Chapter 17: Ripples in a Volatile Pond


As soon as they landed on the other side of the portal, Tiamat could see an enormous pile of YGGDRASIL coins on the grey ceramic floor and the dark purple carpet of the Throne Room with all the Floor Guardians waiting in front of it next to Ainz.

All but one.

Tiamat scowled at the thought.

Ainz regally made his way to his throne and Tiamat followed suit behind him.

"Ainz-sama, Lady Tiamat, welcome back!" Aura greeted cheerfully.

Seeing her so bright brought a small smile to the Dragoness's face.

As usual, she opened her arms wide, preparing herself for the double impact of hugs from the twins.

"I'm home."

The instant she said those two words, as she expected, the twins came crashing into her, the entire force of them running towards her and jumping into her arms bringing her down to the floor.

"W-We were so worried My Lady!" Mare stammered, and Tiamat noticed that this was the first time he actually ran into her embrace when it was usually the other way around.

The very thought warmed her heart.

She petted the twins' heads lovingly.

"Sorry that I made you guys worry about me…" she looked up at all of the Floor Guardians who were present. "All of you."

Demiurge pushed up his glasses and with a confident smirk, he greeted her back.

"As expected of Lady Tiamat, your strength knows no bounds."

Cocytus huffed in agreement, "Indeed."

"Welcome back Lady Tiamat, but first, let's get your wounds treated. Your current HP is…" Albedo struggled to find the right words, "Concerning."

The moment Tiamat had entered Nazarick, Albedo could see that her HP was a mere sliver, red and beeping in urgency.

Pandora's Actor was the closest Floor Guardian from her, and with his gloved hands, he offered to help Tiamat get up from the ground.

Tiamat almost stared at the Dopleganger for more than she should have.

Even though she knew about Ainz's 'dark past', this was actually her first time meeting with Ainz's creation.

He was dressed in a yellow Neo-Nazi-esque style, obviously inspired by the German elite guards during the Euro-Arcology Wars twenty years ago. But what she noticed was that his egg-shaped head had no distinct facial features except three holes that made the shape of two eyes and a mouth.

"Meinde Dame, it is very nice to finally meet you! The very sight of your face is just like an oasis in a desert!"

At his use of German and over-exaggerated tone, Ainz groaned in humiliation as a green aura washed over him.

The other Floor Guardians looked at him as if he was spouting nonsense. To be honest, ever since Demiurge messaged him, he had been acting quirky all this time. Truly, nothing less than disrespectful behaviour towards the Supreme Beings.

They thought that the Dragoness would simply ignore the impudent egghead, but to their shock, the Dragoness answered him in the very same nonsense language.

"You speak German?"

"You too Meinde Dame? How unexpected!"

"Ainz inputted German into you? Momo-chan never told me anything about that..."

The two continued to enthusiastically converse in a language only they understood.

Not expecting this outcome, each and every one of the present Floor Guardians' eyes boggled in disbelief. That included Ainz who didn't even have eyes.

"My Lady, you…" Albedo stared at Tiamat in disbelief, "You understand him?"

"It was the first language that I learned," Tiamat replied tiredly, as the toll of the battle suddenly made itself known.

Hannah Annafelowz's father was German, so the language had been deeply ingrained in her brain. But with the loss of her parents, she never thought she would be able to communicate in German ever again.

And so the very thought of conversing in her home language filled her heart in ways she could never have imagined.

"It's been so long since I talked using this language…" she mentioned somberly to Pandora's Actor.

"Then, it will be my pleasure to converse with you anytime of the day, Meinde Dame." he swiftly replied, bowing as he did so.

Tiamat weakly smiled at Pandora's Actor, "I'll take you up on that offer."

Ainz cleared his throat.

"That is enough, Pandora's Actor, please give Tiamat the potion you brought from the treasury."

Pandora's Actor flailed, as if he was just reminded of the fact and rummaged through his pockets to give his Lady a blood red vial that she took with a thankful smile before chugging it down.

When she downed the entire bottle, she felt like she had tapped a hidden spring in the earth and was extracting life-giving water from it. It let her restore her vitality; her body was the cup and the potion filled her.

Even though she knew that small vial of potion was not enough to revitalize her, she felt rejuvenated nevertheless.

Returning the empty vial to Pandora, she said softly, "Thank you," before walking back to Ainz's left side.

The twins guided her to where she was supposed to be standing, holding out their hand as Tiamat took Aura in her left and Mare in her right as they helped her climb the steps to the throne.

It was as if they feared she would fall down and faint.

Regardless, they were trying to help, and no matter how small their assistance, she would gratefully thank them.

Ainz reached out his hand and helped her to where he once she was near and then guided her to his left side.

Tiamat let out a small snicker.

"What is it?"

"No," she dismissed his question, "I can still walk you know."

"Your HP and MP are in critical condition, and you look like you're going to keel over any time now," Ainz explained matter-of-factly, the truth of his statements putting a wry smile on Tiamat's face.

She looked tired. Her eyelids looked as if they were about to close any minute now, and he assumed that her stamina must have been gone after such a long fight. She looked pale, incredibly pale, and the whiteness of her skin only served to contrast with the caked blood that was on it.

Her clothes were tattered and covered with holes. But, Ainz noticed something much more apparent.

The gap on her throat that was slowly closing up.

He winced while looking at the wound, remembering the scene from the monitor earlier.

"You can go back to your room to rest if you want to."

The Goddess shook her head. "I want to see whether the resurrection works."

Ainz grunted in displeasure at the thought, "If the resurrection is not possible, then what are we supposed to do?"

"There's always 『Soul of Yggdrasil』," she suggested.

Ainz looked at her in shock.

Using『Soul of Yggdrasil』 meant that Tiamat would bind her HP to Shalltear's, and as a result, any damage Shalltear might receive would be redirected to Tiamat. The skill was capable of resurrecting even people permanently killed by World Items, but with a stiff penalty of forcing the two players to share the HP bar of the resurrector, therefore making it impossible for both to ever leave Nazarick at the same time if they wished to avoid putting themselves in significant risk.

"Does that mean you'll allow yourself to be bound to Nazarick?" Ainz asked her to make sure she was certain in her decision.

With the way skills and spells in the New World were functioning, there is a huge possibility that the spell would be applicable the same way as it was in YGGDRASIL, but Ainz had to be sure.

"If it comes to that, then I don't mind."

"Ever though you will have to split your HP pool with Shalltear forever?" Ainz stressed.

Tiamat looked at Ainz and gave him a warm smile. "Then it will be a blissful forever."

Because she knew this way Shalltear would be much more protected against those who wanted to mind control her, and with the『Soul of Yggdrasil』in place, Shalltear would be buffed against World Class Items as well.

"I see," was his only reply.

In his heart, he apologized to Tiamat for letting this happen. He had personally witnessed what she did and it filled him with guilt.

She was ready to give everything to him, to Nazarick, even at the cost of her own life.

But it was him who wasn't ready to let her go.

Noticing his silence, Tiamat decided to speak up. "Shall we?"

"Then Albedo, pay close attention to Shalltear's name. If she remains mind-controlled as before…"

However, before Albedo could carry along his wishes, Demiurge stepped in.

"Ainz-sama, Lady Tiamat. Though I might be overstepping my boundaries, I propose that you two will allow us to deal with Shalltear ourselves."

All the Floor Guardians present agreed with Demiurge's words, nodding as he said so.

He could see it, their resolve.

Even Tiamat was shocked at the sentence.

"Demiurge…" the Goddess raised her voice, however, Demiurge continued.

"We are fully aware that your orders are to be respected above all else. We will grind ourselves to dust in order to obey them. However, as your loyal servants, we cannot allow the Supreme Beings to be placed into danger once again."

Demiurge's gaze shifted to Tiamat.

She flinched at the slight jab. "S-Sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize, My Lady," Albedo answered. "This is our job as the Guardians of Nazarick. If Shalltear betrays us once more then we will eliminate her and we pray that the both of you watch us do so."

Both Ainz and Tiamat understood the Guardians' intentions, but still Tiamat's offer furthered their resistances. As she was about to object, Ainz interrupted her.

"I understand. If Shalltear betrays us once more, you may deal with her as you see fit."

The Guardians nodded in acknowledgement.

"No, wait! I object!" Tiamat pointed her hand at Ainz. "The reason why I went in the first place was because I don't want to see the Guardians fight each other. If you agree to this then it defeats that purpose."

Ainz just looked at her calmly, calculatively, as if he knew that was what she was going to say.

"Have some faith. They are the Guardians of Ainz Ooal Gown, not mere children to coddle," Ainz said with a sense of finality, which brought confident smiles to the Guardians face. "Of course, that is only if there is another chance of this happening ever again. Which I personally will make sure it won't."

Tiamat looked at the sight before her.

The Floor Guardians smiled at her together with Ainz, as if to reassure her that she could trust them.

'Truly, what a pathetic Supreme Being I am…'

To think that she couldn't put her trust in them filled her with shame. After all, the root of all this foolishness was completely her fault.

If she had come up with a better plan, then all this worry, pain, and sadness wouldn't have happened.

Ainz held back a sigh when he saw the bitter expression on Tiamat's face as she stood to his side.

"All you have to do is stand by my side," Ainz raised his skeletal hand and brushed a stray bang away from her face. "Afterall, it would be very lonely existence to not have you around."

At his words, Tiamat relished the touch of her dear friend for as long as she could before he drifted back to sit on his throne. She wondered how skeletal fingers could feel so warm.

"That's right, My Lady. All you need to do is stand aside and watch. If you were to disappear, then I will stop the hugs and kisses!" Aura threatened her.

"M-Me too!" Mare stammered, following his sister's lead.

At this statement, the Dragoness started hyperventilating.

No.

No.

Nope.

They wouldn't...right?

The look on their faces gleamed with satisfaction at the ridiculously simple threat their Goddess was susceptible to.

In the end, the whole thing didn't make sense. Of course if the Goddess were to disappear, that would mean that Aura and Mare would have no one to hug.

But the very thought of the lack of the simple acts of affection from the twins had stopped her from thinking properly.

"That's right," Demiurge joined in, "I would add that if anything like this were to happen again, a permanent ban to the kitchen would be perfect."

The Demon was smiling coldly at her, looking pristine and absolutely untouchable while the Goddess gaped at him in disbelief at his suggestion.

Ainz cleared his throat, a knowing glint in his eyes at Demiurge's perfect suggestion, and said, "Good idea, Demiurge."

Demiurge gave an uncharacteristic smile as he bowed at the compliment. "I live to serve."

"You guys are meanies…" The Dragoness's cheeks puffed at the unfairness of the situation.

"That's what you get for being such an idiot," Ainz poked her forehead with his bony fingers. "Now, shall we start?"

"Yes!" The spirited replies of the Guardians washed over Ainz and Tiamat, and Ainz grabbed the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that floated in the air beside him, turning towards the floating mountains of gold in the corner of the room.

The cost of resurrecting a level 100 Floor Guardian was five hundred million gold coins.

She saw the mountains of gold change shape, from heavy solids to a viscous liquid.

The molten gold formed a river which flowed under the huge chandelier. It compacted and shrank, slowly taking a sleeping humanoid shape as its golden glow gradually weakened.

Once the gentle shine vanished, waxy skin and pink hair emerged. There was no doubt to anyone in the room that it was the figure of Shalltear Bloodfallen.

"What's her status Albedo?" Ainz calmly asked the Overseer of Nazarick, tension simmering underneath his inscrutable persona.

"Please be at ease. It seems that the mind control has been terminated."

Tiamat unconsciously clutched her chest in response as a powerful sense of relief flooded into her, almost causing her to weep at the welcome news. Albedo, who was looking at the Supreme Beings smiled, relief evident on her features.

Ainz reached into his pocket dimension and retrieved a black cloak before throwing it over Shalltear's naked form.

But something was unusual—

Her eyes were tightly shut, and her chest was not moving. She laid quietly on the ground like a corpse.

When she was resurrected, Tiamat expected to see the exuberant, cheery, perverted Shalltear.

That was why she was the first one to approach Shalltear, feeling somewhat helpless as countless thoughts ran across her mind, limply walking down the steps.

'What if the resurrection didn't work?' was the one thought that rang clearly in her head, like a bell atop a silent hill.

Tears slowly pricked at her eyes as she kneeled down onto the gray marbled floor of the Throne Room. It was much more different than seeing her through the adrenaline-veiled eyes focusing in battle. She remembered that she had hurt Shalltear; she watched as her divine flames slowly burned her. She knew what she had done, but she had not—

She hadn't truly let it sink in.

She bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying out as guilt and regret filled her being. Beautiful Shalltear, who was so full of life, laid still and pale. Guilt briefly made her waver, but the emotion was soon burned away within her.

Guilt she could take, afterall, it was her who committed the act.

Pain, though?

She will let that pain burn for all eternity for those who did this to Shalltear.

The Dragon inside her laughed happily at the thought.

As Tiamat stroked the head of the still corpse, Shalltear's crimson eyes opened and sensing someone's presence nearby, she looked around in a sleepy manner before finally resting her gaze on the red Goddess.

"Lady Tiamat?"

She sounded groggy, as if she had just woken up from a deep slumber, but Tiamat could hear it, the familiar voice of Shalltear, the loyalty in her voice. Even if Albedo and Ainz had confirmed her allegiance, she was delighted to confirm it with her own ears, and she hugged Shalltear with all her might.

"Uh, ueeh?!"

"Welcome back, Shalltear!"

"Eh? Ah, I'm not sure what happened, but did I go somewhere My Lady?"

"Yes you did. Far, far away..." the Goddess whispered, her eyes glued to Shalltear's confused face.

But Shalltear disregarded what the Goddess had said and eagerly returned the hug. Tiamat could feel two ice-cold hands returning the embrace. If she had paid close attention, she would immediately have nudged away the hand that was trying to grope her.

"Ah~ I dreamed about having you this close My Lady."

Almost immediately Tiamat was pulled away by Aura and Mare.

"Don't you know what you did? How could you say something like that?!"Aura immediately chastised Shalltear on everyone's behalf and Shalltear's shoulders trembled in fright.

While Mare was taking her back to the left side of the Throne, Tiamat looked back at Shalltear with a confused face.

Albedo immediately followed Aura, "Do you even know the situation you were in until now?!"

Demiurge walked towards Shalltear with his brows furrowed, "Oh, so you don't remember? Your actions were the worst blunders a Floor Guardian could ever make!"

Shalltear was shocked looking at Demiurge's enraged face, afterall, it was very rare for the Demon to raise his voice. Moreover, who was that egghead standing besides the Pleiades?!

Totally confused with what was going on, she could only reply incoherently.

"Wh-What?"

Aura sighed, pointing her finger at Shalltear, "Listen here you dumdum! You did something unforgivable to Lady Tiamat you idiot!"

"Huh?!"

"Do you even understand the meaning of your existence as a Floor Guardian?" Demiurge quickly followed up.

Even Cocytus joined in, "Lady. Tiamat. Went. Through. So. Much. Hardship."

"I-I agree!" Mare said out of nowhere.

"This is why you don't drown in your own desires!"

Ainz and Tiamat just watched as Shalltear began tearing up from Aura's one-sided torrent of abuse.

Somehow, Ainz saw Bukubukuchagama scolding Peroroncino, and the rest of his guildmates smiling at the endearing sight.

He slowly reached a hand out to them and stopped mid-air, looking down as a sense of loneliness filled his heart.

His undead nature couldn't suppress the feeling of emptiness.

He knew that the Guardians and him could never step on the same plane as him and his guildmates. Theirs was a form of awe, not the warmth he had felt with his friends.

Just as he was about to drop his hand in resigned despair, a warm hand reached out and grasped his own.

"What's wrong?" Tiamat worriedly asked.

'Ah, that's right,' he realized.

Tiamat looked at the hand Ainz had raised and naively wrapped his hand around hers. All without a single moment of hesitation.

It was then he realized; he was never truly alone. She was always there beside him, through thick and thin. How could he be so blind?

Even though he knew that his emotional suppressor would activate soon enough, he couldn't deny that when she took his hand, he felt happy. It was something that a million words couldn't describe, a bond of unspoken closeness and reassurance.

There were countless untold emotions that flowed through him from that simple touch.

It was a connection that one had to feel for themselves in order to understand it.

He was always the one reaching out and every time, she was the only one who took his hand, while lowering her eyes softly and smiling at him warmly.

How could he even say that he was lonely with her around?

"—Ha, hahaha!"

Ainz could not keep the laughter from escaping his mouth despite the baffled looks from the Guardians around him. No, he knew that laughter did not just come from his mouth, but from his heart.

After he was satisfied, Ainz silently turned back to Tiamat, remembering what she had said earlier.

'A blissful forever, huh?'

Perhaps with her it might be possible.

(^O^)

They were probably discussing some national secret behind the doors of the meeting room where he just left.

But that was none of his business.

With that being said, he had more work to do. He sighed, brushing back his hair.

He was merely giving reports before, but now as the First Seat of the Black Scripture—as its leader—he had to fulfill his responsibilities. Which included resurrecting his dead comrades, picking temporary replacements for their positions, as well as their training, conducting experiments, and so on.

After all, the Six Scriptures were a secret organization, even from the Slane Theocracy itself.

Moreover, because of the damned Red Demon's attack he had just reported, his demands had piled up even further, leaving him with hardly any free time.

"Still, I was hoping I could relax for today."

After being liberated from the meeting with the Cardinals, a gathering of the highest officials in the Slane Theocracy, he worked his shoulders tiredly before his attention was drawn by a familiar clack-clack-clack sound.

He knew where came from. There were very few in the Theocracy that were permitted to enter this place, and when he thought about the people who were not present within the meeting room, the answer immediately came to mind.

And as he expected, a girl was leaning against a wall.

She had a unique hairstyle, with the left side being a different color from the right. One was a scintillating silver, while the other was an all consuming black. The color of her eyes were similarly mismatched.

Beside her was her trustworthy scythe that rested against the wall.

Her appearance looked youthful, but her age did not correspond to her looks at all. Ever since he had become the leader of the Black Scripture, the girl's look had not changed a bit.

He turned his eyes to the long ears; even with her long hair, she was unable to hide her half-elf status. He quickly chided himself after he remembered just how much the girl hated people looking at her ears.

The sound he heard came from the toy in her hands. In the Slane Theocracy, it was called a "Rubik's Cube," and it had apparently been handed down from the Six Great Gods.

"Getting one side is simple enough, but getting two is hard," her voice blended together with the clack of the cube's motion.

It was not difficult for him, but he had no idea if he should tell her that. In the end, he chose to smile bitterly by way of response. The girl didn't even look away from her game and nonchalantly continued.

"I've heard of what happened. The Cardinals showed up for such simple matters?"

"It wasn't just that incident," he was referring to the incident where a building in the Theocracy was burned to the ground in everlasting flames. In the end, magic casters was sent to eradicate the flames before it could grow even further. "You were given a copy of the report, right?"

"Didn't read it," she replied without any hesitation. "Asking someone who knows is faster. Did something happen?"

Wanting to sigh for the umpteenth time in the day, he started his report from the beginning again.

"We engaged a mysterious undead creature that resembled a Vampire. There were two dead, and one severely wounded, so we fell back."

"Who died?" finally, she looked away the toy in her hand. But there was no trace of sorrow in her voice. It was as if she was asking what was for dessert.

Still he didn't mind. That was just how she was.

"Cedran, who was protecting Kaire-sama, and Beaumarchais, who tried to capture the unmoving Vampire."

"Great Wall and Divine Chains, huh. That reminds me, the Miko Princess of Earth died in a strange explosion recently, as well as the recent attack in the Theocracy. It seems that the country has lots of enemies," she grinned. "Who was wounded?"

"Kaire-sama. There seemed to be some sort of curse in effect preventing curative spells from healing her, so we fell back."

"And the Vampire?"

"We left it there. The Vampire entered an attack stance every time we tried to capture it or come close. We decided it that it would be wiser to leave it alone."

"But it was defeated, doesn't it?

"...Yes."

That was why he was in the meeting room earlier.

At first, the higher ups decided it was better to just leave the Vampire alone and then gather their forces to charge the Vampire while taking severe casualties. However, they did not take into account that the Adventurer Guild had stumbled upon said monster, and were even able to send people who were capable of defeating it.

When the Cardinals heard the news, they had decided to leave behind only the essential intelligence personnel and have everyone else retreat.

Before, he agreed with their judgement.

Afterall, the only people who could defeat the Vampire were probably God-kin or Dragon Lords was their reasoning at the time. That was why they could easily leave the Vampire alone, placing sentries in place, and if they found anyone who could defeat the Vampire, they would be on their guard against them.

But the Vampire was defeated.

The curve of her lips widened, a clear smile. She raised her head to look straight at him, and her mismatched eyes sparkled with chaotic glee.

"Did you found out who defeated the Vampire?"

"Yes. Since our sentries were all incinerated, we found out from rumors that two new Adamantine Adventurers had defeated the Vampire. The Dark Warrior, Momon, and the Silver Priestess, Hannah."

At those words, the girl smiled with curiosity, delight, and battle lust.

"Who do you think is stronger between the two of them?"

"I've heard of Momon's might and the Silver Priestess who had single handedly defeated the Pandemonium. But one cannot simply assess their strength through rumors alone."

"Then who is stronger? Them or me?"

He had expected that question.

"You, of course."

"Really?"

The girl's voice was filled with much interest, but her body language said otherwise. She looked back at her toy, having lost all interest in the topic.

He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

"What a shame. I was thinking I might be able to taste defeat."

'That's impossible,' the words were better left unsaid. Afterall, it was impossible to defeat Certain Death, the mightiest, never-defeated Extra Seat of the Slane Theocracy.

"So," she continued. "What about that attack?"

"Ah yes, the Crimson Massacre had taken less than fifty lives. It wasn't much, however, it did take the country by surprise. But in the end, Thousand Leagues Astrologer got a quick glimpse of the one who did it before her scrying went haywire."

"Interesting. So who was it who dared to attack the Slane Theocracy?"

"An entity known as the Red Demon. We believe that he was the one who conducted Crimson Massacre because the Vampire might have been his subordinate," he explained. "The death of his vassal might have caused him to take revenge."

A moment passed before he realized he had said the wrong thing.

Her pupils widened and her smile was even more sinister than it was before, clearly anticipating the answer to her question.

"A male monster?"

"Thousand Leagues Astrologer couldn't confirm that information," he swiftly replied.

Regardless of what his answer was, he knew that it was useless. She had already made up her mind, and so she placed her hand on her lower belly with a smile.

"Ah, finally! I don't care if he looks ugly or has a bad personality, but if this monster is able to defeat me, I will gladly bear our child!"

He paid no heed to what she said, and instead continue on to his office. With a headache starting to grow, he was thinking on how to juggle his job between collecting information on the Red Demon, and starting to recruit people to subjugate it.

(^O^)

There was a slight change in the movement of the air before its nose, waking the Dragon whose alias was the Platinum Dragon Lord—Tsaindorcus Vaision—from his light slumber.

What filled its waking consciousness was the emotion of surprise. It would not have been a stretch to call it shock even.

In front of him, was an old human woman, standing proudly. She had evaded his keen senses and came all the way right underneath his nose, a mischievous smile spread over her age wrinkled face.

"It's been a while."

The Dragon did not answer.

Her white hair showed how long she had lived as a mortal, but her face overflowed with a childish vibrance that did not match her years.

He compared how she was now to how she had been in his memories.

"What's this? Can't even spare a greeting for an old friend? Oh my, to think that even Dragons could go senile," the woman teased relentlessly.

He snorted. To think that a Dragon would even tolerate this sort of attitude.

Truly, he was getting soft.

"Forgive me. Seeing an old friend moved me so much that I shuddered, so I was unable to speak for a moment."

It was hard to believe that such a gentle voice could come from such a massive frame. In contrast, the old lady's reply was exactly as he had expected, full of sarcasm.

"Old friend? My old friend is that empty suit of armor over there."

In the past, he had travelled with the old lady and her group by controlling an empty suit of armor as a substitute for himself. Therefore, when his true identity had come out, his companions had been furious about being tricked. The resentment from back then still hadn't died out and the old woman in front of him was still making digs at him now.

Although he hoped that she would give him a break, he didn't quite mind her wisecracking. He felt that being able to banter with an old friend like this was a joyous thing.

"I apologized 200 years ago, and as you might see, I can no longer travel with you in that body, you know."

The old lady looked up and gave him her familiar mischievous smile.

"So, you're still an adventurer now, aren't you?" he asked.

The old woman shook her head to the side and give him a shrug on the shoulder.

"I've retired. I let that girl Inberun take over for me," she smirked as if she was remembering something funny. "That crybaby. She went on and on and wouldn't stop, so I said if I can beat you then you have to listen to me, and then I smacked the crap out of her!"

The old woman laughed sinisterly from the bottom of her heart.

"You are the only human who could beat that girl."

"Well. I had friends helping me out. Not to mention, while that girl may be strong, there are those who are stronger. Like you, for example," a familiar glint shone in her eyes. "If you didn't limit yourself, you would be the most powerful being in this world."

The Dragon shifted his gaze to the suit of Platinum armor. The old woman expected that he would answer her in a casual manner, like he used to, but instead, his voice was grave.

"I don't know about that."

His guest turned back to where his armor was sitting, following his line of sight and was surprised by what she had witnessed.

There was a visible tear in his armor, like it had been pierced by something.

"That enemy wasn't on the side of this world like Leader was?"

"It might be just an unfortunate encounter, but I felt that the Vampire was of an evil nature. Moreover..."

She carried the scent of a Dragon he did not recognize, was the sentence that he left unsaid.

"Vampire? Do you mean that Vampire who was found by a group of adventurers?" she asked.

"A group of adventurers found this Vampire?" he was shocked at the news. There was no way those adventurers would have survived.

"I heard the Vampire was defeated." she said in a much more serious tone, her voice no longer carried its previous lightness.

"Impossible."

"Yes. It was defeated by two adventurers."

"How?" he raised his body to a sitting position, shocked by the revelation.

How could mere mortals defeat such a strong monster?

"I don't know how, but the battlefield was scorched. It was so hot that even lava spouted from the ground, creating a volcanic mountain in its place," she told him, remembering what her subordinate had mentioned to her previously. "I also heard that one of those two adventurers had a Dragon companion."

The Dragon kept quiet, absorbing the information he had received. Perhaps the smell on the Vampire was because of the adventurer?

No.

He had went before the adventurers arrived, so it must have been a different Dragon.

"But that's not why I came here today," she said. "Mere gossip about who defeated what and how wouldn't help us anyways since none of those adventurers watched the battle. It was only the two of them. I came here because the power that polluted the world might have started moving once more."

The old lady looked into the distance with a pained expression on her face.

Recognizing that look, he asked, "What is it?"

"The Slane Theocracy was attacked this evening, the damage that this monster did…" she paused, gathering her words. "With one attack, this monster killed almost fifty people."

His breath hitched in his throat.

"Within the Theocracy? That's impossible."

The Slane Theocracy was heavily guarded, especially with the existence of the Black Scripture. No one would dare to attack the country blindly for fear of retribution.

"The country called the attack the Crimson Massacre because of the deep flame that burned the victims to ashes to the extent that it could only be stopped by mages. This is classified information, but they know who did it."

The Dragon stopped and listened intently for the words that would shake the World to its core.

"A monster known as the Red Demon."

(^O^)

Gazef was always tired after these meetings, filled with power plays and flattery, but he did not let his fatigue show on his face as he accompanied the King back to the Palace.

As they slowly walked down the corridor and neared his chambers, the King suddenly spoke to him.

"I apologize for not being able to protect you because of my lack of consideration. I could not even outfit you properly before giving you that dangerous command. Please forgive me for the lives of your men that were lost because of that…because of me."

"My King…"

"Gazef. Please," his voice was tired, so tired. "While I cannot make up for their deaths, I would like to give compensation to the families of the deceased. I also want to convey my gratitude to Hannah-dono, and thank her for saving my closest confidant."

He was troubled that the King would thank a nameless person, even if she did have personally aided him.

However, the fact remained that he promised in his heart that he would help her hide her identity.

"I believe that your sincere thoughts alone will be satisfaction enough," he tried to reassure his King.

He had heard of the tales detailing her exploits. First were the 'Tears' of the Sea' that she created, which had saved the lives of countless sailors on their travels. They had even become a famous dish within the castle.

The second time he had heard of her was when people talked of a single Priestess slaughtering a whole horde of monsters and single-handedly saving E-Rantel.

When the outrageous rumors had first made their way to his ears, his head cocked to the side because her description and the person he had seen in person did not match, the only thing that was the same were the same warm amethyst eyes.

He understood that she had her own reasons to hide her identity, which was why he respected her desire for privacy. Afterall, she had saved him. This was the least he could do.

The third time he had heard of her was of her generosity and kindness, healing each and every Adventurer after the horrible Pandemonium without receiving a single copper coin. Her kindness had earned her the moniker of 'The Saint of E-Rantel'.

He heard that the temples were enraged that she had basically ruined their business opportunities, but there was nothing they could do to the up and rising Adamantine Adventurer.

The last time he had heard of her was of her defeating a Vampire together with a Mythril ranked Adventurer, Dark Warrior Momon.

Messengers who ran letters and errands between countries usually made a detour to look at the battlefield and many weaved exaggerated tales about the scorching land of fire.

It seemed that she had created a name for herself, all while keeping herself humble and kind.

He smiled at the thought.

Out of habit, he rubbed his finger against his thumb, wanting to feel his sigil that he received from the King, but at the absence of it, he remembered that he had given it to her.

As they walked, two people came into view before the King's eyes. The one who caught his attention was the beautiful girl who walked in front. It was said that her loveliness was such that it could not be accurately reproduced in paintings; she was truly an indescribable beauty.

Sadly, he thought otherwise.

Afterall, he had met an unearthly beauty beyond compare.

Gazef smiled to greet the Princess in front of him as he saw the King visibly smiling. He knew the King had always favored his little Princess over his other children.

Renner Theire Chradelon Ryle Vaiself, the Golden Princess.

Inheriting her mother's blinding beauty, and having reached the age of sixteen, she was at the age of marriage; a fact that caused the nobles to be restless.

The nobles were fighting to hold the Princess's hand in marriage because they knew that whoever was married to the Princess would be greatly elevated in status in riches.

Behind her was a young man in his teenage years, clad in a suit of pure white armor. His appearance could be summarized in a single word—intense.

Climb, the Princess's Personal Guard.

"Father, Warrior-Captain-sama," she bowed perfectly as she greeted the two of them.

The King smiled to Renner as she quickly walked over and nodded to Climb as he bowed deeply.

"Is the meeting finally over?"

"Yes, there wasn't much to discuss after all."

"Is that so? I was thinking about asking you something, so I decided to wait here so that I could tell you about it."

"Really now, I apologize then."

She turned to the King and began speaking about trivial matters. But one thing in their conversation caught Gazef's attention.

"Lakyus told me about inviting a new adamantine adventurer to Blue Rose. I am so excited to meet her," the Princess held her hands together. "I heard rumors about her beauty and her strength, but…"

Her blue eyes looked down and the corners of her mouth were starting to form a frown. It was clear that the Princess was sad.

"What is it?" the King distressingly asked his daughter.

As if she was troubled, she looked back at the King in worry.

"Um… the thing is, even though Lakyus-san had sent her an invitation to visit the Rose Garden for tea, she didn't receive any reply. I could understand, afterall, she must be busy, but still...I was looking forward to meet her," she told her father of her worries.

The King brought his hand to pat her head lovingly.

"Should I sent an invitation inviting her to the Royal Palace instead?"

At his suggestion, the Princess fumbled, clearly not expecting the King to fulfill her wishes immediately.

"No father, that's alright," she tried to reassure him. "Since Blue Rose was famous amongst Adventurers, she will accept the invitation someday, or I could send another invitation later. Oh! By the way Father, now is the time for me to go walking about with Climb. I'm really sorry to have interrupted your resting time."

"No, that's alright. Please go ahead. When you return please come to my chambers and continue your story."

"I understand. Then, let us go Climb."

Renner's dainty fingers tugged on Climb's clothing as an unconscious gesture, but when Climb discovered the Princess was doing so, his face hardened even further.

"Your humble servant shall take his leave, Your Majesty," he bowed, before following in the Princess's footsteps.

When they have left, the King smiled. "I probably should be pitying him, given that I'm the King, don't you think?"

"Your servant understands," and Gazef truly did.

The King was referring to the boy's past and his hardships after coming to the Palace.

"I know that it's foolish, but at the very least, I'd like to let my treasured daughter be happy. That is why Gazef," the King turned around to look at Gazef.

"Yes."

"The person Renner was referring to was your saviour right? Please send an invitation and a carriage to E-Rantel. I will be sending the invitation letter personally."

Gazef nodded at the King's sudden request, and when the King turned back to walk to his chamber, he couldn't help but to let out a small smile at the thought of meeting her again.

"It will be as you will."


Non-Canon Omake


"And so, with the exception of the 4th and 8th Floor Guardians, all the Floor Guardians and the members of the Pleiades have all gathered with haste to heed your call."

The Floor Guardians divided themselves left and right with the Pleiades in the middle, keeping their heads down while the Overseer of Nazarick gave them an introduction in front of the Supreme Being.

Sitting regally on the throne was a skeletal Overlord whose deathly aura could be felt across the Throne Room.

But no one was standing next to him.

"My apologies for gathering you all on such a busy day."

"What are you saying, Ainz-sama?" Aura said vigorously. "Just give the word and we'll drop everything to serve you!"

"That-That's right! Of course!" Mare replied with the same enthusiasm.

Cocytus huffed a cold breath that could be felt by the small Vampire beside him. "It. Is. Our. Greatest. Joy. As. Your. Guardians."

"For we have pledged ourselves to you, My Lord," Shalltear continued with a bow. "Nothing would delight us more!"

"Your loyalty pleases me, everyone," Ainz replied.

"You are most gracious," Demiurge received the compliment from his master on behalf of all the Floor Guardians. "Incidentally, Ainz-sama, may I inquire as to the location of Lady Tiamat?"

Demiurge was standing on his left side, and he didn't see their Lady anywhere, which was something out of the norm.

"Ah...Uhm...Yes," The Overlord shifted his gaze to look at Demiurge. "About that…"

He moved his cloak to reveal a small shadow placed between his skeletal legs.

The rest of the people in the room watched in shock.

"Oh my…" a gasp could be heard from the Succubus on his right.

A small hand grasped the bottom of Ainz's cloak.

"Is-is that…"

"There's no way…"

A small girl no older than three was sitting between Ainz's feet, clutching his cloak with her small hands.

"LADY TIAMAT?!"

The goggling group who gathered in the Throne room gawked at the child as big round amethyst eyes looked back at them.

She looked at them, and then she looked back to Ainz.

"Papa!" she chirped innocently.

The child they suspected to be Lady Tiamat was sheepishly pulled away by Ainz as he put her on his lap.

"Yes, as you have suspected, this is Tiamat," Ainz sighed.

Demiurge and his sharp eyes caught a strange object in Ainz's hands. "Perchance, is it because of the item you hold in your hand?"

A strangely shaped cone colored in red and yellow lines circling around it was held in Ainz's left arm, as his right was trying to keep Tiamat, who was attempting to climb his shoulders, in place.

Out of all the Pleiades, Yuri was the palest because of the extreme change in her Lady and how dangerously was Ainz holding her, fearing that she would fall down the Throne.

"M-My Lady…"

But this went unnoticed by Ainz.

"Precisely. Incidentally Demiurge, do you know what this is?" he reached out his hand to give Demiurge the weird item and Demiurge took it, inspecting it.

"Regretfully, I am unable to give you the answer you need due to my lack of wisdom."

Yuri who was breathing hard at this point was finally noticed by Sebas, who stood on her right.

"Yuri, is something the matter?"

"Ah…" she paled looking at the item as well.

She knew it...that item was dangerous.

"Do you perhaps knew something about that item?"

"That...is an item which could destroy the world."

The rest gasped in shock and awe. The fact that Yuri knew more than Demiurge about something was worth noting.

"Don't worry my faithful members of Nazarick. I have contacted Pandora's Actor about this and he is currently researching how to turn Tiamat back to her original form," he said with forced conviction, trying to reassure his subjects.

He put both his hands under the little Tiamat's arms and lifted her up in front of him.

Small gurgles of happiness could be heard as tiny Tiamat tried to touch the chandelier in the Throne Room, reaching up to the shiny crystals.

"Tonight, I, Ainz Ooal Gown," he began. "Will assign you to a babysitting schedule!"


Day One: Shalltear


She was brought to the big damp and dark room filled with leathers as the Vampire looked at the foreign creature nervously.

Lady Tiamat was sitting on her leather bed, and Shalltear sighed in exasperation.

She finally had Lady Tiamat on her bed, but this situation was clearly unexpected.

Smol Tia tried to reach out her hand to grab the pretty pink locks in front of her.

"Pretty!" she muttered happily.

Shalltear look at Tiamat who smiled and tried to get closer to her hair.

Even though Lady Tiamat was smaller and regressing in intelligence—the poor thing couldn't even say a complete sentence for crying out loud—Shalltear couldn't help but notice that she had the same warm smile.

She absentmindedly pulled the baby Tiamat away from where she stored her cough toys.

Ainz-sama would scold her if she let Lady Tiamat near adult content.

Shalltear let out another sigh. It really was a shame that the Goddess was only a small child now when she was finally on her bed. Even she didn't have that sort of fetish.

The Vampire hugged the little Tiamat against her. The baby cooed as Shalltear soaked up her warmth. Perhaps this wasn't so bad after all.

But Shalltear couldn't deny that she missed that well developed bosom of the Goddess.

"Please grow up fast, My Lady..."


Day Two: Cocytus


"U. N. C. L. E."

"Unggle."

"No. My. Lady. Let. Us. Try. Again. Uncle." every time his Lady failed, his mandibles clacked together in excitement over the cuteness of his Lady.

"Angcul?" she tilted her head in confusion.

After she had run around the whole floor and nearly falling down a few dozen times, Cocytus the worrywart, decided that he had to settle down to teach his Lady how to call upon him.

"Repeat. After. Me. Un."

"Ang."

"K."

"Kuh."

"Ul."

"—Al."

"Good." he nodded. "Now. Put. It. All. Together. Uncle."

Adopting a confused look, she prompted him into saying it a few more times before she broke into a sunny smile.

"Blue, blue! Pretty blue!" and clapped happily at her accomplishment.

"No," he yelped, "It's. Uncle. U. N. C. L. E."

His mandibles clacked as Tiamat furrowed her small brows.

"Blue?" she said, tilting her head to the side with innocent amethyst eyes.

"That. Is. Not. My. Name." he huffed cold breath at her, and she giggled excitedly at the sudden influx of chilly air.

Bringing her up and onto his knees, the insect leaned closer and stared.

"Please. Say. It. For. Me. My. Lady?" he pleaded.

When the small Lady just looked at him in confusion, he finally relented and gave up.

"Uncle!" she shrieked in the cheerful way that babies were known to do.

Immediately, the giant blue Floor Guardian leapt from where he sat and enveloped her in a hug, obviously pleased at her accomplishment.

If it could even be called that.


Day Three: Pandora's Actor


Tiamat teleported before the gates Treasury, taking off her guild ring before opening the monolithic doors, while carrying cheesecake and tea in her basket.

She remembered the one time she forgot to take off her guild ring.

Damn Luci Fer…

When he made the Treasury and asked her to check, he didn't tell her anything but to enter.

The golems attacked her without any warning. She remembered being scared senseless when it happened; it was a scene straight out of a horror movie.

His defense was, "Your build could handle these unequipped golems anyways, so why do you care lol."

She shook her head clear of unpleasant thoughts, and instead filled it with the smell of freshly baked cheesecake. Tiamat hoped that the resident Doppelganger would enjoy eating the baked good as much as she enjoyed making it.

When she walked out from the other side of『Gate』, she sniffed the venom filled air, 『Blood of Jormungar』she believed, and wondered whether her cheese cake would be affected by it.

Well, it wasn't like Pandora's Actor could leave the Treasury. He was assigned as the last line of defense after all.

This was the least she could do for him.

After getting used to the extremely acidic air, she stepped out, calling for the Floor Guardian.

"Pandora's Actor?"

He was sitting on one of the purple sofas, with his back facing her. He jumped in shock, dropping the six armed demonic-looking figurine he was cleaning, at the sound of her voice.

"Meine Dame?" Pandora's Actor exclaimed in shock when he looked at the Dragoness who was standing on his floor, all by herself.

She did say that she would come and visit him again after the unspeakable sofa incident, but he never realized that the day would come this soon.

"Hello!" She smiled at him warmly, "I hope you're not busy, but I brought cakes and tea," she said as she lifted up her basket.

"D-Danke Meine Dame, you don't have to do this…" he mentioned, feeling shame at wasting the precious time of a Supreme Being for such a trivial task.

"I wanted to, and besides, I feel like it wasn't fair for you to stay all cooped up here by yourself while the rest of the Floor Guardians already got a taste of what I cooked."

He was very surprised to see her on his floor visiting him, baking cakes especially for him.

He was touched that she cared.

Just how long had it been since someone had visited him anyway? Other than the cockroaches, he meant.

He asked her to sit on one of the sofas while he sat on the other one, and watched as she proceeded to cut the cake by herself, an act that surprised Pandora's Actor even more.

"Meine Dame! You don't have to do that," He blurted out loud.

Tiamat just looked at him and smiled, disregarding his statement and continued cutting him a slice of cake.

"Here."

She served him a plate of delicious looking cheesecake and moved to pour him a cup of tea.

Pandora's Actor raised his voice to speak out again, but the Supreme Being in front of him beat him up to it.

As the soft porcelain glass slightly glanced against the wooden table, she said to him, "I told you I want to, it's fine," she reassured him.

With some hesitation, he finally took the first bite.

It was weird for Tiamat to see Pandora's Actor eat, mainly because he had no facial expressions, and secondly, when the cake went into his mouth, it just disappeared, like it was swallowed by a black hole.

She waited until Pandora's Actor had finished savoring his first piece, already anticipating his reaction. True, everyone reacted with delight, but it was something she would never ever get tired of.

"It's delicious!" Pandora's Actor proclaimed joyfully.

She beamed at his praise.

Pandora's Actor diligently put every single piece into his mouth.

"I'm glad you like it."

Before she knew it, his spindly fingers reached for the rest of the tray, happily eating the rest of the cheesecake. She let out a small laugh when he questioned whether he could eat the whole thing when he was about half finished.

Seeing him eat with such gusto, Tiamat offered him, "I'll come by to visit once a week."

He immediately stopped eating.

"O-once a week?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, at first I was planning on visiting you everyday, but it seems that the poison was too brutal even for me," Tiamat looked at her status where her HP was slightly dropping by the minute.

"You don't have to Meine Dame. The very thought of it is enough."

It's true, he was happy at the mere thought that she was thinking about him.

"It's alright. With my high resist I wouldn't take too much damage, the only downside is that I can't stay too long in the Treasury. And besides, isn't it lonely to eat alone?"

Those words hit him straight through his heart.

It was true that he felt a little bit lonely sometimes. He understood that his God had placed him here because his role was the most important in all of Nazarick.

But there was no one for him to talk to.

Without him even realizing, he already mustered up a reply.

"W-would that really be alright?"

"Of course!" the Goddess beamed cheerfully at him.

She replied without a single ounce of hesitation, a warm smile gracing her features.

It was as if she truly wanted to spend her precious time with him, even at the cost of damaging her own HP.

He wanted to cry.

As a gesture of thanks, he proceeded to show her the wonderful collection of Nazarick before she left.

He just wanted to spend more time with her.

That was until he reached the unidentified treasure and let Lady Tiamat touch it.


His mind flashed back to the present just as he saw the baby Tiamat waddle over to a mountain of gold in an attempt to swim in it.

He almost screamed when she choked on one of the gold coins.

He knew this was his punishment for being careless.

Immediately, he picked her up and gave her a few pats on her back, forcing the coin out from her throat.

She moved away and shot forward towards one of the diamond shields and licked it, slobbering all over the shiny trinket.

He shrieked as his poker expression showed his blatant disgust. "No, Meine Dame! Keep your spit away from the treasures!"

At his warning, she pouted.

As he was wiping down the treasures to restore their former beauty, from the corner of his eye he could see that his Lady's hand was slowly inching towards one of the shiniest gold coins near her.

"Meine Dame!" he squealed, "No! Do not put that in your mouth!"

She stared back at him unimpressed.

She climbed the big mountain of gold and once she reached the top, she plopped down on her butt and began to roll down to the floor.

"Meine Dame, I think you should stop now," Pandora's Actor called over her happy wails. "—Mein Gott, get away from those stairs!"


Day Four: Demiurge


Demiurge stared happily at the small Supreme Being before him.

He had never been able to spend much time with Lady Tiamat due to his responsibilities in ensuring the security of Nazarick, so time spent with his Lady was always valuable.

Even if she had transformed into a little child.

Currently he was content with watching his Lady grow, as he taught her about her powers little by little.

Of course, that was if Pandora's Actor didn't find a solution to settle this issue.

Adapting was one of the things Demiurge was well acquainted with after all.

Her curious eyes travelled to the stream of lava on the Seventh Floor, and her small arms reached down to touch the glowing substance.

Demiurge who was carrying his lady in his palm made a quick turn to his left and knelt down to let his Lady touch the molten fluid.

She stuck her fingertips in the lava and proceeded to lick it.

"Uhm, Demiurge-sama…" said one of the Evil Lords, scared that Lady Tiamat didn't have her previous resistance since her form had regressed.

"What is it?"

"I'm afraid that the lava will harm Lady Tiamat..." it said with uncertainty.

Demiurge thought about what his subordinate said, but dismissed it completely.

After the schedule had been given to the Floor Guardians, Demiurge asked Albedo to look at Tiamat's status and they saw that Lady Tiamat still had her abilities. None of it was affected by the mysterious item which only seemed to regress one's mentality and body to that of a small child.

If he was not absolutely certain of this fact, he would have locked Lady Tiamat in a secure room with not a single potentially harmful thing in sight.

"That's alright, Wrath," Demiurge smiled at him confidently, never letting go of his hold on his Lady.

He remembered that he had read something interesting in Ashurbanipal, something related to Psychology. Certainly a trait that he desired to learn slowly with time.

The latest set of books he had read focused on the human psyche.

Manipulation, he remembered, was a key factor in gaining influence. If he let people think too much then they were more likely to make a logical choice, but if her guided them to feel a certain way, he would have a much easier time getting what he wanted.

In this case, the most ideal target would be someone who had little control over their emotions.

His gemstone eyes travelled down to the Supreme Being, and the small Lady gave him a gummy smile in return.

As he said earlier, it didn't matter if Lady Tiamat was to go back or not to her original form.

Because he would make sure to turn his current situation to something that would benefit him the most.


Day Four: Aura and Mare


"Mare?" his sister tried to get his attention as he was reading on his usual place in the arena.

He looked up from the book he was reading; an engaging story about Lady Tiamat's lore, the last volume of the Supreme Beings collection.

"Yes?"

"Where's Lady Tiamat?" Aura asked.

"Uhm, Demiurge said that he'll take care of Lady Tiamat from this point on."

"WHAT?" Aura screamed at the outrageous response, waking the baby dragons from their slumber. "He can't do that! Today's supposed to be our time!"

With that, Aura left to bug Demiurge while Mare closed his book and followed behind her.

Considering his sister's temper, he knew something was about to go down soon if he didn't interfere.


Day Five: Aura and Mare (postponed schedule)


"Look at what I brought My Lady!" Aura excitedly said to the small child.

The child giggled as Aura set her down on Mare's lap at the VIP box in the Arena.

Aura had gotten three white tea cups and a piece of chocolate.

"This will be a simple game, are you ready?" Aura explained cheerfully.

Aura turned the three cups upside down and put the piece of chocolate in the cup on the middle.

"L-look at the chocolate, okay?" Mare said softly to the Supreme Being on his lap.

"Now I want you to follow this cup," Aura tapped the middle cup with her finger. "This one, okay?"

Placing the middle cup next to the right cup, she gave it a tap and said, "Follow."

With exaggerated slowness she shifted them from place to place, mixing the order until she had decided that it was enough.

"N-Now which one is it, My Lady?"

The child look at the three cups with her big and round eyes, before pointing to the cup in the middle.

"Da!"

After she did so, she was shocked to hear the two dark elves in front of her let out a gleeful squeal and a high pitched giggle.

"Good job My Lady!" Aura beamed, with a big proud grin plastered on her face.

At the compliment, the child smiled widely, reaching out her hand to grab the chocolate on the ground.

"M-My Lady!" Mare shouted nervously. "That's not clean don't eat it!"

Ignoring him, she put the piece of chocolate in her mouth and suckled on it with her round cheeks.

Looking a little more than panicked, Aura immediately moved forward and pried her jaws open with precision, fishing for the dirty chocolate.

Every night Ainz-sama asked for a daily report to be submitted with regards to Lady Tiamat which all the Floor Guardians were allowed to read. She should've known from what she read in Pandora's Actor's report that her mouth was like a high-level bear trap.

Finally, Aura managed to get the chocolate out, it had taken a few frustrated screams out of the small Dragoness to release it, but at least Aura and Mare could breathe a sigh of relief.

Staring down at the drool-covered piece of chocolate, Aura sighed before tossing it away to the baby dragons below.

"O-Our Lady is really smart." Mare patted the child's short hair.

Blinking her eyes innocently, Tiamat responded with a smile before wandering closer to the ledge, calling on the baby Dragons, who happily obliged.

"My Lady!" Aura looked on in horror, as the baby dragons carried the small child in between their claws as they flew away. "No! Get down here! Bad Dragons!"


Day Six: Albedo


Albedo was preparing to go to the Arena as soon as it was the time to pick up Lady Tiamat, but she was surprised to see Aura and Mare in front of the Throne Room, clothes covered in dirt and weary expressions on their faces.

Aura gave Lady Tiamat to Albedo and immediately left the vicinity.

She wondered what was wrong with the two of them, but she guessed she would find out later when she read their report.

She looked at the small child bundled in a blanket, peacefully sleeping, with a small smile on the corners of her lips.

Albedo looked at her fondly.

'She must be having good dreams…'

But slowly her look changed to sorrowful eyes filled with regret.

She remembered that day where Lady Tiamat fought against Shalltear; she thought about it so much that it was burned in her memory.

"I'm s-sorry…" Albedo's voice broke.

Demiurge was right, Lady Tiamat only won because of luck. If she didn't release her dragon in time…

She shook her head, dismissing the dark thought immediately.

"It was my fault. As the Overseer of Nazarick, I should have come up with a better plan," she bitterly said.

In the massive room, not a single soul heard her.

As if Lady Tiamat had sensed her dejection, her smile slowly turned into a frown, and she was about to let out a cry until Albedo lulled her back to sleep.

"I promise I'll be better," she whispered. "I won't disappoint you, so please…"

Don't leave me behind.


Day Seven


"And so, with the exception of the 4th and 8th Floor Guardians, all the Floor Guardians and the members of the Pleiades have all gathered with haste to heed your call."

"Well done, my subjects," Ainz boomed. "Now, Pandora's Actor, please step forward."

"It will be as My Lord desires!"

Ainz cringed.

"Tell everyone about what you've found," he instructed.

Pandora's Actor turned around and in his hand, he was carrying the same item that caused Lady Tiamat's regression. The rest of them listened intently for what he was about to say.

"This item is called 『子供の春』, a mysterious item that as we know, regresses ones form to a child. However, I recently found out that its effect is not permanent. It will last for about a week before Lady Tiamat can return to her original form again."

They breathed a sigh of relief at this information.

The small Lady Tiamat was still sleeping, currently in Ainz's hold who sat on the Throne.

Demiurge pushed his glasses up, "Just when will she return?"

"Ah, right about…now."

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped the sleeping child, and once the light subsided, they could see the form of Lady Tiamat who was sleeping peacefully against Ainz's shoulder.

"Hm…" her voice was drowsy as she woke up, slowly opening her eyes to see a skeletal face near hers.

She almost screamed in fear.

"A-Ainz? The heck, you scared the hell out of me!"

"LADY TIAMAT!"

Aura and Mare jumped and proceeded to body slam into Tiamat who was sitting on Ainz's lap, followed by Shalltear who rested her face on Tiamat's chest, smiling in bliss.

The rest of the Floor Guardians stayed behind.

"Eh? What's wrong?" Tiamat asked, clearly confused by the bizarre turn of events. "Did something happen?"

Aura began crying buckets, "Please don't turn into a child again!"

"T-That's right!"

"Ah~how I missed these wonderful breasts of yours…"

"What. A. Shame. I. Thought. That. She. Will. Call. Me. Uncle. Once. More."

"Indeed," Demiurge agreed, "I guess we all just wanted some quality time with our Lady."

Albedo elegantly clapped her hands together, "Now, now. You are in the presence of the Supreme Beings of Nazarick. Behave," her tone was downright frosty.

Immediately Aura, Mare, and Shalltear went back to their respective lines with abashed grins.

"What happened?" she asked Ainz.

"Before I explain, I wanted to ask," he helped her stand on her feet. "Do you remember anything?"

"Uh...remember what exactly?"

"Then what's the last thing you remember?"

"Hm, the last thing I remember was that I visited Pandora's Actor and..." her gaze shifted to Pandora's Actor and the cone in his hand, "Oh! That item!"

"Yes Meine Dame, this item can change someone's original form to something more youthful. I think around the age of three to five years old. In fact…"

"Pandora's Actor!" Ainz barked out.

But it was too late.

An all-consuming light shone from the item, enveloping everyone in it, and just before it popped, Ainz shielded Tiamat with his cloak.

Once the light had subsided, Ainz slackened his hold on Tiamat, letting her stand on her own.

"Holy shiittttt…" Tiamat facepalmed.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. This is too much. I'm out." Ainz was about to escape from the Throne Room, but Tiamat held him in place.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!"

Each and every one of the Floor Guardians had been changed to toddlers.

"Papa! Mama!" they brightly giggled.


A/N: Since summer vacation is over, we will be updating biweekly from this chapter onward, but if you join my Discord you will have access to the newest chapter earlier. So come and join! We also ask for suggestions often in the Discord, which could highly affect the direction of the story, so what are you waiting for? Here is the link:

'Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons' Discord Link: Hector Tries To Pivot Stuff (colon) (slash) (slash) daddy is so craving orange refreshing drink . gg (slash) JUejk8J

Still we made it past Season 1! Whew that's crazy. We're going on Season 2 at this point. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting this story through thick and thin!

Btw, thank you to TeaKenz who requested the omake! And special thanks to The-Killer40513*

Hackslashbash: Translation for the item is Child's Springtime.

Question: Please let me know which Floor Guardian omake is your favorite!


*Clap Clap* Bonus Content *Clap Clap*

CONGRATULATIONS PEWDIEPIE FOR GETTING MARRIED AND FOR REACHING 100 MIL!


Warning: This Bonus Content doesn't have any correlation with Pewdiepie whatsoever.


Collection of Ashurbanipal, Racial Class, Volume VII

God Beast

Chapter I

The Nine Realms was once the primordial void Ginnungagap that eventually became the inhospitable wastelands that were Nilfheim and Muspelheim. In this era, only monsters of incomparable strength could hope to survive.

Eventually, as time passed, the other worlds emerged from the branches of the Origin Tree Yggdrasil; Asgard and Vanaheim heralding the Era of Gods. The remaining worlds, notably Midgard, gave rise to the mortal races. Harmony existed for as long as all beings kept to their own affairs in their home worlds.

Peace prevailed until the world of Man rebelled against the will of Yggdrasil, consumed by a lust for glory, conquest, and fame. Mankind swept over much of the World Tree, expanding to Alfheim, the world of the exquisite elves, Svartalfheim, the deep cavern of the stalwart dwarves, to even Asgard, the realm of the ineffable gods.

Yggdrasil, sensing a deviance in its original will, flooded the remaining worlds that remained relatively untouched from the hands of Humanity full of mana, giving birth to monstrous champions to drive back the hordes of Mankind.

Titanic Giants trampled mountains underfoot, Ancient Sea Serpents drowned entire fleets, Infernal Demons corrupted the souls of countless men, Voracious Undead devoured the souls of the endless damned, and Indomitable Dragons ripped through legions of heroes who sought eternal glory.

Even still, Humanity pressed on in its expansion over the Nine Realms as they slayed monster after monster. Even the Behemoths of unimaginable might could not stand against the hordes of Man.

Yggdrasil, despairing if it could feel such feelings as despair, decided to force mana into a select few champions rather than over a vast host of creatures.

As pure Mana congregated around the select few Beasts who received the blessing of the World Tree, they ascended beyond just the merely powerful, but into the Divine. Mythical Beasts, the absolute Pinnacles of their races, who could command entire armies of vicious monsters and strength that mortals could only dream of.

Their power and vitality rivaled the gods themselves, so therefore they were titled 'God Beasts'.

Legions of humans would stand against a single God Beast and its horde, only to be swept away in futile resistance. For such a Beast extended numerous Blessings to those that heeded its call.

Despite the rise of Yggdrasil's strongest champions, humans birthed champions of their own, heroes who rivaled the strength of even these god-like Beasts. The two factions clashed for innumerable eons and struggle even now as they battle for supremacy over the Nine Realms, neither gaining a permanent foothold over the other; their eternal struggle bringing balance to the Nine Realms.

For Humanity and Monsters cannot live side by side.


A/N: This chapter is mostly dedicated to The-Killer40513. We heard you loud and clear :) ALL OMAKES ARE CANON UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.