Main Chapter 3 - Catastrophic Recognition

Notes:

R: "This makes no sense! The storyline! The plot! It makes absolutely no sense the pop monsters should have made the defence of the tomb and also the traps the terrain of the floors of the tomb... I hope to God that this author is well versed in the overlord lore and its system..."

A: Well, since I can't exactly PM a guest account, it will be replied here... Frankly, I don't understand what you are trying to say other than the plot makes no sense (which I wouldn't argue). So, I will try to answer what I guess to be your issues. The state of the traps should be apparent; they were mostly destroyed or deactivated like the rest of the tomb. As for naturally respawning monsters, there's no gold in the treasury to pay for them. Please ask again if that isn't what you're asking.

Another thing, note that I'm aware of is that resurrecting NPC would rip them of their abilities in MFTD; however, to make things more convenient, let's assume that mechanic to not exist.

Thank you for all the reviews; please feel free to rip and tear this FF apart~


Having left the meeting room, after chatting with the mayor and Renner for a while, Momonga was perplexed by the intensity of the fog. At first, he thought them to be like the morning mist that his twisted world once had, but the sun which directly shone above his head made his theory less accurate.

"Is this normal?" he asked himself. The atmosphere almost reminded him of his real world, but instead of the harmless vapour of water, the air was filled with toxic fumes.

But before his comparative contemplation could be continued, something hit his feet. It was an object so unbefitting of the medieval era; A bright red rubber ball. Slowly, he reached down; to take hold of the object he had never once touched. Of course, there would be no reason for Suzuki ever to touch it; he never had much chance to physically play in his childhood, after all.

"Um... mister skeleton... could you...?" asked a timid little girl with a dark-red air; she was short in stature and rather slim, but there were no signs of malnourishment.

Glancing over her, Momonga could see a group of boys and girls around her age, cowering behind randomly placed poles on the grass field. He was quite surprised that they could see even through the veil of mist.

"Here you go, little miss." the overlord said kindly as he handed the ball over.

The little girl smiled, "Thank you~" she said as she ran back to her friends, saying something along the lines of "See? I told you!" Seeing this made the skeleton smile internally, perhaps if humankind did not rob their own planet of its natural delight; scenes like these might be able to be observed everywhere, instead of the pile of dying orphans he used to see while going to work.

He continued forward, to his inn. Wishing to go to the next stage of his plan, return to Nazarick and re-assess the situation.

On his short trip, however- His head turned towards a certain stall by the road, whose shopkeeper is a rather...aged fat man. However, he had a warrior look in his eyes and scars on his face to match. "Treasures o' the ol'tomb on sale now!" He announced. But it seemed Momonga was the only interested pass-bys.

"Anything in yer eyes?"

Momonga immediately recognised some of the items on the inventory. There were a {Unstriking Blade}, a {Staff of poor aim}, a {Neverworking Bow}, a {Rendition of Henry III}, two {Super cool firestarter}, a pair of {Magic Glasses} and even a {Maid uniform}. However, most of these items are not particularly useful, nor were they stored within the treasury.

With his full might focused on acting composed, he posed a question to the shopkeeper. "Where did you find these?"

"A good o' gold for a tale." the shopkeeper said, but upon looking at Momonga's blazing eyes, he couldn't be quicker to retract his statements. Parching his lips with water from one of the pitchers, he recited his story...

"Twenty years ago I reckon. Not long afte' the Catastrophe, I was helpin' clearin' those pesky chaos beast nearby this lil' village. When a dragon flew by 'n landed somewhere."

"A dragon?" Dragons are universally regarded as the upper echelon race in most RPGs, YGGDRASIL was no different, so hearing how they exist here made him wonder about their strengths and the possibility of them being the culprit behind the tomb's destruction.

"So check the area we did!" he continued before taking out a photograph of Nazarick.

"I see... now I finally get it... why this small village can get rid of those cracks when a nation couldn't... because they took our stuffs..." Strangely, instead of anger, his mind was filled with even more questions, but it seemed the shopkeeper would be quick to answer those.

"That ol'tomb was a trove I tell ya! Not even many steps in and all kinds of trinkets were pile'on each other at the corridor"

"Wait...what?! Why are they piled at the entrance?!" There were just so many things to ask but first- "Say, have you seen anything creatures in it upon entering?"

"None, we saw but treasures t' be take." He then makes a regretful face. "Unfortunately... when we've made our ninth run, the entrance was sealed!"

"Sealed? Could you be referring to the purple glow?"

"Aye. But two years ago, the thing dwindled. Old I am, so I let the young enter, but most never returned."

"So what about these things you took? Is there anything powerful I could purchase?" he baited, but the shopkeeper would shake his head.

"Sold out. Adventurers used 'em to fight the beasts. But this maid uniform is very sturdy, m'boy wears it every evenin-"

"How much for the glasses?" the overlord interjected as he pointed towards probably the most useful item by far in his inventory.

"Ten golds on discount, figure noble types like you would like it... no offence."

"Hm... Kelart said one YGGDRASIL gold is a copper... and 13 copper is a silver... The mayor said 100 silver is gold.. so..." Still not realised that he had been scammed by the priestess, he contemplated whether he should keep the gold for the NPC revival or not. Though the cost resembles but a penny when compared to the increased resurrection cost.

"Why, if it isn't master Momonga~" said a female voice coming from behind. It was Kelart, in her priestly wear, as she placed ten gold coins on the table, which the shopkeeper would promptly take. "No need to thank me" she said almost sarcastically.

"...I appreciate your kindness but-"

"But I can pay for it myself...? Tell me, how much would it cost if you pay with your coins?"

"1,300 coins" He answered rather proudly, like a kindergartener who figured out an answer to his teacher's 'very-hard' question. However, it seems the priestess did not share his sentiment. She merely smiled cordially. "Let's say I've repaid my debt."

"Debt? What's she talking about..." Having absolutely zero ideas about what to do, his intuition kicked in, making him nod his head slightly and said "It's fine..."

"Very well, enjoy the rest of your day~" she said as she slowly walked away without looking back.

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"Cease and desist you foul beast!" briefly making a dramatic pause, the actress continued. "Numerous you may be, but upon my blade's end, your numbers are but mere irrelevance!"

Closing near his inn/tavern, Momonga noticed an improvised stage set up nearby, on it was the woman from last night. Remedios. It was quite surprising to Momonga to see her perform this time of the day, not because he knew her routine but because he used YGGDRASIL town NPC as a basis. Unfortunately, her audience is rather... short in number... and none of them seems particularly pleased. Was it because of the fog obscuring the view? Or perhaps the performance was simply subpar.

Ignoring this, Momonga continued onwards; he had wasted so much time after all... And eventually, he would reach his inn room.

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"My ring should be enough... to ward against divination... But just in case..." He took out two scrolls which lit ablaze by themselves, reducing them to nothingness without a trace, as if consumed by the air.

"Now then..." [Summon Undead 7th, Death Assassins]. From his skill, several zombies dressed in practical jet black robes materialised, they were different from the elder lich earlier as their weapon of choice were knives.

"Death assassins. Incapacitate anyone who forces their way in."

Although they are dubbed as an assassin, they have very low stealth capabilities instead of focusing on getting critical strikes which made them fall into the niche genre of undead summons. In fact, they weren't a high tier summon at all, Momonga simply activated a greater version of his skill simply to call more of them.

With understanding nods, Momonga activated the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

The scenery before him immediately warped to that of a ruined first floor; To check if all the corpses have been cleared as his first order of business, however, there was a surprising sight. His summon was there to greet him in a coarse voice "I welcome your return... Lord Momonga."

"How is he still here...? Could using an actual corpse to conjure an undead extend the time limit?"

"Report." he said, mimicking a tone he once adopted during his... less fruitful years.

"As you wish, my lord... This one cleaned up as you commanded... and look out the entrance... No humans entered as the barrier closed once more..."

"Urgh...I shouldn't have burnt them all..." he cursed internally. He could've verified his hypothesis and experimented with things like resurrection if he had saved some. However, lashing one's mistake onto one's subordinate is despicable to the overlord's mind, so he simply said, "You've done well, thank you."

"To receive... appreciation from my lord... I truly am in bliss.."

With that, he activated his ring once more, translocating directly on top of the [Throne of Kings]. Several GUIs popped up, and with much professionalism, he navigated to access the revival cost once more.

"The only guardian I can bring back is Victim... No, if I throw most of my inventory in the exchange box, maybe I can afford level 100 NPC..." Then, a realisation dawned upon him. If his undead earlier was sentient, then perhaps the NPC, too, will have a mind of their own. So perhaps reviving the wise demon would be a good idea... Although, would their personality be based on the bio?"

"Then I should experiment with cheaper options..." With coins on the ground and buttons pressed, a vague feminine shape began to form until eventually, revealing Sixth... in her maid uniform no less.

"Interesting..." Back in YGGDRASIL, resurrecting NPC like this would rob them of their gears. However, such was not the case here. Could it be a mechanic in this world? Or could it be related to how they 'die'?

"M-Momonga-sama...?" Sixth said, having a dazzled look on her face as she glanced around the throne room.

"Do you remember anything...? Perhaps what caused this?"

"My deepest apologies Momonga-sama... the last thing I remembered was you and HeroHero-sama checking on us..."

"Is that so...?" Momonga said thoughtfully, "I should revive more; maybe one of the NPCs witnessed what transpired. Still, it seems she retained her YGGDRASIL memories...?! This could potentially be a disaster if I revive him... "

"Then let me ask you this Sixth, would you prefer floppy or crispy bacon?"

"Crispy!" she answered instantly, which spoke of either her love for it; or sheer hatred of the later. "A-Apologies for my rudeness... Momonga-sama"

"You need not worry; it's how you're created, after all..." He turned to the side, accessing his options once more. "Should I opt for Albedo...? Her administrative skills and defensive abilities might be of use... But Demiurge could potentially accomplish the same due to his bio. His evil lords would bolster our defences... Pandora's Actor... might not be a bad idea, he could mimic my friends and be more versatile than those two."

After a long moment of contemplation in the silence of the throne room, the overlord decided not to face his creation, not because of logical reasons but sentimental ones.

The overlord's hand reached into his pocket dimension, pulling out 'junk items' and shoved them all into the exchange box, which strangely was the only remaining item in the treasury. However convenient or meaningful it may be, Momonga simply regarded this development as the unknown invader mistook it for a mere box.

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Aided by Sixth, most of Momonga's inventory was converted to a pile of gold which laid neatly on the floor. Eventually, they would be transmuted into Demiurge.

"Momonga-sama...? What is-" The demon spoke uncertainly, almost out-of-character so.

"Demiurge. You were tasked with commanding the defence of the tomb. However, you and your peers lost their lives, So I predicted that you would commence a fierce defence. Was it against players or an entity unbeknownst to me?

The demon looked around; his dazed look turned into something more... primal, uncontrollable anger. An ominous aura of rage surrounded him, making the maid Sixth unconsciously back off.

"Momonga-sama... I have failed you!" He bowed so deep that the angle resembled a cane bird pecking the ground. "...Even though I'm tasked with the defence... I allow this sacred dwelling of the supreme beings to be soiled. The comeuppance shall be my lif-"

"Hold it!" a regal air befitting of an ultimate ruler gusted throughout the throne room... However, beyond the visage of the undead, was a man who feared that his friend's creation would suicide right before his eyes.

"Calm down; I'm not calling your position into question. I just want to seek an explanation of this phenomenon. Identity of the intruders who took your lives and devastated Nazarick." he paused slightly to observe Demiurge, still bowing. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"After... you and HeroHero-sama left the ninth floor, I held a meeting with my servants... But then... the scene was so blurry, distorted as if memories of it were pulled out of my head..." he sighed defeatedly, finally raising his head. "Then I found myself here, not recalling a single thing. My deepest apologies for my incompetence-"

"Enough. For now, we must focus on seeking our enemy's identity. I will explain to you what I've learnt so far."

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And so Momonga started explaining, from the moment he came to this world, the rise in resurrection costs, the general state of the outside world, how some items of Nazarick circulated in the outside world, how HeroHero was out there somewhere and how the tomb arrived 20 years ago from the natives' perspective. Though, he failed to mention the names of whom he met.

"That is about everything." he concluded while looking around. "I will use summon low tier skeletons to clean up the place; your evil lords can supervise them. Sixth, aid Demiurge with whatever you could."

With a bow, the demon said. "As you wish, Momonga-sama... I will see to it that the tomb is fixed and defended to the best of my ability... If I may ask, would you continue your investigation outside once more?"

The overlord nodded, "We need more information and gold. I was hoping to secure ore deposits to throw them into the exchange box, however, finding the identity of our enemy should be our top priority."

The demon looked as if he wished to say something; however, what came out was not what was on his mind. "Then I shall do my part and wait for your safe return."

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With that, Momonga teleported out, after using [Undeath Army].

Then, Demiurge summoned his evil lords and instructed them on what to do. While his summons was comparable to the actual evil lords that used to be stationed in Nazarick, the differences were that his, are on a time limit. Additionally, they are locked from using summoning spells, which was rather unfortunate.

After a short while, the room was left with only Sixth and Demiurge.

"Demiurge-sama...?" the maid called out uncertainly. "I was under the impression that you ask our lord to go out in his stead?"

"...Your prediction is not entirely correct." there was a brief, suspicious glance, but he decided not to pursue questioning for now. "Look around Sixth, see the fruits of my failure; I failed to protect this place, failed my task appointed to me by the supreme beings. How could I be so selfish to ask anything from Momonga-sama?"

Sixth went silent; Even though the overlord told the devil not to fret on the matter, Even though there was nothing he could've done to avert this catastrophe, he could not casually abandon his guilt.

"Besides, with our enemy's identity remains unknown, perhaps being outside is safer than in here... Regardless, now is not the time to ponder. Sixth, might I ask you to clean up the throne room?"

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"As you wish."


After returning to his room, Ainz immediately made way for the bed, dismissing his undead assassins. "That was tiring" he thought. He wanted to discuss more things with Demiurge. However, he feared that his facade would accidentally be dropped. "I really need to train more on this..."

But just after not even a minute passed, there was someone knocking on the door. Amazed by such coincidence, he hurriedly opened it.

On the other side was... a man who looked to be around his 40s. Judging from his appearance and well-kept hair, Momonga thought him to be some kind of civil servant.

"Allow me moments of your time to introduce myself. I am Pluton Ainzach, head of Carne's adventurers' guild. The mayor requested me to explain what our association is. From my understanding, you are of another continent?"

"The mayor is a puppet... so it must be Renner behind this.. but what's she thinking? And why ask the head of the guild to do trivial things like this?" Decided that his head had been ached too much by the girl today, he decided to not question and go along for now.

"That would be correct, Master Ainzach. I know very little about this part of the world. But to think the head of the guild would personally come to enlighten me, I'm most thankful. Please come in."

Although, having said that, the room has no chair to accommodate. Ainzach was contemplating whether he should sit on one of the beds before Momonga broke the silence with his spell- [Item Creation]

Two obsidian chairs popped into existence... Although they perhaps resemble more of a throne than a chair. Ainzach looked surprised by this but quickly regained his calmness before sitting on the chair at his end.

"To start off, our guild accepts requests from our clients, then gauges its difficulty and morality before dispatching our members accordingly. This way, we can guarantee payment for our members while also upholding the promise of completing our clients' tasks."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, guild master, but what you are describing to me sounds like a mercenary organisation rather than a guild of people who seek to explore the unknown."

"There certainly was a time when tasks are not assigned, but rather posted on a board for one to select freely... But during this time of crisis, we could not afford such freedom. I suppose calling us a paramilitary force against monsters would not be wrong."

With no reactions from Momonga, the guild master continued. "We classified our members by rank. Starting from: copper, iron, silver - gold, platinum, mithril, orichalcum and lastly, adamantite.. There used to be a rank-up exam for one to get promoted, but now completing tasks is deemed sufficient. Still, with very few groups who reached the topmost rank, losing even one of them will be disastrous not only for us but for humanity as a whole... which is what brings me here today."

Momonga raised his chin slightly, having a faint idea of where Ainzach was going. However, he found it funny to list 'benefiting humanity as a reason to persuade an undead like him.

"What does this mission entails? And how much will I be compensated?"

"... Four days ago, an adamantite ranked party of the Empire dubbed the 'Eight Ripples' were sent to investigate an area around the southern part of Katze plains. To confirm a certain rumour circulating in our community. However, since then, they've not reported back." the guild master brought out a crudely drawn map. However, the details were quite immaculate. "We do not wish to assume the worst, but a swift investigation is only proper. If you accept, you will be accompanied by the gold-ranked party, 'Sword of Darkness'. As for the reward, we offer you ten platinum coins up front and fifty upon completion."

"600 gold coins in total..? I suppose that's a large sum... But sending just gold rank with me, so they expect me to do all the work..."

"Very well, consider this assignment completed."

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The adventurers' guild wasn't very far away; it was just in the opposite direction of the mayor's residence. Although its size is rather large, the decorations need a lot to be desired. Regardless, he wouldn't have a chance to linger in the reception area for long.

"You are sir Momonga, correct?" a man approached the group; his face is general appearance could be considered to be bland as his blonde hair, and blue eyes could be seen everywhere. However, his face could be described as rather handsome. There was a gold plate on his chain mail, which resembled a dog tag. "Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Peter Mauk leader of adventurer group 'Sword of Darkness', but please, call me Peter."

Upon hearing this, four more people moved in to join him, each having a gold plate of their own.

"This fellow is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger Lukrut Volve. Feel free to call him by his first name."

A leather-armoured blond man nodded in acknowledgement, and his brown eyes glanced over Momonga's attire, perhaps trying to appreciate its beauty.

"Next is our magic caster and the brains of our group, Celicia Veyron. Besides her is our talented healer who rescued us out of many dicey situations, Tuareninya Veyron"

"We are pleased to meet you." said the older sister.

The younger sister had dark brown short hair, while her sister had long blonde hair. However, they have an almost identical set of bright azure eyes. The pair would be the only ones to not sport armour but opt for robes.

"Next is Dyne Woodwonder, a druid of our group. Although his healing magics could not compare to Tuare, he can use controls nature, and he's well versed in herbal lore."

"Pleased to meet you." came the greeting from the burly man with a full, bushy beard. Though his voice reminded the overlord of the terms 'gentle giant'. While it is not unheard of for a druid to take the front line as a tank in YGGDRASIL, the build found very minimum success.

The overlord nodded; the general composition of the team before him is pretty decent. A swordsman, a ranger, a generalist front line, an arcane caster and a healer. As long as they combat enemies with the same weight class, they shouldn't lose.

"My name is Momonga... I am also an arcane magic caster; despite being hired to assist in this rescue mission, I must admit my lack of understanding in certain areas. It was mentioned to me that the Eight Ripples was investigating a rumour, but what exactly was it?"

The group looked nervously at each other, but in the end, it would be Celicia to explain. "A few weeks ago, a group of iron ranks was surveying the area when they found a sword which moved on its own deep in the cave. Scared by this, they made their escape and informed the guild, which speculated it to be one of the Sword of Darkness, regressing from its seal."

"Sword of darkness...?"

"Y-Yes... it's the weapons used by Black Knight... one of the Thirteen heroes. It was said that he had four blades in total, which were scattered around upon his death... It's our goal to find them all..."

"It's Celi's idea to name our group after them~" Tuare teased, making her sister's face redden before looking away in embarrassment.

"The sword that could release dark energy; 'Demonic Blade Kilineiram'. The blade whose wounds can not be healed; 'Corrupted Sword Crocdabal'. Inflict death upon slightest of scratch; 'Death Sword Sfeiz'. And Evil Sword Hyumilis, whose power is unknown". Lukrut perfectly recited, "A shame that Kilineiram is already owned by a certain someone."

"The Withered Rose—Lakyus, was it? They said she went insane after the destruction of Re-Estize." Dyne added.

"Anyways, shall we depart now? Time is of the essence after all." Peter interjected, prompting Momonga to nod. "Count we count on your teleportation abilities?"

"Very well." Momonga said before retrieving {Mirror of Remote Viewing} from his pocket dimension. Upon doing so, the guild's reception floor went silent as every eye turned to look at him with great interest.

A hologram-like image appeared, showing a bird-eye view of Carne. Momonga instructed basic controls to the ranger, who quickly grasped the concept and moved the map around as if he had been doing this for years.

The wait gave Momonga time to ask for a certain thing that plagued his mind. "Say, is it normal that the mist is this thick? Apart from the forest nearby, I don't see an immediate cause of this."

"Ah, that would be because of our underground farm." Dyne quickly answered. "I, myself, don't understand much about its mechanics, but the necromancers said it to be a harmless byproduct."

"Hm.. really now?"

After minutes of scrolling, the hologram approached an area covered with mist thicker than Carne. "This is the Katze plains, where mindless undead naturally spawn. We don't know the cause behind this, but the cracks distract us from investigating it fully." His scrolling would eventually stop as he nodded at Peter.

"Is this our destination?"

"Not exactly, Sir Momonga. Since the cave in question is shrouded in mist, I thought teleporting a distance away to give us breathing room if a strong foe emerged." the leader replied.

The overlord wished to correct that he could tune the mirror to see through the mist, but he decided against doing so.

[Gate]


From the upbeat feeling of the adventurers to the silence of a bedroom. The scene shifted to that of a former princess peering through her window with great anticipation. Soon, her wooden door would slowly creak from opening, allowing lights to enter the room from the other side.

"What exactly are you planning?" came the voice from the other side. It was none other than Kelart, who wore a fake warm smile.

Turning around, Renner returned the smile and replied innocently. "What do you mean~?"

"Why did you let those Sunlight Scriptures go so easily? I see no benefit from not holding them hostages. And it's not like they can retaliate at this stage."

"Hmm~ You think so? Maybe that's right. But I wasn't thinking anything... Let's say it's on a whim~"

"Really now? I would expect the princess who released the floodgates of hell to have some form of hidden agenda."

"This again?" Renner slowly made her way to one of her cabinets, getting out a kettle filled with tea. She placed it on a heatstone before continuing. "I believe you are projecting Kelart, because you are evil doesn't mean everyone else is... And what was your latest nefarious deed? Stealing from our dear guest?"

"Getting support from an unknowing philanthropist is different from murdering your own people and family just to confirm a wild theory." Kelart retorted.

Renner's eyes lost their glow as her face twisted into an unnerving wide smile. "Do elaborate. Me, murder my family?" She poured scented tea, handing a cup to the priestess who had no desire for drinks.

"You agitated the Eight Fingers enough for them to do the unthinkable, moving secretly all their pawns into the capital while secretly informing Marquis Raeven of a 'concerning development', manipulating him into gathering an army to arrive just in time for the takeover date-"

"Then, with enough people gathered in one area, the cracks emerged just like what happened in the Holy Kingdom and Slain Theocracy?... Do you honestly think all of it was for the reason you said?"

"So you really did it... Well, I couldn't care less about understanding your warped mind," she said as she took a sip from her tea, unafraid of the possibility of poison. "So? Why did you allow them to leave?"

Instead of answering, Renner opted to went on the tangent once more. "Hm, you don't seem as angry... Is it because she has been cured?"


The lands of Katze plains were dried and arid with scattered mounds, which emphasised the abnormality of the dense fog. The group would arrive about ten paces away from the mist, giving them quite clear visibility.

Immediately, Momonga activated his detection passive, which resulted in the most fascinating outcome.

"I see... the mist itself is a sentient. I wonder if domination magic would work... There is a quite large amount of undead nearby; the strongest is a death knight... Should I show off my power by defeating it?"

"Even knowing about it beforehand... I couldn't be helped but amazed by your spell." said Dyne.

"Oh, there's no need to say that; it was nothing much."

"Nothing much..."

"Since we have six people, we should form V formation, Dyne could take the lead, as usual, followed by Peter and Lukrut." Celicia suggested changing the atmosphere.

"I can cover the rear." Momonga added, in truth, he just wants a front seat to watch how the group before him performs. However, he was surprised by how the group nodded in agreement immediately, not even questioning him about his abilities.

"Then let's go-"

And so, the group depart, venturing forth towards the mist. However, from their perspective, it looked as if the mist was encroaching on them rather than the other way around. Perhaps it was because of its enormous size, or could it really be getting closer?

Now shrouded in every angle, the group walked as silently as they could, allowing the keen ears of the ranger to detect noises and pave the way forward. The off-putting silence continued; the fact that they knew that countless undead were staring at them added more to the pressure.

Suddenly, Lukrut gave off a hand signal for the group to stop. "Judging from the noise, it's skeletons."

"Sir Momonga, we have been told you have magic that can ward us against projectiles?" asked the party leader.

"Yes, I shall do that now." [Widen Magic: Wall of Protection From Projectiles] A blue dome extended from his hand, covering the area deep into the mist. "As long as you are in this dome, all projectiles will be deflected."

"Then, let's wait for them to approach us. Tuare, cast a defensive spell on Dyne and me. Then with Celi, focus on attacking whenever possible. Lukrut, your bow will be ineffective, so focus on preventing leaks. Sir Momonga, I will leave the rear to you."

Several armoured skeletons then came into view, running to the best of their abilities, each wielding swords of different stages of brokenness. It woke Momonga up from seeing them as generic monsters in YGGDRASIL, but more of human beings reanimated back to life with their equipment.

"Here they come!"

Dyne would be the first to rush forward, sinking his mace into one of the skeletons before kicking another down. He would be supported by Peter, who switched his blade with a simple wooden club.

The two adventurers would momentarily glow in the shade of green and gold—a result of [Reinforce Armour] from Ninya and [Anti-Evil Protection] from Tuare.

Peter masterfully deflected several slashes from the skeletons with his shield and club, while Dyne did not bother. He simply swung his mace and had faith in his buffs to shrug off the attacks.

The wind howled as if unpleased from their success, and with it came more shadows of approaching undead.

"Enemy on the sides!" shouted the ranger as he rushed towards the left, tackling the skeleton nearest to them before using his bow as a blunt weapon. Seeing this, the younger sister came to his aid, sending barrages of [Magic Arrow] and using her staff to whack some that were on the ground but still active.

Tuare clutched her rosary as she whispered, [Turn Undead].

A rush of holy aura extended from her, disintegrating every unlife in its wake... save for Momonga. She would quickly realise this and apologies to the overlord, who was not affected by the slightest. "Do not worry; low tier magic has no effect on me." he said.

"More up ahead, Dyne!"

[Twine Plant]

From the dirt grounds emerged several lush green vines, which immobilised some skeletons but knocked many off their feet.

Several skeletons attempted to approach Momonga from behind of course, but they will never come near the adventurers' sight, as they have been controlled to stay away by his passive [Undead Domination]. He need not act until the 'boss' he prepared showed up. However, he couldn't help but admire Sword of Darkness's coordination which reminded him of the early days with his friends, travelling in a small party in YGGDRASIL.

Suddenly, from a distance came a roar so fear-inducing, so filled with bloodlust that Celi could not help but instinctively clutched her ears and closed her eyes. Even Peter faltered, not connecting his swing because of the fear.

A towering shadow like that of a shithouse, followed by footsteps so loud and powerful that they shook the ground as it ran towards the group with impossible speed. Revealing its ugly head, the Death Knight charged forth with its blade and towering shield.

"Holy shit! Death Knight!" the ranger pointed out the obvious.

[Fortress], Peter activated his martial arts and attempted to intercept the charge. However, he accomplished nothing other than being sent away. Seeing this, Dyne tried to entangle it with his vines. But, he too was sent flying.

[Maximize Magic: Dragon Lightning]

A bolt of light in the colour of blue danced as it made its way toward the Death Knight with the speed of its namesake. It would eventually take the shape of a dragon just before impact.

The light clashed with the shield of the undead, coursing electricity throughout its body. It let out a cry of inhuman voice, trying to regain its balance.

[Reality Slash]

From the adventurers' point of view, it seems that seconds after Momonga's words, the Death Knight's head simply falls off; with that, its body collapses too shortly after.

"With just two spells... legendary undead..." Celicia muttered, loud enough to reach Momonga's ears.

The fog would reduce in intensity before slowly creeping away as if escaping from the group.

Seeing this, the group decided to take advantage to take a short rest. Tuareninya would approach her friends, healing them up with [Light Healing]

Looking around at the scattered shards of bones, Momonga couldn't help but ask. "I was just thinking… do these monsters drop items, in particular, crystals or the like?"

"Crystals... you mean the chaos stone? Ow! That hurts!" replied Lukrut, who was being treated by Dyne. Apparently, he had leg cramps so just stretching would be sufficient.

"Chaos stones are only dropped by Chaos Beast after they are vanquished. I heard Carne village used to have a surplus of those, but they are mostly sold away to the Empire." answered Tuare.

"We can't submit undead body parts for rewards anymore, right?" the ranger spoke up once more, receiving a unanimous answer of "No."

"Why is that?" Momonga asked.

"With undead co-existing with us in Carne, we found it distasteful to do so... Just like when we won't cut off parts of our kin to cash out for rewards" Peter replied as he smiled bitterly.

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"Wait... so you mean we didn't have to go in the plains at all?"

"It's not my fault the directions are poor!"

Apparently, the designated cave was not within Katze plains, but next two a large bank of water a few acres from the plains. Still, now at the entrance, the group confirmed this to be the location, based on the fact that there was scattered equipment not too far beyond the entrance, probably left behind by the adventurers who were quick to escape.

"There is a hole here... based on the description, the sword should lie underneath." said the magic caster as she dropped a rope downwards.

"Allow me moments to check first; if the sword truly fell a group of adamantite rank adventurers, then I should be the one to face it first."

With scattered approval, Momonga activated [Fly] and descended.

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"What the hell is this?!"

The sight before him was... curious to say the least. On the floor were scattered fragments of what seemed to once be a blade. However, it was not what surprised him.

The walls were inscribed with weird characters, one he could not read but recognised to be the same script he saw in Carne. The intensity and length resembled a work of a fanatical cultist. Judging from their texture, they were made not too long ago.

"Is there anything down there?" Peter called out.

"No... but come and look at this."

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One by one, the group would descend down; they all made similarly surprised exclamations about the shattered blade, ignoring the wall entirely.

"Is this truly one of the Sword of Darkness?"

"It does have a majestic appearance.. but what could possibly break it...?"

"Hm... I don't think so." Celicia interjected, looking at the wall. "'For too long have I slumber, deep within the heart of a young maiden. Eventually, with her companions dead, I can hear her cries to the abyss, to make a pact with an evil being like I, the being who inhabited the blade of Kilineiram. Whose glare could destroy a country, whose snap of a finger could make the grounds split, whose wave of the hand cause great cataprettystrophe. Foolish she was to..."

Ten minutes later

"...As such, I pronounce this edge to be but a mimic of the pieces which once reunited, will end this world. However, this journey of mine did not go fruitless. A group of humans dubbed 'Eight Ripples' chose to surrender their will to me and follow my dastardly quest." the magic caster concluded, she looked quite tired from a ten-minute monologue, but her big sister would come to the rescue by offering her a glass of water.

"Kilineiram... I heard this earlier... It belongs to the 'Withered Rose'. A sword that possessed its owner when their will to live ceased?, I've seen this before... What side quest was it? Lobotomy Operation? Legacy of Runia? Deflect Moon? No... what was it again.." while Momonga consulted his memory of an endless amount of finished quests, the Sword of Darkness, too, began to discuss amongst themselves.

"So they just... quit? And this sword is just a fake? What a waste of time!" Lukrut shouted in anger.

"Calm down Lukrut, I'm sure we will still be compensated... Tuare, could I trouble you to write down these texts?" said the party leader

"Sure, help me Celi"

"Please excuse me for a moment." said Momonga as he flew up before using several spells to ward himself from scrying magic and being listened to.

[Message]

The overlord activated this spell once more, but there was a reply this time.

"Momonga-sama?"

"Demiurge, about the mines, I've found a perfect location. Based on [Ore Detection], there are many precious gems underneath me."

"Understood, Momonga-sama. I shall prepare Greed for mining operations."


Author's Notes:

No self-quizzing this episode, sadly...

This episode is partially based on the actual Lakyus's memory of chaos. My favourite side chapter actually... Go on, Lakyus, collect all the evil swords sealed behind gates to the bottomless abyss and save the world! The author is rooting for you~

Enough about me being fond of this lovable chuuni character, well, less than PA of course. To my dearest readers, thank you for reading.

And if you spot mistakes in this chapter, please tell me.