Welcome!
Thank you for reading my fanfic and giving me a chance.
My mother language is not English so please be patient about the grammatical issues.
I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.
I would like to thank the wonderful job what the Skythewood translator team done with the light novel translation.
Without their hard and persistent work, I surely couldn't write this story.
Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.
Let's continue our little story!
They waited for the automatic logout—
[0:00:00...1,2,3]
"...Hm?"
They opened their eyes.
They had not returned to the familiar rooms where they were when they put on their VR helmets. This was still the Throne Room in YGGDRASIL.
"What's going on?" shouted Momonga then looked at his side where he saw the trembling Esdeath.
The time was right. They should have been forcibly logged out by the server shutdown.
[0:00:38]
It was definitely past midnight. The clock could not have gone wrong because of a system error.
A confused Momonga looked around him, searching for any clues in the vicinity.
„Maybe the GM-s extended play time as a form of compensation?"
Although numerous reasons appeared in his mind, they were all far from the truth.
If that was the case, the GMs would have made an announcement. Momonga hurriedly worked to reopen the message panel he had closed — and then he stopped halfway.
"Could it be they delayed the server shutdown—?"
„I Don't know Momonga san but. I.. I felt a great disturbance in the Force as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."
Suddenly Esdeath placed his or now her hands before her mouth her eyes widened. She reddened deeply. This was due because instead of his original male voice a soft young female voice left her mouth. When she said the lines above.
Momonga was confused too. There was no such function in the game before. He also noticed too that his voice was a loot deeper and darker than his original one.
„Something is not right here" Thought Momonga
„Esdeath-san quickly checks your consoles I do the same."
This sentence wakes Esdeath from her trembling stance.
„Yes, Momonga-san I do it right away."
They both checked their consoles and their available developer tools.
But there was just no command console.
"What… on earth happened?" Yelled Momonga
Momonga's angry voice echoes through the Throne Room then vanished.
Momonga was filled with panic, frustration, and suspicion, but he was also surprised by how calm he was considering the circumstances. He decided to call on other means. Forced connections that did not require a console, the chat function, a GM call, a forced logout—
None of them responded. It was as though they had been deleted from the system.
Today was the last day of YGGDRASIL, yet all these things were happening on a day that should have marked an end to the game. Was this some kind of prank they were pulling on the players?"
Momonga was quite unhappy that they could not meet the end of the game in style, and the words he muttered clearly illustrated the anger inside him. There should not have been any reply to his hostile suspicion.
Esdeath quickly gathered her remaining composure then whispered to him.
„Momonga-san we had to calm down. If we panic we are lost."
Momonga just nodded in response.
"What's wrong, Momonga-sama?"
It was the first time he had heard that beautiful woman's voice.
Momonga was startled, but he still kept searching for the source of the voice. Esdeath did the same. When they found the one who had spoken the words from just now, they were speechless.
The person who had answered Momonga was the NPC raising her head — Albedo.
"Is something wrong, Momonga-sama, Esdeath-sama?"
Albedo kept asking her questions. They did not know how to respond. As it was, there were far too many things they did not understand, so his thought processes short-circuited.
"Forgive us."
Momonga could only stare dumbly at Albedo, who was standing before him.
"Are you all right?"
Albedo's beautiful face drew close to Momonga's as she studied him. A faint fragrance entered his nostrils. The scent seemed to restore Momonga's ability to think, and his mind, which had been hitherto out of commission, slowly returned to normal.
"No… nothing is wrong… No, nothing."
Momonga was not the sort of person who made a habit of speaking politely to dolls. However… hearing Albedo's questions instinctively made him want to respond with deference.
Momonga and Esdeath already realized the feeling that something was terribly wrong about Albedo and themselves.
All he could do in this ignorant state was to suppress his fear, shock, and other unnecessary emotions. However, Momonga was a common person, and could not do that.
Although Esdeath was a very hard time to maintain her composure. Due to her lack of the ability to automatically suppress all emotional status effect on herself.
This was really annoying and uncomfortable for her.
The only thing what prevented her from collapsing in front of everyone was the acting and drama lessons what he got while he was in high school.
„—Panic is the seed of defeat, so you must maintain your calm and think logically. Remain calm, look beyond your surroundings, and don't waste your effort on unnecessary details."
They just thought back about one of his companion quotes.
As they recalled these words, they slowly regained their composure.
Momonga silently thanked Punitto Moe, the Zhuge Liang of Ainz Ooal Gow
"Is something the matter?"
She was close to him now. Albedo was so close he could feel her gentle breaths. Her lovely face dimpled in an adorable way as she asked her question. Momonga, who had calmed himself after much effort, was in danger of being driven into panic again from her nearby face.
"...The GM Call function does not seem to work."
„The same to me Momonga-san. No one responded. My every attempt finished with failure. It's like they never existed."
In Momonga's past life, he had not received romantic attention from the opposite sex, let alone those of a sexual nature. Although he knew that she was just an NPC, he could not help but be moved by her realistic expressions and movements.
However, as his passions stirred within his heart, they were quenched like they had been earlier, and he returned to normal.
"...Please forgive my inability to answer the Supreme One's questions about this 'GM Call'. I apologize for not meeting your expectations. Nothing would please me more than a chance to make up for my prior mistake. Please, command me as you see fit."
...The two of them were conversing. There was no doubt about that.
Learning this fact shocked Momonga so greatly that he could not speak.
Impossible. This should have been impossible.
The closest thing NPCs could come to conversations was with macroed responses to being addressed in a certain way. There was audio data for roars and cheering for players to download, but actually allowing an NPC to engage in conversation was an impossible task. Even Sebas from just now could only accept simple orders.
Why had such an impossible event occurred? Was this phenomenon limited to Albedo?
Momonga dismissed Albedo with a wave of the hand, and disappointment flashed across her face as she retreated. Momonga turned his eyes from her body to the butler and the six maids, whose heads were still lowered.
Esdeath was still confused under her mask of calmness.
„What the hell this should be impossible the game engine was never so advanced to handle such complex tasks such as verbal communication and conversation between the player and the NPC-s. Maybe it's just an anomaly. Yes, this is an anomaly in the game everything will be right everything will be right… right? Maybe I'm just going crazy because the nanites damaged my brain." She thought while she tried to find out the source why is there a feeling of emptiness between her legs and a certain kind of weight on her chest.
However, she dismissed these thoughts fast because this was not their biggest concern at least for now.
„Sebas! Maids!"
She heard Momonga booming voice.
"Yes!"
Their voices chorused out as one, and then the butler and maids raised their heads.
"Approach the throne."
"Understood," Sebas responded fastly and firmly without hesitation.
„And now this. This day beginning to become worse and worse and more confusing with each moment. Right, this is not an anomaly. Just stay calm and keep up the acting. Now it's official I go crazy! Hehe" Esdeath though
Momonga had learned two things from this.
The first was that he did not need to specially enter commands on a keyboard; the NPCs would understand his intentions and execute his orders.
The second was that Albedo was not the only one who could speak.
At the very least, all the NPCs in this room were exhibiting anomalous behavior.
"—I-Is something wrong? Have I made a mistake…?"
"...!"
As he finally realized what the problem was, he did not shout, nor did he keep silent, but he simply sighed imperceptibly.
Momonga hurriedly placed a hand on his mandible and spoke.
—His mouth was moving.
"...pos...sible!"
„Impossible, impossible" Esdeath murmured under her nose
„...What should I do… Is there anything I can do?"
They knew nothing about what was going on. Nobody would help Them even if they start to openly panic.
Then, his first priority should be — looking for clues.
"—Sebas."
He could see an earnest, sincere expression on Sebas' face. He looked like a real person.
Numerous questions rose up in their mind, floating on a sea of uneasiness, but Momonga forced aside all these emotions. In the end, the only choice he had for reconnaissance was Sebas.
The mental image of a department chief giving orders to his subordinates appeared in his mind. Momonga took on a superior, commanding attitude, and spoke:
"Exit the Tomb and investigate the surrounding region. If you encounter intelligent creatures, interact peacefully with them and invite them to the Tomb. Attempt to accommodate the other party as much as possible during negotiations. Do not stray more than one kilometer from the tomb and avoid unnecessary combat."
"Understood, Momonga-sama. I will do so immediately."
„Sebas," called Esdeath after Sebas.
„Yes, Esdeath-sama?"
„While you heading outside please pick up Zero Rei The Professional from the kitchen area to cover you while you outside. Stay connected via message spell. If a battle occurs, retreat immediately and convey everything you two have learned."
„ I hope the message spell works and they don't die because of our inability to use YGGRADASIL spells." Esdeath sweatdropped
Sebas bowed respectfully then said.
„I understood Esdeath-sama I'm going right away!"
In YGGDRASIL, NPCs made to protect a guild base could not leave it under any circumstances. However, it would seem this ironclad restriction had been overturned.
No, they could only be certain of that once Sebas and Zero Rei The Professional returned.
That was simply the first step.
Momonga lets go of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
The staff did not fall onto the ground but floated in the air as though someone was still holding it. This was in complete defiance of physics, but it was a common sight in the game.
The next step would be—
The problem was actually contacting them. Normally, simply using the /shout command or a GM call would put him in touch with a GM instantly, but if these methods did not work either...
"[Message]?"
This was a spell used to communicate in the game.
Normally, its use was restricted to certain places and conditions, but perhaps he might be able to make good use of this spell in this current situation. The problem was that this spell was originally designed to communicate with other players, so it might not be able to reach a GM.
However… There was an another player in the room.
He had to try to be sure of it.
Momonga was a level 100 spellcaster. If he could not cast spells, his mobility, his ability to gather information, and of course his fighting power would plummet drastically. In these unknown circumstances, he had to verify that he could use magic, and quickly.
Now where can I go to test my magic... As Momonga thought about that question, he looked slowly around the Throne Room and then shook his head.
Although this was an emergency situation, he had no desire to conduct magical experiments in this quiet, almost sacred Throne Room. He contemplated suitable locations for magical testing, and then a promising location appeared in his mind.
Activate Ability[Message] contact Esdeath Gorgon: „Esdeath-san does you hear me?"
[Message]: „Momonga-san is that you?"
[Message]"Yes. It seems at least one of our abilities works flawlessly. Anyway, your voice sounds quite cute."
[Message]"Haha Momonga-san very funny. My voice at least not wake up and frightened everyone and cause nightmares to the little child when I start to speak."
[Message]"That was just rude."
[Message]"Sorry Momonga-san I'm a little confused in this moment."
[Message]"Me too. But somehow when my emotions go into overdrive. Some power suddenly calms me down. It's like my emotions just vanished instantly."
[Message]"Maybe It's because of your undead racial. The Lucky one I barely keep myself together. I could use this ability now."
[Message]"Indeed it's a useful ability situation like these."
[Message]"We still had to test many things. The first thing what we had to confirm to our rights and authorities still work in Nazarick."
[Message]" True. The first thing what you always had to check in your network is always your authorities and licenses."
[Message]"Do you have any idea how to we got ourselves into this situation Esdeath-san?"
[Message]"I have a few theory one crazier than the other. But we need to discuss it later because I think it's kinda suspicious to the others in the throne room that we just remain silent for this long time."
[Message]"You are right"
Until now, all the NPCs they had met were loyal to them.
But they can't be sure enough about the others. There are still numerous traps and threats what had turned against them can cause them a quite a hassle and can be a serious threat to them.
However —
Momonga glanced at the kneeling Sebas and the maids, and then at Albedo beside him.
Albedo was smiling. It was a beautiful smile, but it seemed to be concealing something else behind it. As he wondered what that "something else" might be, unease crept through Momonga.
The NPCs were loyal to them, but would they stay that way? If this were in the real world, subordinates would no longer be loyal to superiors who constantly screwed up. Would the NPCs be that way as well? Or was it that once they were programmed to be loyal, they would stay that way forever?
If their loyalty to them wavered, how should they regain it?
Rewards? There was vast wealth in the Treasury. Although it pained him to expend the treasures left behind by his former comrades, they would probably understand if it was for the sake of Ainz Ooal Gown. The question would then be how large of a reward he should give.
In any case, as long as they acted the part of their leader, they would probably not raise their hands against them right away. Be it among animals or humans, enemies would probably not attack if their intended prey did not reveal any weaknesses.
Momonga declared in a powerful voice:
"Pleiades. Head to the 9th Floor and repel any invaders from the 8th Floor."
"Understood, Momonga-sama."
The maids behind Sebas acknowledged his orders respectfully.
"Begin immediately."
"Understood, my masters!"
The giant doors opened, and then closed again.
Sebas and the maids vanished beyond the doors.
It was good that they had not replied with a "No" or something similar.
A great weight seemed to lift off Momonga's chest, and at the same time, he looked at the person who had stayed by his side. That person was Albedo, who had stood by, awaiting orders.
She smiled, and asked him, "Then, Momonga-sama, what will you have me do next?"
"Ah, ahh… got it."
Momonga rose from the throne to retrieve his staff, and as he did that, he spoke:
"Come to me."
"Yes!"
The smiling Albedo drew closer. Although Momonga was wary of the black wand and orb she had been carrying, that caution passed in an instant, and he decided to temporarily ignore its existence. Just as Momonga finished thinking that, Albedo was close enough that he could embrace her if he wanted.
She smells nice — wait, what am I thinking.
Momonga reached Albedo and touched her face.
"...Ah—" Albedo yelped
Overlords required levels in the Elder Lich racial class, and among the abilities Elder Liches possessed was the ability to inflict negative energy damage on anything they touched. Was that the reason?
"Forgive me. I forgot to deactivate my negative energy touch skill."
"Please pay it no heed, Momonga-sama. That damage hardly counted as damage. And as long as it were Momonga-sama, I would gladly endure any kind of — kya!"
"Ah… mm. Is… that so… No, no, I must still apologize."
Momonga was caught off-guard by Albedo's adorable yelp and the way she shyly covered her face, and his reply ended up being less dignified than he had hoped for.
So it was due to the negative energy touch after all.
He could not help but laugh at the strange situation he found himself in. After all the shocks and surprises he had received so far, this was hardly worth panicking about. It was frightening how well he had adapted to his condition.
"I'm going to touch you."
"Ah."
After deactivating the skill, he touched Albedo's hand. Thoughts like "her hand's so slim", "her skin's so white" and so on raced through his head, but he cast aside these male desires and focused on one thing — the pulse at her wrist.
— It was there.
Yes, she was alive.
Momonga released her hand and looked at his own arms. All he saw was an expanse of polished white bone, bereft of skin or flesh.
The next step… yes, the final step. If he could confirm that, then all of his predictions would be vindicated. Was this real life, or was this just fantasy?
He had to do this. If she attacked him with that weapon of hers, it could not be helped.
"Albedo… I, may I touch your breasts?"
"Eh?"
The air between them seemed to freeze.
Albedo's eyes went wide.
A wave of depression washed over Momonga as he considered his words.
"I have to do this", what the hell was he thinking, saying that to a woman? He wanted to scream "Despicable!" at the top of his voice. Indeed, using one's superior position to commit sexual harassment was the most despicable thing imaginable.
„If he trying to do what I think he will try to do. Then the game will automatically force him to log out.
In the game, if you committed 18+ actions the game automatically forced you to log out and gave you serious penalties.
No matter where you were or what you have done in that moment. I hope it will work for him.
If not well we are in a really shitty situation and well just fuck. „ Thought Esdeath
"That... should be fine, right?"
It was not fine at all.
In contrast to Momonga's nervous request, Albedo seemed to be overflowing with joy. She gave him a glittering smile.
"But of course, Momonga-sama. Please, help yourself."
Albedo straightened herself up, presenting her ample twin peaks for Momonga's inspection.
Her breasts swelled up through her dress. And now, he was going to touch them.
He sneaked a peek at Albedo, and found that her eyes were shining, jiggling her bosom as though to say "hurry up and touch me".
With sheer force of will, he steeled his resolve and reached out.
The first thing Momonga felt was something hard under the dress, followed by a soft, yielding sensation.
"Fuahh.. haaa..."
As Albedo moaned wetly, Momonga completed yet another experiment.
In accordance with the software legislation for virtual reality games, such games were not allowed to provide sensory data for smell and taste. Although YGGDRASIL had food and drink items, consuming them was little more than changing a value in the game system. In addition, the sense of touch was heavily limited, in order to prevent confusion with the real world. These limitations meant that VR systems were not very useful for the sex industry.
„Well, It's not working. Shit Shit shiiiiiiiiit. ...If this virtual world is just a simulation of the real world… then the quantity of data involved must be unimaginable…" Though Esdeath in the full red face.
Momonga realized that he had been groping Albedo for a long time, but Momonga justified it to himself by saying that he had no choice but to grope her for that long, and it was definitely not because squeezing her supple flesh felt so good that he reluctantly let go of her… or something.
„ I think that will be enough Momonga-san," interjected Esdeath
"Sorry, Albedo."
"Fuahh…"
"Will I have my first time here?"
A sensual moan came from the red-faced Albedo, and he could practically feel her body heat raising the surrounding temperature. After that, she shyly asked Momonga:
"May I ask how you wish to dispose of my clothes?"
"...Wha?"
"Would it be better if I disrobed myself? Or would you like to unwrap me, Momonga-sama? Or if we did it while I was wearing the dress, afterward… it would get dirty… no, if you want me to wear this dress, I have no objections, Momonga-sama."
Esdeath sweatdropped then started to walk away from the throne then said. „Goodbye, Momonga-san have fun." while she waved backward one of her hand the other was in her pocket.
Momonga swallowed with a non-existent throat. Though his mind could not comprehend the situation, his heart could.
"Enough, that's all for now, Albedo."
"Eh? I understand," said Albedo with a sadly disappointed tone
"Now is not the time for… no, there's no time for that sort of thing."
"My, my apologies! I allowed myself to be ruled by my desires despite the urgency of the situation!"
With a swift movement, Albedo made to genuflect in apology, but Momonga stopped her:
"No, all this is my fault. I forgive you, Albedo. But other than this… I have an order."
"Please give me any command you desire."
„Esdeath-san please come back we still had things what we had to discuss."
Albedo suddenly gave a fast jealous killing gaze to Esdeath however it was barely noticeable. But Esdeath felt some kind of chill in her spine from it. It felt like someone wanted to kill you.
„Okay, Momonga-san. Sorry for I wanted to leave you two alone."
„Seriously he wanted to leave me alone with Albedo? No knowing Esdeath-san he or now she was just sarcastic."
„It's no problem Esdeath-san."
"Back to the topic, Albedo tell the Guardians of each Floor, with the exception of the 4th and the 8th Floors, to meet at the Colosseum on the 6th Floor in an hour's time. I will contact Aura and Mare myself, so there is no need to inform them."
"Understood. Allow me to repeat the order; aside from Aura and Mare of the 6th Floor, I am to inform all the Floor Guardians to meet one hour later at the Colosseum."
"Correct. Go."
"Yes."
Albedo swiftly departed the Throne Room.
As they watched the retreating Albedo, Momonga let himself sigh, in a way that suggested he was thoroughly exhausted. Once she left the Throne Room, Momonga groaned painfully:
"...Oh, what have we done? It was supposed to be a silly joke… If we were known we wouldn't have done it. We… We soiled the NPC Tabula Smaragdina-san created…"
„Well, we successfully corrupted Tabula Smaragdina-san creation. Big congratulations for us. Ah.. it cannot be helped the developer's console doesn't seem to work anymore."
„Indeed. But how would have we know that this will happen."
„Huh. We were stupid enough to not calculated Murphys Law into our equations."
(Murphys Law: "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.")
„ But how we could calculate absurd things like this?"
„The funny is that we can't. This is the funny of the world you can't calculate everything Momonga-san.
Something that you don't calculate will eventually come back and kick your ass. Myself I can't do anything just laugh our situation it's so ridiculous already and we just only started."
"...ah… shit! You are right this is really ridiculous. What do you think what do we do Esdeath-san."
„Keep up the acting. My theory is that. If they seem to sense our inability to lead them they eventually turn against us. If they not already against us. Don't forget we only checked the loyalty of The Throne room NPC-s."
„Keeping up the act easier said than done."
„What else we can do waiting for them to turn on us and kill us?
Arrrgh… Maybe this is just a bad dream where we can't wake up or our brain is damaged because of that crappy VR helmet and we are in the state of coma."
„We don't know yet Esdeath-san. We need more information."
However, the frowning Momonga — although it could not be seen because he was a skeleton — eventually rose from the Throne.
„We need to head to the sixth-floor arena to fulfill our appointment with the Floor Guardians."
„Yes, you are right Momonga-san. In the mean time, we need to verify that our Guild rings working properly."
Every member of Ainz Ooal Gown possessed the magic ring that Momonga and Esdeath wore.
That ring was called the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
The power of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown was unlimited teleportation between named rooms of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, and it would even allow one to teleport into the Tomb from the outside. Since Nazarick was warded to block teleportation into or within itself (except for a few specific areas), this ring was very handy.
The only places where this ring could not teleport its wearer was to the Throne Room and the various guild members' personal rooms. This ring was also required to enter the Treasury, which was why he could not do without it.
However, each Member could teleport to their own room with the help of the ring.
Momonga sighed deeply.
After this, they would be using the ring's power. They were not sure if the ring could still do everything they expected from it, but they had no choice except to test it out.
„Then let's do it"
„ Let's beside nothing wrong could happen to us. Beside the teleportation goes wrong and rip ourselves to pieces in subatomic level or teleport us to an entirely different place far-far away. But as the saying goes:"Never venture, never win!"
Momonga nodded then he unleashed the power of the ring. Esdeath did the same.
Activate Item[Ring of Ainz Ooal gown]
As they unleashed the ring's power — the world before them instantly turned black.
Right after that, the scenery in front of them changed, and his surroundings were now a dark tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, they could see what looked like a giant lowered portcullis. Within the tunnel were artificial lights.
"It worked…"
Momonga muttered to himself, relieved at the successful teleport.
„Yeah we don't rip apart in atomic level YIPEE"
„Is this necessary Esdeath-san?"
„Sorry, Momonga-san I only deduce my tension through sarcastic comments. At least now. I hope my in-game media system works what I implemented into my room. So I can derive this stress with a little music."
„What media system?"
„You know devices to listen to music watch films, play other games. I even imported countless old movies games and music into the system. Though it's price was ridiculously high."
„Is that so. I hope you will allow me to use too."
„Of course my glorious leader." Esdeath smiled sarcastically.
Momonga just chuckled evilly on this comment.
They walked down the wide and high passage, toward the portcullis ahead of them.
The stone floor amplified the sound of their footsteps, and at times they could hear echoes.
The torches that lined the tunnel flickered constantly, and as a result, the shadows they made seemed to dance. Bathed in the light of several torches, they cast several shadows at once, and it seemed as though there were multiple of them.
They suddenly smelled something as they drew near the portcullis. They stopped and took a deep breath. It was a strong scent of earth and grass — the smell of the jungle.
„Well in our Earth we can't smell every day such fresh scents. Doesn't we Momonga-san?"
Momonga just nodded.
In the modern Earth, humanity polluted the planet already in such level that the rarest and most precious sight was the clear sky. Most of the people used an oxygen mask or artificial lungs to escape the health hazard effects of the polluted air what they had to breathe without them.
Momonga thought about that how did his body breathe, without lungs or a windpipe?
Momonga felt that thinking too much about such things was foolish, and put it aside.
As though it sensed their approaching, the portcullis swiftly raised itself into the ceiling at just the right moment to let them through. Past the barrier, what they saw was a circular arena, surrounded on all sides by many tiers of audience seats.
The colosseum was oval in shape, 180 meters on its long axis and 150 meters on the short axis. It was 40 meters tall and modeled after the arenas of the Roman Empire.
[Continual Light] spells were cast everywhere, illuminating the grounds in white light, so one could observe the entire Colosseum like it was day.
The audience was composed of many clay dolls — golems, in other words —, which showed no sign of activity.
In this Colosseum, the intruders would be the stars of the show, while the ones watching from the VIP box would be members of Ainz Ooal Gown. The main event, of course, would be a brutal melee. Apart from the 1500-man invasion, every single invader had met their end here.
They walked into the center of the arena and looked into the sky. What they saw was a black expanse of night sky. Perhaps they might have been able to see the stars if there were no light around them.
However, this place was the 6th floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, so the sky there was merely a virtual imitation.
Even that imitation required a massive amount of data, but as a result, the sky here could change with the time of day, even showing an actual sun with appropriate daylight effects.
They looked around — nobody was there. The twins should have been minding this place...
They noticed something.
"Toooooooh!"
After the shout, a figure leaped from the VIP box.
The figure jumped down from a height of about six storeys, somersaulted in mid-air, and landed as though it were a butterfly descending on a flower. There was no magic involved, only pure physical prowess.
It negated the force of the impact with a simple flexing of the knees, and it smiled broadly.
"V!"
It made a V-sign of victory.
A child of about 11 had descended from above. His no her face bore a smile that was as bright as the sun. The common people easily mix her with a male boy but the members of the Ainz Ooal Gown knew she was designed that way by Bukubukuchagama. She was adorable, with the androgynous appeal of both a boy and a girl.
Her hair resembled threads of spun gold, and it grazed her shoulders. The light reflected off the strands of hair resembled an angel's halo. Her mismatched eyes, one blue, one red, seemed as eager and sparkly as a puppy's.
Her ears were long, and his skin was dark. She was a Dark Elf, a species related to Forest Elves.
She wore a shirt of light leather armor, reinforced with red dragon's scales. The emblem of Ainz Ooal Gown was proudly displayed on her vest, stitched in gold onto a white background. Below that, she wore a pair of white pants, matching her vest. A necklace with a glittering golden acorn pendant hung from her neck, and she wore a pair of gloves reinforced with plates of enchanted metal.
A whip coiled across her waist and right shoulder, and there was a longbow on her back. The bowstave and grip seemed to be covered in strange decorations.
"Aura, is it?" Esdeath asked.
Esdeath was addressing the Guardian of the 6th Floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Aura Bella Fiora. She was a skirmisher who was also able to summon and tame beasts.
Aura jogged over to them. Well, to her, it was a jogging pace, but she was traveling as fast as one of his beasts at full speed, rapidly closing the distance between them.
Aura screeched to a halt.
Her running shoes had hihiirokane metal plates on the soles, and they threw up clouds of dust as they ground against the floor of the arena. The clouds did not touch the two Guild members body; if she had planned that, then her skills must have been impressive indeed.
"Huu~"
Aura was not sweating, but yet she wiped her forehead theatrically. Then, with a puppy-like smile, she greeted them.
"Welcome, Momonga-sama. Welcome, Esdeath-sama. Welcome to the level I guard!"
She said with a bright smile.
The greeting was filled with the same respect that Albedo, Sebas, and the maids had for them, but for some reason, it felt more intimate.
They could not detect any hostility on Aura's face, and Momongas [Enemy Scan] ability revealed nothing.
Momonga's line of sight left the band on his right wrist and he loosened his grip on the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"...Mm. We will be intruding for a while."
"What're you saying, You are the master of Nazarick, the Supreme Overlord, right, Momonga-sama? And Esdeat-sama is the protector of Nazarick and the last Nephalem. There's no place you two had be intruding if you visited!"
"I see… speaking of which, if you're here, Mare…"
Upon hearing Momonga's question, Aura blinked in surprise, as though she had realized some great truth and turned around, shouting loudly upward:
"Momonga-sama and Esdeath-sama has graced us with their presence! How rude are you going to be by not showing your face to them?!"
There was movement in the shadows of the VIP box.
"Was Mare there too?" asked Esdeath.
Though She already sensed him with her increased perception. It was kinda strange sensing for her everything around her. More clearly more sharpen than ever before. It was like she was blind in her whole life and now she gained her senses. The quantity of information was overwhelming for her and she almost lost the touch of the world because of it.
"Yes, that's right, Supreme Ones. He's really timid… Oi, jump down here now!"
An almost inaudible reply came from the VIP box. Judging by the distance between there and here, it was a miracle the other party could even hear Aura. However, that miracle was the result of the magic on Aura's necklace.
"I, I can't, onee-chan…"
Aura took a deep breath and grabbed her head.
"He… he… Supreme Ones, he's just scared, he's definitely not trying to insult you two."
Esdeath nodded respectfully. Then Momonga voiced his opinion.
"Of course, Aura. I have never doubted you or your brother loyalty."
Aura started to smile brighter than before.
"The Supreme Being Momonga-sama and Esdeath-sama had come to visit us, but you as a Floor Guardian aren't even here to meet them! You should know how disrespectful that is! If you're too scared to jump down, maybe a quick kick will substitute for courage!"
"Uuu… I'll take the stairs down…"
"How long do you want the Supreme Ones to wait?! Get over here now!"
"I, I got it… e-eiii!"
„Aura don't push her please we have time," said Esdeath
„But Esdeath-sama that would be very rude to make you two wait."
„As I said we have time. Please don't make such big hassle about us."
As Esdeath was halfway through her sentence Mare was already landed onto the ground not as gracefully as his sister but like there was no gravity.
She nervously adjusted his skirt and started to running to the little group.
"Hurry up!" said Aura
"Y-yes!"
The child who finally arrived in front of them looked almost identical to Aura. They had to be twins, given the way they shared the same hair, the same eyes, and the same features. However, if Aura was the sun, then Mare was the moon.
He looked nervous, as though he was afraid of being scolded. The two remaining guild members were surprised by the stark difference between the two. However, from what Momonga knew, Mare should not have been like this. Even if one wrote a long character description for their NPCs, it would not be reflected in their personalities.
Yet, these two Dark Elf children were displaying animated emotions in front of them.
"—They must be the Aura and Mare that Bukubukuchagama-san wanted to see."
Bukubukuchagama was the guild member who had designed these two Dark Elf characters.
„If only she could have been here for this..."
"I, I'm sorry I kept you waiting, Supreme Ones…"
He nervously raised his eyes to peek at Momonga and Esdeath each of them just for a moment. He wore a vest of blue dragon scales and a small cape that was as green as jungle leaves.
His clothes had the same basic white color as Aura, but a short section of flesh peeked out below his short skirt. It was short because the rest of his legs were covered in white silk stockings. He had an acorn-shaped pendant on a necklace like Aura, but his was made of silver.
Mare was much more lightly armed than Aura, with a pair of lustrous white gloves on his dainty little hands, and a gnarled black staff in his hands.
Mare Bello Fiore.
Like Aura, he was a Guardian of the Sixth Floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
Momonga squinted — though his eyes were merely empty sockets — and looked at them. Aura thrust her chest forward proudly, while Mare simply cowered under Momonga's gaze.
Esdeath just stared at them with a look of authority .
They nodded several times, musing that the two of them were indeed the incarnation of their comrade's hard work.
"I'm glad to see that the two of you are in good spirits."
"I'm positively overflowing with energy… although it's been a bit boring recently. It would be nice if we had an intruder or two."
"I, I would rather not have to meet intruders… they, they're scary…"
After hearing Mare's words, Aura's expression changed:
"...Haa. Momonga-sama and Esdeath-sama, please excuse me for a while. Mare, come with me."
"O-oww… Nee-chan, that hurts…"
After seeing Momonga nod slightly, Aura pinched Mare by the tip of one of his ears and dragged him away from Momonga and Esdeath. Then, she began whispering into Mare's ear. Even from a distance, one could tell that she was scolding him.
[Message]"...Intruders, huh. Well, much like Mare, I don't want to meet them either…"
[Message]„ I don't know Momonga-san it would be wise to test our strength against opponents of course after preparations."
Momonga just nodded for this comment.
After they snapped back to reality, they realized that Mare was on his knees in front of Aura, who was hurling a torrent of abuse at him.
[Message]"Good grief, Mare was clearly not made by Peroroncino-san. Or is this because Bukubukuchagama-san believed that 'Little brothers should listen to their big sisters'... Though come to think about it, Aura and Mare should have died once. How should I address that?"
The invasion of 1500 people had made it down to the 8th floor. Which was to say, Aura and Mare should have died then. Did they remember anything about it?"
[Message]I Don't know Momonga-san it's best to not mention to them at least for a while. This information can make them unstable or torn open an already healed emotional wound. We don't even know they even remember the siege."
[Message]"True."
What meaning did the concept of "death" have for those two, anyway?
According to YGGDRASIL's rules, death would cost a character five levels and force them to drop one of their equipped items. In other words, characters below level 5 would immediately disappear. Players were specially exempt from this and would not vanish, but they would be reduced to the minimum of level 1. Therefore, it must be an issue with the game rules.
Using spells like [Resurrection] or [Raise Dead] would mitigate this level loss. In addition, with the use of cash items, one would only lose a bit of experience.
It was simpler for NPCs. As long as the guild paid the requisite fees to resurrect them, they would be recalled to life without any ill effects.
Therefore, players who wanted to respec their characters often favored using death to lower one's levels.
While the loss of even a single level was a harsh punishment in a game where each level required a lot of experience points, losing levels was not such a frightening prospect in YGGDRASIL.
But if everything is right what the two guildmates thought about the situation. This was not a game anymore. If you die there will be consequences.
They wanted to verify this, but at the same time, they did not want to disturb them unduly.
They needed to conduct an experiment to make themselves sure about the meaning of death in this new world.
Perhaps after clearing all the accumulated problems away, they should ask Aura about the invasion.
"That should be enough, don't you think?"
"Momonga-sama! But, but as a Guardian, Mare—"
„What enough is enough Aura please he learned his lesson," said Esdeath
"It's fine. Aura, I understand how you feel. It is only natural that you would feel unhappy if Mare, as a Floor Guardian, said such a cowardly thing, especially if it were in our presence. However, I believe that if anyone invaded the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, you and Mare would fearlessly step forward to engage them. There is no need for scoldings as long as one does what is required of them when the time comes."
Esdeath walked up to between the two of them and helped Mare up.
"And Mare, you should be grateful to your kind sister. Even if I were angry, I could not remain so after seeing how your sister scolded you."
Mare looked in surprise at his sister. At this moment, Aura hurriedly said:
"Eh? No, no, it's not like that. I wasn't scolding him to show off in front of the Supreme Ones!"
"Aura, it's fine. It doesn't matter what you had in mind. I understand your kind intentions. However, I must tell you that we are not dissatisfied with Mare's performance as a Guardian."
said Momonga
"Um, ah, yes, yes! Thank you, both of you!"
"Th-thank you very much…"
"Hm, that's right. Aura, I think you said something about being bored because there were no intruders?"
"—Ah, no, that, about that…"
"I do not intend to reproach you for your answer, so feel free to speak your mind."
"...Yes, a little. There's nobody around here who can spar with me for more than five minutes."
„I gladly spar with you anytime if you want just ask," interjected Esdeath with a smirk
„N-no Esdeath-sama we would never dare to attack a Supreme being. Right Mare?"
„R-Right."
„Ok, but if you change your mind the offer is always open."
„Thank you Esdeath-sama" they both bowed and said in unison.
"I have something to ask of you. We plan to conduct certain experiments… We will need your help for them."
Aura cheerfully replied, "Yes, I understand! Momonga-sama, leave it to me!"
"...Momonga-sama, you and Esdeath-sama come to our floor in order to perform the experiments just now?"
Mare was nodding beside her.
"Eh? Ah, no. In truth, we came here for training."
"Training? Eh? For the Supreme Ones?"
Aura and Mare's eyes were so wide it seemed like they might fall out of their sockets. Their surprise was only natural; after all, who would expect to hear such a thing from Momonga, a powerful magic caster, the supreme ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, as well as the one who stood above all?
Esdeath, who had anticipated this reaction, swiftly replied:
"Indeed. If you don't sharpen and polish your skills time to time you will become rusty and dull in real battle. So you always need to practice and improve yourself. No matter how good are you."
„Indeed" Momonga replied
After seeing their swift reply and hearing the light impact of Momonga's staff on the ground, realization dawned on Aura's face. Momonga was quite pleased with himself, as this reaction had fallen within his scope of prediction.
"Is, is that the legendary weapon of the highest order which only you may wield, Momonga-sama?"
"Legendary weapon? What did she mean by that?"
"Indeed, this is the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, which I made with my guild members."
„Yeah it was a great adventure collecting the ingredients and resources for the staff oh good old times,"said Esdeath with a satisfied smile
Momonga's voice become more animated and proud when he spoke:
"The seven gems in the Staff's snake mouths are all divine-class artifacts. Since they all belong to a set, having them together unlocks even greater power beyond their base abilities. Gathering them all required an incalculable amount of time and effort, and many of our members stated they wanted to quit during the process. I can't remember how many monsters we farmed for their drops… Anyway, in addition, the Staff's power is beyond that of a divine class item. In fact, it almost approaches that of a World-Class Item. Its most potent feature is its automatic engagement system… cough, cough."
„I think Momonga-san carried away by a little." Though Esdeath while she sweatdropped
„How embarrassing..." Momonga though and facepalmed internally
"That, that's amazing…"
"That's totally awesome, Momonga-sama!"
Momonga almost laughed as he saw their eyes. He tried his best to suppress the delighted expression on his face — although skeletons had no expressions — and continued:
"Which was why I wanted to run some experiments with this Staff. I hope you two can help me."
"Yes! Understood! We'll go prepare right away! Then… could we see the power of the Staff?"
"Mm, that's fine. Then, I shall show you a fraction of the power of this mighty Staff, which only I can wield."
„Awesome~" Aura exclaimed as she jumped up and down adorably.
Mare was hard pressed to hide his delight.
"...And there is one more thing, Aura. I have already ordered the other Guardians here. They will arrive within the hour."
"Eh? Then, then we need to get ready for—"
"No, there is no need. All you need to do is stay here and wait for them," said Esdeath
"Is that so? Hm… all the Guardians — that means Shalltear's coming too?"
"All the Guardians." Momonga and Esdeath said in unison.
"...Haa."
Aura's long ears suddenly dropped.
„Aura can you put up some strawman dummies for target practice?" asked Esdeath disrupting Aura in her trance of sadness.
„Of course Esdeath-sama right away." Answered joyfully the young Dark Elf
After the Dragonkins what Aura commanded was set up the target dummies Momonga and Esdeath started to practice their magic and abilities.
Momonga bombed the target dummies with various spells and magical effects.
While Esdeath likewise practiced her spells and Esper abilities. But unfortunately, these target dummies was not suitable to practice her sword skills or test her resistances.
Anyway, she and Momonga really enjoyed this little practice.
They learned from this little experiment that all of their abilities work as intended some of them even better than they expected.
They needed only imagine before them the spells or abilities what they wanted to use. Then their bodies abilities and spells obeyed their very will.
The strange thing was that. They knew exactly how each spell worked, how many resource it will consume their effective radius and many other things.
It was like they previously knew these things. Like someone uploaded in their brain this information.
Momonga memorized all of the 6000 spells in YGGRADASIL he knew how they work according to the game rules.
But now this knowledge have been expanded with many other things.
He and Esdeath felt their abilities their magic has been part of them all along.
Momonga glanced curiously at the children to the side, whose eyes were glittering in anticipation. He felt uneasy as he wondered whether they could live up to their expectations.
Then, Momonga peeked at the two huge monsters.
Their massive bodies were three meters tall and resembled inverted triangles.
Their skeletal structure was a mix of humans and dragons, covered in corded, sinewy muscles, which were in turn sheathed in a layer of scales that were harder than steel.
Their faces resembled those of dragons, while their tails were as thick as tree trunks. They were wingless and bipedal, like a dragon standing on its hind legs. Their arms were wider around than a man's torso, and each was about half the length of its body. They bore weapons that resembled both a shield and a sword.
These monsters were called Dragonkin, and under the control of Aura's beast tamer skills, they rearranged the Colosseum to her liking.
Although they were level 55 monsters with no special abilities of note, their powerful arms and prodigious stamina were a match for higher-levelled monsters.
The reason for allowing Aura and Mare to witness this experiment was to impress their power upon them before the other Guardians arrived. In this way, they would learn that opposing them was a foolish course of action.
The two kids did not seem like they would betray him or Esdeath. However, if they lost the ability to use their magic and abilities, Momonga was not confident that they would stay loyal to them.
Aura treated Momonga and Esdeath like old friends, but for them, it was the first time they had met. They could tell that the twins were the lovingly crafted embodiment of their guild members' hard work.
However, there was no guarantee that their design and programming was perfect. In the face of countless situations and stimuli, a gap or weakness might appear somewhere.
They were intelligent beings who could think on their own, so flaws in their reasoning must exist somewhere. If they were not programmed to be loyal to weaklings, what would that mean for them?
Such thoughts go forth and back in Momonga and Esdeath minds.
It was not good to have too many doubts, but blind trust was not a wise move either.
"Perfect," Momonga said, his voice filled with the same satisfaction he felt in his heart.
"Momonga-sama, should I prepare more strawmen?"
Aura still did not understand. She was already aware that Momonga was a mighty magic caster, and Esdeath she never understood what she really is. She only knew Esdeath was powerful. So she did not feel the show before she was anything special.
However, that was the impression Momonga and Esdeath wanted to give them, and from the look on the twins' faces, it would seem he had succeeded.
"...No, there is no need. I wish to try something else."
Momonga activated his [Message] spell to contact Sebas
[Message]Sebas.
[Message]"Momonga-sama. ...May I ask if something is wrong?"
[Message]"Ah, ahhh, forgive me. I spaced out there. That's right, how are the surroundings like?"
[Message]"Yes. We are surrounded by plains, with no intelligent creatures in sight."
[Message]"A plain… not a swamp?"
The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick should have been bordered by a swamp that was inhabited by frog-like demihumans called Tuvegs. The swamp was shrouded in mist, and it was poisonous.
[Message]"Yes. There are only plains around us."
Momonga could not help but smile.
All this was too much...
[Message]"In other words, the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick has been wholly transported to a different place? …Sebas, is there anything floating in the sky, or did anything like a message appear?"
[Message]"No, there is nothing like that. The heavens are as boundless as the 6th Floor's night sky."
[Message]"What! Did you say night sky?... Is there anything suspicious around you?"
[Message]"No… I have not seen anything unusual. Besides the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, there are no other man-made structures in sight."
[Message]"Is that so… is that so…"
What should he say? All Momonga could do was grab his head and try to think. But in his heart, he knew that this was most likely the case.
[Message]"Return in 20 minutes. When you come back to Nazarick, head to the Colosseum with Zero Rei. All the Guardians will be coming, so when you arrive, I hope you and The Professional will tell them about what you two saw."
[Message]"Understood."
[Message]"Then, gather as much information as you can before you return."
After hearing Sebas' acknowledgment, Momonga terminated the 'Message' spell and started a new one.
[Message]"Esdeath-san."
[Message]"Yes Momonga-san?"
[Message]"It seems we are in not in YGGRADASIL anymore."
[Message]"Sebas [Message]-d you?"
[Message]"Yes. It seems we are in an entirely new world."
[Message]" This get's better and better with every moment." Esdeath sweatdropped
[Message]"Well I still need to test the staff powers. With something flashy. Maybe a with a [Summon Primal Fire Elemental] spell. To test Aura and Mare combat capabilities."
[Message]"That's a great idea. Oh, I almost forgot. Can you summon something strong for me too after they ended their combat?"
[Message]"Of course we will find some fun for you too Esdeath-san."
[Message]"Thank you oh our evil overlord"
Momonga just evilly chuckled in this comment.
Momonga activated the power of the Staff of Ain Ooal gown [Summon Primal Fire Elemental]
In accordance with Momonga's will, the Orb of Fire grasped within one of the Staff's snake mouths pulsed with puissance. Momonga could feel the movement of a mighty, invisible power and thrust the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown forth. A vast ball of light bloomed from the tip of the Staff, and a vortex of roaring flame spilled forth from that globe of radiance.
The fires spun faster and faster until the tornado of flame reached a width of four meters and a height of six meters.
The crimson inferno threw off gusts of scorching air in all directions.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the Dragonkin protecting Aura and Mare with their vast bodies. The searing winds made his and Esdeath cape flap violently. So intense was the heat that it would not have been unusual for a normal person to be burned by them, but Momonga had acquired a complete immunity to fire damage in order to negate one of the weaknesses of the undead, so it had no effect on him at all.
Esdeath doesn't even bother to protect herself with any defensive abilities. She barely even felt it because of her ridiculous amount of resistances and spell negation. She just stood there bathed in pure magic and smirked madly. Thanks to her Magic Eater job dependent of the power of the magic. The magic is completely negated and strengthened her or partially negated and did the previous thing dependent on the enemy's level and stats. Her insane stats came from the fact in the game you could stack certain stats and passives. Most of the player never learned this because they never saw the base code of the game.
Esdeath realized that to her passive vector shield is working perfectly and reflects back all non-magical aspects and particles of the heat to the [Primal Fire Elemental]
[Summon Primal Fire Elemental] summoned only a level 87 fire elemental and let's face it it was not even a challenge for a level 100 player.
„Aura, Mare do you want to fight?" interjected Momonga
"Eh?"
"Ehhhhh?"
After a moment of hesitation, Aura grinned innocently. Compared to a normal child's smile, hers was a little — no, the truth was that it was quite scary. In contrast, Mare's smile from the side seemed more like that of a child.
"Can I?"
"Don't worry. It'll be fine even if you defeat it."
Momonga shrugged to indicate that it was alright. The Staff could summon one Primal Fire Elemental a day.
"Ah, I suddenly remembered that I had something urgent to do…"
"Mare!"
A hand reached out and firmly grasped Mare's arm, not allowing him to escape. His sister had no intention of fleeing. Aura's smile stopped Mare in his tracks.
She dragged Mare in front of the Primal Fire Elemental. Mare's eyes looked around, and he looked desperately to Momonga for help.
In response to his hopeful smile that blossomed delicately on his face, Esdeath simply clapped, Momonga just nodded his head.
"Alright, try your best, you two. Don't blame me if you get hurt."
"Kay~"
Aura responded energetically, in contrast with Mare's nearly inaudible and despondent reply. They felt that as long as Mare was around, neither of them would get hurt.
As the conflagration that was the Primal Fire Elemental approached them, the twins met its attack with Aura as the front liner while Mare was the rear guard.
Aura slashed at the Primal Fire Elemental, holding her whip in both her hands, while Mare used magic to deal damage.
"Well, it seems it'll be an easy fight."
They had already finished verifying that they could use and activate their spells and equipped magic items without any difficult. Thus, the next things he had to check on were his other items.
[Message]"Esdeath-san please check if you can reach your inventory. We need to know if we still have our items in our inventory."
[Message]" Ok Momonga-san I checking my dimensional pockets."
Esdeath doesn't know how to do such thing. She never did before. Suddenly an idea reached her mind. She reached out in the air thought the thing what she wanted to reach in her dimensional storage and suddenly a black nothingness swallowed up her hand. She tried to grab something in the black nothingness and the thing what she expected to happen happened. She grabbed a solid object. It was a little box.
She pulled out her hand from the swirling emptiness in the space.
After she pulled back her hand the hole slowly faded into the nothingness like it was never here before.
[Message]"Momonga-san. It works I reached my storage space."
[Message]"Me too. It seems we had one less problem to worry about."
[Message]"Indeed Momonga-san. Indeed."
While they finished their little experiment the twins finished their battle with the [Primal Fire Elemental].
The gigantic Primal Fire Elemental vanished slowly, as though melting away into the air. The blazing heat that it left in its wake began to cool off. As the Fire Elemental disappeared, Momonga could feel the link he had to it fading away, like smoke on the wind.
The Primal Fire Elemental possessed extraordinary attack power and stamina, but to Aura, who could ignore the damage of its area-effect flames and could nimbly evade its blows, it was little more than a giant target.
Although Aura would still lose HP if she were attacked, Mare the druid would not permit that to occur. In fact, he had cast all sorts of buffs and debuffs to great effect during the battle.
"Spectacular… The two of you put on a good show."
"Good work you two," said Esdeath while she stretched out her hand and gave them a thumbs up with a bright smile.
The twins smiled happily as they heard Momonga's and Esdeath's sincere praises.
"Thank you, Supreme Ones! It's been some time since we had to work so hard!"
Momonga then took out a pair of beautiful glasses, filled them with water from the Pitcher, and gave them to the twins.
"Aura, Mare, have a drink."
"Eh? But that's not good, right, Momonga-sama…"
"Y-yes, I can make water with my magic too…"
"Think nothing of it. The two of you have always done well. Think of this as my thanks to you."
"Fuwa~"
"Fuee~"
Aura and Mare's ears turned red, and they shyly, nervously reached out to take the glasses.
"Th-thank you, Momonga-sama!"
"To, to think you would pour water for us, Momonga-sama!"
When they finished their drinks Momonga asked.
„Do you want more?"
"Er, thanks! I've drunk enough!"
"Is that so? Then, Mare, do you want some more?"
"Eep! Er, er, I, I've also had enough. I, I don't feel thirsty anymore."
„I too need to give them something or in the end, they might think less of me."
Thought Esdeath
„Aura, Mare! Come here I too have something to give to you"
She opened the box what she grabbed from her inventory before and opened it.
The box was full of many different candies.
The item was [The Box of Infinite Candies]
She bought this item back from their real game times from the game store.
The box can generate infinite amount of different candies without cost but after 20 candy charges, it has a day cooldown.
Aura and Mare reddened deeply.
„Esdeath-sama we can't take any more from the Supreme beings rations. That would be very disrespectful."
„Please, I insist!" Esdeath told while smiled brightly to the twins.
The two little Dark Elf slowly and shyly approached Esdeath and took one-one candy.
Aura took a piece of licorice Mare took a package of PEZ candy.
Lastly, Esdeath took a lollipop from the box then she placed back the box to her inventory and placed the lollipop in her mouth.
The two dark elf started to nibble their sweets.
"Mo-Momonga-sama, Esdeath-sama are we the only ones that you two are nice to…?"
Aura looked like a puppy that had just seen something she liked, while Mare had a jealous look on his face. Just then, a voice rang out:
"Oya, am I the first to arrive?"
The tone was archaic and formal, but the voice itself sounded like it belonged to a young person. A shadow formed over the ground, and then the shadow turned into what looked like a door, from which a person emerged.
She wore a black ballgown which looked soft to the touch. Her skirt was puffed up into a voluminous bell shape. On top of that was a bolero edged with frills, lace, and ribbons, as well as a pair of long silk gloves. Together, they covered up most of her skin.
Her skin was as pale as wax, and her looks could only be described as stunningly beautiful. Her long silver hair was tied up into a ponytail that descended from one side of her head, exposing her face. Her deep red pupils were filled with a seductive look of delight.
She looked to be 14 years old, or younger, and her innocent, youthful appearance combined the qualities of cuteness and beauty into a single whole. However, her breasts bulged proudly forward in a decidedly unchildlike manner.
"...Weren't you told not to frivolously use [Gate] in Nazarick? We are teleportation-warded, after all. You should be able to walk here, so shouldn't you have come on foot, Shalltear?
...Something stinks," Aura spat. Then, she followed up with, "Don't tell me you started rotting because you're undead?"
Perhaps she saw Momonga reflexively raising his hand to sniff himself, but Shalltear furrowed her brows unhappily and replied:
"...Is that not quite distasteful? Momonga-sama is undead as well."
"Hah? What nonsense are you talking, Shalltear? Momonga-sama is no mere undead being. He's more like a super undead, or a godly undead."
In any case, there were no such things as super or godly undead.
"But, but nee-chan, maybe you shouldn't have said that…"
"Is, is that so? All right, then, ah, take two, then. Ahem… Don't tell me you started rotting because you're a walking corpse."
"That… er, well, that seems okay, sort of."
After agreeing with Aura's take two. SHalltear realized her master's presence.
"Ah, my master, my beloved master, the only one whom I cannot rule over…"
Shalltear jumped onto Momonga but he doesn't even felt the petite girl weight.
[Message]Esdeath-san it's seems we had to put on a later date your swordsmanship experiment."
[Message]" ,"
Esdeath only sweatdropped and Messaged to Momonga.
[Message]" Momonga-san it's seems you planning to build a harem from the female members of guardians. Good luck with it!"
[Message]"That's not true Esdeath-san I merely victim of the NPC-s programming. You should pity me not mock me for my condition."
[Message]"Sorry Momonga-san my sentence sounded like a mocking. I merely wanted to wish you luck. It's a very rare opportunity for anyone."
Momonga only sweatdropped and sighed internally for his companion quote. „Why I had to endure this?"
Her carmine lips parted, revealing a moist, slick tongue. The tongue moved like a living creature as Shalltear lovingly licked her lips. Her fragrant breath wafted out from her open mouth.
At the same time, she was a girl created by an H-game aficionado and her character design was filled with nods to various H-games.
"...That's enough out of you…"
Shalltear reacted to the low growl for the first time. In a mocking tone, she told Aura, "Ara, are you still here, shorty? I couldn't see you, so I thought you were gone."
Aura's face was twitching uncontrollably, and then Shalltear ignored her and said to Mare, "It must be pretty tough for you, having to deal with a weirdo sister like that. You'd best leave her soon, lest you become a weirdo like her."
Mare's face blanched instantly because he knew Shalltear wanted to use him to start a fight.
However, Aura simply smiled. And then —
"Shut up, fake tits."
"...What the hell are you talking about—!"
"Hmph, it's so obvious — damn, that is one weird chest, how many pads did you stuff in there?"
"Uwah — uwah —"
Esdeath and Momonga only watched dumbly folded the two Guardian speech battle.
Esdeath only smirked while she messaged Momonga.
[Message]" Huh Momonga-san they really resembled their creators doesn't they?"
[Message]"Yes indeed. Peroroncino and Bukabukachagama-san implemented really well their personality into them."
Esdeath just nodded in response.
"You packed so much in there… it shifts when you run, right?"
"Kuhii!"
Shalltear made a strange noise as an extended finger poked her.
"I was right, wasn't I? Kukuku! Where have they gone—! So that's why you didn't run, even though you were worried, and instead, you used a 'Gate'—"
"Shut up, shorty! It's not like you have anything of your own! At least I… no, I've got a lot more to show off!"
Esdeath and Momonga recalled the forms of his former comrades as they stood behind the quarreling pair.
"What. A. Ruckus."
The inhuman voice came just as they were reminiscing about the past. The strange, monotonous voice finally silenced the two of them.
As he turned to look at the voice's origin, he saw a heteromorphic being shrouded in the chilled air.
It stood two and a half meters tall and resembled a bipedal insect. It looked like some fiend had melded a praying mantis and an ant together. It had a tail that was twice as long as its body, and it was covered in sharp spikes which resembled icicles. Its powerful-looking mandibles looked like they could sever a man's arm in a single bite.
"You. Stand. Before. Supreme. Beings. Contain. Yourself."
"This brat started it!"
"Actually—"
"Awawawa…"
Shalltear and Aura locked gazes, while Mare panicked from the side. Momonga could not hold it in any longer, and curtly addressed the two of them.
"...Shalltear, Aura. Playtime is over."
Esdeath only stared at them with a serious expression under her military cap.
The two of them shuddered in shock, then lowered their heads simultaneously.
"My sincerest apologies!" they said in unison.
"I. Came. Immediately. Upon. Receiving. Your. Summons. Momonga-sama."
"You must have been very free with no intruders around, no?"
"Indeed."
The clacking from his lower mandibles sounded like the threatening noises of a wasp. However, Momonga had the feeling that he was laughing.
"Even. So. There. Are. Still. Things. Which. Must. Be. Done. So. I. Was. Not. Free. At. All."
"Oh? Things that had to be done? What things were these, may I ask?"
"Training. In. Order. To. Be. Ready. To. Deploy. At. Any. Time."
„Cocytus if you want to spar with someone I gladly spar with you. If it's okay with you."
„That would be wonderful Esdeath-sama."
„Good, ask anytime when you want to spar." while she smirked. However, Momonga felt uneasy from her smirk
„It Seems. Demiurge. And. Albedo. Have. Arrived." said Cocytus
The man bowed and said, "Forgive me for keeping everyone waiting."
He was about 180cm tall, and his skin was darkened from the sun. His facial features looked to be Oriental, while his jet-black hair was neatly combed back. The eyes under his pince-nez glasses could not even be said to be narrowed. It was doubtful whether they were actually open at all.
He was dressed in a Western suit, with a matching tie. He gave the impression of being a professional businessman, or a skilled lawyer.
However, his gentlemanly appearance was hard-pressed to hide the evil air about him. A tail sheathed in silvery metal extended behind him, tipped by six sharp spikes. He was limned by flickering black flames.
This man was the "Creator of Blazing Inferno", Demiurge.
He was the Guardian of the 7th Floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. This demon was designed to be the defense commander of the NPCs.
"It seems everyone is here."
"—Momonga-sama, there are two more people who have not yet arrived," said a resonant voice that seemed to pour into one's heart.
"No. Those two Guardians are only to be moved under special circumstances. Therefore, there is no need to call them over at the moment."
"I see."
"Then, everyone, let us pledge our loyalty to the Supreme Ones."
All the Guardians nodded as one, and before they could interrupt, they had lined up before them.
"Shalltear Bloodfallen, Guardian of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Floors, presents herself to the Masters."
She went to one knee, one hand pressed against her chest, and bowed deeply. After that, Cocytus stepped forward and said:
"Cocytus. Guardian. Of. The. 5th. Floor. Presents. Himself. To. The. Masters."
Much like Shalltear had he knelt before Momonga and Esdeath like a vassal before lords. Then, it was the twin dark elves' turn:
"The Guardian of the 6th Floor, Aura Bella Fiora, presents herself to the Masters."
"Al-also a Guardian of the 6th Floor, Mare Bello Fiore, presents himself to the Masters."
After that, Demiurge advanced in a dignified manner.
"The Guardian of the 7th Floor, Demiurge, presents himself to the Masters."
Following his crisp words, Demiurge went to one knee in a graceful descent, as though expressing his heart through his actions. Finally, Albedo stepped forward as well.
"The Guardian Overseer Albedo presents herself to the Masters."
"With the exception of the 4th Floor Guardian Gargantua and the 8th Floor Guardian Victim, all the Floor Guardians are gathered before you. Thus do we offer up our utmost loyalty to the Supreme ones."
They had never seen anything like this before in their life. In their confusion, Momonga and Esdeath accidentally activated their skills.[Despair Aura V] and [Aura of the Transcendent One V] A dreadful aura and an aura pure twilight rolled out over the surroundings, and a halo of black radiance formed behind Momonga. Behind Esdeath was an aura of Twilight energy swirled uncontrollably.
They had no time to cancel the skill as Momonga frantically racked his brains to recall a scene from movies or television which would tell him how to respond appropriately here.
"Raise your heads." said Esdeath with a serious tone and expression.
Within that moment, everyone raised their heads.
"Then… first, I thank all of you for coming here," interjected Momonga
"There is no need for thanks. We are all the Supreme Ones loyal subordinates. To us, Momonga-sama is our supreme overlord and Esdeath-sama is the always vigilant protector of Nazarick."
"...Supreme Ones, it is only natural that you should have doubts about us. After all, our abilities must be minuscule in your reckoning."
"However, if Momonga-sama or Esdeath-sama gives the order, we — all the Guardians will accomplish any task set to us, no matter how difficult or arduous, with every fiber of our beings. We hereby swear that we will never allow the 41 Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown, our creators, to be disgraced by our actions."
„This we swear!"
The Floor Guardians chimed in right after Albedo. Their voices were filled with power, and that adamant loyalty and determination would not be diminished by any number of foes.
"Excellent. Guardians, I know that you will understand our aims and successfully carry out our commands. There may be some things which are difficult to understand, but I hope you will pay attention and listen. I believe the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick has been caught up in some kind of unknown situation."
The Guardians' faces were still stern, and there was no trace of surprise on them.
"Although I do not know what has caused this incident, the Great Tomb of Nazarick has been transported from its place in the swamps to a vast plain. Did anyone foresee the occurrence of this strange event?"
„Guardians report your floor status and don't worry about the outskirts of Nazarick Sebas and Zero Rei The Professional already investigating the situation," said Esdeath.
"There are no abnormalities in the 7th Floor."
"Same with the 6th Floor."
"I-it's as nee-chan says."
"The. 5th. Floor. Is. The. Same."
"Nothing strange has been sighted in the 1st to 3rd Floors."
"It's about time for Sebas and Zero Rei to return."
"Momonga-sama,Esdeath-sama forgive our lateness."
„Forgive our lateness Supreme Ones," said Zero Rei The Professional Esdeath creation with an unemotional and bored tone.
The Professional was created by Esdeath.
He wasn't a floor Guardian or part of Nazarick defenses. Esdeath only stationed him in the kitchen area in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick so they can bypass the level gate of the guild bases. According to the game rules you could station one bodyguard type NPC in your guild base without counting in the base NPC level gate.
He was created from in-game store items.
He was an automaton raced NPC just like CZ2128 Delta.
Esdeath specialized him to assassination, long range support and scouting. She added to his jobs alchemy and a few level cooking so he could support Sous-chef in the kitchen area.
He had a childish emotionless bored face but if you examined his face closer you could see he was a veteran who always keeping up his mask of carelessness and had two blue glowing cybernetic eyes and he had black straight not too long hair.
He wore white butler gloves black tuxedo pants a tuxedo shirt with a tuxedo vest and a stylish tie and wore shiners on his foot. One of his eyes covered with an eyepatch. Not because he needed it. But because Esdeath thought it's cool when he designed him.
"It's fine. Then, your report on the surrounding conditions,"said Momonga.
"...The situation is critical, so obviously the Floor Guardians would need to know as well.
Yes. To begin with, the terrain surrounding us for a kilometer in each direction is a plain. There are no signs of man-made structures. I spotted some small animals, but there were no humanoid or large creatures."
"Were those small animals monsters?" asked Esdeath
"No, they were life-forms which had no combat power."
"...I see. Then, were the plains you spoke of covered in frozen grass which would cut you as you passed them?"
"No, it was simple grass. There was nothing special about it."
"And you did not see any sky castles or similar buildings?"
"No, I did not. There was no sign of man-made illumination in the sky or on the land."
„Professional please confirm what Sebas said."
„I clarify Esdeath-sama everything what Sebas Tian-san said is true. There are no intelligent or high-level meatbag in the area and his description of the surrounding environment was accurate enough."
He spoke like this because Esdeath wrote this in his character description.
He always spoke monotone bored but professional tone like a robot and refer every organic being as a „meatbags" except the guild members.
Esdeath got this idea from the Star Wars series where the assassin droid HK47 always refers the organics beings as „meatbags". In his character description, Esdeath wrote that too he doesn't like to play with his opponents and end them the most effective way as possible.
One of his special ability wat the self-destruction. Before die he teleport to his opponents and activate his self-destruct device what implemented to his body. Causing great damage with it to his enemies.
„Is that so. Thank you for your report both of you." Esdeath answered them
"Guardians, increase the readiness of each floor by one level. We are unsure of what has happened, so do not act incautiously. If you encounter an intruder, do not slay them, but capture them alive at all costs. When you capture them, do as little harm to them as possible. I apologize for imposing such demands on all of you at a time like this."
The Guardians voiced their acknowledgment and nodded in unison.
"Each Floor is administered by its respective Floor Guardian, but Demiurge is the overall defense commander, and everyone can share information with him."
"Excellent. Nazarick's defense commander, Demiurge. Guardian Overseer, Albedo. The two of you will be in charge of drawing up a more comprehensive administrative system for Nazarick." commanded Esdeath
"Understood. Will the plans for the management system include the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors?"
"The 8th Floor is managed by Victim, so it'll be fine. No, entry to the 8th Floor is forbidden. „
"Aura and Mare… conceal the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. Simple illusions don't seem very reliable, and thinking about the cost of illusions gives me a headache."
"U-using magic might be tricky. If we had to hide everything along with the surface… although, we could cover the walls with mud, and then add plants as camouflage."
"Do you intend to soil the glorious walls of Nazarick with base dirt?" Albedo said with a terrifying tone
In contrast, Momonga felt Albedo was being too much of a busybody. The situation was hardly serious enough to warrant such a reaction.
"Albedo… don't speak out of turn Momonga-san. He is addressing Mare."
Esdeath voice was caused a chill to the guardians and surprised Momonga himself.
"Ah, my deepest apologies, Momonga-sama!"
Albedo's head was as low as it could go, and her face was frozen in fear.
"Can you conceal the walls by heaping dirt onto them?"
"Yes, yes I can, if you allow it, Momonga-sama … However…"
"Yes, an observer from a distance would think the ground was bulging up unnaturally. Professional, are there any nearby hills or the like?"
„No there are no hills in the area nearby the meatbags are easily noticed a lone hill."
„Mare can we create more hills in the surrounding area or possibly you can grow a forest in the surrounding area."
„Y..Yes it would be possible Esdeath-sama."
„Then do so please" Answered Momonga
"Very well. I shall assign Aura and Mare to carry out this task together. While doing so, you may draw the necessary supplies from each Floor. Since we cannot camouflage the view from the air, we shall use illusions after finishing the earthworks, so nobody will be able to detect Nazarick from the outside." commanded them Momonga
"Y-yes. U-understood."
"Then, you are dismissed for today. Everyone, take a break before beginning your duties. There are many things we do not know, so do not push yourselves too hard."
The Guardians nodded as one to show that they understood.
"Finally, we have a question for the Guardians. To begin with, Shalltear — what kind of person we are to you?"
to be continued…