Chapter 13
As soon as they entered, Momonga flew up and Oshikuru followed until his new friend suddenly stopped, almost 200 m above ground, very close to the actual ceiling of the 6th Floor.
His magnificent black-purple robe with golden threads fluttering in the sky, the undead magic caster spread out his arms, inviting the demon samurai to watch over the surroundings.
As he did, a "Wow!" escaped from his dark lips.
I've seen plenty of beautiful places in Yggdrasil, but those made by the shitty devs don't count, they can create whatever they want for free.
This one here, on the other hand, must have come with a great price, it's huge and unbelievable …
"Momonga-san, it is amazing!
Being the King of Hell, I know the devil is in the details. And what you guys did here, on the so far largest floor too, is perfectly detailed. Whoever it was to make the 6th Floor, I'd gladly bow before them!
The sky seems so real I'd be fooled if I didn't know we were underground, and all the wildlife down there… it's a true jungle, with all kinds of trees. I want to find out what monsters are they hiding! That gigantic trunk must be a treant, I must absolutely see it! The lake's quite nice too, though it's much smaller than Gargantua's lair I'm sure there's something in there too. That arena all the way forward is massive, but it's a pity to have it break such a breathtaking natural landscape.
"Oi, Momonga-san, I don't even want to think about how long and expensive it must have been to create such a wonderful place…"
"Took a while, but it's clearly worth it," he said full of pride.
"Many gave a hand, but this is mostly the result of Blue Planet's efforts as he desires nothing but to preserve and contemplate nature."
"While I have other dreams, I must agree it is a great idea. If I think this is how many places on Earth once looked like…"
Rage erupted in the mind of both players, angered as they were at how their world had turned into a barren wasteland because of human greed. Only the artificial domes, where the richest people lived, still had the flourishing wildlife otherwise disappeared from the no longer blue planet. For the oceans had now turned into pools of acid green water, the forests had long disappeared just like all of the ice, the air itself was poisonous and so polluted it prevented them to see the night sky, taking away even the chance to gaze upon the stars.
While the 6th Floor's fake sky was crystal clear while the sun went through it, reproducing the day and night cycle that changed according to the time flow. Right now, it had just gone down in a wonderful orange sunset.
The simple but beautiful view brought peace and quiet to their hearts.
"… But let us not think about that now, my dear skeleton. Know that I will never forget this place. I want to see it closer, let's get down there!"
Momonga agreed and they plummeted from the sky, going beneath the tree canopy to explore the 6th floor.
They flew mostly following the Trail of the Fey, full of traps that would teleport intruders underground in the Large Cave, to be dealt by Gashokukochuuou and its children. Unwilling to see such parasitic beings, Momonga vaguely described them, stating that some players logged out after being attacked from the little, scary Area Guardian. Being aware of similar eldritch parasites which debuffed the victims, Oshikuru had no desire to see Gashokukochuuou.
So both happily avoided the one of the Worst Five known as Worst Appearance, while Neuronist Painkill had the title of Worst Occupation and Kyouhukou had the Worst Residence. Despite his curiosity, the demon samurai refrained from asking about the two Worst Five still unknown to him.
Instead he and the Overlord zigzagged between different types of plants in the wide Woodlands, dotted with Overgrown Ruins which would normally attract a lot of invaders to search for treasures but finding poisonous pits instead.
Momonga's eyes didn't fail to spot a big black canine carefully sniffing around as it patrolled the area.
"That's the Wolf of the Wild Hunt, at level 76. Alone, it's not much of a threat for a raiding party, but there are 10 monsters on this floor managed by one of the guardians who's a ranger with exceptional Beast Tamer abilities."
"Are all such beasts about as strong or…?"
"They vary a lot, some far stronger, others weaker, but all above level 40. That one right there is at level 76 too."
He pointed at a not too far (since Aura's pets patrolled in couples or triplets), red dragon-like quadrupedal monster with its mane, shoulder and leg plates of shiny gold, which was wagging a long lion-like tail.
"Oh, a Kirin. I've seen those, though I can't remember where exactly, but they were mounts to some dragonkin back then."
"We do have some dragonkin at the Amphitheatre, but usually these beasts carry only this floor's Guardians unless someone wishes to change it. Do you want to ride one?"
"Nah, it's okay, I prefer flying."
Going forward they passed above the murky Bottomless Swamps, surrounded and dotted by the dark trees of the Mangrove Forest, at the moment guarded by Quadracile, an Itzamna. It was a sort of giant chameleon-iguana with three pairs of legs, quickly leaping from one branch to the other. Despite its mere 60 levels, its speed and stealth skills were remarkable.
Close by Oshikuru noted an armoured lion dog racing against a monster he had never seen before. Those two kept looking for intruders, while not bothering to stare at the players bearing the Rings of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"I know of the Akaino, they're about level 45. But what's that long-haired thing next to it?"
"Ah, Long Hair is a Ron Ke. Unless it's asked not to, he and Red One are always challenging each other to see who's the fastest, but they're just the same."
The demon brought one of the many hands to his chin while focusing his gaze on the strange creature whose kind unknown to him until a moment ago. The monster seemed the result of a crazy scientist's biology experiment done to a poor horse: despite still being a quadrupedal long necked beast with hair mane covering most of the upper body, it possessed six fly-like red eyes, four sabre-like sharp yellow-green horns on top of the head and two by the sides of its nostrils, additionally it was covered in a tough-looking yellowish hide the like of a dragon's belly.
While the Akaino looked like a tank, the Ron Ke seemed to be built exactly for being fast and agile, but stats were almost everything in Yggdrasil's dynamics.
And with their speed exactly the same, none could prevail until the Resistance would start to kick in.
In the meantime, the sky was showing a pleasant purple twilight to the visitor and the master of the Great Tomb.
Beyond lay the Twisted Trees' area, now guarded by a far stronger and larger monster, a jet-black Iris Tyrannus Basileus.
Oshikuru had slain several of its kind along the years and knew all of the level 71 T-Rex's skills, including the special ability [Petrifying Bellow], which had long ago caused the insta-death of a too audacious noob.
That monster usually had nice drops and it was nice to look at its dorsal fins, which could shine with all the colors of the rainbow upon its wish.
The creature, called Iris for short, bowed and manifested its purely esthetic ability to honour the Supreme Beings flying overhead, while the nearby level 74 basilisk kept focusing on doing its job.
Then the players' gaze found a single tree standing in a 4 square kilometres plain that opened up before them.
Starting where the woods ended, the Moon's Road crossed the land beyond.
In the distance they could see once again the large but shallow pristine lake, beyond which lay the beautiful Field of Flowers and then the Amphitheatre where the invaders survived until then would have to challenge the twin Floor Guardians.
But they were now focused on an activity which made Oshikuru's eight eyes budge. The NPCs, two young dark elves, where laughing as they played with three pets: an Amphisbaena, an Avaricious Frog and a majestic Fenrir.
Seeing the almighty leader of the Supreme Beings and another with the guild's ring, the children stopped playing at once and excitedly marched up to them.
Aura expectedly looked at Momonga-sama, hoping he would bring the good news of Bukubukuchagama coming back home. Even if Buku seemed to love the twins as if they were her own children, she had long quit Yggdrasil.
The confident girl Aura and the shy boy Mare, now slightly trembling as he joining his sister before the scary demon and Momonga-sama, had no idea what was going on and couldn't ask. Despite going far beyond the usual NPC programming by making the children able to play with each other and with her, Lady Buku still couldn't give them the chance to freely speak their mind.
"Welcome to the 6th floor, Momonga-sama and visitor!"
"How can we be of assistance?"
But they were both thinking: Momonga-sama, who is this scary guy and why is he wearing a ring of Ainz Ooal Gown? But most importantly, where's mummy?
"Hello, Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fiore.
I am giving a full tour of Nazarick to my dear friend Oshikuru who is to join us in Ainz Ooal Gown. Please, go back to playing with the Amphisbaena, Gagarpur and Fenn."
Though surprised, both obeyed the order even if they seemed to glance at the newcomer just as he was staring at the peaceful scene of the kids playing with the animals by their nice house.
The Gigantic Tree, which Oshikuru had expected to be a powerful treant, was not a monster but the beautiful, cozy residence of the twins who acted as the 6th Floor's Guardians.
Over 20 meters high and almost as much wide, the huge trunk was a creation of Bukubukuchagama just like its inhabitants. Indeed it was hollow, with three floors connected by a spiral staircase pillar at its core.
Like a true home, it had kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, the guardians' bedrooms, guest quarters and a wide balcony at the top. The inner dimensions had already been sealed by Bukubukuchagama so, in order to enter through the small entrance without breaking it, Oshikuru would have had to shapeshift into a smaller size while it was perfect fit for the little children and their creator, as Buku was a slime.
While he was watching with a sense of calmness, Momonga told him about the NPCs and their pet monsters.
"Mare is a very powerful druid, his special ability is [Petite Catastrophe]…"
Impressed by that, Oshikuru looked at the shy little boy dressed as a girl. He had high brown and golden boots, white parisian with blue stripes at the top, a miniskirt of pure white, a gold-white vest with the sigil of Ainz Ooal Gown, and a forest-green cloak which seemed like a large leaf. Beneath, he wore a full-body suit of dragon scale leather: hidden light armour was typical among most magic casters and Mare was no exception.
Since there was no weather except the wind on the 6th Floor, Mare was tasked to summon rain according to the highly detailed document left her by Lord Blue Planet.
Mare's slender hands, usually donned with shiny white silk gloves and wielding a twisted black wooden staff, were now slowly petting the beautiful Fenn.
The level 74 giant wolf was resting his eyes and happily wagging its tail which, if counted, had the body resulting in an over 20 m full length. The four-legged magical beast with red eyes had a stunning dark green pelt and two strange golden symbols, one on the wide chest, the other on the long snout which now had the tongue out.
A Fenrir would be a very tough opponent, especially in the jungle since it had [Forestwalker] and mimetic powers, in addition to plenty close and mid range fighting skills.
However, he belonged to Aura, while Mare's pets were only two. Though they were far superior to her sister's: two massive level 92 Woodland Dragons, one pearl white, the other of shining gold. Still, they were both in a deep slumber and kept snoring.
"… While the energetic Aura, as I already mentioned, is an amazing ranger and the most skilled Beast Tamer in Nazarick!"
The girl was playing catch with two creatures, letting them get her after quite a while. The full black Amphisbaena, a level 76 dragonoid almost as large as the King of Hell, had two wings and forelegs, plus a tail ending as a snake's head. It dropped from the sky playfully tackling her master.
Aura let it happen and rolled on the soft green grass where she was pinned down by Gagarpur, a level 58 giant toad with rows upon rows of dirty, ugly yellow teeth and seemingly lecherous eyes. Yet, it seemed to be a sheepish pet as he gently blocked Aura who then stood up and gave treats to both beasts.
Though only 1.04 m tall, just as much as her little brother, Aura seemed to contain the energy of a nuclear reactor. Her face looked almost exactly like Mare's: dark skin, pointed ears, golden hair, heterochromatic eyes, the left blue and green the right. On the other hand, she was dressed like a male: a red-black dragon scale leather was visible beneath a white jacket bearing the guild's logo on the heart; three golden buttons closed the jacket with a gilded thread embroidery. Below it, she had a matching set of white trousers and gold plated shoes, and around her neck was an acorn necklace emitting golden light, a gift from Lady Buku which gave an equal one to Mare: by simply touching it, the twins could telepathically communicate.
The girl was equipped with Queen, a Legendary Class whip entangled around her waist, and To the Heart, also Legendary Class, a decorated bow taller than her. Additionally, the Ghillie cloak would make her invisible.
While Mare was a simple yet effective magic weapon specialised in damage dealing AoE spells, Aura's specialties were guerrilla warfare and group combat as she would be pretty weak all by herself in front of a level 100 player but performed exceptionally when deployed alongside others. When commanding her beasts, Aura's combat abilities far surpassed those of any Floor Guardian in terms of handling raiders. Working together with Mare, during the Great Siege of the 8 Guilds Alliance, Aura and her beasts PKed more players than any other guardian.
Being a ranger, she also had high-level detection abilities that let her perceive foes using [Invisibility] and, if the enemy made even the slightest sound or moved a single leaf, she could notice even if it was hiding behind a [Perfect Unknownable].
The King of Hell and the Overlord of Death left behind the twins and all pets, waving their hands as to say goodbye.
Upon the 6th floor everything had been growing darker and darker, but some lights now seemed to came from above.
Oshikuru looked up and his mouth made an O.
For in the artificial sky, Blue Planet had included also celestial bodies like the now sparkling half moon. And that was the bare minimum, since there were dozens of constellations like Leo, Hercules, Hydra, Cancer, Draco, Sagittarius, Orion and Scorpio, not to mention the bright Milky Way, the star cluster of the Pleiades and a fantastic meteor shower.
The two players walked up to the placid lake, now a perfect mirror of the magic sky right above. Like in a dream, Oshikuru dive-bombed in the great lake and swam through the reflection of the stars and the moon, giggling like a kid who had just discovered ice-cream.
Momonga couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's immaturity.
Too bad he ended up doing exactly the same thing a few moments later, being so happy to have fun with someone in Nazarick after the others had quit.
As their childish act came to an end, the two took again the Moon's Road, now crossing the Field of Flowers, though most of them were now closed as resting through the night.
Originally there was a plan to fill that area it with traps against invaders who reached it. Since it would be suspicious for it to be just a Field of Flowers, Moe believed that the plunderers would exercise caution and burn the whole place down. Therefore, there were talks of planting flowers that could respond to fire and spread deadly or paralyzing poison. That plan was thwarted by the strong opposition from Blue Planet plus the three female players: Bububukuchagama, Yamaiko and Ankoro Mocchi Mochi. Together with others, those four regarded the area as a special, safe beautiful environment.
"I agree with them!" said Oshikuru listening to Momonga's explanation.
"Out of here and Little Hell, almost all of Yggdrasil is hostile to heteromorphs, having such a nice place where to just relax without always being on guard is a real good feeling."
In front of them now stood the Amphitheater, even more imposing against the purple-bkack night sky,
It was oval in shape, 180 meters on its long axis and 150 meters on the short axis. It was tall as many meters as the number of guildmates and built after the famous Coliseum arena of the former Roman Empire.
The sand of the arena was surrounded by several layers of an auditorium. The audience consisted of numerous low-level golems that acted as spectators, it being their only duty.
The VIP Lounge was a six-story complex where members of Ainz Ooal Gown would occasionally sit and oversee duels or sparring sessions between the 41 guildmates. Even if most heteromorphs could see in the darkness, there were multiple [Continual Light] cast throughout the arena, illuminating the grounds in white light, so they could observe as it was daytime inside rather than the now present night-sky.
Oshikuru stopped walking and stared at Momonga.
The Guildmaster seemed to be taken aback.
"What's wrong, my friend?"
The samurai looked at the amphitheater, then back at the undead.
"Would you seriously have my pass by a coliseum and not fight in it?"
"You've already fought more than enough, battle maniac!"
"But…"
"No buts. Just don't look at the arena if it makes you itchy."
"Fine."
The two were saluted by half a dozen Dragonkin. Though being only level 55 monsters, they were useful for the total immunity from fire and heat damage, not to mention the great physical strength and large pool of health which did compensate the lack of special abilities.
Exiting the gate on the opposite side of the Amphitheater, the demon samurai started wandering what could be next.
He had his answer shortly after.
The 7th Floor contained crimson lava flowing like a river, with several bubbles in these currents bursting as they reached the surface. This place, which was thoroughly inimical to the living, felt like home to the King of Hell.
"Heh, I'm quite sure you like this. Ulbert was in charge of renovation. Before our conquest of the tomb, the boss in here was a lightning breathing dragon.
Now, there's something much worse for intruders, and much more to your liking. But no spoilers, you'll see it when we get there."
"Okay. Let's go then!"
River of Lava and made a fire-elemental damage field effect on the whole floor, but it would drain our treasury. Since that effect has been suspended, the area is simply hot instead. Despite this, however, this is not a place where the living can easily survive. To creatures and players below level 40, it meant certain death without the proper protection.
Even so, many fire-immune demons just like Oshikuru himself lived in the hottest part of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Gazer Devils, which looked like skinned humans, their musculature and skull painted over with some kind of gore, while two dragon-like wings sprouted from their back, were the lowest of the lowest, their only strength being in numbers as they were counted in thousands. Being level 5 monsters, that was inevitable.
Even level 10 Hell Hounds, numbering in hundreds were more dangerous, despite the lack of flying abilities as the big bad black dogs could spit flames as powerful as a [Firebolt] from their maws. These were led to war by dozens of Greater Hellhounds, whose firepower was as high as a [Fireball] and had not only size, but all stats increased as it was a level 15.
There were 200 Level 20 Hell Scythes, similar to Gazer Devils but far stronger, wielding gigantic war scythes coated in poison. Those weapons were heavy, but not enough to stop them from flying thanks to two mighty black wings.
Hood Demons were level 25 unholy priests wearing a dirty white hood that completely concealed their facial features. While so, the body looked lumpy and from their thick necks hanged cursed pieces of golden jewelry. They could vocally whisper a few words to a human being, which was enough to have him turn into a demon. No player could ever be affected by that lesser ability, not even if all the 60 Hood Demons tried altogether at the same time, but those monsters could spread negative energy to heal and enhance any demon, while also debuffing positive karma enemies.
No less than 150 Level 15 Imps, short but smart and with venomous tails, acted as messengers thanks to their high speed and reliability, but if swarming they could easily slow down a group of raiders.
200 Rotting Demons, at level 30, did little but diffuse a yellow mist carrying debuffs to any living creature. Still, every little damage dealt by these and other lesser demons decreased the resistance of the invaders.
On the other hand, the 100 Shadows Demons, despite being only at level 30, often proved to be essential as they lurked in the dark while reporting about the enemy and occasionally to strike an unexpected deadly blow with long, sharp claws emerging from their incorporeal body.
60 level 40 Supplicants, which looked like blue-white crying women with their pieces sewn together, possessed the special ability [Sigh] which reduced the enemy defensive stats for quite a while.
From looks only, the 60 scale demons looked like a two-armed version of Oshikuru. Still, the difference in power was enormous, given these were level 40 demons which had only a [Despair Aura level III] besides physical prowess and a maul in their large scaly black hands.
Overeating, a level 35 demon, looked like a cross between a giant and a frog. It had a jaundiced yellow skin gleaming with a sticky, shiny coating. Its body was covered in huge lumps, in fact human faces pressed out against the skin from the inside.
It had a mouth that could swallow a man in one gulp and an abnormally long tongue. In the depths of its massive mouth, one could see the flickers of fires from within, indeed it could release [Fireball] at will. The monstrosity also had [Despair Aura level II] which, while not killing any strong opponent, debuffed him. Overeating possessed a great leaping ability as well, falling from the sky out of nowhere to pin their prey.
These horrid creatures, counting 60 in total, were scary to see and annoying, but could only slow down most intruders who reached that point.
The bulk of the fiend army was composed by no less than 100 War Devils, level 50 demons who wore full plate armor and looked like warriors with black wings protruding through their armor, while their two bastard swords were all wreathed in black hellfire. They also had a commander-type buff which greatly improved the abilities of all demons around them.
Residing either in the Lava River or upon the barren cliffs through which it was flowing molten rocks there were also spirits: 60 Mephits, which were level 40 negative karma fire elementals. Many hid right into the flowing lava only to suddenly jump out and attack the intruders.
But of course they would not lift a finger on the two evil entities now flying across the 7th Floor, not even if they were to cast the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown into the liquid fire.
In addition, Ulbert had placed fire-immune undead all over the place. So 100 Skeletal Dragons and just as many Zombie Dragons ruled the smoky 7th floor's sky.
While the latter was a powerful force, the Lava River's Area Guardian was the one and only Guren, a level 90 hell slime. As a creature optimized for combat, its fighting ability was easily on par with most Floor Guardians, and curiously far superior to the one assigned to rule the 7th Floor.
As Guren loved to swim or rest on the Lava River's bottom, he dragged chosen targets into the quicksand-like lava by using its tentacles. In addition to all the serious fire damage this would cause, being attacked in turn was pretty hard as it was a virtually invisible opponent. Since Guren didn't need to breathe and the Lava River was its natural element, it hid its body in the magma. Defeating it with normal methods was nearly impossible to begin with.
However, he could hardly leave the area he was tasked to protect. Because of the passive aura Guren possessed, it would surely cause so much collateral damage along the way as everything without full immunity to fire would burn to ashes. The Area Guardian's last resort, used only during the Great Siege (to which he actually survived) was [Body Spitting]: if facing an extremely good karma enemy, Guren could generate and spit out an unlimited number of hell slimes with overall level inferior to his. All those would cease to exist upon the said enemy's destruction.
Those who managed to pass through the so many traps hidden in the perilous paths between fire, ravines and ambushes by the defence forces would reach an underground volcano from which respawned the monsters and where the Lava River started flowing.
Deep into the smouldering hot heart of the volcano lay the Blazing Temple, home to the 7th Floor Guardian Demiurge and his seven most powerful direct servants, guarding the teleportation gate right behind.
The Blazing Temple mostly resembled a ruined Parthenon: the white columns were dirtied and scattered, as if they had violently collided with one another, while statues of various gods had been desecrated and smashed. The ceiling had been broken down, its pieces lodged in the ground. It gave the impression that demons had cast the gods out of their place in heaven. In the center of the temple, amidst all the profanity stood an intact white marble throne from which the ruler of the 7th Floor could oversee his domain.
That was Demiurge.
Entering the Blazing Temple, Oshikuru found the place and the people in it were extremely familiar. Undecided if being angry, offended or excited, he turned out to be extremely confused.
"Is this a joke? What are Seven Evil Lords and an Arch Devil doing here?!"
Demiurge's brains started to ponder.
What? Who is this? Could it be that the Leader of the Supreme Beings brought a player here to be destroyed? But I must wait for an order before attacking… and immediately bend the knee before Momonga-sama! shame on me!
Demiurge kneeled in front of the Guildmaster
Momonga almost face palmed. Not quite the reaction I was hoping for…
"Chill, Oshikuru-san. Ulbert did this, long before you met us. I'm sure it's just a coincidence how the Blazing Temple and its occupants resemble Little Hell!… and I kinda hoped you'd like this."
"Uh, ah, I see. Well, I do like it, but I really didn't expect it. Although, thinking about it, makes sense to have something like this after crossing hell… Ulbert and I are more alike than I thought.
Must be a long-lost relative!"
Both players chuckled while the NPC's mind screamed with pleasure upon hearing them talk about his creator, Lord Ulbert Alain Odle.
This has to be a friend of Momonga-sama based on their behaviour. But why has he never come here before and why is he wearing a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown? I'd have been notified if a new member was appointed…
"Well, let's get to some proper introductions. I am Oshikuru, a friend to your leader Momonga who is giving me a tour of Nazarick before I officially join it. I apologise for making a scene earlier, but this place and above all your servants are almost exactly the same I have in my old home."
"The 7th Floor Guardian Demiurge at your command, Momonga-sama and Oshikuru-dono."
"Hmm, Demiurge… while I know everything about the Seven Evil Lords, you are a novelty… let me get a closer look at you."
Before the imposing eight-eyed, eight-armed, winged black figure oozing dark power, Demiurge's mind started to sweat out of fear and brim with excitement as Oshikuru happily examined him as if a puppy had find a dinosaur bone.
1.81 m tall, the 7th Floor Guardian was a dark skinned demon with perfectly combed black hair.
He bore round glasses, useless as his sight was excellent, but it was a how Ulbert had designed him, so Demiurge would never remove them unless for the necessary cleaning. The eyes behind were extremely squinted and fly-like. Wearing a British suit with a tie, he was dressed like a gentleman. Behind his back though was a tail covered with silvery metal plates and six long spikes at the pointy end.
However, the [Hellking's eye] showed Oshikuru extra information.
Smiling, he politely asked: "Demiurge, would you be so kind to show me your true form?"
Positively surprised, the Prince of Hell bowed.
"As you command, Oshikuru-dono!"
And he turned into his half-demon, half-frog shape, growing a pair of large dark leathery wings on his back while his skin turned greenish and the eyes became bulging yellow spheres.
Behind the looks, Oshikuru could see Demiurge's several skills to mold and change certain parts of his body into offensive weapons for battle, plus he had a not bad magic firepower, although in a fight 1v1 with fellow Floor Guardians he'd probably win only against Aura.
Not good enough in my opinion. Hell deserves a stronger ruler! But I can't move in here…
I know this is stupid, there's just one week left before it's all over, but if I am to be a member of Ainz Ooal Gown then I have the right to make some little improvement.
Let's start by flattering, though.
"Thank you for letting me study you, Demiurge. I'd say Ulbert created a great Prince of Hell!"
The frog demon almost jumped up to celebrate, his programming barely got the better of his wishes.
"However, Momonga-san, as you very well know, I too have named a Prince of Hell. And since I'm moving here, I'd like to bring him along with all of Little Hell to strengthen Nazarick. I'd like to physically show my support to the Great Tomb, also considering someone might try to plunder it in the very last days of Yggdrasil. It'd be a terrible shame if such a thing were to happen, even if it's highly unlikely, better be safe than sorry, don't you think, Guildmaster?"
"Hmm, you have a point here. Also, I guess it'd be a pain for you to abandon Little Hell, since it's been your home for years. How do you plan to do it then? I mean, you can bring here your summons and NPCs, but recreating the whole place will be a long, tedious process."
"Well, thank you, boss. Anyway, I have a trick to make it real quick. Wait for me, I'll be right back!"
Excited, Oshikuru didn't even wait for Momonga to reply. Using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown for the first time ever, he teleported up to the exit on the 1st Floor, crossed the threshold and then, showing carelessness for the first time ever, cast [Greater Teleportation] directly to Little Hell.
"Bah, whoever's left, I dare them come mess with me!"
He mumbled as materialising within friendly walls. While the Throne Room and all in it lit up as the master had returned, Oshikuru gave a proud look to what he had created.
And now, it'll be a part of something greater together with me.
The King of Hell flew up to his throne and sat down on it to calm down before giving a speech.
"All inhabitants of Little Hell gather before me right now!"
The few who weren't already kneeling in front of their master rushed to do so. Seeing the Lord of Pain and his imps had joined the mass of adoring fiends, the demon samurai spoke.
"My dear summons and NPCs, from the lowest to the highest rank, I have good no great news. I've had a lot of fun with you guys, but now the time has come to step up our game! You've already seen my best - and only, but one's more than enough if he's such a nice guy - friend Momonga, who came to Little Hell and praised my creations. He's the leader of the greatest guild ever, Ainz Ooal Gown, which I've always wanted to join and now it shall be done.
I just came back from his house, a wonderful place, so large and majestic that you can't even imagine it. The Great Tomb of Nazarick will be my new house, but I could never abandon Little Hell or any of you, my faithful servants!"
Never had so many demons seem to be on the verge of tears. Tears of joy, for they cheered their master's decision to not leave them behind.
"Now, some among you might wonder how is that even possible to move all of Little Hell, but I solved such a flimsy little problem a long time ago…"
He paused.
Hehe, of course I was ready to flee elsewhere if my location was discovered.
"Ambition, my most precious servant. Bring that thing to me."
"The orders shall be carried out by your faithful servant, Oshikuru-sama!"
And the Prince of Hell scurried to his King's chamber to retrieve the object requested. He came back carefully holding a twisted blackwood staff with short, sharp spikes all over it, excluding a bone handle at its half, an empty light green orb on the top and a black claw on its bottom.
"I deliver the Lowden, Oshikuru-sama!"
"Good. Now, stand still and hold on tight, all of you, while I go outside to perform the ritual."
Saluted by his minions, the demon samurai exited Little Hell and reached the Giant Fire Worm right outside.
"Hi, Burning Noodle. Thank you for your service, but i need a sacrifice. [Death by Scratch]!"
The Lowden's black claw insanity turned into a monstrous, enormous paw that enclosed the level 70 creature scratching until it died.
Sorry it had to be something I couldn't bring back, but it had to be a monster between level 60 and 80 of belonging to a racial class different than my own… I had no other choice. But your sacrifice won't be forgotten, Burning Needle.
"As expected, it worked. Now for the next phase."
Holding the Lowden with its orb leaning on Little Hell's gates, he yelled [Luch Tlak Haber Seal]!"
The orb shattered as waves of crimson fire, flashes of white lightning, black energy beams and green auras exited from the Lowden, enveloping Little Hell in a pulsating veil which grew stronger and stronger while also reducing in size, until it reformed the light red orb.
Only this time it was filled with something: watching closely, one could see Little Hell and all its inhabitants inside of the magic sphere.
Satisfied, Oshikuru said goodbye to the now empty hole in front of him and teleported back to Nazarick's entrance. Once inside, he used again the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown and reappeared in the 7th Floor, right outside of the Blazing Temple.
He gingerly entered Demiurge's palace.
"I'm back, Momonga-san!"
"Everything went well, I hope… uh? what's that?"
"Admire, my friend, the Lowden." He ceremoniously raised it overhead while the Guildmaster stared at it, a little embarrassed and a lot curious.
"It's a Divine Class item, completely useless unless you need to move all your belongings elsewhere while keeping them safe. I only had to sacrifice a level 70 monster for doing that.
Now, I don't want to change too much what our friend Ulbert made here, so I was thinking about placing Little Hell right below the Blazing Temple, of course only if you don't mind.
Also, I'd like to make Ambition and my other servants swear their allegiance to you as Guildmaster and to Demiurge… hmm, both are Princes of Hell, but he's been here far longer, I don't want to be disrespectful. What if they're both the 7th Floor Guardians somewhat like Aura and Mare, so with Demiurge being in charge but in a "older brother" situation?
"Hmm, knowing the power of Ambition, it's probably the best solution. Having the two of them act together, with Demiurge pointing him the direction where to strike, would be nice."
Demiurge internally rejoiced.
Excellent. Powerful, wise and well behaved is Oshikuru-sama. He integrates within Nazarick recognising Momonga-sama's superiority and putting his own servants, even the greatest one, beneath me. I wonder what he's like. Another Prince of Hell… one I can call little brother while showing him the 7th Floor and then put him through many tests to see what he can do.
Also, I'm eager to see this Little Hell.
But the most important detail I learned so far from this wonderful talk between two Supreme Beings is the fact that Yggdrasil is about to come to its end. What will happen afterwards?
Is everything going to be destroyed? Or will the Supreme Beings save Nazarick and bring it to the First World with the other Supreme Beings? Oh, I wish to see my creator, it's been so long… hopefully he and all other Supreme Beings will come back to us in the Great Tomb on the last moments of Yggdrasil to prevent Nazarick from destruction.
Ah, if only I could fathom a glimpse of the Supreme Beings' impeccable minds!
"Very well, let's do this then. [Create]!"
Slowly and carefully but quite steadily, Oshikuru dug a magic hole beneath the Blazing Temple. Deep enough not to destabilise its foundations, large enough to hold all of Little Hell and connected to the desecrated building above thanks to a steep, plain spiral staircase of hard rock starting from a gate, seemingly covered in dry blood, that he placed in the only still standing corner of the Blazing Temple.
Done with the highly mana-draining spell, he released the [Luch Tlak Haber Seal] and, following a powerful sequence of energy manifestation, Little Hell came back to life, now in Nazarick.
About to get down there, Oshikuru stopped before the gate and carved into the bare rock the ominous sentence Trespassers shall lose all hope and all gear.
Momonga shook his head and chuckled.
What a drama queen. Not bad, though.
"Let's go, then. Come on, Momonga and Demiurge, follow me!"
"Aye, we're coming."
The Overlord and the demon walked behind the samurai who started to think about if and how to decorate the completely dark staircase.
As they reached the last step of the stairs, a few meters beyond stood the Door to the Dark Side, which fascinated Demiurge.
"Hold on, I need to update the gate before something bad happens. [Change Settings]."
After making sure the traps inside Little Hell would not be triggered by AOG members and their minions, Oshikuru crossed the threshold together with Demiurge and Momonga.
The demon samurai ordered his monsters to obey the Overlord as he was not only Guildmaster but a big brother and best friend to him, then made sure to explain to Ambition his new role as a Floor Guardian together with Demiurge but under his guidance.
"See him not as a master, for I am your master, but as an older brother you must look up to, learn from, cherish, sometimes you might playfully annoy and challenge him, but ultimately you must respect and listen to him. Did I make myself clear?"
"Noooo, Oshikuru-sama, don't do this to me! This devious little shit isn't even worthy to kiss my ass, I hate him and want to crush him beneath my feet!"
But his will was broken by the programming as Ambition was forced to obey.
"The order shall be carried out by your faithful servant, Oshikuru-sama!"
"Excellent. Shall we proceed then, Momonga-san? It's getting late, but I want to finish the tour today. I'd be too distracted to do anything in the other world otherwise!"
"Ah, don't worry, we're almost done."
Then, he turned to Demiurge who was focused on Ambition.
He resembles Evil Lord Wrath with those protruding fangs and the body fully covered in black scales. Stout arms and hands with eight fingers, all ending in sharp claws, green flaming wings and a snake-like tail, it should be a physical-type demon, but I sense immense mana reserves.
It is way more powerful than I am, no doubt about that. Hmmm…
His thoughts were interrupted by the Overlord of Death.
"I expect you to behave with your new colleagues, Demiurge. I know Ulbert-san made you smart, so don't make me come here to scold you for mistreating Ambition and the rest of them!"
"Your orders shall be carried out by your loyal servant, Momonga-sama!"
Waving at the NPCs, the players quickly got upstairs and were about to cross the gate to the 8th level when the Overlord of Death suddenly stopped and put his arm in front of the King of Hell.
"I almost forgot, you shouldn't enter in here until you've officially been named as a member of Ainz Ooal Gown."
"Oh, okay. Are we going directly to the 9th level then?"
"Aye, it's better this way. I don't want you to trigger the defensive mechanisms of the most dangerous floor on Nazarick."
"Are you afraid of what it could do to me?"
"I'm sure it would be a challenge even to you, but in the end you'd probably still win. The problem is that they're all bloody expensive to revive, plus one has been made with a world item and I don't want to know what'll happen if you kill it."
"Don't worry, I won't fight them in this case. But you'll let me see afterwards, am I right?"
"Sure. You deserve to see and know about the 8th Floor. But first you must have your sigil in the Throne Room and officially take the oath to be a member of Ainz Ooal Gown. Only then will that trip be safe."
Bah, I don't get it, fine though.
"Cool. Let's keep it to the end then, shall we?"
"Huh, just when I thought you would burst out of curiosity and impatience… Kukuku."
So they used the ring of AOG to skip the following floor and jump on the 9th.
Also known as Royal Suite, this floor contained the Supreme Beings' chambers, so Momonga made a mental note to have Oshikuru's bedroom moved up there from Little Hell.
The 9th Floor also included imitations of large communal baths (the Spa Resort Nazarick), cafeterias, beauty salons, clothing and grocery stores, gyms etc. Obviously these were mostly built for decoration and for the guild members pretending to be wealthy, while IRL all of them were hard-working people.
But some rooms were really fun, such as the Ninja Mansion or the Panic Room, an emergency vault designed by Garnet who filled it with traps and gimmicks.
The Quiz Room was used for trivia tournaments, the Yo Za Shitzu served as a Western-style game room with mahjong, pool, chess etc.
But what made Oshikuru almost laugh to his death was the Yamaiko Shrine, a Shinto temple created as a prank on the female friend. Since her impressive luck streak with gacha, the members of Ainz Ooal Gown called her the "Gacha God" and built the shrine not just for fun but also to see if they could attach some of Yamaiko's luck on themselves.
The area was unique and recreated a traditional Shinto temple.
With a for stylized artificial sky containing clouds all over the place, it started at a torii ehere all visitors were obliged to bow before in respect to the Gacha God and paray to have a tenth of her luck. The torii entrance led to the shrine's facilities down a stone path, flanked by tōrō on either side.
The first hall was the Chōzuya, containing a water well for self-purification. It contained several cassottes which visitors must use by via instructions on a sign as it stated visitors must use their right hand and pour water on the left hand to clean it and then repeat process by holding with the left hand. Then hold the cassotte with their right hand and pour water into the left hand to use to rinse their mouths before rinsing the hand with the water from the cassotte. And finally tilt the cassotte vertically and pour water on the handle to clean it. The whole process meant to symbolize abandoning all desire as it was believed that doing so would improve gacha results.
Beyond it started the Sandō, road headed approaches the haiden worship hall. The pathway actually contained a gimmick, should a person walk on the paved stone, a water attack blast will shoot from the hall and knock the pedestrian out of the shrine's boundaries, hence it was recommended for pedestrians to walk beside the sandō.
But of course Momonga didn't tell Oshikuru who did not see that coming at all and ended up being knocked out of the area while the Overlord heartily laughed.
The Haiden was the final room, the actual worshipping place. It housed a coin box where Oshikuru dropped a couple of Yggdrasil golden coins as he prayed to the Gacha God. In addition there was a suzu hanging in the hall to call out the "god of the shrine" after giving her the monetary offer. Once the bell was rung it activated a visual lottery that displayed as a holograph to show the visitors an omikuji, red-inked paper slices which revealed the prize earned. In this fake lottery system the most likely to get were "Daikichi" or "Great Blessing", while the most unlikely were "Daikyo" or "Great Villain". However, they were not real items, so even if Oshikuru managed to get the Great Villain he complained about not having luck in the actual gacha machine.
There was also an anti-theft feature: if a person tried to steal the contents in the coin box, a Kominu golem (half-lion half-dog) will attack the offender.
The 9th Floor, besides the many now absent Supreme Beings, was populated by 41 Homunculi maids to which Oshikuru added a new one, creating a flat-chested, dark blue-haired slim girl wearing the same uniform of the others. She immediately joined the maids to go clean the already shiny hallways.
The last place they visited was the large meeting hall officially named Round Table Room. The Renrakucho, a heavy tome with a childish drawing on the cover, was the archive of all the official meetings in the history of Ainz Ooal Gown and it hovered above the table. Entirely made of black draconic obsidian just like the luxurious chairs, one for each member, the large round table bore the guild's symbol in its centre.
Ok, even if I'll sound stupid I gotta ask what the hell is that picture about. I just can't get it.
"Yo, Momonga-san. Care to explain this foolish man what does the Guild's sigil actually means?"
"Oh? Hahaha, you're right, you can see it only if you already know about it.
The figure in the middle is the easiest one to understand, that's Touch Me's sword.
That thing on the top is Suratan's double war axe…
"Ah, now I get it, it's all your weapons! so the ones down there are the daggers of Nishikienrai, am I right?"
"Aye"
"Then the round thing is Peroroncino's bow… what about those two little horn up there though… does that stand for Ulbert being a Baphomet Demon?"
"Correct!
You see, there was no way to include all people in the flag, and this was the best design we could come up with and then of course right in the middle you can see the "M" standing for me, Momonga, the leader, fufufu."
"Hehe, it really does look like a M though if you look at it closely. Coincidence? I think not!"
Both of them burst out laughing and the sound echoed again in the meeting hall once so full of friendly banter.
After creating the 42nd chair for the newest Guildmate, Momonga retrieved the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown from the crystal reliquary embedded in the wall where the staff was hovering.
"Woah, that's a true Guild weapon if I've ever seen one! My Lowden seems like a tree branch, this is a real sceptre."
Momonga pridefully grabbed the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Indeed it is!"
It was based on the god Hermes's staff, Caduceus, consisting of exactly seven intertwined snakes. Each writhing reptile held a differently-colored jewel in its mouth. The grip was made of a transparent crystalline material that gave off a pale glow.
With a grin in his head, Momonga started passionately boasting.
"The jewels held in each of the seven snakes' mouths are all god artifacts! And since the items are part of a series, collecting them all yields great power. It took serious efforts and an immense amount of time to gather them. In fact, there were many times we thought to quit. How many mobs did we hunt for the drops…? Furthermore, the power contained within even just the staff itself surpasses god tier and is on par with a World Item. Most impressive of all is its auto-fight mode which will choose the best spells to cast against the enemies around me…"
He coughed.
Shit…I'm rambling like a madman…
It was only natural to want to be proud: he'd crafted it with his guildmates, but he'd never been able to take it outside because of the risk of someone stealing or destroying it, so he'd never had the chance to show off. That was no excuse to gush right now, though. He suppressed the urge to keep bragging.
It's pretty embarrassing actually…
"Well, yeah, that's about it… let's go to 10th Floor now so I can properly and officially welcome you in Ainz Ooal Gown!"
"Aye. So what's down there besides the Throne Room and the Treasury?"
"Well, you could count it as the 11th Floor, but actually the Treasury has no physical connection to Nazarick, it's all in a magic dimension reachable only with a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown."
"Huhu, that's genius! This way even if someone manages to sneak in here he can't plunder a thing. Who came up with that?"
"It was Punitto Moe and I, but mostly it was me and Garnet who made it. I also placed my NPC in there to defend it."
"Oh, now I'm curious about it. What does your creation look like?"
"Kukuku, what doesn't it look like?"
"Huh? What is that supposed to… ahh, you made a doppelgänger."
"A Greater Doppelgänger!" Remarked the Guildmaster slightly bonking the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown on Oshikuru's head.
He laughed it off as they crossed the teleportation gate to the 10th Floor.