CHAPTER 5: The Slane Theocracy


hackslashbash: Reuploaded for consistency and technical fine-tuning.


The person in front of him let out a derisive scoff, as if she had already won against his Angels.

"Since it's obviously impossible for you to defeat me, I'll kidnap all of you," she declared confidently.

The Sunlight Scripture had about twenty people, each and every one of them capable of summoning their own angel. Aside from that, they were all well versed in magic of the third tier. Magic that only the brightest and the most talented were able to acquire.

'She must be bluffing,' he thought to himself.

A slender, dainty woman, still escorted by her butler was saying that she wanted to kidnap them? He sneered at the sheer ridiculousness of the statement.

How was she going to accomplish something so clearly impossible? Did she have any idea who she was talking to?

The Sunlight Scripture was one of the elite Six Scriptures from the Slane Theocracy. Countless missions had been cleared by his unit, and even more demihuman filth had fallen at their hands. But this was the first time that anyone, aside from that pest Gazef Stronoff and those damnable women adventurers, would go this far to annoy them.

Imbecile.

Overcoming his initial shock at the woman's outrageous statement, he cackled. It started with a soft chuckling that only the members around him could hear him, and slowly escalated into a full-blown guffaw towards the two completely and utterly foolish strangers.

"You?" he snorted, "Y-you said you want to kidnap us?"

He laughed again, even louder than before.

When the members behind him heard the sheer confidence that he exuded, they felt relieved. These two were just more pests full of hot air. Of course, no one would be able to defeat them, the legendary Sunlight Scripture. Their unease erased, they began to laugh together with him.

But there was no reaction from the woman.

Instead, she just continued smiling like what they mentioned didn't matter. Noticing the lack of response from the woman, Nigun stopped laughing and gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Listen here, bitch. We are the Sunlight Scripture. You want to capture us? You and what army?" he goaded her.

Slowly, her grin widened. "I'm glad you asked! But first, let's get rid of those annoying pests you call Angels."

Pests? Did the bitch just say that their Angels were pests?! The whole group stopped laughing and looked at the woman with sheer contempt. How dare she call the Angels, the beings who deserved their utmost respect, mere pests!

They were seething with anger. This fool will die a slow death begging for forgiveness. Just like every other heretic they've met.

"Not before we kill you first. Angels, attack!"

Swiftly, the angels moved in accordance to Nigun's command and raised their swords high, ready to smite the woman and her butler. The butler moved to protect her, and amidst the din of battle, her lips moved, but they could not make out what she had said.

In the blink of an eye, the Archangel Flames brought their swords down upon the butler. There was no way he could have possibly survived that attack.

Quickly dispatching the butler, the rest of the angels flew towards the woman and swung their swords to lacerate her body.

'Ridiculous,' Nigun thought to himself. In the end, what Gazef had boasted about so proudly earlier had indeed turned out to be a bluff. His grin widened in satisfaction. No one was as strong as the Sunlight Scripture. After he was finished here, he would go down to the village and massacre every single person, along with Gazef Stronoff, take his head, and burn the entire village down to the ground.

For this woman, if she was still alive even after this ordeal, he would take her to the Slaine Theocracy as his play thing.

He had many things that he wanted to do to that body. Moreover, he had always wondered what a noble lady tasted like.

Human peasants were disgusting. They smelled just like pigs and even squealed like pigs. The best fuck he'd ever had were the elf slaves he got as a gift when he had finished a particularly difficult mission given to them by the Theocracy.

He snickered at the thought. It would be so easy. No matter where or which country or family she hailed from, he could just charge her with blasphemy for insulting their most exalted beings, the angels.

But this time, his plans didn't go the way he imagined.

The butler should've been dead. Four swords had pierced his body, but it turns out that he was holding the swords of those angels with his bare hands. Their angels thrashed, trying to escape his iron grip.

The rest of the angels who tried to hit the woman found that no matter how hard they struck her body, they could not even leave a scratch on her clothing.

Impossible...

She looked at him and taunted "My, thank you for making my job easier by sending all your angels here! Now, please do the honor."

"Certainly, My Lady," The butler replied.

His fists vanished in a blur, and the angels in front of him instantly disintegrated into fading motes of light. He then went toward his Lady's side and with a few quick punches here and there, the angels were no more.

There was no way.

There's no way! Nigun's eyes and mouth widened in disbelief. The angels should have been immune to physical attacks! Yet this butler had defeated them with his bare fists. Moreover, he had managed to destroy at least twenty angels in just mere seconds.

Looking at the scene in front of them, the moral of the Sunlight Scripture plummeted. Where there was a once supreme confidence, a sense of dread now crept into their souls when they beheld the two people... no, entities before them. Without realizing, their formation fell into disarray.

Unconsciously, they were trying to run away.

Because there was no way humans should have been able to do that. Even the Strongest Warrior-Captain had struggled against their angels.

"What are you…?" Nigun asked, still in disbelief.

"It seems that you have poor hearing," she said nonchalantly as she stretched her arm; her tone light as if she was having a friendly conversation with them. "I told you earlier, I am Hannah Annafelowz of Ainz Ooal Gown, and this is my butler."

"Don't you fuck with me! 『Searing Light』!" terror slowly crept into Nigun's mind as he hurriedly released a 3rd-tier spell to quickly eradicate them. They had done the impossible. No one had ever managed to defeat their angels, yet these two monsters did just that with minimal effort.

Dangerous.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the members of the Scripture follow suit. They threw every spell in their repertoire, from elemental spells to debuffs to blessed holy magic.

As quickly as they began the chants for their spells, the woman moved in front of the butler to shield him. And just like how the blades of the Archangel Flames had slid off her, their spells also seemed to have no effect as they harmlessly diffused upon making contact with her.

A storm of spells raged around her.

But she didn't even move a muscle. In fact she even yawned. "You guys are really weak, huh? You're not even strong enough to damage me…"

Not only had the butler slaughtered their angels, now their spells were incapable of harming her.

They felt like they've been trapped in a nightmare.

"U-uwaahhhh!" One man in particular threw a pebble from his sling in panic, and even that small pebble bounced right off of her. It was as if she was set apart from the world…

"YGGDRASIL magic huh?" she muttered to herself. "Well, now I'm definitely going to kidnap all of you. I did tell you earlier. You can't defeat me."

"Hiiii!" The members of the Scriptures screamed in fear. Their angels didn't leave so much as a scratch on the two monsters, and even worse, their magic couldn't even reach them. Just what were they supposed to do?!

They looked to Nigun, their leader for help. But he too was also at a loss for what to do.

"In that village there is someone stronger than me."

Impossible…

Impossibleimpossibleimpossibleimpossibleimpossibleimpossible!

"Principality of Observation! Attack them!" he ordered, more frantic than before.

In response to Nigun's orders, the towering angel that had been floating by his side up till now suddenly spread its wings and flapped, propelling itself forward.

The Principality of Observation was an angel in full body armor. It held a mace in one hand and a round shield with a sun motif in the other. A garment that looked like a long skirt covered its legs.

The Principality of Observation was stronger than the Archangel Flames, but it had not been deployed into battle until now because of its special skill. In accordance with its name, the Principality of Observation had the ability to raise the defense of all its allies. However, this ability lost its effect once the angel moved, so the wise decision would be to order the Principality of Observation to hold its ground.

The fact that Nigun had ordered it to attack was a sign that he was grasping at straws. He had to grab at anything which might turn out to be a lifeline, even if it ended up being chaff.

As ordered, the angel drew up in front of her, and raised its shining mace. She casually reached out with her dainty left hand to meet the attack.

While it would not have been surprising for that strike to have shattered her bones to tiny bits, her hand was fine. She casually blocked the subsequent hits as they came.

"『Overloaded Dragon's Breath』."

A great blue vortex of flames erupted from her mouth. The fire was so hot that the Sunlight Scripture was slightly sweating even from a distance. The inferno reached the body of the angel and soon after, the Principality of Observation was consumed by the hellish conflagration.

The angel's body instantly vaporized amidst the blue flames. It was so intense that it was all Nigun could do just to barely peel his eyes open.

As soon as the angel disappeared, the fire vanished along with it.

No trace of it was left behind. It felt like an illusion, as if the Principality of Observation and the Archangel Flames were not even there in the first place.

"H-how could it be..."

"In just one hit!"

The Scripture members stammered again, taking another step back from the two of them.

"Impossible!" Nigun shouted. "It can't be! It's impossible! Nobody can defeat a high tier angel with just one spell! Who are you, no, what are you, Hannah Annafelowz?! It's impossible that nobody's heard of you before! What is your real name?!"

His calm exterior disappeared. He was facing an enemy that he could not hope to defeat. His wild screaming was actually his plea, to glimpse even a sliver of hope in this harsh reality.

She spread her arms, bathed in the light of the sunset as the ruby silk ribbon wrapped around her hips fluttered in the wind. Her red clothing and hair made her appear as if she was bathed in blood.

"Impossible? Not really. In the end, your angels were actually low-leveled monsters. I mean, they couldn't even harm me," the strange woman shrugged before her voice grew deadly quiet, "But my, aren't you inattentive? I told you again and again, and I will repeat myself one more time."

Silence reigned in the air as they awaited the answer. Her voice rang out as clear as a bell.

"My name is Hannah Annafellowz. But you're right in saying that this is an alias. My real name is Tiamat, and I am the Goddess of Dragons."

At that moment, it was like a veil was lifted from their eyes. The woman in front of them had changed subtly but a few details stuck out to them. She had the same appearance, however, the two antler-like horns adorning her head and a tail peeking out at the end of her dress made all the difference in the world.

Nigun was unable to rebut what he was hearing. It was something he did not understand from a woman he understood even less. That was the situation he was in.

His heart thudded painfully loud against his chest. His breathing grew heavy, like he had been running for hours.

Words of reassurance began appearing in his head. However, the sight of the woman who had changed into a Dragon and called herself a Goddess was telling Nigun something else.

'—That is a monster beyond my wildest imaginings. I could never hope to defeat it.'

"Cap-Captain, what, what should we do...?"

"Figure it out yourself! I'm not your mother!"

Losing his cool in front of an unknown monster like this was a very bad thing.

The sun was slowly falling below the horizon, and darkness threatened to swallow the world. But despite the growing darkness, she still shone. It felt like the sun had dropped a ray of sunlight unto her, setting her apart from mere mortals such as themselves.

Nigun tried to force his fear back, and hysterically gave an order. "Protect me! Protect me if you want to live!"

Then he remembered. No, he had another trump card. A wave of relief washed away his terror as he reached for the sealing crystal he kept close to his chest. The sealing crystal that contained the holiest of all angels.

"You won't be able to defeat the highest level angel!" He mocked them, his face filled with triumph as if he had already won. He saw the woman's smile fade when he said that.

"Sebas, keep yourself close to me," she said warily. "If he summons the highest level angel from YGGDRASIL, you won't be able to defeat it alone without getting hurt. We'll have to settle for kidnapping just one member before retreating."

He had heard that. There was no way he was letting this woman retreat now. He will make them experience the greatest pain! Nigun broke the crystal and brilliant light shone forth. "Behold, the glorious visage of the highest angel!"

"It's coming!"

"Finally!"

The members of the Scripture were excited. Truly Nigun, their leader, was a great and powerful one, for he could summon the greatest angel of them all!

Now they could kill the woman in front of them!

This time she would be the one who was afraid

And they would bask in her screams as holy judgement rained down upon her.

"Dominion Authority!"

With a flash of holy silver light, a huge angel arose from the crystal. Its greatness was marked by the six wings on its back and the royal tablets written in the language of the seraphim on its chest. Its divine magic rippled throughout the plains, banishing the darkness of the night.

"Are you serious?" the woman gaped in disbelief. "This is your highest level angel that you were planning to kill me with?"

He saw her frightened form and let out a sigh of relief. "Indeed! Your fear is only natural. After all, this is what an angel of the highest order looks like. While using it here seems like a bit of a waste, I have determined that you are worthy of it!"

"How could this be…?" she covered her mouth with her sleeve to hide her own shock.

"Hannah Annafelowz—no, Tiamat of Ainz Ooal Gown! The truth is, you deserve respect for forcing me to summon this most exalted of angels. Be proud of your fearsome strength, Goddess of Dragons!" he screamed like a madman. "Personally speaking, I would like to bring you into our fold. You are a wonderful creature. At first I thought you were a noble, but now that you have turned out to be a Dragon, my curiosity is piqued even more than before! What would a Dragon taste like in my bed?"

He could see the butler stiffen at his bold statement. Since he wore a mask, it was impossible to see his expression, but to Nigun it looked like a gesture of despair. Relishing in the hopelessness the two must be feeling, he continued. "At the very least, I shall remember you — the Dragon who made me decide to summon this mighty angel!"

He expected them to beg and grovel for forgiveness. As they should have. Instead, a voice filled with disappointment responded to him.

"Ehhhhhhhhh? Is that it?"

"Huh?"

Nigun had no idea what she was saying. To Nigun, she was little more than a sacrifice to the highest order of angels, which humanity could not possibly defeat. Yet, her attitude seemed too relaxed for that.

"I can't believe I was on guard against that," she covered her face with her hands in what appeared to be shame, "This is so embarrassing!"

"No, My Lady," The butler swiftly replied. "You acted in accordance with the situation, as you should have. There is no need to feel embarrassed."

"I-Is that so? It's just that it's so anti-climatic... I don't know what to say."

Nigun's mind could not keep up with their patronizing banter.

"How can you act like that in front of the angel of the highest order!?" Nigun shouted. He could not believe that this woman and her butler were chatting leisurely and completely ignoring the Dominion Authority.

Their calm attitude conveying absolute superiority suddenly cut off the surging joy in Nigun's heart. In its place was terror and unease.

Could it be that this Ainz Ooal Gown organization and Tiamat were more powerful than the Slaine Theocracy?

"No! Impossible! It cannot be! Nobody can be stronger than the highest-ranked of the angels! This is a being that has defeated a Demon God of legend! In the face of a foe that humanity cannot beat — you must be bluffing! It must be a bluff!"

He would not, could not acknowledge this. He could not believe that a person who could defeat the Dominion Authority was not only an enemy of the Slaine Theocracy, but was standing right in front of him.

"Use it! Use 『Holy Smite』!"

This was magic of the seventh tier, a realm humanity could not hope to attain. Even the large-scale rituals of the Slaine Theocracy would struggle to cast it, but this most exalted of angels, Dominion Authority, could do it by itself with ease. That was why it was ranked among the highest order of all angels.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever... I won't move if that's what you want. This should satisfy you, right?"

Her casual attitude filled Nigun with fear.

This angel of the highest order had once defeated a Demon God of legends. Its omnipotence was enough to qualify it as the mightiest being on the continent. It was invincible.

Yet, if someone could defeat it...

No. Such a person could not exist.

In response to its summoner's wish to use its most powerful attack, the Dominion Authority shattered its scepter. The fragments rose up into the air and slowly orbited its body.

『Holy Smite』.

The spell was cast, and a pillar of light broke through the sky, illuminating the night.

With a loud crash, a seemingly endless cascade of holy blue-white radiance flooded down from the heavens, submerging the woman, who simply raised one arm to shield her eyes.

The seventh tier of magic — a height humanity could never hope to attain.

This sacred power would annihilate all evil beings, and even good entities would meet the same fate. The only difference was if they were reduced to sightless atoms, or if there would actually be remains left behind. This was the awesome power of magic that exceeded the realm of humanity.

Then a single phrase banished all confidence in Nigun's heart.

"『World Eater: Maw of the Void』."

The pillar of brilliance was sucked into a giant pitch black maw on her hand.

Hannah Annafelowz, Tiamat, the Goddess of Dragons, was not blasted into glowing ash, sprawled on the ground, or pulverized into meat jelly, but she had just shrugged off, no, completely nullified a spell of the seventh tier.

"You happy now?" she asked, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice.

The butler who just stood by and watched, bowed in acknowledgement. "As expected of My Lady, you are truly fitting of the title of Goddess. I am in awe."

"Thank you Sebas!" she beamed brightly.

Nigun, who was stunned by their easy-going back and forth, finally managed to recover enough of his senses to shout, "I know it… I know your true identities! — Demon Gods! You must be Demon Gods!"

At the same time, Nigun had the faint hope that if they were indeed Demon Gods, then the Dominion Authority might still have a chance to win.

Countless 'mights' and 'what ifs' popped up in Nigun's mind. Without them, he would have already gone mad.

However, she would not permit a second attack.

"If your 'Demon Gods' were this weak… Nope, I don't want to waste any more time on this. It's my turn now boys," she took a step towards them and cracks appeared in the sky, like the breaking of a pot. They vanished in an instant, and the scenery returned to normal.

As confusion washed over Nigun, she answered. "Good grief… you know, you should thank me. It would seem someone was using divination magic to keep an eye on you, but because I was in the spell's effective range, my barrier activated, and the spell broke."

Those words filled Nigun's eyes with realization.

The Slane Theocracy must have been spying on him.

"Now since that's out of the way, where was I…?" she pondered for a bit. "Oh! You were saying that Dominion Authority is the strongest angel out there?"

A wave of ice ran through Nigun's veins as he picked up on the hidden meaning behind those words.

"Should I show you what the highest level angel truly looks like?" she smiled softly at them as hellfire danced in her eyes, betraying her true intentions.

He, who had always been the oppressor, was now going to become one of the oppressed.

He was filled with an abject and unnameable fear. The fear that he, who had taken countless lives in the past, was now going to have his own life taken. His subordinates saw his terrified expression and it frightened them as well.

He was on the verge of tears.

"『Dragon Saintess Summon: Seraph Empyrean』."

The sound of cathedral bells rung in the air as if announcing the descent of a holy deity. Night turned into Day, and even the parts of the plain illuminated by the Principality of Observation were engulfed by what looked like the sun itself.

The dark sky split apart and at its center, a golden colonnade descended towards Tiamat. In its wake, the Seraph descended to the earth from the heavens, and an angelic choir accompanied her.

The Seraph Empyrean, an angel in the form of a giant human. It was a romanticized representation of the biblical Seraphim, but its might was anything but. Her body, the epitome of femininity, was covered with a pure white robe that looked as if it would flutter away at just the slightest touch. Her face was covered with a piece of holy fabric, and her back was adorned with six immaculate wings. On top of her head, sat a halo of pure starlight.

What set it apart from all the other angels was that the Seraph Empyrean had six delicate arms, all in a position that made it appear as if it was in prayer.

"Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the highest tier angel who is the closest to the throne of God. Seraph Empyrean."

The sight was divine.

So divine that not one of the Sunlight Scripture members dared to avoid the angel's veiled gaze.

The Dominion Authority paled in comparison to this angel. Was their angel not the highest and the most exalted? They laughed bitterly at the lie they had believed for so long.

"Seraph Empyrean, destroy the Dominion Authority," Tiamat dismissively waved her hand.

Acknowledging her order with a nod, the Seraph Empyrean started to sing a hauntingly beautiful tune, with words their mortal minds could not comprehend. A small circle enveloped the angel, and the tune spread like wildfire. The circle met Dominion Authority, causing the inferior angel to slowly disintegrate with each passing note.

It was so underwhelming that it made them stare in dumbfounded silence. It might even have been laughable. But they could not force themselves to laugh.

As the radiance of Dominion Authority vanished, the surroundings dimmed slightly, leaving only the blinding beacon that was the Seraph Empyrean.

There was only the sound of the wind blowing across the plains. And then a hoarse cry broke the silence.

"A-are you truly a Goddess?" Nigun asked the impossible being in front of him who had managed to summon an angel stronger than the Dominion Authority. "Someone as powerful as you, why haven't I heard of you before…?"

Nigun shook his head powerlessly. If the existence in front of him was truly a Goddess, then there was nothing he could do but submit.

"Like I said, I'm the Goddess of Dragons. In the past there wasn't a soul who wouldn't tremble upon hearing my name."

Nigun fought back the urge to weep, frantically thinking of a way to survive. But no matter what he thought of, he could not imagine any of his plans besting the Goddess before him. Therefore, his only hope was to throw himself at the mercy of the Goddess.

"Wait, wait a bit! Tiamat-sama, no, Kami! Please wait, we, no, I wish to make a deal with you! I guarantee you will not be disappointed! As long as you spare me, I will give you any amount of money you want!"

He could see his subordinates' shock out of the corner of his eye, but they were no longer relevant to him. The only thing that mattered now was his own life. Everything else was of secondary importance.

Ignoring the countless angry voices of his men, Nigun continued, "It must be difficult to satisfy the tastes of such a great Goddess such as yourself, but I will definitely prepare enough money to please you! I have a position of some power in my country, so they will definitely pay any price to ransom me! Of course, if you desire anything else, I will do my best to meet your wishes. So I beg you! Please spare my life!"

Nigun panted as he finished his monologue.

"What, what about it?!"

The woman's delicate voice responded to Nigun's desperate plea.

"Did you not hear me the first two times?"

"T-that is-!"

"I told you before. I am kidnapping all of you."

She shook her head, clearly tired of repeating herself.

"You have ears, but you refuse to listen. Sebas, do me a favor and rip off his ear for me."

Sebas was also frustrated. He slowly walked towards Nigun's direction and placed his hand on Nigun's ears. For the Supreme Being to repeat herself countless times… This man didn't need his ears if he had no intention to listen.

Moreover, his lewd comments towards the Supreme Being were also unacceptable.

Sebas decided to rip it off slowly, as punishment for arrogantly disregarding the Supreme Being's words.

Nigun's frustrated scream could be heard all the way to Carne Village, but his men stood by and didn't do anything to stop the butler.

"N-no, p-please Sir, I know I did wrong. I won't do it again! W-what are you doing?! H-help meaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Sebas threw the ear on the ground and flicked away the blood on his hand before returning to his Supreme Lady's side.

None of the Sunlight Scripture members came to his rescue. Who would? He who readily abandoned them in the time of crisis. He deserved it.

She's mad, this woman was mad. Nigun who realized this felt every last drop of hope drain out of his soul.

"As My Lady said, cease your meaningless struggling, and you will be killed without pointlessly drawing out your suffering."

ψ(`∇´)ψ

Soon afterwards, Tiamat ordered the Eight-Edged Assassins to take each and every one of them back to Nazarick for interrogation. She asked one of them to pass along a message to Demiurge to interrogate Nigun personally about the history of this world, magic, and especially anything about the Slane Theocracy.

Moreover, she also asked them to pass the ear along to Cocytus so it could be frozen. She might have some use for it in the future.

Now she had a new problem.

How did she dismiss her summons…?

At first, she only summoned Seraph Empyrean for show. In the end, it managed to defeat the Dominion Authority with its special attack: the Tune of the Black Flower. And it didn't take long either.

The Tune of the Black Flower was an attack only available to the Seraph Empyrean in which they sang the innocent song of ruin, like a prayer, so that the one who heard them would receive death.

Meaning, the song slowly drained away the enemy's HP. Very useful for Guild Battles.

The special effects it had in the New World were beautiful as well.

But after it finished its tune, it should have vanished. The tune in YGGDRASIL lasted for about eight minutes. And after the eight minutes were up, the angel would self-destruct.

Tiamat recalled the time Ainz Ooal Gown had fought an all angel guild before in YGGDRASIL. There were two players who managed to summon Seraph Empyreans which resulted in a long and grueling battle.

The tune nicked away at HP and the final explosion would usually finish off what little may remain. The Seraph boasted high physical and magical defenses, so it was very difficult to defeat.

The nostalgia of desperately spamming her regeneration and healing skills...

Yet, the Dominion Authority died within the first two lines. Less than 15 seconds.

Now she had a ticking time bomb on her hands.

Tiamat didn't know how much damage its self-destruct could cause to the surrounding area after a full eight minutes had passed… Would it even explode if there were no enemies around?

Should she give it to Aura and Mare as a plaything?.

Coming to a decision, Tiamat ordered one of the Eight-Edged Assassins to pass a message to Aura and Mare regarding the Seraph Empyrean. They were to isolate it and wait until she returned. As the Assassin left to deliver the message, she pulled out a scroll and opened a『Gate』before ordering the Seraph Empyrean to go to the Sixth Floor of Nazarick. The Empyrean silently complied and glided through the swirling rift.

After she hid her horns and tails again with the item『Scale of Ragnarok』, Tiamat and Sebas walked back towards the village underneath the night-veiled plains. When she raised her head, the stars in the sky greeted her with a breath-taking sight.

This was definitely something she could get used to.

She sighed at the beautiful scenery for the second time before heading back to the village.

"Thank you for the mask, My Lady," Sebas took off his mask and handed it over to her.

"That's alright Sebas. You can keep it," Tiamat briefly glanced at the mask before looking back up at the sky.

"Is that so? In that case, I am thankful for your gift. If I may ask, where does the mask come from, My Lady?" Sebas inquired.

"Oh, that? That's just a Christmas gift. Even Momo-chan has one."

"I will protect this gift with my life, My Lady."

"Please don't, Sebas. More importantly, how do you feel after destroying so many Archangel Flames today? If you are hurt or injured in any way, please tell me immediately so I can heal you," she turned her eyes towards him with worry.

It was true that she had gone a little bit overboard today.

She was lucky that the item he had only summoned a Dominion Authority. She would've been helpless had it stored some powerful magic native to this world, or worse, if it had summoned a Seraph Empyrean.

She could protect herself. Her skills and abilities made sure of that.

But Sebas couldn't.

Sebas was a Draconian, but his job class was a Monk. A fist fighter type.

One wrong move and it could've cost him his life.

"There is no need to worry, My Lady, for I am not injured. Even though it's true that the angels were a little difficult to defeat with fists alone, the build Lord Touch Me had blessed me with made sure that I could defeat my enemies even without the use of magic."

"I see. That's a relief," Truly a relief. She had to plan better next time. She needed to pick up some better strategies and possibly combat styles as well.

So much to do.

"I would also like to ask, My Lady, why did you save Gazef Stronoff?"

"Why indeed? Well, mostly I wanted to see how strong he would be. He's titled the Strongest Warrior-Captain, so I was curious. But seeing him fight against those people from Slane Theocracy was kinda disappointing. I could have just let him die at that point. But," Tiamat sighed. "This is a secret between the two of us, okay Sebas?"

"Certainly, my lips are sealed, My Lady" he assured her.

"He had this sort of…aura around him. He knew he was going to be defeated, and he asked for our help. He was getting desperate at that point. But when we refused, he didn't escape or use the villagers as bait," she trailed off, remembering how awesome Gazef was. "He was fighting the angels, fully prepared to die. Isn't that amazing?"

"So that's why you teleported the Warrior and his band to safety. Marvelously done, My Lady. But wouldn't it have been better to have let me take care of things? There was no need for you to trouble yourselves. Moreover, capturing the people from the Theocracy would have hardly been a difficult task."

"You have to remember Sebas, that I came here to test my powers, not to be protected. Though I appreciate the sentiment, having you do everything for me would hinder that goal."

"I see. I apologize for my lack of insight, My Lady," he lowered his head.

"There's no need to feel sorry, Sebas. Tell you what, next time when such an occasion arises, I'll depend on you. How's that?"

Sebas smiled. "There is no honor greater, My Lady."

Once they reached the village, the villagers were brought out by her baby dragons to greet them. Tiamat could practically see the praise and gratitude gushing out from them, but then she saw Gazef amongst the villagers.

"Warrior-Captain, I'm glad you are alive and well."

"What are you saying, Lady Hannah, I'm literally covered with scars and blood. I am currently a dying man," he joked.

Since Gazef had changed his tone somewhat, she decided to nonchalantly inspect him.

Gazef had taken off his armor and carried no weapons with him.

He was bruised all over and half his face was swollen up, like a strange-looking, misshapen ball. Even still, a vigorous strength burned within his eyes.

She smiled at his light joke. "Well, in that case, let me help you. 『Light Heal』." A blanket of warm light enveloped him and his bruises faded away, returning his body and face to normal. But suddenly she turned away, unable to look him in the eyes. It was as if she had seen something bad.

On his left hand, on his ring finger, laid a golden ring.

The man was married.

It was true that she liked Gazef's spirit, but she was not going to go around chasing a married man. To be honest, she was a little bit disappointed.

"Thank you, Lady Hannah, for saving the village as well as saving both me and my men. Speaking of which, where did those fellows go?"

"Oh, I chased them off. I couldn't defeat all of them," she waved her hand dismissively

That was a lie. They had all been shipped to Nazarick, but Gazef didn't need to know that.

Gazef narrowed his eyes a little, but neither she or Sebas spoke, and the air became a bit more tense than before. In the end, Gazef broke the silence.

"Truly amazing, I do not know how I can repay you, Lady Hannah. Please look for me when you come to the royal capital, and I will welcome you with open arms."

"Is that so... then I'll impose on you when the time comes," Tiamat nodded appreciatively.

"By the way Lady Hannah, here," He took off the sigil on his breastplate and gave it to her. "In the Kingdom, I am the King's personal guard, so it might be hard to meet up with me. Show this to my subordinates, and they will take you to me."

Tiamat gave a slight nod, "Wouldn't the King be troubled if you met up with some mysterious figure?"

He chuckled. "Rampossa may be of royalty, but he's the kindest and strongest person, noble or not, that I have ever met."

She smiled and joked, "Even stronger than yourself?"

Gazef rolled his eyes, but the large smile on his face betrayed his good humor.

"Lady Hannah, I don't know what plans you have but are you willing to let us escort you back? We will be staying in the village for a while to recover, and we can leave first thing in the morning."

Sebas spoke up on her behalf. "There is no need, Warrior-Captain. I will escort Lady Hannah back home myself."

"Still, it's already late and as a Lady, traveling now would be..." his eyes lit up in realization, and he cut himself off. "Forgive me for my impudence, Lady Annafelowz. Of course there is no need to worry when you have such a capable butler by your side. Then, please seek me out when you reach the capital. My doors will always be open to you."

She nodded, and decided that she had taken care of everything she needed to do in the village. There had been more things to do here than what she had expected, and as a result, she had spent much more time here than planned.

"Until we meet again then. Farewell Gazef Stronoff, Chief...uhhh, Chief."

'Crap. I didn't ask him for his name.'

She awkwardly turned around, and Sebas followed.

"Let's go home, Sebas," she said in a voice low enough that only Sebas could hear. The baby dragons were following her each and every footstep with childish excitement, and when they decided that they were far enough from the village, she pulled out yet another 『Gate』scroll to return to Nazarick.

Tiamat stepped into the room where Momonga was spectating through the『Mirror of Remote Viewing』.

"I'm back Momo-chan!"

"Hm, good work Anna-san. Come now, there's a lot we need to discuss."

And so, they spent the rest of the day sharing information. The『Mirror of Remote Viewing』could give a surprisingly clear view of an area, but it couldn't pick up on sounds.

As a result, she had to relay all the information to Momonga in detail.

"Let me call Albedo here, and then we can discuss what you have found."

"Sure, that's fine by me," Tiamat shrugged.

"In that case, let's meet in my office then," he got up from his seat, "Please follow me, Anna-san."

Momonga led her to his private office on the Ninth Floor. There were two plushy sofas adjacent to one another and a lone desk at the end of the room.

She immediately seated herself on the sofa, and Momonga sat beside her.

"Should I make some refreshments, My Lady?" Sebas asked.

"Oooh, and sweets too please!"

"Then please wait for a moment. What about you, My Lord?"

"Ah, nothing for me Sebas."

Sebas nodded and left the living room.

Now it was just her and Momonga.

Momonga was abnormally tall, to the point where he was as tall as her standing when he was sitting. His umbral robe looked rather intimidating on him, and as an Overlord, he did look quite foreboding.

But she knew better. Despite his flashy exterior, what was inside was still Suzuki Satoru.

"So," Momonga began, "How was it traveling outside?"

"It was really fun! Passive magic works the same in this world like it did in YGGDRASIL, and even better, the view, Momo-chan! You're just going to love it!" her eyes sparkled as she excitedly described her impression of this New World.

"I know, I watched everything from the mirror. But there's one thing that has been bothering me," his red orbs pulsed as he looked straight at her.

Tiamat stared back. "What is it?"

"Do you like that man? The one who gave you the sigil?"

"A little bit. Why?"

"Hm... nothing," Momonga leaned forward and rested his chin on his bridged hands.

"Oookay, if you say so," she shrugged.

Right after Tiamat said that, they heard the doors open and saw Albedo and Sebas come in carrying a tray of tea and a cart filled with sweets.

"Sweets! Thank you Albedo, Sebas!"

Sebas placed a cup of tea and a plate of cake on the table in front of her.

"Then," Momonga said, "Shall we begin?"

"Of course," Tiamat pulled out the map the Village Chief had given her out of her Inventory while sipping her tea with her free hand. She laid the map down on the table and pointed at the general location of the village.

"I think that we're located somewhere over here," she placed her index finger on the empty spot between Carne Village and the Baharuth Empire.

Then she took out the copper, silver, and gold coins given to her by the Chief of the village. "Carne Village is still within the Kingdom's territory. So at the very least, we know that these coins are used within the Kingdom."

Then she explained the conversion rates to Momonga and Albedo, as well as how the value of the coins from YGGDRASIL compared to the Kingdom's currency.

"Now to the more important parts..."

Several hours were spent discussing the results of her field test on skills and spells from YGGDRASIL, as well as what happened in the village and the political situation between the Kingdom, Empire, and Theocracy.

After Tiamat finished, she suggested. "That's why I brought those gentlemen from the Theocracy here to Nazarick. They appeared to be some sort of elite unit and would definitely have understood the Slane Theocracy and the politics between the countries better than the villagers. They were also able to summon monsters from YGGDRASIL as well as casting 3rd-tier magic."

Hearing this, Momonga gave an order. "Albedo, tell Neuronist to interrogate them. Do not kill their leader. Also, send the equipment of the knights who attacked the village to Pandora's Actor. I want them to be examined for any enchantments and sent to the Treasury after he concludes his investigation.

"As you command, My Lord. I also sent out two Shadow Demons to keep an eye on the village. Forgive this one's impertinence, but what should we do about Gazef Stronoff?" Albedo swiftly replied.

"Leave the Warrior-Captain be for now. It is more important that we build a good relationship with that village. We might need their help in future, so avoid antagonizing them."

"Understood. I will take care of it."

Albedo was scarily efficient. After hearing about her little adventure today, she immediately planned out their next moves far ahead of time and quickly acted upon Momonga's order.

"Then, please excuse me," she stepped out from Momonga's office. Momonga waited for the door to close before turning around to look at Tiamat, "Well done."

"Of course!" she smiled happily in response. If her tail was out, it would have been wagging a bit.

"Sebas, please step outside of the room for a moment. I have something that I want to talk about with Tiamat."

"As you will, My Lord."

Once Sebas stepped out of the room, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Tiamat's body began shivering, as she gave the brooding Overlord a troubled look. She was worried that Momonga might be angry. Was it something she did? Perhaps she messed up one of his plans?

"Anna-san."

"Y-Yes?"

"You never answered my question from before," he said flatly.

"Your... question?" What did he say? She struggled to remember, "I don't believe I'm following you, Momo-chan. Which question was it?"

He took a deep breath. "To be honest, this whole thing has been stressing me out. I'm an undead now, which means I don't need to eat, sleep, or drink. My emotions are automatically suppressed, but my desires aren't. That is why I'm going to tell you once again."

"Okay? Sure, go for it."

"Remember back before the shutdown, I told you that I like you."

...Was that it?

Did he need reaffirmation that she was still here by his side? That she wouldn't abandon him? The thought that Momonga might like her romantically never even crossed her mind. Who would want a defective good like her anyways?

If that's what he needed then what kind of friend would she be if she didn't give it to him?

"Erm, I like you too?"

"Why does that sound like a question?"

"No," Tiamat cleared her throat, and looked him dead in the eye sockets, "Of course I like you, Suzuki. You, Tabula, Bukubukuchagama, Peroroncino, Ulbert, Yamaiko, and the Floor Guardians. Did you think I hate you or something?"

At her statement, his skeletal mouth dropped wide open as his eyes stared at her in disbelief. Then a green aura washed over him and he closed his mouth.

"What?"

"No, nothing. I'm glad that me, my friends and the Floor Guardians are so loved," he loudly sighed as he dragged his palm down his face.

"Of course! At this point, all of you are my whole world now. Wouldn't it be the same case for you? By the way, cake?" she offered through a big mouthful of the confectionary. Suzuki had loved the sweets from her bakery; was there a reason why he wasn't eating any right now?

"I suppose, and no. I'm an undead now. I don't have a tongue," he held a hand up in polite refusal.

"Have you tried?" she brought a huge piece of the cake up to his mouth.

"No."

"Then, open wide!" she lifted the fork into his mouth. If he didn't want to eat the cake, she was just going to force feed him.

Besides, could you blame her for being curious? Would the cake dissolve into his skeletal body, or would it plop down on the sofa, uneaten?

Reluctantly, Momonga took a bite of the cake from the fork she'd given him. It was weird to say the least, and as he chewed the cake bits and pieces of the cake fell out from his mouth, but the rest of it was eaten.

Well, dissolved rather.

"How was it?"

"It's... different. I can tell that it's supposed to be sweet but the flavor is somewhat dulled. Truthfully, I've missed eating," he looked down at his skeletal hands.

"This must suck," and she meant it. With the amount and variety of food they had in Nazarick, Suzuki would have been the first to jump on the wagon of trying every dish available.

The food they had back on Earth were essentially just supplements. They gave you the nutrition you needed, but apart from that, they had no flavor and had the consistency of water. Heck, it might as well have been water. If you wanted to chew something the best most could manage was a tasteless granola bar.

Real food was not for commoners. If you wanted to eat real food, you had to at least have connections with high-level government officials or be filthy rich.

Tiamat frowned at the thought.

This was like a second chance at life and to not be able to eat in both lives made her a little bit upset.

"Should I go hunting for a spell that can make you grow a tongue or something? Maybe there's a 『Polymorph』spell or something?"

"No, the sentiment was all I needed. Thank you for understanding," he pulled out a white handkerchief and picked up the crumbs from the sofa.

She nodded, and once Momonga had picked up all of the crumbs, he continued speaking, "By the way, you mentioned E-Rantel, the adventurer town. I am planning on going."

"Using Perfect Warrior right? I was actually thinking of the same thing. It would be nice to gather more information on what the world's like. Since adventurers traveled through the unknown, I figured that they should know more," she rambled.

"You're going with me then," he decided as the handkerchief burst into flames in his hand, burning away the crumbs but leaving the cloth completely fine.

Tiamat looked at the small feat of magic curiously, "I could? I thought you would be more careful and try to avoid drawing attention to us."

"That's too extreme don't you think? In the end, you are still you, and I am still me. We are not the type to watch and wait. It would be better if you could just come with me so we could watch over each other. Plus, we know each other's strengths and weaknesses which will certainly be advantageous in battles."

"Okay then! I can't wait!" she shot up out of her seat in excitement.

"Oh, and one more thing," Ainz stopped her.

"What?"

"I have decided to change my name from Momonga to Ainz Ooal Gown."

ψ(`∇´)ψ

Did you like my vision of the Seraph Empyrean? I based it off of the final boss of Drakengard 3 and its song; Black Song White Scale. Watch it, its epic.

A/N: Author is ranting. This part is skip-able

For those of you new readers. Welcome! Thank you for both the flames and encouragement. Much appreciated. I sucks but I write this because I like it and I want to, so I'm happy that you enjoyed reading it as well.

For those of you who recommended me to fix the grammar and sentencing. Thank you very much for pointing that out. I'll make sure to read each and every point you've written thoroughly. I'll notify you when I've made changes as well.

I have to warn you, I'm not a professional fanfic writer, is that a thing? Like most readers expect each and every story to be written professionally, with great plot, character and thingymagics. Yea, I'll try to improve.

Oh and I know that it's impossible to satisfy each and every reader there is, so I'm just gonna write what I like. What matters for me is that I have fun writing this fic, and if you have fun reading, that's great too!

For those of you who are flamers, here's what I have to say.

Thank you for sending me those beautiful reviews, Chapter 3 which is personally my favorite chapter became the chapter I hated almost instantly because of your reviews. But, no matter. Reviews are reviews, if there are ways for me to improve myself, even through tough love, I'll take it.

But don't you DARE accuse me of plagiarism!

This fic has been compared to that particular fic. SO. MANY. TIMES. I've even reached the author of the fic to notify him/her that this fic is different, and it it.

We. Are. Writing. A. Fanfic. Based. On. The. Same. Story.

Of course there's a level that should be maintained between each character so that they don't get OOC. This fic is my view on how I see the characters in this fic. It may be right, it may be wrong, and I guess your fav author approach towards this issue is through the same perspective as I do, coz I don't see the similarities between the fics. Really. Objectively speaking here.

Moreover, does the author of that fic own the concept of OCs falling down into the New World? Does he/she hold a claim that no one can use this specific concept? No. Darkpetal16 is the first Author I read on this fanfic, that has reverse harems or falling into another world. If anyone has claims towards this kind of concept, its her.

You said they are similar how? Did I Ctrl C Ctrl V her writing? There's this one particular review that made me laugh for DAYS, he/she said I stole that fic and REWROTE it. Like dafaq, that's not plagiarism. Isn't plagiarism when you literally copy-pasted and then make minor changes to fit your story?

Most people think the same way as I do, but when I put it into writing they say it's plagiarism because apparently there is another author who thought that Demiurge and Sebas are hot. First, that author is the first to explain why Aura and Mare is cute. Like hellow?

I don't get it. Please make it clear, when where why how does is my fic the same as that story?

Moreover, if you have read it up to this chapter, you can see that it's totally going in a very, very different direction, as it should be. I was actually debating whether the OC would go to Baharuth Empire as an adventurer, because have you seen that Bishounen Jircniv Rule Farlord El Nix? Yea.

Plus, most of you flamers had judged my fic on FREAKING CHAPTER THREE that this fic is going to the same direction as Child of Jormungand. LIKE HOW? Three chapters is too early for you to know when where and how am I gonna take this fic. It's not like you're the three eyed raven who can see into the future.

But thanks anyway?

Thanks for introducing me to that awesome fic. Check out Child of Jormungand ladies and gentlemen, yes this is an ad, but I'm not paid for it. I personally liked the story and had first read it when there were reviews claiming that I plagiarized it. It's an awesome story, the smuts are juicy, I'm sure you'd like it, you guys should check it out and decide for yourselves whether I plagiarized or not.

So once again, this fic is completely different. Whatever you do, and whatever you accuse me of, it won't change the fact that this fic is an original work.

Toodles!