Three blonde haired women were walking down the castle's halls. The tallest out of them, the one in the middle, adorned a grand attire that one would find on noble ladies when they truly dressed to impress. Based on the number of heads she managed to turn during their short walk she succeeded magnificently. Two smaller girls walked on both of her sides, though they weren't dressed in a similar fashion, rather, they looked like they were ready to engage in battle at a moment's notice.

"Evil-boss, was it really necessary to force me to come with you? I would've rather gone to the gambling den with Tia." The one on the right inquired loudly, causing visible embarrassment to the one walking in the middle, who hissed back at her.

"Don't call me that! I asked you and your sister so many times… At least not in the castle!"

Tina had a mischievous smile. If she had to be here, she would at least make it enjoyable. Watching their leader squirm, fighting against the instincts that were beaten into her during her noble upbringing was one of her and Tia's favorite pastimes. "Got it, Evil-leader." She replied without lowering her tone.

Lakyus shuddered. "...At least don't do it in front of Princess Renner, please? Please…" The authority of party leaders differed greatly across adventurer teams. Some led their members with iron fists, others… were more democratic.

Throughout the entire exchange the masked individual on Lakyus's left side remained quiet. It was rare for her to participate in their childish antics. Despite being the shortest, she tended to be the most mature amongst them. "We've arrived."

Hearing Evileye, Lakyus's back straightened. She was so occupied fighting her own embarrassment that she didn't even realize the blonde haired young guard in front of her. "Climb, it's good to see you! Could I trouble you to inform the Princess of our arrival?" She smiled cheerfully at the young boy, who in turn nodded back.

"Naturally, Lakyus-sama. Please wait a moment."

Not long after, four blonde ladies were sitting at a decorated table, sipping warm tea imported from another land. Collecting exotic tea was one of Renner-sama's self-admitted 'vices', Lakyus remembered. Compared to how most similarly well funded noble ladies decided to spend their stipends, the Golden Princess's vice wasn't even noteworthy. She truly was an angel, evidenced by her aforementioned moniker. While not taken seriously amongst the noble rings, the peasants adored her dearly.

"Where's this one from, Renner-sama? It's amazing." Lakyus inquired.

Renner put down her ceramic tea cup and smiled. "Oh, actually this is my new favorite! I am so glad that you also enjoy it. How do you girls like it? It can only be found in the southernmost part of the Theocracy, on the border they share with the Elf Kingdom."

Evileye ignored her question while Tina, who couldn't exactly appreciate such noble delicacies, only replied that it was quite tasty.

Not at all disturbed by the lack of enthusiasm coming from the two shorter adventurers, she continued as she looked at Lakyus excitedly. "Tales! Do you have any tales from your new adventures? We've not talked for over two months now, I was so eager to hear what you've been up to!"

Poor princess, prisoner of her own privileged birth, Lakyus thought. While being born into nobility had its many pros, it also came with drawbacks, especially for those of the fairer gender. Her own story was also evidence of this. She returned the Princess' smile. "You wouldn't believe it but two weeks ago-"

Her storytime was cut short before it even began by the masked mage. "Actually, Princess, we are not here to share stories over tea. I would appreciate it if we could cut the small talk." Tina nodded enthusiastically while Lakyus kicked Evileye under the table, but the girl didn't show any reaction. It was even doubtful if her kick even registered to the mage. She was quite the anomaly among their group.

Renner's cheerful smile faded, replaced by her professional one. "I understand, Evileye-san. Do you ladies have anything to report?"

Lakyus took up the mantle. "I apologize for my comrade's antics. Indeed, there are two things. First is the appearance of a newly created adventurer team that reached adamantite in less than 48 hours upon their registering at the guild. They are based in E-Rantel, I'm not sure if news of them has reached your ears yet, Renner-sama."

Renner's cheerful smile returned. "No, not yet. Though, this is great news! The Kingdom was certainly in need of more heroes of your caliber."

Lakyus winced. "Calling them heroes might be a bit… If the rumors can be trusted, they are more akin to villains. Supposedly they beheaded their fellow platinum ranked adventurer who attacked them because they crippled his friend the previous day."

The Princess's smile turned downwards. "How horrible. I pray that their family will be able to move on."

"That is not all. Supposedly they've completed so many quests as well as monster extermination in two days that I'm not confident we could replicate their feat in a year's time of constantly working ourselves to the bone. They are truly strange. One man, Typhon, is the leader who doesn't actually participate in quests and six women that are wearing armored maid dresses are the composition of their party. It can't even be rightfully called a party, as Typhon is said to order his party members to go on individual quests for the sake of 'maintaining efficiency', who then complete their orders without fail. I'm honestly a bit scared of meeting them…" Lakyus wore an anxious expression, which was extremely rare for the cleric who was part of the group of exalted beings the masses called the Realm of Heroes.

Renner was visibly puzzled. "Truly a strange tale. I don't even know what to say. I think I should meet them myself to properly judge their characters. Who knows what part of this rumor may have been exaggerated…"

Tina decided to speak up. "I wouldn't recommend that."

Renner smiled as she confidently replied; "My Climb would protect me of course. There's no need to worry." Lakyus could hear the poor boy gulp.

All three of them were used to the fixation of the Princess that she had towards her 'knight in shining armor' who most likely would've easily lost to the Platinum ranked adventurer that was beheaded by them in a moment. "I'm sure he would triumph over all six 'maids' who are each about as strong as us, Blue Roses, without breaking much of a sweat." Evileye replied without hiding her sarcasm.

Sarcasm, which was lost on the Princess when it came to this particular boy, as always. "I agree! Even if the odds are against him, Climb-kun will find a way to triumph over evil and save me!" The masked mage sighed.

"Evil-bo- I mean, Lakyus, I may have felt it again." Tina notified her leader, who nodded at her.

"Alright, this brings me to the second item I would like to bring to your attention. Both Tia and Tina had been feeling as if they were being watched multiple times throughout the past week. This feeling however passes immediately once they try to locate the source. Gagaran, me and Evileye didn't feel anything similar. We theorize that a strong ninja's acute senses are needed to notice this creepy phenomenon. We will continue to attempt locating the ones spying on us, but they are extremely elusive. Honestly, so much so that the twins aren't even confident that they are actually being watched, but I have a gut instinct that they are not wrong. I know you can't do much about it, but I wanted to let you know."

Naturally both the Princess and bodyguard had shocked expressions. Climb started instinctively looking around the room, before realizing that it was pointless to even attempt it if only adamantite ranked thieves could feel it. "Thank you for letting me know, Lakyus. I will visit the library to search for clues and notify father about it as well." She sighed as her expression turned sorrowful. "That brings me to what I would like to report to you. Gazef Stronoff was slain in battle."

The cleric shot up from her chair. "What?! How is that even possible? Who did it?"

"Those are questions that we ask ourselves every passing minute. Due to the pressure the noble faction had on father, he had to agree to send Gazef-san on a dangerous mission without equipping him in the treasures of the Kingdom. We are investigating both the nobles and the village where the massacre took place…"

Her eyes began tearing up as she sniffed. "...Father had been beyond himself ever since. I've seen him age a decade in the past week. I fear it may not be long before the crown finds its new owner."

Lakyus dejectedly slumped back into her seat. They all knew exactly what this implied. The musclehead first son of Rampossa III, Prince Barbo, would be proclaimed King soon. The Re-Estize Kingdom was feudal, they practiced male primogeniture, that is; the first son inherited everything. Lakyus wholeheartedly wished that her good friend, the Golden Princess could inherit the crown, but that was nothing more than a pipedream. Even Zanac, the second born son wasn't mentioned much as a contender amongst the nobles, the line of succession was clear to all. In the case that both male heirs perished or became incapable of inheriting the throne the nobles would sooner accept the marquis that married Renner's older sister recently than her as their ruler. Such was the curse of being born as a woman into a patriarchal society. No matter your own individual accomplishments, your competence for politics and governance; they are all morphed by the one thing you have no choice of influencing.

The mood at the table remained somber until the adventurers said their goodbyes.

He was waking up from what felt like a very deep slumber. While humans weren't capable of hibernating, he felt as though he understood how doing so must've one feel like. Where was he? He examined his surroundings as he slowly sat up. He grasped at his head, a terrible headache had just hit him. Something was wrong, terribly so. With sweat rolling down his forehead, he lifted his blanket and stood up. At least attempted to, but his body betrayed him as he fell to the ground, power leaving his limbs. "Ugh!" He grunted as he tried but failed to get control of his body.

Finally someone seemed to notice him. "Theresa! The patient is awake, call Raymond-sama!" Two middle-aged women were looking at him, the one called Theresa quickly bolted out of the room, supposedly to call this Raymond person. The other one kneeled down next to him and helped him sit back down on his bed.

She smiled at him warmly. "You know, you should consider yourself lucky! We weren't confident if we could resurrect you with how bad of a state you've been left in, but the Six must've not forsaken you yet. How could they, you are the hero of humanity after all." She oozed motherly vibes as she gently held his hand in hers.

He was getting more and more restless as his confusion grew. "Six? Hero of humanity? Where am I? Who am I?!" He shouted. He finally realized why he felt that something was wrong; he didn't remember anything before waking up.

The woman next to her got wide-eyed in surprise. She quickly regained control of the situation, however. "Calm down, dear. You've been through something terrible and the resurrection procedure was quite arduous, your memories will surely return soon." She gently hugged him.

This moment, Theresa returned. "He is in here!" She shouted, and an important looking character walked in after her. Must be Raymond, he thought.

He smiled at him, "how are you doing, Captain?" He asked in a gentle tone.

The word 'Captain' stirred something in him. It was a word he had heard many times, but he couldn't put where exactly.

The priest that had stayed with him informed Raymond of the situation. According to her, he was experiencing amnesia. Supposedly not completely unexpected considering the situation. Whatever this situation was, he didn't know.

Hearing this, Raymond also got visibly surprised. He muttered; "just who could do this…?" Then the man's gaze returned to him. "Do you remember anything at all? A terrible explosion in the main square, you rushing there to face the aggressor?" His features turned sorrowful. "...You being killed by whoever was behind the attack?"

Memories started to resurface, albeit clouded. He was in the Slane Theocracy, he was an elite soldier… A so-called Defender of Humanity. Yes, he heard an explosion and sprinted there in order to defend the citizenry…

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed in pain as he clutched at his skull with both hands. He started rocking back and forth on the bed, eyes wide, sweat trickling down his features. "Nonononono! He can't be real! I refuse to accept it! There is no way that entity is allowed to walk on the same ground as we do!"

His teeth began chattering from the memories. He was visibly shaking from fear. He hastily turned his head towards the man, whom he remembered now to be the Cardinal of Earth, his direct superior. "I wish to resign immediately! This instant! No more Black Scripture, no more fighting!"

Raymond was shocked. The mess of a man in front of him was blessed by the genes of the Six, quite strongly at that. In the recorded history of the Theocracy, he was most likely amongst the top ten strongest God-kin to ever live. Not only that, but he was an upstanding, dutiful soldier who completed his missions even if they turned out to be more difficult than expected. Anxiety washed over him as he theorized what entity could instill such trauma in the Captain. They needed to be dealt with quickly, before they manage to commit more evil against the citizens of the Theocracy, and humanity in general.

As for the future of the First Seat, retirement was out of the question. He knew that his fellow cardinals wouldn't allow it. His body was so strong that even if his mind were gone, they could make use out of him one way or another. In the worst case, using the god's artifact may be necessary in order to make him compliant to their orders. However, he hoped that some therapy and the passage of time would heal his wrecked soul so that such drastic measures may be avoided.

I am a sinner. A grave one at that. I am disgusted when I look into the mirror, when I am left alone with my own thoughts. It's been a week since I've committed the biggest mistake of my life, that is; letting Ulbert-sama come into harm's way. That single moment of realization keeps replaying in my head over and over again, it keeps me up at night. Indeed, it is I, Sebas Tian, the Disgrace of Nazarick.

I've been ordered to think about how I could serve my master better in the future, and no matter how much I wrap my head around this question, I can't come up with a solution. What happened on that day? Why did I lose reason? The answer is obvious, that is, Ulbert-sama was disrespected. This behavior however needs to be corrected. I can't do my duties as his bodyguard properly if I lose my head as soon as they hurl an insult his way.

As I keep thinking these thoughts, I make my way towards the Throne Room. I've been ordered to do as such by Albedo-sama via the {Message} spell. I notice two of my subordinates standing guard in front of the towering double door. They are Cixous and Foire. They deeply bow towards my direction, welcoming me with warm words. Warmness I don't deserve. Words I can't accept.

They open the door for me, I enter. I can see the backs of my fellow level 100 colleagues, the Floor Guardians and the Overseer, as well as the Pleiades sisters as they kneel facing towards the Throne. Or rather, the person in it. For what is a throne, but a decorated chair without a worthy individual occupying it. I take my position behind the Guardian's line as I kneel before Him.

"Weclome, Guardians, Sebas, Pleiades Battle Maids. Please rise. I've ordered you to gather so that I may update you regarding the steps we will be taking moving forward." My master's graceful voice enters my head as we all stand as one.

"Tell me, what do you think is the biggest advantage you NPCs have over us, players?" No one replied to his question as none of us knew the answer. Us, better than the Supreme Ones? Simply unthinkable. "Cocytus, any ideas?" Master singled out the guardian of the Fifth Floor.

He huffed, icy breath filling the air around him. "I. Know. Not. Ulbert-sama." A curt reply, as expected.

"Demiurge, what about you?"

The devil stroked his chin, deep in thought. "Our disadvantage is clearly that we are incapable of casting Super Tier magic, as for our advantage… Perhaps that we are created by the Supreme Ones, making us better than players of other guilds?"

Some seemed to agree with the devil as they nodded in agreement. "No, that isn't it." His idea was shut down.

"Me, me!" Aura cheerfully lifted her hand. When the Master acknowledged her, she continued. "We don't need to leave like the Supreme Ones. I don't know what 'Earth' is, but I heard multiple Supreme Beings say that something important came up there and that they needed to 'log out'."

He chuckled. "True, but that wasn't where I was going with this. Also, I won't ever need to 'log out'." I heard some happy gasps from the Pleiades Maids on my sides. Wonderful news indeed. "No, your advantage is that you are, by definition, property of the Guild. You are created by the guild, you exist to protect the guild. You fight and die for the guild, however, in exchange for your devoted service the guild can resurrect you. That is it, your biggest edge over us; unrestricted resurrection. It costs gold, but we don't even require possession of your body to do so. All we need are the Throne of Kings, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown and a hefty treasury."

Understanding nods went His way. "That is why, no matter how much it pains me to say so, a time may come when you need to perish during your tasks. However, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to bring you back to our midst. Remember this when you are in a difficult situation; what others would find to be the end of their journey, for you, is only a temporary setback. As long as the guild and its master stands, you will keep coming back. Not only that, you will also learn from your mistakes, you will become better, smarter, more experienced. If you were to be captured for example, and find that you see no way to escape, it may be best to end your captivity by suicide. Respawn, as we used to call it. If you are to remain captured, you may be kept as prisoner for eternity. You may even be brainwashed and forced to march on Nazarick's gates against your will." Of course, we all understood this. We would gladly lay our lives down for Him and Ainz Ooal Gown, even if we knew that we would not be coming back.

(Recommended ost: Rok Nardin - The Devil)

"However, as mentioned, resurrection costs gold. Quite a significant amount at that. With the gold our adventuring ladies brought in we've confirmed that we can exchange New World currency to YGGDRASIL one. That means only one thing, that there is an entire World out there that we can use to fund your resurrections and our other activities. It's been more than ten days since our transportation, ten days we've spent hiding in the shadows, biding our time. Well, besides my little excursion. Demiurge and Albedo had organized a commendable scouting force that had brought in tremendous quantities of information. So far, they've not uncovered an organization that could rival our own, be they players or natural inhabitants of this world. During my outing to the city nearby I've confirmed the existence of YGGDRASIL items, I am quite confident to say that we are not the only ones that got transported. However, these players already lost possession of their items. Either they were incredibly bad at combat, so much so that they lost to a country where a level 62 soldier could be considered to be one of their trump cards, or they were transported before us. I am leaning towards the second possibility. Anyhow, what's certain is that players are not dominating the continent currently. Either they are dead, hiding or outside the area that is under our surveillance."

He looked at us each, examining our features one by one. "I see you are following thus far. As of today, I feel comfortable announcing that we will begin making our plans to leave the warm embrace of the Tomb and enter into the spotlight of the outside World. It won't happen today nor tomorrow, but know this; our goal is domination. We will rule the continent sooner or later."

My heart starts beating with excitement. The greatness of our Master is on full display for all to see. He continues as He rises from his seat, opening His arms wide. "Of course, that is not the final destination of our conquest! Hear me, o denizens of Nazarick! I proclaim it on this day, in this room. There will be no person that knows not the might of Ainz Ooal Gown. They will admire us, fear us, revere us. They will work themselves to the bone for us. That is how the World will function once everything is in its rightful place; us as the masters, outsiders as our busy little worker bees. They will shield us from our enemies, they will provide us with food, they will give us their gold, lest they wish to be made an example out of."

This is it, now we know what the Master wishes of us. World Domination. Our destination is set, we just have to facilitate things to get there seamlessly. I take a look around me as I examine the faces of my underlings and fellow denizens. Their gazes are burning with feverish adoration, they are dying to serve His every command. Mare starts clapping, we each follow suit. The room erupts into loud cheering. This is a monumental day for Nazarick, but perhaps even more so for the rest of the World, they just don't know it yet. Things have been set in motion, now it's impossible to stop our advance until even a single one of us draws breath. I know it as well as any one of us, no one in this room will truly rest until we've accomplished His dream, for His happiness is our sole reason for existence.

He sat back down into the Throne of Kings. After lifting His left palm, we quiet down. "But that is in the far future. Right now, we will thread relatively safely. We've already recognized the weakest nation on the continent, they will serve as our testing ground for harder conquests that are to come in the future. Before all that, however, there is one thing that needs to be done. Sebas, step forth."

I do as told, now I find myself standing alone in front of the line of Guardians, facing Him in my lonesome. "It's been a week since you received your punishment, a week that you've spent repenting. I noticed how downcast you are, how serious you take your punishment. I will give you a task that I trust you will find fulfilling."

My heart starts racing once again, it seems my chance of reclaiming my honor and dignity has come sooner than I had even dreamed of. I reply; "anything, Ulbert-sama. Order me to do anything, and it shall be done."

He smiles at me. "Bafolk." My blood starts boiling after hearing that accursed word. "That is what I've been called by the human commander, which is the reason you found yourself ever so slightly outraged. For those of you that don't know, bafolk seem to be a demihuman bipedal race that resembles goats. I don't know the details, I've never seen one myself. Anyhow, this is a race which the soldiers of the Theocracy thought I am to be a part of. I don't think that I could ever live in a World where I am mistaken for such a barbaric animal once again. Before we step into the limelight, before I make my grand appearance in front of the masses, Sebas, I have a task for you. I hereby order the complete and utter extinction of the bafolk species. Their culture, their history, any ideology they stand for, even the corpses of their dead, rotting children. I order you to exterminate everything that is related to them. Delete even a hint of their existence from this World. My World. I don't wish to ever hear the name of their race spoken ever again."

I am simply elated. I bow deeply before His glorious self. I can't help myself but smile. "It shall be done, Ulbert-sama." I reply.

And just like that, the fate of an entire species was decided.

A/N:

Question by KralMeco: Did Ulbert have the decency to choke the poor girl (Shalltear) during their copulation even though he couldn't go as far as snapping her neck? (Chapter 5)

Answer: I can't exactly imagine a friendly snuggle session between a sadistic arch-demon and a masochistic true vampire. Some choking, biting, kicking and other delicacies may or may not have been involved.