A group of 20 level 100s are flying through the air across the open fields. In the past, this would've meant that such a group was going to war over some raid or guild base. After all, it was kind of a pain in the ass to get so many people online at the same time to do something.

But today, they were doing the equivalent of flying through a starter zone to help their new friends get experienced in the ways of following orders and not screwing up the player's plan.

It was a group of 9 players and 11 NPCs from Ainz Ooal Gown, flying across the area that Seraphim called the Wilderness.

It was a little crazy that Seraphim called basically the entire continent the Wilderness, but Vagisilious digresses.

They were flying through the center of the continent, ready for a great expedition that would hopefully not explode on itself.

The nine players, Ulbert, Peroroncino, Momonga, Mekongawa, Ankoro, Otanabetabeki, Wasewaru Kakyoku, Punitto Moe, and herself, were meant to supervise the NPCs, which was the main point of this expedition.

The 11 NPCs were composed of most of the level 100 NPCs in Nazarick, Shalltear, Leviathan, Tokino, Cocytus, Aura, Mare, Demiurge, Sebas, Albedo, Pandora's Actor, Liberta Prime.

The only exceptions were Rubedo and Aureole. After all, if Seraphim did somehow manage to find Nazarick while they were out and about, the 8th floor had to be completely ready to fight.

Because of the simple fact that Seraphim likely didn't have much of a grasp over the entire continent, they decided it was the perfect testing ground for their NPCs to do their thing and get feedback from the players. After all, NPCs were just straight up more valuable than the players were, since they could be revived with all of their gear without any level loss if they were killed.

Worst case scenario, that just means they kamikaze the NPCs into Seraphim until they run out of gold. But they intended to just use the NPCs to go into the dangerous zones where it's more likely to find Seraphim members to act as live bait.

But for the smarter NPCs, this is also an opportunity to let their planning skills be shown to their creators to ensure that the way they operated didn't impede on their plans of making sure Seraphim's dystopia turned into a not-dystopia.

So when they found a ruined village after 45 minutes of flying, Momonga called out to everyone, "Let's have a quick stop here, alright everyone?"

As all of the players descended down into the ruined town while all of the NPCs followed.

The town was made of sticks and rock, so it was likely a demi-human village. But there were empty spots where Vagisilious figured there used to be homes, but were destroyed. It was still small, but the fact that the houses were made of simple materials meant that the destruction was recent.

Still, they've encountered the same situation 3 times since they began looking, so it didn't raise any more concerns than it already did. It was already on the list of questions they would ask whoever they met first.

Though, considering how far Vagisilious has looked so far, the actual question that needed to be asked was if anyone was even alive.

As the group split up across the village, Ulbert's immediate first action was to walk up to Vagisilious, with her first response being, "Don't you have other friends to talk to?"

"What? Can I not spend my time with you anymore?" Ulbert questioned, putting an arm around her.

Vagisilious turned intangible using one of her racial skills, forcing Ulbert to stumble as she replied, "I wanted to talk to the NPCs and get a gauge on how they're feeling about this. Go bother Pero or Momonga, okay?"

"Dang," Ulbert cupped his facecheek as though he had been slapped, "Okay, sure."

As Ulbert loudly whined to Peroroncino that he thinks he just got dumped, much to the birdman's dismay, Vagisilious thought of who to question first.

Letting her eyes fall on her own NPCs, Leviathan and Tokino, both of them in their preferred forms, she immediately floated over to them, catching their conversation.

"Lord Beast King Mekongawa and Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi are getting closer, aren't they?" Tokino questioned Leviathan, the two of them staring in those players' direction, "Do you think that's a sign?"

Knowing that this is going to be a fantastic conversation, Vagisilious chose to let Leviathan reply before going in.

Leviathan neutrally hummed, his eyes flitting over to his wife, "Perhaps it is a sign. If Lord Ulbert Alain Odle was able to court our lady, then someone like Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi should be able to gain Lord Beast King Mekongawa's favor."

Tokino's mood immediately dropped upon the reminder that Vagisilious hooked up with Ulbert, "Lord Ulbert Alain Odle! Lord Ulbert Alain Odle! I love Lady Vagisilious, but… Lord Ulbert Alain Odle! Him! Demiurge and I will be related now!" She cried out in dismay, fortunately not attracting the devil's attention.

His face displayed a great deal of pity as Leviathan patted her leg to comfort her, because that's all he could reach with the height difference between their humanoid and monster forms, "It will be fine, my dear."

"Lord Momonga, Lord Punitto Moe, a threesome with Lord Peroroncino and Lady Orphea, a reverse harem! Out of all the possible options, she went with him!" Tokino continued to whine, making Vagisilious confused on the last few options she listed.

When did she make her NPC so freaky?

The conversation started to fade out, so Vagisilious had to step in, "What's this about my relationship?"

Tokino, without even using any of her time spells, completely froze up in embarrassment.

Leviathan answered for her, "We were simply discussing your new relationship with Lord Ulbert Alain Odle. Congratulations, by the way."

A little part of her wanted to tease Tokino more about her whining, but if she did that, she was pretty sure Leviathan would just murder her for embarrassing his wife. So, Vagisilious chose to graciously ignore Tokino's comments about her boyfriend and just giggled instead.

"Thank you," She politely thanked her NPC before getting into the conversation she wanted to initiate, "So, how do you two think this expedition is going to go?"

Tokino managed to recover in time to answer her question, "Considering that this expedition is meant to observe our current understanding of the Supreme Being's plot, I believe it will go smoothly. After our first expedition and our continued operations in Argland, I believe we know the route our masters wish to take in our war against Seraphim."

A very standard response. Vagisilious didn't think Tokino could speak like that, but she supposed that her NPC took after herself in a few ways.

Meanwhile, Leviathan was less optimistic, "The fighters, Cocytus and Sebas, likely understand it. The children stand a better chance. But for all of these so-called geniuses among our ranks… I fear that they have taken the wrong lessons to heart from their fights."

Curious on how he would point out all of the flaws in their NPCs, Vagisilious nudged him to go on, "Can you elaborate on that?"

"Quite simply, their adoration has clouded their judgment. I've already listened to them prattle about how your plans cannot fail no matter what. They've already started to pin any possible failures within those plans on themselves. They fear you will leave once more. Not to mention their malice… I understand, I hold much hate toward those who put me down, but they are allowing that malice to taint any plans they make."

Tokino seemed to want to object a few times during his elaboration, but she allowed him to finish. Now, she seems to just be deferring to Vagisilious.

So, taking those words in, she concocted a response, "Well… That makes sense. They were created to be evil. Now we're telling them to be good, or at least try to be. We just want to see them try before we send you guys without supervision. We need to be able to trust you all. That's what this is all about."

Leviathan shrugged, seemingly unconcerned of his own ability to gain their master's trust, "Then I pray that you will not find us wanting."

Tokino simply nodded, "Right… But, um, Lady Vagisilious? You don't find his words to insult you, right?"

Vagisilious lightly snorted at the worried tone of her NPC, "Tokino, I specifically brought him on to be a dissenting voice. I think I would be more disappointed if he was the exact same as the others."

Was that true? Fuck no. She just wanted a cool NPC with a cool bio.

Is it the story she's stuck with now? Absolutely. She made her bed of nails, now she gets to lie in it.

With those opinions gathered, she decided to go check in on the other NPCs, "Alright, I'm going to talk with some of the others. Stay safe, okay?"

The two of them bid her farewell as she eeny meeny miny moed through the other NPCs and landed on Liberta Prime, who was talking with Shalltear about something.

As Vagisilious silently approached them, she mentally applauded Orphea once more. She really should've stolen that multiple of the same NPC idea for herself. It was just a really cool concept.

"...I doubt Lord Peroroncino or Lady Orphea even considers us as their children," She heard Liberta telling Shalltear.

That was a wild thing to stumble into.

Shalltear seemed dismayed by Liberta's assessment of the situation, "What? Then are we simply just their creations? But not close enough to them to be seen as their children?"

Lifting his hat slightly with his wand, Liberta elaborated, "That is precisely what I am expecting the response to be if asked. We were created to be the defenders of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. We were not created to be children. The fact of the matter is, we do not spend much time with our creators. The bond of family is not merely just through blood, but through love. In that aspect… Well, I believe the type of love they have for us is not what you wish for it to be."

Then, Liberta squinted his eyes, remembering something, "Though the maids… And you in general… Well, it depends on the eye of the beholder, I suppose."

Well, in Vagisilious's own opinion, it would be too weird if the creations were their children. After all, she knows what's going on with, like, half the guild and their maids.

So, she chose to step in, pretending not to hear what was just said, "Hello, you two."

The two immediately knelt down before her, "Lady Vagisilious!"

"You may rise," She permitted as she went on, "How are you feeling about this expedition?"

Shalltear, being the guardian, answered first, "I believe it will go fantastically, my lady! Ever since my failures in the Bad Bad Bathhouse, I have been waiting for the opportunity to avenge my fallen reputation. With this, I can finally clean myself from the stench of failure!"

Did she actually fail that badly during that whole debacle? She honestly sort of forgot. The main thing was that nobody died, some NPCs escaped, and they got a really broken world item out of the mess.

Now that she remembered it existed, she should probably start actually getting it used to suck out the classes of any criminals they have on their hands… They could probably get a lot of people to level 100, even if it was with all garbage common class jobs that would only get your stat points to 500 if you were lucky.

Canon fodder, basically. But with enough gear, dangerous cannon fodder.

Little things like that frustrated her in the fight between them and Seraphim. Ainz Ooal Gown's deck looked so stacked. A world enemy NPC, the knowledge of how levels work and with the specific world item they could use to exploit it to their advantage. Not to mention the overall unity in the guild to not be like Seraphim.

But she knew full well that if the universe worked in the way she thought it would work, Seraphim likely thought they had this war in the bag as well. In fact, they probably did have something in the back that totally justified their thoughts. But how? What could it be?

What combination of world items and NPC batshittery did they have that made them so convinced they could win a war against an equally powerful guild?

…She's getting off-topic. She was supposed to figure out how the NPCs were feeling.

Interrupting her own silence with a cough, she looked to Liberta, "And how are you feeling about this?"

"I am not as interested in the demi-humans as my other colleagues seem to be," Liberta honestly answered, looking over Vagisilious's shoulders, as Demiurge and Albedo were conversing far behind her, "So my interests are not within the realms of this expedition, but of what I will be able to do after it."

Curious, she asked, "Oh? What do you want to do, then?"

"I would like to be deployed to the Dragon Kingdom," Liberta said, immediately making her want to shut it down. But she let him continue, "I have unfinished business with that guild, and I believe the populace there is more noteworthy than the one in Argland or the Holy Kingdom. It will help me reach the divinity you have reached."

While she was pretty sure Principality was very clear on making the Dragon Kingdom a neutral country, she couldn't lie, she was also sort of interested in what Liberta would do there.

"How do you think it'll help you?" Vagisilious asked.

Liberta shrugged, surprising her, "I don't yet know. After all, if I did know, I wouldn't have to go there to find out."

Wow, how surprising to hear him admit that. She likes it.

"Alright, then I'm sure you'll figure it out in the end," She said, turning around, "See ya!"

The two bowed once more as she made her way to Albedo and Demiurge.

The two of them were having a discussion on what the best way to torture a demi-human compared to a human was.

She turned around and made way for Cocytus and Sebas, who were with Mare and Aura.

Cocytus seemed to be fighting a three-on-one as he was facing down the three of them, who all seemed to be disagreeing with him, "I. Do. Not. Believe. That. The. Demi-Humans. Would. Surrender. So. Quickly."

Ah, she immediately got the gist of it. Cocytus must be giving his due credit to the demi-humans they were about to find, while everyone else was disrespecting them.

Sebas was the first to speak, "While I do give myself more credit to the mortals more than others… The Supreme Beings themselves are taking part in this operation. They will fold right away once they realize who they are dealing with."

Aura nodded along, "Exactly! Lord Ulbert Alain Odle is here too! If they try denying him, he'll just destroy their entire village!"

Meekly agreeing, Mare simply said, "Um… Yeah."

Exhaling cold air, Cocytus simply made his dissatisfaction clear.

With that, Vagisilious stepped in, "I'm more on Cocytus's side here."

That surprised them all as they immediately bowed before her presence, "Lady Vagisilious!"

Elaborating, Vagisilious conjures an illusion of a small orc on her hand, "Imagine you're this orc. You've lived here your entire life. Then, suddenly, a group of people, mostly smaller than you, saying they could destroy everything you have in a single spell shows up. Mind you, you don't even know magic. The most things you've seen break was a tree, maybe. Are you sure you're going to believe them at first?"

Aura thinned her lips as she pointed out, "Well, it's a big group. If they can't recognize the strength in, at least, people like Leviathan…"

"If someone came up to you claiming they were a god, would you believe them?" Vagisilious questioned, predictably getting a denial, "Of course. You would have to ask for proof. Of course, there's always the possibility that they blow you up for even asking… Do you want to risk it by believing them? Or do you think they're just bluffing?"

Chipping in with her own thoughts, Mare said, "Isn't it always better to ask for a demonstration of power first, then?"

"If we let them, sure," Vagisilious said, closing her palm, "But sometimes, we don't let them. Every option, whether to submit, scout out for information, or to defy, has its ups and downs. Don't be surprised if people choose an option you don't like"

Sebas simply bowed, "Thank you for your guidance, Lady Vagisilious."

"No problem, but that leads to my next question," She segwayed into her main thing, "So, how do you feel about this expedition?"

Cocytus was the first to answer, "I. Think. It. Will. All. Proceed. As. You. Have. Planned. My. Lady."

Sebas then continued on, "As Cocytus said, I believe we will be able to find the allies you are seeking in this area. I am quite sure they will be a valuable asset for Ainz Ooal Gown in our war against Seraphim."

Aura and Mare shared their answers, "I think it'll go great!" "Um, yeah!"

It was all, just so…

…Boring.

Everyone just sort of gave safe answers. Of course, who wouldn't? She was basically their boss asking them how they thought their company mandated trip was going to go. Of course they gave boring answers. She gave a boring question.

It was why Leviathan and Liberta gave the most interesting answers. Leviathan because he can see the flaws inside of most of the NPCs. Liberta because he has an actual goal outside serving them that he's actively trying to reach, and isn't afraid to say it.

Well, this was meant to be a learning experience. Maybe they'll learn something along the way about what they actually want beyond servitude.

Honestly, even though Demiurge and Albedo kind of scared her off that one time, maybe she should just go talk to them.

Surely, they have something interesting to say, right?

No, they genuinely just wanted to hurt people.

Well, Albedo also wanted to prove herself a better wife for Momonga than Shalltear, so… Yeah, that ticked off the interesting box. She really wanted to know where that went.

Demiurge though. Wow. Yikes. Ulbert sure made one of the NPCs of all time with that one.

Flying beside her, Ulbert had a suspicious look on his face as he inquisitively questioned her, "You were just thinking something bad about me, weren't you?"

"No. But if I did, you'll never know why."

"It was Demiurge, wasn't it?"

"Wow, I guess I'm wrong. You did know why."

Eventually, although it took almost a full hour, they found an actual demi-human village with actual people in it.

Their houses were made out of stone, so a bit more advanced than the sticks and rocks of earlier villages. But this was still only a settlement of a few hundred people at best.

It also seemed to be a settlement of only goat-people. Like Ulbert.

Punitto assessed the situation quickly and decided, "Alright, Ulbert, you're up."

"Eh? Why me?" Ulbert questioned, "Isn't this for the NPCs?"

"They need an example. Go set it."

"Ugh, fine."

Ulbert reluctantly lowers himself to the village, grabbing their attention as a falling demon was a very unique thing to find in the sky.

Basically instantaneously, the entire village is alerted to Ulbert's arrival.

At the same time, the gaze of all of the NPCs was placed squarely on him, taking in every part of him to imitate it later on.

Creating a crown of flames using a cash shop cosmetic, Ulbert loudly announced, "Oh, small village! I am the great Ulbert Alain Odle! Prove your loyalty to me by kneeling before me!"

Despite his insistence, nobody kneeled.

Finding this curious, Ulbert tilted his head and asked, "Oh? Now this is a unique response."

The presumed village chief, an old looking man, stepped up with his ghastly voice, "We Bafolk are no strangers to false prophets. What is even more blasphemous is that you claim to be our God himself. Lord Ulbert Alain Odle would not descend upon our tiny village named Ulberta. There are dozens of villages with the same name. We have nothing to offer."

Vagisilious couldn't hold in the snort that came with the information that they seriously named their cities Ulberta. She finds Ulbert only barely managed to hold it in.

"Hmph," Ulbert crossed his arms, schooling his expression and figuring out his next course of action, "I suppose that is fair. After all, I cannot expect mortals to know what true divinity looks like… Very well. One, singular request. That is what I offer you for your knee."

Narrowing his eyes, the village chief did not buy it, "What if I choose something outside of your capabilities?"

"You will not," Ulbert confidently stated.

Quite frankly, in her mind, Ulbert was done for. The village chief could do the funniest thing right now.

"Very well, obtain our ancestors from your realm," The village chief requested, doing the funniest thing.

Ulbert could not, in fact, go to Hell to revive their ancestors.

Ulbert flatly stared at them.

Then, he sighed, "Well, I suppose this was my fault for allowing you to choose. [Maximize Boost Twin Triplet Magic: Meteor Fall]."

ULBERT YOU FUCKING IDIOT-

Thankfully, everything worked out once the melee trio of Mekongawa, Ankoro, and Otanabetabeki took out two meteors each, and Wasewaru casted mass sleep while Vagisilious casted mass amnesia on the village, making them forget out Ulbert's tomfoolery.

"Right, so that was a bad example of what to do, everyone," Momonga flatly told all of their NPCs, "When you're trying to get people on your side, you pick the conditions. After all, sometimes, you're just unable to fulfill some things."

Ulbert crossed his arms like a little child, "Oh, come on, it was funny!"

That was the story that they had to stick with now. That Ulbert was trying to be funny.

For some reason, the moment they figured out that it was supposed to be a joke, the NPCs went from dumb-struck and confused, to laughing and cheerful.

It shouldn't have worked, but if it works, it works.

"It was," Momonga conceded before reminding him, "We're not trying to be funny."

"I was backed into a corner, man. What was I supposed to do?"

"Why is your first instinct to cast maximize boost twin triplet magic meteor fall?"

As the two were bickering with each other, Punitto turned to address the NPCs, "So, what Momonga said. Ulbert honestly should've just shown more of his power before speaking. Maybe summon a few demons to make him look like what they actually think of Ulbert as."

Demiurge raised his hand.

"Yes, Demiurge?" Punitto allowed him to speak.

Demiurge eyed the sleeping Bafolk as he asked, "If we are simply going to tell them that we defeated them, thus they belong to us… Is it not worth doing that for all of the villages we come across, instead of trying to negotiate and risk the chance of resistance as Lord Ulbert Alain Odle came across?"

"Well, Vagisilious isn't going to come save you every time you fail, unlike Ulbert, who will always get saved by her," Punitto pointed out, getting an dismayed hawk from the two of them, "So, if you do it right the first time, we won't have this issue."

"...So what's the right way for us?" Mare quietly asked.

Silence ensued.

Mekongawa threw his arm around Punitto Moe's shoulder, "See, that's for you guys to figure out. Get them on our side while following our instructions. We want 0 deaths, for them to not feel scared, and for them to join willingly. We're trying to get some good, friendly people on our side. We're just here to grade you guys."

Somehow, that works out just fine, as Demiurge slyly smiled, "So this is a test… I see! Thank you for your faith, my lords!"

Running with his narrative, Punitto simply nodded, "Exactly right, exactly right… So, Vaggy, can you wake up all of the villagers so we can speak to them?"

Right on cue, she snapped her fingers, causing the sleeping Bafolk to quit slumbering.

The village chief is the first to speak, "Ah, what a dream… And who are all of you- augh?!"

The chief finally noticed the diverse cast of races that were standing around them. Which included Tokino and Vagisilious, who looked very much like the one in their legends, and Ulbert, who looked pretty menacing sitting criss-cross applesauce mid-air with flames beneath him.

This time, Punitto Moe was the one to speak for the group, "We are the servants of the great Ulbert Alain Odle. I am Punitto Moe. Will you answer our questions?"

The Bafolk chief's finger shakily pointed towards Ulbert, stuttering out, "I-I-Is that him? Lord Ulbert Alain Odle?"

"Indeed I am," Ulbert boredly answered, taking the route of being evil, "I am in a foul mood. If your next words are not to offer me a sacrifice, or answer the questions of my lessers, it will be your head."

Vagisilious narrowed her eyes at Ulbert just casually saying that everyone was his lessers. She's going to have very strong words for him about that.

"Of course! Of course!" The Bafolk chief quickly turned to Punitto Moe, "I will answer any question you may have! My name is Odale, I am honored to be able to speak to you!"

Once again, every player there had to stifle a chuckle at yet another person being named after Ulbert. That guy from Slane really did them all a favor by telling everyone about Ulbert because he was salty that they lost World Disaster to him.

"Good, then my first question is what nation do you belong to?" Punitto asked.

Triggering a memory, Odale forlornly sighed, "Well, currently, we belong to no nation or larger tribe. It all fell apart after the Angels killed all of our leaders, causing the ambitious to rise up and cause civil war."

Well, that answered what Seraphim was doing over here. Triggering instability and civil war to avoid having to deal with a united entity over here.

How fun.

"Then are the ruins we saw on the way here a result of that civil war?" Punitto continued to ask, slightly leaned down to Odale's level of sight, as Punitto was taller.

Odale thought about it for a moment before answering, "Some of them, yes. But many others are the result of the Angel's wrath. Many places who did not offer up their leaders and their bloodlines, and all those surrounding them, were simply just annihilated."

Oh, so genocide too.

How fun.

Punitto awkwardly stared at him, a bit uncomfortable with that knowledge, "Uh, well then… Do you know any names from their side?"

Nodding, Odale started listing names, "Indeed, we have been able to pass down many names from our survivors. Adao, the butcher. Adam, the torturer. Pendragon, the Honorable. Yharnam, the Faceless. Hassan I Sabbah, the Dark. Them, and their countless angels who follow them…"

Turning around, Punitto started asking around, "Alright, do we know any of these names?"

Wasewaru raised his hand, "Isn't Pendragon one of Seraphim's first level 100 NPCs that you have to fight if you go into their guild base?"

He only vaguely remembered that name because of the fact that people on the Yggdrasil forums kept complaining about the knockback attacks he did, knocking everyone off the guild base and triggering the world item, Praise The Lord, which killed them.

So, it was somewhat ironic that the moniker they gave him was the Honorable, as nothing he did was honorable.

Nodding along, Punitto also pointed out, "Right, and Adam was that one NPC you guys fought in Re-Estisize, right?"

Unfortunately, nobody who actually participated in that fight was present, so they couldn't answer that question.

Beyond that, all of the other names were new.

With that, Punitto turned to Odale, "So, what's the reason for their titles? What can you tell us about them?"

"It is better to die at some hands more than others," Odale said, clearing his throat, ready to monologue again, "To start with, Pendragon the Honorable was named so because he was the one who left the most survivors in the scenarios where he was forced to fight. He accepts surrender very easily, and tends to let anyone who runs escape. In contrast, the only reason we know of Adao the Butcher is because someone was smart enough to run the moment they heard his name. Adao the Torturer, meanwhile, is a cruel being who makes death slow and painful."

Slowly breathing, holding in his emotions, Odale continued, "Yharnam, the Faceless, is an angel without emotion. His head is covered by a veil we cannot pierce, and his body only moves with precise strikes. It is as though he slaughters only to fulfill his duty. Lastly, Hassan I Sabbah the Dark. He is like a demon, covered in black ink. His magic suffocates men, women, and children to death. He is unlike anything the Angels have forced upon us…"

With all the information Odale has given, they learned a grand total of basically nothing. It was a bunch of cool lore, maybe it hints to their builds, and they'll definitely see them sometime soon. But that wasn't really as in-depth as they needed it to be to start actually preparing countermeasures against them.

Still, that wasn't their fault. After all, they were level 5s going against level 100s. There was nothing they could do to get them to show any spell beyond basic AoE attacks.

So, Punitto said, "Alright, thank you. Now, onto other things… Describe this civil war. Is it still ongoing?"

Odale shook his head, "While we have yet to unify, all of our leaders are periodically killed by the Angels every year. It is why we have created the council system, where five of our leaders form a council and elect one head, who will be sacrificed to the Angels when they come."

"So you're not the true leader?" Punitto questioned.

"I am," Odale reassured them, lightly bowing, "It is simply the acknowledgement that I will be the first to die if the Angels ever come to our village."
If Seraphim was targeting the heads of every village to get them to never unify, then that was a fairly smart way of getting around it. Props to them.

"I see, so what about the civil war?" Punitto got him back on track.

Odale hummed for a few moments before answering, "We are far away from the main areas where the civil war is occuring. To my knowledge, however, there are still many groups attempting to take the Khan's legacy. Without the Sage's Authority or the Favor of Dragons, however, there is no clear victor in that chaos."

"Khan's legacy? Sage's Authority? The Favor of Dragons?" Punitto asked the obvious.

Odale used his feet to create a small image of what he was talking about, first creating a minotaur head, "The Khan's legacy refers to our previous ruler, Lord Minafal. He was a Minotaur in charge of the Horde, which was what led us all in unity 10 years ago. He was ultimately killed by the Angels, which triggered this chaos in the first place."

Continuing on to draw a set of armor and a cutlass, he continued, "The Sage's Authority was what the founder of the Horde wore many centuries ago. It was a powerful set of armor and weapon, making our leader unbeatable, even to many dragons. King Crete was a mighty minotaur, whose blade, Divine Departure, was so strong, it could send dragons flying many miles away. He was also a talented mage, who could cause calamity with a single spell. But in the end, his old age had caught up to him, and The Primordial Dragon Lord was ultimately the one to put him down. After that, his gear was to be given to every king after him. Until, of course, the Angels stole it all."

Then, he moved on, creating the symbol of a dragon on the dirt, "Which led to the last thing, the Favor of Dragons. Due to King Crete's defeat all those years ago, the Horde was made subordinate to the dragons of this area. If anyone wanted to rule the horde, the dragon lords would have to approve of them to both wear the gear of their old rival, and to lead the Horde to war, wherever they tread. This has become irrelevant with the Dragon Lords' demise at the hands of the Angels, however."

After his explanation finished, he asked, "Did that explanation satisfy you, my lords?"

"It did, thank you," Punitto politely thanked, "Now give us a moment."

Turning back to the group, he immediately pointed out the obvious, "So, Crete was a player, right? Divine Departure, that's what Apollyon was carrying back then. Guess this is where he got it from."

Momonga then reminded everyone, "That gear is in the hands of Seraphim now. It might be in the hands of one of their native warriors, if they have a program like that. I doubt they would just keep it in their treasury. Unless they have a picture of it, though, I'm not sure what that gear could be specifically. It's not that important, but we should just have a note of it."

"Maybe Crete also brought his NPCs along?" Mekongawa questioned, "Hey, Odale, do you know if there were any sort of notably strong advisors that Crete brought with him?"

Odale shook his head, "I have never heard of his advisors being particularly capable…"

"I guess not, then," Mekongawa said, crossing his arms, "So, they're having a good old fashioned civil war with none of the special things to mark a ruler."

It sure was odd, but there was an opportunity for Ainz Ooal Gown to come in and crown someone as the king of the Horde.

Replace the Khan's Legacy with their own. Replace the Sage's Authority with gear from their own treasury. Replace the Favor of Dragons with the blessings of a (fake) god.

Yes, that seemed like a perfect plan.

So, Momonga said, "Then our task in this wilderness will be to unify the Horde and unite it under the banner of Ainz Ooal Gown. Odale, do you have a map, by any chance?"

"Why, yes, we do. It is rather old, though. Many of the locations present on the map have been destroyed," Odale answered, slightly fearful of the undead mage.

"Please, grab it for us," Momonga asked, making the Bafolk run towards a building.

Then, he turned to the group, "So, let's split up now, shall we? The odds of us running into the Seraphim are low, but make sure you follow all of our rules and procedures anyway. It would be a disaster for one of our groups to be caught and us to be unaware. So, here's the deal…"

Ulbert and Vagisilious would be sticking together, that's a given. They were given the responsibility of looking after Cocytus and Mare.

Though, given the two players' nature of frequently going "Fuck it we ball," it was more like Cocytus and Mare were looking after the two players.

From the map Odale provided them with, the locations of small villages and cities were given to them. Some of them were lucky enough to be marked what faith they followed, a lot of which was the Cult of Ulbert Alain Odle. So their task was to go to all of those cult cities and drag them over to their side.

It should be a pretty easy deal. After all, they have the actual Ulbert Alain Odle with them. But knowing their luck, it was probably going to go south at one point or another.

So, standing in front of the gates of the major city of Cremor, Ulbert told everyone, "Okay, Cocytus, Mare, this entire operation hinges on you two. Vaggy and I are going to go invisible and watch you two from a distance, okay? But call out to us if you need any help. But consider that a last resort."

Cocytus and Mare both deeply bow, vowing to make them proud as they turned around and walked towards the gate.

Meanwhile, Vagisilious was busy checking in on everyone with her divination.

Everything was fine right now, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be fine in a few moments.

Ulbert, however, didn't see it that way, "Come on, babe. We just split up not even an hour ago. You trust them not to get in trouble so soon, right?"

"I trust them to not get into trouble," Vagisilious said, gently floating next to Ulbert, "I don't trust anyone else to not get them into trouble, though."

Hugging her with one arm, Ulbert buried his face into her neck as he pointed out, "They'll be fine, Vaggy. Why would Seraphim be out right now anyway? They should be looking inside the Holy Kingdom for Nazarick, which is going to take forever anyway."

Leaning into him, she sighed, "I'm just worried. That's all there is to it."

"Hey, I am too. I'm just not thinking about it."

"I wish I could not think about it," She enviously said, "I'm the divination player. I have to keep an eye on you guys."

Ulbert paused.

"Actually, yeah, that makes sense," Ulbert conceded, hugging her close, "Man, they have you and Nubo worked to the bone, don't they?"

Snorting, Vagisilious complained, "That's an understatement. Everyone wants me working 24/7 holed up in Argland all of the time trying to track everyone. Honestly, I should be in Argland 24/7 trying to track everyone. Me being out here is super nonoptimal."

"Who cares about trying to be optimal?" Ulbert said, "It's not a game anymore, we've got time to kill while both sides are just trying to figure out where each other are."

"And trying to pick off people who are isolated enough," She pointed out, "We're very isolated. We have to make sure they can't pick us off without us noticing."

Ulbert just sighed, "Well, yeah. But we can afford to put down our guard every now and then. I'm saying this is that now."

Reluctantly, Vagisilious removes all of her divination screens.

"If this goes wrong, I'm going to kill you."

"In bed?"

"In real life."

"Dang."

Upon the guards of Cremor laying their eyes upon the two Floor Guardians, they quickly sent the birdman to fly above the walls to alert those inside. Meanwhile, the snakeman immediately brandished their spear against them.

Cocytus supposed that his form was the reason for this response. They must've realized that he was a formidable warrior far beyond their capabilities to handle.

So, before they got in a comfortable range with the guard, he told Mare, "I. Will. Let. You. Speak. So. They. Are. More. Comfortable."

Surprised, Mare tried to protest, "Um, but you speak more confidently than I do…"

"That. Is. Something. That. Should. Be. Worked. On." Cocytus stated, "Our. Flaws. Must. Be. Fixed. So. That. We. May. Serve. The. Supreme. Beings. To. Our. Fullest. Extent."

Blinking, Mare understood, "I see… Okay, I'll do it!"

With that, they finally reached the point where the guards felt comfortable to shout at them, "State your purpose!"

Mare stopped walking, so Cocytus did as well.

Then, Mare shouted, "I am Mare, and this is Cocytus! We are one of the Floor Guardians of Nazarick! We seek your city's power to be added to the army of the Great Ulbert Alain Odle!"

According to what the natives of this land told the Supreme Beings, Lord Ulbert Alain Odle's name had gotten here first, and the smart ones all began worshipping him, even if they didn't know the names of the other Supreme Beings. So invoking his name was the best course of action to get what they want.

"Floor Guardians of Nazarick…?" The snakeman faltered, not sure what to say, "Where… Where is the proof?! There are thousands of others who have tried to claim something similar! They are all dead!"

Mare remembered this lesson specifically. Lord Ulbert Alain Odle let the natives choose how to prove it, and they asked for something unreasonable. So they would have to provide them with proof before they asked for something dumb.

In addition, he would have to do it without harming anyone…

Thinking of a spell, Mare raised his staff, "[Abundance of Wood]!"

The stone wall suddenly shifted, losing its color and becoming dark oak wood.

The weapon that the guard held suddenly petrified into wood, becoming much less effective.

Then, the land around them suddenly started to grow trees for half a mile around them.

There was not a natural forest in the plains for miles, but now all of a sudden, there were enough trees to heat them for an entire winter.

A demonstration of power. What Lord Punitto Moe claimed was the easiest way to gain the respect of someone weaker than you.

"I…" The snakemen looked dumbstruck, not sure what to say. Eventually, he folded, "I will lead you to our leaders."

Knowing that it had gone well, Mare happily smiled, "Thank you!"

Then, they wait for a second.

"Uh, the system to open the gate turned to wood too!" A voice came from over the wall, "We can't open it!"

That was Cocytus' cue to act, "Allow. Me."

The snakeman gulped, "Um, what are you going to do?"

5 seconds later, there was no gate to speak of.

Inside of the Hall of The Fall Council, everyone had gathered.

Listening to the gate guard's story, Warhead Horvaloy could only think of it as absurd.

As the two beings were standing in front of him, surrounded by the Fall Council, undeterred by the amount of power concentrated in that room, he thought it was likely truer than not.

The massive wolfman curiously looked at the warrior of the two. According to the report, he apparently wasn't the leader. The small child was.

While he was no fan of the scripture that dominated the minds of this city, he did know that deception was one of the many things Ulbert utilized to his advantage. The child likely used her looks to her advantage as well.

So, leaning down to the little girl, Horvaloy asked her, "So, little elven child… What brings you here, heralding a false god?"

Mare blinked, "Um, I thought you followed the words of Lord Ulbert Alain Odle?"

"A group of three recently entered this city…" Horvaloy said, standing upright and sticking his large sword into the ground, "They claim that false prophets are now roaming this land, carrying the name of Ulbert Alain Odle with them. I assume you are those false prophets, carrying lies."

"...But we still follow the words of Lord Ulbert Alain Odle?" Mare pointed out. Even if they were trying to lie, they still followed the same god, right?

Horvaloy chuckled, "Ulbert Alain Odle has not made his appearance a single time since the Angels came to slaughter us all. He is a false god. The others on this council may disagree, but my word is law, for I am the strongest."

Blinking, Mare said, "So… You don't want to join Argland?"

"No," Horvaloy picked up his sword, pointing it at the small child, "Now leave this city, or die!"

Turning to her companion, Mare asked, "Um, Cocytus…"

Suddenly, the large frost insect pulled out a halberd out of nowhere, "If. You. Do. Not. Submit. Willingly. You. Must. Submit. By. Force."

Cocytus was a strong warrior. Horvaloy could see that. The rest of the Fall Council could see that as well as they picked up their own weapons.

But that shall not make a difference.

"We will never submit," Horvaloy growled, ready to pounce.

Then, suddenly…

"Cocytus, Mare, stand down. This is a fight that does not benefit our cause."

The room suddenly started to suffocate Horvaloy's spirit as a being of pure evil walked into the room as though he owned it.

Knowing who he was, he did actually own it.

"Impossible…" Barely managing to utter a word, he watches in fear as the two servants bow before the demon and fairy walking into the room.

With a suave flick of his arm to his head, the demon simply told him, "Impossible is a word that mortals like to tell themselves to convince them that failure is just fine, and is an inevitability. Obviously, we gods do not subscribe to such false notions."

"You are…" One of the other Fall Council uttered out in fear.

"Ulbert Alain Odle," He finished, not even bowing, "Your God."

Immediately, everyone but Horvaloy got the message and threw their weapons to the floor and their heads just as fast.

But Horvaloy did not do anything. He stood tall. Equal parts defiant and terrified.

The God curiously observes him, "You are terrified, but still you stand. Tell me, why do you hold your head up so high?"

"I…" Swallowing his fear, Horvaloy speaks, "You are not my god. There is no such thing as a god. There are only mortals in this world."

He knows full well that he is lying to himself.

The Angels were gods. The demon in front of him is a god.

The fear within his heart may as well be a god.

Smiling, Ulbert gave him his answer, "You hold up your head high because you are delusional. That is a very good answer. I enjoy it very much."

Turning around, he asked Cocytus, "So, little servant of mine, what do you think we should do with him? After all, this is still your test."

"He. Should. Be. Put. Down. For. Now. Showing. You. Respect." Cocytus answered.

But Ulbert Alain Odle wagged his finger in denial, "Ah, ah, ah. Wrong answer. After all, 0 deaths, remember? And if I were insulted by every small disrespect… Well, there would be very few following my name. After all, a god must be as benevolent as he is powerful in order to gain followers through adoration rather than fear."

Not speaking at all for a moment, Cocytus thought of his next answer slowly.

Then, he was able to come up with the correct answer, "Forgive. Him?"
"Exactly right," Ulbert praised, before turning to Mare, "Now, Mare, what did you need to do after this?"

Mare jumped up at being called on for a moment before answering, "Ah, handing them the necessary means of communication?"

Nodding, Ulbert said, "Exactly. Now, Horvaloy…"

Horvaloy froze, not sure what to say.

"Be sure to follow all of his orders, alright?" He said, jabbing his thumb at Mare.

His? That's a boy?

…What a master of deception Lord Ulbert Alain Odle was.

"...Yes, my lord," Horvaloy answered like the good dog he was.

"Very good," Ulbert turned around to leave, "I'll leave you two to it for now. Meet us once you've finished up here."

Cocytus and Mare deeply bowed, stating their understanding and thanking them for saving them from conflict.

With that, the Demon Lord left the room.

"That went surprisingly well," Vagisilious commented to Ulbert as he was sitting on the city walls.

Proudly crossing his arms, he stated the obvious, "Of course it went well! I'm the great god, Ulbert Alain Odle! Don't you know?"

"Don't get full of yourself now," She warned, pulling up her divination screens again to check if everything was fine, "Pretty sure there's a few myths about your arrogance being your downfall."

Puffing out his chest, he said, "Well, I'm better than them."

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair…"

"...Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"One of those myths about arrogance being your downfall."

"Oh."

With that, they kept talking about random things while waiting for Cocytus and Mare to come back as they checked up on the status of the other guild members.

Then, they would go on to take over another location.

Knowing was half the battle. And half the battle was practically over as the very first village they encountered basically gave them all the information they needed to know within these lands.

But, of course, there was always the possibility that the information given to them was flawed. So everyone had to keep their guard up.

That being said…

Momonga happily hummed inside his head in silence as he watched Demiurge and Albedo talk about how to turn the city in front of them in favor of Argland.

The city, Ulalod, suspiciously close to just being another version of Ulbert Alain Odle, was just recently conquered by another army. So the army is still inside the city and they were discussing how they could use that to their advantage.

Sure, the way they wanted to use it to their advantage was morally bankrupt, but at least they were going through multiple ideas and poking holes in them, thus increasing their capabilities.

Punitto quietly questioned him, "Hey, Momonga… Are you sure that this is going to turn out all right?"

Momonga nodded, "Of course. Isn't it interesting to watch them work?"

He graciously ignored the topic of what they were working together on. But still, it was exciting to watch their creations do their thing, alive.

"It is, sure," Punitto conceded, before getting back, "But the topic they're working on… They're bloodthirsty, aren't they?"

"That's just the consequence of our actions," Momonga sighed, "If we weren't an evil roleplay guild, our NPCs would be a lot easier to handle…"

Punitto sighed with him, "I know. That's one thing I'm jealous about with Seraphim…"

Their conversation ended at that point, as Demiurge and Albedo began to move, their plan perfected.

Walking past the guards, invisible, the two of them had enough time for a conversation.

"Demiurge?" Albedo opened up the conversation. Not hearing him deny her, she continued, "What do you think of these demi-humans?"

Demiurged responded without looking at any of them, "They are beneath us, they are slightly above the humans, what of it?"

Albedo hummed, "But the Supreme Beings quite like them, given we are courting them so peacefully like this. Why do you think that is?"

Demiurge mulls it over for a moment before answering, "It likely has to do with their unique constitution involving their levels and gear. They have a lot of potential, so the Supreme Beings are trying to pick out the special ones from the crowd."

Walking up the steps to the second level of the occupied city, they walk by another patrol of warriors. They were getting closer to their destination.

"Perhaps," Albedo had a small gleam in her eyes as she suggested her own theory, "Could it be, perhaps, there is an alternative agenda we don't know yet?"

He was ready to dismiss it out of hand. After all, the Supreme Beings would never hide such a crucial part of their plans from them like that…

…But he didn't know that, did he?

Demiurge thought it over a few times, thinking of what they could possibly need these lesser beings for. Then, why did he need to think of it? If the Supreme Beings had an agenda they wanted to keep hidden, then they did not need to know it.

But what if it was a test?

"Maybe…" Demiurge slowly said, tasting different theories on his tongue, none of them satisfactory, "So the question is, what for?"

Albedo satisfactorily hummed, seeing that she was ahead on this topic, "I was speaking to Liberta recently. We were talking about the formation of a new perspective, and how it could possibly work. But as we were talking, the more we discovered… It seems as though the Supreme Beings are also working towards the same goal as he is."

Working towards creating another… NPC?

Demiurge immediately latches onto what she's laying down, "Are you suggesting that the Supreme Beings are attempting to use the Empty Canvas and using these mortals as a base to create more NPCs?"

"That may be," Albedo confirmed, opening the door to where the ruler was indulging in food, "Seraphim is a worthy enemy for Ainz Ooal Gown, but our masters are not interested in an even fight. That is why Leviathan and Tangaroa exist. But the means used to create them are no longer in their hands… Or so we thought."

Demiurge's eyes widened, "You believe it is possible that the Supreme Beings intend to break the limit of what is possible using the bodies of these mortals?"

"Indeed," Albedo smiled, "To that end, we must find the most powerful mortals possible… And what other group could suit the need? The demi-humans and the heteromorphs. We are in search of a person so naturally powerful, it dwarves even the dragons… And we will be able to take their power for ourselves, empowering us to heights unseen."

Such a tempting idea…

…Yet, so foolish.

"Is it wise of them to place so much power in their subordinates?" Demiurge questioned, "If I were them, I would focus on empowering the Supreme Beings themselves rather than lowly servants like us."

Smiling, Albedo stopped as she looked at the overweight orc who was the warlord leading the army.

She replied to him, "As they say, they are benevolent gods. They are already much more powerful beyond our imagination. They would simply like to keep the pretense of being able to be defeated."

"I see…" Demiurge smiled as he continued with the plan, taking out a large chest of Demon's Gold, "They truly are the most benevolent rulers we could've asked for."

"Indeed," Albedo agreed, "Now… How shall we introduce ourselves?"

Demiurge stood tall in front of the room, "Attention! I am Demiurge, creation of the great Ulbert Alain Odle! My master has little patience, so listen to my voice, or face annihilation!"

In the end, they had chosen greed. They would later regret it as the Demon's Gold would soon turn into tiny monsters that would bite at their finger. But by then, they would be completely under their thumb, unable to resist their power.

But with that out of the way, they could now question Warlord Nalzath on the civil war within the former Horde.

With as much politeness as Albedo could possibly fit inside of her voice, she asked, "So, Sir Nalzath, could you please update us on the progress of this civil war you're in? I'm afraid we're a few years behind on where the lines are drawn."

The orc warlord chuckled as he pointed to the map on the wall, "Do you see that city in the middle? Asterius? The former capital of the Horde… Well, that, and practically everything east of it, is currently owned by Warlord Algore, an ogre. Everything to the west is split up in 12 groups, but we've all agreed to take on Algore for now, so we're all fighting his armies right now while the Angels won't come for another few months."

Visualizing it in her head, she then questions, "If you win against Algore, will the country fall into strife once more as the remainders rise up against his previous administration and the other warlords fight amongst each other? I notice that many of your soldiers were children. Are you sure it's sustainable?"

"Who cares if it's sustainable?" Nalzath questioned, Sitting up straight, "It's war. We want to rule the Horde, so we're all fighting for the right to lead. Anything less would disrespect the great Ulbert Alain Odle."

It was wasteful, and such waste would disrespect him greatly.

After all, every drop of blood spilled amongst each other was a drop of blood that his enemies kept.

But Albedo did not point that out, instead saying, "Thank you. So all we have to do is unite all of those warlords under our banner."

"You're strong, but are you that strong?" Nalzath questioned, biting down on a leg from some other sentient creature and talking with his mouth full, "These years of wars have hardened us all. Are you implying you're above it all?"

"We are the servants of the great Ulbert Alain Odle," Albedo simply said, "He has commanded us to take control of the remainders of the Horde, and so we shall. If we were not capable of doing it, we would not have been told to do so."

Swallowing, Nalzath asked, "Is he in physical form? Can we see him soon?"

"Yes, you shall," Confirmed Albedo, "Once we gather all of the warlords together, Ulbert Alain Odle will make his appearance."

"I look forward to it," Nalzath simply said as he washed down his food with ale.

After that, there wasn't much to do except to find another warlord.

"I'm~ working on the rail~road, all the live-long day…" Wasewaru sang in the town square, attracting everyone with ears to him.

"I don't know the lyrics so I'm singing to pass the time away~!" Otanabetabeki finished, immediately turning off everyone who was listening.

Both Sebas and Pandora's Actor went to recruit the Warlord to their side, as once Albedo & Demiurge figured out who rules this territory, they decided it would be more efficient to go and recruit the warlords instead of the individual villages.

That way, they would probably finish recruiting the entire remnants of the Horde within the day. Then tomorrow, Ulbert could do his thing and show off his roleplay skills.

Wasewaru scowled at the large tanuki player, "Come on, dude. You just ruined my thing."

Chuckling, Otanabetabeki apologized to the male siren, "Sorry, man. I'd be bored if I didn't, though. Let's just call ourselves even?"

The tanuki raised his fist for a fistbump.

The siren reluctantly takes it.

Sighing, Wasewaru asked him, "So, how do you think Pandora's Actor and Sebas are doing? I know Pandora's Actor was acting kind of weird, but I guess that's how Momonga likes his NPCs."

Tilting his head, Otanabetabeki pointed out, "That's kind of rude to say. He can act however he wants."

"You're only saying that because you made that weird ass torturer guy," Wasewaru countered, "Anyhow, wanna check in on those two?"

Shrugging, he agreed, "Sure, why not?"

"Sebas, I believe you are fully capable of understanding the magnitude of the crime you have committed," "Yamaiko" said, her arm holding off Sebas' leg from hitting the lion demi-human on the floor.

With a sturdy expression, Sebas stated, "Indeed I do, Pandora's Actor. However, if you recall, this fool attacked first."

The rest of the warlord's guards had already fled the scene now that they understood the power standing over their fallen warlord. They did not want to find out if that hurricane would come for them.

All that was left in the room were the two NPCs and the human livestock that was being offered to them.

"Oh, I understand perfectly, my friend!" Pushing Sebas away, "Yamaiko" cracked their knuckles, "You have a soft spot for these humans. So you inadvertently broke one of their cultural norms by denying to eat these humans, and he lashed out with a weak swing of his claws. You replied beyond the duties of your station by nearly killing him."

Nodding, all he said was, "I have no excuse. It is exactly as you said."

"Yamaiko" sighed, their skin falling apart, revealing the faceless doppelganger underneath, "Sebas! Are you not a loyal dog of the 41 Supreme Beings, who have graciously come back to us?! You risk everything by not following their direct orders to the stroke of every letter!"

Walking away, Sebas replied, "Then we shall ask Lord Wasewaru Kakyoku and Lord Otanabetabeki for their judgment. That is the proper means of punishment for one such as I."

"You speak as though you have no regrets," Pandora's Actor pointed out, "Why?"

Remembering something his creator said, Sebas simply recited his words.

"Saving someone in trouble is common sense," He said, imagining the day his creator said these words to him, "We may not be able to save everyone, nor will I pretend that I will save everyone who comes across my path. But if I am unable to save someone in front of me asking for help, then I have no right to call myself a good man."

Pandora's Actor immediately knew who he was reciting, "Lord Touch Me's words…? You act upon your creator's word then, I see. My apologies for assuming the worst of you."

The only thing worse than defying the words of the Supreme Beings was to ignore the wisdom of your very creator.

With teary eyes, the humans begged for Sebas to save them. Touch Me's creation answered.

There was no fault in this. For every creation was the personified will of their creator.

Sebas had long left the room, but the warlord was still breathing. How inconsiderate of him, he should've been dead the moment his claws dared to breach upon Lord Touch Me's ideals.

The World Champion's blade fell on the warlord.

"Huh," Was the entirety of the response Wasewaru could concoct in light of that information.

It was basically Sebas taking justice into his own hands, using Touch's words to justify himself.

It wasn't like the worst thing that could happen. But it was still kind of inconvenient because now they just killed a dude that led their tribe…

…Although, there is that council system in place.

"It's alright, guys," Otanabetabeki waved it off, "I probably would have done something similar. We'll just contact the others, and we'll get it cleared up."

Deeply bowing, Sebas thanked their generosity, "Thank you, my lords."

The end result was that, quite simply, the big meeting would be delayed by a few hours so the council could pick another warlord to join them.

Those few hours turned into a day due to the fact it was getting late.

In that time, yet more important things would happen.

Ankoro narrowed her eyes at Mekongawa as she heard the news, "They want us to stay out here for longer?! Come on, man! We just recruited everyone!"

The five of them were sitting in the capital of the Horde, Asterius, after they had gone through the arduous task of convincing the warlord, Algore, to submit to the cult of Ulbert Alain Odle.

It took Leviathan turning into his massive dragon form to finally convince him that Ulbert Alain Odle might have finally descended and is enacting his plans.

It also involved a few crushed buildings because Leviathan was being a bit petty. But that's neither here nor there.

Mekongawa helplessly shrugged, "Well, blame Pandora's Actor and Sebas, I guess? They were the ones who killed that warlord."

"What? The NPCs?" She confusedly asked, "Why?"

The lion-like heteromorph blandly said, "I don't know, man. Stop asking me."

The female dog heteromorph blandly said, "I want answers and you are going to get them for me."

"Absolutely not," Mekongawa made an X with his arms, "If you want answers, go message them yourselves."

Narrowing her eyes, she said, "I think you just don't like me."

"Aw, come on, I like you," Mekongawa sighed, looking away from her, "But anyway, we've got a few hours to kill. We sent the NPCs on a random quest to look for anything interesting, maybe we should go help them?"

"Nah," Ankoro waved off the idea, "Don't get me wrong, I do like them. But they really have to learn to do things on their own. Maybe Leviathan's attitude will rub off on them?"

Mekongawa looked up at the sky, thinking of Aura and Shalltear acting like the edgy, brooding dragon-human.

"...I hope they don't."

Ankoro groaned, sitting on Mekongawa's lap.

"Why are you sitting on my lap?"

"You tell me and we can roll with it."

Walking through the open markets of Asterius, demi-humans stared at the three walking calamities oddly as they spoke.

In Leviathan's opinion, the two short girls behind him were getting far too involved in the conversation they were descending in.

Shalltear practically threw daggers with her gaze, "Lord Peroroncino obviously is more popular with the ladies than Lady Bukubukuchagama is with men!"

Despite being much younger, Aura was still more invested in winning this argument than she was in actually managing to convince Algore to join Nazarick, "No way! Lord Peroroncino is already married to Lady Orphea, remember? Lord Peroroncino would never cheat, so he obviously must be less popular than Lady Bukubukuchagama is with men!"

What idiotic thing had gotten them wrapped up in this foolish conversation anyhow? All Leviathan could remember was that there was a salesman selling some frivolous potion that would apparently make the user more attractive.

Ah, he remembers it now. Aura made the innocent mistake of suggesting they could take something and give it to the Supreme Beings as a souvenir of their time here. Then Shalltear suggested the potion, saying that Bukubukuchagama could use it.

Then they began bickering over their creators.

Considering that their current task was to find something interesting, he supposed that Shalltear and Aura have succeeded at their task spectacularly. Their bars of interest are far lower than his.

Leave it to Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama to create such insufferable children, after all.

…Though, the idea of bringing a souvenir to his wife wasn't a bad idea. If something catches his eye, he may purchase it.

As he turns the corner, a woman's voice reaches him, "Why, your two companions seem to be very distracted. Why don't you come with me for a while?"

Raising an eyebrow, he spares a glance at the woman who spoke to him…

…A human?

Though humans should have been slaughtered on sight, this human woman was sitting in broad daylight wearing a green dress, with green hair, a green witch's hat, and green accessories.

She was no ordinary human, that's for sure.

Looking back at his fellow Floor Guardians…

They spare him a glance to make sure he's fine, then they keep walking and bickering.

He supposed that they didn't think he was in any danger, which was likely true. He doubts this woman could do more than cast some sort of illusion on herself.

The stall the green woman operated was obviously some sort of fortune telling stall. With her green crystal ball, she was likely about to say some nonsense.

But it was going to keep him away from the two bickering children, so it would have to do for now.

Sitting down across from her, Leviathan asked, "So, what do I call you?"

"GreenWitch," She said, offering a hand to shake, "But don't tell anyone that."

GreenWitch…

…Is not a name he recognizes.

Taking her hand, he shakes it, "I see. So, what are you offering me today?"

She smiled, "The world."

Raising an eyebrow, he pointed out, "If you could offer me the world, I would instead suggest you take it for yourself."
"Oh, but we do already have it, we're just willing to lend it to others for a short while," GreenWitch said, "Now, if you don't want the world, then you can perhaps take some knowledge that you shouldn't have."

Interested in seeing where this will lead, Leviathan decided to nod, "Sure, I will take it. Must I pay a price, however?"

Winking, all she said was, "An interesting story while we wait for the end of time. That is the price. But functionally… You don't have to do anything other than what you were already doing."

"That is quite generous," He noted.

"Indeed it is," She agreed, touching her crystal ball, "Now… I do not want to take away their moment for the heavens, so instead, I shall grant you another bit of knowledge. I'm sure you know of the Dragon Lords who have been rendered nearly extinct in these lands, yes?"

He has heard of the tale from the Lesser Primordial Dragon Lord, Euryalus. However, if the knowledge he was about to be given was about them, then quite frankly, he was uninterested.

"I do, but I do not consider myself a purveyor of such knowledge," Leviathan informed, crossing his arms in disapproval.

Smirking, GreenWitch leaned back, "That's just fine. But the original nest of the Dragon King, Nibelung, is quite close by. Do you want to know what you can find there?"

His interest still not perked, he shrugs, "You do not have my attention."

Her smirk falls off, slightly amusing the dragon, "Well, alright. Then can I take your attention for just a second?" Gesturing that she had it, she continued, "My friends have done some… Experiments in that location for a few years now. A few, happy mistakes have occurred as well. One of which is actually quite annoying and we can't get rid of it. So if you were to go there…"

"Are you really trying to recruit me for a fetch quest?" Leviathan scoffed, preparing to stand up, "This seems beneath both of us."

"Ah, but I haven't even gotten to the fun part," GreenWitch smiled, her confidence restored, "You're a unique creature, aren't you? Don't you ever wonder if it's possible if there could ever be… Another?"

Narrowing his eyes, Leviathan calmly observed, "You seem to know more about me than you let on. Who really are you?"
While the Supreme Beings had called for there to be no deaths… He doubts they will hear of this one.

Not afraid of his threat, she continued, "Just give me a second. Now, in our little nest of the Dragon King, we've created a little mistake that we thought we could just leave. But a certain someone has filled it up with much more things than we would've liked. So, our request for you is to simply go… Clear it out. I'm sure you and your masters will be thoroughly entertained by what comes out."

"And why do you want us to clear it out?" Leviathan questioned, "Are you sure you are incapable of doing it yourself?"

"Well, my strongest ally is in jail," She said as though that explained everything, "And the rest of us haven't gotten up to our full strength just yet…"

Having enough of her games, he raised his fist and surrounded it with abyssal energy, enough to make any living being sweat, "I have had enough of your riddles. Tell me, who are you?"

GreenWitch scoffed, "Don't kill me now, the revive timer is annoying. But if you must know, I did tell you the truth. I am GreenWitch. That's my name. As for my affiliations… I am currently working for the Incarnation of Fate's Will."

Now that is a name Leviathan recognized.

"You should start begging for your life to be spared," He threatened, knowing full well the woman standing in front of her was one of his enemies.

Leaning back, GreenWitch raised her hand in surrender, "Think of how much information you got off of Zenith. Do you think you can do any better with me? But just for you, if you let me go, I'll give you a question that you can ask that will be answered by someone in your future."

"If you cannot even give me an answer to that question, I do not want to hear it," Leviathan said, ready to grab her.

"Well, you love your wife, do you not?" GreenWitch questioned, immediately making him defensive, "Don't you want to know how to free her?"

Then, he stopped.

"...What is the question I must ask, then?" Leviathan slowly asked, knowing full well what he was doing.

Not a second later, she answered.

"What happened to Triumvirate's guild weapon?"

With their heads cooled down, Shalltear asked, "So, we agree that they are both without peer, then?"

With her arms crossed, Aura nodded, "Yep! That's how it should be!"

Smiling gracefully, she accepted the outcome of this fight, "Very well. Now, where is Leviathan?"

They had left him alone for a while since he found something interesting that they didn't. But it had been a while since then, so it was important to find him again. Otherwise, they would be breaking one of the orders of the Supreme Beings.

Of course, the order commanding them to not kill anyone was the hardest to fulfill. Just three times today, their illusion rings faltered due to running into someone, and they had to make an escape to avoid having to kill someone.

It was slightly embarrassing to have to escape from such low-leveled beings. However, the Supreme Beings themselves claimed that running from a situation you didn't have enough information to act on was usually the most optimal choice.

And what if them running into someone was someone much stronger's plan, who they didn't notice in the crowd? The Supreme Beings told them to not discount any possibility.

So, one of their objectives was to improve their spatial awareness, in order to not run into anyone the next time they had an expedition like this. They would just be able to confidently kill the people running into them.

Aura hummed, "Uhh… I don't know… Maybe we should go back to check?"

Looking around, she agreed, "Maybe we should… Oh, wait, is that him?"

Shalltear was pleasantly surprised by the lone figure of Leviathan gracefully walking past the demi-humans toward their location.

As Leviathan reached them, he asked, "So, I assume you have reached an agreement and have quit bickering?"
Pouting, Aura pointed out, "It wasn't bickering! It was a discussion!"

"So you say," Leviathan conceded, "Now, have you encountered anything interesting?"

Shalltear shrugged, "We found a library. That may prove of interest to the bookheads in Ashurbanipal."

"That will be enough, then," Leviathan said, gesturing to her, "Lead the way."

As Shalltear did so, Aura asked him, "By the way, did you find anything interesting?"

Leviathan did not respond for just a second.

Then, he was able to answer, "I did not find anything of interest at all."

Liberta and Tokino completely breezed past the recruitment phase. All they needed to do was make everyone young again and have Liberta sweet talk them into the other benefits that joining Nazarick would bring, even if they weren't the leader of the Horde.

Not long after that, Peroroncino found out that their big meeting was delayed for a little while. But they still probably should look after the NPCs so they could get more experience in.

But experience in what? Everyone asked.

Then Punitto shrugged and said let the NPCs go wild, or go tell them to do something. So that's what Peroroncino was doing right now.

"You don't mind if I sit on your head while we're running across the country, right, Tokino?" He asked, already sitting on her head in her heteromorph form.

"I do not mind, Lord Peroroncino," She said, sounding only slightly bothered.

Flying next to her head was Liberta in the Prime of his life, "Oh? Is there room for two, then?"

The Qillin glared at him, "Absolutely not."

"Only the Supreme Beings and your husband, then," Liberta concluded, not upset at all, "Very well, I will just fly."

Peroroncino's objective was simple. If this was beastman lands, then obviously there had to be actual beasts here, right? Seraphim did do all of that cleansing stuff, but that was probably just within their own territories.

So, as any self respecting archer wanted, he wanted to go hunting!

By roping in the NPCs, he can claim it was a learning experience. Besides, Liberta already had his own plans and Tokino was almost always tied to Leviathan or the guild base. They're not losing out on much here.

"Alright then, guys!" Peroroncino started his enthusiastic speech, "Let's go hunt some monsters!"

"Well, that has gone spectacularly wrong," Prata remarked, leaning on a tree within the forest.

They had accurately predicted that Ainz Ooal Gown would be heading to the Wilderness, and they had accurately predicted that they would use the Cult of Ulbert Alain Odle to their advantage.

They did not, however, anticipate for all of their manipulations to come undone in a day as the god himself descended and his followers granted everyone their most base desires. Power.

"Maybe we should've just taken control of the Horde," Biblioteca suggested, making an annoying amount of sense.

They knew full well the power discrepancy between the two groups. They knew that if the Horde remnants tried to stand up against Ainz Ooal Gown, they wouldn't have a chance.

They also knew that they were loyal to no one.

If they were loyal to a leader, perhaps they would have died in battle against them. Then, their lives would have inconvenienced them.

Ouro agreed with her assessment, "I agree. We tried subtlety, and it failed. We know that the Seraphim are fighting against Ainz Ooal Gown. Perhaps instead of attempting to subtly help them from the sidelines, we instead offer our services to them so that we may be used to the best of our ability."

"If they don't kill us immediately," Prata pointed out, "They killed basically every non-human they've come across. They'll see through our humanoid looks and see the greed underneath."

Biblioteca raised her hand, "I can go, then. Otherwise, we'll just be left in the dirt, unable to do anything."

"And risk us losing a member?" Ouro crossed his arms, "We should just send them a letter. It's the easiest method and…"

Something is wrong.

"Do you feel that?" Ouro questioned, looking in a specific direction outside of the forest.

It was… A familiar man.

A familiar player.

Prata frowned, standing up, "3 of them. Do we fight or do we run?"

"If we can split them up, we might be able to take down the healer," Biblioteca casually observed, but pointing away, "I think we should run, though."

"Run?" Looking disgusted, Ouro held up the Kanji, a golden folding chair, handcrafted by their creators, "They have desecrated the Bad Bad Bathhouse, and you suggest running? No, we must fight them, even if we lose."

With those words settled, they hastily come up with a plan.

They basically find no monsters, much to Peroroncino's dismay.

"I am sorry for this failure, Lord Peroroncino," Tokino said, ashamed of being unable to find anything.

Liberta simply bowed to him, "If you wish, I will gather all the perspectives of my life to other locations in order to find the monsters you wish to hunt, my lord."

Waving it off, Peroroncino denied their offers, "It's alright, guys. We were just trying to kill time anyway…"

It honestly did bother him that they were so gung-ho on apologizing to them any time anything even went remotely wrong. It reminded him too much about that apocalyptic world. Shouldn't people have more pride for themselves?

They ended their search in a forest. Vagisilious made her call just a few minutes ago, making sure he was all right.

It was also getting late, they should probably be getting back to Nazarick to rest or set up a tent.

…Hm, setting up a tent with Orphea would be nice. The stars are wonderful here.

Thinking that's a great idea, Peroroncino pulls out a message scroll from his inventory to message his wife-

His message is blocked, sending a rock down into his stomach.

"Liberta, your whole telepathy thing with your perspectives work anywhere, right?" Peroroncino asked, pulling out his bow, Houyi.

Recognizing the issue, Liberta immediately responds, "I have alerted my perspectives to the danger we are in, my lord."

God, his wife really did create an amazing NPC. It's incredibly useful to have a guy who can just use message automatically with the clones of himself. It basically makes anti-messaging spells irrelevant when he's around.

"Good, now we pretend we don't see anything-" Peroroncino was suddenly interrupted by a laser beam hitting him directly in the chest.

Tokino immediately heals him by reversing his time, but he's still pissed regardless.

Shouting in indignation, he immediately followed where the laser beam came from and fired an arrow.

The arrow narrowly missed its target, but he is alerted to the presence of two more level 100s. None of the three are angels.

That reminds him of who these guys probably are.

"Bad Bad Bathhouse remnants?" Peroroncino wondered out loud, trying to remember if they had anything he needed to look out for.

He would keep wondering, however, as a flying Incarnation of Greed NPC hits him directly in the head with a golden folding chair.

At the same time, a small girl in some sort of secret hooded librarian shouted out, "[Greater Polymorph]!"

The target, Tokino, resisted the attack due to her high resistance. In return, she shouted out, "You dare attack my masters?! [Widen Magic: Ice Age]!"

Using one of her basic magic spells, she froze everything nearby, attempting to catch the trio, but failing.

At the same time, Liberta chose to focus on the man holding the golden chair, "[Reality Slash]!"

Using the golden folding chair, The golden man blocked the attack, "[Area of Decay: 10]!"

Surprised by his opponent being a mage despite carrying a melee weapon, Liberta found himself suddenly isolated from Tokino.

But Peroroncino began to shoot once more from the place he was knocked away from. It wasn't an ideal spot to shoot from, as he would've preferred a plains rather than the forest, but it would do.

The silver man was forced to shift his attention away from attacking Tokino to dodging his arrows.

Meanwhile, the Archivist shouted out, "[Maximize Widen Triplet Magic: Meteor Fall]!"

Liberta scoffed as he countered the falling meteors with his own spell, "[Maximize Boost Widen Triplet Magic: Midgard's Shield]!"

As three layers of shields were about to clash with three meteors, the golden man targeted Liberta, "[Penetrate Magic: Supreme Ray of Death]!"

Tokino jumped in front of Liberta to take the hit, healing herself again. Her mana was also nowhere near depletion, so she was going to just keep doing it for the entire rest of the fight as the enemies were too scattered in their targeting to do any lasting damage.

As the meteors clashed against the shields, Peroroncino landed 5 hits in a row on the girl, successfully forcing her to retreat behind the trees.

Then, Peroroncino remembered that this was now real life.

He could just shoot past the trees.

Revitalizing his spirit, Peroroncino casted his skill, "[Barrage of the Sun God]!"

A hundred fire arrows shot out of his bow, lighting the entire forest ablaze with an intense heat.

As a minor consequence, Tokino's ice was instantly melted.

"Tch, it's time for us to go, then," The golden man said, flying off.

"I won't let you!" Liberta objected, chasing after them, "[Penetrate Magic: Inescapable Darkness]!"

The ray of darkness managed to land against the golden man, but the grasp effect failed to take hold.

Then the silver man chanted, "[Twin Magic: Link Spell]! [Last Resort: Escape]!"

Suddenly, their movement speed drastically went up as the effect of their spell activated.

For 1% health every second, their movement speed would exponentially increase until they reached 1% health.

Meaning, if Liberta can keep up with them, he will kill them.

"[Force Chain Spirit]!" Liberta casted, tying his buffs and debuffs to them.

Now, they were all flying away through the burning forests.

For a full minute, they were running. He was aware that Peroroncino was still firing after them, and that the reinforcements were about to arrive. But as long as he could kill his targets, it would all be fine.

As Liberta chased after the three remnant NPCs, their health got lower and lower. Holding up his wand, he casts a spell, "[Maximize Widen Magic: Word of Pain: Freeze]!"

The freeze spell works on the silver man and the woman. But the golden man is left untouched.

Then, he turned around, "[Maximize Magic: Greater Polymorph]!"

Out of sheer luck, Liberta is affected by the crowd control spell and turns into a sheep.

Immediately he attempts to steer himself into the nearby flames to damage him and turn him back, but he recognizes the futility.

"Foolish servant, do you not know the truth?" The golden man said as he created a portal, surprising Liberta.

Had they truly run so far that they had already outran the distance for his silent anti-dimensional spell?

As they make their escape through the gate, the golden man says one last thing, "Your gods are not who they say they are. They will one day leave, just as ours have. Kill your delusions of eternity. We have lived through it."

Liberta takes enough fire damage to exit polymorph, just in time for the gate to close, leaving him with the failure of being unable to catch any of the aggressors.

Bitterly, Liberta sighed, instead choosing to attempt to find where he had gone wrong.

Chasing was the right option. That was for sure. Perhaps he should've tried fighting with Tokino more, allowing her to be in the right condition to chase them with him.

Yes, that was his error. He fought like he was alone.

With the mistake in battle pointed out, he thought of the words the fool had spoken of.

They claimed the truth was that the Supreme Beings would not stay with them forever. That they may not be gods. That eternity was a foolish thing to hope for, and that their proof was that they lived in.

Still, they were quite explicitly trying to get revenge for their guild, were they not? What hypocrites.

As he walked back towards where his masters were, he thought of it some more.

As a scholar attempting to reach the divinity of the Supreme Beings, it was good to take in a fool's view such as this and break it down to support his own theories.

The Supreme Beings lying to their servants…

The idea…

He reaches Lord Peroroncino, who was conversing with Lady Vagisilious.

"Oh, Liberta!" Lady Vagisilious recognizes his injuries and immediately heals them, "Alright, you're all good to go. Did they say anything important to you or did they just manage to escape?"

Liberta spoke plainly, "They claimed that you were not who you say you are, and that one day, you would leave us just as their masters did to them. They also say that eternity is not as pleasant as it sounds."

Then, he inserted his opinion, "I feel as though he was only saying that to provoke me."

Vagisilious hummed, "Well, alright. If you say so."

Then, unsolicited, a question comes to mind. As a scholar, asking the right questions was vital to their success in finding answers.

So, he asked, "If it is not beyond my place to ask…" Vagisilious allowed him to speak, so he did, "Your plans for these beastmen… Do you intend to create more of us through it?"

Vagisilious tilted her head, "Like creating more NPCs…? Uh, I don't think so. We'll probably use the Open Canvas to have more powerful soldiers, but most of them will be integrated into the new society we want to make. There's not much more to it."

His initial hypothesis was wrong.

That was fine. If he was always right, he would never be able to progress as a scholar.

But that answer…

As the perspective in the Prime of his life, he was gifted with the curse of arrogance. He truly believed himself as capable of the Supreme Beings themselves, just not given the correct toolset due to his nature as a creation.

So why did that answer elicit a reaction of irritation within him?

Liberta had the function to cut off his thoughts to the other perspectives if he needed his thoughts untainted by his other selves. But he could also use it to shield his own thoughts from them.

Knowing that he was annoyed by the answer would get him hanged on the spot. Liberta doubts he himself would disagree with the decision.

But an even worse reaction swelled up within him when he heard his other perspectives and heard that answer.

"So they are trying to create a society, rather than servants? How generous they truly are!"

"Wow! So our masters want peace for everyone?"

"Of course the Open Canvas would be exploited like this. There was no other way."

"We'll remain special, then."

"Then that is the truth, and nothing but the truth."

They were all so close-minded. It irritated him. They were all scholars, were they not? Attempting to delve into the minds of the Supreme Beings and their magnanimous forms together.

But that was never the truth. For them, it was simply one of their goals. They all had different things they all wanted to reach. After all, though they had a collective interest in magic, their specific niches that they wanted to research changed as he aged. There was nothing wrong with losing interest. As long as they kept moving forward, there was progress to be made.

But here they are, with another hypothesis shot down. Instead of attempting to formulate a new one, they immediately accept it as the end because the Supreme Beings said that it was.

But it bit away at every inch of his skin to even try to suggest to himself that the Supreme Beings could be lying to them, or even just be slightly wrong. How could they? They were the benevolent creators who granted him life. Who granted him intellect. Who granted him free will.

The opportunity to become just like them. A God.

So, opening his mind, he allowed for his thoughts to be given to the concept known as "Liberta."

"Our Hypothesis was wrong. That is a shame. What is the secret behind all of these seemingly nonoptimal mistakes?"

When the response was, "What nonoptimal mistakes?" The Prime of His Life slowly withered away.

It would seem that the only one who would keep searching for the truth was not the young child too focused on attempting to please his creators to begin questioning them. It was not the young man too absorbed in himself to continue exploring the outside world. It was not the man just before his prime, still dreaming of all the things he could do. It was not the old man who has slowed down too far to keep his ambition burning. It was not the man at the end of his life who would ever think to continue pushing his curiosity further until his last breath.

Instead, it would be him, in the Prime of His life, that would keep reaching out and chasing for his dreams. The Final Divinity that Lady Orphea had revealed to him all those years ago when they were escaping the reach of the Triumvirate.

That was his purpose.

That was his destiny.

So those survivors from the Bad Bad Bathhouse incident were still trying to get them. That's really annoying.

Sure, their builds weren't too strong, but having 3 additional level 100 NPCs against you when Seraphim already had so much… Well, if it keeps trending in that direction, it wouldn't be good.

But either way, they had gotten basically every important warlord in the former Horde area in the center of the continent to join their side.

Their NPCs sure did a nice job on it. It was pretty easy, sure. They weren't trying to be subtle or anything. But they got the job done as quick as they could, just like they wanted it.

Hopefully now, they won't screw up when it comes time to play chess with Seraphim.

As Vagisilious watched all of those warlords and council members enter the portal into Nazarick's throne room, she whispered to Momonga, "Hey, how does it make you feel that Ulbert is going to act like the master?"

"I think it's a little funny," He said, completely serious, "I don't think he looks like a leader, to be totally honest. No offense to your boyfriend."

"If he's offended by that, he can cry in his room," She joked back, "Anyway, I don't wanna miss this, so let's watch this happen, right?"

They quickly teleported into Nazarick, taking their spots at Ulbert's side on the throne.

For three, long years, his clan has crawled through mud and blood to get where they are now.

Algore was meant to be the great conqueror. The Successor to the great Khan. To King Crete.

But in the face of a dragon claiming to be Leviathan, servant to the Demon Lord Ulbert Alain Odle, he had no choice but to submit.

Now, he never would be a great conqueror. The successor. The King.

He would just be a puppet to a demon he didn't even believe in until his servant made him believe in it through force.

Standing at the head of the delegation of Warlords, the ogre bowed to the living god on the throne, "Lord Ulbert Alain Odle. I, Warlord Algore, will hand over the legacy of the Horde to your almighty being."

"Good," The god said, sitting so casually on the throne, you would think that such exquisite material was just dirt to him, "As the apparent dominator in your trifle civil war, I shall allow you to have ownership of the territories of the Horde. Under my servants control, of course. It will eventually be incorporated into Argland. Do you understand?"

Bowing deeply, he responded, "Yes, I do."

No, he doesn't.

Why does this have to happen to him? He had a dream, could he not reach it? He was close. So, so close.

Now, it was being ripped away from him by a demon. Now, he would be a puppet. Now, his neck is in a noose and he will never be able to take it off within his lifetime.

One day, Ulbert Alain Odle will pay for this. That was what happened to demons and those who worship them.

Then, the faithful will be rewarded by the light and enter heaven.

Algore, the new convert of the Seraphim, vowed in his soul that Ulbert Alain Odle will not attain victory. Never.

Eyesee narrowed her many eyes at the report.

"Seriously? They took over the entire Horde?" She repeated the sentence twice just to make sure she wasn't dreaming, "What are they even doing? Are they going on side quests just for fun?"

The only answer was that they must've had a world item they were trying to charge up or something. Similar to what they were doing with Long Memory or The Mirror of Two Souls. Except Long Memory they could just do it every now and then, and Mirror of Two Souls only really could be charged up back in Yggdrasil.

They must've found something, but what? They took all of the world items that they found basically the moment they found them. Did they miss something?

Because, she swears to God himself on this one, if they missed something that irreparably caused the balance of power to shift towards Ainz Ooal Gown, she is going to kill God.

Well, at least they had Longinus for things like that. Combine it with Long Memory and good timing, they should be able to wipe them out in one, clean go.

"Lord Punitto Moe?"

"Yes, Liberta?"

"Have you approved of my plans to go to the Dragon Kingdom?"

"I haven't read through it yet, it's a beefy thing and BigStall and Amanomahitotsu wanted to check out this dwarf prison so we were going over that first."

"I see, then can I expect to see it approved-"

"Ah, just go for it, dude. Just don't trigger a war or piss off Principality while you're in there, and you can study whatever you want there."

"Thank you, Lord Punitto Moe. I promise you, I will not squander your trust."

AN:

It's always more menacing and foreboding when they don't describe the dialogue, right? Or is that just me?

Anyways, I will flip a coin on whether we go check out the prison in the next chapter or focus on the Dragon Kingdom.

That coin will be however many people give their opinion on what they wanna see next in the Discord server.

Anyway, I got this done in like 4 days, so that's pretty sweet. I'm still like 20k words behind on where I should be with my 100k words quest, so there'll probably be a chapter in early January because I wrote it like in the last days of December.

[I flipped the coin. We going to the Dragon Kingdom.]