"Dammit." A lone human man, sitting on what seemed like a futuristic chair with wires coming in and out of it, wheezed with each breath, coughing up blood at times.

"Ha…ha… at least I saw the end of Yggdrasil for myself, even if nobody came." The human, Suzuki Satoru, grinned to himself weakly as he recalled sadly the last moments in the throne room,. surrounded by nothing but the NPCs, and not one of his friends in sight, the last memory of them in the NPCs they made and the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that was in his hand, which just like everything else in that virtual realm, ceased to exist as the clock struck twelve.

In the end, even in these final moments of his, there was no one by his side except for the chronic disease that has taken his health, and soon his life as well.

In all honesty, despite how gruesome it seems, and how terrifying it is to finally be at the end of his mortal journey. Suzuki felt a pang of relief in his soul. He no longer has to worry about making ends meet in a corporation that doesn't care for him. Neither should he be overwhelmed any longer with the pain of losing his loved ones to this gruesome life.

His only regret however at this very moment, was not being able to meet his friends any longer.

But, alas, it won't matter much in the end.

'Hahaha… I guess having those bastards look everywhere for me so I could "pay" them for the missing time is my first and last middle finger to them… Not that it would do much.'

Suzuki coughed again a worryingly large amount of blood as his body began to turn to a sickly pale colour. His eyes looking at his bloodstained hand with both sadness and acceptance.

Despite all the innovations and fairly cheap prosthetics and artificial organs made to force worker ants like him to live longer for the sake of the megacorporations, there still remained many diseases and illnesses that loomed over everyone, rich and poor alike, like the smog filled skies of the Earth of 2138.

And here he was, a diagnosis too late out of fear of missing a day of work and being fired and spending his days without a penny to his name. Suzuki Satoru will die, the only source of warmth not of his fading own in these final moments, were of the unthinking and uncaring devices that surrounded him.

'I guess… I didn't live a bad life.' He wearily thought as his life practically flashed before his eyes. Memories of his mother who he regretted not spending enough time with before she met an untimely death. Memories of his friends, his comrades, his newfound family, and the heartbreak and despair when they all began leaving one by one.

He was never a saint, but neither was he a villain. He was, for as long as he can remember, just there. A mere spectator to the fruitful and eventful lives of others, even his own at times.

Still, would he regret it all? Change his choices if he were to be given another chance?

'...No. Despite all the crap thrown at me. I at least met the people who made me feel like I'm worth a damn. And I'm happy with just that.'

Suzuki Satoru had a small smile on his face as he thought of them all. Faces he never saw personally, yet felt more close to him than the ones he would see practically everyday. Voices he would hear only on occasions, brought more warmth to his soul, than all the business parties and hangouts with his co-workers.

Despite it all, he would never regret meeting them.

Despite it all, he would never regret cherishing those memories.

Despite it all…

…

"...t…s…ot…ime…yet…"

…

And so, the lone Japanese man passed away.

Following the fall of the Head Exorcist and his army of winged soldiers, all of Pride celebrated the sudden discontinuation of the Extermination, including the denizens of the new Hazbin Hotel.

The group held a celebration of song and dance, with myriads of fine alcohols, with Charlie's permission of course, and food, they all took to celebrate their victory over Heaven, making merry for two whole days as the threat of the angelic guillotine was no longer hovering above them.

And yet in a place far away from them, the unthinkable happened.

"Fuuuuckkkk…." A voice echoed that profane word across the alley as a body crawled out from under the rubble of a building's demolished top floors.

As the creature arose from amidst the rubble, it became crystal clear that it was no human. Its body shows features of a myriad of different beasts and monsters, from the draconic wings, to the demonic horns, to the scales covering the unveiled skin on its chest and shoulders, and the living serpent tail…

Wait, what?

'The… fuck?' The being's eyes widened as he regarded the seemingly floating white serpent as it hissed every so often while regarding its host, the end of the creature connected to the man's back as it hovered in the air in front of him.

The man waved his hand towards the serpent in front of him, leading to the creature to twirl in the air playfully, a hint of intelligence shining in the serpent's glowing yellow eyes as it regarded its host.

"You're… a part of me, I guess?" The chimeric demon asked as he scratched his silver mane of hair in confusion, which only increased as he mentally heard the serpent's resounding affirmation of his question.

"Ooookkkaayyy then… so you can speak telepathically in my mind, and you're way to fucking eloquent for a normal snake… Fuck, now I'm reminded of that piece of shit."

As the man sighed, the snake had a look of indignation in its yellow eyes as it hissed at the apparent insult thrown its way, which made the man put his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Alright! Alright! I'm sorry for saying that, fucking hell, you really are part of me."

The serpent hissed proudly as it hovered up and down in the air, making the man chuckle before looking at his own body.

"So, I'm really a sinner now. From the badass angelic Head Exorcist Adam to a sinner… who at least is still badass." 'Adam' gave his draconic wings a wave, checking out the sharp claws on the tips of the wings and the ones on his own fingers, hidden poorly behind his ruined exorcist gloves.

"Well, at least there's that." Adam sighed as he looked at his body. He was upset as well even if he didn't show it.

Here he was, an angel for many a millennia, now nothing more than a mere sinner like the rest of his fallen descendants.

Yet, before he was an angel, he was a human, an exile of his former home, and a survivalist.

He was practically born with the ability to adapt to any situation thrown at him, and this isn't any different.

"Fuck, I need to change our of these robes and find something better, it's full of blood and… did a hellhound piss on me or something??"

The reborn First Man gagged as the repulsive smell reminiscent of a wolf's urine reached his even more sensitive nose, making him almost dizzy from how strong it was, like a brick thrown directly at his face.

"Alright… I'll just… ugh, I'll have to go find someplace to get clothes. …Do they even have clothing centers in Hell? Or ones that at least don't have fucking bowties, chokers, or that weird edgy shit they all like to wear?"

Adam sighed exasperatedly as he ruffled his wild silver mane of hair, whispering under his breath as he kept imagining all the ways it could go wrong.

And unfortunately for him, it was about to start now.

"Those clothes… Well, well, well, lookie here, boys! The Head Exorcist himself! And a sinner like us no less!" A squeaky voice reached the First Man's ears, followed by a chorus of laughs you'd expect to hear in a third rated movie by a villain.

In front of him were numerous shark demons of different species all in black suits, each either brandishing a Thompson machine gun in their hands or a close quarters weapon like medieval swords or clubs with nails embedded in them.

Adam groaned as he stood up on his two feet and eyed each of the smug suits wearing demons. If it was him in the past as an angel, he would've just fired a beam of holy light and be done with them all at that point. But unfortunately, since he's now a demon, and until he figures out the quirks of his new form and if they come with any additional powers, he will have to deal with them the old way.

The traditional, rough, and quite violent way.

"Alright, you sick fucks, I'll give you some options." He spoke up as he took a few steps towards them, watching how their stances never changed, as they weren't even the least bit guarded against him or wary, as if he was harmless. 'Fucking idiots.' Was all he could think as he saw the utterly idiotic decision, or the lack of it rather, by these sinners.

"You either run away like a bunch of good little bitches. Or…" He then began cracking each of his fists and necks with a feral grin on his smile. While his serpentine tail hissed menacingly in the direction of the wannabe thugs.

"I'll pummel each of you fuckers so badly that you would wish that I could put you out of your miserably permanently. Your choice."

At this display of aggression, some of the things took a few steps back in fear, yet the voice of the squeaky small shark in a suit, who seemed to be their leader, brought them out of their daze.

"Why the fuck are you morons trying to run away?! He's not an angel anymore, remember?!?! He's the same as everyone here now, he can't do shit to us! Let's go ahead and capture this fucking bitch! A desperate overlord is bound to want this fucker as a slave!"

Those words seem to have ignited any dimmed greed and courage in the other sinners, who look at Adam with renewed predatory gazes upon their sharp teeth filled faces as they aim their weapons at the man.

"You either come with us quietly or we'll break some of your bones, your choice, shithead." The small shark warned threateningly as he aimed his machine gun at the First Man, who didn't even bat an eye at the threat before yawning.

Which was enough to make the sharks more angry.

"Make the fucker suffer!"

A small purple meteor flew through the red sky of Hell's Pride Ring with a terrifying speed. Passing through the gaps in the Pentacle symbol atop Pentagram city as it struck one of the outer areas of the city of sinners.

*KABOOOOOM*

The meteor then exploded upon contact with the ground and from it erupted a cloud of purple and black. The heat exuding from it was so strong that it melted anything it came into contact with, turning the area nearby into one that resembles the lake of purple molten magma.

Fortunately, none were nearby in the abandoned district to witness the horrifying sight. Or the being that exited from the remains of the wondrous and terrifying sight.

"Ugh… What… happened?"

A deep baritone voice echoed across the place as a giant skeleton dressed in dark purple academic robes with violet and gold edges, a large hood on his frightening skull, and expensive treasures adorning his sharp skeletal fingers.

As the being brought his hand towards his skull in an attempt to massage the headache, before stopping with a sudden jolt as he felt nary a hint of skin on his head, or his fingers for that matter.

"What in the…"

As soon as the undead gazed upon that offending limb of his, he saw a sight that was both familiar yet strange to him.

"This is… my Yggdrasil Avatar? But how?! I died… right?"

He tried to recall all that has happened since the end of Yggdrasil, and all he could remember happening was his slow death on his gaming chair, and definitely not with the VR helmet still on his head.

Panic arose within his mind as he thought about all that has happened.Why exactly was he here? In his avatar no less? Did he perhaps hallucinate his death and was still in Yggdrasil? But then, why isn't he in Nazarick? Was he teleported somewhere instead of being logged out during the shutdown? But then, why is he-

Suddenly, a green aura overtook the man's body as he felt his panic dampen to minimal levels, an inhumane calm replacing it as it somehow allowed him to think properly.

'That was… {Emotional Suppression}. It was a skill of the Undead that gave immunity to mind altering effects, including their own emotions. But the latter part was only in lore, so that means that this is…'

He then felt the hot winds of this new environment caress his undead skull, in Yggdrasil, it was impermissible to allow for Players to be able to experience everything in Yggdrasil fully, out of fear that they would be unable to disassociate between reality and the game and refuse to leave.

Yet, to be able to feel all of it so… fully, even with the constraints of his undead form not giving him the same capabilities of touching and feeling like what you would expect from a more corporeal form. To be able to feel things so… realistically, could only mean that…

"This isn't a video game, this is real life, and I'm in my Yggdrasil Avatar too."

It was a humbling moment of silence, as he attempted to absorb the situation in its entirety.

"Ha…haha… hahahaha!!!" Suddenly, the Undead Overlord burst into laughter as he clutched his sides, his {Emotional Suppression} was working on overtime to ensure total calm and control in the Undead's mind, yet it proved to be difficult with the joy that the man, Suzuki Satoru, felt for being alive at this very moment.

Soon however, it finally overcame the man's exuberance as he stopped, his laughter turning into small chuckles before ending entirely.

"I'm really alive… somehow. I don't who did me this favour, but I'm grateful regardless. But… where am I exactly?"

The man looked around for clues as he stood within the remains of the meteor, light flowing purple magma surrounding him like a lake.

And above him, he could see the weirdly red skies. Suzuki was used to the smog filled skies of the 22nd century, forever hiding the starry skies from humanity, yet the heat of the sun still struck the citizens of the world through those dark clouds, and finally the thoroughly made yet still artificial skies of Yggdrasil that attempted to emulate those of the world before the third World War.

Yet, the sight in front was both familiar and unfamiliar. For despite the lack of clouds to hide what lays beyond, there was nary a celestial body hanging in those lofty red skies with the exception of two things.

The first was a massive large pentagram atop what seems to be the closest city of lights to Suzuki, it was so close in fact that if he desired, he could go ahead and touch it if he used his [Fly] spell.

Yet, what mattered to him, was the other celestial body.

It was, quite frankly, a thing of beauty, it resembled the moon of Earth that he would see either in old photos or the sky of Midgard in Yggdrasil. Yet it was more than that, for surrounding the glowing white celestial body, were numerous rings that resembled halos orbiting the planet. With a multitude of clouds floating around the planet in the shape of wings of sorts, almost making the planet seem like a giant angel with the white rings.

"Beautiful…" Suzuki could only gawk at the wondrous sight in front of him. This was the first time that he truly saw anything of such beauty before, one not built by the hands of man to imitate something else.

Unfortunately, his amazement didn't last for long as he heard a series of explosions and what seemed to be the sounds of gunshots echoing across the city, making the undead raise a metaphorical eyebrow at the noise before using a flight spell to hover over the magma as he went to check, casting a multitude of protective spells that came to him as naturally as the flight spell was while traveling towards the city.

'Hmm, that was weird, in Yggdrasil, I couldn't stay for long in Muspelheim because of my undead avatar's weakness to fire, even when considering that my robes give me immunity to the fire element I still had that nagging feeling of discomfort around fire but that… lava I just floated over, I felt nothing, it was honestly as if I was back in Helheim. Did I somehow get a new skill or ability? Hmm… I'll have to test that later.'

Soon, the man went over there the first city block only to find out the source of those explosions and gunfights, to which his surprise came from the discovery.

Wherever his undead eyes could see, robberies, drive bys, arson, public debauchery, and many more inappropriate and frankly absurd activities for a functioning society were carried out in droves. With nary a hint of care in the eyes of the spectators to these horrid events. Rather, some are either amused or seem intent on joining.

In all honesty, for a man like Suzuki, despite the cruel and dystopian nature of the world he was accustomed with. This new place is simply just…

"Hell." Suzuki blinked as the flames in his eye sockets went out for a moment before reigniting as he saw the large neon sign on top of one of the larger buildings.

'Welcome to Hell, bitch!'

The man stopped moving in the air as he did a double take at his environment and looked more closely. The red skies of the realm, the city that seemed to be encased in volcanic spikes, the giant red pentagram, the citizens who are obviously not human, it all lead to the same conclusion that the large sign has to dumb down for him to realize.

"... I'M IN FUCKING HELL?!"

Suffice to say, his new unliving partner in crime had to continue doing its job to assuage the panic within the Overlord's mind.

A few moments later, Suzuki was sitting on the ledge on top of one of the buildings as he watched the streets down below, drumming his fingers of one hand on the back of the other.

For as far as he can see, even in that small part of the city, crime is abundant, and if one were to peek through the windows of any building, they're bound to see to either see a couple in lustful fornication, a first degree murder in the making, a theft, or all of the above.

To the undead man, it was quite frankly a disgusting view. Still…

'If I were still a human, I'd be disgusted and repulsed by what I'm seeing. I still am, though now I'm more apathetic than showing any sort of emotion to this whole situation. Speaking of which, regarding these… hellions.'

Suzuki watched as one demon killed someone in broad daylight (or whatever is the equivalent of it with Hell's perpetual red unchanging skies). And approximately an hour later. That same demon who was killed, was thrown out of the sky and onto the ground. To which he rose up groaning, before stomping his foot and went to scavenge his own corpse before leaving.

'...it seems that these demons are immortal, or an equivalent of it I suppose. Even after being killed, it seems they 'respawn' in a sense and continue life normally. Is it perhaps a racial skill of theirs? Or is it due to the nature of this place?'

The undead overlord hummed as he scratched his bony chin in thought, looking over that forlorn small part of the city, until his interest was piqued by a new series of sounds.

A few alleyways away, Suzuki heard the sounds of shots being fired and large stomping, as if it was caused by a large beast.

'Hmm? Is that perhaps a hunting party? But in the city? Could it be that there are large beasts to be killed here in such a suburban area?'

As the sounds grew louder and he began to hear screams as well coming from the same direction, the Undead's curiosity won over his cautious nature as he started flying once more but this time towards the source of the sounds as he began recasting and buffing himself once more in preparation of a potential fight.

"Don't you fuckers know when to give up?!" Adam snarled as he roughly grabbed another of the sharks and flung him far away, making the sinner crash into one of the buildings and splatter across its surface.

Yet, every time he thinks its over, another group of sharks would appear to continue the fight, guns ablazing and weapons raised.

'Did I fucking end up in their turf or some shit?! There's no fucking way otherwise to explain how in the hell did I already kill dozens of these bastards and more keep popping up!'

Adam suddenly grunted as a stray bullet grazed his draconic wing. While sure his limb immediately healed from the attack, right now, he was simply a sinner, vulnerable to all forms of weapons regardless of if they'll put him down for food or not.

"That fucking hurt, you jackass!" Adam shouted as he went towards the offending sinner and punched him square in the jaws, before Adam's serpentine tail coiled around the shark demons tightly and bit into his neck, draining all colour from the sinner as the serpent's venom worked its magic, killing him painfully and quickly.

Adam whistled at his tail's quick kill before hearing a chorus of stomps towards them, it seems that the original group of sharks he killed the first time have regenerated and are about to continue picking up the fight again.

"Fucking hell, I should leave, I don't want to spend my time just fighting these bastards forever." Adam exasperatedly said to himself as he gave his wings a gentle shake with a grimace. He's more adapted to flying with wings full of feathers and attached to his waist, but these ones are not only attached nearer to his spine and located way above on his back, but are also devoid of any feathers to help him maneuver in the air the way he is used to.

The man clicked his tongue as he saw the group of sharks sinners in view, their faces full of rage and guns aimed at him again.

"This is your last chance, fucker! Give up and come with us like a good little bitch, or you'll have to fight us all over again till you get tired, got that?!"

Adam didn't even consider the shark's words as he considered his other options, with his wings out of the way, he could try and parkour through the alleyways and get away, but that would risk the chance of running into other groups in the city who also have a bone to pick with him. Something he doesn't need to at the moment until he at least gathers his bearings and gets used to his new form.

And despite how troublesome that was, it was far better than trying to fight them again and again till he drops out of exhaustion, or try to fly despite the odds and risk plummeting down.

Thankfully for him however, he wouldn't need to choose any of these horrid options.

"What is going on here?"

A deep baritone voice echoed across the alley as both Adam and the sinners felt shivers crawling up their spines at the terrifyingly cold voice. And looking up at the source of the sound didn't help at all.

Floating above them was a figure covered in dark purple with his chest exposed, revealing a large and sharp set of ribs with a glowing red orb floating below the rib cage, giving off a frightening sheen.

And the unknown being's head was a skull of inhuman proportions that seemed to be crafted by a master sculptor rather than belonging to a creature naturally. The bright red flames in this monster's eyes glared at them with cold apathy, switching between each of the sinners before finally landing on Adam, who's tail immediately hissed in both fear and in a threatening manner as if hoping it will ward off the skeletal demon.

"That's… That's n-none of your b-business, a-alright?! B-b-beat it, s-shithead! Uh… p-please?"

Upon hearing the shark's half-warning, half-plead, Adam scoffed, especially at how the shark seemed terrified of the unknown demon, though he couldn't blame the fucker. Even he is unnerved by the skeleton's presence and appearance, and that should say something considering all the things he has seen in his long life.

The skeleton however, didn't seem too keen to listen to the shark and leave as he instead began floating downwards, facing both the group of suit-wearing sinners and the tattered robe-wearing Adam.

"While fighting seems to be the norm here, you lot have been causing quite the disturbance. And I must say, I'm quite interested." The undead spoke with a head tilt as he eyed the two parties, with Adam putting his guard up even more just in case, while the sinners exchanged fearful glances to each other before looking at their presumed leader, the shortest of the group.

"W-we're here to t-take back this runaway soul from our overlord b-boss! Y-yeah, s-so if you don't w-want to e-earn our boss's i-ire, you b-better go a-away!"

Suzuki rubbed his confusion as he heard the shark's words, especially how the shark's group seemed both surprised by him but tried to play it cool.

'Hmm, he's probably lying about this whole thing. Though, I'm curious. Overlords? Could it be an overlord like me, or is he talking about something else? Either way, he's definitely lying about having a 'boss' and is just trying to get me to leave. Though what did he mean runaway soul? Does that mean that this imaginary overlord is a devil in charge of souls or something?'

As Suzuki mulled over the sinner's words, he took a peek at the other demon. From the looks of it, the chimeric demon does look the part of a runaway, leading credence to the shark's story, yet it was easy to tell that these ruined robes don't belong to him, at least from how they seem to tear at the seams from his large size.

'I could step away and let this go on, and not risk facing that so-called overlord of hell does exist. But at the same time, I could help this man and gain some brownie points. Maybe even finally understand why exactly I'm in Hell in my Yggdrasil Avatar.'

'...And besides, helping others in trouble is common sense. Right, Touch-Me?'

The tension in the air was palpable as both parties waited for the skeleton to do something about the situation. And unfortunately for the sharks, he wasn't willing to let them continue.

"Apologies. But I must decline your generous offer. Now, leave or suffer my wrath."

The sharks were now terribly nervous as they are now not only facing the former Head Exorcist, but a terrifying new demon of unknown origins. Yet at the same time, the Undead's faux polite tone and small bow of his head as he threatened the group was humiliating.

And unfortunately to the egotistical sinners, every sin they committed can be traced back to the name of the ring they are now forced, pride.

"All right, that's it!" The small shark blurted out of sheer anger, his machine gun raised as his compatriots mimicked him with their own expressions of anger.

"Kill this sonuvabitch!"

The group began raining upon the skeleton a hail of bullets, tearing into the robes of the undead and soon, shattering his bones to dust, forever erasing him from memory.

Or at least, that's what they hoped to have happened.

As the undead walked towards the group slowly, the bullets didn't even dirty his robes as they harmlessly fell to the ground, as if stopped by an invisible barrier. The Undead's eyes were trained on the group as he didn't show a hint of worry as the rainstorm of bullets began to be concentrated on the large orb in his abdomen, which the sharks hoped was the man's weakness.

Alas, nothing even came close to scratching Suzuki's treasured World Item, which wouldn't have even been damaged regardless of if his {Physical Immunity} skill was active or not.

And soon, the undead was face to face to the sinners, and it was time for them to meet a fate worse than death.

{Aura of Despair: Level IV}

Adam watched with morbid interest and a hint of terror as the sinners dropped their guns and began clutching their heads, screaming and laughing incoherently as madness seems to have overtaken them.

"Hahahaha… I can see it, the Abyss!! Hahahaha!!!"

"Ahhhhh!!! Please, don't take me!!! Aaaaaahhhhh!!!"

The sharks continued their spectacle of frenzy as they began all sorts of horrifying acts. From bashing their heads against the ground of the concrete buildings, vomiting on the ground and swallowing it up and repeating the process, to mutilating themselves as they tore out their eyes and other body parts.

Quite frankly, Adam has seen this sight many times before, whether it be from humans who have experienced the worst of circumstances, or sinners who have been driven to the brink by their overlord masters, making their deaths in the extermination more of a mercy than anything else.

Yet this…

He doesn't know why they suddenly fell victim to mania, or how. But he was most assured that the… skeleton in front of him, who only folded his arms as he gazed at the sorry sight in front of him with indifference, had something to do with it.

Soon, the skeleton seemed to have gotten bored of the horrid state of the sinners as he turned towards the First Man turned sinner, who, though he would never admit it, shivered in fear and shock.

"It is for the best that we depart now or else we'll bring attention to ourselves. I highly doubt that such a scene is commonplace, even in a place like this." The undead spoke as he began floating in the air once more, and to Adam's surprise, he too was floating without his wings.

"W-what t-the-!" The First Man nearly flipped in the air as he tried to stabilize himself, his serpent half not faring any better as it began hissing nervously and fearfully.

"Relax." The deep voice of the undead reached Adam once more. "I noticed that you are unable to use your wings properly before I made my presence known, you can practice with them later on, after we leave."

Adam's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the moment as he gazed at the skeleton in front of him. He has no reason to trust this sinner, (or is he perhaps a hellborn?) but still, he did save him, even if Adam didn't need it, and while he still is suspicious of him, the man obviously showed that he could do whatever he desires regardless of what the First Man does.

Besides, he has nothing better to do considering that he has fallen from Heaven and is a mere sinner now, and if this is his only chance to actually understand his circumstances properly, then he won't look a gifted horse in the mouth.

And so, with a nod of acceptance from the man, Suzuki nodded in turn before flying higher up, with Adam in tow. Leaving the group of unfortunate sinners to their eternal fate.

Sorry for the short chapter, hopefully the next one will be longer than this.

As you can see, we're moving away from the main storyline to focus on the very beginning, how Ainz and Adam first met, the beginning of their little territory, etc. so stay tuned for that.

Also, wanted to say that the next chapter for this will be instead the status sheets for Ainz, Adam and some others (depending on how creative or brain-dead I can get) along with any omakes you guys want me to write.

As usual, thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you can, and have a blessed day.

(I'm leaving the link to my discord server here once again if any of you want to reach out to me quickly since I'm more active there. Plus if you want to find out about news about my fics quicker, this would be much easier.

discord .gg/ 3XM8FBNW)