A cold wind blew across the land, carrying with it a scent that would change the world.

It seemed on that night, the world itself was in celebration. The stars seemed to twinkle ever so brighter, with the full moon having a slight yellowish tinge to mark the night. One might even called it a golden moon hovering over a golden night.

Of course, Suzuki Satoru had no real appreciation for that. He would've normally loved to gaze up at such a beautiful tapestry hung up before him, but he had other priorities in mind.

He had been above the Great Tomb of Nazarick and setting up fireworks to celebrate the end of the game when the game's timer suddenly hit midnight- indicating that the DMMORPG would finally be taken offline. He had expected to have been logged off abruptly and to head over to his bed so he could wake up on time at 4 AM for his job.

Ten years. Ten years of tears, sweat, toil, and friendships.

The only deep relationships he had ever had since his mother passed away.

The only real source of joy in his life.

It would all disappear in a single instant by the whim of some corporate overlord.

Except it didn't happen.

However, rather than being logged off he found that he was suddenly in a new place. At first he thought this was some sort of glitch that had accidentally activated the [Greater Teleportation] spell. The scenery below him was no longer of the hellish world of Helheim with its poisonous lakes and volcanic islands, no, it was a large green open field.

[GM Call.]

Suzuki found that this did nothing. Impossible... unless the game devs were wiling to risk several expensive lawsuits and possible criminal investigation they should have definitely responded to a [GM Call] function. His normal display screen was gone as well. He had considered the possibility that he had simply miscounted or misremembered what time it was and it wasn't midnight yet, but now there was no real way to verify that.

Despite all of this, he found himself unnaturally calm. He looked to his right hand and saw that he was still gripping the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in it.

Well, there was little to do now then besides go and explore where he was and then find a way out of it. What was this place though? Was this Yggdrasil 2.0?

It was odd though. He could feel the cold wind against his body- a sensation that he had never encountered before in a Dive game.

As he descended, he saw nothing but miles of rolling grass, even with his vision which worked just as good at night as it did on the sunniest and clearest of days. Just as he thought that there was nothing worth investigating, his eyes detected movement.

Being cautions, he cast [Perfect Unknowable] upon himself. Amazing! He found that when the thought about it, he knew everything about his spells- their range, damage output, special effects, mana costs, and even his own mana pool by instinct. There were no longer any clunky set of controls to work around to cast magic.

Granted, [Perfect Unknowable] would not completely conceal him against everything- while the spell did remove all traces of the users there were many ways to see through it. A powerful Ranger could still detect him, but it was better than nothing.

He saw that there were several people gathered in a circle surrounding a single individual. The figures in the circle would occasionally approach the one in the center, only to immediately fall back.

From what Ainz could make out, the figures were attacking this individual in the center- though they were not making much headway. He had to admire the strength of the one in the center, it was like the old martial arts movies where no one could touch the grandmaster.

He observed this for several minutes, wondering whether or not he should intervene. He could not tell the strength of these people, but given their movement speed they did not seem to be too skilled if they were pure warriors.

As he descended even lower, he now had a clearer view of the situation. The lone figure in the middle was either human or humanoid enough to pass as one- perhaps an elf. This person was surrounded by demi-humans he recognized as Bafolk from Yggdrasil.

The human was not adept at only swinging her sword, but also seemed to possess some magical ability as well.

Ainz was cautious while descending and noticed that none of the Bafolk looked up at him. It seemed they were unable to detect his presence... he could not be so sure of that. It was possible they were simply caught up in the fight and hadn't paid attention to their surroundings, or were pretending to be ignorant so they could strike at him when he had let his guard down.

No- it was unlikely that such a large group could all collectively decide to ignore him while giving no indications that they had passed that knowledge among themselves. However, there could be an exceptional few who noticed him.

A large silvery Bafolk then approached the warrior, and this one was not rebuffed so easily. From a closer distance, Suzuki could see that the warrior was a female human.

Why was she here? Why was she surrounded by demi-humans and fighting for her life? A Bafolk attempted to strike her from behind while she had her eyes locked onto the silvery one, only to have its head cleaved off as she didn't even take her eyes off of her new opponent. It did seem to create an opening, however, as the silvery Bafolk charged.

A part of Suzuki wanted to just observe what was happening- even though seeing this kind of violence would've shocked him in his earlier life.

However, he felt nothing at the sight of the stream of blood that erupted from the decapitated Demihuman's neck. Nor did he wince as the woman's arm was broken by the giant Bafolk- it was probably a Lord or Prince of some sort given how strong it appeared.

With that it seemed as if the bout was decided, but the woman refused to give up. She raised her sword with her right arm defiantly.

Should he help her? Suzuki wasn't sure if this was a video game- but generally a quest would start out like this. Finding a helpless victim near to death- it was so cliche he would've complained if any game made this a plot point. It didn't appear that the Bafolk could tell he was hidden, but the moment he used any offensive ability [Perfect Unknowable] would be dispelled.

There was technically a workaround to this rule- namely, using a passive skill would not end his invisibility. He could turn on [Aura of Despair V] and prance around while invisible and decimate hoards of enemies. But, that would eliminate the girl as well. So, he used it on the lead Bafolk.

A wind passed through the battlefield- no, it was not a wind because not a single blade of grass was set in motion, but the Bafolk noticed that something passed through the air, and that the next second their leader had fallen to the ground, lifeless.

"Impossible!"

"Wh-wh-why isn't he moving?"

"There's no way the Great King Buser could be slain in a single blow!"

The Bafolk were baffled, wondering what had happened. Some of them began to inch away from the female fighter, perhaps thinking that she had done something.

"Lord... oi, you! See what happened to him!"

It was time for Suzuki to try another test out. [Create Mid-Tier Undead], another skill of his, was activated. If a simple instant death skill could take out the strongest amongst these monsters, then they were probably all below level 60. But, to be sure of their power level, he wanted to run this other test of having them fight one of his summons.

The Death Knight had the additional beneficial effect of drawing attacks away from Suzuki in case he was revealed.

To his surprise, rather than a Death Knight falling out of the sky like it would in game, the body of the slain Bafolk rose with jerky motions before black ichor began to ooze out of its every orifice, transforming itself into a man-shaped incarnation of destruction- it was as if one had gathered all the rage in the world and given it human form.

The Death Knight roared, and Suzuki felt a mental link form between the two. There was no need for him to speak his orders- which was good, because most likely he couldn't be heard through [Perfect Unknowable] anyway. He ordered it to kill the Bafolk, but to spare the human.

Suzuki watched indifferently as the Death Knight slew many numbers of them with ease. It could decapitate several of them with a single blow, and for each one that fell a new soldier entered their ranks.

Based on their reactions, Suzuki gauged that these Bafolk were less than level 10. Some of them chose to flee, but in case they had a stronger master Suzuki could not let them do so. The Death Knight charged at those running away, splitting them in two before they could take even three steps. There was no real place to run on an open plain, after all.

Soon enough, the Death Knight and the human were the only things standing.

"Undead..." she spat out and raised her sword. There was a look of deep hatred in her voice as she charged the Death Knight.

What? Why is she doing that? Clearly she should be able to tell that it saved her... oh wait, is it because it's undead? Are the undead not welcome in this world- does that mean she'd attack me too?

An idea began to form in Suzuki's mind as he cancelled his summon- though to his surprise the Death Knight did not vanish and remained standing. This was yet another thing that would not have happened in Yggdrasil.

With little options left, Suzuki chose a gamble. He removed the effects of his [Perfect Unknowable], though not before putting on a mask and gloves, and descended to meet the woman.

He could see that she was wearing armor with an insignia he did not recognize- though it was dirty and hard to make out. Give the way she fought and the fact that she had been using spurts of healing magic- he guessed that she was some kind of paladin.

"At ease," he said.

The woman took a step back. Now that Suzuki could see her up close, he noticed that she did not look very good for wear. Her cheeks were sunken as if she had not eaten properly in weeks, her eyes were bloodshot, her hair messy, and her skin caked with mud. She looked like she'd been living in the wilderness for several months like a wild animal.

"Who..." she croaked out. "Ah... magic caster. Necromancer?" Her voice was raspy as if she hadn't spoken anything in several days or had the luxury of even a cup of water. She then collapsed to the ground without uttering a word.

Suzuki was unsure of what to do- he had 'rescued' this woman, but she didn't look like she would be able to survive if he just left her there. He had already risked quite a bit trying to help her, so he might as well go the full nine yards.

First of all, he took her and used [Greater Teleportation] multiple times to ensure that no one was following them. Once he was as far away from the battleground as possible, he cast the tenth tier spell [Fortress] creating a hideout for himself. He had cast it in an enclave underneath a hill so that it was hidden from one side by the hill's shadow. He unfortunately did not have an illusion spell powerful enough to hide the whole thing, but this would have to do for now.

Next, he created a [Gate] and ushered all of the Bafolk and his Death Knight inside. Strange- it should have disappeared by now by the game's rules, but it was still standing. It was important that he remove all traces of the fight however, in case these Demihumans had strong allies.

He then carried the woman inside. She stirred in her sleep a little as he laid her down on a table.

Good, that meant that she was still alive.

Next, there was something that Suzuki had to confirm. Was this a new DMMORPG, or was this something else entirely? There was a final test that he could do but...

Oh, come on, you're not doing this for some perverted reason or whatever, you have to do it to confirm that you're not in Yggdrasil. That's right! This is absolutely necessary!

He took off the woman's armor and then her clothes. Doing such an 18+ action in Yggdrasil would have resulted in him getting permabanned, but nothing stopped him from gazing at her topless form- save for his own sense of decency that was.

She must've been very beautiful at one point, but the fact was that she had been starving for some time. Her body was completely caked in grime, though surprisingly there were no wounds- likely kudos to healing magic.

Suzuki rubbed his chin. So, he wasn't in Yggdrasil, but in some other world? Then why did his spells and magic work? And who were those Bafolk? And why were they attacking this woman?

The best person to ask would be this woman of course- but she didn't seem to be able to talk right now. She was not visibly injured- so perhaps she was fatigued? But then-

Suzuki snapped out of his thoughts as he realized that all through this time, this woman had still been topless. Just how long did I plan on staring at her like this?

Before he could fetch her clothes, her eyes popped open.

With speed that he didn't think she was capable of given her earlier status, she moved to grab her sword and slashed at Suzuki.

Suzuki deftly avoided the blade. "What are you doing?"

"Silence dog!" the woman screamed. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide. They made her seem feral- more animal than human, that is to say. Or was she simply insane? "You dare try to take advantage of me?"

Suzuki realized what was happening and then quickly began to explain himself. "Pardon me Milady, but I had no such intentions. I am a magic caster and merely happened upon you being attacked by those Bafolk, and then I rescued you. You had collapsed so I took you to a safe place- this hideout of mine. I am not keeping you prisoner or anything- you are free to leave if you wish."

She blinked. "Why did you take my shirt off then?"

Suzuki struggled to answer before he said, "I thought you might've been injured, and I was looking for any wounds."

The woman continued to glare at Suzuki, but then turned around to put her shirt and armor back on. "Very well then. I will be taking your leave."

"Wait- what?" Suzuki said as he saw the woman turn towards the door. He had told her that she could leave whenever she wanted to, but she didn't seem to be in any state to move about.

He turned out to be right as she collapsed ten paces in, and as Suzuki walked up to her he could audibly hear her stomach growl. "Damn it..." she muttered.

"I think you should stay here and rest," Suzuki said. "You can continue doing... whatever you were doing later on, no?"

She turned to him. "Why... are you helping me?"

Suzuki thought about it. In truth, he didn't know. He had done so originally just to see if he could extract intel from her... but there was something more.

And like lightning, a vision flashed into his mind.

He was roaming inside a forest in Yggdrasil, farming for gold when a notification appeared on his screen.

Drat! His health bar had been taken down- and as he turned his head he saw four other players had surrounded him.

Suzuki tried to put up a fight, but of course with the odds stacked in his favor he was down to a sliver of HP soon.

It was at that moment he was cursing himself- he was being hunted because he was playing with a Heteromorphic avatar. If he hadn't- he wouldn't have been a target so many times over and over. He could've avoided this by choosing a human build, but he wanted to play as this kind of character. What was the point of a game if you couldn't do what you wanted? Why did people like these other Players have to ruin the game for people like him?

Before he was eliminated yet again though, he saw that the images of the four players vanished, and in their stead was a literal knight in shining armor.

"Why did you save me?" Suzuki asked. "A player you don't even know?"

"Helping someone in need is common sense!"

"Because... helping someone in need is common sense!" Suzuki said. It honestly sounded very lame to him, but surprisingly it had a large effect on her. The woman's eyes glazed over at the mention of these words. It seemed as if she had heard them too somewhere.

"I see," she said. She tried to get up but failed again.

"Please don't worry," Suzuki said and tenderly picked her up. He could actually feel most of the bones in her body- it seemed to have been completely stripped of any excess fat. He gently laid her down on a sofa and took out his Pitcher of Endless Water. He poured the clear liquid inside into a glass and helped her drink.

Her voice sounded far less hoarse now. "Thank you..."

Now, while the water was nice, Suzuki knew that it would only get her so far. He racked his non-existent brains for a solution for the other problem. He then remembered something that he might've had stocked in his inventory.

He took out his Magical Hot Pot- it was a gimmick item that generated a small amount of food at the cost of some mana. This would normally be useless to someone like Suzuki who was an undead, but food in Yggdrasil granted one several stat boosts and he could use it to boost the stats of his allies slightly. That was probably why he had still kept it in his inventory.

The amount of food generated was based off of how much man was spent, and its quality depended on the user's magical ability. Suzuki only had to use a minimal amount to generate enough food for the woman.

A traditional Japanese hot pot materialized into the previously empty cauldron, and Suzuki took out a spoon to gently drip the contents into the woman's mouth.

As the liquid trickled down her throat, her eyes widened.

"I'm sorry- is it too hot?"

She shook her head. "Food... made by magic tastes awful..."

The food that Suzuki had made was equivalent to that which would be made by a fifth tier spell, in other words, it was actually quite tasty, especially compared to the food that the priests of the Holy Kingdom would normally make. As a matter of fact, there was no one in the entire country who had specialized into magical spells that generated food that much to create something like Suzuki had. He of course, however, had no way of knowing this.

it appeared that the stat boosts that food gave worked in this world too as the woman was far more animated after a few gulps and got up. "I can feed myself now."

Suzuki watched as she ravenously devoured the contents placed before her with practically no decorum. Suzuki felt that even young children had better table manners- but then again, this woman looked like she had been starving, so it was somewhat understandable.

She finished it within ten minutes- a real feat given it was a full course meal. She then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Ah... I thank you dearly... um..."

Suzuki opened his mouth to say his name- but then paused. Who was he?

Was he Momonga? Or was he Suzuki Satoru? He was not human in this world, that was for certain.

What was the identify of the man who was the last of the guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown? Should he still remain bound by his old gaming name?

"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown," Suzuki said. "What is your name?"

"My name is... Remedios Custodio," she said. "I..." she seemed to want to say something more, but then didn't. "I thank you for your generosity. I assume that your offer to rest still stands?"

"Yes," Ainz said. He wanted to grill her for intel, but it would be easier to talk to her once she was rested. "There are over thirty rooms upstairs, pick any that you like."

Her eyes drifted to the Death Knight standing in the corner of the room. "That undead..." She looked like she was ready to pounce on it at any given moment.

"Was made by me with magic," Ainz said. "You need not fear it."

Her eyes turned to Ainz and they carried some suspicion now. "I would prefer you leave it outside this place if possible..."

She then walked upstairs.

Ainz sighed as he watched her limping retreating form. Did she really hate the undead that much? If so, he had to be doubly sure not to reveal his true features to her. Perhaps she hated necromancers- humans that summoned the undead too? Well, he had already let out the fact that he could summon the undead so there was no way to put that cat back into the bag. He would just need to keep his face covered.

"Ah, one last thing," Suzuki said as Remedios neared the top of the stairs.

"What is it?" she asked.

He tossed her one of the magical clothing sets he had won but never bothered to put into the guild storage. It was a kimono. "Ah, I thought you could use a fresh change of clothes."

"Much obliged."

Remedios Custodio collapsed onto the bed.

She was so sleepy that she hadn't even bothered to take off her armor.

However, there was a reason that she didn't want to sleep. Because sleep was not rest for one such as she.

She was standing before a huge mountain. No, it was not a mountain made of dirt.

It was a mountain of corpses.

And yet, she continued to climb up it. She couldn't help but occasionally notice the faces looking up at her. Faces she recognized...

Atop the mountain was a throne, the throne of the Holy Queen.

Only the Holy Queen was nowhere to be found.

Sitting in her rightful place was a monster- an Elder Lich with two heads and six arms. It laughed as she approached.

"Have you come to meet your end?" it asked.

She lifted her sword to strike it down, but the Lich called out, "[Grasp Heart]!" and she felt herself fall to the floor.

Only there was no floor- she was now falling down into a lake.

Beside her was the body of her sister- it was mangled almost entirely beyond recognition.

The body of her Queen floated beside her on the other side. Blood still ran down her forehead from where that monster had struck her, and her teeth had been knocked out. Her beauty which was once considered a national treasure was scarred forever.

Around her, dozens of other bodies floated. Suddenly, they became animated and their hands reached out to her...

...suffocating her.

She woke up, drenched in sweat.

The room had no windows, so she had no way of knowing what time it was. She did feel like her head was far clearer, however, so it must've been a few hours.

She turned her gaze to the strange clothes that the magic caster had given her. She had been fumbling with them in her sleep- she was quite surprised that she hadn't torn them in her sleep. They must've been magical clothing then.

As she got up, ensured that the Holy Sword was still there and attached to her hip, she made her way downstairs.