As Demiurge walked through the portal he was struck with an almost indescribable awe as he gazed at the sights around him. They had exited onto a wide plaza, the floor was made of a type of a semi transparent white crystal and as he looked around he saw 41 great pillars surrounding the circular plaza. There were no walls instead he saw a wide endless expanse of white fog surrounding the area. On each pillar was carved the symbol of one of the 41 supreme beings. Each pillar was at a different height albeit some with only slight differences. Each pillar had motifs and decorations denoting the different supreme ones. There was the pillar of Takemazuchi a massive construct made of millions of weapons varying from swords to warhammers. There were the pillars of Bukubuku Chagama and Peroroncino with the jewel encrusted pillar of Bukubuku Chagama being slightly taller than that of the pillar denoting sculptures locked in the snare of the endless pleasures of Peroroncino. However there was one pillar that stood taller than all the rest. It was pillar that was made of a plain black stone that seemed to draw in all light and above this pillar was seated Momonga atop a throne of endlessly roiling darkness.
Demiurge was not the only guardian struck dumb at the sights around them. All the guardians simply stood there gawking at the impossible sights around them. None more so than the young dark elf Aura Bella Fiora. She immediately looked up at Bukubuku Chagama who sat upon a crystal throne. Upon gazing at the pink slime seated at the top of the pillar Aura immediately burst into tears.
"Bukubuku Chagama sama…" She wailed.
Mare was not far behind as they both started bawling while looking at their beloved creator. Quick as a flash Aura found herself smothered by the pink slime.
There there, I'm sorry I left you two for so long.
All these years of being alone in the tomb, guarding the colosseum that was her post has left Aura with many fears. What if the supreme beings gave up on us...what if Bukubuku Chagama sama doesn't care about us anymore...have we been abandoned? Such thoughts often roiled within Aura's mind as she silently stood guard at the colosseum with Mare. For days they would stand in silence. Occasionally they would speak to each other, but these small conversations grew less and less frequent as the days turned into weeks, weeks into months and months into years. All her fears evaporated in that moment, but one nagging fear still rang in her mind.
"Are you disappointed with us? Are you going to leave us again?" Aura said through her tears.
"Oh Aura… silly little thing...why would I be disappointed with you? What mother abandons her children…"
"Mother…" the word rang in Aura's head and fresh tears started flowing.
You spoil them Chagama…
The deep growl of Warrior Takemazuchi rang out in the plaza.
"You are too harsh Takemazuchi san" Bukubuku Chagama replied gently.
"But...yes we shouldn't waste everyone's time anymore. Aura, Mare wipe your tears...it's time."
"T...time for what Bukubuku Chagama sama?" Aura asked hesitantly.
"Nothing bad I promise you." Chagama replied gently. In a flash the slime was once again seated atop her throne.
"Also thank you Maeve for bringing them here."
"Always a pleasure Bukubuku Chagama sama" The figure behind the guardians replied. '
She walked calmly pass the guardians and knelt before the pillar of Momonga.
"Meine creator I have returned."
The other guardians sensing their que also rushed to kneel behind the mysterious figure. They held that pose for several minutes all the while they felt the piercing gaze of the 41 upon them. In the Guardians minds there rang one question "What do the supreme ones desire of us?"
Efficient as always Maeve. Come take your rightful place
Rumbled the deep voice of Momonga. Tendrils of darkness reached out and grasped the figure and raised her up to where Momonga sat upon his throne. She calmly stood beside the throne next to Momonga's right hand.
"See Momonga kun spoils Maeve too." Chagama said with a giggle.
"The herald is a vetaran of a thousand campaigns. A true warrior. She has earned the honor." Takemazuchi replied gruffly.
"Yes but the herald is the only successful subject of project 41." replied the eldritch voice of Tabula Smargadina.
"Indeed her specifications are much superior to the rest. It is only natural the herald outperforms the others" Amanomahitotsu concurred.
"But there is beauty in the flawed. Beauty exists because there is imperfection." said the serene voice of Blue Planet
"Enough. We are wasting precious time." stated Lucifer.
"Umuu. Indeed I believe it is time we begin." declared the voice of Momonga.
Demiurge step forward…
Fear is not an emotion a demon often feels. However Demiurge couldn't help but tremble as he was called upon by the most Supreme. Demiurge always knew one day he would have to pay for the great shame. How could he have not seen it? His brother always had treasonous tendencies, but Demiurge always deluded himself into thinking no creation of the 41 would ever betray the masters. Oh how wrong he was...how very very wrong…
"I'm sure you remember the actions of Jaldaboath…" Momonga calmly stated.
We have found him
At these words the head of the guardians immediately shot up gazing upon the skeletal lich. Demiurge's heart raced "Is it finally time? Is the hour at hand for my redemption?" he thought desperately. Demiurge immediately slammed his head into the floor and said "My lords, nothing I ever say will ever wash out the stain that has befallen Nazarick. I know this is shameless beyond belief but please let me go and retrieve my brother. Let me right this great wrong!" The hall was silent after Demiurge's outburst.
"How dare you ask the Supreme Ones for anything! The fact that they allow you to even gaze upon their divine forms is a mercy you do not deserve!" Albedo shrieked. "They grace us with their presence instead of casting us aside and you have the gall to make a request? If it were up to me…"
If it were up to you?
You overstep Guardian Overseer!
Albedo froze as she looked up at the figure known as Maeve. The small girl looked at her with eyes filled with frost. "You rebuke the Guardian of the 7th Floor for speaking out of turn by speaking out of turn yourself?"
Laughable…
Albedo froze as the harsh rebuke rang in her ears. "I...I am sorry my lords I meant no disrespect…"
"It is fine, I will take your outbursts as a sign of loyalty." Momonga calmly stated. As he replied he turned and gave Maeve a pointed look reminding her that she herself had spoken out of turn. Catching his meaning Maeve immediately went red with embarrassment and mutely stood back and retook her original position at her lord's side.
"Now then as to your request Demiurge, that is why I have brought all of you here. The great Tomb of Nazarick will be transported to the world that Jaldaboath has escaped to. You will return order to that realm and bring the delinquent to heel. Jaldaboath will be brought before us to await judgement once he is captured. After which all of you shall govern over that realm in our stead and return it to prosperity." Momonga commanded.
"In addition, I do not view Jaldaboath's defection to be of blame to any of you. Know that no shame or disgrace has befallen you all individually. However collectively the name of the 41 has been tarnished and this cannot stand. You will spend 1 week in this realm to prepare for the coming task, in addition Maeve will be accompanying you all in this mission.I hope you all can work together to achieve a favourable outcome...am I understood?"
YES MY LORDS
Was echoed by the guardians.
"Now then you will be brought to a separate area for you to discuss and gather your thoughts. Maeve will be joining you, get to know each other for the sake of the mission to come. Remember united we stand, divided we fall."
When Momonga finished his instructions the guardians and Maeve were teleported away.
"Well it's safe to say Maeve chan is not impressed with Nazarick…" Peroroncino deadpanned
"Yes, thank you for your most astute observation dear brother." Chagama replied sarcastically
"Although she did handle that outburst quite well, she spoke out against a breach of etiquette with the same breach of etiquette to show her superior status. She also did it subtly as she only addressed the point at hand" Punito Moe summarised
"Well it's safe to say where she got those tendencies from Punito Moe san" Lucifer replied
"The tackling of the game of interpersonal intrigue is an important skill." Punito Moe replied in mock outrage
"They are alike though, her and Albedo chan. Don't you think Tabula san?" Chagama said
"Hard to say I'm surprised, Tabula handled most of the heavy lifting for the programming during her creation." said Herohero
"Yes...the resemblance is uncanny" Tabula said with a tired sigh
"Is it truly wise to send the herald? She is needed on many worlds." Takemazuchi said.
"That is exactly why she must go on the mission, the other realms grow too reliant on the Herald. Do you have any idea how many worlds wants the Herald to just show up and solve their problems? She's a cop out to them, a fail safe. They know no matter how much they in fight and play their little games and ignore the problem at hand, all they have to do is cry for help and Maeve will swoop in and solve their problems." Punito Moe said exasperated
"We need her to grow as a being as well, this constant errand girl routine is hindering her development." Momonga said simply
"Yes, she lacks independence. She is too used to having instructions from us. Not surprising considered all she does is take out all the inter-dimensional trash lying around. *sigh* We have turned our greatest creation, one which took 50 million years of culminated research to create and we turned her into an inter-dimensional garbage women." Punito Moe said while he put his face into his tendrils.
"Punito Moe san is right, we have been far too lenient on the other worlds. Also Maeve needs this, she really does." Momonga said
"Well what happens if the other realms can't handle their problems?" Touch me asked
"Then they press on or burn. The problems there are mostly of their own design anyway. It'll give Ulbert san something to do if it gets out of hand." Ainz replied
"There are septillions of souls in some of those realms... " Touch me began
"Not for long if they keep this up" Punito Moe interjected
"Indeed, we can't always save the mortals from themselves Touch me san" Tabula said kindly
"Well at least The World Disaster won't be as bored if they don't pull themselves together." Peroroncino said
"You have no idea." Ulbert deadpanned
"When was the last time you cracked a world? 30 000 years? 40 000?" Peroroncino asked
"50" Ulbert replied
- At the waiting area -
"Greetings Maeve sama and Guardians of Nazarick please come this way an area has been prepared for you." A beautiful blonde woman with angelic wings said as she approached them.
Shalltear looked around at the beautiful almost ethereal sights around them and was once again in awe at the majesty of the supreme beings. She was lead to a circular table with seats for all the guardians. She looked around and saw the area was on a wide circular plaza made of the whitest marble she had ever seen. Along the floor were patterns cut into the marble itself in various styles and colours. On closer inspection she noticed that the patterns were inlaid with jewels, every line and curve was made of a jewel of the perfect size and inlaid into the stone. Beyond the plaza was a verdant green landscape with picturesque waterfalls, valleys and floating islands. Shalltear knew in her heart if there was a paradise this is what it would look like. As she sat down she found herself sitting next to the Herald or Maeve she supposed was her name. Shalltear knew she wasn't the smartest being ever to grace existence but she was smart enough to infer this young girl held considerable station among the supreme beings. She was about to introduce herself but was interrupted by one of the attendants.
"Esteemed guests we have prepared what your heart desires with regards to your choice of food, please let us know if you require anything else. No whim is too small, no request too great in this realm." The woman said.
"How would you know what we want to eat?" Aura asked out of curiosity
"We are creations of Peroroncino and Amanomahitotsu we have the ability to see into your greatest desires thanks to the blessing of Peroroncino sama and with the skills given to us by Amanomahitotsu sama we can prepare the dish or refreshment perfectly." the woman replied
Just as Shalltear was about to doubt what kind of food would be her heart's desire considering she was a vampire she found a slice of blood red strawberry topped cake on a plate in front of her accompanied by a glass of blood. The cake smelled...like blood but sweeter and more appetizing… With not just a little of anticipation Shalltear took a small bite of the cake and the taste was...divineee...
Pandora's Actor was mean while enjoying his schnitzel and sauerkraut very much but he couldn't quell his curiosity of the fraulein sitting next to him. Pandora's Actor knew he was gifted with a decent level of intelligence but even an absolute dummkopf would realise that this being sitting next to him was also a creation of his most august creator. Deciding that indecision was unbecoming of a creation of the great Momonga he decided to introduce himself.
"Guten tag, Fraulein meine name is Pandora's Actor pleased to make your acquaintance." Pandora's Actor said with his left arm outstretched and right hand on his heart striking what in his mind was a very...very cool pose.
Across the table Aura, Mare and Demiurge was looking on in abject horror at the unmitigated disaster that was playing out before their eyes. In their minds they were thinking the same thing "At least we can't be shamed any worse than this going forward."
To their surprise Maeve simply gave a small genuine smile and gracefully placed a hand over her heart and said "Guten tag herr Pandora, mein name ist Maeve, the honor is mein."
Pandora's actor immediately exclaimed "Wundabar" and two quickly descended into conversation with quite the large amount of hand gestures to go along with it.
Demiurge simply looked on in mute fascination as the two of them conversed.
"Demiurge...what just happened?" Aura said as her delicious beef burger lay forgotten on the plate.
"Well they are both creations of Momonga sama, so I don't suppose it's quite that surprising." Demiurge replied.
"I guess...that makes sense?" Mare said in a rather uncertain voice.
"Well they are dressed more or less the same." Aura added
"Yes...yes they are" Demiurge deadpanned.
After a few more minutes of silent observation Demiurge began reflecting on the words the supreme ones. 1 week of preparation? What does that mean? Planning? Briefings? Are their plans so complex that it would take a week, a full week for them to grasp the fine details? Would I even be able to execute their master plan properly? Unfortunately for Demiurge he would be subjected to his self imposed mental torture for quite awhile as it took almost 3 hours for the guardians to enjoy the delicacies to their hearts content. Shalltear alone drank 4 full barrels of the blood that was poured for her in that first wine glass.
Once the last fork has been placed back on the table the attendants began to give an announcement.
Esteemed guests you will now be granted an audience with your most august creators
Author's Notes:
Hope you enjoyed the story so far. Thank so much for the follows and reviews. All reviews are welcome. Positive or otherwise, criticism is especially welcome. It's hard sometimes to look at my work objectively. Shout out to the reviewer that mentioned my formatting needed work. I changed it abit this chapter, I'm gonna keep the prologue as is so people can decide which they prefer. Also shoutout to God Rising the amazing story written by AtheistBasementDragon you guys should really check it out. His story was kind of the reason I decided to start this story.
Once again thanks so much for reading. :D