Deep within a frozen prison, a single demon sat in a chair in one of the many cells. The prison cell had the amenities one could expect from a cell, bathroom bucket, sink, and bed, but everything was frozen over leaving the prisoner with nothing of actual use. There was no one guarding the cell or even within the room outside the cell, he was completely alone. Demiurge sat perfectly still facing the cell door, constantly whispering to himself.
"I failed. I'm sorry Lord Ainz. I failed. I should have seen the possibility of failure and taken precautions. I'm so sorry. I failed you. I'm a failure. Please forgive me. Will you never return? It'll be all my fault. I'm sorry. I failed you…"
Four days ago, the worst thing that could have happened to Nazarick, happened. The last Supreme Being, Ainz Ooal Gown, was no longer with them and he was the cause. He may have been forgiven if it was an accident and Ainz just so happened to activate the portal, but he requested Ainz to test his project personally.
After Ainz was gone, he didn't even wait to hear how the other Guardians would react, though he knew exactly how they would, and immediately put himself in the 5th floor's frozen prison. He has been alone ever since, except the few times Cocytus came to ensure he was still in his cell.
"I'm the cause. If I had just stayed content with Lord Ainz's presence, he would still be here. I failed him." He chuckled to himself. "And he used to praise my intellect… haha…"
One of the doors across from Demiurge's cell slowly opened for the first time today as multiple figures walked through. The group mostly consisted of angels ranked among the highest order, seraphim, cherubim, and throne, but the one leading the group was not one of them. With her long black hair, beautiful features, and immaculate wings, one could have confused her for an angel, but her horns and sclera eyes betrayed her real nature as a succubus.
She approached the cell with a blank expression on her face as she opened the unlocked door of the cell. "Demiurge…"
"…Albedo."
"Out. Now."
Any other time, Demiurge would have made an intellectual jab or simply ignored her, but instead he got up from his chair and followed Albedo and the angels out of the prison. As soon as they left the Frozen Prison, they teleported to the unofficial 10th floor of Nazarick, right outside the round table. Demiurge could hear people arguing inside.
"So, I guess it's time. My judgement… Only if Lord Ai…"
"You are NOT allowed to speak his name! Not after you forced him to test your idiotic plan to travel back to Yggdrasil resulting in him being possibly lost FOREVER!" Demiurge has known Albedo for a long time and in that time, she has yelled and insulted him hundreds of times but never with this amount of rage… or grief.
The angels escorting them opened the door to the round table. Almost a dozen figures sat around the table all belonging to a different race: from dark elf to insectoid to fallen angel. A hot debate was currently going on between an imp and a fallen angel.
"How dare you concern yourself with lust as the Supreme One is currently missing! I never understood how our lord could grant the title of Guardian to a self-centered, unfaithful, harlot!"
The fallen angel was Neia Baraja, better known as Pope of the 41. Granted eternal life as a fallen angel after her many years of spreading The Faith of the 41 across the entirety of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
"You dare slander my love as lust, you ugly bitch! It is my RIGHT as Guardian of the Re-Estize region to have access to my Climb whenever I want!"
The imp was Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself, Witch of the Fallen Kingdom.
Two levels of Guardians existed within Lord Ainz's inner circle: Guardians of Nazarick and Guardians of the Sorceror Kingdom. These titles are meant to differentiate between the New Worlders who proved their value and were chosen by Ainz himself and the original Guardians of Nazarick.
"Silence. Neia. Lord Ainz would be disappointed by your rude behavior in such a respected room. Renner. You will have access to your pet as soon as we are done here. So, both of you, be silent." The blue insectoid, Cocytus, reprimanded the two New Worlders.
"Of course, forgive me, Patron of Winter." While Neia begged for forgiveness, Renner simply silenced herself looking frustrated about the situation.
As if finally noticing them, the room's residents all turned towards Demiurge. Most had rage filling their eyes while others simply had blank expressions. Both Demiurge and Albedo took their seats as a doppelganger, Pandora's Actor, rose from his seat without his usual flair or dramatic effect.
"Let us start this meeting." Pandora's Actor pulled up a beautiful scroll and displayed it on the table.
"By the plans left by Lord Ainz, in the case of his disappearance or unrevivable death caused by one of the Guardians' actions or inaction, we were all given exactly four days to investigate his disappearance or murder. Afterward, we vote on their guilt or innocence and, if proven guilty, the punishment that will be given."
The way he spoke was dead as if all the joy and passion he once had was stripped of him, not that far from the truth. Pandora's Actor was the most devastated out of all the Guardians by Ainz's disappearance. But as Ainz's only true 'heir', he was forced to step up in his place, suppressing the grief he had, trying to emulate his father's approach to ruling.
Everyone nodded, but Neia held up her hand and rose.
"I would hate to question the Supreme One's decree, but where are the other Guardians of the Sorcerer Kingdom? Surely, they deserve their say on this matter, especially Gondo."
"Ich verstehe Ihre Verwirrung." He bowed slightly, "These plans were created before those positions were created and only specified two New Worlders, Renner and yourself, as you two were the most promising at the time of this document's creation." She nodded to the response before sitting back down.
"Now, to the vote. Did the Guardian responsible, Demiurge, act in such disregard for our lord's safety and/or wellbeing that it resulted in his disappearance and/or death?"
""AYE!"" The entire room shouted in agreement.
Even though he knew he was guilty, Demiurge still lowered his head at the Guardians' unanimous agreement.
"Now for the punishm…" Albedo cut him off.
"Death. This should not even be a discussion. He has even admitted to using Wild Magic for the portal creation. A magic that we have not even begun testing with!"
"Albedo. We have agreed to let him live. He is the only one to know how the portal works."
"Let him live so he may fail again! If Lord Ainz knew what kind of magic was being used, he would have never allowed that portal to be created in the first place. We just need to find the Dragon Emperor and force him to tell us how he summoned us to this world so we can summon Lord Ainz back. A being that fully understands how this type of magic works and doesn't try to combine it with Tier Magic!" Albedo tried to defend her point, but it seemed no one in the room agreed with her.
"We aren't even sure if that guy is even alive, he might have been killed off over a century ago. Not even the other Dragon Lords knew if he was alive or not. We can't just kill off the only being that understands how Wild Magic universe transportation works."
"My sister is right! Even if he is alive, we can't just hope that he would just tell us." Two teenage dark elves, Aura and Mare, defended Demiurge's usefulness. A light chuckle could be heard from the other side of the table.
"I'm surprised the great Albedo can't get over her personal feelings. So pathetic." The vampire, Shalltear, laughed at Albedo's attempts to sway the room.
"You too Shalltear? Do you want to spare the traitor as well? I thought we finally agreed on something!?" Before the meeting, they spoke in private about how they were going to convince the meeting to kill Demiurge, but something changed.
Shalltear scoffed, "I did, but someone opened my eyes. I failed once and all I wished for was death, but just as Lord Ainz has said, "In Nazarick, death is a mercy."" Shalltear looked over to Demiurge.
"Oh, how I wish for him to die, but watching him suffer like I have…" She gave an unnatural and hungry smile. "That is much more appealing."
Albedo glanced around the room trying to see who swayed Shalltear, before finally seeing Neia looking at her with a crazed look in her eye, smiling.
'THAT BITCH! Of course, it's her. She's always been obsessed with the prospect of the other Supreme Beings, ever since Lord Ainz told her stories about them decades ago. She is going to ruin everything!'
"Schweigen!" Pandora's Actor slammed the round table. "Enough wasting time. We will begin the vote. Starting with Shalltear."
"Let him feel the shame of failing Lord Ainz, as I did over fifty years ago. An eternity of shame. Until Lord Ainz can punish him properly of course." She finished her vote with a sadistic smile.
"Aura?"
"Demiurge is the only one, other than the Dragon Lords, that understands how the portal works, so an eternity of guilt until Lord Ainz comes back to us."
"Mare?"
"I agree with my sister. His punishment should be an eternity of regret."
"Albedo?"
"Death, as it should be."
"Cocytus?" Cocytus turned to his friend, Demiurge, who had his head facing downwards.
"Lord Ainz. Trusted you Demiurge. I will honor that trust. Eternity of redemption."
"Victim?"
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. If Demiurge must die, let him die sacrificing himself for our lord. An eternity of sacrifice."
"Sebas?"
"As much as I hate to say it, many of us have failed in the past and our lord has always been merciful, giving each of us a second chance." He glared at Demiurge, "This second chance is a time to reflect on how we failed him. An eternity of reflection."
"Aureole Omega?" A woman wearing a shrine maiden's garment and a wrap around her head took a moment to answer.
"…Eternity of suffering."
"Renner?"
"All of us served to earn our place within Lord Ainz's inner circle, and this service will continue only until Lord Ainz says otherwise. An eternity of servitude." Unlike the beginning of the meeting, she spoke with loyalty and sincerity.
"Neia?" She rose from her seat and spread open her arms.
"Everyone has given excellent reasons for why Demiurge should be spared, but no one has mentioned the most important reason. For if Lord Demiurge can perfect his portal, not only will the Supreme One return to us but so may the other forty grace us with their presence. An eternity of faith in the 41." Everyone nodded in agreement except for Albedo, who simply had a blank expression.
"Then it is final. Durch die Macht, die mir Lord Ainz selbst verliehen hat! Demiurge will be forced to work on fixing the portal and 'live' with the fact that he has failed not only Lord Ainz but the entirety of Nazarick."
Demiurge looked up at the table with wide eyes not believing what he'd been hearing. The chance to redeem himself, but also forced to spend eternity unable to earn back the trust he lost when his portal malfunctioned. He stood up from the table and gave the deepest bow he had ever given to anyone other than Lord Ainz.
"I will not rest, will not stop, will never forget my shame, until Lord Ainz is back to us! This I swear upon the Supreme Beings!"
'I will not be known as the Guardian who was responsible for the disappearance of the last Supreme Being, no. I will be the one to bring all Supreme Beings back to Nazarick. I will redeem myself!
Author Note:
This is the first intermission chapter. So I will answer a few questions I am sure people will have about these Nazarick chapters.
Q: How often will these chapters appear?
A: Not sure, I wrote this one because I was finalizing how the next few chapters were going to be written/flow. So, expect them once in a while, every 5-10 chapters or so.
Q: You aren't planning on adding Nazarick are you?
A: Once again, No. Nazarick will never travel to the Shield Hero universe. Treat these chapters as a side-story(s).
Q: Was this just an excuse to answer the questions about Wild Magic?
A: Kinda. But I had this planned before those comments came out.
Thanks again for all of the support and I hope you enjoyed!