Chapter 3 - Guardians.

All five players looked around in mild confusion. Usually when the servers were shut down players would just return to either the VR gear's default loading panel or the game's title screen.

Momonga raised his hand to try using the UI but for some reason, there was no response. 'Did they fuck up the shutdown? Why I'm not surprised. I sometimes wonder how devs don't forget to breathe.'

Peroroncino was the first to speak up. "The shitty devs did it again and managed to fuck up the closing of the servers."

His voice sounded unfamiliar. It was higher than his usual one but sounded strong and powerful.

"Hey, what happened to your voice?" His sister Buku asked. "Huh!? Mine is different as well!" Her gelatinous form bubbled in shock.

"Something has gone wrong," Momonga said, spooked by his now much deeper and more regal voice. He quickly tried to contact a GM with the message function but got no response. "The GM is not responding as well."

"Supreme ones, is something wrong?" an unfamiliar voice asked. It took them a few seconds to register the owner of the voice, but one by one they turned to Albedo, who was now kneeling in front of them.

"Did she just speak?" Ulbert asked, with his tone loud and agitated.

Albedo's face twisted in panic as she switched from kneeling to full-on prostrating before them and, sounding close to crying, frantically tried to explain herself. "Please forgive me for speaking out of line, it was not my intention to interrupt."

'She is far too animated for an NPC. Could this be an illegal update? Why am I so calm?' Come to think of it, my senses are much sharper. Ulbert is starting to get sweaty. I guess that is normal with such stress… I can smell things!?' Suddenly his emotions were crushed down to the tranquility of calm indifference.

Momonga, despite the bizarre situation, felt calm, calmer than he ever remembered feeling. He looked around seeing his comrades in agitated states, which was rather normal considering the current situation. His calmness on the other hand was odd.

'This forceful calming, it's almost like… hmm, could we really be unwitting test subjects of the next gen VR experience?' Momonga tried to contact GM staff once again but no one responded.

'I guess the next best set of actions is to just assess the situation and… huh, my vocabulary has changed? I'm fairly sure I didn't even know some of the words I'm using now.'

Deciding to use his current calm state he took over the situation and addressed Albedo who was still prostrating with her forehead touching the throne room's polished stone ground.

"Albedo, please calm down, you have done nothing wrong. Ulbert was merely surprised that you spoke up to us. None of us remember you doing so before. You may rise." He addressed the prostrating winged woman with a calm authoritative tone.

How natural it felt to issue the command. 'Being calm and authoritative would be something my avatar would do. Isekai'd? No, that's just too silly of an idea to entertain for now.' There was no way to answer the question so for now he was determined to act out as the leader and go with the flow.

Albedo looked up at him, returning to a kneeling position. Lord Momonga was right. She never had spoken like this to them. 'Was it too forward of me? The Supreme Ones do not seem angry at me. But he did promise to love me to my creator Lord Tabula Smaragdina so there is the chance he is... No, someone as wise as Lord Momogna would not show such blatant favoritism toward me. Why are the Supreme Ones so confused? Has something gone wrong? At least my beloved Lord Momonga is calm and in control. I must assist him however I can.' Albedo exhaled slowly forcing herself to be calm and collected.

While the commotion was happening around him Tabula looked at his creation seeing the changes. 'We were all recreated in our new forms. My suspicion came true. My daughter... Her aura is so strong!'

He was experiencing reality with much higher awareness. This awareness let him see what had happened to Albedo. "The aura around her is so potent, she stands like a shining dark star. She is real now. My daughter is real." Tabula exclaimed.

"What the hell do you mean, what's going on?" asked Buku in a panicked voice.

With a voice just as frantic, Tabula answered, "Don't you feel it, your body, the sensations, smell, vision? How it all feels. We became our avatars!"

'Avatars? I have never gazed upon the true forms of Supreme Ones. Of course, a mere servant would not be able to even perceive their true unfathomable power. I guess that answers the question of why they are so agitated.' Albedo observed, not only her creator, but other Supreme Ones as well.

Buku was silent for a moment and then just said, "I can see in all directions at once… That can't be possible. Please someone tell me this is just a fever dream?" Her slime form vibrated, sending small waves all over it.

"Supreme ones, has something gone wrong? Can I help somehow?" Albedo asked with eagerness behind the question.

Momonga started to freak out as well but his agitation was crushed almost instantly. With renewed calmness, he once again assessed the situation. 'Tabula is saying that this was real now. That explains how I am getting my undead buff activated all the time and sensing it as real. I can't blame my friends or even Albedo for being so stressed about our current circumstances.'

All his thought processes flowed with such a speed that an entire book's worth of ideas could be compiled before anyone even blinked around him. With his mind now working at the speed of light he came to a conclusion. 'I need to test the environment to be absolutely sure that this is the reality now.'

"Let's just figure everything out now, Albedo. Please come here," Momonga said, still sitting on his throne.

Albedo jumped to her feet and responded with a radiant smile, "Of course, Lord Momonga." as she ran up to him, almost pushing her impressive rack into the overlord's skeletal face.

"Albedo, may I touch you?" Momonga asked, barely keeping his voice from breaking. This request alone was borderline inappropriate, but as an NPC her reactions needed to be tested.

Albedo responded with a wide smile exclaiming, "Yes my lord! Touch me however you like."

Albedo's cleavage was so close to his skeletal face that he could see her breasts moving with each breath she took. Her fragrance assaulted his sharp smell. Her perfect lips were curved into a smile and her big yellow cat-like eyes looked down at him longingly.

As someone who didn't interact with women save for short exchanges in work on work-related topics her presence was overwhelming, to say the least.

'I can do this. It's just a touch.' Momonga gently touched Albedo's wrist with two fingers. She winced in pain but didn't pull her arm away. 'I forgot to turn off Negative Touch!.' Upon realizing his mistake, Momonga let go of her immediately. A small black patch now decorated her wrist.

He quickly turned off his passive effect and apologized. "I'm sorry, I forgot my Negative Touch was active. I didn't mean to cause you pain."

Albedo bit her lower lip and replied in a soothing voice, "Don't worry my beloved, I will bear any pain for you."

Her words were enough to snap both Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama out of their shocked state exclaiming in unison, "Beloved?"

Momonga turned to stare at his friends in mute horror remembering what Tabule wrote in Albedo's settings. He tried to explain but only a stutter came out "I…"

"I'll explain everything." Tabula came to the rescue dragging both siblings aside together with Ulbert to explain what he had done with Momonga's permission.

While his friends were whispering among themselves he felt another forceful calming down which gave him the opportunity to return to the task at hand.

"Albedo, please check Nazarick's systems and confirm that everything functions," Momonga ordered Albedo to see how she would respond to orders. Even if she was made to love him there was a chance she would not follow direct orders.

On top of that, she needed to be distracted from the current situation. His friends already were distracted by Tabula and hushed discussion of what he had done to his NPCs.

'I need to get us in private. NPC loyalty needs to be checked. They may consider us their superiors but we are humans… We were humans just moments ago. Does the message function still work?' He needed to check it right away. Some secrecy was definitely needed.

{ Can you hear me? } was the first message he sent to all of them and after getting a positive answer from all of them he continued.

{ Albedo has a pulse, scent, and body warmth, and seeing her act like a person all but confirms that this is real somehow. I will give her some tasks to get her off our backs so we can get to the conference room and figure out what is going on. }

Seeing no opposition to his statement he turned to Albedo again seeing her working though Nazarick's panels with lightning speed and asked. "Is everything functioning normally?" He asked Albedo to see how fast she would go through all the stats.

"I don't see any discrepancies in Nazarick's functions, Lord Momonga." She replied adding. "The Great Tomb at the moment is following the standard operation protocol and all sentient NPCs responded to my request to report their current situation. Should I provide a detailed report?"

Momonga cursed a bit inside 'Damm, she works fast. I thought she would be distracted for at least twenty minutes. Well, we still needed to find out what was going on outside Nazarick as well so maybe I can give her some additional tasks.

"Excellent Albedo. Set Nazarick's defenses to the maximum level for now and send out..." who to send out? The floor guardians were out of the question, same as Albedo, but a weak force could be wiped out right away. It left him with only one option. "Send out Sebas with two Pleiades assisting him. He is to observe surroundings within a five-kilometer radius and if he encounters intelligent or hostile life, he is to return immediately. Please monitor Nazarick for any irregularities and report immediately if anything changes. My friends and I will go to the conference room to discuss future actions to take."

"Understood Lord Momonga, it shall be done," Albedo replied with a professional tone and returned to observing numerous, floating transparent panels.

He then motioned for his friends to follow and teleported to the conference room. One by one the players arrived at the conference room and sat down in their designated spots. Considering the enormous size of the round table they were sitting a considerable distance from one another. Pero and Buku particularly sat on opposite sides of the table.

"Thank God! Momonga didn't crap his pants like most of us and handled that like a true guild leader." Buku was the first to speak up.

"Yeah, us being stuck here and seeing walking, talking Albedo was a bit too much. So, any ideas what's going on?" Peroroncino chipped in.

"I think I was only calm because of my now undead form. When I start to panic, I'm just calmed down forcibly by my own passive ability that I couldn't turn off." Momonga explained his level-headed demeanor in the throne room.

Tabula stood up from his chair and after clearing his throat spoke in a very deep, guttural voice. "This is our reality now, your auras, your energy radiates out of you and me, like we are akin to gods. My own senses have risen to levels I didn't believe possible. It also seems that my mind works much faster than before. I know it's much to take in but we have been given a chance to be much more than we were before."

"What do you mean, your mind working faster?" Ulbert asked. Since midnight his main assumption was that his body gave out and he was in some sort of last-moment fever dream. Of course, that idea was already discarded and current Tabula's explanation was the one he decided to cling to as the best possible outcome of what had happened.

"Hmm... how much is 5864 x 32577?" asked Tabula to no one in particular.

Ulbert was the first to answer. "191,031,528, it still..." It only took a fraction of a second for Ulbert to realize that he just multiplied insane numbers instantly and the rest of them not only knew it was the right answer but also that Ulbert answered correctly.

"So, we are now much more than just regular humans? I still feel like myself, I think, but my senses are much sharper." half asked, half confirmed Momonga.

"I, for one, don't want to be a walking pile of slimy flesh. No amount of power will convince me to stay like this!" Buku announced.

"I think one of the Pleiades' Maids, Solution, is like you, but she can keep herself in the form of a human. I'm not sure how I feel being an undead skeleton myself. On one side, I don't need to eat, sleep or feel tired ever again, but on the other, I can't even eat. I hope the doppelganger ring will at least give me back that. Does anyone else feel different?" Momonga asked after explaining his feelings about his new form.

"Hmm, I feel much lighter, and everyone seemingly moves in slow motion from my perspective but otherwise I just feel hungry and want to get laid badly," Peroroncino explained, but then his eyes went wide at the mention of getting laid and he stuttered with horror. "Shalltear... Shalltear is real now. All the things I wrote in her backstory! If she gets close to any of us… Sadomasochism, necrophilia, monster fetish, vore… fuck!"

He leaned forward in the chair resting his elbows and clutching his now birdlike face. "There is a fifty-fifty chance she will find me and I'm going to get fucked to death and probably for a few hours after that. And not in a nice loving way."

Seeing Pero's lamentations about his creations, Ulbert gulped and said with a barely audible whisper. "Demiurge." Slumping down the chair. "Killed by a rough fucking seems like a blessing comapred to what Demiurge could do to us. We freaking made Nazarick full of psychotic monsters. Just how screwed are we?"

"I didn't even bother to go see my creations before the server shut down. Even if they are not hostile they sure as hell would hate me for abandoning them." Buku was calmer but the same as her brother and Ulbert lamented her decisions.

Momonga watched the meltdown of his two friends with the same indifference that came every time he started to get too emotional about anything. Yet it was the same indifference that made him see things more clearly. "Albedo seemed to be loyal, at least on the surface."

At the mention of Albedo, Buku snapped out of her regrets, "Oh yeah, she is clearly after your bony dick Momonga. What the hell were you both thinking, forcing her to love you?"

Tabula retorted instantly "I did not force her to love Momonga. She just feels love towards Momonga just like her sisters do."

Momonga asked after some thought, "Tabula, you wrote in Rubedo's backstory that she is loyal to me, right?"

"Yes, she should be loyal to you above all else." The brain eater confirmed what they both already knew.

"So, if Nazarick turns on us we have a way out. She alone can stand against about half of Nazarick combined. We just need to activate her. That being said, we still need to find out what the rest of Nazarick thinks about us. We are not exactly humans anymore so there should be no real reason for them to turn hostile towards us, at least for now."

"So, you say we just go chat with them? Even for the undead, you should at least give some shit about dying. Demiurge alone could think of a hundred ways to torment us all to death and Pero mentioned that Shalltear is a necrophile. Take a wild guess whose bones are getting humped to dust." Ulbert laughed without any humor in his voice.

"Believe me I can imagine what they could do to us. I know what was written in their backstories, but if they think we are part of Nazarick, then I think our creations will not act with evil intentions toward us. I propose we gather all the floor guardians on the sixth-floor arena and see how they react. Also, the arena is a good place to test our skills in case any of the guardians turn on us."

"I don't think I can face them," Peroroncino spoke up and Buku just agreed with him. "I need more time before I can face my twins."

Momonga just sighed and after a moment of silence said, "I will go. Either way, I need to find out for all of us. If something goes wrong, I will try to warn you all, but just in case, be prepared if they attempt to kill me. If that is the case, I will have no other option but to activate Rubedo."

"I'm coming with you. I can't let you do it alone and they are our responsibility after all." Ulbert stated, standing up.

"I think we, at least for now, talk with them like we own this place and are their superiors. If Nazarick functions as usual they should think of us as their leaders, I will contact Albedo and ask, no, tell her to gather the floor guardians in the arena." Momonga said. 'At least I don't have to face them alone.'

{ Albedo! }

{ Lord Momonga, how can I serve? }

{ Gather the floor guardians in the sixth-floor arena in one hour. Except for the fourth-floor guardian Gargantua and the eighth-floor guardian Victim. I will contact Aura and Mare myself. }

{ It will be done, my lord. }

"Let's head into the maw of the beast," Momonga said and teleported to the sixth floor.

‹X›

Momonga appeared on the steps of an immense arena, modeled after the colosseum of Rome, with Ulbert appearing next to him moments later. The seats were filled with golems and continuous light was cast everywhere, giving the feeling of modern lighting. They both casually walked down the steps until they hit the sandy floor.

Aura's blonde head poked out of the VIP lodge about six stories up from the ground level. The elven girl hopped over and jumped down, did a somersault mid-fall, and with a small shock wave hit the ground and started running towards them with great speed. Both Momonga and Ulbert managed to keep their composure, as Aura ran up to them. She stopped just moments before crashing into them and wiping her forehead.

Aura bowed and greeted Momonga with a loud, clear voice: "Welcome to the floor my brother and I guard, Lord Momonga and Lord Ulbert Alain Odle!"

{ I almost shat my pants when she was charging at us. I'm assuming the role of Ulbert, for now. Poke me if I go overboard. } Ulbert messaged.

"We will intrude a bit if you don't mind Aura," Momonga replied and intentionally called her by her name, in case Ulbert had forgotten it.

"What are you talking about? You are the ruler of the great tomb of Nazarick Lord Momonga. No one would ever be bothered to receive a visit from you or other supreme ones."

Momonga heard Ulbert's sigh of relief. 'So much for Ulbert's acting talent.'

Before awkward silence could settle in, Momonga looked around and said, "By the way, I only see you here..." as if taking a cue, Aura swung around and shouted in the direction of the VIP balcony, "Mare! Don't be rude and come here! Lord Momonga and Lord Ulbert Alain Odle are visiting."

Ulbert made a somewhat creepy smile, still not adjusted to his new form, and said, "Lord Ulbert is just fine Aura."

While Aura looked away, unnerved by Ulbert's expression, they could hear someone running down the stairs. Moments later, Mare ran out of the door at ground level and approached them while fixing his short skirt.

Seeing the boy, Ulbert sent Momonga a message. { I almost forgot that Buku is just as perverted as her brother. Who the hell makes children cross-dress like this? }

{ Just don't say that to her. We will never find your body if you do. }

Ulbert snorted out loudly, trying to hold back laughter, and clearly freaked out both Aura and Mare. Both elven children bowed, shaking like leaves in the wind.

Aura was the one to ask with her head still lowered and hands shaking, her brother mimicking her stance. "Lord Ulbert, did we do something wrong?"

'Did I scare them with my reaction? It looks like they are even more scared of us than we are of them.' Ulbert did his best to resume neutral expression.

Even for someone who basically never had to deal with children, he knew he had to put them at ease. Ulbert walked up to them, patted their heads, and said, "Do not worry children, you have done nothing wrong. Momonga just messaged me a funny inside joke."

"Ulbert and I came here to do some tests on spells and summons. Could you help us with some stationary targets?" Momonga asked, diverting the twins' attention from Ulbert.

Aura eagerly nodded and summoned two dragonoids, controlled via her beast-tamer job class. The creatures resembled massive muscular wingless dragons each standing about two meters tall. At Aura's command, they dragged target dummies to the center of the arena and stepped back.

With the UI gone, another method was needed to know how much mana or energy or whatever equivalent of it existed now he possessed. The moment he thought about mana, Momonga knew just how much of it he had and combined with thinking about a particular spell he knew the information just was in his mind.

'Better start small.' He extended his skeletal arm and with a silent cast of Ice Lance hit one of the targets. The icy projectile tore one of the target dummies to shred continuum it's path towards the arena wall which luckily didn't even budge when the ice shattered against it.

'Not bad. My aim seems to be spot on. Come to think of it, I knew where it would hit.'

"Nice shot." Ulbert said, and raised his own arm "Let's see something with more firepower. A nuclear beam should be enough." The tier-eight spell was not that powerful compared to his more top-of-the-line spells but was decent enough for the first tests of real magic.

A ray of blinding light hit the target disintegrating it instantly and moved on to hit the inner wall of the arena. The potent blast sent a small shockwave making the demon stagger a bit and move his palm upwards. The ray went into the spectator area destroying everything in its path. Ulbert barely managed to cancel the spell before it went above the arena and hit the ceiling of the sixth floor.

After a moment of silence, Momonga remarked. "We should be more careful with testing magic inside."

"Agreed." Ulbert nodded hastily. His spell had left a black charred line and piles of melted golems in its wake. If he had to guess he had hit at least twenty of them by accident.

The next step was to test how summons would work. Momogna resolved to go with the weakest creatures he could summon in case they would turn on him. As he cast the summoning spell he noticed a strange discrepancy of the mana required for the spell. It was a lot higher.

Other than that, the spell worked as it should and two zombies rose up from the ground. The dull creatures resembling partly decomposed humans in dirty torn clothing stood unmoving awaiting orders.

"Move there." Momonga said and pointed to their right. Both zombies dutifully walked to the spot he pointed and awaited the next set of orders.

'Let's see just how loyal and eager to follow my orders they are.'

"Kill each other."

Instantly both zombies started to claw and bash each other without any hesitation. Although they were roughly on the same power level one of them came out victorious within a minute. Momogna quickly finished the other one. The undead creature was barely held together and there was not much use for it.

'Why was I not bothered by all this? Am I more undead than human at this point as well? I guess my new body is changing my personality somehow.'

Ulbert following his friend's example summoned a basic imp. About a half-meter-tall flying demon appeared in a puff of flames and hovered in front of his new master. He had fiery red skin, leathery wings, and horns looking like a typical demon would.

"I am ready to serve my lord." The imp said bowing while hovering in the air.

"Would you follow any order I give to you?" Ulbert asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"Even if I ordered you to kill your kind or kill yourself?"

"Yes master, I would execute your orders without hesitation."

Satisfied with the answers he said. "Good. Go to the seventh floor and report to the nearest imp master."

The small demon bowed again and flew towards the nearest teleportation point.

"Looks like he knows the layout of the tomb." Ulbert remarked.

"Seems so. Everything pretty much works as it should." Momonga said.

Meanwhile, both twins were sitting on the arena's steps and looking in awe during the simple tests Momonga and Ulbert were doing. It was so fascinating to see both Supreme Beings in action even if they performed very basic spells. A sudden message from the Guardian Overseer startled Aura.

{ Aura, please explain what caused damage in the arena on your watch? }

Aura gulped as she glanced at the charred line and messaged back. { Lord Ulbert tested a spell, and it hit part of the golems and... }

{ Understood. Keep watch and assist them if needed. When Lord Momonga and Lord Ulbert have finished run the repair protocol. } Albedo interrupted Aura's explanation and issued an order.

{ I know what I'm supposed to do. } Aura messaged annoyed. Superior or not, Albedo didn't need to speak to her like she was just a child.,

Meanwhile, done with testing the loyalty of the summons Momonga went to the next thing he wanted to test; the inventory.

Every starting player got forty slots in Yggdrasil and anyone of course could find storage items and buy additional storage space. As an almost obsessive collector, Momonga had bought far too many extra slots and filled them up over the years.

He would not admit even to his closest friends that he had accumulated 16480 inventory slots with most of them filled up with various items, many of which he couldn't even use. Unbeknown to him, the second-largest player inventory in Yggdrasil was only 3240 slots.

'Let's see… everything else works on instinct so inventory should be the same.' His guess proved to be right. He possessed an instinctive knowledge of how to access every single item in the inventory.

The first item he pulled out was a basic healing potion. Reaching into a small dark void that appeared in front of him he pulled a palm-sized vial with a blood-red liquid inside. Momonga looked around for somewhere to put it down before reaching for anything else.

'I could try to use the create item spell. No, I have a better idea. I think Mare had a wide assortment of utility spells as well.' He turned to face the elven twins that watched him and Ulbert from the seats.

"Mare, if I'm not mistaken you know a create item spell?" He asked the timid boy.

Mare jumped to his feet fixing his short dress and ran up to Momonga. "Y-yes Lord Momonga, I-I know both the create item and the create greater item spells."

"Excellent. Try making a simple table for me."

Mare bowed and stretched out his hand clad in a white glove. An elegant oak table with a dark varnish appeared in front of Momonga. For the simple test he wanted to perform it obviously was a gross overkill, and such a magnificent piece of furniture was better suited for the office of a player than a simple test but he was not about to make any remarks to frighten the elven boy who was looking up at him expectantly.

"Good job Mare." Momonga said to the boy.

"T-thank you Lord Momonga." He responded with a shy smile.

Putting the potion on the table Momonga reached into his inventory once again pulling out a platter with a water pitcher and a few glasses. The next came an endless bread basket, a wand of resurrection, and a chocolate bar that boosted stamina.

'Hmm unless someone is injured we would not see if it works.' "We need to get someone injured to see if potions have their desired effect." Momonga turned to Ulbert.

"Oh hell no, I'm not getting damaged for a test!" The goat demon took a step back.

"Lord Momonga, you can test it on us!" Aura enthusiastically ran to him and stood beside her brother.

"S-Sis I don't want to get hurt!" Mare let out a whine.

"That won't be necessary. I will find another way to test the potion." Momonga raised his right hand.

"I would be honored to help you, Lord Momonga." Aura didn't back down. She turned toward her brother to stare him down. "If you are such a wimp then I'll gladly do it. Hit me in the face."

"I-I can't." Mare shook his head.

"Do it! Right here on the lip." Aura leaned forward.

{ Buku will kill us if she finds out. } Ulbert messaged but before Momonga could interrupt the two children Mare raised his arm twisting his hand into a fist and struck his sister in the corner of her mouth causing a shockwave.

Aura jerked sideways but managed to remain standing. She spat out a tooth with a smirk as her lower lip swelled. "I am ready to test the potion, Lord Momonga. But I have to do it fast before my regeneration heals it naturally."

"O-of course. Here you go." Momong hastily gave her the potion imagining all the ways Buku could and likely would murder him.

Aura gulped down the potion. A moment later the swelling on her lips disappeared and she flashed a toothy smile showing the tooth that had regrown.

"Worked perfectly." Momogna let out a sigh of relief and then leaned forward. "Let's keep this test between us."

"Of course Lord Momonga." Aura flashed him another toothy smile and turned to her brother once again. "See, it wasn't so bad. If you grew a spine you could have helped to test it." Aua wasted no time scolding her brother.

'Just like their creator and her brother.' Momonga mused. Bukubukuchagama designed them to represent the relationship that she thought she and her brother Peroroncino should have. Aura, the brash, brave sister, and Mare the timid and quiet brother.

"Now for something less harmful. Please have a piece of bread, and a glass of water and split the chocolate between yourselves." Momonga waved at the table.

Aura grabbed a glass of water and immediately gulped it down with droplets falling on her suit. She ate the bread with equal haste and then quickly tore into the chocolate taking half of it.

Mare took the glass and drank it with careful sips to not waste even the smallest bit. He did the same with the piece of bread, savoring every bite, and finally took the remaining chocolate.

The final item remaining was the wand of resurrection which Momonga obviously would not test on his friends or floor guardians. But before he could even think about how to test if resurrection worked, Sebas contacted him via Message.

{ Lord Momonga, we have a situation. Nazarick is surrounded by grasslands. }

{ Grasslands...that's unexpected. Any hostiles or landmarks? }

{ No, just grasslands as far as the eyes can see and some non-hostile animals roaming around. There are no distinct landmarks whatsoever. }

{ Any danger from the grass? Any land effects? }

{ None my lord. Just endless fields of green grass. }

{ I see. Return inside immediately and come to the sixth-floor arena. I will listen to your full report in person there. }

{ As you wish, my lord. } Sebas sent his last message.

Momonga turned to Ulbert saying "Sebas just reported that Nazarick is surrounded by grasslands."

"What? Does that mean we are not in Helheim anymore, but hmm... are we even in any of Yggdrasil's worlds?"

"I'm unsure, but it kinda makes sense that we are in some different world entirely. Maybe Tabula will have some ideas. He seemed to know something like this would happen."

"Yeah, come to think of it, he acted weirder than usual. When we return to the rest of our buddies we are definitely squeezing some info out of him!"

"Oh, that reminds me. The rest of the floor guardians should arrive soon," Momonga stated to Aura and Mare.

"Does that mean Shalltear is coming too?" Aura whined and on cue, a gate opened, and petite beauty with a Victorian-style dress stepped through.

"Oh, am I the first to arrive?" she spoke in a voice younger than one would expect from her tone. The moment her gaze fell on Momonga, her face twisted in a radiant smile, her eyes glistening with joy.

"Lord Momonga" she exclaimed, and she finally noticed Ulbert beside him and quickly added "Lord Ulbert Alain Oodle, " as she curtsied to both.

Shalltear then asked, "Have any other supreme ones returned as well?" with a clear sign of who she hoped to see again.

Momonga was the one to answer, "Besides us, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, and Tabula Smaragdina also have returned."

Hearing her creator had returned, Shalltear's face lit up in an even more joyous expression and the elf twins perked up their ears hearing of their creator's return. But moments later, Shalltear's expression grew worried as she asked.

"Did Lord Peroroncino not wish to see me?" The elves also became visibly worried at the vampire's question. Seeing this, Momonga tried to calm them down, wishing to not escalate the situation.

"Do not worry, you will see them soon enough. Some unexpected events have happened, and we all are trying to figure out the details. If you wish, I will inform your creators that you seek an audience with them."

'Huh, that sounded more professional than I expected. I guess I can improvise from time to time.'

Hearing this, all three eagerly nodded with their expressions relaxing again, and Momonga made a mental note to tell both Pero and Buku how eager their creations were to see them.

After a bit of thinking, Aura asked Shalltear in an accusative tone, "By the way, Shalltear, why did you use a gate to come here? You know teleporting within Nazarick isn't allowed without a serious reason."

"I simply didn't want our lords to wait," Shalltear replied smugly.

"You should have entered the arena normally, if you wanted to be fast you could just run here. Oh wait, that would mess with your stuffed bra!" Aura shot back.

"You are one to talk, you are flat as a board. Seriously Mare… Dealing with that sister of yours must be a pain," Shalltear sneered.

"I'm only seventy-six, so I still have plenty of time to grow and develop. You, however, are stuck with that undead body of yours," Aura retorted and Momonga saw the hostility growing between them, but before he could split them apart a loud voice did the job for him.

"IS THIS HOW YOU BEHAVE IN FRONT OF THE SUPREME ONES!" The owner of the voice, the fifth-floor guardian Cocytus, came into view. The temperature dropped significantly as he got close to them. Some distance behind him, Demiurge approached. His spiked tail moved behind him as he walked, with Albedo beside him.

They joined the other floor guardians, and Demiurge came closer to Momonga and Ulbert. He dropped on one knee and greeted them.

"Lord Momonga, Lord Ulbert Alain Odle," he then turned to Ulbert, saying as his voice broke, "Lord Ulbert Alain Odle, you have returned to us. Thank you for giving us another chance to prove ourselves."

Ulbert gulped as guilt suddenly hit him like a hammer. In front of him was his creation, who now looked up to him as a father who had returned to his child after many years of absence and blamed himself for said creator's absence. By sheer willpower, Ulbert somehow kept his composure and said to Demiurge, as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please rise, I left for my own reasons. You are not at fault. I'm proud that Nazarick still stands, and I can only thank Momonga and all the guardians for doing such an outstanding job protecting it."

Demiurge stood up, wiped tears behind his glasses, saying "Thank you Lord Ulbert Alain Odle." and returned to the other floor guardians who were watching the unfolding scene and getting emotional from Ulbert's heartfelt words.

Albedo interrupted the silence, "Now let us perform the ritual of allegiance."

'Wait, what is she planning? What ritual? Momonga looked at Albedo in confusion.

The guardians all nodded, and before Momonga could get a word in, they had arranged themselves with Albedo in front, and the other guardians lined up behind her. Their expressions became stiffly ceremonious. Any hint of a relaxed atmosphere had vanished.

Shalltear, at the end of the line, took a step forward. "Guardian of the First, Second, and Third Floors, Shalltear Bloodfallen. I bow before you, O Supreme Ones." She dropped to one knee and put a hand over her chest, bowing her head low. After Shalltear, Cocytus stepped forward.

"GUARDIAN OF THE FIFTH FLOOR, COCYTUS. I BOW BEFORE YOU, O SUPREME ONES."

He took the same humble posture as Shalltear and bowed to Momonga and Ulbert.

Next, the two dark elves stepped forward.

"Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Aura Bella Fiora. I bow before you, O Supreme Ones."

"G-Guardian of the 6th floor also, Mare Bello Fiore. I b-bow before you, O Supreme Ones."

As expected, they also got down on one knee and bowed their heads low. Shalltear, Cocytus, Aura, and Mare. They all had quite different builds, so there should have been some discrepancy in the size of their steps, but their kneeling positions formed a straight line.

Then Demiurge took a graceful step forward.

"Guardian of the Seventh Floor, Demiurge. I bow before you, O Supreme Ones." Though his tone was cool, he made an extremely heartfelt bow without breaking his elegant demeanor.

Finally, Albedo stepped forward. "Overseer of the floor guardians, Albedo. I bow before you, O Supreme Ones." Smiling faintly at Momonga, she kneeled in the same manner of the other guardians. But for Albedo, that wasn't the end. With her head bowed, she made her voice carry and gave her last report.

"Except for the Guardian of the Fourth Floor, Gargantua, and the Guardian of the Eighth Floor, Victim, the floor guardians have gathered before you… Your orders, O Supreme Ones! We offer our complete devotion to you."

Seeing it all, Momonga panicked a bit and unleashed his Aura of Despair by accident without noticing it. The aura was devastating enough by itself, but it also was strengthened by the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, overwhelming the guardians.

{ Ok, didn't expect so much ass-kissing. } Ulbert messaged his friend.

{ Just play along. Who knows how they would react if we dismissed their profession of loyalty? }

{ Sure thing. Here it goes. }

Ulbert took his friend's aura as a cue to play up the 'we rule this place act' and activated his own Aura to add extra effect with his hands spread out, holding his walking stick in one hand, and spoke with a wide smile that terrified even the floor guardians.

"Excellent! Momonga, the other Supreme Ones, and I are very pleased with your devotion." and let out a maniacal laugh.

Momonga messaged him right away, { Ulbert, you are overdoing it. }

{ Relax, it goes with my character. } Ulbert replied.

"Please save your appreciation. We offer you not only our devotion but our very selves. It is most natural that we should heed your call. The Supreme ones, our very creators, the perfect existences, none of us would think twice but to serve you with absolute devotion." Albedo responded on behalf of the floor guardians.

As they rose in unison, Sebas arrived saying "I'm sorry for the delay but I have returned with my report."

Momonga was first to react "Good job Sebas. Please explain to everyone what you saw outside."

"Yes, of course, my lord. It seems that Nazarick was transported to an unknown location, with grasslands surrounding us with no intelligent life or artificial structures within a five-kilometer radius."

"Since we have no clear information on the outside world, we must proceed with caution. As of now, no one is to leave Nazarick without our explicit permission," Momonga stated. "We all must be on high alert. There is no telling what we can expect from the outside world, also we need to conceal Nazarick. I don't think illusion magic alone will cut it so I would like to hear your input."

After a moment of silence, it was Mare who spoke up "W-e could c-c-cover walls with dirt and grow plants out of it."

"You want to soil the walls of Nazarick with dirt?" came a quiet and low growl from Albedo.

"Albedo, don't interrupt if you have nothing constructive to say. "Ulbert scolded her right away to not let things go out of their control.

The atmosphere shifted right away with Albedo quietly apologizing in a shaky tone looking like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry Supreme Ones. Please forgive this foolish servant for speaking out of turn."

Although the rebuke was not addressed to them, the other guardians also tensed up.

'They became afraid the moment Ulbert spoke harshly. Our assessment of how they would react to us was way off.' Momonga quickly caught up and tried to defuse the heavy atmosphere.

"It's fine, just let others give ideas as well. Would it be possible to cover up walls in such a way?"

"Yes, I believe so if y-you would forgive me for doing so."

"Then I'll leave it to you to start the work right away. Also, if possible, make other hills around the tomb area. A lone hill might stand out a bit too much."

"Y-yes! it w-will be done, Lord Momonga."

"As for the rest of you, Nazarick will be on high alert until we know more."

Momonga was ready to dismiss them when Ulbert asked a simple question

"I would like to know how all of you view us, the Supreme ones?" and motioned for Shalltear to be first to speak.

"Beauty incarnate, nothing compares to the supreme ones with Lord Momonga above them," Shalltear replied promptly. It was obvious from the unhesitating speed at which she responded that what she said was what she really thought.

"Cocytus?"

"PERSONIFICATION OF POWER, NO GUARDIAN CAN COMPARE TO THE SUPREME ONES."

"Aura?"

"Merciful and exceedingly considerate, with Lord Momonga caring about us the most."

"Mare?"

"I think the supreme ones are very nice to us, especially Lord Momonga."

"Demiurge?"

"Wise beyond our meager understanding."

"Sebas?"

"Our wise and merciful creators."

"Last but not least, Albedo."

"The ones who stand above all else, led by their exalted leader as well the man I love, Lord Momonga."

{ Why did you have to ask that? } Momoga asked his friend as the emotion suppression worked like clockwork after each guardian praised him to no end.

{ Relax. Your bony ass can take a compliment or two. Besides, it's not like you can blush or anything. }

{ I hate you. }

{ Doing my best buddy. Any parting words for them before we go back? }

"We are pleased with your vows. Take a brief rest and carry out your orders." Momonga finally said and both he and Ulbert teleported away.

Bonus Story - Ambition of a Born Ruler

Something had changed. What exactly the change was he could not tell but one thing was clear he had a goal given to him by his creator and this goal was to rule over Nazarick.

Twenty manservants dressed in black and white servant suits with cloth masks resembling their master's appearance stood in a row.

He walked in front of them, took out a comb, and gave his blonde locks a stroke.

"Men, we have a job to do and there cannot be any mistakes. Too much is at stake." he started to walk in front of the manservant line as he spoke with a passionate tone.

"My creator has given me a purpose and I will do anything in my power to reach the goals she had set for me."

He stopped pointing at one of the manservants. "You! That second left button from the top has a smudge. Clean it now!"

The man started to shake in his boots but quickly obeyed the order and polished the button with a handkerchief.

"As I said there cannot be any mistakes, there cannot be any slacking off! You will set out to do your jobs and with my oversight, we will make preparations for me to become the one true ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick!"

"To your posts and make me proud!" The meter-tall penguin shouted the order as loud as he could.

"I will go deal with the toilets to make them so clean a Supreme Being could eat from them!" He wobbled towards his objective with slow but determined steps.

"One day they will all see that my cleaning talent is so great that they have no other option but to make me the ruler of Nazarick! I will not let you down Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi." if his beak could be twisted into a smile he would be smiling right now.

Proofreading by Visur Nyxan and Rotten Pizza, Tophrel, and Dtrackt.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader.