Name: Aurelion
Race: Angel
Epithet: Blade God
Affiliation: Ainz Ooal Gown
Residence: A Room On The 9th Floor
Karma: +500 (Locked at current value)
Total Levels: 100
Racial Levels: 35
Angel (15)
Archangel (10)
Seraphim (5)
Apocalypse (5)
Job Levels: 65
Swordsman (15)
Great Swordsman (10)
Sword Saint (5)
High Blade (5)
Divine Blade (5)
Cleric (15)
High Cleric (10)
HP: 124
MP: 30
: 135
: 95
AGI: 85
: 20
: 90
RES: 90
SPC: 70
Spell List: 75
[Expand]
The top overall damage dealer of the guild, Aurelion went on a rather uncommon path, choosing to be an angelic swordsman, ignoring most of his angel abilities. This path eventually led him to the secret [Divine Blade] job class which was partly responsible for his position of top overall damage dealer. While he was easily overshadowed by Ulbert Alain Odle in burst damage, his sustained damage was the highest, surpassing even the [World Champion] Touch Me. The two often spar on the 6th floors' colosseum, with Aurelion winning 8 out of 10 times due to his ability to self heal, unlike Touch Me who was a pure warrior. While not one of the original 9 members, Aurelion was the 14th member of the guild and was often chosen for high end content like level 90+ dungeon raids and World Enemies.
Like the rest of his guildmates, Aurelion's panoply consists of best-in-slot Divine Class Items, while his blade is one of the fabled World Class Items. He excels in PvP, earning him recognition and fame within the community that is on par with the World Champions. A sponsored Tournament was held by the developers in recognition of his power and talent within PvP, pitting him against the 9 players in 9 duels. Pulling off an impossibly close draw with the World Champion Of Helheim, the strongest player at the time, he was rewarded with the unique racial class [Apocalypse] and his Blade, a katana called the [Unmaker].
Momonga was walking towards the throne room for what would be the last time, staff in hand and maids in tow. He sighed, wondering if Aurelion would make it. As the only other member to consistently get on almost every day, they had grown to be close friends over the years in the absence of the other members. He was fairly aloof for his position in the guild. He never demanded anything from a raid and always helped members finish their quests if he could. Momonga regretted not truly getting to know him sooner. He was always just that guild member who went with them on raids to him.
His relationship with other guild members was good for the most part, though his relationship with those like Ulbert and Tabula was less than ideal. Ulbert didn't like how he "Let others walk all over him" so he thought he was a wimp who gave in to the demands of others too easily.
His relationship with Tabula was strained for another reason. He originally wanted to create an NPC, but Tabula had used the remaining levels to make Albedo, despite the guild agreeing that Aurelion would make the final level 100 NPC of the tomb. Although he let the issue slide, he began to ignore requests from Tabula more and more. Although many would equate it to petty revenge, no one said anything about it, seeing as Tabula was the one who ignored the guild's decision. He could also tell he held a general dislike of Albedo herself.
As the saying goes, "Speak of the devil".
[Aurelion Is Online]
'Nice, he made it.'
A message in chat drew his attention.
Aurelion: Where are you
Momonga: Meet in throne room, heading there now
Aurelion: Be there in a few
It would be good to have some company for the last few minutes at least. He was grateful anyone came at all. With HeroHero logging in, today was the first time in years that three guild members logged in on the same day.
'Aurelion always logs off in his room, so it'll take him a few minutes to get here. I'll wait for him in the throne room.'
Entering through the large double doors, he silently made his way down the center of the hall, towards the aforementioned throne, the world item that was their reward for clearing the dungeon in one attempt, the [Throne of Kings]. Standing by it was the Guardian Overseer Albedo, who wielded the World Item [Ginnungagap], which sparked outrage among the guild when it was discovered. The succubus was without doubt a world class beauty as she was intended to be.
Turning to the NPCs he had follow behind him, he issued the command to stand by while seating himself on the throne. Looking over to albedo, he realised that he'd never looked at her settings and decided it was high time that he did.
Navigating his menu, he found Albedo's name and expanded her information.
'Geez, this is long! I know Tabula was a settings maniac, but still, have a little restraint!'
Skimming over it he got the general idea of it.
'Supposed to be a benevolent angel but an accident happened thus cruel devil, overseer of all the guardians and…. A SLUT!? Tabula, you gap moe loving bastard!'
Looking at the staff, a thought struck him.
'Since I have this, I can edit NPC settings… I'm sure Tabula would forgive me for doing whatever I want, just for today.'
Deciding to act on his idea, he opened his guild admin panel and edited her settings. Just a few words were removed, and only a few were added. No harm done.
Giggling to himself he changed the Guardian Overseers settings.
'She is deeply in love with Momonga. I'm such a dork!'
"Bow down."
Just as he was closing his menu, the double doors opened again.
The one who walked in was easily identified as an angel due to the six pure white wings protruding from his back.
A close fitting set of leather armor covering his body, with a hood that reached up from the fur around his neck. If he recalled correctly, the armor design was from the Odin Raid in Asgard. Specifically the veteran mode set, which sported many engravings and the previously mentioned fur. Although it seems that he replaced the chainmail with cloth. His hood was always up, and his face was covered by a featureless wooden mask that lacked even holes through which to see or breathe.
Happy to see that his friend had made it in time, he greeted him excitedly.
"Glad you could make it, Aurelion! There's only around three minutes left, but you made it!"
He waved lazily as he made his way down the hall, yawning.
"Hey man, sorry I was so late. Work called, you know how it is."
He did. Everyone in the guild knew. Aurelion was an office drone like he was, so that increased Momonga's sense of camaraderie with him. Lately things were getting worse too, so time to play games was cut short even further. The standard work day was 5am to 7pm without overtime, but most left at around 8 or 9pm. Soon enough, they would both be able to truly only eat, sleep, and work.
"I understand. You must be dead tired, so I'm glad you bothered to get on at all."
"Eh, screw em. I'm not missing the shutdown even if they wave a dismissal form in my face."
The thing with Aurelion was he was kind and helpful to those who treated him well, but to those who slighted him, you could be on the sidewalk dying, begging for help and he'd walk right past you. This was how Momonga knew what he said jokingly wasn't really a joke at all. Still a little funny though, so he couldn't help but chuckle.
"HeroHero got on today, can you believe it?"
That genuinely surprised him, it seems.
"HeroHero is still alive? Shit, guess there's hope for us all if that's the case."
Two minutes left.
"Haha, true. He seemed even more exhausted than you are."
"Yeah, well. Poor guy's a slave in everything but name."
Both players decided to end that talk there, lest they sour the mood even further.
Momonga looked up to the banners of the guild members, deciding to speak all 41 of them aloud.
"These are now relics of the past… There's mine, Touch Me, Shijuuten Suzaku, Ankoro Mocchi Mochi, yours, HeroHero, Pereroncino, Bukubuku Chagama, Tabula Smaragdina, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Variable Talisman, Genjiro…"
With each name recited, his sadness increased just that little bit as he was reminded of his interactions with each as the memories resurfaced. There were those that hurt more than others of course, and there were also those that hardly hurt at all. He wasn't well acquainted with all 40 other members, after all.
Thirty seconds.
"Hey, Aurelion?"
"Hm?"
"We had fun, right?"
"Of course we did. These memories will always be my favourites."
"Thanks for always getting on. It'd be dreadfully boring around here alone."
"No need to thank me, Momonga. That reminds me, there's a new game that comes out this week. Supposed to be 'The next big thing' and all that. We could try it out."
Ten seconds.
"Yeah, sure. Could be good, you never know… It was fun. In fact, it was a blast."
Aurelion chuckled at this, but Momonga could hear the tinge of sadness it carried.
Three seconds.
"Yeah, we had a hell of a run."
One second.
"Huh?"
"Mm?"
they were still here, in the throne room.
"Aureli-"
What the hell was with his voice!? It sounded evil as hell!
Aurelion picked up on this, yet clearly held a different opinion.
"Nice voice. Suits you."
Suddenly calming down, he tried again.
"Aurelion, the shutdown was supposed to happen at midnight, right? Did they delay it?"
"No, there was no news about anything getting delayed. There wasn't anything about a YGGDRASIL 2 beta or anything like that either…"
A beautiful voice broke the two out of their thoughts.
"Supreme Ones, is something the matter?"
There was a pregnant pause in the room as both players looked to the kneeling succubus, which lasted unnaturally long until it was yet again broken by the talking NPC.
"To interrupt the thoughts of Supreme Beings, I beg your forgiveness, Lords!"
Momonga managed to sputter out a few words after a while.
"The GM call function isn't working."
At this, she lowers her head while apologising again for some reason.
"I apologise, Lord Momonga, but this 'GM call' magic you speak of is beyond my comprehension, I am unworthy of your forgiveness!"
Getting flustered by her apology he begins to panic, when suddenly, just like before he magically returns to a serene state.
Without the emotions to cloud his judgement, he speaks to the Overseer while waving his hand casually.
"It's alright Albedo, I wouldn't expect you to know of it. You are forgiven."
'But still. She's talking! They couldn't do that in the game… I need to test the limits.'
Looking at sebas, he hesitates for a second, wondering if it would be right to order them around, when Aurelion beats him to it.
"Sebas, step outside the tomb and survey our surroundings. Make contact with nothing, only observe. If you are spotted, retreat immediately."
The butler himself was about to rise when he suddenly looked to momonga, as if asking for permission.
"Go."
He stands and bows with a "Yes, Supreme Ones." and leaves to carry out his mission. Momonga, now understanding that the NPCs will respond to commands that weren't in the game, decided to do it once more to make sure that it wasn't a fluke.
"Pleiades, return to the 9th floor and guard it against any intruders. If you find any, report to me immediately through [Message]."
They each bowed a full 90 degrees in unison while the one at the front, Yuri Alpha, issued a "It will be done, Lord." before she led them away.
'Hmm, they didn't react to me telling them to use magic.'
With that test out of the way, he decided to test something else. His magic item. More specifically his staff. He let it go from his grip and unlike what one would expect to happen, it didn't fall but stayed floating, signalling that it was, at least at first glance, functioning properly.
The voice of Albedo rang out again, this time with a tinge of hunger to it.
"What about me, my lord? Do you have any special orders for me?"
Looking at Aurelion, who had been mostly silent throughout the whole ordeal, he saw the man nod his head, as if saying 'It must be done'. With the approval of his friend, he gave Albedo a command.
"Come closer, Albedo."
In the blink of an eye, she's mere inches away from him, leaning in closely.
'Woah, she smells wonderful! Wait, the sense of smell wasn't in the game either!'
Hardening his resolve, he asks the question. One final test. To decide whether or not this is real. He has to touch the forbidden zone. Aurelion, knowing what was coming, turned around to preserve his friend's decency.
"Albedo, Do you mind if I… If I touch your chest?"
She paused with an "Eh?", letting her brain work out what she just heard while Momonga was readying himself for the beatdown of a lifetime. Luckily, this did not come to pass.
"Of course you may! Touch them as much as you like!"
Pushing her chest out for him to grope, he swallowed the nonexistent saliva down his nonexistent throat, and began to reach out. The instant his fingers made contact, she began to moan loudly, like there was no greater pleasure in life or death than what was happening right now.
He continued to grope her while he was lost in thought. Connecting the dots. 'Seeing as I haven't been immediately disconnected and hit with a 3 day ban, I'd say this is real. But that's impossible, right? There's no way something like this actually happens in real life! Have we really been moved into our avatars?'
A particularly loud moan breaks his thought process. Realising that he'd been groping her for who knows how long, he ripped his hand away and was about to start apologising when she said something he really wasn't prepared for.
"Lord Momonga! Are we going to do it right here!? Shall I take off my clothes, or perhaps you'd like to remove them yourself!? Or perhaps Lord Aurelion would!?"
She was actually panting like a dog! How horny can you be, woman!?
Her words were met by a very stern "No." from Aurelion, which broke them out of the heat of the moment.
Finding himself calm again, he could think straight. He'd need to check out the deal with that emotional suppression later.
"Now isn't the time for such things, Albedo. More importantly, I have a task for you."
This seemed to bring her out of her very aroused state and she stood ready to receive her orders.
"Gather all the guardians aside from Victim and Gargantua on the 6th floor amphitheatre in one hour. No need to tell the twins, as we will head there ourselves."
She bowed her head like the others with a "Yes, My Lord." and left to complete her task.
With that, the two "Supreme Beings" were alone again.
Aurelion had already turned back around when the fiasco had ended and was thus standing there, looking at the door Albedo had left from.
"What the hell was that?"
Momonga looked back to his actions ten minutes before the server shutdown and was flooded by immense guilt.
"Tabula, I can't believe I took your creation and tainted it like that!"
Aurelion turned back to him and questioned in a curious voice, which unlike Momonga, sounded rather normal.
"What? What'd you do?"
"...I changed her settings. It said she was a slut, so I changed it to… sh….s…de..ly….lo….m….ga… "
"Didn't quite catch that, gonna have to speak up."
"She is deeply in love with Momonga! Okay!? That's what I changed it to!"
For a second, he didn't say anything. Momonga was ready to get the beatdown of a lifetime for the second time in the last five minutes when miraculously, he avoided such a fate yet again.
"Pfft, hahahahahahaha! You screwed yourself! You're a skeleton you dolt! How would you even- hahahahahahahaha!"
He no doubt had tears in his eyes from the laughter, but he eventually stopped laughing at Momonga's expense and looked at him before talking, still chuckling a little.
"Seriously though. You're gonna have to address that at some point, because I'm not helping."
Momonga picked up on the well hidden tinge of dislike in his voice.
"Do you still not like her? Even after they've become living people?"
Looking away, clearly annoyed, he spat out his next few words.
"Especially now! She's just a mockery of what I wanted my Uriel to be. Do you think it's a coincidence Tabula made her backstory the way it is? 'Originally supposed to be the purest angel of all, but due to an accident she was born as a black hearted devil'. He did it to spite me. I will not forgive that. Now, because of that, what was supposed to be my daughter is now some twisted recreation of what I envisioned her to be. A beloved child was replaced with a cruel witch who would skin babies for fun."
Put that way, it made sense to Momonga. Many in the guild agreed that what Tabula did was out of line. He admitted that he took inspiration from Aurelion's idea and twisted it, but not out of any malicious intent, but because he was merely fascinated with the idea. It did little to justify it, but the deed was done, and too many resources had been poured into Albedo to simply replace her. But still, if this wasn't addressed soon, it could spiral out of control. He might even attack her at some point.
"So yes. I still don't like her."
"We'll discuss this issue later, but for now we should focus on the matter at hand. What do you think of all this?"
"Sigh. this isn't the game anymore. That much is clear. Too many things are different. I have all five senses, and I seem to have a kind of sixth sense as well. Can't really say much about it though. Call it warriors intuition or something."
"So we agree that this isn't the game anymore, good. I didn't want to be 'That Guy', you know?"
"Mmm, I get you. We should head to the 6th floor. What are we doing there?"
Standing from the throne, he turned to Aurelion.
"Testing my magic, as well as the staff. Do you still have your ring?"
Showing the back of his hand, he unequipped his glove and a ring materialised on each of his fingers, one of which was the guild ring.
"Good. I'll try teleporting there."
With that, he vanished, leaving only Aurelion in the room. He looked at his hand, at the rings shining on it. As a swordsman or non magical class, wearing gauntlets reduced the effectiveness of rings by 25%. His cleric classes counteracted this however, allowing him to receive the full benefits of each of the ten divine class rings he had on.
With a sigh, he disappeared from the now empty throne room.
Appearing at the set teleportation anchor in the 6th floor, he appeared right next to Momonga.
"Rings work then. Good to know we can still bullshit our way through the world."
"Agreed. Walking around the tomb would take forever."
"We need a plan here. If everyone in the tomb sees us as 'Supreme Beings' like Albedo and the Pleiades, we're gonna have to act the part."
'Damn, I hadn't thought of that. Good thinking. I'll have to ask the guardians how they see us.'
"For now we should be ourselves. If all goes as planned, we'll find out how everyone sees us soon enough. We'll decide our course of action after the fact."
"Plan B?"
"Plan B is if they're hostile, we run like hell."
"Fair enough. Let's get this over with then. I want to check out the cafeteria."
Side by side, they enter into the barren arena.
"Last time I checked, which was yesterday by the way, the twins still existed. Where are they?"
Right after he said this, a young dark elf jumped from the raised box, doing flip after flip, finally landing with a flex of their legs, the only thing they did to absorb the impact. That box was dozens of meters high.
Straightening themselves, they took off in a sprint, straight towards us, kicking up a large dust trail in their wake, such was the small elfs speed.
Skidding to a stop mere meters from us, the dark elf Aura, who appeared to be a boy to the untrained eye, bowed to us excitedly while speaking in a hyperactive voice.
"Greetings Lord Momonga, Lord Aurelion! What brings you to the 6th floor my lords?"
"Hmm… Where is Mare?"
Suddenly realising that her brother hadn't followed behind her, she turned and looked back to the raised box while shouting at him.
"Mare, get down here! You're being rude to the Supreme Ones!"
A small voice came back.
"But sis, I'm scared!"
"Mareeeee!"
Seeing as pleading got him nowhere, he finally gave in.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming!"
Another dark elf jumped from the box but unlike his sister, there were no flips and no graceful landing. He barely managed to not fall on his backside, much to the amusement of Aurelion.
He ran over to stand beside his sister, far slower than she had covered the distance.
When he finally made it to his sister's side, he bowed to the two players while adjusting his… skirt.
'God damn it Buku, why did you make the elves crossdress?'
Clutching his staff in both hands, he offered us his greeting while stuttering.
"W-welcome to the 6th floor, Lords!"
"Umu. We will only intrude for a little while, is that alright?"
"Intrude? You lords? Never! There is no place in The Great Tomb Of Nazarick where you could possibly intrude!"
"Umu. as for why we are here."
Momonga taps the staff on the ground, drawing attention to it.
"To test this, as well as my own magic."
The two Guardians were awestruck. Mare spoke reverently, unable to take his eyes away from it.
"No way! Is that the legendary weapon only you can use, Lord Momonga, the fabled weapon of the tomb!?"
"Haha! Indeed, it is the Staff Of Ainz Ooal Gown! In each of the seven serpents mouths is a divine class item, while the power of the staff itself transcends divine level! Its base stats are on par with any world level item, and its auto attack alone could-"
"Ahem!"
Catching himself, he shut his mouth.
"W-well yeah, that's how it is."
'Thank you, Aurelion! I almost made a fool of myself!'
Imagining a chibi Aurelion giving him the 'double thumbs up', he couldn't help but chuckle.
"I wish to test the staff. Could you have some dummy targets set up?"
"Right away, My Lord!"
Not even two minutes later, there were eight dummies set out, each a dozen meters away from each other.
"I'll take the left four, you take the right."
"Mm. Thanks."
Momonga stood a distance away while Aurelion approached the right side dummies. Both guardians were ecstatic at the thought of seeing even a fraction of their lords' might, so they waited beside Momonga with baited breath and starry eyes.
Momonga began on the left most dummy with a simple 3rd tier [Fireball], which exploded against the straw dummy, setting it alight and eventually turning it to ash.
Aurelion, standing in front of the right most dummy, readied his blade for a draw cut.
"[Quickdraw]"
In a flash so fast that even Aura, who boasted an agility stat in the high eighties, could barely track, he sliced the dummy clean in half in a diagonal cut, the force of the blow carried through the unfortunate strawman, blowing it away to the back of the arena accompanied by a dust cloud with a sound akin to an explosion.
The next dummy of each supreme being suffered an even worse fate as Momonga used the much more powerful 7th tier [Napalm], which immediately incinerated the target and scorched the area surrounding it.
Aurelion also upped the ante with a far more powerful skill. Keeping in line with what Momonga was doing, he used a far stronger variant of [Quickdraw].
"[Vorpal Strike]"
This one, Aura didn't even see. She merely saw the after effect.
The target didn't do anything at first, until it exploded backwards like its predecessor, but far faster and far, far louder. It was almost as if there was a delay in the world, as if it couldn't keep up with his speed and was late in implementing the effect of his attack.
"Hm. Good."
'It's good my skills work like they should.'
Aurelion usually wasn't so fast that even a ranger like Aura couldn't track his movements. It was due to the effects of skills like [Quickdraw] or [Vorpal Strike] that took the users base agility stat and multiplied it by .6, increasing his agility from 85 to 136. This was of course the effect of the highest form of the skill, as [Quickdraw] had a mere .2 multiplier, raising his agility to 102. The skill had a less noticeable effect the lower level one was and only saw use at levels 75+ on fighters with a focus on agility, and 90+ for regular swordsmen. While [Vorpal Strike] wasn't his most potent draw skill, it took second place at a .5 multiplier.
Deciding they had tested out their personal skills enough, they returned to their original spots, standing side by side yet again.
"That went well."
"Umu. Now to test the staff."
Aiming the staff at the remaining four targets he shouted a spell.
"[Summon: Primal Fire Elemental]"
A massive pillar of flames engulfed the targets, converging into a great beast of fiery rage.
"The Primal Fire Elemental. Level 87."
"Indeed. Aura, would you like to fight it?"
"I'd Love to! C'mon Mare!"
Dragging her brother towards the elemental, Momonga gives the order:
"Primal Fire Elemental, attack the twins!"
With a roar it began to attack.
While the battle was ongoing, Aurelion sat down on the steps just in front of Momonga while they watched the twins.
"What do you think?"
"My magic works fine. I can feel how much MP I have, their cooldowns and range, and can even recall all 718 of them."
Considering his own experience, this didn't come as a surprise.
"Yeah, same. I can recall all of my skills, and I know the forms I'm supposed to adopt to perform them."
This was good to know. If their skills and abilities worked properly the level of danger they were in lessened considerably. It was still present, but at least they could defend themselves if they were to be attacked. An extra layer of insurance, if you will.
"Hmm. [Message]... Sebas. What's the situation outside the tomb?"
A pause, obviously listening to Sebas' report.
"Umu. come to the 6th floor immediately, you can report your findings then."
Silence overtook the duo after that, so Aurelion tried to make smalltalk, succeeding in changing the mood.
"While we're here, why'd you bring out the staff? You never used it back then, why now?"
Momonga sighed and looked at the staff, reminiscing. Seemingly forgetting about the question. Aurelion didn't mind, as the answer wasn't all that important to him.
"We played recklessly to make this. People spent their PTO and argued with their families to grind the materials."
This got a chuckle from Aurelion, as if he meant 'That's obvious.'.
"I know. I was one of them."
"...You're right. Now that I think about it, it was you who helped a lot, right? You got two of the gems and farmed the metal. Didn't you also help with the concept designs?"
"Mhm. shame it was never used, but I can understand why it wasn't."
"Makes me a little jealous that you could use your sword without worrying since it was bound to your avatar. A little broken considering it's on par with the staff."
In a not at all sarcastic voice, Aurelion was quick to shoot back:
"Yeah, I only had to fight all nine world champions for it. No biggie."
"You didn't even win the last fight!"
"Hey, the objective the devs gave me was "Do not lose". Last time I checked, a draw wasn't a loss."
"A technicality. It was a miracle the shitty devs actually considered giving you the rewards anyway."
Both laughed at this thought. The devs were truly malicious when it came to things like this. It was truly a miracle that they didn't consider Aurelion's draw as a loss. Punitto Moe believed it was for publicity as you couldn't sponsor a tournament and not grant its main combatant his rightful reward, as it would've sparked outrage.
It seems the twins had finally finished the fight, as the elemental disappeared in a column of fire that gradually faded. Returning to their lords with happy faces in full bloom.
"That was great, Lord Momonga! I haven't exercised like that in a while!"
He looked at the kids and chuckled mirthfully.
"You two must be thirsty then. Here."
Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a [Pitcher of Endless Water]. A water jug that never ran out. Every stubborn player that didn't want to waste a ring slot on a ring of sustenance had one of these, along with its food equivalent. The fact that Momonga, a skeletal lich that didn't require food had one of these was excellent proof of his hoarder tendencies.
Handing the twins a cup each, he filled each of their glasses to the brim, which they quickly downed in a few large gulps.
When they were done, they returned their glasses while Aura spoke shyly.
"To be honest, Lord Momonga, we thought you'd be scarier."
"Oh really, I can do that if you want."
"Nuh-uh, we like you this way!"
"Y-yeah!"
His chuckle blossomed into a small laugh, much to the twins' delight. Aurelion didn't laugh, but was smiling beneath his mask. He never did say much to those he wasn't familiar with. While this was mitigated with the denizens of nazarick somewhat, he still preferred that Momonga took the lead.
"Ah, the other reason we came here. We've called for a gathering of all the guardians, and they should be here soon."
Aura visibly deflated at this, as if she was dreading something.
"Huh? Does that mean Shalltear's coming?"
"Yes, she will also be here."
Just then, a dark swirling portal opened a few meters behind the twins. The voice of a young girl soon followed.
"Well, well, am I the first to arrive?"
Shalltear Bloodfallen. The gothic lolita vampire in all her glory, had arrived. The moment she spotted them, she almost started drooling while rushing to Aurelion.
"Lords Momonga and Aurelion! The only two men I could never rule above!"
Aurelion had the sneaking suspicion that she only came to him because he was sitting and thus at the same level as her. She wrapped her arms around him and attempted to grind her body against the supreme being. He was assaulted with the fragrant smell and tantalising sight of Shalltear licking her carmine lips, mere inches away from his own. It would be safe to say that he would be overwhelmed soon enough.
This was very quickly ended by Aura saying the taboo words. Which Aurelion was thankful for. He wasn't into little girls at all, but the way that she came onto him right then was a little too sudden for the 'inexperienced' player.
"Get off of Lord Aurelion, fake tits!"
At this, Shalltear immediately did a one eighty and covered her chest while shouting at Aura.
"What!?"
"Ha! Just as I thought-"
Aurelion stopped listening at that point, getting lost in his own thoughts. The NPCs all seemed loyal up to this point, so he should decide how to act around them. Stoic, silent, and untouchable sounded like it would get old very fast. Being overly happy or outgoing just wasn't his style either. In the end, he decided it was fine to act like himself. Happy to fade into the background while his friends took the spotlight.
He would be having his fair share of moments, of this he was certain. He couldn't have everyone forget about him, after all.
His thoughts were ended by a decidedly inhuman voice. Monotonous, was the best way to describe it.
"-and. Before. Supreme. Beings. Control. Yourselves."
"She started it!"
"Enough." Momonga quickly put a stop to their bickering with a single word.
A large cyan insectoid that wielded a platinum halberd had entered the arena and was joining the group of guardians. Momonga was happy to see him as well, it seems. Sparring with him would be good.
"Glad you could make it, Cocytus."
A large gush of frozen air was exhaled by the guardian before he spoke.
"I. Will. Always. Come. When. You. Call."
"Umu."
Speaking with Cocytus a little more, it was now known that he spent most of his time training, preparing for intruders. Intruders that would most likely never come. The only time anyone had made it to the 5th floor was during the 'Great Raid' as they called it. Aurelion had a lot of fun picking off isolated World Champions and generally hard-to-deal-with players along with his guild members. The loot they got after that was enough to increase the volume of Nazaricks treasury by 35%.
At the thought of training with Cocytus, his mind was drawn to his character build.
It cannot be said that Aurelion was unbeatable. His build was fairly straight forward as well, and every battle against the likes of World Champions was hard won. After he had been given his blade, one of his main weaknesses was shored up. He was essentially useless against opponents with high slashing resistance. Naturally, many took advantage of this fact, which made any fight he had with a high-tier pvper an annoying one. One could argue that he should have simply switched weapons, but he was stubborn and insisted on using only his at the time Divine Class Blade, called [Legacy of Dreams]. But once he received [Unmaker], which could not have its damage reduced by more than half, even against opponents with complete slashing immunity, he had a much easier time of it. A part of its description simply stated 'there is nothing the Unmaker cannot cut through with time'.
"It. Seems. Albedo. And. Demiurge. Have. Arrived."
Good. they could finally get this over with.
"Apologies for keeping everyone waiting." The devil spoke while getting into position.
"Everyone is here then, good."
The empowered voice of Demiurge spoke out again. Entering straight into the hearts of those present. This was the effect of his [Command Mantra] skill. It did nothing other than sound nice to everyone here though, as it was too weak to affect anyone.
"It seems we are still missing two, Lord Momonga."
"Gargantua and Victim are only to be moved under special circumstances, so there is no reason to have them present right now."
Realisation dawned on him and he replied with a mere "I see".
"...My. Allies. Have. Not. Arrived. Yet."
Aura and shalltear froze as they heard those words, and the smile froze on Albedo's face.
"...That, that fellow is just an Area Guardian in one of the floors which I… which we are in charge of."
"Y-Yes…"
Shalltear and Aura Smiled stiffly, while albedo nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Kyouhukou, is it. Indeed, it would be good to inform the various Area Guardians. Then, let the Area Guardians like Guren and Grant know about it as well. I will leave that task to the various Floor Guardians."
There were two kinds of Guardians in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
Floor Guardians, like the ones before Momonga and Aurelion at the moment, were responsible for one or more floors. Area Guardians were responsible for an individual area within a floor. Simply put, the Floor Guardians were in charge of the Area Guardians, who were in turn in charge of a specific domain. Since there were many of them, they were individually not very important. In Nazarick, the term Guardian usually referred to a Floor Guardian.
After the various Floor Guardians showed that they understood Momonga's orders, Albedo commanded:
"Then, everyone, let us pledge our loyalty to the Supreme Ones."
All the Guardians nodded as one, and before either player could interrupt, they had lined up before them. Albedo stood at their head, while the other Floor Guardians formed a line behind her. All the Guardians had solemn, respectful expressions. They showed no sign of playing around.
Shalltear, who stood one one end of the line, stepped forward:
"Shalltear Bloodfallen, Guardian of the First, Second and Third Floors, presents herselves to the Masters."
She went to one knee, one hand pressed against her chest, and bowed deeply. After that, Cocytus stepped forward and said:
"Cocytus. Guardian. Of. The. Fifth. Floor. Presents. Himself. To. The. Masters."
Much like Shalltear had, he knelt before the two like a vassal before a lord. Then, it was the twin dark elves' turn:
"The Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Aura Bella Fiora, Presents herself to the Masters."
"Al-Also a Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Mare Bello Fiore, presents himself to the masters."
They knelt respectfully and lowered their heads to Momonga and Aurelion. Shalltear, Cocytus, Aura, snd Mare all had different bodies and thus they should have each taken their steps forward differently. Yet, the way with which they knelt was identical, and they lined up neatly.
After that, Demiurge advanced in a dignified manner.
"The Guardian of the Seventh Floor, Demiurge, Presents himself before the Masters."
Following his crisp words, Demiurge went to one knee in a graceful descent, as though expressing his heart through his actions. Finally, Albedo stepped forward as well.
"Guardian Overseer Albedo presents herself to the Masters."
She smiled to Momonga, and knelt like the other Guardians. However, Albedo continued speaking in a high and clear voice as she delivered her report to Momonga. She also didn't miss Aurelion looking away when it was her turn. She would have to ask about that later.
"With the exception of the Fourth Floor Guardian Gargantua and the Eighth Floor Guardian Victim, all the Floor Guardians are gathered before you. Thus do we offer up our utmost loyalty to the Masters."
Neither Aurelion or Momonga could speak as they looked at the six lowered heads before them. A strange pressure veiled the entire area, and perhaps only the two of them could bear the painful, crushing air.
They did not know how to proceed.
They had never seen anything like this before in their lives. In his confusion, Momonga accidentally activated a skill. A dreadful aura roiled out over the surroundings, and a halo of black radiance formed behind him.
Aurelion inwardly chuckled at this. Seeing his friend at a complete loss for words was very amusing. But this little show would be all him. He would hardly lift a finger.
Momonga had no time to cancel the skill to recall a scene from movies or television which would tell him how to respond appropriately here.
"Raise your heads."
With a sha, everyone raised their heads. Their coordination was so immaculate that Momonga wondered if they had practiced that movement together.
"Then… first, we thank all of you for coming here."
"There is no need for thanks. We are all Lord Momonga's loyal subordinates.
To us, you are the Supreme Overlord."
Curious that she completely ignored the other supposed "Supreme Being" in her statement.
None of the Guardians opposed her statement, though one had another thought. As expected of the Guardian Overseer.
Momonga looked on the Guardians with a stern face, and he felt a choking sensation in his nonexistent throat. It was the weight of being a leader bearing down on him.
In addition, any orders he gave now would affect his relationship with them and Aurelion in the future. He could not help but hesitate as he contemplated the possibilities.
Would he lead the Great Tomb of Nazarick to destruction because of his decisions — the unease generated by that thought flooded his mind and heart. At least he had his friend to stop him from making any foolish mistakes.
"Lord Momonga, it is only natural that you should have doubts about us. After all, our abilities must be miniscule in your reckoning."
Albedo removed the smile from her face, and continued in a respectful tone that was laced with a stern strength.
"However, if Lord Momonga gives the order, we — all the Guardians will accomplish any task set to us, no matter how difficult or arduous, with every fiber of our beings. We hereby swear that we will never allow the Forty One Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown, our creators, to be disgraced by our actions."
"This we swear!"
The Floor Guardians chimed in right after Albedo. Their voices were filled with power, and that adamant loyalty and determination would not be diminished by any number of foes. It was as though they were mocking Momonga's previous worries that the NPCs might betray them.
The darkness in their hearts vanished like the shadows in the morning sun. Momonga was moved to the bottom of his heart that the NPCs designed by the members of Ainz Ooal Gown were possessed by such excellence.
The golden radiance of the past still remained.
The embodiment of everyone's hard work, their cunningly crafted creations, were still here. It filled him with joy.
Momonga smiled, although his skeletal face could not display any emotions. The points of crimson light in his eye sockets seemed to shine exceptionally bright. His prior unease no longer existed, and he simply spoke the words of a guildmaster.
"Excellent. Guardians, I know that you will understand my aims and successfully carry out my commands. There may be some things that are difficult to understand, but I hope you will pay attention and listen. We believe the Great Tomb of Nazarick has been caught up in some kind of unknown situation."
The Guardians' faces were still stern, and there was no trace of surprise on them.
"Although we do not know what has caused this incident, the Great Tomb of Nazarick has been transported from its place in the swamps to a vast plain. Did anyone foresee the occurrence of this strange event?"
Albedo looked back at the Guardians, and after seeing the reply written on their face, she said:
"Regretfully, none of us have any idea what is going on."
"Then, I have a question for the Floor Guardians. Have any of you discovered anything strange in your floors?"
After hearing this, each Floor guardian responded in the negative.
Shalltear volunteered to check the state of the surface but was shot down.
"There is no need. Sebas is currently reconnoitering the surface."
Surprise flashed across the faces of Albedo and the other Guardians.
Within the Great Tomb, there were four NPCs who were exponents of melee combat. Cocytus had the strongest attack power when using a weapon, Albedo had an impregnable defense when in her armor, while Sebas in his true form was stronger than either of them in melee combat. And then there was one more, who was superior to all of them.
There could be no other reason for the Guardians' surprise. Sebas, who could sweep away anyone before him in hand-to-hand combat, had been assigned to the simple role of reconnaissance. They could tell how seriously the Supreme Ones were taking this strange occurrence, and everyone was on their guard as a result.
"It's about time for him to return."
Just then, the two players saw Sebas jogging over to them, until he reached the Guardians genuflecting before Momonga and Aurelion and went to one knee as well.
"Supreme Ones, forgive my lateness."
"It's fine. Then, your report on the surrounding conditions."
Sebas raised his head and looked around at the Guardians kneeling beside him.
"...The situation is critical, so obviously the Floor Guardians need to know as well."
"Yes. To begin with, the terrain surrounding us for a kilometer in each direction is a plain. There are no signs of man-made structures. I spotted some small animals, but there were no humanoid or large creatures."
"Were those small animals monsters?"
"No, they were life forms which had no combat power."
"...I see. Then, were the plains you spoke of covered in frozen grass which would cut you as you passed them?"
"No, it was simple grass. There was nothing special about it."
"And you did not see any sky castles or similar buildings?"
"No, I did not. There was no sign of man-made illumination in the sky or on the land."
"I see, so there was only a starry sky… Thank you for your hard work, Sebas."
As he praised Sebas for his efforts, Momonga as well as Aurelion were somewhat disappointed because they had not obtained any useful information.
However, they were slowly realizing that they were no longer in the game world of YGGDRASIL, although they did not understand why they could use YGGDRASIL's equipment and use its spells.
He did not know why they had come here, but it would be wise to heighten Nazarick's combat readiness just in case. For all he knew, this might be someone else's territory, and he might be censured for having come here without permission. No, he would be lucky if that was all that happened.
"Guardians, increase the readiness of each floor by one level. We are unsure of what has happened, so do not act incautiously. If you encounter an intruder, do not slay them, but capture them alive at all costs. When you capture them, do as little harm to them as possible. I apologise for imposing such demands on all of you at a time like this."
The Guardians voiced their acknowledgement and nodded in unison.
"Next, I would like to understand the administrative operations of the Tomb. Albedo, how is the exchange of security information between the Guardians of the various floors?"
In YGGDRASIL, the Guardians were simple NPCs, and they could only act according to their programs. There was no way the floors would exchange security information and monsters.
"Each Floor is administered by its respective Floor Guardian, but Demiurge is the overall defense commander, and everyone can share information with him."
Momonga was a bit surprised, but then he nodded in satisfaction.
"Excellent. Nazarick's defense commander, Demiurge. Guardian Overseer, Albedo. The two of you will be in charge of drawing up a more comprehensive administrative system for Nazarick."
"Understood. Will the plans for the management system include the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth floors?"
"The Eighth Floor is managed by Victim, so it'll be fine. No, entry to the Eighth Floor is forbidden. I rescind the order I just gave to Albedo as well. In short, entry to the Eighth Floor will only be effected with my or Aurelion's permission. I will undo the seal and permit direct access from the Seventh Floor to the Ninth Floor. After that, plan for the Ninth and Tenth Floor as one whole."
"Is, is that your will?"
Albedo seemed quite surprised. Behind her, Demiurge's eyes went wide, revealing his thoughts on the matter.
"Will the underlings be allowed to tramp through the domain of the Supreme Beings? Must they be given that much freedom?"
The underlings in question were not the NPCs and monsters designed by the members of Ainz Ooal Gown, but the automatically spawned (pop) monsters from the dungeon. The fact was that the Ninth and Tenth Floor lacked such monsters, barring very rare exceptions.
Momonga muttered to himself.
Albedo seemed to regard that place as a holy sanctuary, but that was not the case.
The reason why there were no pop monsters on the Ninth Floor was simply because if any intruders could overcome the NPC defenders of the Eighth Floor, the most powerful beings in the Tomb, then Ainz Ooal Gown's chances of victory would be slim. Thus, it would be better to play the role of a villain to the hilt, and meet the invaders in the throne room for a final showdown.
"...It will be fine. Because it's an emergency, we need extra hands for security."
"Understood. I shall select only the finest and most potent troops for this duty."
Momonga nodded, and looked toward the twins.
"Aura and Mare… can you conceal the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick? Simple illusions don't seem very reliable, and thinking about the cost of illusions gives me a headache."
Aura and Mare looked at each other and began thinking. After a while, Mare spoke up:
"U-Using magic might be tricky. If we had to hide everything along with the surface… although, we could cover the walls in mud, and then add plants as camouflage."
"Do you intend to soil the glorious walls of Nazarick with base dirt?"
Albedo said that with her back turned to Mare. Although her voice was sweet and velvet, the tone it carried was anything but.
Mare's shoulders trembled, and although the surrounding Guardians remained silent, their attitudes suggested that they shared Albedo's opinion.
In contrast, Momonga felt Albedo was being too much of a busybody. The situation was hardly serious enough to warrant such a reaction. Aurelion beat him to it though.
"Albedo… you are not being spoken to. Be silent."
His voice was so deep that it surprised Momonga himself.
"Ah, my deepest apologies, Lord Aurelion!"
Albedo's head was as low as it could go, and her face was frozen in fear. The Guardians and Sebas stiffened up as well. Perhaps they thought that scolding was directed at them as well, let alone a scolding by the one known as the strongest of the Forty One.
A twinge of remorse struck Momonga as he observed the quick change in the Guardians' attitude, but he continued speaking to Mare:
"Can you conceal the walls by heaping dirt onto them?"
"Yes, yes I can, if you allow it, Lord Momonga… However…"
"Yes, an observer from a distance would think the ground was bulging up unnaturally. Sebas, are there any nearby hills or the like?"
"There are none. Regretfully, we are surrounded by flatlands. However, since there are nights here, we should be able to perform some sort of eye-deceiving camouflage while the sun is down."
"Is that so… if all we intend to do is hide the walls, Mare's idea will be enough. Then, what if we piled up the dirt from the nearby land to make dummy hills as camouflage?"
"Then we would blend in."
"Very well. I shall assign Aura and Mare to carry out this task together. While doing so, you may draw the necessary supplies from each Floor. Since we cannot camouflage the view from the air, we shall use illusions after finishing the earthworks, so nobody will be able to detect Nazarick from the outside."
"Y-Yes. U-Understood."
That was all he could think of at the moment. There were probably a lot of holes left in the plan, but that could be dealt with slowly, later on. After all, it had only been a few hours since all this had happened.
"Then, you are dismissed for today. Everyone, take a break before beginning your duties. There are many things we do not know, so do not push yourselves too hard."
The Guardians nodded as one to show that they understood.
"Finally, I have a question for the Guardians. To begin with, Shalltear — what kind of people are Aurelion and I to you?"
"An incarnation of beauty. You are the most beautiful person in the world. Even jewels pale in comparison to your snow-white body. While Lord Aurelion is on par with your divine self."
Shalltear did not pause to think about her answer before she gave it. From the lack of delay in her reply, she must have been speaking from the heart.
"—Cocytus."
"One. Who. Is. Mightier. Than. All. The. Guardians. And. Deserving. Of. The. Title. Of. The. Supreme. Overlord. Of. The. Great. Underground. Tomb. Of. Nazarick. Lord. Aurelion. Is. The. Strongest. Among. The. Forty. One. Deserving. Of. The. Title. Of. Strongest. Supreme. Being. "
"—Aura."
"A merciful leader with great foresight, and a stalwart friend of Lord Momonga."
"—Mare."
"A, a very gentle person, An-and a kind person."
"—Demiurge."
"A wise leader who makes decisions and acts on them quickly. Truly, a man worthy of the title 'inscrutable.' Lord Aurelion, as the only other who can completely comprehend your thoughts, is also possessed of a divine intellect."
"—Sebas."
"The one responsible for assembling all the Supreme Beings. In addition, the merciful leader who did not abandon us, but stayed by our side until the very end. Lord Aurelion, the one who stood by Lord Momonga until that end, as well as a warrior my most august creator, Lord Touch Me, looked up to."
"And finally, Albedo."
"The man who rules over the Supreme Beings, and our highest, most exalted master. In addition, the man I love most deeply. Lord Aurelion, the most suitable Supreme Being to protect Lord Momonga."
"...I see. We have heard and understand your opinions. Then, I shall hand the tasks that were once performed by my former comrades to you. Carry them out faithfully."
After seeing the Guardians genuflect once more, Momonga teleported away, quickly followed by Aurelion.
The scenery before their eyes changed in an instant, from the Colosseum to the chamber of the Golems of Lemegeton. After looking around to make sure nobody was looking, Momonga sighed deeply.
"I'm so tired…"
"You're telling me. That was exhausting, and I didn't even do anything."
Although his body did not feel tired, the mental fatigue was weighing down on his shoulders.
"...Those guys… why do they think so highly of us?"
Aurelion just shrugged, saying:
"Not much we can do about it if they were made that way. We'll just have to stick to the personas we each agree to."
They were describing someone else entirely. After hearing the Guardians take turns to share their opinions of them, he wanted to laugh and mock them, but from the looks on their faces, it did not sound like they were joking at all.
In other words, their words were sincere.
If they did not act in a manner which fit their views of them, it might disappoint them. As he thought about that, the pressure on him grew and grew. And in addition to that, there was another problem, which made Momonga frown.
Of course, his skeletal face could not show expressions, yet it seemed as though it did.
"...What should I do about Albedo… if this keeps up, how will I face Tabula…"
Aurelion planted his hand on Momonga's right shoulder while saying:
"You're screwed buddy. But still. Albedo doesn't like me. I can tell."
This seemed to snap him back into focus as he looked back on the interactions between the two.
"She views me as 'less important' than you. So do the others to a lesser degree. They say your name first, respond to your words first. Even back in the throne room, Sebas didn't even do what I asked until you told him to go."
This troubled Momonga. He didn't want his friend to live like that, with everyone asking him "Did Lord Momonga say yes?" or something along those lines. It would serve only to infuriate Aurelion, as he would perceive such treatment as a slight. Momonga knew that the position of guildmaster wasn't that special, but the NPCs seemed to place him above Aurelion in importance because of it, even if they did so subconsciously. But while he thought about it, it seemed that Albedo was an exception. She was doing it on purpose. This needed to be addressed.
"I'll talk to them, yeah?"
A nod.
"That's all I can ask."
The pressure crushing their heads to the ground suddenly vanished.
Even after the departure of the masters, nobody raised their heads. After a while, someone sighed in relief. The tense atmosphere was gone now.
The first to get up was Albedo. Her white dress was stained where her knee had touched the ground, but she did not mind at all. She flapped her wings to swipe off the dirt on her feathers.
After seeing Albedo rise, the others followed suit, though nobody dared to speak.
"That, that was scary, sis."
"Yeah, I thought I'd be squashed flat."
"As expected of Lord Momonga, to think his presence would have such a great effect on us Floor Guardians…"
Demiurge was not oblivious to the presence of the other Supreme Being in the room. In fact, he attempted to study him as much as he could during the entire ordeal. The thought that the powerful aura of Lord Momonga had no noticeable effect on him spoke volumes of his strength. Truly, he was deserving of the title 'Strongest Supreme Being'.
"As. A. Supreme. Being. His. Might. Outstrips. Ours. But. I. Did. Not. Expect. Him. To. Be. This. Powerful."
Thus the Guardians shared their impressions of Momonga as well as Aurelion, although he did not do much other than scold Albedo.
The aura that Momonga emitted was the source of the power that had crushed the Guardians to the ground.
「Despair Aura」.
Besides inflicting a fear effect, it could reduce the stats of its victims. Normally, it would not have an effect on the level one hundred NPCs, but on this occasion, its effects had been strengthened by the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Lord Momonga must have unleashed the air of authority that represents his right to rule."
"Indeed. Before we stated our positions, Lord Momonga did not exert his might. However, once we showed ourselves in the role of Floor Guardians, he must have revealed a fraction of his awesome power to us. To think that Lord Aurelion seemed completely unaffected is awe inspiring. Truly, only a Supreme Being can stand in the presence of another unperturbed."
"In. Other. Words. Lord. Momonga. Revealed. His. True. Ability. As. A. Ruler. In. Response. To. Our. Pledges. Of. Loyalty."
"That does seem like the case."
"He didn't radiate that aura when he was with us. Lord Momonga was kind, and gave us something to drink when we were thirsty. Lord Aurelion also wasn't too scary."
Aura's words caused the other Guardians to emit an air of tension. It was condensed jealousy that was almost visible to the naked eye. The worst-off was Albedo. Her clenched fists shuddered and her nails threatened to rip through the fabric of her gloves.
Mare's shoulders trembled, and then his eyes went wide.
"That, that must have been the true power of Lord Momonga, the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was amazing!"
That changed the mood instantly.
"Exactly! He showed us his ability as an absolute ruler in response to our feelings… as expected of our creator. The zenith of the Forty One Supreme Beings, and the kind master who remained here with us until the very end."
Albedo's words put a blissful look on all the Guardians' faces, although the expression on Mare's face was better described as "relaxed."
There was nothing which could delight them more than the master who created them, the master to whom they owed their utmost loyalty, revealing his true face to them.
Demiurge hadn't missed the fact that Albedo avoided mentioning Lord Aurelion whenever she could. He would take this up with the Lord himself later.
The Guardians, no, every entity created by the Supreme Beings wanted nothing more than to aid their creators in some way. The next best thing would be to receive their trust and to be treated as useful servants.
This was a simple, natural truth.
This was the greatest joy in life for these characters who were created to aid the Supreme Beings. Then, as though to wipe away this jubilant atmosphere, Sebas said from the side:
"Then, I shall take my leave first. I do not know where Lord Momonga has gone, but I should stay by his side as his personal butler."
Albedo began spouting nonsense after this about being called to Lord Momonga's bed chambers before Sebas cut her off and left. What followed was an argument between Albedo and Shalltear about who would wed a Supreme being first. It was a great challenge. Albedo would pursue Lord Momonga, while Shalltear would pursue Lord Aurelion.
Demiurge was interested in what the result of such unions would be, but simply left the matter for now, shaking his head as he went about his new duties.
Chapter 2
"Hey, I'm gonna head to the cafeteria now. I'm dying to try some of the food there."
Momonga was a little jealous of his friend who could enjoy real food, unlike him who would forever be plagued with the memory of the artificial slop that some genius decided to call 'food'. His emotional suppression reduced this jealousy to a mere 'that's a shame' for him though.
Parting ways, Momonga went to test out whether he could use warrior items, while Aurelion teleported to the 9th floor, into his room.
Appearing beside his bed, he surveyed his room, making sure nothing had changed. Luckily, it didn't seem to be the case as everything was as he left it. It wasn't decorated too much, sporting the same bed that all 41 rooms had, a dark wood desk with small trinkets on it, each of which would make low level players ignite with greed, though they were useless to him.
There was a single mounted sword above the door. His old sword, [Legacy of Dreams]. It had served him well for years. It was named in honor of his journey up to the point of acquiring it, and sported his entire backstory in its flavor text, from level 1 to 100. Were any of the denizens of this world to appraise the weapon, they would be met with a mythical tale of an angel's ascent to godhood, and after that, his feats of slaying other gods and godlike entities. The blade itself hadn't gained sentience or anything, but it did give off an aura of something that was ancient and heavy, like no mere mortal should wield this weapon.
'Hello, old friend. It's been years…'
He stared at it for a few more minutes, pondering.
'Should I take it with me?'
He probably wouldn't use it, but so what? It had accompanied him for years in the game. This new world they seemed to have found themselves in seemed like a good opportunity to find a use for it, or at the very least, he could show it off.
'Screw it.'
Reaching up and taking it off the rack, it seemed to resonate with him when he held it firmly in his hand. It felt right. It wasn't nearly as powerful as [Unmaker], but it felt like a perfect fit. He made his decision right there and then. His old friend would find its place at his side once more. He would only use [Unmaker] when the situation called for it.
Fastening the sheathed blade at his side, he left his room. He began to navigate the halls of the 9th floor, hoping he went the right way. As luck would have it, he did go the right way as he now stood at the doors to his desired location.
When he entered, all eyes were drawn to him. Some of wonder and awe, most of fear.
As he approached a table, the maids began to move themselves far away, going so far as to drag the tables away, much to his amusement. Although he did indeed find it amusing, he didn't want to eat at a table all alone, so he attempted to put a stop to it.
"Don't. I do not wish to eat alone like an outcast. Won't you all keep me company?"
This gave the 41 maids pause. They did not deserve to eat beside a Supreme Being, but not doing so would sadden him, making him feel like an 'outcast'. They were conflicted. The stalemate was broken by one particularly brave maid with honey colored hair and eyes. Her name was Cixous, if he recalled correctly.
She began dragging her table with all the strength she could muster, back to its original place. Right next to the one he seated himself at.
Removing his mask and hood, revealing golden hair and eyes on a western face, as well as retracting his six wings, he thanked her with a toothy smile:
"Thank you, Cixous. You set a very good example for your sisters to follow."
She seemed to almost tear up, covering her lower face with cupped hands she bowed as she spoke in a choking voice:
"To think a Supreme Being would know my lowly name! I am unworthy of your praise, Lord!"
He waved it aside, saying:
"Nonsense. It is good to be humble, but you must accept praise when you have earned it. I do not wish to repeat myself on this matter."
"Y-Yes Lord, Thank you very much!"
He looked at the rest of the maids and spoke with a sly smile:
"Well, will you follow in your sister's footsteps, or will you risk making me unhappy?"
There was only one answer.
The maids all began dragging their tables back to their original positions, with Cixous, Lumiere, and Fiore all seated next to him. While they were doing this, he asked the three with a cheeky grin:
"So, you all love food, right? How about you recommend something to me?"
As the noises coming out of his mouth formed into words in the girl's minds, their faces began to brighten until they bloomed into full smiles. They would have a lot of fun with this, as you didn't get to personally recommend food to a Supreme Being very often.
It started with pancakes, then omelets, then went to full blown three course meals. Each and every dish was out of this world and he ate every bite gleefully. Even the maids could tell how much he enjoyed it, which brought their joy to greater heights, as a Supreme Being shared the same love of food as them. They were surprised at the sheer volume of food he'd eaten so far that outsrtipped even the most ravenous of them.
It went on like this for an hour, before it was time for everyone to return to their duties. Everyone left with a satisfied smile, Aurelion was the most satisfied out of all of them, however.
Back on earth, only the wealthy and super rich could even dream of eating anything he was just presented with, and now he could eat it whenever he wanted. It was a dream come true for someone who had grown to be satiated with synthetic slop.
He left the cafeteria and wandered back to his room, where he decided he would sleep for a few hours.
"Lord Momonga? May I ask a question?"
"Hm? What is it, Albedo?"
Momonga was currently in his new "Office" going over a gargantuan list of Nazarick's resources, while Albedo stood to the side with a troubled expression.
She seemed to hesitate before asking:
"Does… Does Lord Aurelion dislike me? Have I done something to displease him?"
Of course, it was about that. She was a smart woman, so it was no wonder she picked up on his hostility towards her.
With a sigh, he prepared for the talk that was to come.
"Yes. He does not like you, Albedo. But, it is of no real fault of your own."
This confused the succubus, as she could not understand where his dislike came from.
"I could ask the same of all the guardians as well. Why do you see him as less important than I?"
This seemed to really grab her attention, and she was ready to risk offending her love with what came next:
"With all due respect, Lord Momonga, you are the leader of the Forty One, the Absolute Overlord. Compared to you, the other Supreme Beings are of lesser importance, so we must prioritise your safety first, above all."
It was quiet for a moment. Albedo was ready to be scolded or even killed for the blasphemy she'd just spoken. Yet the way in which her love responded was incredibly mellow, and… tired? He spoke without looking up from the page he was reading that went into detail about the data crystals currently within the treasury:
"I see. I understand your point of view, but it is flawed. Sure, I may be the Guildmaster, but without the other forty members, none of this would exist. No Guardians, no Nazarick, no Ainz Ooal Gown. so the very idea of placing one of us above another is preposterous."
Albedo wanted to refute, saying that he could have done so alone if he wanted, but the finality in his tone shot down any attempt to form words in her mouth, so she remained silent and listened.
"Nazarick is the product of Forty One members pooling their strength and abilities together, forming a machine greater than the sum of its parts. We are all equal. Dare I say that much of Nazarick wouldn't be the way it is now without Aurelion. And, lastly, I will not see my friend undermined. If his orders conflict with my own, you are to inform both of us so that we can work together on the matter. Am I clear?"
She bowed deeply:
"Yes, Lord Momonga, I understand."
He seemed to lighten up after her reply and continued on:
"Now, as for why he doesn't like you. It goes back to the time of your creation."
For the issue to go back so far, she could now guess that it was a dispute between the Supreme Beings that sparked his dislike of her, and so she stood ready, fully focused on his words.
"Pay attention. I will only tell you this once. Back when we were solidifying our power, most of Nazarick had been completed and its NPCs were mostly finished as well. The last level 100 NPC to be created would be one for the throne room. The right to create this NPC was meant to be Aurelions, as the guild had decided he deserved to create a… Legacy, of sorts. He spoke of the one he wished to create often. A daughter, an angel with wings as white as snow, Uriel."
Taking a moment to let her process his words, Albedo's mind was in top gear, piecing together the puzzle. While she wouldn't come to any conclusions until her Master finished his story, she now had a suspicion.
"One day, when he'd finally perfected his vision of her, he went to the throne room, which should have been empty, and was met by a succubus, standing by the throne. A succubus which occupied the place his daughter was supposed to have. He hid it well, but he was heartbroken at this betrayal. Tabula had disregarded the guild's decision and went ahead to create his third NPC, called Albedo."
Understanding was dawning on her. She… was not supposed to exist… she occupied the place that rightfully belonged to another. Lord Aurelions hatred of Tabula, and by extension her, was beginning to seem more and more justified with each word spoken. To rob a fellow Supreme Being of the chance to have a child of their own. unthinkable.
"Now, this betrayal of trust alone was bad, but what Tabula did was unacceptable by all standards in the guild. If he had created you based on his own ideas, it wouldn't have been as bad. Instead, he took the idea of Uriel and twisted it. She was supposed to be a benevolent angel, purer than all others. Tabula was "Fascinated" by this idea, and instead chose to make this NPC a mockery of what Uriel was supposed to be."
Albedo knew her origin. She was intended to be an incredibly pure and benevolent angel, yet something had gone awry during her creation that resulted in her becoming a black hearted devil. Until now, she had embraced this, but now that she knew why she was made that way, her dislike of her own creator was beginning to grow. To think that she was the twisted image of someone else, brought into being by a betrayal of trust. Now, she almost welcomed Lord Aurelion to scorn her, for she felt disgusted in her own flesh.
"Do you understand now?"
"Y-Yes, Lord Momonga."
"Good. Now that you know, you should try to mend your relationship with him. It is something only you can do."
If that is what her love desired, she would do it in a heartbeat. But… she felt that this time, it was what she desired. It would be difficult for her to speak with him, but she had to try.
Still. While Albedo disliked the other Supreme Beings for leaving their masters alone, she never thought that she could outright hate her own creator. This path would be long and hard, but it was worth undertaking.
With this new resolve, the succubus went back to work alongside her love.
Hours passed. mQuite a few hours, in fact as he could say it was about mid day. Momonga had stepped out of the tomb on account of finding a village or something. While going along would have been interesting, he wasn't his friend's shadow. He was a grown man and didn't need a minder like the rest of the tomb thought she did.
Instead, he found himself standing in the frigid air of the barren Fifth Floor, being accompanied by two frost virgins to where Cocytus lived. He was cold, that was certain, but not unbearably so. This floor was supposed to be a challenge for level 100 players after all. Only those with complete cold immunity would find it easy to navigate this floor, which Aurelion didn't have. His immunities were naturally against holy magic due to his classes, and unholy magic on account of his gear. A top level unholy magic user would be able to beat him 2 out of 5 times due to sheer advantage if he didn't compensate for that weakness, as with a max karma value, even a 7th tier unholy spell would be something to watch out for.
Still though, the Fifth Floor was truly fitting of the title 'Wasteland', as there was nothing visible all around them, with an ever present snowstorm constantly raging. As the frost virgins guided him through, he eventually made out a large structure made of ice and snow in the distance. It was a large white dome surrounded by six large ice pillars, the residences of the frost virgins that were currently escorting him.
Cocytus was not inside, but rather off to the side, training.
"Cocytus, training hard?"
He stopped and faced me:
"Always. Lord."
While he didn't sweat as he was an insect, he could tell that Cocytus was pushing himself during his training.
"Well, since you're already training, why don't we spar?"
He sounded astonished at this, like the prospect of dueling a guild member was simply a dream.
"With. You. Lord? It. Would. Be. An. Honor. How. Do. You. Wish. To. Spar?"
Good question. He knew how to use his skills, but his actual skill as a warrior was in question. It would be good to use blades only for now.
"We'll start with a simple spar. No skills or abilities, just one blade each. The victor will be decided by who lands a lethal blow first."
Pulling out two identical katanas, called [Duelists Blade], he threw one to Cocytus.
"A [Duelists Blade]. A simple relic tier blade. Any lethal strike will be mitigated. It is a blade for sparring, not killing, and as such it will never take a life."
He held the weapon in his hand as it adjusted to his size.
"Very. Well. Lord. I. Will. Now. Prepare."
As Aurelion stood a mere ten meters from Cocytus, they both entered a stance. Cocytus held his blade out in front of him in a Seigan stance, while Aurelion entered a one handed Gasumi stance, holding the blade in his right hand while holding it on his left side at eye level, with the edge of the blade facing the sky.
They stood for a moment, before both seemed to disappear for a split second. The ungodly sound of metal grinding against metal reached out into the world, grating at the ears of anyone who heard it, namely the frost virgins who had been waiting to the side ever since the two had begun to speak to each other.
With blades locked, the two fighters made eye contact for a moment.
"Not bad, Cocytus!"
"As. Expected. Of. Lord. Aurelion. You. Are. Truly. Strong."
They separated, making some distance before going in again to strike a blow. Thus began a dance of blades. Aurelion lacked refinement in his attacks, while Cocytus lacked experience in battle, so for now they were evenly matched despite the large gulf in their stats.
Aurelion could learn much from one battle. Cocytus however, could only learn so much against one opponent, so the scales began to tilt in Aurelions favor.
This didn't happen quickly, not at all. Their spar lasted three hours, with Aurelion only gaining an advantage in the last thirty minutes.
