Eh you're making the intelligence of Demiurge dumbed down and making him a real talker.
Because Demiurge is not a super-intelligent character... it's a caricature of a super super-intelligent character. A manga caricature precisely, you know the smart guy who always puts his glasses in his place and praises his own intelligence with disgusting arrogance.
He is not the Great Admiral Thrawn... this is someone who BELIEVES he is Thrawn.
Understand one thing, Demiurge is an NPC which was created by a normal human and which - until his arrival in the New World- acted only when he received the order. He CANNOT be smarter than his creator. So far, any of his actions have been remotely guided by Ulbert Alain Odle. He has no experience of real conspiracy against real people. He is an NPC. All his 'experience' of life comes down to fights where his intelligence and tactics were limited by the AI of the game... and games of this genre always have limited AI with exploitable flaws... so as not to create invincible opponents.
Do you want proof?
Here's one (among others).
Jaldabaoth.
When he invented Jaldabaoth, he decided to embody this character himself. Using his real powers, his real subordinates... and just wearing a mask. He even wore his usual clothes.
As a result, Demiurge can no longer appear in public alongside Ainz or perform an official mission for him... at least in his true form.
Because Demiurge is a shapeshifter... he could have used another appearance... he didn't. Or, better yet, he could have summoned a demon to play the role of Jaldabaoth... (which he will eventually do).
But no, he didn't do any of that. Because he's an arrogant self-centered person, who cannot tolerate someone else stealing the show from him, and above all he is overconfident. He despises humans and thinks he's much smarter than them.
Yet he had already had proof that a good disguise could not deceive smart humans because Ainz (under the disguise of Momon) had already been recognized by Nfirera Barerare... while the latter had not even met Ainz Ooal Gown once.
But Demiurge didn't care. His plan was bound to work. This was the plan of the brilliant Demiurge, how contemptible and pathetic ridiculous humans could understand his true purpose? Impossible! His victory was assured.
And before you start yelling, "That's not true!" "You're wrong!" "That's nonsense!" That's not MY opinion. I wrote my answer based on what Maruyama, the web-novel author, said about Demiurge.
Plus Ainz isn't aware of what Demuirge's "art" is, in fact he also doesn't know what the "farms" are.
Overlord anime Season 2, episode 5.
(If you do not believe what I say, perhaps you will believe the testimony of your own eyes and ears).
Antilene
Walking through the long corridors of the Pontifex Maximus Palace, Miriel hid her smile. It must be said that the situation amused her. Probably considering having spent too much time talking to an 'inferior' creature, the Supreme Council decided to entrust the Wizard's briefings and debriefings to one of their subordinates.
No doubt it was a 'punishment'... as if she would feel offended to be snubbed by old men who hated her and scrutinized the least of her actions for her future witch trial!
Immobilizing in front of an anonymous door in a secondary corridor of the holy city covering a quarter of Silksunteks, the half-elf knocked politely.
"Come in!"
Pushing the door, she entered a reasonably luxurious office with a Venetian-style parquet floor mixing various wood species to form geometric patterns. Several religious paintings were attached to the wall. Behind a desk, an elderly man looked at her smiling.
"Welcome, Lady Miriel, I've been waiting for you."
Bishop Pierre Avice Barbet was partly bald and mustached, his hair was gray and his forehead very high, wrinkled with multiple wrinkles. He looked like a nice grandfather. As a member of the Earth Religious Sect, he was Cardinal Laurasan's own secretary... and shared his tolerance ideal about half-humans.
While pointing a chair at his guest, Bishop Barbet shook a small silver bell to call a servant.
"Will you have tea with me?"
"I was going to beg you, Monsignor."
If reporting to Barbet was punishment, she wanted to be punished every day.
Turning a spoon coated with honey in her tea, Miriel smelled the aroma before swallowing a sip. As Bishop Barbet rested his own cup, she stiffened slightly. The serious things were about to begin.
"Do you know why I summoned you, Lady Miriel?"
"I suppose you'll give me a new assignment, monsignore."
The old man nodded.
"Exactly."
Again he shook the silver bell.
His servant, a monk in a black robe, entered and bowed without a word.
"Bring in Lady Fouche."
Intrigued, Miriel turned to the door to see the bishop's guest enter.
Incredulous, she shudders when she sees a teenager enter the office...
She was a gothic!
A kind of harlequin out of a black-and-white movie!
Lady Fouche had mismatched eyes. The right eye was black, and the left eye was silver. Even her hair - intricately styled with leather ties and two black and white ribbons- was two-tone, separated by a vertical line passing exactly in the middle of her forehead. On the right side of the head, the hair was silvery; on the left, it was black. Her skin was chalk-white.
Even her Gothic clothing reflected this duality of color. She was dressed in a white sweater dress and black pantyhose.
Her left arm and right leg were laced with strips of white leather that crossed forming diamonds.
She also had two pieces of armor, a huge metal epaulet adorned with spikes, and a gauntlet too big for her little hand... both on the left arm.
Looking at Lady Fouche, one had the impression to see the result of the accidental fusion of two polar opposite characters.
Miriel had probably not managed to hide her amazement because the girl with heterochromia had a mocking smile.
"Looks like you haven't heard of me, Lady Miriel."
"Excuse my reaction, I was surprised. I am delighted to meet you, Lady Fouche."
Bishop Barbet intervened.
"Lady Antilene Heran Fouche is the Extra Seat in the Black Scripture and the Guardian of the Legacy of the Six Great Gods."
The half-elf wizard knew that the Black Scripture was the elite of the Slane Theocracy's army, their commandos in charge of all the 'special' missions. But...
"Guardian of the Legacy of the Six Great Gods? What do you mean?"
"Lady Fouche is charged with defending the most sacred relics of our religion. She even has the privilege of borrowing these relics to fight the enemies of our gods."
"Oh, I see!"
Antilene had listened to all these praises with an expression of boredom. She suddenly cut off the speech of the bishop.
"If we talk about what is important? I am only interested in fighting with powerful beings. Who knows, this time someone could defeat me."
Again surprised, Miriel blinked quickly. Antilene laughs sarcastically.
"I'm tired of winning every fight. I dream of being defeated by a man powerful enough to dominate me. If he married me, we would probably have an incredibly powerful offspring."
Uncomfortable, the half-elf did not know what to answer. Fortunately, Barbet put an end to this moment of embarrassment.
"You are right, Lady Fouche, let us talk about the mission that the Theocracy wants to entrust to you."
Pierre Avice Barbet served a cup of tea at the heterochromia girl while talking.
"A few days ago, during a skirmish against the elves, we took a prisoner. Asked, he told us about a well-known legend of his people, the legend of Linastir Hougan."
Strangely, the cardinal looked almost worried and took frequent glances at Antilene... as if he asked her permission to continue and was afraid to say something that made her angry. Yet the strange black and white girl seemed to show no interest in what the old man said. In fact, she was bored copiously.
"Who is this Linastir Hougan?"
"A great hero of the elves and an ancestor of the present king, Decem Hougan. By the time the Six Great Gods arrived, he had led an army against the Orcs and other primitive half-humans who were ravaging the lands west of present-day Slane Theocracy. Faced with legions of monsters, he won great victories but ended up having too few troops to continue the fight. Legend says that he isolated himself in a fortress and resisted for many years before succumbing."
Unsure, the half-elf nodded.
"You did say that you knew this legend before, did you not?" As Barbet nodded, she continued. "In this case what did you learn again while ... questioning the prisoner?"
She butted on the word 'questioning' understanding that although the local equivalent of the inquisition, had not offered a cup of tea to the unfortunate.
"Well, this elf has discovered in the archives of Crescent Lake -the capital of the elven kingdom- the exact position of Dar'eel, the fortress where Linastir Hougan had retreated."
Seeing that Miriel was looking at him blankly, Barbet smiled with indulgence.
"This legend is well-known, even to humans in the New World... but you are not from this world. Of course, Linastir was a great warrior and magician, and certainly a great strategist, but his victories were largely the result of the use of a powerful magical scimitar."
"Oh... I see. You want me to find this scimitar."
"Not exactly, this is Lady Fouche's task. Your task is to help her."
He turned to Antilene to smile at her. But the gothic girl showed no reaction. While staring into the distance, she drew with her finger abstract patterns on the desk wood. She seemed prodigiously bored.
They spoke for another hour, and then Bishop Barbet gave leave to Antilene. However, as the wizard rose, he recalled her.
"Lady Miriel, could you stay a moment."
As Barbet waited for the heterochromia girl to leave the room without speaking, the half-elf suspected complications. As the door slammed shut, she turned to the clergyman.
"Monsignore? Would you like to tell me something that Lady Fouche should not hear?"
He nodded his head.
"You guessed right. You may be wondering why we asked Lady Fouche to take the scimitar... As you might expect, she is an important person with an important duty, she is the guardian of our most holy relics. But no one else in the Slane Theocracy can accomplish this task. According to legend, Linastir's Scimitar can only be used by a person belonging to the line of the Elven King."
She took a moment to digest the information and understand what the ecclesiastic was trying to explain.
"Lady Fouche is a descendant of Linastir?"
"Exactly... Do you know what caused the outbreak of war against the elves?"
"The rape of the former trump card of the Slane Theocracy. Wait... you mean that..."
"Exactly, Lady Fouche is the daughter of Lady Faine. Her father... I should rather say her sire... is King Decem Hougan."
Instantly, Miriel re-evaluated Antilene's age adding a hundred years to her initial estimation... after all the war had lasted for several generations.
"I see."
"Your mission is of course to escort Lady Fouche... but we would especially like you to become her friend."
The conversation kept surprising the half-elf; once again she was caught off guard.
"Sorry?"
Bishop Barbet nodded seriously.
"You got it right. Lady Fouche had a difficult childhood... she does not accept to be a half-elf and hates fiercely her father... she loves her mother... except that it is not reciprocal. The Supreme Council was forced to take her away from her mother to avoid an... accident. We had entrusted her to Lady Nazaire to complete her training in combat arts. Luckily, they immediately got along very well... except that Lady Nazaire was killed a few years ago. We would very much like you to get closer to Lady Fouche. We are very worried about her loneliness and aggressiveness."
"I am surprised that you care so much about her well-being"
Aware of having said something she would have been better not said, Miriel swore in silence. Barbet's reaction was as shocked as she had feared. His face hardened.
"Don't judge us... you don't understand what the half-humans did to us and why we do what we do. Originally, we respected the elves... and if we started a war against them, it's because Lady Fouche asked us to."
"Did she ask for it?"
Miriel was baffled... she didn't understand a single bit. The Supreme Council hated her because she was half-human. But they started a war because... because another half-elf asked them? It made no sense! What crucial fact had escaped her?
"Yes, she asked that we avenge the outrage suffered by her mother," Bishop Barbet replied, nodding slowly.
There was a moment of silence as the Summoner pondered what she had just learned. This war was because of Lady Faine, then? They accepted Antilene's request because... because she was her mother's daughter?
"Oh... and on your journey do not make the mistake of mentioning her father to Lady Fouche or looking at her ears. She hates it!"
The wizard thought that Antilene's complicated hairstyle, especially the ribbons that tied her hair on either side of her head, had no other purpose than to hide her pointed ears... her elven heritage.
"I will be careful, monsignore."
Followed by the two knights who escorted her in all her movements within the holy city, Miriel kept silent... thoughtful and upset.
She had classified the Slane Theocracy as a basic racist state. Except that she was in a real world, with real people, real suffering, real stories... she had been naive... worse... she had been incredibly childish and even more intolerant than the inhabitants of the Slane Theocracy.
Yes, they were racists. Yes, they were religious fanatics...
But she refused to see beyond that.
With the feeling of superiority of someone from a more civilized world, for convenience, by intellectual laziness, she had applied to this world her own reading grid... without making the slightest effort to understand the inhabitants.
Here it was the law of the jungle, killed or be killed. It was not the inhabitants of the Slane Theocracy who were hard, but their world. The behavior of King Decem Hougan proved that their neighbors were unreliable and that they were ready to take advantage of their slightest weakness.
Their racism was only a response to a hostile environment.
Who was she to judge them?
Born in a world where only humans lived, racism killed every day because of a different accent, a more or less dark skin color, or even the color of the eyes.
The wagon was shaken by each rut. It obviously had no shock absorber. Sitting next to Antilene, Miriel had wrapped herself in her cape and tried to hide her nervousness.
The two young women were traveling in a sort of stagecoach... and they were not the only travelers.
A group of four adventurers sat on the bench opposite. There were three humans. A barbarian dressed in fur with a two-handed crude axe who had presented himself as Bog Brisetibia, a smiling young man with a long cape and a magnificent sword named Yaris, the third human had a weasel face, black clothes, and a dagger, His name was Rass Farek.
The fourth adventurer was a dwarf in chainmail and also armed with a two-handed axe decorated with ornamental runes (1). He was the leader of the Earthdawn Guild and had introduced himself as Yonn Courtebotte.
As for the fifth adventurer, a member of the same guild, he was sitting right next to Miriel... he was a half-elf called Khalid Deez.
He seemed to want to seduce her or befriend her, and that was what made Miriel so uncomfortable. The Summoner suspected that he understood that she was a half-elf like him... and that was the very reason for his interest in her. Not only did Khalid annoy her, but Miriel was afraid that he would understand Antilene's true nature and try to seduce her too...
Oh, 'Certain Death' (as Lady Fouche was nicknamed by other members of the Black Scripture) was perfectly capable of defending herself... but... let's just say that Miriel would rather not leave behind a wagon full of corpses to continue on foot.
"Where are you going?"
Yvonn Courtebotte tried to give his voice a friendly tone without completely succeeding. The dwarf warrior was suspicious. But Miriel welcomed the diversion with a sigh of comfort... because she no longer had to undergo the interrogation of Khalid... the latter seemed to want to know all about her and did not accept that she refused to answer.
"We were hired in Bartertown by a rancher who wants to know if the plain north of the Snake River can feed his herds."
The number one rule of any adventurer crossing another group... never mentioning the quest pursued by his own group.
The dwarf warrior seemed reassured but growled with contempt.
"The plain is open on all sides and various monsters live there. It's stupid!"
"As long as he pays us..." The Summoner spread her hands in a gesture that was supposed to show her lack of interest in this kind of issue. "I'd rather work for a great cause... but so far it hasn't boiled my pot."
The answer seemed to satisfy the dwarf and Miriel took advantage of it for a quick counter-attack.
"Where are you going?"
"Oh, we're going home to the village of Kartavallaon, across the Ring River."
'That's good, think I'm an idiot, mister dwarf' thought the Summoner. Their little motley group (a dwarf, a half-elf, a thief, a barbarian, a warrior) was as likely to come from the same village as the cows were likely to participate in the next lunar mission. She hesitated for a moment and then replied with a fake naive smile.
"It must be an interesting village if such diverse individuals come from it."
"Ah... uh... yes, indeed," Yvon replied, caressing his beard in a nervous tic...
Miriel turned her head and bit her lip to avoid laughing. This dwarf had probably never been to Kartavallaon. Well, they also had an interesting ongoing quest and they were afraid to attract the attention of competitors.
The village of Agnaron was the terminus.
Following Antilene, Miriel entered a path that led to the western plain. In the distance, they saw the members of Earthdawn moving away. They were heading for the hills south of Mount Throal.
Antilene, who had noticed the Summoner's interest for the adventurers, spoke with her usual annoyed tone.
"Kartavallaon is south of Agnaron."
"Yes, I had noticed that."
Two days had passed. If Miriel had been alone, she could have fly above the ground and moved forward much faster, there she was forced to walk. Fortunately, Antilene walked rather slowly... well slowly for someone whose strength, endurance, and speed were superhuman. Once again because walking bore her.
Every evening, they stopped to set up a camp... The fact that the Summoner's Inventory allowed her to take very heavy objects without having to carry them was very useful.
It's hard to imagine a more luxurious camp than theirs. Especially since time stopped in the Inventory, the hot food did not cool down.
The first night, Antilene had surprised Miriel because - for the first time- she had become interested in something. Not the Inventory... but the food and the fabrics from OOO! The dreaded Extra Seat in the Black Scripture was a fashion junkie! New clothes and exotic foods were her drugs. She was spending all her pay to fill her cupboards with clothes and to taste new dishes and booze.
They had spent a good part of the evening in... a very 'girly' discussion. You know: clothing, trendy restaurants, make-up, and jewelry... they even talked about the 'cute boy' but...
"Age? I don't care. I don't care about his race... All I ask is that he be stronger than me!"
Sure, Antilene knows how to be a buzzkill...
Nevertheless, Miriel was happy. Somehow, she had managed to break the ice...
They were eight, huge, muscular, of formidable aspects.
One of them, their leader, spoke. Thanks to the translation magic of the New World, MIriel understood these words:
"You enter Kor'Kash Tribe territory. Pay us or die."
Antilene sighed annoyed (in short, in her habitual mood).
"I have no gold to pay, but I have iron..."
The Guardian of the Legacy of the Six Great Gods removed her cape and dropped it to the ground, appearing in a white suit of armor. In her hand, she was holding a black metal war scythe that looked more like a cross-shaped polearm than a scythe.
Even before the ogres could react, Antilene had leaped forward.
She struck one of the humanoids and cut it in half effortlessly.
The others finally reacted, surrounding the heterochromia girl, and the attacker from all sides.
"Evasion."
Using this Martial Art, Antilene literally began to dance between attacks, stepping aside, or jumping back.
"Double Air Slash."
One of the monsters collapsed, cut into multiple pieces by two air guillotines...
An ogre struck her violently with it club.
"Instant Counter."
Antienne blocked the attack and counterattacked in the same movement cutting the enemy in half.
Miriel did not intervene. Using the spell 'Chameleon', she made herself invisible from the beginning of the fight to observe the confrontation.
When the last opponent collapsed, the Summoner clapped her hands... the noise ended her invisibility.
"Bravo."
Antilene looked to her ally.
"You didn't intervene," she remarked.
"You didn't need it... and you didn't want it."
The Extra Seat in the Black Scripture nodded and... miracle... she smiled. It was the first time Miriel saw Antilene smile.
"You're right... I was SOOOOO bored and they appeared just in time for me to have a little fun."
Whistling happily, without worrying about the blood on her face, her scythe, and her armor, Antilene resumed her march to the west, leaving behind her... uh... a nightmarish gore scene.
The half-elf Summoner looked at the map and then looked at the white stone cube in front of her before sighing...
"It can only be that."
Moreover, the spell 'Breadcrumb' had led them directly here.
"I guess this cube is Dar'eel's fortress."
'Certain Death' looked at the cube and again there was an expression of boredom on her face. She crossed her hands on her neck and turned her head back.
"The legends spoke of a citadel where the army of Linastir Hougan was entrenched. I imagined a fortified city or at least some sort of fairy tale castle!"
Miriel shrugged her shoulders.
"The bards who peddle the legends especially want to be paid at the end of their recital and 'The legend of the last fight of the great King Linastir Hougan entrenched in the magical citadel of Dar'eel' probably had more public than 'The legend of poor Linastir defending his petty cube of stone', Don't you think so?"
"I especially hope that I did not come all this way for nothing. It would put me in a bad mood."
Already, when Antilene was in a good mood 'playing' with ogres, this was a show prohibited for at least 16 years of age... Miriel had no desire to discover what her new 'friend' could do when she was infuriated.
The wizard coughed into her fist and pointed to the golden thread of the 'Breadcrumb' spell.
"Come, Lady Fouche, my magic guides us to the scimitar."
A secret exit 500 meters from the cube led to an old underground stream that was drained and widened. They entered a rectangular cellar with a ceiling made of thick oak planks resting on beams of the same wood.
Besides the remains of a desecrated cemetery (open graves and... gnawed bones), there were remnants of an ancient battle with skeletons still clutching rusty weapons, broken spear shafts, and shattered shields.
Just near the entrance lay two bodies. The first was...
"What a strange monster, I've never seen anything like it."
The humanoid creature was very large with a smooth body, without hair, with bluish skin, a large mouth filled with sharp fangs, and a stupid look.
"It's a Cave Troll," Antilene replied. "But you don't recognize him?"
The heterochromia girl knelt down in front of the second body and turned it over. The individual groaned. This proved that he was still alive.
"Khalid Deez!"
About to ask how he got there before them, Miriel frowned. They had gone around the hills, which took them three days. On the contrary, the members of Earthdawn had gone through the hills, the most direct course.
"I'll cure him. He can teach us what awaits us inside."
"Except he lies at the entrance."
"His comrades did not abandon him here before running to the scimitar. Khalid was hit in the back as he fled..." She pointed to an almost invisible footprint on the dusty ground. "the trace of his steps leads to the ladder leading inside the cube."
"Cure Medium Wound"
A green light enveloped Khalid Deez, the half-elf quivered, opened his eyes, and sat rubbing his head.
Recognizing the two women he thanked them warmly, but Antilene interrupted him.
"What the hell happened?"
"Uh... well we found a secret passage leading into the cellars. We were attacked by a troll but we managed to kill him. We climbed the ladder there." He pointed to a wooden ladder going up to a hatch leading to the ceiling. "But we set a trap. Our thief, Ralas Falek, fell victim. We visited the inside of the cube and... we found the treasure room. Unfortunately, there was... there was a horrible monster... all the others died. I ran away but... I got hit right before I walked through the door and...
"Double Air Slash."
Khalid remained with his mouth open, paralyzed with terror... it took him a full ten seconds to understand that the two wind guillotines had missed him. Hearing a fall sound behind him, he turned around to discover a colossal blue humanoid on the ground, cut into several pieces and bathed in his blood.
"There was a second troll," said Antilene.
Following the light thread that led to the scimitar, the two women and Khalid crossed the ruins of Dar'eel. The survivor explained what traps they had defused and what they had found in the rooms.
Finally, he pointed to a door, speaking in a low voice.
"That's when we discovered the monster. It's a kind of huge white and disgusting worm, but its head looks like a human skull. He's curled up on a pile of rotting corpses."
After a break, Khalid spoke again.
"I wish my companions would be avenged, but I would not venture near..."
"Lion's Hearth!"
Regardless of the opinions of their guide, Antilene had boosted his courage.
"Follow us!"
They entered the treasure room.
It was exactly as Khalid described it. Except, when they entered, the creature (which Antilene called a 'Wormskull Horror') was having lunch... eating the deceased members of Earthdawn!
The monster stopped and straightened up, waving strangely slender legs despite its obese body and unhealthy pallor, covered with slimy mucus.
Around it, the skeletons reassembled and the corpses clumsily stood up while moaning.
Far from troubled Antilene counterattacked immediately.
"Turn Undead!"
A whirlwind of blue-white light surrounded the animated corpses.
Exorcised, the undead collapsed to the ground.
"Anti-Evil Protection."
There was a metallic noise and the Extra Seat in the Black Scripture was enveloped in an aura of white light. The Wormskull counterattacked, turning his gaze to Khalid... immediately, the survivor turned into a mere puppet. Mechanically drawing his sword, he headed for Antilene.
But he could not attack her.
Miriel raised her hand.
"Dispel Magic!"
Staggering while holding his head, the half-elf warrior fell to his knees, breathing very quickly and his face congested.
At no time had Antilene turned her head, 'Certain Death' focused entirely on her prey, and... she smiled.
She stretched out her war scythe forward.
"Undead Flame!"
The enormous and monstrous worm twisted in bluish spectral flames made of negative energy that undermined its vitality.
The next moment, the Extra Seat jumped right under the ceiling and fell down with a powerful blow from its weapon.
"Steeled Arm Strike!"
The monster collapsed... into two separate parts... cut vertically.
Antilene yawned.
"Boring. No challenge at all."
Digging into the waste pile that formed the Wormskull's 'treasure', the Summoner found five precious vases, 150 gold coins, and a magnificent scimitar. Its blade was jade, its handle was a crystal and a magnificent ruby formed the pommel.
"This is Linastir Hougan's scimitar."
The heterochromia girl only glanced at the weapon.
"Pretty. And it must be a powerful weapon."
"Uh... I was expecting a more enthusiastic comment," exclaimed Khalid. "It's a legendary weapon!"
Antilene brandishes her black scythe under his nose.
"You think that punk scimitar is better than my Charon's Guidance?"
Before he could answer, she had turned around.
"It's time to go home."
(1) It is not a runic weapon. Dwarf writing uses also runes... normal runes, like those used by Vikings.
