Collection of Ashurbanipal

Volume XLI: Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons, A Myth

Chapter II: Growing Up

His brood was massive and waxed ever greater in strength.

All except one.

One red-scaled dragon that still couldn't kill a human, a mere human, in single combat.

The Foul Devourer was disgusted.

Weakness had no place in his flight of destruction.

And so he banished the child from his realm, leaving the weakling to fend for herself in the myriad worlds of Yggdrasil.

Surprisingly, the child did not die.

She ventured out into obscure and deadly lands, growing ever stronger.

From smoldering calderas filled with ferocious elementals to plains where grass was as sharp as swords, the child wandered, persevering through all hardships.

Before the Black Wyrm knew it, the child was no longer weak.


Chapter 20: Blessings From A False God


There was an ability known as danger sensing.

Among adventurers, thieves and those who heavily relied on their senses highly prized this ability. As the name implied, it allowed the user to sense danger.

There were two main variations of the ability. One kind disregarded logic and analysis. Instinct. The ability to make decisions in a split second according to one's perceptions.

The other was Analysis. The product of experienced reasoning and deduction.

The first ability was essentially a sixth sense and intuition, while the conclusions drawn from observed changes in the environment fell into the latter category.

It was possible for one to hone such an ability on the battlefield; the more hazardous the environment, the more experience.

Lizardmen were superior to humans in terms of senses because they lived in much more hostile conditions, where monsters and predators alike were their neighbors. As a result, their instincts were sharper than the average adventurer.

Zaryusu, who was used to long solo journeys, could accurately and keenly gauge the changes in the air.

And so, he was the first one to snap his head towards the clouds, followed by Crusch, and then the rest of the Lizardmen who saw the two looking up.

"What are you looking at?" Sharyusu warily asked.

"I sensed something Ani-ja," Zaryusu immediately answered. "Something...strong."

The familiar night sky had turned bright, too bright in fact, forcing the Lizardmen to squint their eyes.

At the sudden appearance of light, the Lizardmen armed themselves.

Expecting another onslaught, just like what they had experienced a week ago, they were understandably confused when they saw a humanoid figure hovering in the sky.

"A human…?" Zenberu spoke up.

"No, look closely Ani-ja."

"A tail?"

"It seems that you've noticed too," Zaryusu mentioned to his brother. "...That person up there is not human."

Crusch nodded in fear beside him.

Zaryusu stopped to look at his trusty Frost Pain, ready to strike.

But this monster—no, his aura felt too divine—had come alone. Empty handed, with nothing in his hands.

His entire body was bathed in a golden light.

And when Zaryusu took a closer look, he corrected himself.

"That is not a man," Zaryusu realized.

Long strands of red hair gently fell around her face, and once the clouds cleared up, the Lizardmen could see the feminine lines of the figure above them. Crowning her head was a set of intricate horns, banishing all notions that she was a human.

"Children, drop your swords," she said melodiously, her voice carrying despite the wind.

Zaryusu shuddered when he heard that gentle voice.

She hovered just in front of them, an aura of sheer oppressiveness radiating off her being.

Feeling the extent of her power, all of them complied without a word, dropping their swords to the ground. Even Zaryusu was helpless in such a situation.

Zaryusu's eyes widened in shock.

"W-Why did we drop out weapons?" Shasuryu asked him.

"Pick it up, damn it!" Zenberu, the leader of the Dragon Tusk roared to his tribe.

"W-We can't!" one of them replied.

"Tsk, what the hell is this!"

Suddenly, the remaining clouds were blown away by a huge gust of wind, exposing a large white Dragon behind the mysterious woman.

It roared with might, creating a powerful shockwave that blew the weapons on the ground away.

"Who are you?" Zaryusu asked, flinching from the shockwave.

She smiled at them warmly, "I am the last of my brothers and sisters, the daughter of the Baleful Wyrm Nidhogg. I am Tiamat, the Goddess of Dragons."

"A-A Dragon…!"

"There's no way you're a Dragon!" Zenberu shouted out.

Most of the tribes present agreed; the person in front of them looked half human, half dragon: a halfling. Compared to the real Dragon behind her, there was obviously a massive difference in their appearances.

The Dragon behind her snarled. His red eyes stared at them in disdain, as if they had said something insulting.

The woman raised her hand to gently pet the Dragon's head, and its snarls instantly turned into soft rumbling, almost like a cat's purr.

"Hm, your opinion doesn't matter much in this instance I'm afraid. Whether you believe me or not, I only came here to give you a warning."

"Is it perhaps, the army of Undead that is about to attack us tomorrow?" Crusch bravely asked, and Zaryusu looked at her in awe. As expected of his future wife.

Slowly, the Goddess's eyes became solemn. "That's right."

"You're not here to attack us?"

She shook her head.

"Then tell us," Zaryusu said with growing confidence.

"My child, the God of Death has foreseen a bleak future for you. All of you," she said in a soft voice, but with their keen sense of hearing, they all heard it.

"God of Death?"

"An old colleague of mine," the Goddess stared at the sky wistfully, "He has foreseen an unstoppable disaster and plans to wipe out half of your population to ease your suffering in the future."

"B-But why?" Crusch asked in desperation. "I am sure there are other ways to solve this issue, must he kill half of us?"

"There's no way of knowing what he might think. He is a God of Death. For him, this is the best solution for all of you. Howeve—"

Zaryusu's head started to spin.

"Did you really come here just to tell us that?" Zenberu interrupted the deity before him.

The Goddess stayed quiet.

He continued, "If you're really a Goddess, then why don't you stop him?"

"I am weak, my power can't even be compared to his," she started to explain, taking his interruption in stride, "My soul had been scattered throughout the world, and it has only been a few years since I've managed to recollect myself. It would take me some time until my power is fully replenished."

"You're lying!"

"Zenberu…" Zaryusu chastised him. Goddess or not, the being in front of them was not one they could afford to offend, especially since they had to prepare for the Undead Army.

"No. in the first place this whole thing is fishy. There's no way that you're a Goddess!"

"We don't have time to argue," she said exasperatedly. "The army of Undead is coming tomorrow morning after dawn. Please listen to—"

"Prove it!" Zenberu challenged. "Prove to us that you are truly a Goddess."

"Zenberu!" Zaryusu chided, almost shouting.

If what she said was the truth, then they didn't have time to fight her. Moreover, seeing how loyal the Dragon was, she could simply order the Dragon to eradicate them.

This was the worst course of action they could take.

If they lost the battle here, then their remaining forces would have to battle the Undead Army. Assuming they would have any people left.

She sighed. "Very well."

The Goddess slowly landed on the swampy ground, and her Dragon shortly followed.

Almost immediately, the Dragon Tusk tribe surrounded her.

"I challenge you to a fight!" Zenberu took a battle stance. "If you win, then you are truly a Goddess beyond compare, but if you lose, then get out of our sights!"

The Goddess's amethyst eyes looked at him, and from her delicate lips, only one word was uttered.

"No."

"What did you say?!"

"You will all fight me, and I won't move a single muscle," she said, shocking all the lizardmen present, "If you fail to land a hit on me before dawn, you will have to devote yourselves to me."

The Lizardmen broke out into murmurs.

"I will make sure you are taken care of," she continued. "Properly fed to ensure the survival of your species. I will protect you like you were my own, and I will make you stronger."

Zaryusu considered this option.

"What would happen if you were to lose?"

"Then I will devote myself to you," she smiled, without a hint of deception in her voice. He could see that her eyes were clear and honest, although a hint of playfulness glinted within those orbs.

At this point, Zaryusu knew that she was sure of her victory in this bet.

But it would be the full tribe against a single person. In the end, because of their combined pool of stamina, she would definitely fall to exhaustion first. After all, there was a popular saying in his tribe: A Lizardmen as strong as ten can be easily defeated by the eleventh.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," her grin widened. "You can own me, make me do your bidding, even rape me, and I will comply without any resistance," her eyes squinted as if amused. "If you win that is."

"And the Dragon won't interfere?"

"Yes."

"Then it's settled! I will make you mine after you lose in this battle, so prepare yourself!"

At Zenberu's exclamation, she raised her hand- covered by the long sleeve of her dress- to her mouth and laughed.

At first it was a gentle giggle, but then it morphed into a twisted, sickening laugh.

"Do your best," she simply said.

"Grab the weapons, quickly!" Zenberu ordered. "You will regret this, woman."

She only smiled in return.

( º﹃º )

A few hours before the encounter.

"No, I don't approve of this," Ainz said with a sense of finality.

"But you already agreed!" Tiamat exclaimed in confusion.

The Guardians watched their banter with interest.

"Yes, while I did agree to your plan, I didn't agree that you could go down there by yourself," Ainz sighed in frustration. "Seriously, stop deciding things on your own."

"I'm not, I thought you already agreed by default."

"No."

"I'm sorry, Ainz-sama, Lady Tiamat, may I know the reason for your disagreement?" Demiurge asked, his gemstone eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Tiamat sighed, "I was planning to bargain with the Lizardmen. I'm sure they'll accept if we say we can solve their food resource issues."

"I. Don't. Think. It. Will. Be. That. Simple. My. Lady."

"Why is that, Cocytus?"

"The. Lizardmen. Are. Proud. Creatures. They. Will. Only. Follow. The. Strongest. So. You. Might. Have. To. Prove. Yourself. In. Battle."

"Another battle?" Tiamat groaned, "Is there no other way to do this?"

"Since Cocytus is the one who failed, he should go bargain with them," Ainz suggested.

"I. Will. Do. As. You. Command." Cocytus said eagerly, direly desiring to redeem himself.

Demiurge stayed quiet, observing the whole situation as his brain went into overdrive.

Suddenly, he smiled widely, as if enlightened.

"As expected of the Supreme Beings," Demiurge whispered under his breath. The only one who was able to hear him clearly was Shalltear who was standing beside him.

"Demiurge...?" Shalltear asked, wondering if he was alright.

The red suited demon stepped forward. "I finally understand the extent of your plan, Ainz-sama, Lady Tiamat. I am humbled to be able to call myself your servant!" he said with pride etched in every word he said.

Ainz looked at Tiamat, she only shrugged in response.

"...Is that so, Demiurge? As expected, you don't disappoint," Ainz sagely replied.

Tiamat looked at her skeletal friend in utter confusion, before leaning in to whisper to him, "You have any idea what he's saying?"

He replied in 『Message』.

[No clue…]

The two beeps signalled that the『Message』 had ended.

'Oh yeah, we have that function here…' Tiamat realized, feeling stupid that she had leaned in to whisper to Ainz.

"Perhaps you could explain it to the other Floor Guardians, Demiurge," Ainz directed his gaze at Demiurge, curious of the extent of the demon's analytical skills.

He bowed at the command, "With pleasure."

Demiurge stood a small distance away from the Throne and faced all the Guardians.

"Dominant nations will abandon all ideas of aggression and self-aggrandizement when they are united by the bonds of love, sympathy, and co-operation," he began, raising up his glasses with confidence. "I have to say, Lady Tiamat is ingenous for thinking of such methods…"

Tiamat just looked at him in absolute befuddlement.

"To unite all nations and races to create a Utopia, isn't this your true goal, Ainz-sama?"

"That's right," Ainz confirmed.

At the answer, Demiurge's smile widened.

"However, world unity is impossible without cementing a force of moral goodness. That is why in order to create a solid foundation for the Utopia, a change of outlook on life is imperative. This is where Lady Tiamat comes in," Demiurge gestured towards the Dragoness. "Creating one Universal Religion mandating world peace."

Ainz stared at Demiurge.

"Is my analysis correct, Ainz-sama?"

Ainz's orbs flared in excitement, "Yes! Indeed, this is what Tiamat had told me."

Tiamat's head had never turned so fast.

[No. Wait. Hold up. I did say that we need to unite people through faith, but I never said anything about me being the center of it!]

She could feel Ainz's smirk on his expressionless, skeletal face.

"Truly ingenious," Demiurge praised her once again, looking at Tiamat in a new light.

"H-Hold on just a moment Demiurge," Tiamat floundered, trying her best to clear the misunderstanding. "I did say something like that to Ainz bu—"

"So you did, My Lady!" Demiurge exclaimed excitedly, his tail wagging to and fro like a puppy who had found a new toy.

Tiamat almost groaned.

The way Demiurge was looking at her was exactly like how the baby Dragons looked at her when she visited them.

His multifaceted eyes twinkled in eagerness. Moreover, he was also joined by the rest of the Floor Guardians who were looking at her in awe.

She felt an immense pressure to not disappoint any of them.

"W-We could always make Ainz the basis of this religion," Tiamat suddenly suggested, "Isn't he perfect? That skeletal expressionless face, that white ivory color of his bones, those, uh...flaring eyes." she sighed in dejection, clutching her forehead as a headache began pounding in the back of her head. "Okay yeah, I'll do it,"

Ainz chuckled under his breath, completely entertained by the absurdity of the situation.

Tiamat could only sigh.

She realized that Ainz had a point.

'Out of all the people in Nazarick, I'm the one who's probably the most suitable for this stupid role. Momo-chan is strong and capable enough, but he's literally a skeleton. Instead of the mascot for a Universal Religion, his avatar is more suited for the final RPG boss battle. The Pleiades look human, but they're too weak, which means an increase in security issues. And the Floor Guardians all have a dislike for outsiders which makes it hard to achieve peace.'

The headache turned into a migraine as she grudgingly accepted his suggestion.

'Yup, it's gotta be me…'

"Then it is settled," Ainz said with gusto. "However, you are still not going down there by yourself."

"Then how am I supposed to bargain with them?"

"If I am not mistaken..." Demiurge interjected, as he offered the Supreme Beings with a solution.

At the simple suggestion, Ainz's eyes suddenly went dark as a green aura washed over him.

( º﹃º )

The Lizardmen rushed towards the Goddess and formed a formation to attack her.

As promised, her Dragon idled a little distance away, spectating the fight.

Zaryusu and some of the Tribe Leaders, including his Ani-ja, stayed behind to observe.

"CHARGE—!"

"Oraaaaaaaa!"

Fully committed to the battle, the Lizardmen cried out loud from the depths of their souls, a roar which seemed to split the very sky, and rushed at the woman.

With this amount of Lizardmen attacking her simultaneously, she could only think of one spell in particular.

"『Aegis』." she chanted.

As soon as she had activated the skill, a small golden sphere the diameter of her arms had enveloped her. Judging from the Lizardmens' levels, it would be impossible for them to pierce through this defense.

『Aegis』was a skill exclusive to specific tank classes that consumed mana the longer the user used it. Considering how small the sphere was and the amount of mana she possesses, she was convinced she could last two days, even with the twenty percent penalty she received.

She understood that she had『High-Tier Physical Immunity V』 and『High-Tier Magical Immunity V』 that could nullify physical attacks below level eighty and spells of the eighth-tier and below, she still didn't want these Lizards to dirty her appearance with their spells and attacks.

At full power, she knew that with a flick of a finger, she could easily launch the Lizardmen across the pond.

So even if they somehow had the ability to pierce through the golden shield, she still had to suppress her power.

The warm light that was emitted through the sphere terrified the cold-blooded Lizardmen as they rammed themselves head on into it, only for them to be repelled.

Arrows flew but could not pierce it. Swords were swung but were all thrown away in the end.

There was no weapon they had that was capable of piercing the golden sphere.

"Interesting!" Zenberu shouted excitedly. "Here I go!"

He charged head on, intent on sending a karate chop to the shield that was enhanced with 『Iron Natural Weapon』 and 『Iron Skin』.

"Guoooooh—!"

But it was no use. His attack had no effect.

The strongest of the Dragon Tusk Tribe looked at his palm in confusion.

"My attack...didn't work?"

Zaryusu looked at the golden sphere, and how Zenberu failed to break it.

It seemed that their last hope was Frost Pain.

He clenched the three-pronged blade tightly, and swung it at the sphere.

Seeing that the Goddess had offered them no resistance from the beginning, he had used a powerful skill specific to Frost Pain.

"『Icy Burst』!" he roared out.

This slash could freeze everything within its range instantly and deal heavy ice damage.

When the ice touched the sphere, it split into two different directions, all away from the shield itself.

It was as if the ice itself had been divided into two.

His ice attack split into two streams around her and froze the ground surrounding her. Grass shattered as it was subjected to extreme cold, and mud solidified into a brown slush.

"I-Impossible!" Shasuryu spoke out in horror. "Even the Frost Pain dealt no damage?!"

"Was that your best?" she brought her hand up to her mouth in a mock yawn. "Perhaps all of you children have had enough?"

At the mockery from the strange woman, the eyes of all the Lizardmen sharpened. Zenberu especially was enraged from the sheer confidence the woman emitted.

Allowing the emotion to consume them, they charged at her while Zaryusu stayed back.

He knew that if his Frost Pain didn't work then nothing would.

"Perhaps she truly is a Goddess?" Crusch had said what he was thinking out loud.

"We can't just trust her," Zaryusu rebutted.

"But look at it Zaryusu, as she had promised, she hasn't even retaliated yet in this fight," Crusch pointed out. "From what I've heard in legends, Gods and Goddesses are fickle creatures. If she were truly one, then the very possibility that we have enraged her..."

Zaryusu understood the implication behind her words, and looked at the scene in front of him.

The Lizardmen were giving everything they got, but it was all useless.

And as the so called Goddess promised, she didn't move a single muscle.

Throughout the night the battle continued on, as the Lizardmen tried finding ways and loopholes around the sphere, such as launching Zenberu up for him to strike the top of sphere and trying to dig into the ground to find the opening underneath the sphere, but miserably failed in all regards.

It was the perfect defence.

Seeing that the so called Goddess didn't counter their attacks, they felt much safer since she abided by her promise. They even took some time to rest since they had exhausted their stamina.

Zenberu, the bluntest one out of them all, gnashed his teeth in frustration.

No matter how hard he hit, his attack just couldn't reach her.

"Damn it!" he resumed attacking the sphere with all his might.

He would show this so called Goddess to not look down on them and wipe the smirk off her face!

"『Iron Skin』!" his fist landed once again on the sphere, to no avail. Zenberu gritted his teeth to the point where his gums started bleeding.

He landed punches on the sphere over and over again until he had completely exhausted himself, panting as he joined the rest of the resting Lizardmen.

They had formed a circle around her, blocking all possible exists except for the sky.

Zaryusu observed Zenberu who was the most thick-headed of them all finally sit down with the rest of his tribesmen, puffing in annoyance as Crusch immediately ran to him to heal his wounds.

One question lingered in the traveller's mind.

"Why now?" Zaryusu suddenly asked out of curiosity, and the Goddess finally looked up to answer him. "The Lizardmen Tribes has been plagued by food shortages for years, causing the Lizardmen to split into several groups. Not only that, but several disasters had fallen to the tribes because of it," he said to the Goddess, remembering his soon to be mate's past about her Red Eye Tribe.

The Goddess's eyes looked at him directly, and he felt her sharp gaze cut into his soul.

If he didn't know any better, her eyes looked as if she was trying to come up with the best answer she could muster.

"If you really want to save us that badly, then why now?" he continued.

A sound question from his part, indeed.

The rest of the Lizardmen who had heard his question intently waited for the Goddess to reply.

"I was betrayed," she said as a sad expression morphed on her face, as if she was remembering something bitter. "My soul was scattered across the Nine Realms and it took eons for it to recollect. That is the only reason."

Zaryusu was shocked at how easily the so called Goddess would give that information to them. Shasuryu nodded at him, and he knew what his brother was trying to say.

Her appearance bore no hint of deception when she answered his question. She was far too open as someone who was making a bargain with them.

Since information was of utmost importance, he continued asking.

"Who betrayed you?"

"Humans and elves."

"Why?"

She casted her eyes down to the ground, as if refusing to remember what happened. "Because they were threatened by me, even though I did nothing to them."

"We are Lizardmen, a demi-human race. Don't you want to eradicate us for what happened to you?"

The Goddess stayed quiet, her eyes moving once again to look at him.

Zaryusu felt as if those eyes were judging his entire life.

After some time, she finally opened her mouth.

"You are not them," she simply answered. "You are you, and they are they. You two don't have any correlation with each other. Besides, I already exacted my revenge on them."

"Then why do you want to save us?" Crusch asked. "Why us?"

"Why not you?" the Goddess questioned back.

At that response, Crusch became quiet.

"Do you really want to save us that badly?" Zaryusu continued in his mate's stead.

"Yes. Afterall, even though we might differ in species, Lizards are a derivative of Dragons. All of you are basically a long distant descendant of mine," she said with a warm smile on her face.

She had said all of that lovingly, as if they were truly her family by blood.

Zaryusu's heart was filled with doubt and unease.

Was she truly there to save all of them? Yet, her reasons remained unclear.

No one sane would go that far.

Lizards and Dragons were two different species, and the latter was obviously far more superior than the other.

If he were to compare them, they were the rulers of swamps, while Dragons ruled both the land and the skies.

They were muddy, dirty, and weak. Dragons were strong, majestic, and wise.

The answer he received from the Goddess had created a baffled look on his face.

Crusch, who was sitting beside him, asked yet again.

"So you really want to help us?"

"Yes," the Goddess steadily replied.

"But why would we devote ourselves to you?"

"Devotion leads to faith, and faith gives birth to miracles. I am strong in spite of this weakened form, but even gods desire a bit of appreciation," she quipped.

"Did your kind not appreciate you?" Crusch asked sympathetically.

The Goddess casted her eyes downwards. "I was the weakest amongst my siblings. Even though I am a Dragon, I was not as fast, nor as strong as they were. It took me centuries to get to their level, and even then, I was thrown away."

She would always remember this part of the story.

It was the saddest part of the book.

All she ever wanted was love from her family, a love they did not provide.

How could someone so gentle come out of such a harsh environment?

"I-I understand your pain…" Crusch said.

"You do?"

The Albino Lizard nodded.

"I too was of the same circumstances as you were."

The Goddess tilted her head slightly, "Indeed, I see that your appearance is different from those around you… And you were treated poorly because of it? Truly, to think my children would treat each other so…" a tear slipped from her eye.

They were shocked when they saw the tears staining her cheeks.

"I-It wasn't probably as bad as you might think," Crusch tried to cheer the Goddess up, "Someone like me would be abandoned as soon as they were born, but I was lucky since I had very loving parents…"

Zaryusu huffed, his tail swaying in agitation, "Crusch…"

"Sometimes I wonder, what would my fate have been if I was raised by different lizardmen or if I wasn't talented enough in magic."

"Crusch, stop," Zaryusu pleaded.

"But it's true Zaryusu," Crusch voice almost broke as she finally told him the bitterness buried within her heart. "If I wasn't strong enough, then perhaps we would have never met."

"You're wrong Crusch, no matter what happens, I will always find you, even if you were cast away. I will follow you even to the deepest parts of hell."

"Thank you, Zaryusu," Crusch whispered, her trembling tail betraying her feelings.

The Goddess wiped the tears from her eyes, "The love the two of you hold for each other… I have seen few bonds so strong."

Her eyes then hardened, "However, we have little time left. The Death God's vassals are quickly approaching and I doubt even the most valorous of you can stand against him. You must come to a decision soon."

Even if she had won the bet, she still offered them a choice.

"You haven't proven anything to us!" Zenberu screamed out. "All you did was guard yourself against our attacks. For all we know, you might be using some sort of divine spell to buff yourself. So why should we follow you?!"

"I didn't want to do this but...『Åsgårdsreien』."

The Goddess amethyst eyes had turned molten yellow.

Zenberu's body suddenly went stiff as his eyes swiveled around in panic. He had lost control of all of his limbs.

"What the hell did you do to me?!"

"Kill the person beside you," the Goddess nonchalantly commanded.

The Lizardmen next to Zenberu was shocked at the very sentence.

"Zenberu-sama, please…!"

Zenberu desperately tried to move away as his fist pulled back and prepared to launch itself towards his terrified tribe-mate.

"I-I can't move my hands! It's not me, I swear!"

He felt his body activating its strongest Martial Arts against his will, and he closed his eyes as his empowered fist sped towards his tribe mate's head.

"No, stop! Don't make me do this, PLEASE!" he begged, but still, the stiff feeling in his arm wouldn't dissipate.

The Goddess only watched blankly in response.

However, right before his hand crushed the skull of his fellow lizardman, his hand was blocked by the Goddess's hand.

"Do you see now? From the start, there was no need for me to bargain with you. I could've done this from the very beginning," The Goddess offered up her palm as dawn slowly broke over the horizon.

"I want to create a peaceful world where nobody would need to die or get sick. A place where you can eat to your heart's content as you watch your children grow old. A place with no discrimination. A Utopia."

The sphere around her slowly disintegrated into the morning sun.

At that point, they knew they had lost.

If she wanted to, she could just ordered them to do her bidding.

But now they could see that she cared enough to think of their opinions.

"Will you devote yourself to me, my children?"

As the light slowly rose to the sky, the bright light of dawn reflected off her hair, and they could only gaze in awe at the sheer beauty in front of them.

The Goddess in front of them bore the face of divinity, and none of them could hide the reverence on their faces.

Zaryusu was the first one to break out of his stupor as he slowly walked towards the Goddess and kneeled in front of her.

"I, Zaryusu, will devote my entire being to Tiamat, the Goddess of Dragons," he solemnly swore.

"I, Crusch, will also devote myself to you, Goddess," she quickly followed.

Slowly, one by one, they all kneeled with their heads on the ground.

Pandora's Actor smiled as he successfully completed his mission.

"Excellent," he said with a smile he knew best.

( º﹃º )

Ainz and Tiamat sat inside the Overlord's office and watched the whole exchange through the 『Mirror of Remote Viewing』.

The Dragoness huffed as she laid down on the plush pillows of the sofa.

"I told you it would've been fine if I went down by myself…" she complained.

"And how many times do I have to tell you that a no is a no," Ainz strictly retorted. "I trust you, but I still need to keep a watchful eye on you so you don't do any more stupid things."

Tiamat groaned in disbelief. "That was just once…"

Regardless of her disagreement, she still complied with what Ainz had decided. She knew that it was his way of showing that he cared about her, and she knew that he didn't want the same incident to be repeated again.

She knew that if she was on the other end, she would be beyond hurt.

That was why she tried her best to follow his decisions, hoping she could give him at least a little relief.

They watched as Pandora's Actor descended into the Lizardmen land which matchless grace and virtue, wondering if that was how Pandora's Actor saw her.

"Pandora's Actor did a good job." Ainz said out of the blue, his eyes still stuck on the monitor.

"You think so?" Tiamat looked at the monitor once again. "Is that how I really look like?"

The person in the monitor was graceful, charming, and seductive. She felt that they were complete opposites.

Ainz hummed in response. "Indeed, he has you down to a tee."

"I see…" Tiamat said with a small voice.

It was a difficult question that had been plaguing the back of her mind, but she had been recently pondering her femininity and reality as 'Tiamat' in the New World.

She knew from the beginning that the current experience she was living was definitely not the typical case.

On Earth, she was a scrappy brown-haired girl that didn't want to draw attention to herself. She was content with letting herself blend in with her surroundings because she knew it would be safer for her.

When Tiamat saw Pandora's Actor and just how sensual she could be, she almost panicked. The very idea that she could easily tempt a man just by batting an eyelash was both humiliating and scary at the same time.

She couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

Her issues had only got more complicated as she grew older. To add to her quickly maturing mind, she had always thought that she was undesirable.

She just thought it wouldn't be fair to her future lover to have such a dirty and tainted body. They deserved better than her.

That was why she steered herself away.

She was luckier than others though, because she didn't have to carry any baggage in her past life after that incident.

As soon as she was acutely aware of the consequences of the incident, she had casted out the organ that defined her as a woman out of disgust. Along with the possibility of their seed's future with it.

Her pondering was broken by Ainz's statement.

"Hm, Pandora's Actor is indeed good," he commented on his own creation.

Tiamat stared once again at the monitor in front of her.

Pandora's Actor had shed a few drops of tears, streaking his cheeks with the salty substance, making her seem much more demure and empathetic.

It looked like she was crying for real.

"Your creation is too perfect, is there anything Pandora's Actor can't do?"

"Of course not, he is my creation afterall," Ainz said with pride.

Tiamat shook her head as she erased all the bad thoughts from her past.

Right now she was no longer on earth, but in the New World. She was given a new opportunity with her family once again.

And she would use it well.

"So, mission successful?" she said looking at the monitor as the Lizardmen bowed to her. "What do we do now?"

Ainz nodded, "We will move on to the next step," he said as he stood up.

"Ah," Tiamat realized, "The confrontation, right? Do we really have to do that?"

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. As their supposed enemy, I at least have to show up once to try to convince them once and for all."

Tiamat smiled, standing up as well. "Alright, what are we going to do?"

Ainz's orbs flared to life.

( º﹃º )

Pandora's Actor walked to where Lady Tiamat's Dragon was sitting and quietly petted him, praising a job well done.

Pentakrisis purred under his touch.

'Even though you are not my master, your touch pleases me, impostor,' Pentakrisis said.

Pandora's Actor heard the dragon speak through the mental link between Pentakrisis and Lady Tiamat, and was awed.

'So this is how you communicate with Lady Tiamat.'

The connection was clear and crisp without any interference. He knew what Pentakrisis felt immediately and the Dragon knew how he felt as well.

Their bond was so strong that Lady Tiamat could easily trust her thoughts with her dragons.

In a way, Pandora's Actor felt a bit jealous of the connection they had, wondering if he could ever have the same with his Vater.

Reminded of his mission, he swiftly hid himself perfectly out of sight. To the eyes of the Lizardmen, she was just checking on her Dragon.

Pandora's Actor briefly glanced to his sides before messaging Ainz-sama,

[Meine Gott, I am prepared to switch.]

[Excellent, in that case I will open a 『Gate』now.]

A violet-black rift opened before him, and from it Lady Tiamat walked out.

"Wow, it really is strange to look at an exact copy of myself," he heard Lady Tiamat say as she stepped out from the portal.

Still in the form of his Lady, Pandora's Actor puffed out his chest in pride. "Of course! Ainz-sama designed me to be the perfect representation of the whole guild!"

"And you did a really good job representing us too, Pandora's Actor! Ainz and I are super proud of you."

"D-Danke, Meine Dame!" Pandora's Actor quickly returned to his original form and snapped to a sharp salute.

He was over the clouds in joy, upon hearing the praise from the Supreme Being.

Although Pandora's Actor knew that his Vater loved him, he also knew that Ainz-sama was somewhat ashamed of his dramatic behavior as well.

Hearing that his father was proud of him was the greatest reward he could have possibly received.

"Anyways, we'll take things over from here. When I get back, I'll prepare an entire cheesecake for lunch. Don't tell anyone else though," she whispered.

The cheesecake, however, was the cherry on top.

"Danke, Meine Dame!" he gestured excitedly.

His voice was muffled by the Dragon's groan. As soon as Tiamat saw that Pandora's Actor was going to act dramatically, she sent a quick command to Pentakrisis to cover up the noise.

"Shhh," Tiamat warned him. "Don't be too noisy or they'll be able to hear us."

Realizing his blunder, he whispered to her in response, "Ja!" and saluted her one last time before crossing through the portal.

When Pentakrisis caught the scent of his real Master, he jumped in joy and threw himself towards her direction, his tail wagging happily in delight.

"T-Taki…" Tiamat grunted in surprise, she really had to hold back her children's bad habits of throwing their entire weight into her.

Just as she was about to scold him, he gave her the biggest, sweetest, puppy eye ever and her annoyance dissipated in an instance.

"Awww, how could I stay mad at that face~" she scratched his neck with her fingers and he let his tongue hang out in delight.

The Lizardmen could only look at the scene in front of them with shock.

"She is truly a Goddess of Dragons…"

"To be able to reduce the mighty Dragon to such an extent…"

Thinking that they had insulted his master yet again, Pentakrisis turned his head to look behind him and snarled.

The Lizardmen jumped away as their instinct flared in warning.

"Hey, it's alright. They're our family now," she led Pentakrisis closer and closer to Zaryusu whose position was the closest to hers.

Pentakrisis let out a stream of hot air in annoyance.

'I don't like it. They're weak. Even weaker than the little ones' he complained.

'Well, of course you can't compare them to the Lizardmen. They're baby dragons, they still got room to grow,' Tiamat said to him, petting the scales under his chin as he purred in excitement.

'In the first place, the Dragon that fucked around with another race must be punished. How could they taint the pure blood of our noble kind!' he indignantly grumbled between purrs.

Tiamat decided to ignore that statement.

'M-Master…!'

"What is your name?"

"I am Zaryusu Shasha, a Traveler," he immediately answered. "T-This is Crusch, my future mate!" he declared.

"Z-Zaryusu!"

Tiamat almost shrieked out in excitement. "My my, aren't you two just adorable! Have you decided when you're getting married?" she asked curiously.

At the sudden question, Crusch's paleness was washed away by the bright blush on her cheeks.

"M-M-Ma-Married…!"

"As soon as we can!" Zaryusu declared, his tail thumping against the ground in excitement. He suddenly froze as he sensed a change in the atmosphere.

Tiamat looked away from the couple to focus across the pond. The very air had changed and turned cold and desolate.

"It seems that we have to stop our pleasantries here," the Goddess solemnly informed the Lizardmen. "All of you, please prepare yourselves."

"Yes!" they all answered simultaneously.

Tiamat stood near the pond itself, as she looked out into the distance.

The leaders of the Lizardmen tribes stood a few meters behind her, and cast their gazes in the same direction

Facing them on the other side between the pond and the forest was vast array of armored skeletons.

"I thought it would take them some time to replace their heavy losses after the last fight," Zaryusu clicked his tongue, "I should've known…"

"But still, if it's just skeletons then we have no need for the Goddess's help," Zenberu said in excitement.

But their Goddess kept her eyes trained on the skeletons facing them.

"Look closer…" she said in response.

Indeed, they were all skeletal creatures, but they were drastically different from the skeletons the Lizardmen had previously fought.

These skeletons were equipped with full sets of gear. There also seemed to be three broad classes of personal equipment on the skeletons across them.

Zaryusu, who was closely inspecting them, finally realized what the Goddess had meant.

"H-How could this be…"

Crusch who stood beside him gasped in response.

All the weapons wielded by the skeleton army were magical in nature. Some had flaming swords, while others had hammers crackling with electricity. Some had pikes whose heads were sheathed in green light, while others had scythes which dripped with a viscous purple fluid.

"Not just that, but the armor is all enchanted as well."

Zaryusu took a closer look as he heard Zenberu speak.

He groaned in dismay when he noticed that the shining suits of armor did not reflect the sun's light, but seemed to glow from within.

What kind of god could outfit so many skeletons with magic items? If it was only a matter of simple sharpening enchantments, Zaryusu had heard that certain great nations could amass quantities like this after long planning. However, imbuing this many magic weapons with elemental properties and in the variety before him was another matter entirely.

"Children, behold the vassals of the God of Death," Tiamat's soft voice drifted over to them, "If you didn't accept my offer, you would surely be at his mercy."

"I-It can't be. It must be an illusion or something."

As everyone heard those words, a look crossed their faces which seemed to say 'What kind of rubbish are you spouting?'

Even if their enemy was not moving, they could feel in their bones that this was no illusion.

The very aura that emanated from the undead champions created a frightful presence and they could not possibly be mere mirages.

The warrior Lizardmen panicked as the skeletal army advanced as one with measured steps. Some of them even hissed in warning.

To Zaryusu, the oddest thing was their movements.

It was not a prelude to battle.

The Lizardmen were thrown into panic at the sheer number alone. It was only by the presence of their Goddess that they did not turn their tail and run.

Just as Zaryusu and Shasuryu were about to command the panicking Lizardmen to calm down, a powerful shout had swallowed the marsh and all their focus was fixed towards the Red Goddess before them.

"Do not be afraid!"

Their eyes settled on the Goddess.

"Do not be afraid," she repeated.

The only thing that could be heard in the deathly silence was her confident, dignified voice, echoing in their ears.

"It's alright," she said firmly, as she gently touched one of the Lizardmen who was scared out of his wits.

Her gentle hand was as warm as the sunlight.

"I will protect all of you, so do not be afraid."

The Goddess passed through the quiet Lizardmen and came to Zaryusu's side.

"I promised, didn't I?"

In the face of their Goddess, the Lizardmen felt most of their fear vanish. The enemy may be a god, but they had a deity protecting them as well. Some were emboldened to the point that they began to devise battle plans with their neighbors.

But they had no time to waste.

With perfect coordination, the skeletons split in two from the center, leaving a space between them that was roughly twenty skeletons in width.

Then they finally saw it.

It wore a black robe, and radiated the dreadful aura of Death. It looked similar to the Elder Lich that they had fought yesterday.

However, the key difference between the two was their power.

Zaryusu had instantly felt it. His instincts told him of the massive difference between the two undead casters. It was as if the difference was between a warrior and an infant.

It was an avatar of Undeniable Death.

"Th-The Ruler of Death…" the words slipped from Zaryusu's mouth without him knowing.

The Death God raised his arms and an indescribably complicated hemisphere with translucent sigils appeared, glowing with a bluish-white light. The sigils shifted with bewildering speed, changing to a completely different formula with each passing moment.

The shape of the clear blue light changed continuously, illuminating the surrounding with its radiance.

All of the Lizardmen clenched their weapons and fists in anxiety. They had never seen any spell like the one being cast before them.

For it could be nothing but a spell of the gods.

"What is that?"

"I, I don't know. I don't know what that is either—" Crusch, who was knowledgeable in magic, replied, sounding a little afraid. Zaryusu looked at her in shock; even Crusch with her extensive knowledge of magic was frightened of this unknown phenomenon.

Zaryusu comforted her with a pat.

Circular fragments transformed into countless motes of light which flew to the sky and spread in the air—

"Get away from the lake!" their Goddess shouted out.

—And the lake froze over.

As soon as they heard of her warning, they had immediately scampered away from the edge of the water and onto higher ground.

There were individuals who were extraordinarily gifted in their respective fields. Shasuryu, the outstanding chief, Cruch, the incredibly talented druid, and Zaryusu, the widely travelled, but even they couldn't comprehend what was happening at the moment.

Some of the Lizardmen who were not fast enough got their feet stuck in the ice and screamed in pain.

It was cold, so cold that their legs immediately became brittle and snapped. Their wails of pain echoed throughout the marsh.

The scene before their eyes was too horrific to bear.

The Goddess urgently pulled out the ones who were stuck, and when she did so, Zaryusu instantly went to help her.

Fire flared in her hand as she tried to melt the ice around their legs, and fortunately the ice rapidly broke down. The stumps however, remained frozen.

Once each and every one of them were far away from the lake, the Goddess ordered, "Crusch, heal them."

"Y-Yes!" the albino lizard woman went to work instantly, closing their wounds and mending their shattered bones.

The red Goddess opened up her wings and flew up. "It seems that the entire lake has turned into ice…" she muttered softly, but they all caught what she had said.

Zayusu was dumbstruck by the ridiculous words the Goddess had uttered.

It was impossible to imagine that such a huge lake, a lake that he was familiar with since childhood, was frozen solid. Yet the glistening ice before his eyes said otherwise.

A surge of fear for the fish farms momentarily ran through him, but he shook his head, disappointed in himself.

'This is not the time to worry about that,' he chastised himself.

"Get them up here!" his brother Shasuryu bellowed.

The warrior Lizardmen who could still move worked together to extricate their fallen friends from the frozen swamp.

Those who had collapsed were ghastly pale and shook uncontrollably from the cold, their vitality sapped from the deathly chill.

From above, the Goddess threw her arm outward while muttering some indecipherable phrase, casting a host of golden orbs that circled the area where the Lizardmen were huddling together. When Zaryusu looked closely at the orbs, he realized they did not burn. The spheres floated gently above the ground and into his body, its warmth transmitted across his entire being.

It seemed that the flames were some sort of Divine Blessing that shielded their bodies from the cold.

Zaryusu looked at the airborne deity, who was gazing across the pond with a serene expression on her face as if she was waiting for something.

Her red hair bellowed with the wind, and from her back, Zaryusu could see two powerful Dragon wings holding her up.

Even though she was just standing there, she looked picturesque and divine.

Zaryusu gulped as the realization washed over him.

If the Goddess was not here, all of them would already be dead.

How foolish they were to think that they could defeat the Ruler of Death by themselves.

Zaryusu exhaled, as if to expel the worries within himself.

Could they really win in this fight? Could she defeat the Ruler of Death by herself?

No.

He would do anything to help. He wouldn't let the Goddess fight on her own.

"He's here…" the Goddess whispered. "Finally."

As soon as she said those words, Zaryusu squinted into the distance.

The Ruler of Death who had frozen the lake raised the hand which was not holding the fearsome staff and waved it at the village.

But what he saw next surprised him even more.

"W-What is that!" the voices came from everywhere in the village.

Before Zaryusu's eyes was a massive statue made out of stone. Its sturdy, slab-like chest pulsed with a red light, like a heartbeat. Its limbs were thick and stubby.

It moved slowly and produced a gigantic boulder out of nowhere.

And then it tossed the boulder right into them.

Zaryusu shielded his eyes reflexively. At the speed the rock was flying, certain death awaited anyone who was hit by the huge projectile.

He peeked above a split second before he closed his eyes, and saw that the Goddess had not moved an inch.

Instead, she raised her hand and a golden sphere, similar to what they had seen before, enveloped part of the lake. The golden sphere was as high as she was in the skies, and wide enough to envelope the entirety of the Lizardmen Tribes.

When the boulder landed, the earth shuddered and a tremendous shockwave assaulted them. Zaryusu himself felt the tremors in his world of darkness.

But then another loud crash was heard, the sound similar to a wave crashing against the cliffs.

When Zaryusu slowly opened his eyes, he saw that the boulder had been aimed towards the lake, and the impact had brought up a huge wave of thick ice and water that would have washed away the entire village.

Yet, it was stopped by the spherical golden wall with ease.

The water receded from the land and returned to the lake, frozen once more.

The huge rock now stood between the two forces. The undead troops approached the rock, and then fell to one knee after raising their shields as if to block the sky. The other skeletons jumped up on those shields, nimbly maintaining their balance, as they raised their shields as well.

In that moment, Zaryusu realized what the enemy was doing. The unimaginable terror grew even greater.

"Don't tell me…" Shasuryu voiced his thoughts in despair. "Stairs…? They're using a legendary army like that as stairs?!"

The skeletons drew close to the giant rock with startling speed and the staircase formed by the undead army finally took shape.

Then the other undead soldiers made their move, their movements more refined than the previous skeletons. They held lances with banners attached.

The bright red cloth of their banners were embroidered with the same sigil.

Their capes rippled in the wind, as the undead marched into the marsh with immaculate coordination. The ice crunched under their feet as they advanced in silence. Then, another group of skeletons marched onto the marsh with the same fluid movements. They crossed their lances with the warriors opposite of them.

The crossed lances formed a passage which led to the huge rock.

"...A Royal Procession?"

Zenberu was right.

The Ruler of Death walked down the path made by the undead. The silhouettes of several people were visible behind it. Nobody had noticed their arrival.

He was dressed in a black robe that seemed to be made of Darkness itself, and an ebony radiance emanated from the staff he carried. That radiance shaped itself into the tormented faces of the damned which dissolved and disappeared into nothing before appearing once more in their everlasting suffering. Beneath his hood the Lizardmen could clearly see the face that they would later describe as Death itself.

A skeletal face with empty eye sockets that emitted a beacon of red light.

He was adorned with countless items of magical jewelry, the likes of which were beyond Zaryusu's comprehension. He strode forth with the air of a monarch.

Behind him, the people who seemed to be his confidantes formed a line, looking at the village as though they were waiting for something.

The Goddess silently watched the whole procession as her eyebrows ticked with annoyance.

"What a showoff…" she quietly muttered, a wry smile on her face.

What was going on? The hearts of all the Lizardmen were filled with trepidation.

"Goddess-sama, should we be prepared to run?" Crusch asked, her voice utterly devoid of fighting spirit. Her drooping tail spoke volumes about the despair in her heart.

The Goddess looked down on her and smiled. She landed in front of Crusch and gently petted her head.

"No, there's no need for that," she said with a smile, as she tried her best to reassure Crusch. "I will talk to him by myself."

Zaryusu immediately rebutted. "No! We will fight together with you!"

The Goddess turned her head to look at Zaryusu, and even though she was a head shorter than Zaryusu, her gaze was so intimidating that Zaryusu was unable to say another word.

"There will be no fighting," she said with a sense of finality. "If you fought with him or any of his army, your death is guaranteed."

Zaryusu gulped, noticing how parched his throat was, despite the chill emanating from the frozen lake.

"You will stay behind me with Pentakrisis at all times. If anything happens, Pentakrisis will hold them back so you can escape."

"B-But…!"

Shasuryu put his hand on Zaryusu's shoulder, "I understand, then if anything happens we will make preparations to run."

Zaryusu turned around, ready to give a scathing retort, because such cowardice was against the Lizardmen fighting spirit and common decency. What kind of scum would abandon their savior in their most dire moment?

But one look from his brother silenced whatever he was going to say next.

"Zaryusu, have faith."

"What? It's not like I don't have it, Ani-ja!"

"From the beginning, the Goddess had offered what she could to us, but we refused to take it. If we didn't challenge her in the first place, we would still have some of our stamina to at least fight till our last breath."

A look of understanding dawned on Zaryusu's face.

"Now all we can do is put our faith in her," Shasuryu continued.

Through all of this, Zaryusu had not looked at the Lizardmen. He only looked at the danger in front of them, examining the Incarnation of Death atop that huge rock.

When he finally looked around, he could see that the Lizardmen around him had lost all of their fighting spirit and energy.

The woman and children stared at threat in front of them, completely powerless. The warriors had all exhausted themselves from the previous one-sided fight with the Goddess.

His brother was right…

How ignorant was he to think that they could survive against this monstrosity.

He turned his head and saw the King of Death observing the Lizardmen from his place atop the throne. The dark elves did not seem particularly hostile, but their eyes were fixated on the Goddess. The silver-haired girl looked as if she was outraged when she saw that the Goddess laid her hand on top of Crusch. The creepy insectoid's expression was unreadable, and the tailed man's glasses hid any emotion that could be read from them.

It was frightening that he couldn't even gauge his opponent's strength.

"—Don't be afraid."

Like a beacon in the darkness the Goddess's voice resounded in all of them. It was as if she could read their minds.

Her words drove all the Lizardmen to stand up straight and thrust out their chests.

"I'll be going now. Remember, if anything happens, run," she warned them.

They all nodded, understanding the implications of her warning.

"B-Be careful!" Crusch pleaded, and at the heartfelt plea, the Goddess smiled at her.

"Thank you," and then she flew away towards the lake.

As soon as she left, her white dragon took her place, and with that they all started to make their preparations.

( º﹃º )

Ainz who was sitting on the makeshift throne on the boulder in the middle of the lake watched the whole interaction with interest.

It seemed that their plan was working, for now at least.

All he had to do was to think about the next step.

He waited for Tiamat to approach the boulder, and when she did, he grinned internally.

"Finally," he said to no one in particular, but the Guardians had definitely heard what he said.

And they agreed, the Lizards were far too pathetic. They didn't even do anything, yet it took a lot of convincing from Lady Tiamat to be able to calm them down.

If they were honest, her interaction with the Lizardmen had irked them.

It wasn't that they hated the fact that she interacted with them, it was the fact that the filthy lizards looked as if they deserved her gentle words and touches. When she smiled at them, they knew the feeling that flared within their hearts.

Envy.

The biting fury came to them in waves. Anger, jealousy, and resentment combined into one. It was like someone had stolen someone precious to them, and they hated it.

Shalltear gritted her teeth, the twins looked at the Lizardmen in disdain, and even though Cocytus and Demiurge didn't show it, they knew that they were also affected by the petty feelings. But the one who was affected the most was Albedo.

Even though she was standing here with a smile on her face, they could clearly remember that after the meeting where the Supreme Beings laid out all their plans had been concluded, Albedo had excused herself to punch the ground just outside of Nazarick. She later called Mare for a favor to fix the damage she had done.

Just when they had learned how to share with each other...

Lady Tiamat belonged to Nazarick and Nazarick only. Her gentle touches and smiles belonged only to them.

Ainz looked at them in the same way a parent would look at their child throwing a tantrum. He admitted to himself that he would've been jealous too if not for the statement Tiamat had made earlier.

'I think it's the dragon in me, but they look so adorable!'

He let out a tired smile inside his mind. Even from afar, he could see her treating the Lizardmen the same way one of his old guildmate lovingly treated their pet.

'Honestly, even in a situation like this, she manages to bring some sense of normalcy…'

Ainz looked back at his beloved children. They tried their best to hide their ire in front of the Supreme Being, but he could see the frustration that bubbled underneath their veneer of calmness.

But at this point, there was nothing that they could do. To them, this was the plan that both Supreme Beings had made to subjugate the Lizardmen peacefully.

However, Ainz-sama and Lady Tiamat didn't specify anything about giving them a taste of absolute hell.


Canon Omake: Unusual Friendship


Pandora's Actor.

A creation of Momonga himself, born to preserve the identity of Ainz Ooal Gown; the one who bore the heavy duty of bearing the images of his guild members.

He had a liking for managing magic items and his Vater had made him in such a way so that he would not find it strange to be alone in the Treasury. But for some reason, his obsession for cataloging items seemed to have reached the level of a fetish.

If a speck of dust somehow managed to land on one of the treasures he had just cleaned up, he would do the cleaning round all over again.

To him, seeing the treasures glimmer under the light was an absolute pleasure.

So his schedule consisted of managing the finances of Nazarick—something he found easy to do, then clean, clean, clean.

Then he would stretch, maybe polish, and clean once more.

But he realized, even though he found pleasure in cleaning up all the treasures, he had nothing to do. When the treasures were all impeccably spotless, he felt empty.

That feeling changed when Lady Tiamat visited his floor with one of the Guardians of the sixth floor.

Lady Tiamat promised to visit once every week, and she abided by that promise, bringing Mare everytime she came to visit.

When she didn't, Mare visited him all by himself as they had lunch together.

At first, it was awkward between the two of them, because Lady Tiamat was the one who carried all the conversations while the two of them were content with listening and jumping into the conversation every once in a while.

So awkward that one day Mare had brought a book to eat with him during lunch, hiding himself behind that thick tome of his.

One day, Pandora's Actor noticed the title of the book.

Volume XLI: Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons, A Myth.

"Is that book about Lady Tiamat?" he curiously asked.

The dark elf who hid himself behind the pages every time finally looked him in the face and smiled so brightly that it was almost blinding.

"Y-Yes, this book is about L-Lady T-Tiamat," he answered with joy etched on every word.

"What is it about?"

"Y-You never read t-this book before?" Mare asked, and Pandora's Actor shook his head.

"No, sadly my job doesn't allow me to go outside the treasury that often."

"O-Oh…" the dark elf boy looked dejected all of a sudden.

"B-But its fine! Wenn es meines Gottes Wille ist!" he stood up and saluted.

The boy's mismatched eyes looked at him in confusion.

Shame washed over Pandora's Actor as he slowly squatted to sit back in his chair.

"I-If you want, I could l-lend this to you," Mare offered.

"Ja wirklich?" he said in disbelief.

"I-I don't understand a word you said, b-but you can start with this book first. I-I'll come back a week later and b-bring you another b-book?"

"Danke!" the egghead gratefully replied, and started to flip through the book with new found eagerness.

The two sat in a tranquil silence broken only by the sound of pages flipping. Pandora's Actor soaked up the lore in the pages as he was steadily filled with surprise at the amount of staggering information held in the book. He had never known that their Lady had been through so much.

He wondered if his Vater's book was just as bountiful. He would have to ask Mare after he finished reading this book.

He never imagined that such a book would hold so much treasure at every page.

It was like finding a treasure chest filled with gold, crowns, and priceless jewelry. Surprise was evident on his face with every page he flipped.

He might have found a new treasure to obsess over.

Pandora's Actor looked to his side at the dark elf guardian reading with him. Mare saw him staring, and glanced up with a nervous smile.

Mare had never seen anyone visit Ashurbanipal as much as he did, since he frequently visited to read everything in Nazarick's vast collection. So his lips turned up into a small smile when he realized that another Guardian might have the same hobby as he did.

He started pointing out one paragraph of the book in particular, and Pandora's Actor listened to everything with interest.

"T-This is my f-favorite part, when Lady Tiamat—"

And thus an unusual friendship was born.

A boy who proudly made a new friend by himself.

And an egghead who found out that treasures were not just limited to what was inside the Treasury.


The Reality Behind Suzuki Satoru


He was walking home after he another long day of working.

The gas mask he was wearing was stuffy as usual, but he couldn't care less.

That was because there was a certain incident in his office that made him angry.

One of his co-workers had been working himself to the bone, and ended up collapsing with a nose bleed. He had seen his co-worker's eyes were baggy from lack of sleep, and the pale complexion of his skin led Suzuki to suggest that he should just rest instead of pushing himself over the limit.

But he didn't take his advice.

Suzuki gritted his teeth.

As he slowly walked home to his run-down apartment, his mind kept going back to that incident in the office.

Oftentimes they were working so hard that they used their break time to sleep, dozing off in their chairs like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

And now this.

He recalled the moment where his co-worker collapsed in front of him, his body going slack as gravity brought it down. Although he had expected it, he couldn't suppress the surprise that escaped to his face when it happened.

His teeth grinded with fury.

In a short burst of emotion, he punched the wall beside him hard.

"Ou...ch…" he held his fist in his hands, regretting the impulsive decision.

His right fist was pulsing with pain, and he clutched it tenderly.

"Oww...I shouldn't have hit it so hard," he sighed. "And I ended up skipping the free bread from Hannah-san's bakery today…"

Once he finally reached his apartment, he inserted the keys into the knob and turned it open.

"I'm hom—" he stopped himself.

He was welcomed by a cold, dark, room, devoid of any emotion.

Silencing himself, he went inside, put his shoes away to slip into his house slippers, dropped his office bag into the table, and turned on the lights.

Opening the clutches of his mask, he finally exhaled a sigh of relief as the ventilation in his apartment started to work their magic.

The usual sight of his apartment greeted him. A simple complex where the kitchen and the living room was combined, and the bedroom and bathroom were linked together.

His furniture was not fancy either. All he had were a couple of metal chairs over a simple metal table. It was clear that one chair was unused, but was clean nonetheless, while the other one looked broken.

The poor chair was mended countless times, and in the end it only stood on its own three legs instead of the usual four. He had to replace the other one sooner or later, but he shoved that thought into the back of his mind.

He immediately went to the refrigerator and opened it. As the light of the refrigerator turned on, a half empty plastic water bottle and a couple of pre-prepared rations was all he could see.

Taking out his prepared ration for the day's dinner—the bland stuff was almost impossible to swallow—he choked it down with a gulp of water. He wasn't so poor that he couldn't afford better food, but he simply saw no point in wasting money on such luxuries.

He sighed once again, running his hand through his hair in regret. "Fuck, I should've gone to the bakery afterall."

At least Hannah-san would give him a piece of bread for free.

Suzuki took a look at his unused kitchen, soiled and filled with dust. But then he looked away. He never had the opportunity to cook anyways. It didn't matter.

He turned around and went into his room, where his other world awaited.

This is a tale of a certain man.

Who had a certain hobby.

Who had a good life, and also…

A mother who worked tirelessly for her kid until she collapsed.


A/N: The Guardians jelly their mommy show affection to other kids. LMAO. EVERYTHING I WROTE ABOUT MARE IS SO CUTE, WHY! WHY ARE YOU SO CUTEEEEEE! YOU ARE SO ADORBS! *pinches cheeks with absolute might* Did no one actually realize that the Collection of Ashurbanipal is a fanfic, within a fanfic? #meta #breakingwalls

Hackslashbash: I'm pretty hyped to write more lore pages for the guild members. Sadly, it may take a bit of time, so don't get too excited. ALL OMAKES ARE CANON UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

CHAPTER 22 IS OUT ON DISCORD!

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