Screams of terror filled the air. People were running in blind panic. And there was blood! So much blood! Blood everywhere! IT WAS WONDERFUL!

"More! More! Scream for me more!" Shalltear cried out as she ripped a man apart and let his blood wash over her. "I'll eat you all!"

She couldn't believe how much fun this was! It amazed her how hot and salty the blood was, or how every breath reeked of fear! She wanted to take on her true form and just devour them! She would gorge on this magnificent banquet until she couldn't drink another drop!

"Shalltear! What are you doing?" An angry voice rang out in her head.

"Ah! Ainz-sama!" Hearing his voice she suddenly recalled her orders. "Oh, no! He's going to scold me!" She had to stop and reply. "Ainz-sama! Please don't be upset with me! They wanted to fight, I didn't have a choice!"

"None of them are fighting anymore. All of them are running away from you."

"They are?" Shalltear blinked. She focused her thoughts. The possibility of disappointing Ainz-sama helped pull her out of her blood frenzy. The red mist left her vision. When she stopped and looked around she noticed that she was surrounded by a pile of mangled corpses. All those still living were indeed running from her as fast as they could. Most had thrown their rifles away to make better time. "Oh." She could hear a sigh of frustration.

"Herd them together in one spot and keep them there. Don't kill any more of them."

"Yes! I will absolutely not fail you, Ainz-sama!"

She hurried to give chase.

XXX

On his throne Ainz shook his head. Of course he'd known about the effect of too much blood on Shalltear. But he'd not wanted to take any chances. Oh well, he thought. It doesn't make any real difference I suppose. He turned his attention to the matter at hand. At the foot of his throne Albedo was kneeling, hand over her heart, waiting patiently. Curled up next to her was the ruler of Turnersport. He was weeping, and Ainz was fairly sure the man had wet himself. The audience was looking on curiously. This was mainly for them, later on he would put on a performance for the residents of the city.

"Well done, Albedo. You carried out your orders perfectly."

"You are too kind, Ainz-sama. To be of use to you is my greatest joy."

Ainz gave a slight nod. "You, human, stand on your feet. A leader should hold onto his courage no matter the circumstance."

Turner didn't appear to hear as he remained on the floor sobbing.

"It seems fitting, does it not, Ainz-sama?" Demiurge asked. "All your foes should grovel before you."

Throughout the throne room heads nodded.

"Perhaps, but it is inconvenient. I have a few questions to ask him. Albedo."

"Yes." She rose smoothly to her feet. With a hand she reached down and grabbed Turner by the back of the neck. Without effort she forced him to stand. "The glorious Ainz-sama would speak with you. This is a greater honor than any of your kind deserve. Answer him with respect and reverence worthless scum."

The man lifted his eyes and saw the figure sitting upon the throne. He immediately flinched and looked away. He muttered something.

"What did you say?" Ainz asked. He felt no sympathy whatsoever for this man. He was the brutal leader of a whole tribe of savages.

When he failed to respond immediately Albedo shook him. "Ainz-sama asked you a question! Answer him, you worthless human!"

Turner rubbed a hand across his face. "I… I said it's not my fault."

"What is not your fault?"

"Everything. All the things I did. My father beat me. I grew up hungry. I just did the things I had to. I'd have died a long time ago if I weren't hard. I beg you to show me mercy, Lord Mortem."

"Address him as Ainz-sama." Albedo leaned in and hissed, making the man quiver.

"Albedo, be quiet," Ainz said. This might be interesting. "Who is Lord Mortem?"

The man's head jerked up and he was clearly surprised. "You are. Lord Mortem, ruler of death, night, and shadow. The world has sinned and is corrupt beyond all salvation. And so you have come at last to begin the Long Night. The world will end and everything will pass away into darkness. There will be only night, until time begins again and the world can be reborn."

Demiurge grinned. "It seems this world has a version of Ragnarok."

Yggdrasil had been explicitly based on Norse mythology. Naturally, many elements had been included in the game play. All the NPCs were familiar with the Asgardian gods, the nine realms, and the prophesy of how that world was meant to end. As it turned out, Yggdrasil hadn't ended in an orgy of betrayal and flame. The end had come with the press of a button shutting down servers.

Mention of a dark god, prophesy, and Ragnarok made Ainz think. The NPCs all accepted him as a god already. And Ainz had, had some thoughts about what he could eventually do in this world. If the people here had a mythological figure they believed would bring the end times… wouldn't it make things easier if he took on this role? If he were a part of the prophesy of this world, wouldn't people be more ready to accept him? Since the moment of his arrival here he had been playing the role of Overlord and Supreme Being. Was it really much of a stretch to play the Four Horsemen as well?

Ainz sat back on his throne and tapped his chin with a single boney finger. "Lord Mortem… the name is faint, from ages long past, but perhaps… ah, yes, I remember now." He put his hands together before his face. "I have visited many realms and left my mark. Perhaps this is the reason I was brought to this place at this time, to bring on the Long Night and end the world as you know it."

Turner remained just as terrified as before. On the many other faces Ainz could see eyes widen and mouths gape.

"Of course," Demiurge spoke with a voice tinged with awe. "We all know the other Supreme Beings departed for other worlds. Somehow none of us ever stopped to consider what worlds might have been visited prior to Yggdrasil. Like children, we assumed we were the starting point and the be all, end all. But the truth is we were just one of many sets of servants created by the Supreme Beings. It is clear now, like the others, you intended to depart Yggdrasil." There were gasps and stunned expressions throughout the throne room. "However, unlike them, you refused to abandon us. Instead bringing Nazarick and your followers with you to this new realm."

"Is this so Ainz-sama?!" Albedo removed her helmet so he could see the way her eyes were almost shining.

"Uhm… yes, it is true. You are all precious to me and the Great Tomb of Nazarick has become my home. When I felt the desire to depart Yggdrasil I chose to transport all of you with me."

"And the pretense that you did not know our location or the reason we were brought here, it was all a ruse was it not?" Demiurge asked. "You pretended to be unaware so as not to upset us, acting as though it were done by some mysterious outside force, when it was all an act of your will." Demiurge was nodding as though it were obvious.

Where did he get all those crazy assumptions from? I just wanted to pretend to be this Lord Mortem! But with every eye focused on him Ainz had no choice. "You are truly clever to have figured it out, Demiurge. Yes, our arrival here was no accident. From the beginning I intended to come and rule this world. I brought you with me because I love all of you like my children. And a good father does not abandon his children."

Demiurge bowed low. "I am unworthy of such words. My intellect is nothing compared to yours, Ainz-sama. You spin webs and I am fortunate to notice even a single thread. Your schemes and machinations are both subtle and unavoidable."

Sebas stepped forward and then knelt down before the throne. "As I already knew, you refused to leave us. You are truly a great and compassionate leader."

His followers were nodding their heads.

Ainz noticed Albedo's face was completely red and she was gasping for breath. He thought he could hear her saying, 'he loves me, he loves me,' over and over again. It made him feel a bit unsettled, but now was not the time to deal with it.

From the smiles and looks of adoration it was clear they all believed he was the Lord Mortem of this world. And that their presence in this new realm was no accident. The NPCs' faith in him had been strengthened.

Ainz shifted his gaze back to Turner. "I have questions for you. To begin with tell me all you know about reward crystals, or as you call it, solnium."

XXX

Bloody Billy Turner's interrogation proved disappointing. It was not that it was difficult to get him to talk. He answered every question immediately and as fully as he could. He was pathetically eager to please the lord of death and shadow. The problem was he didn't know much that was useful. He knew nothing of solnium other than it was a power source and that a single crystal was worth more than a ton of high grade steel. The man knew a bit more about the local area and the settlements and dead zones within about a hundred miles. He kept maps in his office both current and from the old time. He knew Hannover was a city about two hundred miles south and that they had both mecha and solnium. His people stayed well out of their territory.

And that was about the limit of his useful information. He knew about guns and which of his men were the best shots and most trustworthy. Turner offered to serve in any way. Ainz did indeed have a task for him, one he was sure Turner would be able to handle.

"Ainz-sama!" Shalltear's voice rang in his head. "I've gathered all the survivors like you wanted! I haven't eaten any of them, I swear!"

Ainz glanced at the mirror. Shalltear was floating in the air above a crowd of frightened and unarmed men. "Well done Shalltear. Now herd them to the gate."

"Yes, Ainz-sama!"

He saw her dive down slashing with her lance and screaming. The men got the message and took off running. When a few tried to get away she cut them off and threatened them back towards the mob. She managed to get all of them heading towards the docks. Watching it was very much like a single cowboy controlling a herd of cattle.

"Demiurge, I am giving all those men to you. Will they be enough to make scrolls?"

The demon nodded. "More than enough. May I have permission to use the surplus for experimentation?"

"They are yours now, do whatever you like with them. So long as we have a regular supply of scrolls."

"Understood."

"Have some of your subordinates take charge and transfer them to the seventh floor. The rest are to help round up all the humans in the city." He spoke to everyone in the throne room. "I want all of you to track down every human and gather them in front of their castle. Terrify them as much as you like, but use force only when necessary." He rose from his throne and moved down the steps to the gate.

"Albedo, accompany me and bring the human with you."

"Yes, Ainz-sama!" She gleefully trailed behind her lord and master. As an afterthought she grabbed Bloody Billy by the back of the neck and dragged him along.

"Sebas and Shizu, come with me as well."

"Understood, Ainz-sama."

"Acknowledged."

Ainz stepped through the gate and into Turnersport, and all Nazarick followed after him.

XXX

At the castle Turner led the way to his office and to the maps and a single file cabinet with reports. Ainz was surprised at the lack of books. He had assumed there would at least be some here. How could any government function without information? When Ainz asked Turner about the lack of books the man seemed equally surprised.

"What would I need books for?"

Ainz decided there was no point in explaining.

The maps were interesting. The current ones were all of the local area and hand drawn. There were multiple red dots that represented the dead zones. These were the locations of former cities and military bases that were now radioactive waste ground where nothing grew. Much fewer were the black dots that represented human communities. All of them, outside of Turnersport, had under a thousand people. Some had less than a hundred. The settlements were all self-sufficient, farming and herding for food and producing what they needed. There was effectively no trade, small scale raids and banditry were common. There was no road network between these settlements, and except for the ones on the coast or a river they were hard to reach.

The paved roads that did exist, ran exclusively between dead zones and so were of very little value. Turner and his men would visit the nearby settlements to collect tribute, the far off ones they didn't bother with.

Ainz would need to send people to each of these places to inform them they were now his property.

The maps from the old time were yellow with age. They represented the entire world as well as the continent of Vallesara and different sub regions. They showed nations and cities that were of course long gone. Most of the land surface of this world was concentrated in the two continents of Vallesara and Qazvin, with some island chains in between them. Interestingly, both continents were attached to one of the poles. Vallesara to this world's arctic and Qazvin to the antarctic. About two thirds of the continent was north of the equator, and about the same percentage of Qazvin was south of the equator.

Ainz found that he was located on the eastern seaboard about a quarter of the way down it, so he was in the northeastern corner of the continent. According to the old maps the eastern and western seaboards had been the most heavily populated areas. So it was logical they would also have the most dead zones. The interior of the continent had a large mountain range with an expansive desert to the eastern part of it. There was a major river west of the mountains that emptied into the southern sea. The distance from one coast to the other looked to be about four thousand miles.

So he had a massive continent to conquer and administer with huge distances, no infrastructure, an unknown number of radioactive and contaminated areas and absolutely no information about current populations outside the immediate area. Conquering this world might not be as difficult as organizing and actually running it.

Yggdrasil didn't have any issues like that, but it was a game. It only made sense being a real world dictator would be more daunting.

"This will be difficult," Ainz said as he looked over the maps. "Even with all the forces of Nazarick."

"That does not matter," Sebas said. "All that matters is that it is your will, Ainz-sama. Even if it were an impossible task we would follow you to the end."

"Our battle cry would be, Ainz-sama wills it!" Albedo said happily.

"Yes," Shizu said. "The level of difficulty is unimportant. We exist only to serve you."

"Thank you, I am grateful for your devotion."

"You do not need to thank us," Albedo said. "We are yours, we belong only to you."

He knew that was true. He hoped to be worthy of this unquestioning devotion.

Yuri Alpha eventually arrived and bowed down to him. "Ainz-sama. The humans of this city have been gathered together outside this castle."

"Good. Then I will introduce myself to them."