Chapter 14
In the lobby-like purple and black entrance of Nazarick's last floor there were Yuri, Lupusregina, Narberal, Shizu, Solution and Entoma, lined up in a file right behind Pestonya and Sebas. All of them unrelentingly standing guard, all of them going down on one knee as soon as the Overlord of Death suddenly materialised.
To his side, a huge demonic being stranger to the NPCs had a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown on one of his many fingers.
Oshikuru's mind entered the bunga-bunga zone.
Damn, these maids are so cute!
And look at this dude, what were you doing to all the little girls until a moment ago, eh?
You lucky bastard! You old perv…
As if purposely interrupting the samurai's foul thoughts, Momonga coughed through his non existent throat and into his skeletal hand before proceeding with proper introductions.
"I find you well, my dear butler and maids. You may rise!"
And up they stood.
"This is my best friend Oshikuru, the greatest fighter across all of Yggdrasil, and he'll soon be appointed as a Supreme Being of Ainz Ooal Gown, in fact I'm on my way to the Throne Room to do exactly that."
Their emotional response was barely contained by the game settings while the Guildmaster kept talking.
"Oshikuru-san, this old gentleman is Sebas Tian, Nazarick's Head Butler, a dragonoid monk created by Touch Me. While not a Floor Guardian, his battle strength is such that he can rival those who hold that title…"
I see… a level 100 indeed. Who'd guess you were such a monster, gramps!
In his human form, Sebas Tian had the appearance of a 1.80 m tall elderly butler standing upright in a traditional, impeccable black uniform with a candid white handkerchief peeking out of the breast pocket. His hair was gray-white, just like his immaculate beard. He had visible but thin wrinkles on the slightly hollow face which made him seem gentle, at least in appearance.
"… And by his side, Nazarick's Head Maid, Pestonya Shortcake Wanko, a level 85 dog cleric, the best healer in all of Nazarick."
Being a High Priest, Pestonya could use summoning magic and can call forth angels such as Archangel Flames. As a half Shetland Sheep Dog - half human, she possessed a great cold resistance thanks to her soft white, beige and black fur. Pestonya wore an elaborate black and white maid outfit with beige frills on the edges. The uniform was covered by a peculiar clerical cape and hat, while high-heeled laced black shoes were barely visible beneath her long gown.
Almost all of her body body was hidden by clothing, save two fair maiden's soft hands and the head, which was that of of a Shetland Sheepdog with a vertical scar on her face running down the center, with signs of stitching on it.
Uhm, peculiar but not really interesting, holy magic hurts me. Although her dog's head makes me want to pet her…
".. While these powerful and beautiful ladies are the Six Stars of the Pleiades. Yuri Alpha, Big Sister of the battlemaids, a level 51 Dullahan highly specialised in close combat, as you can see…"
Oldest among the Pleiades, but still looking in late twenties or early thirties at most, Yuri had a frigid white skin that matched her cold air. Her not too long, smooth raven black hair was tied into a low-cropped bun at the back of her head, hiding her ears and leaving a little tuft fall down by the right side of her head, up to eye level.
In front of extremely dark green eyes she had black lensless glasses resting on the tiniest nose ever. Her thin light pink lips showed a barely noticeable smile above a sharp chin.
A thick band of pale blue metal was tightened around her neck, most likely to keep her head attached to the body since she was a Dullahan.
A black dress went from the base of her neck to the floor, hiding her feet while the sleeves reached just above the elbows, which were covered in white-gray pieces of armour. A buttoned white cloth covered her buxom chest; short white frills departed from her right shoulder while the left one was covered by a gray -white shoulder plate; a thin white collar completed the dress.
Above the beautiful uniform she wore sparkly white-gray metal plates covering her hips and belly, where it was attached a big golden cross. Around the slim waist was tightened a belt of the same light blue of her little bow tie. Her thin, long fingers were covered by black gloves.
Wearing light armour like most of the Pleiades battlemaids, her clothes seemed to emphasize elegance and mobility, although she was equipped with yellowish -green bracers with thick sharp spikes.
Aye, with those big boo- I mean bracers, you're not fooling anyone, you've got to be strong. Such black glasses and strict air but a little smile… you look like a severe teacher… Hehehe, punish me, Yuri Alpha!
Also, being a Dullahan, you don't need to breathe and can even remove your head from the rest of the body… that does give me a very naughty idea…
"… Lupusregina Beta, best healer of the Pleiades, is a level 59 Werewolf …"
1.71 m tall, just 3 cm shorter than Big Sis Yuri, she was an ever tanned beauty with an athletic look. Lupu wore a white-black clerical hat on her red hair that hid the wolffish, fluffy ears and was tied in two braids, so long they could graze her hips. Below the wild red tufts on her forehead appeared two bright green irises in amber pupils. In those predator eyes Oshikuru was certain he could see a glimpse of excitement and sadism.
I bet she freaky in bed… though being a werewolf she could eat my meat, I'd rather not risk that!
Her elaborate black and white maid uniform with short sleeves could barely contain her sexy, curvy body. Long black gloves covered her forearms and hands, while her skirt had a long slit on its left side, revealing thigh-high white stockings with a garner belt. Her small feet were covered by exquisite black slingback heels.
She was equipped with a single leaf-like piece of armour the same colour of her pupils; it covered her groin area.
Her sole weapon was a long black and silvery crosier which possessed no less than nine sharp blades; she kept it slung across her back.
I'm not really into furries, that's just sick, but this big-breasted redhead truly is fascinating in her human-like form… come heal me, you're needed to mend my wounded heart!
"… Narberal Gamma, the highest leveled member of the Six Star Pleiades with her 63 overall, is a Doppelgänger magic caster whose specialty lies in Arcane Magic of the Air Element…"
Which means the byach can cast 7th Tier [Chain Dragon Lightning]. Not too bad, but that means she has mid physical stats at best.
She wore a white bonnet in place of a helmet, and a composite black armor decorated in gold and silver instead of a maid uniform. As a battle mage, her weapon of choice was a golden staff plated in silver which could channel her lightning magic, enhancing the damage she could deal. If out of mana, the three sharp blades attached to the pole's end could slash her opponents. Narberal's human form was gained through her Doppelgänger's transformation skill, even if her low racial level allowed her to turn into that shape only.
Her completely emotionless snow-white face was adorned by not too long black hair tied up in a pony tail.
Hmm, she's definitely not my type. Also, being 1.64 m tall, she looks too much like a child. Sorry, Narberal, but I'm surely not going to jail for you!
"… Shizu 2128 Delta, CZ for friends, is the best sniper NPC in AOG, and a level 46 Automaton …"
Despite her being the smallest and lowest-leveled Pleiade, as she measured only 1.45 m in height, she was the most dangerous among the 6 Stars in long-range fighting.
CZ's red-gold straight long hair reached down to her hips while also covering most of her little pink face on which opened only her right robotic yellow-green eye, quite similar to Oshikuru's as it could flawlessly assess enemies and items in addition to perfectly aiming, while the left one was covered by a copper-like metal patch. While Narberal's face was the perfect representation of contempt, Shizu's was cold as well but differently, as if she was a little sad and delicate.
She wore accessories with military camouflage patterns above an attire almost identical to her Big Sister's, though much smaller in size, while her knee-high, heavy metal boots granted great protection. CZ2128 also had lots of so-called "cute" stickers attached to a corner of her black skirt with "1 yen" written on it. But the most significant difference to her sisters was the white gun she holstered on her waist in a manner similar to how one would wear a sword.
Even if she happened to have the correct body parts down there, no robots in my harem. Sorry CZ, you're cute and peculiar, but that's a no no.
"… Solution Epsilon, a level 57 Predator Slime known as Prison of Dissolution…"
After an inquiring gaze from the Hellking's eyes, Solution appeared to him as the most difficult opponent to take down, due to her build being concentrated on racial levels. Her slimy body was empty on the inside and she could choose to protect or dissolve what she touched or absorbed.
As a slime, she would not take damage from normal physical attacks, actually no item below Legendary Class could slash or pierce her. As a result, if anyone tried to stab her, she could simply ignore, absorb or melt the weapon that hit her. However, bludgeoning attacks could actually hurt Solution, especially over time.
Being a rogue class-based character with assassin and poison maker classes, Lady Solution also had detection abilities. She specialized in detecting traps, pursuit, scouting and the use of poison in combat by transforming her fingers into syringe-shaped tubes. This was done with the use of a skill, letting her combine a powerful venom inducing sleep and a muscle-relaxing poison.
Additionally, she used a skill from her assassin class to melt into the shadows and reemerge out of it like a shadow demon.
Extremely adaptable, she can be either a fighter/tank, an assassin/thief or a ranger… Still, no threat to me or any players above level 60, even less if they know the few weaknesses of slimes and have something adequate to use against it.
Beyond her remarkable skills, Solution undoubtedly possessed a daring beauty. Even if she could change her appearance as she wished, the Pleiade liked to keep her current form as it was chosen by her creator HeroHero. 1.66 m tall, she had blonde spiral curls falling on the sides of her head, on top of which she had a black bonnet similar to Narberal's. In her deep blue eyes Oshikuru sensed a mix of Gamma's cold contempt and Beta's playful sadism. Seeing on Epsilon's uniform it had been embroidered a stylised version of Lupusregina's crosier, he was now sure of Epsilon's merciless and provoking lore.
That attracted him and her sex appeal emphasising clothes furtherly fascinated the pervert samurai.
Her attire seemed to be a mix between the werewolf's and the doppelgänger's: high-heeled armoured metal boots went a little above her knee, showing thigh-high black fishnet stockings. Above that, she wore a tight, revealing black and white dress with short sleeves, clearly designed to open easily around her big bazongas, while a choker held her lower neck.
Right now, I'm so glad I can't get hard in-game! It'd be pretty rude…
"… and last but not least, our dear Entoma Vasilissa Zeta, a level 51 arachnoid entomancer."
1.49 m tall, she seemed to have bright red eyes right below mauve hair with twin chignons. But she exposed no bare skin, hiding her true face behind a mask-bug and the rest of the body beneath a dress the colour of blood, with oversized sleeves and a big, bright red ribbon over a white apron, while her fake hair seemed to be two rolled centipedes. Her real form was that of a spider-human hybrid, but she didn't show her true form like the rest of the Pleiades.
Uhm, not really my thing, but this is a very rare and interesting individual, I had never seen anything like it.
Entoma was a spirit based magic caster who relied on insects and talismans in battle which allowed her to cover all roles, save a healer: she could effectively carry out both close combat and ranged attacks by summoning insects, casting spells and using tags (paper talismans).
She also had some Arachnoid special abilities.
Through her mouth, Entoma could shoot a sticky web [Spiderweb] to capture enemies or [Slashing Spiderweb] for chopping them. [Spider Sense] was an incredible move which allowed her to notice anything in a large AoE, unless it was hidden by a World Item. Her trump card was considered to be [Breath of Fly], that released a swarm of small flies and dealt piercing damage on the targets. Against foes below level 60, if not dodged or somehow repelled, after a successful hit these flies would then lay eggs in their victims. The maggots quickly hatched and ate the flesh of the victim before rapidly growing to flies, only to repeat the process against new enemies. This ability could only be used 3 times per day, but was very remarkable, especially against mobs.
Oshikuru smiled internally.
"All of you are beautiful and powerful in your own way, but I must say Entoma Vasilissa Zeta is the one which surprised me the most."
"Kyah! what a nice guy! welcome to Nazarick, Oshikuru-sama!"
Thought Entoma as she giggled in her mind.
"Since you're all here, follow us to the Throne Room so that you can witness a new person joining Ainz Ooal Gown!"
The NPCs obeyed the command, though one harboured conflicting feelings.
He has defeated my creator in single combat and Touch Me-sama told me it was because of him that Nazarick suffered from the Great Siege of the Union of the Eight Guilds…
Still, later I learned always from my master that Oshikuru did fight for Ainz Ooal Gown in that war, killing many enemies all by himself as he held off the advance of all the others for quite a while. Without him, those who entered the Great Tomb would have been so many more than the 1500 who made it inside of Nazarick, dealing much more damage even if they still would have been stopped in the 8th Floor as my lord Touch Me openly stated.
And now, he and Momonga-sama are behaving as best friends… maybe my creator was blinded by the rage of having been defeated for the very first time. But I cannot believe it, Touch Me-sama was the kindest, most honourable and most righteous among all Supreme Beings…
Still, why did he leave Nazarick and I then, while Momonga-sama is the only one who keeps graces us with his majestic presence and supreme leadership? How can it not be him the most compassionate and the most reliable Supreme Being? After all, everyone recognised him as the highest authority, so he must be right. Perhaps Oshikuru-sama is like Ulbert Alain Odle-sama, he had some quarrel with my creator that could never be completely satisfied for either of them. But how can I betray my own creator by allowing the one who defeated him and who might have put in danger all of Ainz Ooal Gown? And what if it is this Oshikuru the one who caused all the other Supreme Beings to abandon the Great Tomb of Nazarick?
I hope you're coming back to your foolish servant, Touch Me-sama, and make it all right…
While the Iron Butler struggled about to whom he owed his true allegiance, he and the rest of the group passed by an enormous library.
Even if he was eager to perform the official ceremony, Oshikuru couldn't resist to give a quick look at the majestic, deep well of knowledge represented by the Ashurbanipal.
The Grand Library of Nazarick, containing all the collective knowledge gathered by the Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown, was accessible through a wide front door, guarded by two level 55 stone golems. The library itself was quite elegant as it displayed art pieces and decorations in each and every corner, similarly to an art museum. Even more upstairs on the 2nd level, with many orderly placed glass shelves.
There were also small rooms designed for specific uses, the most important one for the Guild undoubtedly being the Crafting Room, where magic scrolls were produced. It had a workshop containing materials of great quality and quantity, such as dragonhide, which were used in manufacturing and then enchanting the parchment, usually a one-use expendable.
Obviously, the higher-leveled the base material, the higher-tiered the spell that could be written on the resulting scroll. For example, dragonhide was the only known material that could hold a spell of the 10th tier.
Most of the volumes in the Grand Library were summoning books. As a matter of fact, there was no need to acquire so many: even if all current resources in Nazarick were used, one could summon less than a tenth of the total monster data amount.
Since low-level creatures' data was so cheap, the guild members had started making a massive number of duplicates as the one true reason for gathering so many books was to hide important magic items by blending them among ordinary ones, making it harder for any trespasser to find anything valuable.
Although so far no raider had made it to the library.
The contents in the Ashurbanipal could be divided into five macro categories: monster data books, data crystals disguised as volumes, rare magic items also concealed, cosmetic skins hidden as well, and actual books too.
The latter included old and classic literature whose copyright had ran out a long time ago, but there were also lore stories distributed by the shitty devs plus original tales, diaries, notes and game guides written by the players themselves.
This place is a dream come true for plunderers!, thought Oshikuru as he was almost drooling at the sight of so many data crystals, skins and event items well hidden but not enough to escape the Hellking's Eyes.
Even though the Ashurbanipal contained data on various types of monsters, it did not have all summons in Yggdrasil and most high-tiered monster data was limited.
Anyway a collection of recorded monster data was required to summon extra helpers to Nazarick without the use of skills or mana from players or NPCs as the so-called mercenary monsters needed to be summoned using a data book, a special summoning ritual and an adequate amount of gold.
Too much money… I only summoned through skills and created one-time cost points of spawning for POP monsters and free respawning locations for my NPCs in Little Hell.
The NPC in charge of the scroll making and mercenary monster summoning processes was Titus Anneaus Secundus, also Chief Librarian of Ashurbanipal.
The level 85 highly specialised skeleton mage's body consisted of a fusion of animal and human bones, with a height of one and a half metre only. He had a couple of ram-like horns sprouting from his head, four-fingered hands and hoofed feet. Titus wore a red gown with a silk hood covering his head. His body was richly adorned in lots of jewels that truly were magical items, akin to the Overlord of Death which ruled the Grand Tomb.
The Chief Librarian's main helpers, also acting as guards to the Ashurbanipal, were level 80 undead overlords whose names were based on the Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire: Cocceius, Ulpius, Aelius, Fulvius and Aurelius. Despite having less levels than their direct superior, those five had developed more into combat classes and as such they would be quite a fearsome force.
As extra staff there were multiple low-level spirits and Elder Liches nicknamed White Counterfeiters, all at level 30.
The demon samurai barely refrained from entering the library. I'll delve into it tomorrow, he promised himself as he restarted walking after the brief stop by the Ashurbanipal's entrance.
The composite group soon arrived at the Lemegeton.
It was a large domed hall that looked like a theater, with four-colored crystal lamps glittering from the ceiling. Actually, the chandeliers were living monsters and as soon as an enemy entered their range, they would instantly summon high-ranking elementals of earth, water, wind, and fire. Additionally, each four-colored crystal lamp was capable of bombarding the invaders with AoE magic. If these crystal lamps all attacked at once, the firepower they unleashed could easily defeat two parties of level 100 players.
But that wasn't all.
There were 72 niches in the walls, all but 5 of them occupied by the statue of a demon. Those where one of the last lines of defense in the dungeon, ready to properly welcome whoever did not say the correct password to open the gate to the Throne Room.
Actually, the Lemegeton itself was never completed as it had only 67 golems, due to the Guild lacking the Prismatic Ore to provide the necessary precious metals. Bored by the perspective of having to fight countless monsters to get those rare minerals, the one who had been making the golems gave up on the completion of the project.
Upon hearing Momonga's explanation, the fact that the hall hadn't been fully equipped annoyed Oshikuru who quickly came up with a solution and asked permission to the Guildmaster to complete the Lemegeton. As he accepted, curious about what Oshikuru was planning, the demon samurai thanked him.
"Excellent, now please wait a moment, Momonga-san. Be right back!"
Activating the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, he dematerialised only to reappear at his destination in the "new" Little Hell.
Every minion in there immediately prostrated to the King of Hell.
"Ambition, my loyal servant, please rise."
The demon now second in charge of Nazarick's 7th level stood up waiting for orders, hoping his master would give him a mission.
"Even if you don't show it, I know you're not happy about having to obey to Sir Demiurge."
Good, master, I see we're on the same page. Can I kill him then?
"While that's not gonna change unless unforeseen circumstances take place…"
Shit… at least there's a little bit of hope.
"I will make you feel better by letting you choose 5 of Little Hell's Evil Lords for the most boring duty ever. So point the ones you despise the most, I'll pick'em up and leave with them."
Hehehe, this is good. Finally I can get rid of most of those little shits who want to take my place!
Ambition immediately turned to his subordinates.
As he maniacally laughed into his mind, the Seven Evil Lords wanted to ask for mercy by their King, but they couldn't.
With great enthusiasm, Ambition quickly called for Wrath since it was the most powerful among them, Pride and Greed because of their personalities, then he decided to spare Envy because that female was nice to look at. A bit undecided about the others, he ended up picking Lust and Gluttony as Sloth was the least likely to act against him.
Sloth and Envy silently cheered while the five who had been named wished to kill Ambition, but couldn't. Instead they had to walk up to Oshikuru who made them hold hands. It was weird but necessary: as he touched Wrath's shoulder, the Demon Samurai activated his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Having returned to the Lemegeton with five Evil Lords, he requested them to go right into the five empty niches and then stand perfectly still.
As they all complied, Oshikuru activated a skill he possessed but never used so far.
If this fails, I'll open a hole in the ground, jump in and never get out of it.
"[Widen Maximise Magic: Gargoyle]!"
Luckily, the spell worked: all five Evil Lords turned to stone and would revert back into their normal form only if Oshikuru reversed it or an enemy activated the Lemegeton's traps.
Relieved, the eight-armed samurai turned to his friend.
"They may not be golems made out of Prismatic Ore, but they're far stronger than them and look even more real, 'cause they are. What say you?"
"That's perfect! Although now you've lost many powerful servants…"
"No big deal, Momonga-san, I still have two Evil Lords plus my "Prince". And a full set is at the orders of Demiurge, so it's really not a problem.
Now that it's done, let us go beyond that cool door!"
Indeed they had now arrived in front Nazarick's most sacred site: the Throne Room. Between the two players and that it stood a giant entrance, over 5 m tall and 3 m wide. It was closed by a majestic set of double doors covered in intricate carvings. The left side portrayed a beautiful goddess with angelic wings, while on the right it appeared a cruel looking demon.
My "Door to the Dark Side" is far better though. Fuck your goddess and screw your demon, the Nazguls together with Anakin Skywalker and Norman Osborne are way cooler!
Still, the demon and the goddess seemed so realistic that it seemed like they would attack.
Despite that, Momonga knew it wouldn't happen.
If a bunch of heroes manage to get this far, even beyond the Lemegeton's last traps, we should welcome them. A lot of people say we really are evil, so "Let's wait for them in here like final bosses without any traps in the Throne Room!" was the suggestion adopted by majority rule.
Ulbert… you were the most obsessed one with the word "evil" out of anybody in the guild. Never got through adolescence, I guess …"
Momonga took another look at the decorative display.
"…Okay, you're not going to attack, right?"
His anxiety was not unwarranted. Even he didn't know how everything in this labyrinth worked. He wouldn't have been surprised if one among all the retired members had left a twisted "parting gift," and the guy who had made this door was definitely the type to do something like that.
Once, he said he wanted to show Momonga a very powerful golem he had just created, but when booted up, apparently some bug in its combat AI caused the golem to start throwing punches at the Guildmaster. He still wondered if that had been on purpose.
Hey, LuciFer. If you attack me today of all days, in front of the NPCs and my new friend, I will be seriously angry!
Momonga touched the massive door with caution, but his worries had been for nothing; it opened automatically but slowly, with appropriate gravity.
The mood changed.
The previous room was as solemn as a shrine, but the scene here surpassed even that. The new atmosphere seemed to exert an almost physical pressure as if the exquisite workmanship could be felt weighing on one's entire body.
The room was huge: a hundred people could come in and there would still be space left over, while the vaulted ceilings were over a hundred metres high. The walls were primarily white with golden decorations. Several magnificent chandeliers hanged from the ceiling, their jewels sparkling in a rainbow of colors. On the walls, hanging from the ceiling to the floor, were located large flags, each with a different crest, forty-one in all.
So far.
On the opposing side of this lavish gold-and-silver room was a short flight of ten-steps stairs. At the top stood out a throne carved out of a giant crystal, its back side going all the way up, briefly interrupted by a large scarlet tapestry bearing the guild's crest.
This was the deepest reach of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
A "Wow!" escaped Oshikuru's lips as he admired the overwhelming room. While he could claim his throne room's door looked better, he was sure the interiors' workmanship of this hall was the best in all of Yggdrasil.
That made it a perfect place to celebrate his rite of passage from the most infamous loner in Yggdrasil to the official member of the most infamous guild in Yggdrasil.
The hall was so large that the sound of their footsteps seemed to vanish into the room as the group slowly entered. Then something, or better yet someone, catched Oshikuru's attention.
He eyed the female NPC standing next to the throne.
She was more than gorgeous and wore a snow-white dress. A faint smile was drawn on her pale face, reminiscent of the goddess on the door. Lustrous black hair was the exact opposite of her dress and reached all the way down to her narrow waist. Her golden irises and cat-like vertical slit pupils would reveal her nature to the most experienced players like he himself, but they didn't detract one bit from her peerless feminine beauty.
She did, however, have traits even a blasted fool would recognise: thick horns curled forward out of her temples and black wings sprouted out of her back, near her hips.
The Succubus wore a glittering golden spiderweb necklace which covered her shoulders and upper chest. In her seemingly delicate silken-gloved hands, she carried a strange wand-like object.
It was about half a metre long, its end tipped by a black orb that was magically floating. That was [True Nought Ginnungagap], the World Item Tabula had left her.
Perhaps because of the shadows caused by her horns, her smile seemed like it might be a mask hiding something else.
It was.
Momonga-sama! Welcome back to the throne room, you and all the other Supreme Beings have never visited me in such a long time!
But why did you bring along so many servants and, most importantly, who is this person and why is he wearing a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown?
Don't tell me he's to be a new Supreme Being…
Unaware of the succubus' turmoil, the Overlord of Death started to introduce her to Oshikuru and viceversa.
"My friend, this is Lady Albedo, a level 100 Succubus with the highest Phy. Def. among NPCs. She's the Overseer of the Floor Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick."
Indeed being at the top of the NPC hierarchy was the sole reason why she was allowed to stand by in the Throne room.
She was responsible for the Hierarchy Administration System.
In order to gain access to this system, it required the keywords "Master Source -Open." It recorded daily maintenance costs, numbers and types of mercenary monsters and NPCs, all sorts of magical traps and other gimmicks, and so on. One could exert large-scale control over them all from here. Additionally, the system was capable of verifying the NPC's current allegiance and status.
"That's far enough." Momonga said to Oshikuru, Sebas, Pestonya and the Pleiades in a dignified tone when they reached the steps to the throne.
Then, he started up the stairs, but after he had gone up a couple steps, he realized he could still hear footsteps behind him and looked dumbfounded as Oshikuru had stopped while the minions kept going.
The demon samurai chuckled while the undead arcane caster winced.
When it came down to it, NPCs were inflexible programs. They wouldn't take an order unless it was extremely explicit or simple, or one of their set phrases. Momonga used NPCs so rarely that he had managed to forget that simple fact.
Since the other guild members left, Momonga had been doing all he reasonably could to be outside of it to go have fun with Oshikuru, often treasure hunting as it was necessary to raise the funds to maintain the Great Tomb of Nazarick. They would never team up with other players, actually seeing always less and less of others.
Every day after playing Momonga went back in Nazarick to just throw money into the treasury like it was his job and then logged out. He didn't have much occasion to meet NPCs.
He almost cursed due to the blunder, but that was part of the fun.
"Get to the base of the stairs and stand by!" The NPCs now understood the order and executed it while the Overlord climbed up the stairs and stood before the throne.
Momonga sat down and scrutinized Oshikuru with zero doubts as gesturing him to move closer. Both in Yggdrasil and IRL he was his best friend, if not the only one right now since the old mates had been ignoring him for the past months.
He had just sent an e-mail to all guild members asking them to come back to Nazarick at least on Yggdrasil's last day, but so far no one positively replied, or responded at all.
Screw this! They don't care any more, I'll do as I please at least for the last few days!
The samurai stopped at the third to last step and kneeled without being asked.
And without hesitation he asked: "Do you have an official formula, or…?"
"Uh, yes. Please give me back the ring for a moment."
"Ok." And Oshikuru passed back the ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
The skeleton on the throne coughed, then started speaking in a solemn tone: "In this hour Oshikuru-san comes to join us in Ainz Ooal Gown.
As a working member of society and a heteromorph avatar, you meet our requirements.
If anyone here can show just cause why this person may not be granted the duty and privilege to join us, speak now, or else forever hold—"
"I will speak now!"
Shocked beyond belief, both players turned to the were that voice was coming from, expecting all other members of Ainz Ooal Gown to have barged in to stop them, but there were no other players.
The one who had spoken was a NPC.
It was Sebas Tian, who spoke again, quite mechanically.
"I… can show just cause why this… person may not be granted the duty and privilege to join us—"
The Guildmaster screamed, interrupting the butler.
"HOW DARE YOU?! SHUT UP! YOU'RE JUST A—"
A lower, but equally hard voice stopped his best friend's tantrum.
"Hold on Momonga-san, I know this doesn't make any sense, but let the man speak his mind. I want to know what this is about!"
Momonga was furious, but he gritted his teeth and ordered Sebas to keep on talking.
The Iron Butler did so, although it seemed hard for him to put his thoughts into words.
"I …apologise, Momonga-sama and… Oshikuru… , but this is wrong. My creator Touch Me-sama… warned me about Oshikuru.
He had defeated and mocked my master… Then he got away with it without suffering any consequences…
After that… he asked to join Ainz Ooal Gown… but of course he could not be trusted. So the Supreme Beings were so kind to… to offer him some terms for joining the guild, but he… he was so ungrateful he refused to meet them with pathetic excuses… and left without even trying to discuss and find a compromise…
This… person shattered the image of Ainz Ooal Gown as a merciless, powerful guild that nobody can mess with… because of him the Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown became the… the laughingstock of Yggdrasil, the Guild lost its high reputation…
After that it was only a matter of time before someone decided to attack the Great Tomb of Nazarick… and despite the efforts to prevent it… they did.
A coalition of no less than eight full guilds and came together against Ainz Ooal Gown… it was the largest siege in the history of Yggdrasil…
It matters not that he fought against the enemies… since it was his fault they had come…
And despite the great efforts of the valiant guildmates, they wrecked Nazarick until the 8th Floor… only then were they stopped, after causing the death of many Supreme Beings and… and of their servants, and great destruction.
And it's all this… this one's fault! He deserves not to become a Supreme Being of Ainz Ooal Gown… he never will!
He only deserves to… to be destroyed by the power of Nazarick! Momonga-sama, please… order me and the others… to take down this… filthy creature that… that sneaked into this sacred room! He is unworthy to be here… he is unworthy to be in your presence, Momonga-sama!"
An endless rage filled Momonga's mind.
"You will never lift a finger on my best friend!"
Before he could continue, Oshikuru messaged him.
Momonga-san, If I am to join this guild, I must be the one to convince him to let me in. They might be emotional and irrational, but I'm sure he is speaking this way out of loyalty for his creator and what Touch Me told him. He knows only that, but now I'll tell him everything.
The Guildmaster seemed lost for a moment, just like the maids and Albedo, but he ended up agreeing.
Then the samurai turned to the butler.
"Sebas, I have not come here to claim Nazarick like those fools tried to so long ago. I could right now. To me, defeating all the people in this room would be as easy as pie.
But that is not my desire. It never was. I never wanted to cause any trouble to Ainz Ooal Gown!
I have come here to be a part of the guild of my only friend in this and in the other world.
I knew if there was someone I could ever befriend I would find him among the ranks of Ainz Ooal Gown. I have seen how they cared for each other in a world that hated our kind and I wanted to be one of them, I wanted to feel what it's like to be cared and cherished because I had never felt it on me in this world and in the other.
Now I found someone who cares for me. It's Momonga-sensei. And because of that, I now care for him more than I ever care for myself.
I've always been ambitious, I've always dreamed to become the strongest of the strongest, but as soon as I did it, the joy of achieving that lasted only a few moments and then disappeared, leaving my heart empty once again.
Then I felt hollow as I always have. No matter how hard I tried to remove from me the desire to have someone to call a friend, it persisted.
You have no idea how much I've suffered because of that, but it's nothing compared to what Momonga himself has been through and still is.
While I have been alone all my life until I met him and so I was used to it, he managed to find the best people in the world and together with them he lived the greatest adventures ever, his best memories are with them, he built all of this amazing place where we're standing in right now with them, and now they have all abandoned him.
The ones he called friends have abandoned this place and this world, because they didn't care anymore, or not enough at least. 40 besides Momonga, and not even one of them has come back here in the last two months. And even then, it was just a simple visit. In the last few years, most of them have quit to never come back.
And it would be bad enough, but there's worse.
They didn't just give up on Ainz Ooal Gown and Yggdrasil, they gave up caring about each other, even in the other world. He's lucky when they reply to him after weeks! And when they do, all what they can say is complaining about how hard their lives are…
Well, guess what, life's hard for everyone of us! That's no excuse to abandon your friends!
Now that I have this bond of friendship with Momonga-san, I'll do everything in my power to never let him suffer, to never abandon him! I'll strive to care for my friend more than anything else.
And I do know how much he still cares for his friends and all what they have done together, for Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown is what they have done! I do know what I feel for him is almost nothing compared to what he feels for all his friends, for he still comes back to this place every day no matter what and he'll keep doing it for as long as he possibly can, until Yggdrasil is no more.
And I will be by his side to support him no matter what, especially now that his other friends have abandoned him, all he's got are memories and this place to save him from the pain of losing them!"
Thankful for not having to speak with his real vocal cords, for they'd now be strained, he kept speaking through his mind.
"Sebas, if you expect me to apologise for what I have done to your master, you must know there's nothing I need to apologise for. I defeated Touch Me in duel, he and all the present acknowledged my victory without complaining as I won fair and square.
After that, I asked them permission to join them because, just as I told you, I had no friends and I admired their friendship, so I wanted to be part of it. But I knew many would disagree after having just seen me defeating Touch Me right before their eyes, so I gave them time to think about it.
When I came back, they demanded me to let them know about my powers and items if I wanted to be accepted. Later I found out from Momonga-san that it was just a trap so that they could understand how to destroy me.
Until then I repeatedly told myself it was my fault, that I had to let them know everything about me no matter what…
But once I knew the truth, I realised that no matter what I did, they'd never accept me.
Even after I fought for them against the Eight Guilds covering the retreat of a few members including Touch Me himself, who spouted some nonsense venom against me, they still wouldn't accept me.
Even after I halted the enemy assault and PKed their leader, they still wouldn't accept me.
Even after I, alone against the greatest army in the history of Yggdrasil, stood to protect Nazarick, PKing 666 enemies they still wouldn't accept me.
And you say it's all my fault…"
He clenched all his fists even tighter, turning them red from the original black.
"I have done everything I could to prove worth of being one of them! and they couldn't care any less just 'cause they couldn't accept I was stronger than any among them.
The only one who saw through me beyond my strength, the only one who truly listened to my words and understood all I needed in this and the other world is a friend, that one is the man sitting on the throne and you're not even allowing me to serve him.
Now that you know everything, are you still against this?"
The silence after the shouted truth was heavier, colder and more threatening than an avalanche.
Nothing could be heard, because none among them actually could be breathing or have a beating heart.
Then, a low but now steady voice broke it.
"I am so sorry, Momonga-sama and Oshikuru-sama. Now I do understand. No man is more suitable than Oshikuru-sama to become a Supreme Being of Ainz Ooal Gown. Now, please order this foolish servant to atone for his accusations with his life…"
I could never think the Supreme Beings would behave like this… they truly did abandon us, even my creator… only their leader has remained… surely it must have happened something terrible. But maybe I'll meet Touch Me-sama again in the afterlife now that I must be terminated for my ignorant insolence. How could I doubt the Supreme Leader though…
"That will not be necessary, Sebas. You have realised your mistake. And it was born out of loyalty to your creator and ignorance of the bigger picture, not due to lack of loyalty to me. Now, stand by while we continue the ceremony."
He's so compassionate even towars an unworthy servant… your greatness has no boundaries, Momonga-sama!
That was the thought of all NPCs in the room, now silent.
But not for long.
The Guildmaster coughed and restarted the holy ritual.
"In this hour Oshikuru-san comes to join us in Ainz Ooal Gown.
As a working member of society and a heteromorph avatar, you meet our requirements.
If anyone here can show just cause why this person may not be granted the duty and privilege to join us, speak now, or else forever hold your peace…"
The Overlord of Death briefly turned his eyes, flickering red flames, on all NPCs as if to dare them say something again.
Satisfied, he quickly went on.
"I charge you, Oshikuru, here in my presence and the witness of this company, that if you know a reason why you may not be granted the duty and privilege to join Ainz Ooal Gown, you now confess it."
As expected, Oshikuru had nothing to confess, so Momonga proceeded.
"Oshikuru, will you have Ainz Ooal Gown to be your Guild? Will you accept its rules in obedience so that everyone can be safe and happy? Will you accept that there is no greater love than giving your life for a friend? Will you protect all of Ainz Ooal Gown, from the Guildmaster to the Guildmates, NPC servants and the Great Tomb of Nazarick, no matter what? Will you forsake any other guild, to be faithful unto Ainz Ooal Gown and its Guildmaster for as long as you shall live?"
"Yes, I will!"
So the Overlord stood up from the Throne of Kings, lifted the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown and gently placed its end on top of the Demon Samurai's head.
"Then I, Momonga, appointed as Guildmaster by the members of Ainz Ooal Gown, for the power bestowed upon me by my fellow guildmates, I shall allow Oshikuru to join the Guild!"
That said, he put a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown on one of his many fingers.
It would always belong to Oshikuru from now on.
Excited to have once again someone to call guildmate and relieved after having completed the ritual in spite of a totally unexpected incident, he asked:
"Do you have your own banner, guildmate Oshikuru-san?"
"Yes I do, Guildmaster Momonga-dono!"
As they both smirked, the samurai grabbed something from his inventory and
waved it, revealing three azure katanas with their pointy ends touching in the exact middle of the emblem on a black circle's background. All around it, the banner consisted of greenish hellflames among which emerged eight full black broadswords, also pointing to the emblem's centre. The banners' edges were black-green thick lines to which were attached some little draconic spikes.
"I pledge my banner, my servants, my weapons and myself to you and to Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga-san."
"And I gladly accept it all, Oshikuru-san.
Now, I believe a change of decoration is in order!"
He himself cast [Fly] on the banner of Little Hell and Oshikuru. It soared across the room until it hung on a free spot on the wall.
After that, Momonga had all NPCs in the room paid their respects to the new Supreme Being, then he ordered Albedo to have it known throughout Nazarick that Oshikuru had now become an official member of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Additionally, its former house "Little Hell" had now been brought on the 7th floor to increase security, with another Prince of Hell serving as Floor Guardian together with Demiurge but under the latter's guidance.
Also, five of his own Evil Lords had been turned into gargoyles, completing the Lemegeton.
Having shared all the changes so far brought by Lord Oshikuru's arrival, the two guildmates needed to discuss things among themselves and together they left the Throne Room.
"Oof, I was so sure Touch Me was leading all of your angry guildmates when I heard that voice!"
"Aye, I too freaked out for a moment back then. But you fixed it all, telling to Sebas all of the raw truth. I kinda hoped you could have spared some details, but I guess what matters is that it's all right now."
"Agreed. Still, I feel like my head is about to explode… this has been enough, I'd call it a day. Too many emotions, plus it's really late… I'm sorry, I wanted to finish the tour today."
"Don't worry, I agree with you. This was a hell of a day, one I'll never forget. Thanks a lot, Oshikuru-san!"
"Oh, please, it is I who must thank you. I've been waiting to join Ainz Ooal Gown and explore Nazrick for years, this is like a dream come true. I promise you the next days will be even more fun!"
"I never doubted that, Oshikuru-san.
See you again tomorrow, then!"
"Aye, then I'll keep you updated on when I get off work. As soon as those leeches let me go, I'll head back home and divebomb in Yggdrasil…
Ah, one last thing. Is there a place I should use as a saved location?"
"With the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, you can restart almost anywhere in all halls of Nazarick, if you don't choose a place it'll bring you back in the Round Table. Room just don't go to the 8th Floor and the Treasury without me, I need to show you how to get in there without unleashing hell."
"Of course, boss. Say hi to your waifu from me…"
"What?"
"Nothing. Bye!"
Oshikuru laughed while logged out, which turned out to make him almost cough to death as he returned to his body.
Sipping some cold water directly from the fridge, he thought: Never again!
Then, he loudly yawned and went to sleep, dreaming of the wonders he had seen in Nazarick and of those he had yet to be amazed by.