Ch.2 The Arrival
The day the miracle occurred within the tomb is one that has been etched into history itself. Ainz Ooal Gown had disappeared completely, his servants in disarray, and his ambitions falling apart without him. It truly had been a dark period within the tomb. But the day that changed everything began in the throne room, where Ainz always sat and made his mighty presence felt.
In the throne room, Albedo weeps as she is on her knees and her body lying on the seat of the throne where her master once sat. She has never stopped crying since his disappearance. All attempts to reach her fall on deaf ears and cries of anguish. All she ever says is "Lord Ainz…Lord Ainz…." Over and over until she runs out of breathe and even after. For days she hasn't left the room, not even to rest or even feed.
Without warning, a familiar voice calls to her "Albedo, hasn't this gone on for long enough?" Albedo pays no mind to the voice who she knows to be Shalltear Bloodfallen, a fellow floor guardian. Shalltear, despite feeling a rivalry with Albedo, does truly feel for her and makes it known "I know how you feel, but we mustn't neglect our work."
Albedo, upset with Shalltear's empathy, turns to her and yells "How dare you say that! You couldn't possibly begin to understand my grief. Lord Ainz was everything to me! EVERYTHING!...(goes back to leaning on the throne) and now he's forever gone, and I have nothing to remember him by. Why, why couldn't at least leave us an heir. Even one from you would be okay…as long as it was his."
Fed up with Albedo's moping, Shalltear makes it clear that enough is enough and forcefully grabs Albedo by the back of her dress and pulls her away from the throne "I said that was enough! You're still a guardian, so have some dignity." She declares while Albedo screams to not be separated from her beloved lord's throne. Her screaming does summon the other floor guardians as they can hear Albedo's anguish throughout the tomb.
The first guardian to appear is the great Cocytus, who immediately says "Oh great, another pointless spat from these two again." Cocytus is also distraught by Ainz's disappearance but maintains his strong dignity as a way of dealing with it.
The next two to appear are the elf twins Mare and his sister Aura. The two elves appear and have some red in their eyes and haven been grieving in private in each other's comfort as siblings who need support. Demiurge appears next, and then the battle maids appear with Sebas. It has been a while since they have all gathered, but they wish it was under happier circumstances.
All the floor guardians stand before the throne and have to watch Shalltear as she tries to keep Albedo from further soiling the throne of their lord. Truly, it is a shameful sight for anyone to see. But then, a green light appears above the throne and the guardians look in awe a little and with anxiety at the hope that this means lord Ainz has returned, and in a way, he does. The visage of Ainz Ooal Gown appears to them, but he's transparent with a green shade.
It matters little to Albedo as she manages to break from Shalltears' grasp and screams "Lord Ainz!" and she runs to feel him, but she passes through him with lunge and hits the throne. The other guardians are breathless and bow immediately.
Albedo turns after recovering and is slower in her approach as she puts her hand out to try to feel her beloved Ainz, but her hand simply goes through him "Lord Ainz, is it truly you?" she weakly asks. The form of Ainz doesn't speak and just stands still. "Will you not speak to me, my lord? Please, allow me to hear your awe-inspiring voice just one more time, I beg of you." She begs with slight desperation.
Shalltear stands up and is drawn to the visage of Ainz with a blush and then the visage finally does something. He looks to Albedo and she looks extremely happy to have him gaze at her. He extends his arm and summons his staff, and then he holds it towards Albedo and a screen appears in front of her face, but she doesn't understand what it is. He then begins press his skeletal fingers at the screen and appears to be writing something. Then, he waves his hand in front of the screen, causing it to disappear and then Albedo stops moving and she looks like a statue with her lack of motion. He then turns his sights towards Shalltear and proceeds to do the same to her. Just like Albedo, Shalltear stops moving, like the two have become lifeless.
The other guardian's confused, Ainz looks towards them andthen he simply disappears before them and they all call out "Lord Ainz!" and then two ladies fall over without any warning. After the momentary shock, Sebas and Demiurge inspect both Albedo and Shalltear, who are both fine and are just unconscious. They think it was simply fatigue after such a sudden shock. Sebas carries Albedo to her chambers and Cocytus carries Shalltear to her chambers.
The visage never appeared again, but some time later, the signs began to show. Albedo started tending to her duties a little more seriously, but still has her moments. She is standing in the throne room alone when a sudden nausea hits her. She puts her hand over mouth and tries to hold it in so that she can carry out her duties…however, within the hour; a maid is already cleaning up a mess in the throne room.
The maid scrubs the vomit from the floor when she suggests "Lady Albedo, if I may, I think you should rest if you feel ill. No one would think less of you if you did."
Albedo, being stubborn, replies "It MY duty to guard the throne room, and it is YOUR duty to clean, not to give me orders."
The maid says nothing more and attends to her duties. Not long later, Shalltear feels a great hunger and goes out of the tomb and starts attacking people by the dozens and even leads to her becoming a notorious monster with a huge bounty on her head (not that she cares) and then Demiurge, being the analytical type, becomes curious and then has Albedo and Shalltear checked.
Sure enough, once the inspection on the two is complete, the results come back that both Albedo and Shalltear are with child. They then both have the idea that the day when the vision of Ainz appeared, he blessed them both with an heir to rule in his stead. However, there is a problem, who will rule the tomb?
A meeting is called between the guardians upon this most wonderful news. Both Shalltear and Albedo have made preparations for the big day and haven't left lala land since finding out, and the same goes for Cocytus.
With all of the guardians gathered, in the throne room of course, the time is approaching as both Albedo and Shalltear are physically showing. The baby showers were a huge success with a completed nursery ready for the two when time arrives, Aura gifted a baby dragon as a guardian for the playroom, Mare gifted a magic tree created by his magic that can produce all sorts of fruits for a snack. Cocytus gifted an ice slide using his ice pillar and carving it with a sword but he originally wanted to gift a weapon but was denied for the moment. The rest of the gifts are the essentials from the rest.
The matter at hand is one of utmost importance as Demiurge makes it known to his peers "As we are all aware, both Albedo and Shalltear have been fortunate to become pregnant with the children of our wise lord Ainz." The others nod and they believe this to be true since neither of them have been with any men as evident by Albedo almost never leaving the throne room and Shalltear killing all other men she's met recently, except for her fellow guardians. But the matter is more critical than one would think "But this raises the question of who will be the new lord." Demiurge's words cause a stir among the guardians.
Cocytus, being ever loyal, summons his halberd and slams the end of it into the ground while declaring "Heresy! We will pledge equal loyalty to both children. The children of Lord Ainz will have equal devotions from us. To think otherwise is pure betrayal of his name." The other guardians agree with Cocytus' declaration.
Aura steps up with her own words "Cocytus is right. Lord Ainz would never want us to pick favorites. He never did with us, and we should do the same for his heirs." Mare nods his head to his sister's words.
Demiurge waves his hands to calm down the stir and adds "Now that's not what I'm proposing. Of course Lord Ainz would look down on us picking favorites, I'm sure. What I am suggesting is that we pick whoever is granted the "title" of the Overlord. It's an inevitability that one heir will become our ruler in title, but both heirs will have equal status. A figurehead for whom the world will see, and acknowledge as its ruler one and true."
Mare, not totally getting it, asks "But if that's the case, then why does one even need the title at all?"
Sebas, thinking on it, answers Mare's question himself "I think what Demiurge is getting at is that an overlord is meant to be a symbol of power, fear, and rule. But with that, a large insurrection can occur. When that happens, we'll have one be the figurehead and the other will be an unseen force, a second ruler whose additional force will make it unsurpassed. Am I correct, Demiurge?"
In a rare moment, Demiurge and Sebas agree as the demon nods to his peer.
Albedo intervenes and states "Very well, but I propose my child will be titled with Overlord. I am the Overseer of the Guardians, and I'm stationed in the throne room. It's only logical, after all."
Shalltear, a bit offended, rebukes "Ha, I'm more powerful than you, Albedo. So surely my genes will produce a much greater fighter and a superior ruler. The only thing beneficial in your child will be Lord Ainz's amazing power."
Albedo slams her foot down and argues "Last I checked, efficiency is a virtue of a true ruler, and a reckless parasite like you only means making a reckless ruler."
Cocytus slams his halberd into the ground and declares "Enough of your blasphemous words! Each of those insults towards the children is as bad as an insult towards Lord Ainz himself."
Realizing this is indeed true, both Albedo and Shalltear back off. Demiurge then makes his proposal towards the overlord "I think we should take the traditional route. The firstborn will be titled overlord. If it's just a title, then it makes the most sense."
The others agree, but Sebas must also emphasize "But we must always assure that both children are equal in our eyes, title or not." This gets a nod from all the guardians.
However, Albedo still mockingly says "Then I've nothing to worry about. After all, I was blessed by Lord Ainz well before Shalltear."
Getting roused, Shallatear retorts "Only because your body is so much like a rotting grapefruit and an old hag like you needed more time than my perfectly supple body." With the tensions on the rise, the floor guardians give up on reasoning with the two, and Demiurge is fine with chalking it up to mood swings.
With the plan decided, the floor guardians do their best to make sure that the arrival of their long-awaited heirs will be easy, joyous, and most all grand. Cocytus spreads word to the lizardmen that their new ruler will be born soon, and other places where Ainz ruled has been informed of the heirs' arrival.
As for the birth itself, because of the sheer importance, the floor guardians are taking the utmost precautions for the day in question. The delivery will be in the throne room, within a small birthing room constructed by Aura, which is guarded by Gargantua, the door leading to the throne room will be guarded by Mare, Cocytus, Aura, and Sebas. While the entrance to the final floor will, naturally, be guarded by the battle maids and with a fortified barrier around the entrance as well. Demiurge's duty is to monitor the birth with a chosen doctor as he expects the births to be really close to each other.
More months pass with the preparations still in effect and the two mothers-to-be are getting more anxious by the day.
Albedo is currently pacing around the nursery she has personally created for her child, a nice dimly lit room with a sun and moon feature for napping, an entire army of handmade stuffed toys from bears, birds, dragons, and even zombies with little button eyes. But, the crown jewel of the room is the crib that she designed personally. It is made of solid oak with a smooth surface that has been enchanted to leave no splinters, bedding so soft that it feels as if you're floating in air, and a blanket that is meant to keep the child warm and comfortable at all times. In the crib is two pairs of clothes, a white dress and a purple suit, a very small one.
Albedo rubs her stomach and gently says "I promise you'll sleep soundly every day." She promises to her unborn child.
In her own nursery, Shalltear has a nice crib ready as well, but her focus is on something different at the moment. She has many vampire brides lined up for an inspection of the utmost importance. She chooses two of the many after making a careful inspection and decides for them to tend to the duty needed.
But there is one more matter to attend, and it's a weird one. Standing in the throne room, at the moment, with an exaggerated flourish, Pandora's Actor "Der Geburtsort meines Messias!" He shouts while raising his hands to the sky, like a wierd prayer "Oh, the most joyous of days is to dawn at any hour now." He puts his hand to his hat and attempts to look cool "The birth of a new god is close at hand, and the end of our suffering is at hand."
Ainz would emberassed beyond words again to hear Pandora's Actor talk this way. Despite his idiocy, it was agreed he did deserve to be around when the next lord is born, and the birthing chamber is in the throne room.
Fortunately, for Ainz's dignity, Albedo enters the throne room and the first words out of her mouth are "You had better not act that way during the birth of our new lord. It's a disgracful display and Lord Ainz would never..." Albedo falls to her knees with a sudden pain.
Pandora's Actor rushes to her "Oh, Lady Albedo, what doth ails you?" Despite him now using an archiac dialect, Albedo looks at the guardian with a little intensity and he now he gets it.
Albedo tells him through her pain „"Just...call the others now. We need to get everything ready."
Though put ont the spot, Pandora's Actor swiftly turns with a "cool" turn and states "This is where we seperate the men from the..."
"Will you shut up and tell the others!" Albedo shouts and causes Pandora's Actor to lose his balance."
Despite his enthusiasm, Pandora's Actor is cut off from his duty as the other guardian's appear in the throne room with Shalltear being carried by one of her Vampire Brides. Like Albedo, Shalltear's time has come. Their preparations are enforced down to last detail and the guards hold their arms ready in any chance, no matter how tiny, that an intruder were to arrive and attack. Even the massive Garguntua is being deployed as a guardian.
Both Shalltear and Albedo lie next to each other so Demiurge can monitor the moment of birth. The two powerful guardians look like they are both in great pain and the added protection only isolates their pained groans. Demiurge merely speaks small comforts with his develish smile that masks his great anxiety.
Hours pass with no progress. Outside the throne room, Aura is getting shaky with anticipation and she can't stand her excitment "I can't believe it's finally happening. Lord Ainz's heir and both on the same day. It's going to be really cool."
Standing vigalinte, Cocytus reminds Aura "Don't lower your stance. We have to be prepared at any moment."
Feeling sure, Aurea replies "Come on, Cocytus, you've got to be excited like me. I can't be the only one."
Cocytus raises her four arms to air and assures "Of course I am! This wonderful day is a day that I wished for. A future worth suffering for, a future worth fighting for, and a day worthy of legend!"
Mare's eyes widen for a moment and he buts in "Wait, I think I hear something." Sebas puts his hand to his ear to better listen after hearing Mare, and then the guardians fall silent.
The sound is feint but there. Within moments, the guardians recognize the noise and they charge into the throne room because the noise is the sound of a newborn baby crying, but not just one. It sounds as if the two sounds are occurring at the same time as each other.
Demiurge stands in front of Albedo and Shalltear as the two women hold their newborn children in their arms. Despite the very joyous moment finally happening, Demiurge looks a little uneasy. "Well, this is a bit unexpected." He proclaims.
The remainder of the floor guardians and the Battle Maids stand before the birthing chamber and await Demiurge's news. The devilish guardian steps out of the chamber with a look of unease on his face.
Concerned, Sebas asks "Do something happen? Are both children fine?" and this causes unease within the guardians and maids who all look concern.
Demiurge adjusts his glasses and answers "No, the two children were brought into the world completely healthy. Both girls, in fact. That's right; Lord Ainz has blessed us all with two very lovely ladies as his heirs. But there is a slight problem."
The news of the two heirs being girls brings absolute joy to all present (of course two boys would have gotten the same reaction as it didn't matter) but the problem, as Demiurge states "It's just that…both were born in same moment and they cried within the same second."
This surprises the guardians because suddenly, deciding the new overlord just got a bit more complicated since both heirs were born at the same time.
