. All melee with no support of any kind. Perhaps these men are sacrificial pawns in a greater scheme?"

"You might be onto something there, Demiurge. They knew these soldiers would be coming to the villages in this area to look for the attackers. One of the humans in this group is their target afterall." Baphomet mused out loud as they all looked on.

Momonga's eyes blazed for a moment. "A simple but effective trap to be sure. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to see this human killed."

"Who and why, however, remains to be seen." Baphomet said as a message ping sounded in his head. "Yes?" He nodded his head several times before he looked over to Momonga. "It would seem the group of humans have sent their uniformly armed common soldiers to attack the village. The other magic casters have hidden themselves nearby in preparation for the ambush."

Momonga nodded and hummed. "It would be prudent for Shana to return now. Being able to fully utilize the Astral Observatories abilities could prove very enlightening."

"Of course. Shana. We will open a gate for you to return now."

Baphomet looked over to Momonga as he leaned the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown forward and opened a gate for Shana. She stepped through along with her eight-edge assassins in short order. "Activate the full abilities of the Astral Observatory." Shana walked over to her place in the array and started up the process. Several parts of the room's walls and ceiling shifted and turned as new magic circles began glowing. "Alright, let's see what these humans are doing."

The view shimmered and cleared up as the full scope of the Astral Observatories power activated. The landscape blurred as the village came into view. The soldiers sent to attack it appeared outlined in red as some of them rode on horseback ahead of groups of running men. They also had archers following behind them.

Baphomet looked out of the corner of his eye at Momonga. 'Something just feels off about all of this. I'm not really that bothered by what's going to happen to the innocent villagers. Yet, something is bubbling just below the surface that I just can't place. I wonder how Momonga feels?'

Around the time Baphomet finished his internal thoughts was when the first soldiers on horseback reached the villagers who were on the outskirts of the village. They wasted no time in slashing down at the defenseless villagers who dropped what they were doing and started to run. 'I guess I really have become my avatar. If I had seen something like this before I would've lost my lunch. My mentality must be adjusting to my new body.' Momonga thought as he watched the soldiers kill the villagers.

Sebas watched on stoically from beside Momonga as this all happened. A barely noticeable twitch of his facial muscles was the only tell that Baphomet was able to see break through his carefully controlled expression. 'With his karmic value and sense of justice Sebas must be having a hard time keeping a straight face.'

"What are your orders, my Lords?" Sebas asked. Both Momonga and Baphomet looked over at Sebas. The visage of Touch Me superimposed itself over Sebas in their heads as he nearly matched how the paladin would carry himself.

"I say we leave these lower lifeforms to their fates." Albedo dismissively gave her own opinion.

Demiurge hummed out several laughs. "Don't be so short sighted, Albedo. I'm confident that our Lords intend to use this village and its inhabitants as an experiment."

'An experiment?! What the hell?! I never said anything about human experimentation!' Momonga internally panicked at the implications of Demiurge's words.

"An experiment?" Albedo asked in obvious confusion.

"Yes. As you all should know, our Lords have witnessed many worlds in their travels. Last night, they said that they've seen what happens when fools rule with an iron fist." Demiurge walked forward and turned around to face the group gathered in the Astral Observatory. "I postulate that they will rescue this village from it's fate and foil the ambush of the targeted human. That way, they can gain a positive influence on this village and a possible ally in the process. All the while gaining access to valuable sources of information in the form of the captured attacking humans."

Albedo still looked confused. "But that doesn't explain what kind of experiment this would be?"

Demiurge pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Why… an experiment in governance. Willing obedience is always more productive than forced obedience."

'Hmm, leave it to Demiurge to see hidden meanings where there aren't any.' Baphomet thought as he huffed out a few laughs. "Well… it seems as though you've discerned the meaning of our words from last night quite accurately. Well done, Demiurge."

'Oh come on! Alright, fine I give up! I'll go along with you on this.' Momonga motioned a cough. "As expected, Demiurge. You understood our intentions very well. But this is only the beginning."

"You honor me with your praise of this humble servant." Demiurge bowed theatrically with a hand across his chest and the other out to the side. "It warms my black heart to know that I have glimpsed a fraction of your brilliance."

'At least Momonga doesn't have to worry about keeping a poker face during all of this. Sheesh it's hard not to burst out laughing at how chunni this all seems.' Baphomet thought as he struggled to keep his expression neutral. "In that case…" He looked over towards Momonga for further input.

Momonga's eyes blazed as he continued watching the slaughter occur in the image above them. "Demiurge, prepare stealth forces ready to dispatch at a moment's notice. Preferably with the invisibility spell or appropriate stealth capabilities."

"At once, Lord." Demiurge raised a hand to his ear.

"That just leaves the question of who is going to intervene directly." Baphomet mused as the view focused closer on a family that was being attacked. The mother had already been killed as the father desperately did all he could to hold back their attackers and urge his two daughters to run away.

Momonga watched the two young girls running away from their attackers. One soldier slashed down at the older girl as she shielded her supposed younger sibling. He looked over to Sebas as he watched the scene with a stern gaze. 'Touch Me. I'll do my best to live up to your memory.'

"I'll be the one going." Momonga intoned as he summoned the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Albedo immediately protested this. "Absolutely not! I cannot allow you-"

"That is why you'll be coming with me. Fully armed and armored for battle." Momonga cut her off before she could finish.

Albedo spluttered for a moment before she composed herself. "Of course. As you wish, Lord."

"Then I shall stay here and watch over and coordinate everything. I'll let you know if anything appears that could pose a potential threat." Baphomet said as Albedo moved to prepare for battle. "One more thing, you should probably disguise your form. They might find your undead body terrifying."

Momonga motioned a cough. "Yes, you are correct." He reached into his inventory and pulled out the mask of envy and a pair of gauntlets and put them on. "I'm depending on all of you." Momonga said as he leaned the guild weapon forward. "[Gate]."

The whorling dark portal opened in front of Momonga and in front of the two girls in the image. He stepped through and those left behind in the observatory watched as he immediately killed one of the soldiers with his favorite 9th tier undead spell [Grasp Heart]. "At least they aren't immune to instant death necromantic spells." Baphomet mused out loud as they continued watching.

Albedo reappeared in the room fully armored as she looked up and to the image above them. "He's already killed one of them. Hurry and you might be able to watch him take care of the other in person." Baphomet teased as Albedo looked back down to the portal and stepped through.

Baphomet widened the view but kept Momonga and Albedo within the image. "I believe they can more than handle themselves for the time being. Now, let's check in on the rest of the village." He raised the view even higher as he moved it over the main section of the village.

His golden eyes narrowed as he watched the soldiers gathering the surviving members of the village into the town center near a small tower with a bell. 'At least they're not outright slaughtering them immediately. That'll give Momonga time to at least save them from their fate.'

A large and imposing figure of hatred and death ran its way towards the soldiers without them even noticing its approach. "Ah, so he summoned a Death Knight." Baphomet observed. "Let's see how they handle fighting against an undead that is not as weak as common skeletons and zombies."

The Death Knight did not hesitate and attacked the human soldiers in twisted enjoyment. Even toying with a few of them as it reduced them to pieces with terrifying ease. The soldiers were decidedly terrified but steeled their resolve and attempted to attack the Death Knight in a coordinated effort to allow their comrades to escape. All that did was earn themselves a quicker death to the flamberge and tower shield of the Death Knight.

An unknown feeling to Baphomet began seeping its way through his consciousness. It felt good to watch these humans meeting their end in such a gruesome manner. 'Why am I enjoying this?' He looked to his side as Demiurge watched the slaughter intently with his sinister grin in place.

Baphomet internally shook himself as he watched Momonga and Albedo appear flying above the village. The Death Knight stopped its attack as Momonga and Albedo floated down to the ground in front of the soldiers. After a seemingly short conversation the human soldiers dropped their weapons and began running away in utter fear as they tried to get away as fast as they possibly could.

"Demiurge, capture those fleeing human soldiers. I imagine that Momonga let them escape so he wouldn't appear too merciless and terrifying to the remaining villagers." Baphomet said as he widened the view to follow the fleeing humans.

"Yes Lord Baphomet. At once." Demiurge answered as Baphomet reached out his right hand and one of his silver cufflinks glowed. "[Gate]." A gate opened out away from the group in the observatory.

Demiurge quickly summoned several demons with appropriate stealth skills. They stepped through and went to work capturing the fleeing humans.

Baphomet raised a hand to his ear. "[Message]. Aureole, connect my gate to the frozen prison." Without waiting for an answer he ended the message and turned to Demiurge with an expression of cold fury. "Demiurge, understand this. Death is a mercy for those humans, and they are not worthy of mercy. Do not allow them to die."

Demiurge's grin became predatory and outright terrifying as he understood his Lord's intentions. "Of course, Lord Baphomet. They will understand true despair and agony before their suffering is ever allowed to end."

'I didn't even bat an eye when I gave that order. What the hell's wrong with me?' Baphomet thought in morbid curiosity as he tried to understand what he was feeling as he turned back to the image. "The village is safe from those soldiers now. That just leaves the other group that stayed behind." He cast another message spell. "Momonga, I've ordered the fleeing human soldiers to be captured. I'll leave you to handle things with the villagers while I check on the other group of humans." Baphomet ended the message as he could see that Momonga was busy speaking with the elder of the village.

The view then rose high into the sky and moved away from the village. It slowed as it neared the location of the hidden humans. Baphomet halted the view right before he reached them as something became very apparent to those operating the Astral Observatory. "What's this? Someones watching them." Baphomet said as a toothy smirk spread its way across his face showing off his pearly white teeth. "Let's see what we're dealing with."

With all of the Astral Observatories' nonviolent anti-divination countermeasures active, Baphomet was confident as he directed its next actions. "It's time we see what else this group of humans are hiding." The counter divination spells started to take effect as new information began filling Baphomet's mind and the view above them. "Whoever is watching them is an amateur. Either that, or they're not very high level at all." Baphomet scoffed. "We have several hours before the human that's being targeted gets close so we've got time to look into this."

Despite the fact that the unknown observers had several anti-divination measures active, Baphomet and his succubus NPC's were easily able to bypass them. "They're using several mid-tier anti-divination spells, but that won't be enough to stop us." Baphomet explained to the other NPC's in the room with him. "Let's see where they're hiding, shall we?"

Lilith's expression was that of smug satisfaction much the same as Cynthia's. Cathy was smiling while Shana was stoic as ever. They all enjoyed it when their master was confident and devious like this. "Like anyone could ever have a chance of hiding from my master." Lilith commented with a giggle as the view began to shift and start moving south as it followed the path of the divination spell. Cathy was still busy as ever with creating maps for all that the Astral Observatory saw as it moved along. Thereby making sure they knew exactly where their targets were.

Similar but varied types of terrain filled the view as it followed a south by southwest direction for the most part. A couple of small villages and farms passed by as the view moved along. Then a large city appeared and dominated the image. "Well, looks like we know where they are now." Baphomet said as excitement and anticipation for the unknown filled him. "We'll look at the city later. Right now, let's discover where our little voyeur is hiding."

"An apt descriptor, Lord Baphomet." Demiurge commented from the side. "Mere children playing at being powerful." His predatory smile returned as potential games of manipulation and subterfuge began playing out in his head. "How humbling it will be when they find out that all they see today is what you want them to see. Puppets dancing to the strings you pull as puppet master from behind the grand stage that you have set for all to see."

A vindictive sense of joy alarmingly began to grow within Baphomet. "Quite so, Demiurge. I wonder how they'll react when they find out. Outrage? Despair? Only time will tell." The view began to move closer to the source of the divination spell. It stopped over a grand cathedral type of building before any further progress was halted altogether. "Something is blocking us from seeing inside that building." Baphomet mused out loud. "It's not a spell as far as I can see. There is only one thing that could prevent me from seeing inside a building in this way." He turned to look at Demiurge. "A guild base."

Baphomet scratched his chin in thought at that revelation. 'This can't be the work of a player though. Any player worth their salt would have taken every precaution possible. It's just too open to counter divination to be a player.' His brow scrunched in further thought as Demiurge noticed his lord's internal musings.

"They're hardly offering a worthy challenge at all." Demiurge said calculatingly as he watched.

Baphomet grunted in agreement. "No… they're not. And that's the frustrating part about this." He shook his head. "Incompetence can be its own challenge as it can be difficult to predict."

Lilith swatted her tail in Baphomet's direction and smacked his arm in order to distract him from his frustrated state. "Since we can't find the caster, why don't we look around the city that they're in?"

Baphomet was only stunned for a moment before he sighed and relaxed. "Yes. Since the caster is currently hidden, that is the most prudent thing to do."

And that is what they did next, raising the view to encompass the entire city within the Astral Observatories sight. Baphomet scrutinized the layout of the city with a critical eye. "They focused quite a lot on city defense. Notice the walls that encompass the entire city and in several layers further in. Any city, though, is only as good as the worst parts of it."

He zoomed in the view towards a dirtier section of the city. They were greeted to the sight of a horse drawn wagon that had a large cage on it with at least a dozen figures crammed inside of it. What's more, it had a long chain connected to the rear that had a number of walking figures only covered in burlap sacks chained to it. It took Baphomet several moments to realize what he was seeing. "Are those… slaves?"

"It would appear so. Look more closely at their ears, Lord Baphomet. They seem to have been mutilated in some way." Demiurge said as he picked up on the blood encrusted on some of the figure's ears.

Baphomet looked closer at Demiurge's suggestion and could now clearly see that their ears had been cut in some way. The reason eluded him so he widened the view again and looked for where the possible slaves had come from. There were several more wagons like the one they had seen as they moved further down the path. They eventually came upon a set of large barn-like buildings where they could see a number of beaten humanoids in large cages sitting outside of the barns.

Several large men wearing dirty and blood covered work clothes would reach in and grab someone before dragging them out and chaining them to a post. Then they'd forcefully strip them naked before holding their heads in place as one of the men would walk over holding a well used pair of large clippers. That's when they noticed that these humanoids weren't humans. They were elves.

Baphomet watched in morbid fascination as he watched the scene play out. It didn't matter whether they were a man, woman, or even child. None were spared having their elven ears mutilated and clipped short. The men even appeared to enjoy the pain they were inflicting on all of them, the children included. A low growl escaped Baphomet's throat as a singular word was spoken under his breath. "Sin…"

Demiurge smiled cruelly as he heard what Baphomet had uttered under his breath. As an ArchDevil himself, a higher form of demon, Demiurge knew exactly what was happening to the Lord of Sin next to him in this instance. He was wholeheartedly looking forward to the future that he could see was ahead of them.

They all watched as Baphomet shifted the view every so often in order to see more of the darker side of this city. It didn't matter where they saw slaves out in the streets and even among humans. They were all dressed in rags or simple sacks and treated like animals and nothing more. A stern look of disdain was the only expression that they could see covering Baphomet's face after he realized what they were watching.

"Lord Baphomet?" Demiurge spoke up as his internal time keeping alerted him to the fact that the group of humans heading toward the village would be getting there soon. Baphomet seemed to shake himself free of his brooding as he turned to regard Demiurge. "I believe the group of humans are nearing Lord Momonga and the village he and Albedo are in."

Baphomet blinked and nodded his head. "Yes, quite. We'll look more closely at this city and its people at a later time." He quickly moved the view back over to the small village Momonga and Albedo were in.

They watched as Baphomet centered the view over where Momonga and Albedo were at. The apparent village elder stood beside them as the group of humans on horseback came closer to them. "Ah, so the one in plate armor is the leader of this group." Baphomet noted out loud as they watched said man dismount his horse and walk towards Momonga, Albedo, and the village elder.

Baphomet widened the view higher above the village and immediately noticed the other group of humans beginning preparations for surrounding the village. After they had come within sight of the humans within the village one of the soldiers on horseback ran towards where his apparent leader was. He watched as a short conversation was held between all parties involved before they moved to a large storehouse-like building.

"Let's check in on our little watcher for now." Baphomet said as he shifted the view over towards the apparent magic casters. They watched as the humans summoned Archangel Flames and prepared their ambush. "Oh? He must be the leader." He noted as one human without a helmet summoned a Principality of Observation.

Demiurge huffed dismissively from his side. "Really now? Low leveled angels? The standards for strength in this world must be low if that's the best they can manage."

Baphomet lightly hummed out a few laughs at that. "Don't become complacent because of their rather subpar display. We can always be surprised by the unknown in this world. So don't let your guard down and make yourself an easy target."

"I shall endeavor to take your lesson to heart, Lord Baphomet." Demiurge accepted easily.

"Their unseen eyes in the sky are still watching." Baphomet said as he raised the view to encompass the village along with the human attackers. They watched as the human soldiers in the village gathered and seemed to be readying a charge. Baphomet cast several anti-divination spells that would prevent his next message from being intercepted by the one watching. "Momonga should be available to talk by now. [Message]."

Momonga answered back after only a moment. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to contact me."

"Hm hm hm, sorry for taking so long. The magic casters you see out there have someone watching them with a divination spell." Baphomet answered back.

"Divination? Another player?" Momonga asked in concern.

Baphomet mentally scoffed at that. "Please. It's the work of an amateur as far as I can tell. I was more than capable of bypassing their countermeasures and locating the caster with ease."

"Hmm… good. We don't have much time at the moment for further discussion so I'll tell you my intentions." Momonga quickly said over the connection. "I intend to intervene once I've seen the capabilities of the human warrior that is leading the counterattack."

Baphomet nodded in understanding as Demiurge and his succubus NPC's watched him intently. "Shall I set the stage and show them what they came here expecting to see?"

A few moments passed before Momonga replied. "Yes. I want to keep our existence in this world a secret for as long as possible. I'll deactivate my anti-divination attack barrier so it doesn't get in the way of your illusion."

"Very well. This will take a more… hands on… approach. We'll be there momentarily and set up the counter divination illusion." Baphomet said as he ended the message spell. "Alright, girls. Time to set up a counter divination illusion." He turned and spoke to Demiurge next. "Contact the other guardians and prepare forces to intervene the moment we call for help. I'd rather not leave things to chance if something happens that we can't handle alone."

Demiurge bowed. "Understood, Lord Baphomet. I doubt you'll need the assistance against such weaklings. But, as you said, it's best to be prepared and not get caught completely unawares."

Baphomet shut down the Astral Observatory and his NPC's gathered around him. "Take these. It would take too much time for me to set everything up myself, so I'm depending on all of you." He said as he pulled out a set of five staves similar to his Staves of the False Eye. They were more intricate as they had numerous gems laden into the shaft of the staff that handled the anti-divination spells aspect of their purpose. "Mass cast [Reality Shift]." Reality Shift was a special 10th tier invisibility spell Baphomet had access to. It would literally shift every aspect of someone's existence that could be perceived into another dimension entirely while leaving them still capable of interacting with physical objects, but not attacking. So unless you could see extra dimensional entities you had no chance of seeing through this spells' effect.

The four succubus NPC's and their creator disappeared in the next instant from Demiurge's perception. A [Gate] then opened for a few moments and then dispelled.

The field outside of Carne Village

A whorling dark portal opened up well and far enough away from the humans and the one watching via divination. It closed shortly after when five unseen figures stepped out. "We're short on time to get this set up. I need each of you to set up my staves quickly if we're going to pull this off."

"Understood, Master. You can count on us." Lilith said without her usual teasing tone.

Baphomet reached towards each of the staves and charged them with his MP in preparation for the anti-divination illusion spell. The group of five then began running towards the confrontation that had started not long ago. They split up with Baphomet remaining near the rear of the humans commanding the angels. He set the bottom point of his staff down into the ground and waited for Lilith, Cynthia, Cathy, and Shana to set theirs up as well. He felt a mental connection to his five staves complete and he immediately cast his spell.

By this point in the battle, the enemy leader seemed to be monologuing like any good villain would. 'Typical nonsense for those who believe themselves to have already won. Seems like it's about time for Momonga to switch places.' Baphomet thought as he prepared to intercept the divination with his own anti-divination illusion.

As for the battle happening in front of him, the human warrior was currently bloodied and surrounded by summoned Archangel Flames. His chances of surviving the next attack seemed almost nonexistent to Baphomet's eyes, and as such he chose this moment to change the view of the one watching to what he dictated with his illusion. 'I'll give the human warrior a good send off. That should impress upon them that he fought as hard as he could in a believable manner.'

As Baphomet predicted, Momonga switched places with the warrior shortly after. He was unfortunately not close enough to hear any of the conversations going on, but he could clearly see the surprise in the body language of the remaining humans.

He focused on his task of countering the divination spell for the time being. In his illusion the human warrior fought as hard as he possibly could despite his wounds. Even taking out several of the Archangel Flames before they finally dogpiled him and restricted his movements long enough to get numerous fatal wounds in. After his body stopped moving Baphomet had the leader command the angels to cut off the warrior's head just to be sure before they dispelled their summons.

Baphomet kept a careful eye on the watcher as this all happened. He was relieved when they seemed satisfied enough to dispel their divination and stopped watching entirely shortly after confirming the kill. Baphomet kept the illusion up a little bit longer just to be sure they had left for good. All the while this was happening Momonga had been tearing apart the Archangel Flames with expected ease.

Baphomet released his control over his anti-divination illusion and let it dispel. He watched as Momonga blocked an attack from the remaining Principality of Observation with a single hand as if it was nothing to him. It essentially was due to his high tier physical immunity passive skill. He cast a message spell to Momonga after he watched him kill it with a single hellflame spell. "Well, our little voyeur saw what they wanted to see and left already. We're now free to handle this any way we want now."

He could see Momonga nod minutely in response now that he had gotten close enough to see the group in front of him. Baphomet watched as Momonga seemed to look intently at something the human leader pulled out from his battle robes. He ran over far enough to the side so that he could see what had just been pulled out. "Is that… a sealing crystal?" Baphomet immediately pulled his jeweler's eyepiece up to his right eye and looked at the crystal. He was relieved as it only contained a 7th tier summoning spell for a Dominion Authority angel. Something that Momonga was more than capable of handling on his own.

Still though, Baphomet had yet to drop the message spell so he let Momonga know what he learned. "That crystal only contains a 7th tier summoning spell for a Dominion Authority." He watched as Momonga's posture relaxed ahead of the summoning.

However, Baphomet wouldn't be much of a support if he didn't cast a protection spell on his friend in front of him. He reached out a hand. "Boost magic [Protection Holy]." Casting that spell dispelled his invisibility magic. He was thankfully where the humans weren't looking so he casually watched the show about to happen in front of him.

The human leader seemed to panic at the short conversation Momonga had with him once the angel was summoned. He shouted to the angel in a desperate tone to use its strongest holy attack on Momonga. As this was all happening, Baphomet started to become aware of some sort of aura he could see coming from all of the humans present. An instinctual disdain for how these humans lived out their lives started to well up inside him. The leader of this group had the strongest feeling to the aura Baphomet could now see.

Baphomet's succubus NPC's each appeared next to him as the Dominion Authority started its holy smite attack on Momonga. During the attack it became very apparent that the angel's attack wouldn't succeed as Momonga was freely talking and moving during it. Even laughing as no damage had been done to him thanks to the protection holy Baphomet had cast earlier.

"We'll reveal our presence soon, girls. Just waiting for the right moment to make the most impactful impression." Baphomet said with a smile of satisfaction at the despair of the humans in front of them.

Momonga, without missing a beat, cast a blackhole spell and destroyed the Dominion Authority angel with ease. Baphomet started walking forward silently as the humans began panicking with the leader begging to be spared at the cost of the other humans with him. He called Momonga by Ainz though. 'Momonga probably gave that name to see if anyone would recognize it.'

Baphomet raised a hand and casually waved in Momonga's direction as he had gotten close enough to the human leader to almost touch him. Momonga then spoke up, interrupting the human's attempts at gaining mercy. "Did you know that you were being watched? By your own country more than likely."

"I was… being watched by my country?" His tone was disbelieving and panicked.

"Why yes. I doubt they saw anything though. We saw to it that they perceived what they came here expecting to see and nothing else." Momonga explained coldly

"Wait… we?"

Baphomet silently stepped within reach and slowly curled each of his fingers around the man's shoulders while bringing his face into view from the side. "Yes… we. You belong to us now, boy." Baphomet said in a malevolent tone at the end. The man was so utterly terrified that he nearly passed out as realization of what he could now see looking directly into his eyes from so close.

Momonga removed his mask of envy and spoke in a sinister tone. "What was it you said to Gazef? 'Cease your futile resistance and lie down like a good dog. Do so and I will show mercy and make sure your death is painless!'"

Baphomet released his grip from the trembling man and stepped back as he could now clearly smell ammonia coming from him. 'He pissed himself?! Jeez he's weak willed.'

Momonga opened a gate and a number of demons quickly poured out and captured every human that was still alive. Without any fanfare they dragged each of them kicking and screaming back into the portal with them.

Baphomet raised a hand to his head and cast a message spell. "Demiurge. Do take care with the leader of that group of humans, the man with the blonde hair and prominent scar on the left side of his face. I believe he is weak willed and will easily die if put under too much stress." He ended the message and looked over to Momonga. "Quite a fine show you put on for us, Momonga."

"Yes, indeed. You should return to Nazarick so you can make sure no one has discovered our actions other than the humans here. I'll go and check on the village in the meantime." Momonga commanded.

Baphomet bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Of course. Come, girls. Time to go home." He opened a gate and stepped through with his succubus NPC's.

AN: First off if you've come to this story just to comment that I should update my other story, please don't. I know my other story is more popular but my muse was begging me to work on this story lately.

Baphomet and Ainz will be having a very significant discussion in the next chapter. It's time they deal with the fallout of their roleplaying in front of the NPC's.

Let me know what you guys think of how I'm doing things. The perspective will mostly follow Baphomet as he does his own thing for the most part. Things will start to change soon as you can already guess with another supreme being guiding the more clandestine aspects of Nazarick's actions.

For now, I ride my 18 wheeled stallion.