The Overlord's Dragon [Overlord LN OC]

[Ereli]

The Overlord's Dragon.​

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As I look at my personal NNI in my small bedroom, Neural Nano-Interface, I couldn't help but sigh.

I had a lot of good times with this thing and the games I've played on it. Aberage, where I could build power suits and beat others plays. Duty calls, an FPS with guns both realistic and fantasy. Good times on both, but none of them compared my first and favourite game I owned on this.

YGGDRASIL.

A DMMO-RPG with the main selling point being, 'player freedom'. It wasn't the first DMMO-RPG, but it was close. It was, however, the product that made DMMO-RPG a smash hit on the gaming industry. The freedom the players had to customise and play the game is just too many to count, some liked to play vampires with holy magic, while others will play robots with miniguns for legs and rocket launchers for arms. I never did figure how that worked. At all.

I myself had put in countless hours playing YGGDRASIL, gathering items to get upgrade my race levels or change them into something else. As frustrating as those bloody Primal Fire Elementals were, never dropping my goddam item.

"Are you alright, Ryan? You looked someone killed the dog. And then ate it in front of you."

I looked at the door to see my older brother, Jack, leaning on the doorframe looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I wished. That bloody dog likes my bed far too much for my liking." I said with a roll of my eyes, "No, it's something much worse". I said in a low voice.

Raising his eyebrow, he walked towards me, "What, is your NNI acting up? It's old, you know. About time you get a new one."

"No. Worse."

He looked at me.

He looked at my NNI.

"Have you downloaded porn on it? You know there are sites for that right? I can give you some if you want." Jack said with a smirk.

"Hilarious," I said with a roll of my eyes. "No, you idiot, YGGDRASIL is ending in an about two hours. Just depressed that I won't be able to play it anymore or with my friends anymore." I sighed.

It took my brother awhile, but he eventually got it. "You mean that Weeb game you spent all day trying to get and translate? The one that only came out in Japan?"

"That's the one," I said, trying not smile at my brother's term for YGGDRASIL.

My brother took a quick glance at the clock. 1:00 PM. The servers would shut down at 3:00 PM, 12:00 PM in Japan.

After some debate, he told me, "Listen, I only came up here to make sure you were studying for your GCSE. If you take some time to unwind, I won't say anything, and if Mom or Dad asks, I'll just say you're taking a break from studying." He said with a grin.

I looked at him and I couldn't help but give him a smile, "Thanks for this bro. It means a lot to me."

"Whatever", he said rolling his eyes, "Just make sure you're actually studying later. GCSEs are bad enough, even worse when you don't know anything." With that, he walked out of my room and made sure to close the door.

Making sure to rig up my NNI I couldn't help, but smile. Jack was my older brother by about 3 years, him being 19 and me being 16. He never really shared my passion for video games but he knows how much fun I had with this game in particular along with the friends that I made on it.

After rigging it up, I sat in the chair and put on the helmet and jumped into YGGDRASIL for the last time.

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---

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As I log on to my character I take a quick at my stats to make sure nothing has changed. I decided to take a look at my equipment and models first, considering they were more likely to change.

Dracul himself was in his Dragonoid form at the moment and I was glad to see nothing had changed. A 6 foot tall Dragonoid, with dark red scales covering his body with wings large enough to fly, if the game was advanced enough to handle that sort of thing. He had small curling horns around his brow, much like a ram along with his large prehensile tail.

My equipment itself hadn't changed at all. Full, dark red, plate armour with the pauldrons in the shape of dragon heads. His helmet was in the shape of a dragon with a closed maw much like his own and the chest plate was decorated with the image of a rising dragon. His weapon was a colossal double-edged claymore, with a wide blade and as tall as Dracul himself. It was relatively simple compared to other weapons with the hilt simply consisting of a simple handguard and a round head for a pommel. The blade was a dark red expect around the edges that were steel grey.

Satisfied that my equipment hadn't changed, I went on to check my Levels and stats.

Name: Dracul

Racial levels:

Fire Dragon: 15

Ash Eater Dragon: 10

Wyrm of Muspelheim: 10

Inferno Dragon Lord: 5

Job levels:

Fighter/Bruiser: 15

Sword-Master: 10

Arcane-Knight: 10

Elementalist (Fire): 10

Knight of Muspelheim: 5

Chosen of Surtr: 5

Harbinger of Ragnarök: 5

Ability chart:

HP: 90

MP: 75

PHY. ATK: 95

PHY. DEF: 80

AGILITY: 65

MAG. ATK: 80

MAG. DEF: 60

RESIST: 80

SPECIAL: 100

Karma Score: -100 Neutral Evil.

It was nice to see that nothing had changed from the last time I was in, some months ago.

After a quick look around I saw was in Asgard, specifically the hall of Valhalla, one of the more popular places in YGGDRASIL due to the no PvP rule in here.

It was completely empty.

It wasn't too surprising to me that it was empty. YGGDRASIL was an old game and took some time getting used, more so if you played a warrior character like myself and with the servers shutting down, why would anyone bother?

Even still though. The game had a lot of good memories for me and I know for a fact others as well. It was just depressing that I saw no one, not even a stranger, in here.

I knew one person was still on though. A good friend of mine that helped me to no end, even helping me become a Dragon. I shot him a message, hoping he wasn't AFK.

Dracul: "Yo, Momo. Nice to see ya again. You doing good?"

Momonga: "Ah, Dracul, it's good to see you as well. I'm doing fine, I suppose. How about you? Shouldn't you be studying for your exams?"

Dracul: "I've been non stop studying for that bloody thing, so I'm taking a break as it were. Even then, I have too many good memories with this game to not be with it till the end. Still, though, I expected some people at least. I'm at Valhalla at the moment and I can't see a single soul. It's actually really depressing."

And it was. Valhalla was a massive hub of activity due to the fact that both the Heteromorphic, Demi-Human and Human races couldn't attack each other along with the fact that most materials and items could found for various purposes, people mostly just stayed here to buy and sell.

Dracul: "Anyway, have any of the others been on? I would think at least one other person of Ainz Ooal Gown would be on."

Momonga: "No I'm afraid, I'm the only one to have been on today. Considering this might be the last time we see each, would you like to come to Nazarick?"

I felt my lips curl up at that. Momonga might be quite reserved, but I've no doubt he's actually depressed at the moment. Same as me.

Dracul: "Yeah I won't lie, I would prefer to spend the final moments with a friend rather than alone. Send me an invite and I'll be there shortly."

Momonga: "Thank you, Dracul. I'll send a [Gate] over as well."

A second later I got an invite by Momonga to join a party as well as a [Gate], a blackish portal, to Nazarick.

Dracul: "No problem, Momo. We both had great times together. while playing YGGDRASIL. Might as well make it good until the very end."

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---

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After stepping out of the [Gate], I was at the entrance of the Great Tomb of Nazarick in the marshes of Helheim. The headquarters for Ainz Ooal Gown, a guild made solely out of Heteromorphic races with 41 members. At their peak, the guild was ranked 9 out of countless others and the only guild to clear Nazarick, the hardest dungeon in the game and turned even harder when they made it their guild base.

Despite that though, almost all of them have quit the game completely, deleting their characters and turning in their gear to the guild before logging off for the last time.

If anything else this was the worst thing. I was quite close friends with some of the members of the guild, Momonga, Touch me and Peroroncino to name a few. To see the guild that Momonga and Touch me have build from the ground up to be like this.

It was probably the most disheartening thing about the whole thing. I understand most of them left for real life reasons, but it still didn't make it any less depressing.

Deciding to not spend my last moments in a funk, I sent a message to Momonga.

Dracul: "I'm outside of Nazarick, Momo. Where are you?"

Momonga: "Ah, hold on, I'll be out in a moment."

I saw a [Gate] spawn by my side and from there I saw my friend who almost been with me from the start when I started playing three years ago.

An Overlord, the ultimate race for Liches, draped in an almost pitch black robe with gold thread around edges with an open chest, showing off the ribcage. He had two large pauldrons, made from bone, with a large ruby in each.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you, Momo," I said with relief.

"Trust me, you're not the only one, Dracul. I was thinking no one else was coming on". Momonga agreed.

"Has no else really been on? I would think at least one of the guys would come on, especially now, with the servers being shut down."

"No one, I'm afraid. Other than me, you're the only other player to come to Nazarick in quite some time, months even."

YGGDRASIL wasn't advance enough for emotions to be shown on characters, even more so for undead characters, but I could tell that Momonga was depressed, resigned even, that not one person of the guild had come on to see the end. He loved this game more than me and the guild even more.

It might not be much, but I'll be damned if I and my friend spend the last moments like this.

"I don't know about you, but fuck this." And with that, I start making my way to Nazarick.

"Dracul?" I heard Momonga asked before he started walking with me.

Turning to my head slightly to look down at him I said, "Come on, Let's go walk around Nazarick and reminisce the old times. I refuse to spend the last moments of my favourite game in a melancholic slump and I'm pretty sure you don't want to either."

"..Thank you, Ryan-san." I heard him mutter.

"Heh, first off it's just Ryan. I'm not Japanese so honorifics don't count for me you know and secondly, this day is already shit. Let's at least turn it around and make it a good one." Even then I couldn't resist using emoticons that I so hate sending him a .

"I'll call you Ryan if you stop calling me 'Momo'."

"Alright then."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I'll call you Bone Daddy instead." I'm glad the game couldn't copy facial movements or he would've seen my grin.

"Please no," he sighed, "I still remember the first time you called me that. In front of everyone. Even then I don't want my last moments in Nazarick being called 'Bone Daddy' by a 16-year-old teenager." He said with a shiver.

"HA! That was a great day." I smiled at the memory, the first time I met the whole guild.

"Do you know how long they talked about that? Peroroncino-san thought I had a foreigner lover overseas, for god sakes."

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! Seriously!?"

With a nod, he continued. "Seriously. Do you have any idea how long I had to convince him he was wrong? Even worse, he thought you were a girl using a voice changer. When I told him you were, in fact, a male he thought we were in a 'taboo relationship' as it were." He said, sighing.

I was still laughing uproariously at the thought. Peroroncino did always have a one track mind for anything perverted. After a while, Momonga joined in, laughing as well.

"Haa... Thank you, Dracul. I needed that" Momonga said along with a .

Giving him as well I said "No problem, Momo. Now come on, let's get inside Nazarick. Better in there than out here."

"Indeed. Let's go."

And with that, we descended into the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

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---

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As we made our way to the first floor, I and Momonga talked about the old times when we played together, such as when we ran into a group of Demi-Humans, Lizardmen to be specific, by accident.

"Honestly, I'm surprised they even lasted that long. They were only, like, level 75? 80 at most."

"There was 20 of them, you know. We could've died if we weren't so close to Valhalla at the time. I also get the feeling they were quite upset at you for constantly killing them. Every time you met one. Nonstop." Momonga claimed.

I got the feeling Momonga still held me at fault for that particular event, along with glaring a hole in the side of my head.

"Come on, Momo. If you're going to play a race like Lizardman, instead of something like a Dragonoid, you need to accept that, maybe, possibly, there is a player out there that doesn't like the fact that Lizardmen are basically shitter versions of Dragonoids without wings." I said, stating the truth that Lizardmen sucked at everything and just being cheap knock-offs of Dragonoids.

"Doesn't have to do with the fact that you kept dying to Lizardmen when you started playing?" Momonga said smugly.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" I said innocently. While talking about my completely rational dislike for Lizardmen, we made it to the first floor and saw the Guardian for the first, second and third floors, Catacombs with wandering low-level undead.

I haven't visited Nazarick in awhile and even the times I did visit, I mostly talked rubbish with the members I was friends with or trying to figure how to get a certain item. I never really took a good look at the NPC or the Tomb itself.

"So this is Shalltear, huh? Who made her?" I asked Momonga. I took a good look at the NPC standing around and only one word came to my mind.

Gothic Lolita.

She was a small thing, especially compared me or Momonga, only just coming up to his chest. She wore a dark, evening dress and had incredibly pale skin. She had pretty, even attractive facial features, even with the blood red eyes and slit pupils. I was having trouble trying to guess what race she was. She wore her silver hair in a massive bow along with a long ponytail at the back.

"Shalltear was made by Peroroncino-san."

Oh good God, no.

"This is the only NPC he made."

Oh, thank you, God.

"Peroroncino made her, huh? What race is she? An angel?"

Shaking his head, he answered. "No, Victim is an Archangel. Shalltear is a True Vampire."

I looked at Shalltear.

I looked at Momonga.

Momonga looked at me.

"You can't be serious. True Vampires are one of the ugliest things in the game and the things that can change their appearance are temporary at best. She on the other hand," I waved my hand towards Shalltear, "actually looks decent, attractive even and I don't know anything that could hide a True Vampire's appearance." I said in a voice of disbelief.

"Peroroncino-san spent a lot of time modelling her for her to look like this. Almost 6 hours, if I recall."

Jesus, Peroroncino.

"Well, no one can say he wasn't devoted." I had to ask Momonga the most important question, however.

"Have you looked at her settings yet? If he spent that much time on her appearance alone, God knows what her settings look like".

"No I haven't," he said, shaking his head, "I've been busy with trying to keep the guild afloat after everyone left."

I couldn't help but snort at that. "Yeah, right. I bet you're just scared to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes."

"You aren't?" He said dubiously.

"Oh no, I'm terrified," I said honestly. "Still though, I can tell he really loved this NPC. Even if he did almost certainly fetishize her."

"Indeed, he wouldn't stop talking about her for days after she was made," Momonga said with a sigh, no doubt remembering happier days.

"Come on, let's not be like that. We don't have much time left, you know." After a quick glance at the clock in the HUD, it was 22:20 at the moment.

"Right, let's carry on…", Momonga drifted off, "Actually, can we go to floor 9? HeroHero-san just logged on."

"Really? Sure, let's go. I haven't talked with him much, but It'll be nice to see how he is doing." I wasn't as close to HeroHero as I was with Momonga or Peroroncino, one or two conversations at most, but he was a nice guy to talk with.

"Indeed. This must be the first time he logged on since he changed his jobs in RL. Let me open a [Gate] for you."

After saying my thanks, we stepped into the [Gate] to the conference chamber.

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---

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"Yo! Been awhile huh, Hero-san?" I waved to him as we stepped out of the [Gate].

The conference chamber is a large open room with a wide round shape table, with a large symbol decorated on the surface, along with 41 chairs for the guild members. On the back wall was a display case for the guild weapon, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that spun lazily in mid-air.

"HeroHero-san, It's nice to see you again," Momonga said.

"Ah! Dracul-san, Momonga-san. It's nice to see you two as well." Herohero said as his character, A Elder Black Ooze, wobbled.

We sat down with him on the giant round conference table.

"It has been a while hasn't it, two years if I recall? How have you been, HeroHero-san?" Momonga asked.

"That long? I've been doing so much overtime lately that I have trouble telling what the time is." HeroHero said in a weary voice.

"That doesn't sound healthy at all," I said worriedly, "Are you okay? Shouldn't you see a doctor or something?"

"I already have, but all he said was that I needed more rest," HeroHero said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I see. Just make sure you don't overwork yourself, HeroHero-san."

"Thanks, you guys. I'm sorry, I didn't mean just to complain about my problems when I got here." HeroHero bowed his head slightly.

"Don't worry about Hero-san," I said as I waved my hand, "It's alright to complain every now and then, hell, I do it all the time." Giving him a .

"Dracul is right, you know. It's no trouble at all, HeroHero-san." Momonga agreed with me.

"Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate it. I'm glad we could talk again one last time, but I need to go and sleep. Work starts at 06:00 AM and it isn't getting any easier."

"O-oh," I heard Momonga muttered softly under his breath, "Well, have a good night, HeroHero-san."

Man, he must really be tired. I didn't know Japan's working place was that rough.

"Good night, Hero-san. It was nice to speak with you again and make sure to get some proper rest." I said, giving him a .

As he went into his menu, he looked around him in, what seemed, wonder.

"But man, I didn't expect Nazarick to still be standing. It's because you've been supporting the base, even now, haven't you Momonga-san?"

I could tell that comment flustered Momonga by the way he acted.

"T-this is the base we built together, you know? Plus I can't take all the credit, Dracul helped out as well."

"Really?" HeroHero turned his head to ask me in surprise, "Thank you, Dracul-san. It's shame you couldn't join, you would've been a great addition to the guild."

"W-well, I mean," Jesus, way to throw me under the bus, Momonga. "I might not have been able to join, but you guys were more or less the only people I hanged out with in YGGDRASIL, you know? Even then, I haven't been on the last few months due to me studying for my exams." I said, rubbing the back of my head.

"Don't worry about it, Dracul-san," he told me while chuckling, "If there is a YGGDRASIL sequel, I hope we can meet there again. Thank you two for all your hard work." HeroHero said before he logged off.

"It was nice to see him again, don't you think, Momo?" I asked him.

It took a second, but he responded, "A-ah, yes. I'm glad to see him doing well, somewhat."

We both took a quick glance to see what the time is.

22:25 PM.

"Would you like to visit the other areas than, Dracul? It'll take some time so we better hurry." He tried to act the same, but I knew him better than that.

Sighing, I took off my helmet and looked at him.

"Dracul?" He asked confused.

"Satoru," I said softly, noticing how he went stock still. "I've been friends with you for 3 years and you're the person I played with the most during my time in YGGDRASIL. I know when you're hiding something."

For a while he just sat there, looking at the table with a blank stare.

"Damn it all!" he shouted suddenly, slamming his fist on the table. "We built the Great Tomb of Nazarick together! Does it mean nothing to them?!"

Before I could say anything, he slumped in his chair seemingly exhausted after his outburst.

"No, that's not it all. When choosing between fantasy and reality, it's only natural to pick reality." He somberly said to himself, seemingly having forgotten about me.

Alright, enough of this.

"You know, have I ever told you a saying me and my family are fond of?" I asked him.

"A-ah," He startled, realising that I did exist, "N-no, I don't believe you have?"

"Life's a bitch and then you die," I said in an all too chipper tone.

He just stared at me like I just said something stupid, "What?"

Alright, let's see if I can explain it more.

"Well, it works like this. Life, nowadays, is generally nothing, but work, work and more work. I know Japan has it worse than most other countries, but with these new laws being placed everywhere, it's only gonna get worse for everyone, and so like that Life runs us ragged for most of our lives like a bitch and we only stop when we're 10 feet under."

He still didn't seem to get it so I went on.

"Because life is such a bitch, we do things to forget it. Smoke, drugs and se-"

"Dracul", Momonga interrupted me, holding up his hand "Not that I don't appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but where are you going with this?"

"Ah right. Sorry about that," I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment at going off on a tangent, "Well it works like this. Life sucks and so we make memories to have something to be happy about. That's why I'm sure, that even if the others aren't here today, that they're thinking of all the times they had together in YGGDRASIL."

He wasn't saying anything and I was starting to think I said something wrong before he spoke.

"Thank you, Dracul. That helped, surprisingly enough." Momonga said.

"Wait, really? I thought it sucked." I said, confused.

"It could've...used some work, yes, but I get what you're trying to say. Thank you, truly."

"Well, you know," I said with a shrug, but giving him a , "We just told Hero-san it was okay to complain. Why should it be any different for us?"

"Yes, you're right," he sighed, "Come on. We don't have much time left, you know."

"Right then. Let's go." I said as we both got up from our chairs.

Before we made our way to the door, Momonga said, "Actually, can you wait a minute? I want to get something first."

"Sure, but what are you getting?" I asked him.

"This," he told me as he walked over to the display case for the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

The guild weapon is a gold staff that is tall as Momonga and its shaft is twisted and turned, much like a caduceus. Its grip is lined with sapphires that seemed to glow with ethereal light. Its head is a bowl-like shape that had seven squirming serpents all entwined with each other and all held crystals in their mouths, though I have no idea what the abilities of the weapon itself were.

"Did I ever tell you how we made this weapon?" Momonga asked me as he started at the staff with nostalgia.

Nodding, I answered, "Yeah, the whole guild spent all the time they could to gather the mats for this. Even using paid vacations and such to get more time to work on it."

As a result of all the time they spent on the staff, it was rumoured to be stronger than most Divine class equipment, maybe even World class, but even though it was undoubtedly a powerful weapon they never used it. Something that I thought was a bit stupid, but if it got stolen or destroyed the guild would be disbanded as a result, so I could understand the caution at least.

"That's right. We all played recklessly to make this weapon, using paid vacations as you said and even arguing with their wives." He confirmed as he reached out to grasp the staff.

"This staff, more than anything else, is a testament to the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown and the adventures we had together and so I've decided to at least have it with us in our last moments of YGGDRASIL," Momonga told me as he held the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in his hand, equipping it.

I'm glad he was deciding to think of the good memories of when everyone played together and not focusing on the negative side of things, but still, I had to say something to him about the irony of this.

"You know, I'm actually impressed, Momo," I told him as we started making our way to the door leading to the rest of the floor.

"Oh? About what?"

"It actually took you till the end of YGGDRASIL to finally get and use a weapon, like I've been telling you, and the guild weapon at that," I said, laced with smugness.

From the way he looked at me, I'm pretty sure if he could, he would roll his eyes.

"Very funny, Dracul. Let's carry on before we run out of time." He said as went on our way to the rest of dungeon.

"Heh, aye aye captain. Where are we heading next?" I asked.

"Hmm," he hummed in thought before he decided, "I've got just the place that I think you'll really enjoy."

"Really? Then let's go, no sense wasting time." I said, excited.

"It's the 5th floor and I think you'll really enjoy the atmosphere. It's also where Takemikazuchi-san stationed his NPC, Cocytus." He told me as he opened up a [Gate] to the 5th floor.

"Warrior-san? Now that's something I have to see for myself. Come on, let's go!" I said as I rushed towards the [Gate] and went into the 5th floor.

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---

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When I saw the 5th floor, I was thoroughly unamused and for good reason. Soon after, I saw Momonga step out of the [Gate] and arrived to see me glaring at him.

"Momonga," I said to him.

"Yes, Dracul?" He asked me, sounding like he's trying to hold in his laughter.

"I hate you," I stated to him as my health slowly, but surely dropped bit by bit.

The 5th floor was a virtual wasteland covered in ice and glaciers. Due to my race being a Fire Dragon and my Job classes, I took an obscene amount of damage from anything ice related and even with all my rings and necklace contributing to resisting the ice element, I took more damage than I like.

Apparently, that was all it took as Momonga started laughing at my predicament as the debuffs started coming in.

"Goddamnit, Momonga!" I shouted at him without any real heat as he continued laughing.

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---

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After the incident on the 5th floor, we spent our remaining time going around Nazarick and its floors. We spent most of our time talking about the old days and exchanging stories of the time we had in YGGDRASIL. Soon enough though, our time was running short so we decided to retire to the 10th floor to await the end.

As we made our way to the throne room, I saw a group of NPCs lined up by the side of the corridor to the throne room. Six of them are women dressed as French maids, some more risque than the others, and the only male was dressed as a house steward and they were bowing their heads in respect to us. At least that's what they were programmed to do.

"Are these the Pleiades you were telling me about? The last line of defence against invaders?" I asked Momonga as we stopped by the butler to look at them.

"They are. They were only supposed to buy time for us to prepare, but even then no one ever made it this fair." Momonga told me as he, seemed, open up a menu I couldn't see.

"I see. So these are their names, huh?" Momonga remarked to himself.

"Names?" I questioned.

"Ah, sorry Dracul, I was looking at the guild menu. Give me a moment." He told me as he introduced me to them quickly.

The male was dressed as a house steward and his name is Sebas Tian. An older looking gentleman with grey hair and along a well-groomed beard and moustache.

The glasses wearing maid was Yuri Alpha, a Dullahan and vice-captain of the Pleiades. She had black hair and wore it in a bun alongside with a blue necklace. Her outfit is a lightly armoured maid uniform and she seemed to have spiked gauntlets equipped.

Lupusregina Beta is a light brown skinned woman with a lithe build. Going by the ears sticking up in her hat, I'm guessing her race was an animal person much like Peroroncino. She has no armour or weapons equipped so if I had to guess she was a magic caster of some sort. She has bright red hair that she wore in two long braids that reached her waist and her maid outfit had a slit on the right leg, showing it off.

Narberal Gamma wears a heavily armoured maid outfit so I pegged her for a fighter, but I couldn't see any weapons on her. She's much like Yuri Alpha in appearance, but with her dark hair, she wore it long instead of a bun. She didn't have any defining features so I couldn't guess at what her race is.

CZ2128 Delta, which is a ridiculous name in my opinion, is an Automaton and the only way I could tell is the fact that her one eye, the other one having an eye patch over it, was emerald and had a scope as a pupil. She has long, light orange hair and she wore both camouflage gloves and scarf. Besides that she wore an outfit similar to Yuri, however, the armour looked like a more modern version than Yuri's.

Solution Epsilon is, in one word, risque. Out of all the Pleiads, her maid uniform showed the most skin and seemed to be made in a way to emphasize her sex appeal to the absolute limit the game would allow, which was pretty impressive considering how the devs kept a pretty tight lid on that sort of thing. She had her bright, blond hair in curls and blue eyes, but besides that, she wore no armour and had no weapons and along with being, seemingly, entirely human I have no idea what her race could be.

Entoma Vasilissa Zeta was the last maid in the line and the one that stood out to me the most. She was clearly one of the Insectoid races, but which one specifically, I couldn't tell. Her dress, instead of the french maid uniform, is rather Japanese in theme and seemed to based on a Japanese priestess.

"I have the distinct feeling that Whitebrim-san was the one who designed the maids for Nazarick. It would explain all the detail put in the dresses."

I'm sure that Whitebrim's-san obsession with maids is entirely unhealthy, always yelling about maids and justice or something.

"Indeed. HeroHero-san programmed them, but it was Whitebrim-san that lead the project. He was very… enthusiastic about it."

"That's putting it mildly," I snorted, "What do you want to do with them? We don't have much time left, you know."

He turned to look at the NPCs before deciding.

"They'll come with us to the Throne room. As the guild master, I should put the NPCs to good use at least."

"Your choice," I shrugged, "But we should hurry up to the throne room while we can," I advised as I took a look at the time.

23:50 PM.

"You're right. Come on, let's go." Momonga said as we both started walking down the hallway with the NPCs in tow behind us.

As Momonga and I started walking towards the Throne room in silence, except for the click-clacking of the shoes of the Pleiades, I took the time to remember time to think about YGGDRASIL and my adventure through it.

Making Dracul, a simple Dragonoid before.

Getting PKD constantly by other players who played early into the morning, bloody Lizardmen, to the point of almost rage quitting the game before managing to avoid them.

And finally going to the 9th and final World Tournament and even making to the finals before losing.

Can't be too mad about that though, I managed to become a Dragon because of that.

"Dracul?" I heard a voice saying my name.

"Huh?" I said as I looked to my left, seeing Momonga looking at me.

"Are you alright? You've been quiet."

"Ah, sorry," I apologized to him, "I was just reminiscing about the old times."

Taking a look around me, I saw that we were at the entrance of a giant room. It's an extremely large hemispherical room with a magic circle in the middle with 72 indents in the walls, most filled with demonic looking statues, and two very large doors at the end.

"What kind of room is this?" I wondered out loud as I looked around the massive room.

"This room is called The Lemegeton, named after Solomon's grimoire, and it was supposed to have 72 demon statues in it," Momonga answered me as we made our way to the doors.

"Supposed to? What happened?"

"The person in charge got bored." Momonga sighed.

"Ha!"

We walked in front of the massive doors that led to the throne room. The doors themselves had two impressive lifelike statues on them, the left is a beautiful goddess and the right is a scowling demon.

We walked up to stand in front of it and I waited for Momonga to open the door.

Except he didn't.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Ah, well, I'm just remembering when Lucifer-san made that golem and well…" he trailed off.

Oh yeah. That.

"He wouldn't do that. I think."

"Let's hope," he said, uneasy.

Without any hesitation, he opened the doors and I saw the throne room for the first time. If I thought the Lemegeton was impressive, the Throne room had nothing on it.

On the high ceiling, there hanged numerous chandeliers that seemed to glow an eerie light from the stones embedded instead of any candles. On both sides of the room, poles were hung and on those poles are the symbols of all the 41 members of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Its height and length are completely colossal as such the whole guild could comfortably fit in here and much more.

And at the end of the hall is the World item, the Throne of Kings. The monumental obsidian throne was on a raised platform, looking down on everything else and from what I was told was a gift by the devs when the guild conquered the original Tomb. The seat is big enough for one person, but the backseat is towering, tall enough to touch the ceiling.

"Damn," I said as I looked around in awe, "you guys really went all out here, huh?"

"We wanted it to be as impressive as possible, considering this is the last location of the dungeon. It was probably the longest discussion we ever had."

We walked towards the Throne with the NPC still following behind us in a straight line until Momonga put them on standby. At the foot of the throne was an NPC, female with long black hair, two horns jutting forward on her head and black wings on her hips.

"Is this Albedo you told me about?" I asked.

Albedo is the Overseer of the Floor Guardians and was set of three NPCs that Tabula made, however, Momonga didn't take me to see the other two for some reason.

"She is, but…" Momonga seemed to go through some menu before sighing, "It seems Tabula gave her an item, a World Item in fact, before leaving though."

This wasn't the first time we saw something like this. During our trip around Nazarick, we saw that some NPC, mostly the Floor Guardians, were given equipment by their creators like Cocytus was given the God Slaying Emperor Blade by War-san.

Still though, a World Item. That was a bit much.

"Are you going to do anything about this one? I could understand about the other ones, but you guys had strict rules about the World Items you owned." I questioned him.

"No," he said shaking his head, "It doesn't matter at this point, even if it is a World Item."

Momonga made his way up to the Throne of Kings and sat down on it while I made my way up and leaned against the right-hand side.

"You know, I never did take a look at Albedos backstory," Momonga said.

Shrugging I said, "If you want to take a look, now's the time. Though knowing Tab-san, it could be a bit….weird."

"Well, might as well." He said before using the Staff to look at it.

I couldn't see what he was reading, but the noise he made told me plenty enough.

"How much are you looking at?"

Tab-san has a strong personality, to say the least, and when he was passionate about something you could tell mostly because he wouldn't stop talking about.

Something told me he was very passionate about Albedo here. God knows what the other two are like.

"It's a...extensive background, to say the least. I think I'll just skip some of it to save time."

He waved his hand to skip the majority of it until he got to the end.

"A slut!?" Momonga said in shock.

What?

"What? You mind expanding on that?"

"Ah well, let me explain," he told me after calming down a bit.

And explain he did. Turns out Tab-san is a fan of 'gap moe' and from what Momonga told me, it was a gap between personality and appearance so he made Albedo as beautiful as he could so he could make her slutty as he wanted.

"I gotta admit, that's impressive devotion to one's fetish. Disturbingly so."

"Even if you say that, isn't this a bit much?" Momonga hung his head, before looking back up.

"Do you think he will mind if I change the last bit? I mean it's the last day an-"

"Momo." I held my hand up to stop him from rambling, "It's the last day, you're the guild master and you've been supporting the guild non-stop so if anyone comes back, everything will still be the same. I honestly think he wouldn't mind if you change a tiny detail in his NPC." I said.

I know Momonga would disagree with me vehemently on this, but for me, the fact that he left or any member for that matter means he longer has any say on what happened to any stuff, NPC or Items, in the guild.

It might be hypocritical for me to think such a thing, considering I'm an outsider of the guild, but Momonga cared a lot about the guild, more than anyone else. He should at least be allowed this much.

"Ah. Thank you, Dracul. My apologies, I didn't mean to start rambling there." He bowed his head slightly towards me.

"Don't worry about it, though I am curious to what you have in mind."

"Hmmm…" he hummed in thought as he rubbed his bony chin, "I've got it."

He started typing and when he finished he started chuckling to himself.

"What did you put?"

"Well, it's a bit embarrassing to say out loud…"

"I'll be disappointed if it wasn't. What, did you put 'she loves Momonga' or something?"

As soon as I said that, he went stock still and couldn't seem to look at me anymore.

He didn't, did he?

"Momo, did you actually put that in?"

"...Maybe."

Instantly I started laughing so much that I had steady myself against the Throne to stand up and Momonga's cradling his head in his hands.

"Momo, you sly dog you! I didn't know you had it in you! You didn't even buy her dinner first!" I said as my laughing started dying down.

"So embarrassing...how did you even guess that first time?" He asked me as he took his head out of his hands.

"Oh, it's simple," I said, still chuckling.

"How so?"

"It's what I would've put," I said honestly.

"Of course you would." He sighed, before dismissing the menu and looking at the NPCs in the room standing motionless in the room.

He raised his hand before bringing it down lightly.

"Kneel." He commanded.

At once, all the NPCs went to their knees before Momonga and bowing their heads.

"Finally started acting like an Overlord, eh?" I joked as I rested against the Throne.

"Well, if there's ever a time to start acting, it's now." He said as he rested on Throne and looking up to the flags.

"Do you know which symbols belong to who?" Momonga asked me as we both looked at them.

"Hmm…I know that's yours." I pointed to the flag that held Momonga symbol.

"Mhm, and that's Touch me-san." He points to Touchs flag.

"Hero-sans."

"Bukubukuchagama-san."

And from then we named all the flags that bore the symbols as a countdown to the shutdown.

It only took a couple of minutes.

Soon, too soon, it was 23:59:54.

"So, this is it, huh," I said, my voice bleak.

Servers shutting down in 6.

"Yes, yes it is," Momonga said, the same tone as me.

5.

"We had fun though, right?" I suggested.

4.

"It was fun." Momonga acknowledged.

3.

"Really fun…"

2.

"See ya, Momonga. It was great seeing you again."

1.

"Same here, Dracul. Goodbye."

0.

00:00:00

00:00:01

00:00:02

00:00:03

Wait, what the hell?

I looked down to my side to see Momonga still here as well, just as confused.

"Dracul?" I heard him say, except something was off with his voice.

Instead of the voice of a twenty-year-old or so Japanese man, it's a deep, baritone voice as if he really is an Overlord.

"Momo?" I said to him and the same thing was happening to my voice.

My voice is guttural and almost growling, like a Dragon, instead of the voice of a 16-year-old kid.

What the hell is going on? Did they push back the shutdown? What about our voices then?

"Lord Momonga? Sir Dracul? What's wrong?" I heard a soft, melodious voice call out to us.

We both turned to look at the source of the voice to see Albedo staring up at us with worried eyes and a concerned look on her face.

What the fuck?

"What the fuck?"

.

Spoiler: A/N

A/N: Hello and welcome to my first fic as you can tell. I won't raise the word count more then have to with these, so I'll just say if you like what you see review and tell me what I did good and what I did bad so I can improve in future. Thank you.

 

[Ereli]

The Overlord's Dragon.​

.

---

.

"What the fuck?"

As I said this, I felt something that should be impossible.

My mouth was moving. Same as Albedos.

YGGDRASIL is an old game and it showed. The mouths of the avatars, much less NPCs, don't move whatsoever, even when using voice chat. This applies to touch, taste and smell. It just wasn't possible to emulate such advance senses.

Then why can I smell flowers or feel the weight of my armour against my skin?

After my outburst, Albedo focused her gaze on me like I was sick or something. It was honestly disturbing seeing something that was lifeless instantly be full of life out of, quite literally, nowhere.

"Sir Dracul, are you well? Have I done something wrong?" She said, oblivious to my inner plight.

Besides gaining sentience out of nowhere for no reason, not really.

"A-ah, well, I mean…" I floundered trying to find something, anything to say to Albedo without freaking out.

Come on, Momonga, help me for god sake! Her bloody mouth is moving, that shouldn't happen!

"Sir Dracul, Lord Momonga, is everything alright? Did we do something wrong?" Albedo said urgently as she started getting closer to us and rising from her kneeling position, the flowery smell getting stronger.

"A-ah," I heard Momonga mutter before something strange happen to him. He was bewildered as I am to what's going on.

"The GM call isn't working." He stated confidently and clearly as I noticed something.

The mandible of his skull moved when he spoke. Same as me or Albedo.

Okay, what the hell was that? He was as flustered as I am and now he's all cool and calm? How is he even talking?! He doesn't even have a tongue! Or a throat!

Releasing what the seeming, issue was, Albedo backed off a bit before bowing her head slightly to Momonga.

"My deepest apologies, Lord Momonga, one such as myself has no answer to this 'GM Call' that you speak of," she said regretfully bowing her head.

Yeah, no doubt it. Her mouth is moving and from what I can see and the way he covered his mouth, Momonga noticed it and his own mouth move as well.

"If you'll allow me to correct this grave error, I will forever be grateful!" She pleaded as she desperately looked at Momonga.

This can't be real.

There is no way in hell that this can be real, this has to be a joke or something. We were waiting for YGGDRASIL to end, not for the bloody NPCs to come to life!

I saw Momonga holding his head in thought, no doubt trying to come up with his own explanation for what's going on.

I didn't say anything further, not trusting my voice to speak, and just trying to open my chat, open my stat screen or anything.

Nothing.

Eventually, though, Momonga let go of his staff to his left as it suspended in mid-air and spun lazily like it did YGGDRASIL.

Alright, so that works, but why doesn't anything else? Hell, why not the important stuff that will actually help?

"Sebas." I heard Momonga said.

"Yes," Sebas responded dutifully, with a refined voice, and looking up at us.

Oh good, they're all talking. At least it's consistent, this miracle.

Momonga seemed to hesitate before ordering him, "Go out and confirm the perimeter of Nazarick. Do not fight unless you have to and do not stray far from Nazarick. Take one of Pleiades in case."

"Understood, Lord Momonga." He said before deeply bowing and moving to leave the Throne room, taking one of the maids with him.

"Pleiades, go and guard the 9th in case of intruders." He commanded the Pleiades.

"As you wish, Lord Momonga." Yuri Alpha said in a mature voice before she and the rest of Pleiades bowed deeply to Momonga and departed from the Throne room.

After giving out the orders NPCs, can I even call them that anymore?, Momonga looked at Albedo, smiling gently at him, and then me, trying my best to be a statue.

Momonga and I briefly managed to make eye contact that I liked to think exchanged a message pretty well.

We need to talk.

"Albedo, I would like to talk to Dracul, privately for a few minutes. Can you wait outside the Throne room?" Momonga said to her.

"Of course, Lord Momonga," she bowed deeply to him before turning to me, "Sir Dracul," she nodded to me before walking out of the Throne room.

As soon as the doors shut behind her I finally moved in front of the Throne to stare at Momonga who stood up from the seat.

He stared me.

I stared back.

"Momonga. What the fuck just happened."

"Drac-"

"I mean, first, the servers aren't shutting down like they're supposed to! I can't even access any functions like my chat logs!" I said, frantically, starting to walk back and forth.

"Dracul, cal-"

"Now! Now, the fucking NPCs are starting to talk and did you see that?! Their mouths moved! Even our mouths are moving! NPCs don't talk! Ever! Then they started going at your commands that they shouldn't even recognize! I can even smell or feel the weight of my armour!" I started shouting, my voice rising ever higher in volume and walking faster back and forth along with feeling my heart rate skyrocket.

"Dracul! Cal-!"

"And do you hear this!?," I pointed to my throat, "This isn't my voice! I'm a 16 years-old boy, I'm not supposed to sound like a cross between a rabid Rottweiler and angry alligator that chain smokes!"

"Dr-!"

"God did something happen to our NNI?! What if-"

"Dracul!" I heard Momonga roared at me before grasping me by my shoulders and forcing me to a stop and look at him.

"Dracul. Calm. Down." Momonga said with a clear, soft tone.

"Nothing is going to get better if you panic now. It could even make the situation worse so, please. Take a deep breath and calm down." Momonga said, his red pinprick pupils staring at me intensely.

Looking at Momonga, I realised that I wasn't the only one in this predicament. I needed to calm down like he said before doing anything else or possibly making it worse for the both of us.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and let it out through my mouth as I felt my heart slow down and started beating normally.

Opening my eyes, I saw Momonga was still looking at me, though I felt him relax his grip on my shoulders.

"Are you okay now?" Have you calmed down?" Momonga asked, concerned.

"Y-yeah, I have, thanks for that, but I have to ask something. What about you? I mean, I saw how you reacted when Albedo started getting nearer and then all of the sudden, you're cool and collected? What's that about?" I questioned him as he let go of my shoulders.

"Honestly, I was just remembering something Punitto Moe-san said to me, but…" He trailed off, uncertain of whatever he was going to say.

Shaking his head, he carried on, "It doesn't matter. What does matter are only two things at the moment. How safe we are and how we can protect ourselves if need be."

He couldn't possibly be saying what I think he's saying.

"You think the NPCs are dangerous?" I whispered urgently as I took a glance at the door where they had left.

"It's a possibility. Sebas, the Pleiades and Albedo seem loyal for now, but it's the other level 100 NPCs that I'm worried about. We don't know what they're like or how loyal they are."

"Christ, just what we need," I said while I brought my hand to stave off a headache I was getting.

Or at least I tried before hitting my nose with my hand.

"Ow! What the hell? When did my nose get so big?"

I brought my hands up to touch my nose and that's when it hit me.

My nose is far too long and so is my mouth along with my jaw.

"Momo?"

"Yes, Dracul?" Momonga said as he watched me fondle my face with, what would be an odd look if he had any skin or muscles to express.

"Momo, I have a snout."

Reaching up further, I touched the top of my brows to find, not hair, but something hard with ridges that curled.

"Horns. I have horns."

Before he could say anything I whipped my head back to look behind me.

To see my wings furled up against my back and my tail prone on the floor.

With a thought, I felt my left wing expand outward slightly along with my right and then my tail, swinging lazily, to and fro.

Oh my god.

"Dracul, focus." I heard Momonga snap at me.

That wrenched me from my thoughts and I turned my head to see Momonga looking at me, annoyed.

"Right, right, sorry," I winched, "Do you have a plan or something? Because I don't."

"I do," He nodded as he stretched out his hand to grasp the Staff, "and here is what we're going to do…"

.

---

.

Albedo, Overseer and leader of the Floor Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, is worried about her true love.
She wasn't worried about him being in danger or anything like that. If that was the case, she would destroy the threat swiftly and without mercy.

No, She is worried because she feels like she has possibly offended Sir Dracul, one of her Lords closest friend and companion and whatever she did drove a wedge between Lord Momonga and Sir Dracul.

When she looked up to Lord Momonga and Sir Dracul, she saw the expressions on their faces, awestruck.

Her heart soared, when she looked upon her love and saw how amazed he was, by her beauty, his crimson, burning, pupils boring into her and his exquisite bone white jaw, gaping in wonderment.

But when she saw Sir Dracul with the same expression, slitted eyes wide open and maw hanging, her heart sank.

Did they both fall in love with her? Did she accidentally entrance Sir Dracul along with her Lord, thus driving a wedge between them? She heard some faint noises from the Throne room, but nothing that she can make out and certainly not fighting.

If that was the case, she would have to break Sir Dracul's heart and bluntly tell him that she will only ever love her Lord and nobody else.

Still, though, she did not relish the chance to do so. Dragons were among the strongest creatures in YGGDRASIL, but they were prideful and violent creatures, rampaging about, no matter how insignificant the slight may be.

If it was female companionship he was after, Albedo was sure Sir Dracul's personal maid will help him in that regard. Taking care of such a thing would be an honour for them.

Lord Momonga on the hand, why, the things she would do if he only asked….

The thoughts caused Albedo to blush slightly and daydream before hearing her Lord summon her.

"Albedo! Enter!"

Snapping out of her thoughts, the doors of the Throne room opened slowly and she entered to see Lord Momonga, grasping his Staff in his left hand, and Sir Dracul, on his right with a blank stare, looking down at her on the raised platform on which the Throne stood.

"How may I serve you, Lord Momonga?" She bowed deeply to the Supreme Being.

"Albedo, tell all the Floor guardians except Victim and Gargantua to gather on the 6th Floor Colosseum for a meeting in an hour. I will inform Mare and Aura myself so don't bother with them." Lord Momonga ordered her.

"As you command, Lord Momonga," she bowed deeply once again before raising her head to look at the two.

"Before I carry out your command, may I ask Sir Dracul something first, Lord Momonga?" Albedo asked head bowed.

"You may."

Though she did not notice, Dracul glared at Momonga from the corner of his eyes before focusing on Albedo.

"Albedo? Is something wrong?" Dracul asked, his voice softly rumbling.

"I was wondering what I had done to offend you, Sir Dracul," Albedo asked, looking straight at Dracul, face filled with regret and sorrow.

"Offend me?" Dracul said, brow furrowed, until his face lit up in recognition, "Ah, that…" he trailed off.

"You didn't offend me, Albedo. My reaction was due to...other things, nothing about you personally. Sorry for making you worry about it." Dracul waved the issue away, trying to give Albedo a smile, but it was filled with far too many teeth to be of any comfort.

Albedo's eyes lit up in surprise before they relaxed and she smiled gently at Dracul, relieved to have not offended the Dragon.

"I see then. I'm glad to have been mistaken then. By your leave, Lord Momonga."

Nodding, Momonga said, "You may go. We shall see you on the 6th floor."

"Until then, Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul." She bowed before departing.

As she walked, Albedo realised how wrong she was about Dracul and chided herself for it.

Dracul is a long time friend and ally to Nazarick and was even offered to be the 42nd Supreme Being, though he refused to reasons unknown to her.

Along with how close he is to Lord Momonga, of course, Dracul is no ordinary Dragon. Even still, he apologised when he had no need to, only to put Albedo's worries to rest.

Yes, thought Albedo as she smiled and left the Throne room, Sir Dracul is no ordinary Dragon indeed and she will always be thankful for that.

.

---

.

I let out the breath I was holding when the doors closed behind Albedo as she left the Throne room and turned my head to glare at Momonga.

"You know she's surprisingly nicer than I thought she was going to be, but still, I can't believe you threw me under the bus like that," I said in disbelief.

"It was hardly throwing you under the bus, it's better to nip these kinds of things in the bud, you know. She was worried she had offended you and the last thing we need is a miscommunication with the NPCs." Momonga said as we both started walking down the steps from the platform.

"Fair enough, I guess," I huffed, "How did I do anyway? I'm feeling much calmer, but you know. This whole situation is still kinda terrifying."

"I never said it wasn't, but as for how you did? You did well. You addressed the problem, made sure she understood nothing negative had happened and even apologized for the misunderstanding. Keep this up and you'll be a model office worker, you know." He told me as he glanced at me from the side.

"Yay, what I always wanted to be. Only took the digital world to become reality." I said as we reached the bottom of the steps and onto the floor.

"Besides, if this doesn't work out, I can kiss that office job goodbye."

"Like I said, we need to ensure our safety along with making sure Nazaricks facilities are working as intended and check if this really is reality. Luckily, we have one nearby that serves both purposes." Momonga said as we exited the Throne to the Lemegeton.

"And said 'facility' is the one with the 71 demon statues that are programmed on a kill on sight order on outsiders." Even as I said this, I still followed Momonga into the Lemegeton.

He was right that we needed to make sure that everything was still working as before and if this really had turned into reality and the Lemegeton just so happens to serve both purposes.

I just wasn't interested in meeting death demon statues that might kill me. Or eat me. Or both.

"Well, there are only 67 statues, but it's not them that I'm worried about. It's the lamps that I'm worried about the most."

That stopped me. "Lamps? Why are you scared of the lamps?"

"Er…" He nervously gave me a side glance before looking up at the lamps on the ceiling, "Well, if they're not doing anything now, I'm pretty sure it's safe."

I looked up at the four crystal lamps on the ceiling in worry before just sighing and leaving the issue alone. If something was going to happen, it would've already happened so no use worrying about it.

"You ready for this?" I asked as we stood in the centre of the Lemegeton, looking at the statues around us.

"Mhm," He nodded in response, "Now let's see, what was the command phrase again?

"Demons of the Lemegeton! To me!"

Instantly, the effect took place. The metal demon-like statues moved, faster than they should have any right to, and surrounded me and Momonga before assuming the ready position they were in before.

"Well," I looked around the metal golems surrounding us, "that worked and we're not dead so phase one of our master plan is complete."

"Indeed and everything seems to be in working order. Let's continue."

"Demons of the Lemegeton! From now on, you will only ever follow orders by me or Dracul!" Momonga shouted at the statues who didn't move.

"...Did it work?" I looked around at them.

"Try something. They haven't attacked yet so we're not in danger." Momonga said as he gestured for me to try something.

Shrugging, I pointed to a random one, "You, come to me." I commanded it.

As soon as I finished, the one I pointed to came to me and assumed a ready position after stepping before me.

"Well, that's not creepy at all," I said as I looked in awe at the golem responding to my command. I reached up to touch its blank, bronze, head with my gauntleted hand and feeling the cold metal it was made out of before cringing at what was going to happen next.

"This is gonna suck. Are you sure the ring is supposed to work like this?" I ask while Momonga ordered the statues back in their original positions.

"It's the safest way. We don't know if the ring will work on you or anyone else for that matter, but we do know from the Staff that certain functions still work so the ring should still work on me. Using a [Gate] is out of the question until we can confirm that magic is working like how it's supposed to." He explained to me as I took a glance at the ring in question on his bone white fingers.

The Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown is a Divine class item owned by the guild members of the same name that allowed them to teleport all over Nazarick with ease and even allowing them to teleport to the entrance of the Tomb from outside. The only place it couldn't teleport was the Throne room or personal rooms. The ring itself is a band of wrought gold and with a clear amethyst in the middle that housed the symbol of the guild.

"Right, right," I grudgingly accepted the reason and put my hand on Momonga's shoulder.

"If my atoms get disintegrated or something, I'll haunt you, just so you know," I promised Momonga as I prepared myself for the teleport.

"I would be surprised if you didn't. Brace yourself." He said to me as he used the ring to send the both of us to the 6th floor.

A flash of light later, all I saw was darkness.

.

.

An instant after that moment, our surroundings changed from the Lemegeton to a dark hallway filled with dim, artificial lights and a closed, giant portcullis at the end of the hallway.

"Huh. That worked better than I thought it would, honestly. Are we missing any body parts?"

Looking at Momonga, my eyes adjusting quickly to the dark, I gave him a once over and he seemed alright.

"You alright, Momo? Nothing missing?"

I saw Momonga looking over himself before looking at me and shaking his head.

"No, I'm alright. What about you, Dracul? Your wings and tail seem intact so I presume everything else is."

"Yeah, everything seems fine," I nodded, "Glad to know that rings work like they do in YGGDRASIL. You know I'm gonna have to borrow one, right?"

"I know, don't worry about. I'll give you one after this meeting." He told me before something hit me. Hard.

It was the overpowering smell of earth. Earth and grass.

"Hey, Momo," I drawled out as I turned to the portcullis, where the smell seemed to be coming in from, "Do you smell that?"

He looked confused before taking a sniff, somehow, and his eyes lighting up in surprise.

The evidence just kept piling up and up.

First, the NPCs come to life and talk.

Second, I can feel the weight of my armour rest against my skin, my voice changes and I can feel my wings rest against my back and my tail lays prone on the floor.

And now the smell of the jungle, of earth and grass, invades my nostrils.

All of this pointing to one fact.

That this is reality.

"What the hell is happening?" I said, more to myself than anyone else.

"I don't know yet, but we're going to figure it out, one way or another." I heard Momonga say by my side before walking down the hallway to the portcullis.

"Let's go, the twins should be here."

Shaking my head and putting the thoughts to the back of my head I caught up to Momonga and walked with him to the gate to the Colosseum.

As if it sensed us walking towards it, the portcullis opened for us just as we made our way to the Colosseum and probably my second favourite floor in Nazarick.
The 6th floor of Nazarick is a giant forest with the Colosseum being the only man-made structure on the whole floor.

The Colosseum, known as the Amphitheater, is a truly massive building, being 40 meters in height and several layers of an auditorium with all the seats being filled with golem constructs to act as guests and watch the bloodshed unfold as almost all of the invaders met their end here. The VIP suites were reserved for guild members to watch the adventurers fight for their lives as sport.

The best feature, for me, would have to be the sky itself. Not only did it have its own day and night cycle, it also corresponds with the outside world so daytime out there would be daytime in here and vice versa. The amount of data for such a thing is immense, but in return, they got a life-like sun and moon with their own effects and made it all the more beautiful.

It also helped that Blue-san built this floor and he's a nature fanatic that tried his best to recreate his ideal world on the 6th floor.

Along with all of this, I felt myself actually relax here, just enjoying the quiet the Colosseum held and the floor itself.

"Tooooooooooh!"

Oh, what fresh hell is this.

I heard a shout coming from above us, in the VIP box and I turned around to see a small figure jump from there to the ground.

The VIP box. That was six storeys up.

Oh god.

Doing a somersault mid-air, they landed and flexed their knees to negate the impact, kicking up quite some dust around them, but unscathed.

"V!" The figure, a small child, held up both hands in a V for victory and I got a good look at the kid.

"This is Aura, isn't it?" I asked Momonga.

Aura Bella Fiora is a Dark Elf, cousin to Forest Elves, child of eleven years and one of the twin Floor Guardians in the 6th floor along with her brother, Mare. She has bright, blond hair that reached her shoulders and seemed to reflect the light. She had androgynous features that just made her cuter and her eyes were mismatched, heterochromia, one blue and the other red.

She wore light leather armour reinforced with red dragon scales, which I don't know how that made me feel, to be honest, and white vest over it with the symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown stitched in gold thread on it, proudly displaying it for anyone to see. Her trousers matched with her vest and she wore a necklace with a golden acorn that glittered across her neck along with her gloves and plain white trousers.

A longbow was strung across her back and her whip coiled around her waist and her right shoulder, both the bowstave and grip covered in strange runes.

"That's right, though if she's here, where's Mare?" He said as he kept his eye on Aura and gripping the Staff tightly.

Before I could say anything, Aura started jogging towards us.

Well, I say jogging, more like sprinting across the field so fast that she's leaving a dust trail behind her.

Could I and Momonga do something like that? I rely on more strength and magic along with my sword than speed and agility and Momonga is a pure spellcaster, but it would be worth testing it out.

Before reaching us, Aura dug her heels and screeched to a halt, kicking up dust clouds along the way, but none of it actually reaching or touching us.

Damn, that's actually impressive if that was on purpose.

"Hahh~~" Aura sighed and wiped her forehead, but I don't think she was actually sweating so it was probably for the sake of being dramatic.

She looked up at us with a wide, warm smile and greeted the both of us.

"Welcome, Lord Momonga and Sir Dracul! Welcome to the floor that I guard!"

Her voice was full of the same respect and loyalty as Albedo and Sebas have, but it was more honest and showed much more warmth.

I could tell it had an effect on Momonga by the way his posture relaxed and he wasn't gripping the Staff so tightly as before.

"Hello, Aura. I and Dracul we'll be intruding for now."

Aura had a confused look as if Momonga just said something incredibly weird.

"What are you saying, Lord Momonga? You're the master of Nazarick, the Supreme Overlord, and Sir Dracul will always be welcome here! There's no place that is intruded if either of you visited!" She stated with conviction.

Nice to know that NPCs seemed to be consistent in their loyalty to Momonga, I just hoped this trend continued with the other Floor Guardians, but it did raise a question.

What about me?

It was obvious that they're loyal to Momonga and respect him more than they do me, from the way they talked and called him Lord and me Sir.

But I just didn't get why they called me Sir in the first place. I'm not part of the guild, whereas, Momonga is the guild master so I could somewhat understand the way they acted around him. For me though, I rejected the invitation to join the guild because of my GCSEs and that's not even mentioning the time zone differences between the UK and Japan. It just wouldn't work out, so I rejected the offer to join. All of them understood the choice but hoped I would join anyway, at least for a little bit.

Did they remember back when they weren't sentient? If so, does that mean they remember when they died as NPCs?

God, that's creepy to think about.

"Aura, If you're here, where's your brother?" I looked around to find no sight of Mare anywhere.

Aura and Mare are the twin Floor Guardians of the 6th floor so I thought they would be together.

As soon as I asked, Aura's eyes lit up in surprise and looked around her before glaring back at the VIP box.

"Mare! Lord Momonga and Sir Dracul have graced us with their presence and you're just hiding from them! How rude can you be!?"

I saw some movement shuffling about in the VIP box in response.

I and Momonga shared a glance before I spoke to Aura.

"Is that Mare back there? Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's just really shy, is all, Sir Dracul." She said to me before turning around and cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting, "Mare! Jump down here now!"

If I remember, Aura's necklace enhanced her voice range that helped her command the beasts that she tamed so her voice should be able to reach the VIP box on the other side of the Colosseum.

"B-but, sis, the drop…" I heard a timid, quiet, voice say from the VIP box

Holding her head in her hands and groaning, Aura turned to look at both me and Momonga with an embarrassed look.

"I'm really sorry, Mare is just shy is all. He doesn't mean to be rude."

"It's fine, Aura. I have no doubt about your and Mare's loyalty." Momonga dismissed her worries.

"Don't worry about it, I know he doesn't mean anything about it," I said to her.

Aura's face flooded with relief at what we said and turned around again, determined to get Mare down here.

"As a Floor Guardian, not only are you not here to meet with Sir Dracul, but you're not even here for Lord Momonga! We both know how disrespectful that is! If you're too scared to jump, maybe I should come up there and throw you off?!"

Damn, this is some tough sibling love.

"You know," I whispered as Aura carried on 'encouraging' Mare to come down, "this reminds me of when I was this shy and my brother had to drag me out of my shell."

"Truly?" Momonga whispered back.

"Yeah," I nodded as I thought back to those days, "He treated me like Aura is treating Mare right now. With how I was like then, you just kinda have to forcibly drag people out of their shells. I mean, look at how I turned out." I said as I saw a figure meekly jump out of the VIP box and landed on the ground.

"Yes," Momonga said to me as he looked at Mare running towards us, "Look at how you turned out."

"Oh shut up, you," I said with a roll of my eyes and looking at Mare who had finally arrived.

Mare is almost identical to Aura in terms of features, same hair and same eyes, but Mare's eyes were a reverse side of Aura's and even the same androgynous face along with an acorn necklace like Aura had, but this one was silver instead of gold.

In terms of clothing, he wore lighter armour and a blue dragon scale suit instead of a red one like his sister. He had a short, green, cape around his neck and his vest was much like Aura's in design and colour and his weapon of choice is a gnarled, wooden staff.

However, he did wear a short, white, skirt. Along with white stockings that mostly covered his legs except for the spot between his skirt and leggings.

Momonga had to reassure me multiple times that, yes, Mare is a boy and Aura is a girl.

The poor kid looks like we're going to berate him or something which is incredibly weird when I think about it.

Were Aura and Mare suppose to be like this?

I couldn't see the settings for the NPCs because I wasn't a guild member so I couldn't see the backstory for these NPCs, but if I remember correctly, Buku-san made these two so maybe this is how she wanted them to act?

I'll have to ask Momonga when I get the chance, he should have some idea.

"I-I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord M-Momonga, Sir D-Dracul," Mare said, timidly, and raising his eyes to peek up at us.

"Don't worry about it, Mare. No harm done." I told him as I felt myself smile at his attitude.

Yeah, just how I was before my brother pulled me from my shell of social awkwardness.

"As Dracul said, no harm done. It's good to see you both so lively." Momonga said as well.

"I'm teeming with energy, though it's so boring lately. I wish something would happen like a intruder invading or something." Aura said, sighing.

"I-I hope not, invaders a-are scary…"

That turned out to be the wrong thing to say as Aura's smile just became increasingly strained.

"Ha...Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul, can excuse us for a moment?" Aura said before grabbing her brother by his long ears and pulling him away from us.

"O-ow, s-sis, please that hurts…" Mare said while being dragged away like a henpecked husband.

"Well, at least we know who wears the pants in their relationship," I remarked dryly as I watched Aura whisper to Mare and scolding him.

"That was a terrible joke, but yes. It seems the NPCs have inherit some sort of personality from their creators."

"You've noticed that as well? You think that because they were made by Buku, that this is how they're going to act?" I asked Momonga.

Buku is Pero's older sister and she always said that younger brothers should listen to their older sisters.

After seeing Aura and Mare act in such way, it just makes me wonder about the other NPCs and how they'll act.

"Yes, it might be how Bukubukuchagama-san wanted them to act and as such, they're acting like this, now that they're alive and not NPCs," Momonga confirmed my suspicions and it got me thinking about one specific NPC.

"Hey, Momo…"

"Yes, Dracul?"

"If this is how the NPCs are going to act," I said as I looked at Aura and Mare, who was now on his knees on the floor in despair and Aura still whispering furiously to him.

"What about Shalltear? You know, Pero's NPC?" I asked, with far too much curiosity that anyone should ever have.

Momonga went stock-still before slowly turning to look at me.

"...Let's not talk about that just yet. We have other matters to attend to," Momonga said, ignoring me, before turning to Aura still scolding Mare.

Yeesh, I don't think what Mare did was that bad.

Normally, when Baku-san and Pero-san argue like this, everyone didn't really interfere because it wasn't any of their business, but things were a bit different now.

"Alright, this is getting out of hand," I said as I walk towards the siblings.

"Agreed. This has gone on for long enough." Momonga agreed as walked with me.

"Okay, Aura, I think Mare gets the idea now. No need to go on any further." I told Aura while she turned around to us in surprise.

"B-but, Sir Dracul, as a Floor Guardian, Mare-!" Aura blustered out.

"It's okay, Aura. I know how you feel about what Mare said. As a Floor Guardian, he shouldn't say such cowardly things, especially in front of me or Dracul, but I have no doubt that you and Mare would rise up to defend the Great Tomb of Nazarick in a heartbeat." Momonga stated to the twins as I helped Mare off the ground.

"And besides, isn't that the main thing? Though it's nice to see your sister take care of you, Mare. Even if we were mad about how you acted, how could we remain mad after seeing you get tongue lashed like that?" I said, unable to stop myself smiling.

Mare looked at me with wide, puppy dogs eyes before staring at his sister.

"Eh? It wasn't like that! I wasn't doing it to show off in front of Lord Momonga and you!" Aura said while blushing and stuttering.

"Aura, it's fine. Whatever your intentions may be, know that me and Dracul have no complaints about Mare's duty as a Floor Guardian."

"No complaints here. I trust Mare to do his best."

"Uh, yes! Thank you, Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul!"

"Th-thank you very much…."

Both of them bowed deeply and looked up at us with such wide childlike eyes that it was actually kinda embarrassing to watch and even worse being the subject of, that I couldn't help, but rub the back of my head.

I heard Momonga clear his throat before asking Aura something.

"Hm, Aura, didn't you say something about being bored because there was nothing to do?"

"A-ah, well, I mean, that was…"

"I'm not going to scold you for it so feel free to speak your mind, Aura." Momonga implored.

"...Well, it's just that there's no one here really strong enough to spar with on this level."

Makes sense, I suppose. Aura, along with the other Floor Guardians and some NPCs, are the only level 100 NPCs in Nazarick so only other level 100s could fight them on even ground.

"What about Mare? I'm pretty sure he could put up a good fight." I said as I looked at Mare.

Mare, on the other hand, looked positively terrified and shaking his head back and forth profusely.

Seeing how afraid Mare was to fight her, Aura sighed heavily, but as she did, something really strange happened.

The first thing I smelled was a sweet scent, much like the flowery scent Albedo had, but this one persisted whereas Albedo's left when she did.

The second thing was the small chill I felt go up my spine when I did smell it and the chill disappeared almost instantly.

What the bloody hell was that? I saw Momonga take a step back in surprise at the same time I smelt it, so it wasn't just me.

"Ah! Sorry, Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul! I didn't mean to do that!" Aura noticed our discomfort and hurriedly swiped her hand back and forth, dispersing the smell.

If I remember correctly, Aura is a Beast Tamer and she had certain skills that could inflict buff or debuffs through her breath, passively. Normally, when one is inflicted with a buff or debuff, they could see on their HUD.

We didn't have HUDs anymore. So we couldn't see any buffs, debuffs or any negative effect at all.

Well, that sucks. A lot.

"It should be fine now! I cancelled it!"

"Is that so…" I heard Momonga mutter uncomfortably.

He must've realised the same thing that I did about buffs.

"Aura, was that on purpose?" I asked, making sure to keep my voice calm.

Immediately, I saw Aura's eyes go wide in fear along with Mare.

"N-no! I would never-!"

"Aura. Calm down. I and Momonga aren't mad." I interrupted, trying to set her worries to rest, "I was just wondering if you can control it, is all."

Biting her lip, she said, "I can control it most of the time, but it spills out from time to time."

"...Were Dracul and I in the effective range?" Momonga asked.

"Mhm," Aura nodded, "But it shouldn't affect you, Lord Momonga because you're undead, but I don't know about Sir Dracul…"

"Don't worry, Aura, I'm fine. I'm immune to most debilitating effects."

Due to being a Dragon, I'm immune to most debuffs like fear or mind control, but I'm also immune to any buffs anyone tries to place on me and only I can buff myself. Something to do with a Dragon's pride being overbearingly strong or something, that they couldn't even bear the idea of someone else controlling or helping them.

I and Momonga looked at the twins with their heads bowed, awaiting a punishment or a scolding and I couldn't help but feel awful.

They're not just scared of us, they're outright terrified of angering us.

Momonga and I exchanged a glance before looking back to the twins.

"We're not angry, Aura, just curious. Do you really think such an ability will affect us? I just wanted to know if we were in range." Momonga gently told Aura.

"Mhm! Yes, you were both in the effective range, just now." Aura said, relieved at not being in trouble.

"What effect was it, anyway?" I asked.

"Umm... the effect should've been Fear, Sir Dracul."

Fear? Should that have really affected, or tried to rather, me? I mean, when I join a party with Momonga or anyone from the guild, the Tomb recognizes me as friendly and so it doesn't attack me unless the party leader puts friendly fire on, like Momonga did when he put me on the 5th floor and I started getting debuffs from the area. It clearly affected Momonga, which is even weirder because he's the guild master.

If anyone should've been protected from statues effect from the Tomb or NPCs, it should definitely be him.

"Aura, shouldn't your abilities not affect people from the same guild? The same group?"

"Eh?" Aura and Mare looked at me with wide eyes, clearly confused.

"Am I wrong?"

"Er...yes, you are. Could you have gotten it mixed up with other skills that increased its range?"

Oh shit.

So friendly fire was on then. Great.

"Aura, could you do other effects as well?"

I'm sorry, what?

"Momonga?" I asked him as Aura made a noise of confusion and tilted her head at him.

He didn't say anything to me, but he did look at Aura before reaching out his hand.

And then started petting her on the head.

I'm sorry, what?

Momonga seemed to be in a world of his own as he rubbed Aura's head and Aura…

Well, Aura didn't seem to mind and had a goofy grin on her face.

Looking at this bizarre scene of Momonga, a 5 foot tall Lich, rub the head of Aura, a Dark Elf child that's 3 foot, I took a glance at Mare and noticed that he's looking at Aura with a mix of timid fear and slight envy. He saw me look at him and quickly looked down the floor, blushing.

Goddamnit, Momonga. You owe me for this.

I gently put my hand on Mare's head and rubbed it.

What am I doing, honestly. This is so stupid.

I make sure not to rub too fast because I'm still wearing a gauntlet and I didn't want to hurt the kid, but I noticed something.

It's soft. Really soft, in fact. I couldn't feel the texture because my gauntlet, but I noticed how soft it felt.

More and more proof just stacks, huh?

Mare still had his head down when I went to pat him and when my hand fell down on his and started rubbing, the poor kid went stock-still and I thought I did something wrong, if it wasn't for the massive blush the kid was trying to hide, but as I kept going, he eventually relaxed. Well, as relaxed as he seems to get.

After a while of wholesome head patting, Momonga eventually stopped and me along with him, though I noticed him looking at me out of the corner of my eye.

Don't you judge me, you bloody hypocrite! I just felt sorry for him, that's all!

"Dracul and I will be conducting some experiments here, Aura, and we'll need your help with them."

Aura enthusiastically replied, "Of course! Leave it to me!"

"What do you have in mind, Momonga?" I asked him.

Rubbing his bony chin, he looked at one of the gems on the staff and then at me.

"Something like this," He told me before one of the gems started glowing and a summoning effect took place that looked exactly like in YGGDRASIL.

Out of thin air, three wolf-like beasts appeared that glowed with a silvery light.

"Moonlight Wolves? Really?" I blurted out.

Moonlight Wolves weren't exactly strong, only level 20 or so. I just expected more from the Staff.

"Don't be like that, Dracul. For this experiment, weaker monsters should work the best." He said to me before saying to Aura, "Go ahead. Include both me and Dracul in the effect of your skill."

"Huh? Really?"

"Do not worry. We'll be fine." Momonga insisted.

This time, as I prepared myself for the skill, I didn't feel any chills like last time. Indeed, I didn't feel anything as the effect clearly worked on the wolves, whimpering and backing away from Aura.

Was I just caught off guard the other time? I don't think I have to keep my guard up all time to be protected, but it's nice to have confirmation. If this is the case, I must have my other passives from being a Dragon such as:

[Flame Absorption]
[Burning Touch]
[Fire Penetration]
[Attack Damage IV]
[Draconic Presence V]
[Dragon Lord's Command]
[Blessing of the Fire Dragon]
[Triple Damage by Ice]
[Water Vulnerability V]
[High Tier Magic Immunity III]
[High Tier Physical Immunity III]

And others along with the passives from my Job Classes and it must be the same for Momonga.

Thank god for that at least, we're not totally defenceless.

"Did anything happen, Dracul?" Momonga asked me.

Shaking my head, I replied, "No, nothing this time."

"I see. Thank you, Aura, you've been a great help. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Lord Momonga."

"Good," Momonga nodded before looking at the Moonlight Wolves, "Return."

The Moonlight Wolves shimmered and vanished out of existence as if they were never there, to begin with.

"Sir Dracul, Lord Momonga? Did you just come up to this floor to try out these experiments?" Aura asked the both of us.

"Kind of. We've come up here for training, more or less." I replied.

"Eh? Training? For both of you?"

Aura and Mare looked at us with eyes so wide in surprise, I'm honestly impressed they stayed inside. I mean, is it really that absurd to train?

"Indeed," Momonga told them, swiftly, and tapping the butt of his staff on the floor.

"I-is that the legendary staff, a-a weapon of the highest order, th-that only you may wield Lord Mo-Momonga?" Mare asked stuttering, but with a shine in his eyes, as he looked upon the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

I guess it would be in bad taste to point out that said 'legendary weapon' only summoned weak monsters so far.

As the twins stared in awe of the Staff, Mare suddenly looked at me and Momonga before his eyes filled with fear.

"U-um! Please don't fight!" He pleaded with us, bowing as deep as he can.

Wait, what?

Aura looked at Mare in surprise before coming to the same conclusion as her brother.

"Sir Dracul! Lord Momonga! Please don't fight each other!" Aura pleaded and bowed alongside her brother.

Wait, they think we're going to fight? Now?

"Calm down, you two. I and Momonga aren't going to fight and we'll probably never will." I said as I put my hands on their heads in an effort to calm them down.

"R-really?" Mare asked as he looked up at me, my hand still on his head.

"Truly. I have no intentions of fighting with Dracul and he feels the same." Momonga told them as I nodded in agreement and lifted my hands off their heads.

"Then what will the both of you be doing, Lord Momonga?" Aura inquired.

"I shall be testing this out." He said as he lifted up his staff as it seemed to glow brightly, casting flickering shadows around us.

Oh, wait no, it's actually glowing. How many effects does that weapon have? If I remember it had some sort of soul effect as well.

Aura and Mare looked up at the weapon, oohing and aahing in wonder of the Staff.

"This staff the combined efforts all the guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown. The 7 Divine class gems are part of a set that, when together, increases their already considerable power." Momonga said, lost in the thought of when the whole guild was together.

I already knew some stuff about the Staff from what Momonga told me, but it did get me thinking about my own equipment.

My armour was a set, much like the 7 gems, that drastically increased any and all fire damage I do, but at the cost of making any other elemental spells, I cast completely useless. It also let me have much finer control over my passives like [Flame Aura] that I normally couldn't turn off, but my armor not only allowed me to turn off, but increases its range or power, or [Burning Touch] that usually only did a set amount of damage, but I could increase its damage output as long as I was touching a target.

My thoughts were broken when Momonga started coughing and the twins are looking upon him and his staff in awe.

"What an amazing weapon…"

"Wow, Lord Momonga! That's so cool!"

"It's about time you start using it anyway, it's your staff, you know."

"It's the guilds staff, but I suppose you have a point, Dracul."

Mare noticed the sword on my back and asked me:

"U-umm, Sir Dracul? I-if you don't mind me asking, what about your weapon?"

As soon as Mare said that, Aura turned to look up at me with sparkling eyes and an excited grin on her face.

"Please, Sir Dracul? Can we see it? Pleaseee?" Aura begged me as she and Mare looked at me with expectant gazes with those big puppy dog eyes they have.

How am I supposed to say no to this!?

And you can stop chuckling, Momonga!

I looked at the chuckling Lich for help, only for him to betray me and shrug.

It seems I've been beaten by children and a skeleton.

Joy.

Rolling my eyes, I relented, "Alright, alright, calm down. Back up a little bit first though."

Mare and Aura backed up a safe distance before I reached up behind me with my right hand to grasp the hilt of my blade.

As I grasp it in my hand, I noticed how right it felt in my grip and nostalgic it was to wield it again.

I drew my sword to its full length as I held it up in one hand.

It's light. Really light, as if I was lifting feathers and the grey steel edges glinted in the light, showing off the sharpness of its edge.

"This," I said with reverence in my voice and clutching it in both hands, "is Balmung."

I got my set of armour from the very same quest that changed my race to a Dragon so I didn't really have any personal connection with it and just left it nameless.

But, Balmung is mine, crafted and enchanted with my hands and my hands alone.
(Our treasure now and forever more.)
I crafted this weapon from materials purely from Muspelheim's mines and farming the rarest items I could find from the toughest monsters in Muspelheim, all to craft this one weapon.

Even killing Surtr, Lord of Muspelheim; to get a single item, a gem with a magical effect, I needed for this weapon.

And it was worth it. All the hours I spent, countless nights spent and mornings I wasted crafting this one weapon.

I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

"Wow…."

"It's so big! It's bigger than me!"

I felt my lips curl up in their praise for Balmung and pride surge through me along with the need to show off.

"But, ummm…," Mare muttered with his ears twitching, but I could already guess what he wanted to say.

"You're wondering what's so special about it, aren't you?" I grinned at him as he tried his best to hide his face and stammer an apology.

"Hahaha! Don't worry about it, Mare. True, it doesn't have a lot of things it can do and it looks plain compared to the Staff, but the one thing it can do…"

With a thought, Balmung was suddenly ablaze; the flames crackling as if it was devouring the sword itself for fuel, over the blade and burning so hot, I saw Mare and Aura cover their faces and sweating from the sudden heat and the dirt around me dried and cracked in seconds.

"It does very, very, well." I grinned, showing my teeth before turning Balmung into its base state and sheathing it.

Aura and Mare looked at me astonished expressions on their face before Aura broke out into a grin and Mare just stared, dazed.

"So this is a weapon of a Dragon. Amazing…."

"Awesome! Just as expected of Sir Dracul! Are you and Lord Momonga going to experiment with them?"

"Indeed we are and I was hoping you could help us."

"Of course, Lord Momonga!" Aura replied with a salute and a grin, "We'll go and prepare right away! But… Could we see the powers of the Staff first?" She asked, sheepishly touching her fingertips together.

Mare didn't say anything, but the tips of ears twitching and pleading look said enough.

"Go on, Momonga. I showed you mine, now show me yours." I insisted, failing to stop the grin on my face when I saw him look at me.

He didn't have any skin or flesh to express, but he didn't need to.

"I suppose that's fine. I shall show you all a fraction of power this staff, that only I can wield."

Getting a bit grandiose there, but I suppose he's gotta keep up appearances

"Awesome~, to see both Sir Dracul's weapon and now the Staff!" Aura said, jumping up and down.

"And before I forget, Aura, all the Floor Guardians shall be coming here for a meeting. They shall be here in an hour."

"Eh? Really? Then I and Mare should get rea-"

"No need. All you need to do is be here when they show up."

"Really? Hmm...When you say all Guardians, do you mean Shalltear as well?" Aura said, cringing.

"All the Guardians."

"Haa…" Aura sighed, ears dropping.

What was that about? Mare didn't seem that upset to see Shalltear so was it just Aura then?

"Aura, Mare, go and get some straw dummies. I and Dracul would like to test somethings." Momonga ordered the twins.

"Ah! Right, come on, Mare!" Aura perked up while dragging Mare off.

"Nice to know that our gear seems to be working along with our racial passives. You think the same for our Job Classes apply?" I turned to Momonga when the twins were out of sight.

"There's no reason to think they don't. I have a feeling we'll see eventually, but before that." Momonga said before turning to look me in the eye.

"How was it?"

"How was what?" I frowned.

"You know exactly what I mean."

What on earth was he talking ab…

Oh.

"Listen. I only did that because Mare was being left out, okay? And have you seen the kid? Poor guy looked so sad that he was being left out and what's more, what about you? Why did you start petting Aura all of a sudden?"

"Well, I mean…" He started stammering, "They just reminded me of puppies, you know? It just came out of instinct."

"Of course they did," I rolled my eyes, "But, I think that kinda settled it for me, when I touched him, you know? That this is real and not a dream or anything."

It was an absurd notion. Absolutely insane to even consider, but all the proof stacked up against us. Smell, touch and now the NPCs having sapience out of nowhere.

This is reality. As much as I didn't wish it was.

"Indeed. We've confirmed that our equipment works along with our passives. Now we just have to confirm that magic works like it did in YGGDRASIL."

"Right, I got a question about that actually."

"Hmm?"

"What was that about? Saying we're here to test the Staff? I thought we were going to test our magic."

"Oh, that. It's possible that the NPCs are only loyal to us because they think we have power. It's incredibly likely they weren't written to be absolutely loyal and they could betray us and the guild if they figure out we're possibly powerless."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with lying to them?"

"Simple. They think we're here to test the power of the Staff and we've proven it works just like it should, so if any magic doesn't work then we can cover it up with the Staff."

"Huh. That makes a surprising amount of sense, though I do think you're worrying too much about the NPCs. All the ones we've met so far are loyal."

"Keyword being: so far. We still don't know about the other Floor Guardians."

"Point. When did you get so smart anyway?" I said as I saw the twins return with some straw dummies being carried by two large humanoids.

"Well," Momonga said, turning to face the twins, "One of us has to do the thinking."

"Bite me," I said, turning to face the twins and seeing what they brought.

They're being followed by Dragonkin, A giant humanoid with dragon-like features, tails as thick as trees, though they had no wings and are bipedal. They had scales that made them resistant to heat and their arms were massive, as big as a man's torso and half as long as its body.
(A Dragon that can not fly is no dragon at all, but they are kin notheless)
Dragonkin, much like Dragonoids, are lesser cousins to actual dragons, but they were also considered a much weaker version of a Dragonoid. They had no wings while a Dragonoid did, showing how much closer they were to an actual dragon and Dragonoids could perform magic while also being versed in physical combat, but Dragonkins can't cast any type of magic.

"Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul! We've returned!" Aura yelled while waving at us.

"Welcome back, Aura. If you would, place those targets over there and stand back."

Nodding, she turned to the Dragonkin behind her and said:

"Right, you two, place them over there." She waved to a nearby place.

The Dragonkin placed the two straw targets before walking back to the twins, standing behind them.

I and Momonga walked towards them, me to the right and him to the left and the twins looking at us with expectations.

If this doesn't work, this is going to be really embarrassing.

"You wanna go first or shall I?" I asked.

Shaking his head, he replied, "No. Let me try, I have an idea of what to do."

Shrugging, I waited for him to cast a spell and soon after I saw him lift his hand and point out his finger.

"[Fireball]" He intoned.

As soon as he said the words, a globe of roaring flames appeared and grew on the tip of his finger and shot out towards the straw man, hitting it and turning it, along with the immediate area surrounding it, into a sea of flames and scorching it.

It all happens in a blink of an eye and soon, only the blackened straw man is left in a burnt patch on the ground.

Holy shit, Magic is real.

Holy fuck, we can use Magic.

I looked at Momonga, mouth wide open, who was staring at his hand before hearing him giggling quietly under his breath.

"...Fufufufu…"

Who laughs like that? Doesn't matter, questions later, Magic now.

"Momonga? How did you do that?" I asked him, getting his attention.

"Just focus the spell you want to cast and say its name. You should get information about the spell itself in your head." He told me.

"Right, let's try [Fireball] then."

I held out my finger, same as Momonga, and thought about the spell I wanted to cast and instantly got hit with information about the spell; Mana cost, CDs, radius of the spell and other things along with something inside of me, like a well of power that's just waiting for me to release it.
(Unleash our flames, our wrath, upon the world and it shall tremble before us.)
"[Fireball]" I chanted.

Much like Momonga's fireball, an orb of flames appeared at the tip of my finger, but my one is different.

Whereas Momonga's fireball was a globe of uncontrolled flames, my fireball is a perfectly spherical, bright orb that looked more like a ball of light than a ball of fire. The sphere of light shot forward towards the target, making a streak of light and hitting the straw doll.

It exploded, throwing up scorching winds and dust, obliterating the straw doll and setting area on fire, as if it was a scene out of hell itself.

Jesus Christ, alive.

After the dust had cleared, but the fires still raged, I saw what had happened to the straw doll.

There wasn't anything left of it. Where it was originally, only a sizable crater is left, surrounded by fires that still raged on.

I slowly looked at my hand that casted to spell.

I looked at Momonga, his jaw slightly open.

I looked at the twins, the Dragonkin in front of them to guard against the heat, to see Aura with a wide grin on her face and Mare with a shocked expression, their ears twitching.

I looked back at the crater with the fires still raging around and inside it, but not spreading thankfully. I can't really leave it like that so I decided to try another spell.

"[Fire Siphon]".

[Fire Siphon] is much like an active version of my passive [Flame Absorption] in that both consume fire to replenish my MP, but I barely used it because of how situational it was.

[Fire Siphon] can only absorb the 'fire effects' that very few magic attacks left, while [Flame Absorption] is a passive effect that absorbs any and all fire attacks thrown my way so I just never bothered using it.

As the I casted the spell, all the fire and heat started lifting up into the air and going in my direction, specifically going for my hand and going into my palm.

As I absorb the flames, I could feel my MP being 'refilled' for a lack of a better term and soon after all that was left were a crater the size of a big car, ash and scorched black earth from the flames.

"So." I turned to Momonga, still staring at me, "Magic works."

"Yes," he confirmed quietly, "Yes, it does."

"Aura. Set up more straw dolls."

"Ah! Right, you two! Set up more dolls!"

The two Dragonkin both picked up a straw doll and set them up for us.

Well, one did. The other had a bit of trouble due to the fact that a big crater was in the way.

"Just place it at the farthest edge," I told it.

It looked at me with a confused expression before his eyes widened and quickly got to work, walking back to Aura at a brisk pace.

Well. That was weird and I'm not the only one that noticed. Aura is looking between me and the Dragonkin as if trying to see what happened between us.

Doesn't matter, questions later, Magic now.

"What spell are you thinking of using this time? I'm going to try [Flare Whip] myself."

"I'll try [Napalm] next, though I will have to test my necromancy at some point."

"I'm sure we could scrounge up some mice or something for you to raise."

"And I'm sure we could find a use for all your hot air."

"Pfft, I'll show you 'hot air'."

I looked at the straw doll, about 10 meters away from me, and lowered my hand while Momonga raises his.

"[Napalm]"

"[Flare Whip]"

Momonga's straw doll went up in a tower of flame, burning to bits much like the first.

Unlike my [Fireball] spell, the [Flare Whip] isn't nearly as flashy, but it did cost much less mana and was more versatile, if less damaging.

As I casted the spell, I felt it take an effect and took a look at my left hand.

A small chord of fire is wrapped around my hand, like a snake constricting its prey and I felt the meagre drain on my MP as I casted the spell.

I shot out my left hand to the straw doll and the whip flew through the air until it the target, colling itself around it and burning it all the while.

As the whip wrapped itself around the straw doll, I noticed that it worked incredibly different then from before, in YGGDRASIL.

[Flare Whip] was simply a way for me to bring the target in close range, for me to deal the most damage with Balmung, but here it seems to work like a real whip.

Deciding to test it out, I lifted my left arm up towards the sky. The next instant, the straw doll ripped out of the ground and going upwards into the sky.

Oh.

Well, now would be a good time to test out something.

"[Blazing Arrows]" I intoned as three arrows made of fire, materialized beside my shoulders, and shot towards the straw doll in the air.

Nice to know I don't need to gesture for spells I didn't before and the arrows still track the target, even in mid-air.

The three arrows struck the straw doll, one in the head and two in the body, setting it ablaze and reducing it to nothing more than ash, my whip losing its grip with nothing to hold onto and snapping back to my hand.

"Verdict, Momonga?" I asked him, dismissing the [Flare Whip].

"Perfect, Dracul, just perfect." He said, satisfaction filling his voice.

"Really? I would give it a 7/10 myself, but I'll take the compliment" I grinned at him.

"You know what I mean."

"I do, I do. Do you think the more exotic spells work?"

"It'll be something worth looking into, but for now I'm satisfied with what we got."

"Sir Dracul, Lord Momonga? Will you be needing more straw dolls?" Aura asked us.

"No need, Aura. I'll be trying something." Momonga told her and muttered something under his breath while giving me a look.

Oh god, he's going to throw a fireball or something at me, isn't he?

All of a sudden, I felt something 'click' in my head and connected to something else.

"Dracul? Can you hear me?" I heard a familiar, baritone voice in my head.

Oh god, this is even worse. How do I even respond to this?

"I can, but I don't know if you can hear me."

"I can. Good, it seems [Message] is working then."

"This is [Message]? Bloody more complicated than a chat box, but I'll suppose it'll have to do. Have you tried contacting a GM or something?"

"I'm about to. Can you try contacting someone else through this?"

"Yeah, I'll try some of the guys and any else I know. Hopefully, someone will be here."

"Hopefully." Momonga gave me the instructions on how to use [Message] before cutting the connection.

Right, let's give this a shot.

The best way I could describe using [Message] would be that's basically a magic version of a phone. It rang and rang, but if it couldn't get through it would hang up.

I tried contacting someone else of the guild first, Touch-san, Pero-san and even Ulbert-san. Anyone at all, really.

Nothing.

Maybe [Message] had a range or something? I and Momonga can't be the only ones here.

It's better than thinking about the alternative, anyway.

After trying futility to contact someone, anyone at all, I had no luck.

Sighing in frustration, I rubbed my hand through my hair until I realised I didn't actually have any hair.

Damn it.

"Anything? I asked him just as my last choice, Lucifer-san, cutted out.

Momonga shook his head, "No, nothing. I presume the same?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "I tried everybody. No answer."

"I expected as much, but still…" He trailed off, "No matter. I'm going to see if I can contact Sebas on our location."

"Alright, should I check on Albedo? See if anything's come up?" I asked Momonga as seemed to think about it.

After a moment he said, "Do that. We'll get a good idea of when she and the other Guardians will arrive and if they ran into any complications on the way."

Nodding, I sent a [Message] to Albedo, feeling a 'click' to something.

"Sir Dracul, how may I help you?" I heard Albedo say before I said anything to her.

Weird, that she knew who I was before I said anything, but the Floor Guardians seem more knowledgeable about Magic than me or Momonga at the moment.

"Just checking to see how things are going on your end and to see if everything is alright."

"Everything is well, Sir Dracul. I have informed the Guardians and we should be on the 6th floor in twenty minutes or so, but..."

Oh god, what now?

"Albedo, is something the matter? Are all the Floor Guardians alright?"

"Ah! No, nothing like that. I'm with Demiurge at the moment and I just saw Cocytus, but it's just…. Sir Dracul, can I ask you a question? About Lord Momonga?"

This isn't going to end well.

"Depends on what the question is, but go ahead."

"Thank you. What kind of woman does Lord Momonga like?"

Wow.

Of all the things I expected, that wasn't even on the list.

"Right... "

How do I even answer this!? I and Momonga never talked about this kind of stuff!

"Well, I can't personally say what kind of woman Momonga prefers, but I do know that he would want a loyal and loving woman."

Along with every other man on the planet, but hey, Momonga is a man so this technically applies.

More to the point, why is Albedo even asking these types of questi...

Oh.

Oh shit.

"Of course, I shall always be by his side as his loving wife, but it's just that when I talked to Shalltear and told her about the meeting, she seemed very enthusiastic and I realised that she was un-"

Right, I can see where this is going, though I wish I didn't.

"Albedo, I can assure you that Momonga doesn't care if you're undead or not. It makes no difference to him in any way, whatsoever." I cut her off before she can talk my ears off.

"A-ah, truly?"

"Truly. I don't have a lot of experience in this matter, but I can assure, just act like yourself and it'll turn out alright."

Hopefully. Bloody hell, I need to talk with Momonga about this.

"Thank you, Sir Dracul. That helps more than you know"

"Don't worry about it. Give my regards to Demiurge and I'll see the both of you at the meeting."

"Of course. Until then, Sir Dracul."

God, what a weird conversation.

.

---

.

What an enlightening conversation that was.

Albedo disconnected the [Message] spell to Sir Dracul and felt relief flood into her as she thought about Sir Draculs words.

When Albedo contacted Shalltear about the meeting and noticed how enthusiastic she was to meet Lord Momonga, she thought that lamprey had a head start on her love.

"Who was that, Albedo?" She heard a smooth voice break her thoughts.

Turning her head back, she said, "That was Sir Dracul, Demiurge. He was seeing if anything was wrong. He also gives his regard to you."

"Sir Dracul? I look forward to meeting the person that could've been the 42nd Supreme Being." Demiurge mused out loud to himself and looked at Albedo, "You've met him, Albedo, tell me. What do you think of him?"

Albedo stopped to think about Lord Momonga's companion and the stalwart ally of Nazarick.

For as long as she can remember, Sir Dracul was a close friend of Momonga and the other Supreme Beings, offering help and even fending off invaders once, a long time ago. He was even offered to become a Supreme Being but turned it down for reasons known only to himself and other Supreme Beings.

Even so. Even if he did refuse the offer to ascend to be a Supreme Being, he stayed with her love to the end. Stayed behind when no other did.

For that, she'll be forever grateful.

"Sir Dracul is a part of Nazarick as much as you or I, Demiurge. He has defended Nazarick in the past and I have no doubt he will do so again in an instant." Albedo responded, resolute in her judgement.

"Oh, I have no doubts where his loyalties lie. I'm just curious what kind of person he is and if he deserves to stand by Lord Momonga's side."

Albedo hummed in thought, "In that case, don't expect him to be like a normal Dragon. He is much more than that and he isn't offended easily. Other then that, I can't rightly say. You'll just have to meet him yourself." Albedo told him.

"I suppose I'll have to. I look forward to it then."

"Indeed, so do I. Come, we need to reach the 6th Floor for the meeting."

.

---

.

Christ, I never hope I have to give love advice ever again. Besides, isn't Momonga a skeleton now? Does he even have a penis?

Oh god, do I have a penis?

"What did Albedo tell you?" I heard Momonga say, breaking me out of my thoughts of depression.

"Nothing much. She and the rest will be here in 20 minutes or so, but you and I need to have a conversation. A private one." I not so subtly glanced at the twins expectant faces.

"Yes, we do. Sebas has told me some distressing information," He told me and turned to look at Aura and Mare, "Let me handle this."

"[Summon Primal Fire Elemental!]" Momonga yelled as the red jewel in the Staff glowed brightly before dimming.

I'm sorry, what?

A massive column on fire, both in stature and size, rose up from the ground and twisting faster and faster into a tornado of angry flames. The fire tornado kicked up scorching winds in all direction, hot enough to melt steel, I saw out of the corner of my eye the twins being protected by the Dragonkin and I wasn't worried about Momonga, due to him having absolute immunity fire because of his gear.

As the hot winds twisted and turned, I could feel myself get invigorated by the flames and the heat felt comforting, rather than sifitling.

Soon though, the windstorm of flame started compressing before revealing a demonic looking form, made of magma and flames.

A Primal Fire Elemental is one of the strongest elementals in YGGDRASIL and Momonga can summon one with just the Staff? I would be impressed if I wasn't so jealous.

Aura made a noise of wonder along with a look of astonishment and excitement as stared intensely at the Elemental like Christmas had come early for her.

That gives me a thought.

"Hey, Aura," I called out to her.

"Ah? Y-yes, Sir Dracul?" She said, still looking at the Elemental.

"Do you two wanna fight it?" I asked her.

"Eh?" She whipped her head to look at me.

"Ehhhhhhhh?" Mare looked at me, pleading.

"L-lord Momonga?" She asked him to make sure it was alright.

Shrugging, he said, "It's alright. It's not a big loss if you defeat it."

Aura's face lit up like a Christmas tree along with a bloodthirsty smile that seemed a bit out of touch on a child's face while Mare…

"Ah, I have something that I really need to do so I'll just…"

"Mare~"

Poor kid didn't stand a chance.

Aura reached out and grabbed Mare before he could run anywhere. He looked at her and whatever he saw, froze him. He turned to look at the both of us for help.

"Alright, you two. Do your best and don't blame me if you get hurt." Momonga said.

He looked at me for help and I couldn't help, but smile at him reassuringly and his face blossomed into hope.

"Have fun, you two," I said, still smiling.

Mare's face fell harder than an anvil being dropped.

"We will, Sir Dracul~, come on Mare!" Aura told me as she dragged her despondent brother while he tried and failed to say anything.

"Begin!" Momonga yelled and clapped his hands.

As soon as he clapped, the Elemental roared and rushed towards the twins, kicking up flames and dirt as it went to destroy the twins.

Aura stood on the frontlines, whip ready, while Mare stood behind prepare spells to both damage the Elemental and help his sister.

The living inferno swiped at Aura, spreading flames around her, but she jumped over its claw and swung her whip across its body, dismembering it before it regenerated back into shape.

While Aura is in the air, the Elemental took that chance to scorch her with its flames, but Mare casted a spell to protect her from the flames and both continued attacking the monster.

Yeah, they got this in the bag.

"So, you want to go first? I kinda want to hear what Sebas said." I asked Momonga as we both watched the twins have fun with the Elemental.

"Well, it's not good. Apparently, we're surrounded by plains with no swamps or marshes insight along with no intelligent life around for miles." Momonga told me.

"You've got be joking me. Really?" I put my hand on my forehead, trying to ward off a headache.

"Really," Momonga nodded, "I've asked him to come to the meeting to give a more detailed report and tell all the Floor Guardians of the situation."

"Great," I sighed, "Well I've got some good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"

"Good news, please. I'm in desperate need of some."

"Well, Albedo has told all the Floor Guardians and they should be making their way here in 20 mins or so. As for the bad news, well…" I scratched the back of my head.

How am I gonna tell him that Albedo is madly in love with him?

Bluntly, I suppose.

"Right, so, Albedo is madly in love with you."

He looked at me. And looked at me. And looked at me.

"Eh?"

"Yeahhh...you remember that edit you made before the 'shutdown'? Seems to have taken effect."

He looked at me still in stunned silence.

"Congratulations buddy," I slapped him on the back, "You're married."

That seemed to have snapped him out of his funk and slowly put his hand on his face.

"Oh, Tabula-san, I'm sorry. I've sullied your NPC... " He bemoaned.

Honestly, I think she was sullied before the edit, but I don't think he wants to hear that right now.

"Don't be like that, Momo. We have no idea this could've happened." I reassured him.

"I suppose that's true," He sighed and looked at the twins fight with the Elemental, "Let us go over what we know so far."

"Right," I nodded, "Well, we know Magic works, our items work and our passives as well. What about functions, like our inventory? Can we access it?"

"Hmmm," He grabbed his chin in thought, "Let me try."

Momonga brought his hand up to the air and I saw his arm be consumed by a dark void. He swiped to the side of the air and as he did, a black hole opened up in the air.

I looked into the whole to see numerous wands, staves and other such items in the space, floating.

"Damn. I can't believe you kept your inventory full of shit." I exclaimed as he sighed in relief.

"It is not 'shit'. You never know when these might come in handy."

"That argument would hold weight if you actually ever used any of it."

"No matter," Momonga deflected my comment, "Now you try. It's the same as in YGGDRASIL, just think on it like a spell."

"Right." I raised my hand to air and thought about my inventory and, much like Momonga, my arm was covered by darkness. It felt like I was breaking through the surface of water, only it wasn't hot or cold. I swiped to the left to open my inventory.

My very empty and barren inventory with only my helmet in there.

"Is that it?" I heard Momonga's disappointed sigh behind me.

"Come on now, we can't all be hoarders. Besides, it's not like I need loads of stuff." I said as I closed my inventory, leaving my helmet in there. Not much point putting it on.

"I suppose, but enough of that. What do you think of the NPCs?" Momonga asked me as we both watched the twins, still fighting, but the Elemental is getting sluggish.

"They're not NPCs. Not anymore. They act too 'human' to be just bits of data and commands. I mean, they act a certain way because of certain things, but they still have emotions and thoughts. Which is scary on its own, but that isn't something we can really do about."

"Indeed, I think the same. What about the world? Do you think we might be in another world? Considering what's happening and what Sebas said... "

"Honestly? It's not outside the realm of possibility. I mean, suddenly, the digital world became reality with no warning whatsoever. It's not like it's the weirdest thing to happen today. We'll have to check later, but it's looking likely." I told him while trying not to think of all the impossibilities happening in the span of such a short time.

"True, but if that is the case, the rules of YGGDRASIL, a game, shouldn't apply here. You should be able to use staves and I should be able to use swords, for example."

"It's a possibility, but something we'll have to try later. We should get our bearings before anything else and look for clues, see if anyone else is here, or something. We're just strangers in an even stranger land right now."

"Right. Do you think the others could be here? Or anyone else for that matter?" He asked me.

"Hopefully. Like I said, we'll have to search for clues or something. That has to be some intelligent life here we can contact and talk to."

"Hopefully." Momonga sighed heavily as we watched the twins butcher the Elemental.

At this point, the Elemental's flames around are much dimmer and weak along with its even more sluggish movements tells me that Aura and Mare are almost finished.

"Looks like they're almost finished. Anything else you want to talk about before they kill it?"

"There is one matter, yes." Momonga nodded, grimly before staring straight at me.

"Dracul. Do you want to go back home?"

That stomped me. Not because of the question, the answer was obvious.

Of course, I do. Of course, I want to go home.

I want to see my brother again and argue with him about inane stuff. I want to see my mom again, help around the house and I want to see my dad again and learn about how I might take over his shop one day.

I want to see my family again.

It wasn't a question of if, it's a question of how.

How am I going to go home?

I have no idea. I really don't. I doubt Momonga knows either.

"I-I-"

"Sir Dracul! Lord Momonga! We're finished!" I heard Aura yell. I turned to see the Fire Elemental fade away into nothing as Aura and Mare ran towards us.

"We'll talk about it later, Dracul. Sorry to ask you something like that so soon." Momonga whispered to me, regret filling his voice.

I released a heavy sigh and whispered back, "Don't worry about. I know you're just trying to help, but for now, let's just deal with things one at a time."

"Right." He and I turned to the twins, both running towards and covered in sweat.

"A spectacular show, you two." Momonga praised them.

"Indeed, your teamwork was splendid." I complimented them along with Momonga.

The twins, even Mare, smiled radiantly at that, proud of what they did.

"Thank you, Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul! It's been awhile since we fought so hard!" Aura smiled at us while she wiped the sweat from her brow, only for more to appear on her dark, brown skin.

Momonga wordlessly put his arm in his inventory and pulled out a pitcher of water along with some expensive looking cups and filling them up with cold water.

"Here you go, you two. Have a drink."

"Eh? We couldn't possibly…" Aura trailed off, uncomfortable.

"I-I could just make some water with my m-magic, Lord Momonga…" Mare timidly told Momonga.

"Think nothing of it. You two always work so hard, so think this as my thanks to the both of you."

Both their faces and ears lit up with red when they heard that, but they couldn't help the small smiles on their faces and meekly grabbed the glasses.

"Th-thank you, Lord Momonga!"

"T-to think that you would pour us water…"

Aura grasped the glass in both hands and quickly gulped all the water in one go, droplets dripping by the corners of her mouth and on to her white vest while Mare simply sipped his.

Jesus, these kids can't be more different even if they tried.

"Would you two like some more?" Momonga asked, raising the pitcher after they have finished.

"Ah! No, thank you, Lord Momonga!"

"Is that so? Mare?" He asked Mare.

"Eep!"

Did he actually just eep?

"Er, er, I-I've had enough, thank you, Lord Momonga."

Momonga nodded and took back the glasses and put them back into his inventory along with the pitcher.

"You didn't offer me a glass, you know." I teased Momonga.

"When you do something useful, I'll give you a glass," Momonga told me.

"What are you talking about? I'm always useful."

"For roasting pork and hot air."

"Hilarious." I rolled my eyes.

"You know," I heard Aura whisper to Mare, "I expected Lord Momonga and Sir Dracul to be a lot scarier."

"Oh?" I and Momonga glanced at each other and back at the twins.

"If you really feel that way, me and Momonga…"

"No! Now is good! Now is the best!" Aura passionately shouted all of a sudden.

Right. That came out of nowhere.

"We'll leave it at that then," Momonga said, but I can see he was as surprised as I was at Aura's outbursts.

"U-uhm...Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul? Are you only nice to us or…?" Aura asked, uncharacteristically meek.

I and Momonga looked at the twins as I thought about the question.

I mean, I'll like to think we're nice to others as well, but if I told her that she might take it the wrong way.
Before I could say anything though, Momonga lifted his hand up and started petting Aura.

Again.

Goddamnit.

"Ehehehe…" Aura mewled.

Already predicting it, I looked at Mare who's stealing glances at me, hoping to also be petted like last time.

Goddamnit.

I stretched out my hand to pet Mare like last time, but before I could, I heard a voice:

"Oh, am I the first one to arrive?" The voice is that of a formal, but a young girl, older than Aura somewhat.

A shadowy pool formed in the air, making a portal that I recognized as a [Gate] from there emerged a 14-year-old girl dressed in a dark ball gown and gloves, covering most of her pale skin.

Shalltear, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Floor Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Who, by the smell, seems to be wearing incredibly strong perfume.

Oh, this is going to be great.

Now, I've never really been interested in girls or boys so I never really bother taking notice of certain body features like breasts or pectorals.

But I'm 100% sure that her breasts were not that big when I met her before the shutdown. What the hell happened to her?

"...Oi, Shalltear. You do know that we're prohibited against teleportation in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, right? You don't need to use [Gate] so frivolously, so you should walk here, like everybody else."

Aura's voice held none of the warm respect she held for I or Momonga, but only caustic hostility.

Where the hell did this come from? Aura just went 1 to 100 real quick.

I saw Mare start trembling. inching away from his sister and getting closer to me. Don't blame him, this just came out of nowhere.

Shalltear didn't even bother looking at the Dark Elf and just made a beeline for me and Momonga, smiling all the way.

Taking a sniff, Aura said, "Something stinks. Have you really started rotting because you're undead?"

Wait, isn't Momonga undead?

He apparently noticed that comment as well because he started sniffing his hand.

"Pft!" I snorted uncontrollably before trying to get myself under control, though the glare Momonga sent me told me that I wasn't very successful.

"Is that not an offence to Lord Momonga? He's also undead, you know." Shalltear responded, in a tone, one would use when talking to an idiot.

"Hahhh? What kind of things are you saying, Shalltear? Momonga isn't an ordinary undead. He's like a super undead."

What the hell is a super undead? I mean, Overlord is an incredibly rare race of undead, but you know. Not a super undead.

"So, Mare. Do Shalltear and Aura usually act like this?" I asked him as Aura and Shalltear agreed that, yes, Momonga is a super undead.

"Er, yes S-sir Dracul. This is how their relationship just is." Mare echoed the same words that Albedo told me.

Huh. I wonder if they know they were made to be NPCs?

"Erm s-sis, maybe you should say something el-else? I mean, Lord M-Momonga is still an undead s-so…"

"Ah, ah, that's true. Alright, take two. Ahem, don't tell me you started rotting because you're a walking corpse?"

Jesus Christ, Aura.

"I-I suppose that's b-better…"

Well, I mean, Momonga is a walking skeleton, but whatever.

Choosing to ignore Aura's barbs, Shalltear turned towards me and Momonga, but when she saw the both of us, she had a conflicted expression on her face.

"Ahhhhh… who to chose? Lord Momonga's illustrious; chiselled bones are so alluring and his hellish red pupils, but Sir Dracul's rugged face and sharp teeth, oh… and to ride a Dragon…"

What the fuck is this.

Are I and Momonga be sized up or something? I feel like a piece of meat being sized up before being eaten.

Oh right.

Pero-san made her.

Oh god, Pero-san made her.

"...Shut up…" I heard Aura growl at her like a feral beast.

"Oh, Shorty? I didn't notice you were still here, so I thought you left." Shalltear finally responded to Aura's barbs before turning to Mare and smirking.

Shorty? You aren't much taller than her though.

"It must be hard to have such a weird sister. You should leave her before something happens to you before it's too late."

Okay, yeah, no.

"Shalltear," I said to her, voice rumbling.

Shalltear looked at me in shock and her face stopped smirking, "S-sir Dracul?"

"What's between you and Aura stays between you two. Don't use Mare to cause friction, alright?" I put my hand on Mare's shoulder to stop him from trembling and made sure to sound calm, but strong.

"A-ah! I'm sorry, Sir Dracul…" Shalltear responded depressed, but with a heavy blush on her face before I heard her mutter, "Ah…to be scolded by Sir Dracul…."

I'm going to ignore that.

"Hmph. Serves you right." Aura spat at Shalltear, but she didn't seem satisfied, if anything, she seemed a bit peeved.

"Don't be like that, Shorty. Jealousy is such an ugly thing." Shalltear smirked at Aura

"Huh? What rubbish are you saying now? Jealous of what?"

As if it was even possible, her smirk grew and said:

"Jealous of when Sir Dracul scolded me, of course. You can't hog him for yourself."

What?

"What!? What kind of trash are you saying?!" Aura exploded, her face and ears going up in red.

"You know exactly what I'm saying, Shorty," Shalltear said, her voice still formal, but with a hint of victory in it.

Aura looked at Shalltear, her teeth grinding before her face suddenly changed into a grin, showing off all of her teeth.

"Shut up. Fake tits."

Fake tits? What?

Apparently, that was the bombshell to destroy the fort known as Shalltear composure as she suddenly gaped at Aura.

"What the hell are you saying!?" Shalltear let out an outburst as her character she built up tumbled down to rubble.

"Hmph, it's so obvious, it's disgusting. Do you really think you could seduce Sir Dracul or Lord Momonga with such things?"

"Wai-!" Shalltear waved her arms about as if trying to get rid of the words Aura said with a childish expression that fit her.

I noted that she isn't denying it, which just raises further questions.

If that's the case, where the hell did she get them? I'm pretty sure we don't keep a stock of them.

Aura shot Shalltear with an evil grin, "I bet you packed so much in there, they shift when you run, don't they?"

"Khu!" Shalltear made a strange noise and covered her chest as if to protect them from Aura's words.

It didn't work.

"I was right, wasn't I? Hahaha! So that's why you didn't run and used a [Ga-!"

"Shut up, Shorty! It's not like you're any better! You have nothing while I have at least something to show off!" Shalltear tried to desperately counterattack at Aura's words.

It didn't work. Again.

"Hmph! I'm only 76-"

I'm sorry, what? Aura's 76?

Wait, does that mean Mare's 76 as well?

"76?" I whispered to Momonga as Shalltear and Aura continued arguing.

"Aura and Mare are both aged 76, but they're like children among other Elves due to their long lifespans," Momonga whispered back to me as we both watched the fight before us.

"Well, alright then." I accepted easily enough. It wasn't the weirdest thing to happen today.

That would be Shalltear 'flirting', but I don't want to think about that.

"You shitty brat! That's it!" Shalltear shouting brought my attention back to their fight that had escalated.

Shalltear had black mists of magic rolling around her hands and body while Aura readied her whip to fight back.

"You know," I whispered to Momonga, "This reminds me of when Pero and Baku fought."

"Indeed. It brings back memories of when they fought, but do you think we should stop them?" Momonga asked me quietly.

Before I could respond, I felt something in the air. A chill that wasn't there before.

"WHAT A RUCKUS." I heard a low, strange, monotone voice say and causing Shalltear and Aura to stop, looking at the figure that spoke.

The figure is a massive Heteromorphic being that towered over everyone else in the Floor, ranging at 2.5 Meters in stature. He's one of the Insect race, but he looked like a crossover from an antlion and praying mantis with a dull blue exoskeleton that sparkled like gems and a long tail that was covered jagged pieces of ice, sprouting from him like spines.

He had 4 arms, each wielding a master crafted weapon. Two held a halberd made of pure platinum and the others held a gnarled-looking greatsword and giant mace wreathed in darkness.

He's covered in an aura of deadly cold and two glaciers sprouted up from his shoulders and where he walked, a thin sheet of ice covered that area and where he breathed, frost vapours expelled out of his mouth.

"YOU STAND BEFORE A SUPREME BEING AND SIR DRACUL. BEHAVE YOURSELVES." He said in the same monotone voice, but with a hint of anger in it. He slammed his halberd on the ground and the area around it froze.

"Shorty started it!"

"I started it?! You-"

"Awawawa…"

Alright, alright, this has gone on long enough.

I brought my hands together in a thunderous clap that echoed throughout the whole Floor, causing everyone to jump and to look at me.

"Shalltear, Aura, that's enough. If Cocytus is here, Albedo and Demiurge will be here soon, you know." I told them.

"Indeed. That's enough playtime, you two." Momonga backed me up.

Shuddering, they immediately bowed to us, "My sincerest apologies!" They shouted in unison.

"Apologies accepted." I smiled at them, while Momonga regally nodded his head while he turned towards Cocytus.

"Cocytus, you've come."

"I CAME IMMEDIATELY UPON HEARING YOUR SUMMON, LORD MOMONGA," Cocytus said as the frozen vapours came into contact with the air with a cracking sound.

If I remember correctly, Cocytus and I are actually quite similar in terms of build, but he focused more on the martial aspects than the magical, while I split my focus between the two.

And the obvious difference between fire and ice.

For some reason, I felt the flare of competition rise up inside of me when I saw him, but I have no idea why.
(What is stronger? The fires of Muspelheim or the ice of Niflheim? We shall see)
Whatever probably isn't important.

"Cocytus, good to see you. Keeping busy?" I said to him, good-naturedly.

"INDEED, SIR DRACUL," His mandibles click with what I think was chuckling, "THOUGH NO INVADERS HAVE COME, I'VE BEEN TRAINING IN CASE."

"I see you've been working hard then for my sake. Thank you, Cocytus." Momonga said gratefully.

"Indeed. Keep up the good work, Cocytus."

"THE TASK DOES NOT SEEM SO TIRING WITH BOTH OF YOUR PRAISE," Cocytus bowed his head to us before looking up, "I SEE ALBEDO AND DEMIURGE HAVE ARRIVED."

We both turned to where Cocytus was looking to see Albedo and a man walking behind her like a subordinate.

"Forgive me for keeping everyone waiting." Demiurge bowed.

The tall man, 5.9 foot tall, had Oriental features with slick back hair and a silver tail that 3 spines on each side of it. He wore a red suit along with a matching tie and glasses hid eyes that weren't even open along with long, elf-like, ears along with small, black flames that occasionally flared up around his shadow.

Demiurge, the Floor Guardian of the 7nth Floor of Nazarick.

"Looks like everyone is here. Are we missing anyone?" I asked, looking at everyone gathered.

"Sir Dracul, Lord Momonga, it seems we're missing two people." Said a pleasant sounding voice that belongs to Demiurge.

"Those two are only to be moved under very special circumstances. There is no need to call them at the moment." Momonga told Demiurge.

"I see."

"...MY ALLIES HAVE YET NOT ARRIVED." Cocytus said in his monotone voice.

Upon hearing that, the female Floor Guardians; Albedo, Shalltear and Aura all froze upon hearing that and Albedo's smile became strained.

"Allies?" I said out loud before I realised what he was talking about, "Ah! You mean the Area Guardians."

"INDEED, SIR DRACUL."

"Hmm…" It would help if everyone knew what was going on, but having them all come here would take too much time.

"It would take too much time for all the Area Guardians to get here so all the Floor Guardians should relay what is said here to their respective Floors." I offered.

For some reason when I offered the suggestion, except for the twins and Albedo, looked at me in surprise.

What? What did I say?

Nodding, Momonga said, "Dracul is right. Relay information to your respective Floors and Area Guardians."

It seemed that Momonga's words brought them back to attention and they understood their orders.

"Now, everyone," Albedo stated to them all, "Let us pledge our loyalty to the Supreme One."

Oh, god.

All the Floor Guardians nodded and, before I or Momonga could say anything, they lined up before us, with Albedo up front and all the others behind her. They all had respectful and serious faces.

Shalltear started, "Shalltear Bloodfallen, Guardian of the First, Second and Third Floors of Nazarick, presents herself before the Master." She said, voice filled with pride and kneeled before Momonga.

"COCYTUS, GUARDIAN OF THE FIFTH FLOOR, PRESENTS HIMSELF BEFORE THE MASTER." He kneeled alongside Shalltear.

"Aura Bella Fiora, Guardian of the Sixth Floor, presents herself before the Master."

"M-Mare Bella Fiora, A-also Guardian of the Sixth F-Floor, presents himself before the M-Master."

They both kneeled alongside the others, all perfectly lined up and perfectly inline with each other.

Demiurge approached in a dignified manner, "Demiurge, Guardian of the Seventh Floor, presents himself to the Master." He kneeled gracefully alongside the others.

A last, Albedo approached like a bride to be in her white dress.

"The Guardian Overseer Albedo presents herself to the Master."

She smiled at Momonga and knelt like the others, but continued speaking with her report:

"As you have requested, all the Floor Guardians, except for Floor Guardian's Victim and Gargantua, have arrived before you. Thus we offer up our utmost loyalty to you, Lord Momonga."

There's no doubt now.

All of the Floor Guardians and the whole of Nazarick have the utmost loyalty to Momonga.

The man himself though…

He was silent.

I don't blame him though, I have no idea what to say either.

I mean, the pressure in this room just became unbearable and crushing expectations the Floor Guardians hold for Momonga is indescribable.

I didn't move. I didn't speak. I didn't blink.

I couldn't. They pledge loyalty to him, not me. If I spoke now, god knows what will happen.

So I remained silent. Hoping for Momonga to bullshit his way through.

I saw Momonga move his red pinprick eyes slightly to his right, where I was. I met his eyes and tried my best comfort him with my presence, as odd as that sounded.

All of a sudden, I felt something wash over me, like cold, clammy swamp water before being brushed off like water on a building.

I saw Momonga being surrounded by an aura of pure darkness rolling off of him in waves as if it were the movements of the ocean.

I have no idea why he activated [Despair Aura] but it seems to be working as the Floor Guardians suddenly stock-still.

Fuck it, I should follow his lead. Don't want them to think I'm weak or this whole thing could go up in flames.

As I followed Momonga's example and activated my [Draconic Presence], there was no aura or halo effect like Momonga's [Despair Aura] but there didn't need to be.

I felt the magic took effect and I could see how it affected the Floor Guardians.

[Draconic Presence] is an AoE much like [Despair Aura] and they served the same purpose of crowd control, but they differ in how they did it.

[Despair Aura] had a myriad of effects and debuffs, like Fear, Insanity or even Instant Death as befitting an Overlord of Death.

[Draconic Presence] however, only had one effect and one effect only.

Fear.

Or rather, it initiated a person's flight or fight instinct. A Dragon is, above all, an apex predator and what can prey do before a predator besides fight or run?

Under the combined weight of [Draconic Presence] and [Despair Aura], the Floor Guardians started trembling and Aura and Mare started sweating.

"Raise your heads," Momonga commanded them.

With nary a sound, they all raised their heads in perfect unison, but their limbs still trembled.

"Firstly….Thank you all for coming here."

"There is no need to thank us. We're your loyal servants, Lord Momonga. To us, you are the Supreme Overlord." Albedo stated, her words slurring ever so slightly.

None of the other Guardians argued her statement.

This is insane and I'm only a decoration here. I have no idea what Momonga is feeling right now, being thrust into a leadership role like this. I really wish I could help, but what can I do without making it worse?

Momonga remained silent and his crimson pupils just bore into the Guardians.

To them, it must seem like he doubts them.

To me, it just seemed he didn't know what to say.

"...Lord Momonga. I know it's only natural for both you and Sir Dracul to doubt us when our abilities must pale in comparison to the both of you." Albedo forced her words out, no longer smiling, but face set in resolution.

"However, if you or Sir Dracul gave the order, we, all of the Guardians, we will accomplish it. No matter how arduous or how gruelling the task is, we will complete it. We hereby swear that we shall never let the 41 Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown, our makers, be disgraced and shamed by our actions."

"This we swear!" They all yelled in unison, voices filled with power and unbreakable loyalty, making me feel stupid for doubting them in the first place.

I felt my eyes widen at their display of loyalty and respect they held for us, but I felt myself relax finally.

These NPCs, people, in front of me were made by my best friends and it showed. The way they spoke, they acted and even how they argued with each other.

These guys are the legacies they left behind.

What a legacy they are.

I felt my lips curl up into a small smile and deactivated [Draconic Presence]. While none of the Guardians made any overt movements, I saw Aura and Mare let out a small sigh, while Demiurge, Cocytus and Shalltear were looking at me with wide eyes.

I saw Momonga's glowing crimson pupils brighten up and felt him relax considerably than earlier as he probably saw the same thing that I did, what the Floor Guardians represented.

"Excellent. Truly excellent, Guardians. I have no doubt in my heart that you will understand my aims and carry them out to the best of your ability. Somethings may be difficult to understand, but please listen the best you can. The Great Tomb of Nazarick is in an unknown situation right now."

Their faces didn't change, but I could tell they listening intently.

"Although both I and Dracul have no idea what caused this to happen, The Great Tomb of Nazarick has been transported from a swamp to vast plains. Have anyone of you noticed something different or unusual happen?"

Albedo looked back to the Guardians, all replaying in the negative.

"I'm afraid to say that, we're also unaware of what happened."

"I see. In that case, I have a question for all the Floor Guardians. Have anyone of you discovered anything strange on your respective Floors?"

The Guardians each responded:

"No irregularities on the Seventh Floor."

"Same with the Sixth Floor."

"I-it's as sis says…"

"THE FIFTH FLOOR IS THE SAME."

"Nothing has been reported to Floors One to Three."

"I shall investigate Floors Four and Eight right away, Lord Momonga."

"I shall leave that matter to you, Albedo. However, be careful on the Eighth floor. If a situation arises on that Floor, you may not be able to handle it."

Albedo nodded with a serious face while Shalltear said:

"I will handle matters on the surface than."

"No need, Shalltear," I said, finally speaking, "Sebas has already been sent ahead to recon the surface."

The Guardians face twisted into surprise and shock at what I said and I understood why. Sebas is one of a handful of NPCs that were level 100, besides the Floor Guardians, and he is also incredibly strong in melee combat, besting both Cocytus and Albedo if turned into his true form, A Dragonoid like I used to be.

"He should be arriving soon to give his report." I carried on, before noticing something, "Forget that, he's here now."

Sebas is jogging his way to us and kneeled to us, along with the Guardians.

"Forgive me for my lateness, Sir Dracul, Lord Momonga."

"It's fine, Sebas. Tell us what you know." Momonga ordered him.

Sebas raised his head and looked at the Floor Guardians in question.

"It's fine, Sebas. We're in a vulnerable position right now and the Floor Guardians need to know all they can." I eased his worries.

Nodding his head, he said, "Of course, Sir Dracul."

"To start with, we're surrounded by 4 kilometres of grassy plains in each direction. There is no man-made structure that I could see or man-made light. There were no large creatures or humanoids, but I did see some small animals."

Well, that tells us nothing we didn't already expect. Maybe he missed something?

"Were those small animals monsters?" Momonga asked him.

"No. They had no combat power whatsoever."

"I see. The plains of grass, was it made of ice? Did it cut you as you passed through it?"

"No. It was simple grass."

"And was there anything floating in the sky? Buildings, sky castles or anything?"

"No. There was no man-made structure floating, only the starry sky."

Really? Christ, that tells us nothing. There has to be something out there.

I could tell that Momonga is as disappointed as I was with what Sebas told us.

I didn't doubt Sebas's information at all, but I do wonder what he saw out there and if we would see the same thing. I mean, have the NPCs ever been out of Nazarick before now? Do they know what to look for signs of civilization?

I came to a decision. One that I hope didn't come back to bite us.

"Momonga."

"Dracul?" He broke out of his thoughts and looked at me.

"I'm going outside," I told him.

"...What?" He said, baffled.

"Do you doubt me, Sir Dracul?" Sebas said, not judging or upset, merely curious.

"I have the utmost faith in you, Sebas." I said honestly, "It's just that what you saw out there is not what I'm going to see out there."

I said that more for Momonga than anyone else, but apparently Sebas understood what I was talking as his eyes widen before bowing his head in compliance.

"Dracul. Are you truly going outside? It could be dangerous." Momonga said to me, worry filling his voice.

"Don't worry, Momonga. At the first sign of trouble, I'll run away with my tail between my legs." I told him, grinning.

His bright, burning red pupils bore into me before he sighed, relenting.

"Fine then. Before you go though, take this." He held out his palm and a small flame flicked into existence shortly before revealing a ring of wrought gold and amethyst jewel in the middle with the symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown in it.

I wasn't the only that saw the ring. The Guardians gasped with wide eyes and Sebas looked in wonder of the ring.

I suppose they knew what the ring was and who it belonged to, so I shouldn't be surprised they reacted like that.

"Thank you, Momonga. I'll keep good care of it." I bowed my head in thanks and reached out to take it from him.

As I did, he suddenly grabbed my hand in an iron grip, the action causing me to look at him in the eye.

"Do not fight. Do not engage or contact anything. Your safety matters above all, in this." Momonga told, pleaded, to me.

"Don't worry, Momonga," I smiled at him, "I can take care of myself."

"I wonder sometimes." He muttered under his breath as I put the ring on my finger.

I nodded to the Guardians and Sebas, still gawking, before using the ring to teleport to the entrance of the Tomb.

I saw a flash of light and then darkness.

.

---

.

I blinked open my eyes and looked around me to see that I'm at the entrance of Nazarick and that I'm alone out here.

I let out a sigh of relief at finally being alone, but I still feel guilty at leaving Momonga alone like that. He can take care of himself though and he seemed to have the situation in hand.

I took a better look around me and noticed that Sebas was right.

Grassy plains as far as I could see, swaying gently in the wind.

The wind that I felt on my face.

That seals it then.

We're in a different world. Not just world either, but a different reality altogether.

The realization hit me like a truck.

And I started chuckling to myself.

Soon, I started full out laughing, turning my throat raw in the process.

"What kind of joke is this?" I said out loud, holding my hand to my head.

Shaking my head clear, I realised this didn't change anything. Merely confirmed what I and Momonga suspected.

I looked up at the sky and gasped.

The stars were out and sparkled in the sky like diamonds, waiting to be taken.

It was beautiful. More beautiful than I could ever express in words or thought.

Back home, pollution has destroyed the environment and clouds the sky 24/7. To get a clear picture of the stars, like I was seeing right now, one had to look up an image online or in a book, to say nothing of actual greenery on the planet.

"Oh, Blue. You would've loved this." I said, wistfully wishing my friend was here to see this wonder.

The stars were so clear and seemed so close, that I could just grab them in my fist and pull them down from the heavens.

I reached up as if to do just that before an idea struck me.

I looked back behind me to see my large wings, forgotten about, waiting to be used.

"Well…" I felt my lips curl up into a grin, "Let's see how well these things work."

I spread my wings to their full length, 2 meters tip to tip, and readied myself to jump as high as I could.

With my full strength, I jumped upwards and a massive boom echoed out, shooting myself far into the sky above.

I felt the wind rush past my face as I rocketed into the sky as I focused on my wings flapping desperately, trying to steady myself in the air.

I may not have thought this out as much as I should've, really.

Soon enough, I lost my momentum and I thought that I was falling back to the earth. Until I realised that wasn't case at all.

I'm floating in the air and my wings were lazily flapping, keeping me afloat.

I could fly.

I am flying right now.

"Heh...ha.." I felt myself laugh like before, but in joy rather than bleakness.

I shifted my body and descended slowly, my wings working as they should.

In the back of my mind, I realise that this isn't how it should work. That physics don't work like this.

I ignore that thought because I can fly.

Swiftly and without warning, I jerked my body upwards and ascended up the clouds like a rising star, the wind rushing past me.

"Hahahaha!" I laughed without reserve and full of joy. It felt so natural to me and so right that no one could tell me otherwise or spoil my fun right now.
(We are Dragon. The air is our domain, our kingdom. None may take that from us)
I can't do anything fancy as I would like right now, but I make sure to put at the top of my priority list when I have some free time. And just fly more in general.

I looked down to see the entrance of Nazarick, much smaller than before. I'm probably a thousand feet in the air right now, but I feel like I could be higher. Much higher.

Again, something I'll do later. I have a job to do now.

While in the air, I looked around me to see if I could find anything man-made or some sort of sign of civilization.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing for miles around.

Damn, Sebas wasn't kidding. There really is nothing around here. I'm gonna have to fly farther out to see anything.

It's a risk, but this whole situation is already risky.

Determined my course of action, I picked a random direction and flew.

.

---

.

Momonga, Guildmaster of Nazarick, is worried sick, although he tried to hide it as best as he could.

He's worried about his young friend being out on his own in a new world and possibly in danger.

As much as he teased him about it, he knew how smart Dracul is and wouldn't get into any danger while he could help it, but that was just it.

While he could help it. It's a very real possibility that he could be in danger through no fault of his own, especially when they know so little of the new world around them.

Even his emotions being strangely suppressed helped little, going into overdrive due to his worry.

Momonga wished he sent Sebas or someone to guard him, but what's done is done.

For now, he has to command the Floor Guardians and protect Nazarick as best as he can.

"Then you're all dismissed for today. Everyone, take a break before doing your duties, there are a great many things we don't know yet so don't push yourselves to the brink of exhaustion."

The Guardians gathered nodded their understanding.

"However, before you go, I have a question for all of you. To begin with, Shalltear. What am I to you?"

If they were surprised or taken aback by the question, they did not show it.

"You're an incarnation of beauty. You're one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. Even diamonds fail to match your snow white splendour." She said with no hesitation.

Momonga expected as much from Shalltear, but he had one more question.

"I see. What about Dracul?"

The look on her face contorted into an uncomfortable expression and hesitated to speak out loud so Momonga soothed her worries.

"Worry not, Shalltear. I will not judge or scold you. Just speak the truth."

"Momonga-sama." She bowed her head in obedience, "Dracul-sama matches your beauty, but he is more rugged, dangerous, and his blood-red scales surpass even the most dazzling rubies."

Momonga couldn't help, but pity Dracul. He had no experience with the opposite sex, much like Momonga himself. He had no idea what awaited him.

"Cocytus."

"YOU AND DRACUL-SAMA ARE THE ONLY ONES TO STAND ABOVE THE GUARDIANS AND ALONE DESERVE THE TITLE OF SUPREME OVERLORD OF NAZARICK. I WOULD LIKE TO CROSS BLADES WITH DRACUL-SAMA, ONE DAY."

"Aura."

"A merciful leader with great foresight and Dracul-sama is a great warrior with powerful magic."

"Mare."

"A-a gentle person along with D-Dracul-sama."

"Demiurge."

"A wise leader that makes decisions and enacts them quickly. Dracul-sama is the only one who understands any plans that you make before anyone else and makes sure they play out as they should. Truly, both of you are deserving of the title 'inscrutable'."

"Sebas."

"The one responsible for assembling all the Supreme Beings of Nazarick, along with Dracul-sama. In addition, the merciful leader and his closest friend who did not abandon us, but stayed by our side to the very end. As a Dragonoid, I have nothing, but respect and admiration for Dracul-sama for ascending into a full-fledged Dragon, but choosing to stay with Nazarick to the very end."

Momonga was impressed by how much emotion the Dragonoid had for Dracul, but not surprised. Dracul achieved something no one else did and became a Dragon in YGGDRASIL.

It was a shame he had to give up the Job, [World Champion] for it though.

"Albedo."

"The man who rules over the other Supreme Beings and our most exalted master. In addition, the man who I love and Dracul-sama is the man who stayed behind with you when no one else did."

It was as Momonga feared. Dracul was right, Albedo is in love with him because of what he did.

"I see. I've heard and understood your opinions. Carry out the same duties my former comrades once did and perform them faithfully."

Seeing the Guardians bow to him, he teleported away.

The scenery changed before him to the Sixth Floor Colosseum to the chambers of the Lemegeton. He looked around him to see that he was alone.

He let out the sigh he was holding and felt the mental fatigue finally catch up to him.

"I'm so tired…" he said though he didn't feel physically tired.

Even so, he couldn't stop worrying about Dracul and if anything happened to him or-

"Momo? Can you hear me?"

Momonga jolted up when he heard his young friend's voice in his head, but quickly replied back:

"Dracul? Are you okay, did anything happen?"

"I'm fine, Momo, more than fine actually. Would you believe that I'm actually flying right now with my wings? It's great!"

"Well, I'm glad one of us is having fun."

Momonga tried his best to sound annoyed, but he still felt himself flood with relief the knowledge that Dracul is safe.

"Sorry about that, really. I didn't mean to abandon you like that, it's just that Sebas might've missed something because he never stood outside of Nazarick, you know? He could miss signs of civilization or something."

"Don't worry about it, Dracul. I understand, but did you actually find anything out there or is it like Sebas said?"

Momonga hoped he had found nothing. That all he found was more of the same, of grassy plains.

"I did find something. I found a village, Momo. A village filled with humans."

But of course, it could never be that simple.

.

---

.

As Momonga left the Sixth Floor Colosseum so did the pressure on the Guardians heads.

Even after the departure of their Lord, the Guardians stayed kneeling and not of them moved or dared to speak until one breathed a sigh of relief that broke the tense atmosphere.

After a while, Albedo stood up and the other followed suite though they still did not speak.

"T-that was really scary, sis…" Mare said to his sister, both still sweating from Sir Dracul's power.

"Yeah, you're right. Honestly, I thought I'll be eaten or squashed flat or both."

"Indeed. As expected of Lord Momonga, his very presence affects us Floor Guardians, but I did not expect Sir Dracul to unleash his presence like that and Lord Momonga's aura didn't affect him in the least. That was...discomforting. I can see why Lord Momonga considers him his equal."

"AS A SUPREME BEING, LORD MOMONGA POWER OUTSTRIPS US BY FAR, BUT I WAS NOT EXPECTING ANYTHING LIKE THAT. TO SAY NOTHING OF SIR DRACUL... IT WAS AS IF I WAS BEING JUDGED FOR MY WORTH AND ALMOST FOUND WANTING."

The [Despair Aura] they all felt from Momonga was already crushing them under its weight and causing them to feel slight fear from its effects.

[Draconic Presence] did not add any further weight than they already felt.

It made them feel fear. Real fear for one's life. It made them feel as if their worth was being judged and they were being found wanting under a Dragon's gaze, not even worth to serve Lord Momonga.

It was not until Albedo's impassioned speech did they feel the Dragon's gaze disappear and to see Sir Dracul smiling proudly at them as if they had passed a test he was hoping they would pass.

"Lord Momonga must've unleashed his air of superiority that shows his right to rule and Sir Dracul must've been testing us to see if we were worth serving him."

"Right. Before we said our positions, he and Sir Dracul didn't do anything. However, once we revealed and showed ourselves as Floor Guardians, they realised a fraction their incredible power, Lord Momonga to show off his right to rule and Sir Dracul to test our worth to serve."

"SO, IN OTHER WORDS, LORD MOMONGA SHOWED US HIS TRUE ABILITY IN RESPONSE TO OUR PLEDGE OF LOYALTY AND SIR DRACUL TESTED SEE IF OUR PLEDGES COULD WITHSTAND HIS GAZE AND IF WE WERE WORTHY TO SERVE HIM AND LORD MOMONGA."

"Indeed, that seems to be the case. It warms my heart to see that Lord Momonga has such a loyal friend to test those who would serve him."

"Lord Momonga and Sir Dracul weren't like that with us. Sir Dracul was really gentle and warm and Lord Momonga even gave us something to drink when we were thirsty."

As Mare watched Albedo's smile became strained and her fists clench, hard, he realized what mistake he made.

.

---

.

I've been flying for awhile and I've still haven't seen anything for miles.

I was actually beginning to think that we're alone here and we're just kinda screwed. Not that I minded, I liked flying and it gave me time to adjust to my new body.

I noticed how the wind never bothered my eyes, no matter how fast I went and my wings are absurdly strong and durable, able to take sharp turns with no effort or difficulty and I could see perfectly in the dark.

I went up in the air to look around yet again and still found nothing.

Sighing at the waste of time, I started making my way back to Nazarick before I saw something flicker in the corner of my eye.

I whipped my head around and saw a small flicker yet again in the distance.

I realised what it was immediately.

It was a light. A small, dim light in the distance.

I felt my lips curl upwards into a grin.

Jackpot.

I flew upwards to make sure that nobody saw me and flew towards the light.

Soon enough, I saw the origin of the light.

It was a candlelight being carried by a human woman with blond hair tied into a braid, rubbing her eyes and making her way to an outhouse.

A human.

There were humans here. I should be excited to find other intelligent life here, but for some reason, I'm only happy that my time out here wasn't a waste.
(Worms don't deserve our notice.)
Whatever probably isn't important.

Using a [Message] I got into contact with Momonga.

"Momo? Can you hear me?"

.

---

.

Spoiler: FF A/N

So here is chapter 2 and bloody hell, did I not mean to make it this long. It just kinda happened, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Considering how big it is, I'll answer some questions people have had.

The first is the stats. Honestly, the stats, to me, are just guidelines on how a character is supposed to be and what they do best. Take, for example, Momonga. We know he is a spell caster and his stats represent that, but he also has incredible (by New World standards) strength and speed. Another would be Cocytus, the person we have the closet to Dracul in build. He is mostly a physical warrior, but again, by New World standards, he's also a strong mage simply because he knows spells above 3rd teir (I hope I'm not wrong on that, I'll look really stupid.) Dracul is a warrior class type with strong fire magic and his gear and stats represent that. He isn't supposed to be fast or have a high magic defence, which I guess is what most people had an issue with.

As for how he entered the guild, well Dracul didn't. He was simply very good friends with most of the members of the guild and he was in school which is basically training to be a working member of society if you think about it.

Just in case anyone wanted to know, Dracul does know more spells than just fire ones. He just can't cast any other elemental spells. For instance, he can shapeshift between 3 forms, his Dragonoid form, A human form and his Dragon form. In the game, this basically translated to stat increases though, in the real world... You'll see.

Anyway, this is the end of this long AN. If you liked it, please tell me how I did or if you hated it, please tell me why so I can improve in future. Thank you.

Also before I forget and anyone gets any ideas. No, there will be no pairings or smut written in this story. That's not say I'm not willing to write it, just not for my first fan fic is all.

Spoiler: SB A/N

If you're wondering about the two A/N, the first one is a replay to reviews on FF.net. Other than that, I've not got much to say other than tell me what I did well or what I did bad so I can improve. Thanks. Also, there is invistext this chapter.

 

[Ereli]

The Overlord's Dragon.​

.

Just a warning, but there is a scene in here that justifies the M rating and no, it isn't smut.

I felt myself wake up in a massive bed far too large and far too soft, that I actually thought I was dreaming about sleeping in the bed until my body forced me to open my eyes and realise that I'm not dreaming.

I pushed myself up from the bed, stretching and yawning all the while as I made my way to the bathroom to clean my face and get the sleep out of my eye.

I didn't realise that Dragon eyes could even get sleep gunk, but I guess anything is possible nowadays.

I turned on the cold tap, trying not think about how an underground tomb has running water, and splashed my face, looking into the sizable mirror on the wall to look at my face.

My human face.

I'm sorry, what?

I did a double take and yes, I did, in fact, have a human face on. Hell, it even looked similar to my actual face.

Dark brown, almost black, shoulder length messy bed hair and normal brown, human eyes staring back at me.

Was it all a dream? Did I actul…

No, wait. I remember what happened.

After I had told Momonga about my findings on the human village, I flew back to Nazarick to talk to him about and to discuss what we plan to do.

Except, as soon as I landed, I almost fell flat first on my face just due to how exhausted I felt, both physically and mentally. Turns out flying at high speed for miles is a good workout. Thankfully, Momonga was the only one to see what happened and just told me we'll talk about it tomorrow after I get some sleep.

After he escorted me to a room close to his, I said my thanks and shambled my way to the bed, flopping down it face first and making it pomf.

After a while, I tried to lay on my back as I usually do, but I couldn't turn over courtesy of my wings and tail.

After some serious consideration of cutting my wings and tail off, I found myself suddenly being able to lay on my back. The combined feeling of exhaustion and relief made it so I instantly fell asleep, not bothering to question the sudden change.

Seeing my face like this, I decided to check something out. I dried off my face and went into the main room where the bed is, to use the body length mirror by the bed and I finally got a good look at the room where I had been sleeping in.

Extravagant doesn't even begin to describe how lavish this room is. A four-poster bed with dark red silk curtains along with about 6 cloud-soft pillows at the head, a fluffy duvet covered in soft furs and mattress that made me feel on cloud 9.

Without a doubt, the best bed I ever slept in and probably worth more than what I'll ever make in my lifetime.

The rest of the room itself is of the same standard, more fit for royalty than anything and fairly huge as well. If I stood sideways in the room, I could probably stretch my wings out to their full length, though it'll be a close fit.

After gawking at the room I slept in, I stood in front of the body length mirror by my bed and got a full look at my human form.

I noticed 3 things about me almost instantly.

The first, and most worrying, is that I'm naked.

Usually, that wouldn't be a thing to worry about, but I distinctly remember never taking my armour off, even when I went to bed.

I have an idea where it went though, if this was anything like YGGDRASIL though, so I wasn't too worried. I just didn't expect to be fully naked.

The second is that, holy hell, am I short.

I must've been as tall as Shalltear! Hell, I think I'm slightly shorter than her! God, I hope I can change my height or even get a new human form. This sucks.

The third is how uncomfortable I felt being in this form. It wasn't like I was uncomfortable being human, it's as if this form is a piece of clothing that's about 2 sizes small for me to wear.

Christ, I hope I don't need to wear this form for any lengthy period of time. That would suck.

I could change form in YGGDRASIL and I wasn't the only one. Quite a few Heteromorphic races, like Doppelgänger, could and it wasn't considered a special thing, but my way of doing it was different. It was worse. Way worse.

If anything, I hated it, both my human form and my Dragon form.

The first reason is, that it simply didn't help me in anyway whatsoever. A Doppelgänger could do what I can and do it even better. If a Doppelgänger changed form, their stats would change as well and, depending on their Racial Level, actually increase certain stats, making them a strong and unpredictable race overall.

Me? I didn't suffer a decrease in stats in my human form or lose any skills or anything like that.

I just couldn't equip Balmung and my armour.

Which, considering I'm a warrior-focused character, sucked. Hard.

They told me it was a severe bug that they couldn't fix, but I think it was their revenge back when I told them to shove the [World Champion] up where the sun didn't shine because I won on a technicality.

This issue is subverted somewhat by [Create Greater Item] in which I could just make a sword, but it just didn't feel the same than when I used Balmung, plus it was a whole 2 rank down in quality, only being a relic-class.

Because of what a joke this human form is and how I'll never use it, I decided to make it a joke.

By making the smallest human form I could make and just leaving it at that. Speaking of jokes, I remember my other form.

My Dragon Form.

My Dragon Form is the biggest disappointment I've encountered in my life.

All it did was increase my stats by a sizable margin and made me be able to use certain spells like [Lord of the Inferno: Hellfire Breath] a Dragon-only super tier spell that did massive unpreventable magic fire damage, but my Dragon Form had a 48 hour CD and I do most of my damage through my physical attacks with Balmung anyway.

Didn't even change my form in YGGDRASIL, just put a buff on me and called it a day.

But, I suppose I didn't suggest changing my race to a Dragon to the devs because I wanted to be super strong.

I just wanted to be a Dragon because it was cool.

Anyway, none of that matters now. I still have to find a way to make my human form something else other than this.

I looked at myself in the mirror, still human, and tried to change my human form by thinking.

It didn't work.

"...[Change Form: Tall Human]?" I said out loud.

That wasn't even a real spell, but at this point, I'm desperate really.

I suppose before trying to change my height or something, I should verify that I can still change between my Dragonoid and Human form.

Closing my eyes, I thought back to the night I first changed and tried to repeat what did, but in reverse by thinking about my Dragonoid form.

Soon after, I felt something ripple across my body and I opened my eyes to see a red Dragonoid standing before me, still in armour and Balmung hanging on my back and the discomfort from before gone.

Right, so that works.

I took Balmung off of my back, placing it near the mirror to test something.

I decided to let my eyes stay open for this, but this time I thought of a human about 5.5 foot tall, around my height back in the real world.

I felt the same ripple yet again but this time I saw my body contort and writhe; my wings going inside my back along with my horns shortening and going inside my head, growing hair and my eyes and pupils becoming less lizard-like and rounding out to human eyes.

The result was the same human I saw before, still short and eyes wide open.

Wow.

That was, without a doubt, the most disturbing thing I've ever seen in my life.

It should've been more painful or I should've at least felt something more than a small ripple going through my body, but honestly, I'll take what I can get.

Shaking my head free of the disturbing transformation, I looked at Balmung, seeming much more daunting to pick up and wield than before.

Walking over to it, I lift my hand up to the handle and grip it tight. It would be more unwieldy than usual due to my change in stature, but I'm sure I can….

Before I could do anything, Balmung slipped from my grasp and went to the floor, making a loud bang as if I dropped a steel ingot.

I'm sorry, what?

I looked at Balmung, now on the floor, with a stunned stare.

What just happened? I mean, I could understand if I couldn't lift it, but for it to just slip like that? Really?

God, that's infuriating.

Bending down, I grip the handle with both hands and slowly pick it up.

It's not heavy or anything, just as light as it was when I first held it yesterday, but I expect it's actually heavier than I think it is due to that loud noise when it dropped on the floor.

I managed to hold it up with the tip pointing upwards.

Right, so far so good. Now to just swing it and…

As soon as I started to swing it, it slipped from both my hands and threw itself against the floor as if in protest and making an even louder banging nose than last time.

"Oh, you motherfuc-!"

"Dracul? Are you awake?" I heard Momonga knock on the door, interrupting my incoming cursing fit.

Perfect. Just what I needed.

"Eh…yeah, I'm awake!" I shouted back at him.

With my human voice.

Fuck.

"Dracul? Are you alright? I heard some banging noises and now your voice is…."

I stayed quiet for a bit, thinking about what I should.

On one hand, me being able to pass for a normal, albeit short, human could prove really useful, especially for what I have in plan for that village.

On the other hand, it's really short and I can't use Balmung.

Dammit.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Momonga." I sighed, not looking forward to what's about to happen, "Give me a minute and you'll see."

Casting [Create Greater Item] I made a simple black mage robe over my body and undergarments on my body underneath the robe.

I carefully pick up Balmung and make sure to put it in my inventory.

I walk up to the door and lift my hand up to grasp the handle.

I took a deep breath and moved my hand downwards, opening the door to see a bone-white ribcage with a blood red jewel in it. I looked up to see Momonga with the Staff in hand, and he's alone thank god, actually looking above me, trying to see a Dragonoid that wasn't there.

"Down here, doofus," I said, noticing that my voice sounds about 14 years of age.

Every moment of this sucks more and more.

Momonga startled and looked down at me. When he saw me, his jaw bone gaped and his red pupils flared up in confusion.

For a while we just stared at each other, me in resignation and him in utter and pure confusion.

"So." I said, my voice cutting through the silence, "My human form works."

"I...see that. Ca-can you turn back?" He asked me.

"I can, I was testing out earlier. It's not pretty, but I can turn back into a Dragonoid." I confirmed, putting his worry to rest.

"Well...Why haven't you then?"

"Well, I wanted to try using Balmung in my human form because I thought I could finally use it, but it just kept….slipping?" I tried to badly explain what was happening in my room.

"Slipping? It slipped from your hand as well?" He said to me.

"Er, yeah, it did. What do you mean by 'as well'?"

"I'll explain later, we've much to discuss. Especially about that human village, you found."

"Right," I nodded, "Where are we going then?" I asked as I walked out of the room and closing the door behind me, into a long corridor with a set of doors at the end.

"I have an office that I do paperwork in, that'll do for now, but I must warn you. The Pleiades are waiting for me to come back so if you want to change back, now is the time." Momonga told me as we walked down the hallway together.

"Hmmm," I hummed in thought, "I wanna try something out with this form. If it works on the Pleiades, I'm 99.9% sure it'll work on the village."

Momonga glanced down at me, "I have an idea of what you're suggesting and I'm going to tell you now, that I disagree with you vehemently on what you're planning."

"What I plan for the village or what I'm doing now?"

"Both."

"Come on, Momonga," I rolled my eyes, "We just can't leave that village alone, it's our best source for information right now and if the Pleiades don't fall for this, my plan won't work anyway. I think." I told him as we made our way to a set of doors, probably leading where the Pleiades waited.

"I never suggested we leave the village alone. There's just better ways than what you're suggesting, but we'll talk about that later. What do you plan to do if this plays out badly with the Pleiades?"

"Like, if they attack me?" I thought about it, before just shrugging, "I'll defend myself. I should be able to fend them off long enough for you to explain. Besides, why are the Pleiades following you around anyway? Don't they have other things to do?"

"They've been ordered by Sebas to guard me and you when you awoke," Momonga sighed deeply, "But honestly, it feels suffocating more than anything."

"Oh great," I cringed, "You know, I'm suddenly having doubts about this idea," I said as Momonga went to open the doors.

"Too late now." He whispered to me as he opened the doors and I saw the Pleiades, all waiting in a straight line at the opposite wall.

"Good morning, Sir Dra-" They started saying before they saw me and Momonga. They stared intensely at me as the atmosphere in the room just dropped like a lead balloon.

The Pleiades stared at me with blank looks that quickly turned hostile except for Yuri Alpha who just seemed confused by my presence.

I stared at the Pleiades with a blank look.

"You piece of filth," I heard a cool voice filled with loathing, Narberal, say to me, "You dare taint these holy halls and stand next to Lord Momonga with your dirty presence? You pathetic gnat. I have no idea how you got into here, but I will cleanse Nazarick of your being." She spat at me as her hands started generating electricity.

Wow.

I expected something, even a bit of hostility, but this…

This is on a whole other level.

Something tells me that people of Nazarick aren't too fond of humans or anyone not of Nazarick.

I can see Momonga is just surprised as I am at what Narberal said as he stared at her, his red pupils lit up in surprise.

"Can I have his arm for later? I didn't have any breakfast this morning~" A cute voice said to Narberal.

I think that was Entoma saying she wants to eat my arm.

Okay, I definitely didn't expect that.

"Enough," Momonga commanded Narberal who seemed ready throw out a thunderbolt at me.

Narberal and the rest of the Pleiades whipped their heads round to look at Momonga with a bewildered expression.

"Bu-but Lord Momonga! He's a human, a lower life form! An invader even! We, the Pleiades, shou-!" Narberal yelled, confused at what Momonga was doing.

Right, this is getting out of hand.

"Okay. This has gone on long enough." I said out loud, interrupting Narberal who sent me a glare filled with nothing but hate and loathing.

"You watch your tongue, you pathetic piece of fil-" Narberal started saying before I felt a familiar ripple inside me and I changed back into my Dragonoid form in front of everyone.

Back to my full height, I looked down at the Pleiades who looked absolutely floored by what just happened except for Entoma who's face still held the same expression, but the way she went stock-still told me enough.

"Good morning, girls. How are all of you?" I smiled at them as they still gawked at me.

"Wh-buh-bu-" Narberal floundered and face red, looking at me with eyes so wide that I thought they'll drop out of her head before bowing so deep, that any lower she would hit her head on the floor.

"Sir Dracul! My deepest apologies! I didn't realise it was you, if I had the slightest inkling I would nev-!"

Chuckling, I said, "Don't worry about it, Narberal, really. In fact, if anyone should be saying sorry, it's me. I didn't think you would react so...intensely, but it was nice to see you get so passionate about the sanctity of Nazarick."

More like insanely overprotective, but I don't think that's the right thing to say right now. God, is that how most of the NPCs feel about humans? If it is, this is going to be a lot harder than it has any right to be.

"Bu-but, Sir Dracul," Narberal raised her head, face still blushing, "I said such things to someone like you! That's inexcusable! You're not the one that should apologize at all!"

"It's fine, Narberal." Momonga said to her before I could, "Dracul here is at fault. He knew what might happen and he still did it so there is no need for an apology."

"I-I," She looked at Momonga and me before sighing and bowing once again, "As you wish, Lord Momonga."

"And for you, Dracul." Momonga turned his head to look at me, "Until everyone knows about your human form, you're forbidden from changing in Nazarick."

"Fair enough," I shrugged, "Shall we be on our way then?"

"Indeed. The sooner we discuss the matters at hand, the better." Momonga said before walking the hallway. I walked alongside him on his right and the Pleiades walked behind us, fanned out somewhat to cover our backs.

We all walked in silence, the only sound being the click-clack of the maid shoes and tip-tapping of the Staff on the marble floor.

I could see what Momonga meant by, 'suffocating'. If Momonga had this following him everywhere he went, I could see why he dreaded coming back. The constant on edge attitude of the maids just feels uncomfortable and I suspect, if Momonga or I tried to do something on our own, they'll object to it or something.

Plus, I keep getting the feeling that one of them is staring at me in the back of the head, though I had no idea who it was.

Though I do wonder about the Pleiades reaction to my human form. I expected it to fail, not because the form was wrong or anything, but simply because an invader getting so far into Nazarick and no one noticing is impossible.

I glanced back at Narberal who had a look of immense regret and seemed a bit out of it really.

Dammit, can't leave her like this.

"Narberal, do you wish to make up for your earlier insults?" I asked her, seeing her jump and looked at me.

"I do, Sir Dracul. Whatever you order me to do, I shall do so without hesitation." Narberal said out loud and no shame. I noticed that Lupusregina had a massive grin on her face and looked between me and Narberal.

"Nothing like that," I told her and Lupusreginas grin instantly falling off with a look of crushed expectations, "I just want to ask some questions. Important questions."

Narberal's face flashed with disappointment for a brief second before it was gone, replaced with devoted attention.

I had no idea why or what Narberal was disappointed with or even why Lupusregina is giggling, but it didn't matter. I needed to know something about my human form.

"When you first saw me, you thought I was an invader. Why?"

Narberal blinked, not expecting such an obvious question, "Because I mistook you for a human?"

The irony of this isn't lost on me and I have a sneaking suspicion Momonga knows it as well.

"True, but we're on the 9th Floor right now, plus I was standing next to Momonga. Why did you jump to the conclusion of invader all of a sudden?"

"Ah…" Narberal bit her lip in thought, "I suppose it's due to many things. The first was that I had no knowledge of your abilities so I wasn't aware that you can change forms. While Nazarick is warded against teleportation magic and due to the efforts of Aureole Omega, it's impossible to teleport into Nazarick without her knowing, I didn't think about that. My only thoughts were about removing any threat to Nazarick."

I see, so the NPCs don't actually know what I can do. Need to nip that in the bud while we can before anything like this happens again.

"I see. What about Momonga then?" I asked. I'm pretty sure Momonga would notice a human in Nazarick.

"I just thought Momonga wouldn't bother noticing such an insect and leave it to us to clean up," Narberal said without thinking before covering up her mouth after realising what she just said and the rest of Pleiades looked at her in horror.

"I-I'm sorr-!" Narberal started to profusely apologize.

"Ha! Don't worry about it, Narberal. I know what you meant." I told her, keeping my tone light.

"I do have one last question, but this is more to the rest of you than Narbearl."

All of them looked each other, confused, "What do you want to ask us, Sir Dracul?" An older looking woman with glasses, Yuri Alpha, asked me.

"If you encountered me in my human form, not in Nazarick, but somewhere else and you didn't know I could change form, would you think I'm just ordinary human?" I asked.

This is the most important question. If the Pleiades couldn't tell who I was in my human form than I would assume that other humans couldn't tell either or anyone else really.

It would be simple just to go to the village and pretend I'm lost and ask for directions to the nearest city.

Looking at each other, I could see the Pleiades were thinking about my question, probably wondering why I would ever use my human form, but choosing not to ask.

After a moment, Yuri told me, "Yes. If we didn't know it was you, Sir Dracul, we would think you a normal human in that form."

I felt my lips curl up into a wide smile at the confirmation.

Jackpot.

"Thank you for indulging me. You've all been a great help." I told them as Momonga led us to a set of doors.

"We live to serve, Sir Dracul," Yuri told me as they all bowed to me and Momonga.

I won't lie, but having 6 beautiful women say that and bow at the same time makes me feel like a massive creep.

"Dracul and I are going to discuss important matters in my office for the time being," Momonga told them as he opened the doors to his office, "During that, spread word and tell the others about Draucls human form so we won't have any instances like this morning."

"Of course, Lord Momonga," Yuri said to him, bowing along with the rest of the Pleiades.

Momonga and I walked into the office and closed the doors behind us, the maids still bowing.

.

---

.

The Pleiades of Nazarick stayed bowed until the doors closed with a click. The vice-captain of the Pleiades, Yuri Alpha was the first to raise and look towards her younger sisters who also raised from their positions.

"We have our orders from Lord Momonga, we need to inform the rest of Nazarick of Sir Dracul's human form. We don't want a repeat of this morning." She told them, making sure to send a pointed look at Narberal who was blushing and Entoma who looked down at the floor.

"I-I just reacted like anyone of us would. How was I supposed to know that Sir Dracul could change form? Into a human even?" Narberal attempted to defend herself.

"And what about Entoma? She said she wanted to eat him." Narberal pointed towards the Insectoid maid, who was doing her best impression a statue and not looking at anyone.

"Th-that's not true...I only wanted to eat his arm…" Entoma said, head still down.

"...But you're still eating him though." A monotone voice, CZ2128 Delta also known as Shizu, told her. The words cut through Entoma barely sustained composure and grabbing her face-mask in embarrassment, trying to forget about it.

"Forget about that~! I want to know why Narberal looked so disappointed when Sir Dracul said all he wanted was to ask you some questions, su~" The lupine maid asked with a lecherous grin on her face.

"Hmm, that's right, I noticed that as well. Anything you would like to say, Narberal?" A cool voice, Solution, questioned her with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I," Narberal stammered trying to explain herself, "I wasn't trying to seduce Sir Dracul! I just wanted to make up for my mistakes to him!"

"Ehh~? So you didn't want Sir Dracul to-" Lupusregina started to say before a loud clap interrupted her and caught all of their attention.

"Before you all get carried away teasing Narberal and Entoma, we have our orders from Lord Momonga." Yuri Alpha sternly said to them, trying to reign in her little sisters and concentrate on the matter at hand.

"All of us are to go around Nazarick, informing others of Sir Draculs human form so he won't be attacked. All of you, pick a Floor and inform the respective figures there. We shall meet here after it's done."

All of them bowed to their leader and said:

"Understood, Vice Captain." before heading off to complete the task given to them.

.

---

.

"What a way to start the morning. I don't think I've ever had someone wanting to eat my arm before. Or in general really." I said as I sat down on the massive armchair that seemed to be made for me, opposite the desk where Momonga sat down.

Momonga's office is a large room with a single desk where Momonga sat and a few cabinets on the walls and besides the white flags holding a purple symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown, it was pretty bare and devoid of any decorations.

"Yes, that was...something. I don't know what's more surprised me more. What Narbearl said or what Entoma wanted to do, but it did give us some insight into how the NPCs see outsiders of Nazarick though." He told me as he settled down, releasing the Staff from his hand and making it float by him.

"Yeah," I winced, "You think that sort of attitude is common? I mean, if it is, then that makes everything far more complicated than it needs to be."

"It wouldn't surprise me, honestly, but that doesn't matter at the moment. Let me tell you what's been happening around here while you were outside, scouting."

And tell me he did; Albedo and Demiurge have been working on making a more comprehensive administrative system, High-level PoP monsters are being allowed on Floors 9 and 10 and Mare is in charge of actually making dummy hills so Nazarick won't stand out in the plains.

"Yeesh, all I did was just find a village while all of you have been running around working." I rubbed my neck, embarrassed that I more or less passed out after last night.

"Yesterday was a stressful day for us, more so for you than for me, I imagine. Don't feel too bad about it, though I have something want to ask you, Dracul." Momonga said to me, his crimson pupils boring into me.

Oh, I don't have a good feeling about this.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Dracul, have…" He stumbled, trying to grasp the right words to ask me something, "Dracul, do you feel normal? Do you feel like something of yours, emotions, for example, has been tampered with? Suppressed even?"

I couldn't help but frown at this line of questioning.

What the hell is this? Why would he ask me something like this?

How would he even kno…?

Oh.

Oh no.

"Momonga." I said to him, trying my best to keep voice steady but failing to keep my uneasiness out of it, "Are you alright?"

He just stared at me with those red pupils, now no bigger than a needle, boring into me.

"Please, Dracul. Answer me."

We just stared at each other, both worried about the other one.

Eventually, I just slumped in my chair, creaking under my weight, already feeling exhausted.

"If I tell you, you'll tell me?" I offered him.

"I promise." He nodded.

"Right, well," I shifted upwards to sit properly instead of slumping, "Only 2 events stand out to me that seemed...off."

"The first one was last night when I found that human village. When I found it, I thought I would be excited or happy to finally find some other humans, you know, maybe we could go and speak to them." I started as I tried to recall last night and how I felt about the human village.

"Instead all I could think was, 'I'm glad this wasn't a waste of time.' I wasn't happy to find other humans nor was I excited that there was intelligent life out there. I felt nothing towards them. All I felt was being glad that my time wasn't wasted."

God, saying it aloud just brings it home and I dread to think of what Momonga is going through.

"The 2nd one is this," I said as I shifted to my human form still draped in its black robe, having to stretch my neck to see him, "You have no idea how uncomfortable this is."

"What do you mean?" Momonga finally spoke.

"It's...wait a minute," I told him as I got down from my chair, went around the back and pushed it forward to not strain my neck by trying to keep looking up and over Momonga's desk.

I fucking hate this form.

I climbed, bloody climbed, back on the chair to see Momonga looking at me.

"I know what you're thinking. Stop it." I glared at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He told me in a neutral tone.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes, "Moving on."

"It's...difficult to describe, but have you ever put a shirt 2 or 3 sizes too small? Or a shoe you outgrew, but wore anyway, making your foot cramped?" I asked him as he nodded to one of my questions.

"It's like that, but for my whole body. It feels so...cramped. It doesn't hurt, but I feel like I just put on a full body suit meant for a baby rather than an adult or teenager. But that's the thing."

"There is no reason for it to feel like this. I mean, yeah, it's shorter than I am, but I spent 16 years being a human and only a day as a Dragonoid. If anything, I should feel weird as a Dragonoid with its wings and tail, not as a bloody human."

Sighing, I collapsed back into the soft armchair, feeling drained by my rants and explanations.

For a while, we just sat there in silence before I looked up at Momonga.

"It's your turn now, but I just want to make sure. You're okay, right, Momo?"

"Are you?" He retorted to me.

"Heh, I'm fine. It's probably not a big deal anyway."

I hoped.

"Hmm, if you say so. As for me, well. To be honest, I think my emotions are being suppressed."

Well.

That explains a lot, to be honest.

"Why do you think that? Did something happen?" I asked, bewildered how he managed to come to this conclusion.

"Several, but it's not perfect. If the emotion is strong enough, it won't be suppressed completely, though it will try." He made sure to send a pointed glare my way as he said this.

I'm sorry, what?

"What did I do?"

He just gave me a Look and sighed, "It doesn't matter, but other than my emotions being suppressed, I still feel...excited sometimes though I have no idea why."

Excited? What did he mean by ex…

Oh my god.

He can't be serious.

"You can get a boner?" I blurted out without thinking.

As I said this, Momonga looked at me.

You know, for someone with no skin or muscles, he can express his emotions really well.

I looked at Momonga.

"Okay. I know what you're thinking." I said slowly.

"But, I really didn't mean to say it like that. Really."

"Really." He said dryly.

"Really," I responded, trying my best not to laugh.

He just sighed and went on, "Carrying on, other than that, the changes I feel physically are minimal, surprisingly enough. Though I don't feel the need to sleep, eat or drink, mostly because of me being undead I suspect."

"Like back in YGGDRASIL." I nodded before thinking of something, "What about your sense of touch? I mean you don't have any nerves or anything."

"I tested that out while you slept. I can still feel things, but it's...muted. Like I'm touching stuff through a thick cloth." He explained to me.

"Well, I suppose that's fair enough. I am worried about the no sleeping thing, that can drive a person to madness or at least make them ill, you know." I expressed my worries to Momonga.

"I wouldn't worry about it, to be honest. As an undead, I'm immune to diseases and I suspect the sleeping situation to handle itself, like the emotion suppression. I do have something I want to show you, though." He told me as he got up from his chair and over to a cabinet on the wall of the office.

Getting up from my chair, I followed Momonga as he opened the cabinet to reveal a weapon; a claymore like Balmung, but its blade was much smaller and it was a bright silver with glowing runes etched into it.

"Isn't this one of the weapons you hoard or something in that dressing room of yours?"

"It is. I was testing the weapons in there last night, but look at this." He told me as he went to grip the handle of the blade.

Holding it, he went to the centre of the room and gripped it tightly with both hands. He raised both arms to perform an overhead strike and swung down.

Causing the sword to simply slip from his grasp and falling to the marble floor, making a loud clatter.

We both looked at the sword, laying on the floor as if in protest of being swung by a dirty spellcaster.

"What the hell? Does that happen for every warrior-type weapon you tried?" I asked, bewildered at what just happened.

This isn't YGGDRASIL anymore. I confirmed that yesterday myself, but if that was the case than Momonga should be able to at least swing a sword, even if he was a pure spellcaster.

But, if that was indeed the case, what about me? Does this mean I can't use staves? What about wands? Wands were universal, but they were mostly used by spellcasters.

"Indeed. No matter what type of weapon, it would just slip from my hand like this. Axes, bows, spears, even daggers. They would just slip from me whenever I tried using them, like when you used Balmung in your human form." He said to me as he bent down and picked up the claymore laying on the ground.

"Great," I sighed, disappointed, "That probably means stave won't work for me anyway. Do you still want to test that, just in case?"

He looked at the sword in his hand before deciding, "No. We don't really know how the staves might react if someone like you tried using one. It could end worse than just slipping out of our hands and we both know they won't work anyway."

"Right then. I suppose we should move on what to do with the human village?" I asked, but Momonga just shook his head.

"After one more thing." He said, throwing the sword in his inventory and turning around to look down at me.

"Ryan. You want to go back home, don't you." Momonga told me, his voice and tone neutral, blank almost.

Told. He didn't ask if I wanted to go back or anything.

He already knew.

I stared up at him in shock, mouth gaping, before I couldn't take it anymore and looked away in shame.

He's right. I do want to go back home.

I want to see my family again.

"I-I," I choked out my words, trying to force them out.

"I do." My voice quiet, barely reaching above a whisper.

"I do want to go back home. I want to see my family again, I want to see my brother again and my dad an-" I started to say, my voice coming out in an uncontrollable mess and my eyes starting to sting before I felt a hand gently clasp my shoulder, causing me to look up at him.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to see your family again, Ryan." Momonga said to me, his tone gentle and comforting, "I promise. I will find a way for you to go back home."

I stared back at him, my mind racing with thoughts, trying to think of something, anything to say back before I realised something.

"...but what about you?" I asked, confused as to why he didn't include himself.

For the moment, he didn't say anything until I saw him release a deep, shuddering breath.

"I...I haven't come to a decision yet. You have a family, loved ones, back home. I...I don't have anything like that." He told me, letting me get a glimpse of what life is like for him back home.

I've known Momonga for three years and I've always noticed certain things about him and the way he played YGGDRASIL or just in general really.

One is that he was on a lot more compared to most players, a hell of a lot more.

YGGDRASIL was mostly a Japanese game, but it did have a following in the West and those people translated, but trying to install it was a complete mess and even then, all it did was translate descriptions of items, race and job classes and skills.

You still had to learn how to speak Japanese to properly communicate with the other players, but that wasn't as hard as it used to be due to NNI technology.

Even then, that's not taking into account the time zones difference between the East and West, but even with such a difference in time, I and Momonga still hanged out a good 70~90% of the time on YGGDRASIL.

The second is that he spent money on YGGDRASIL.

Loads of money. So much money, he actually became infamous for it.

It wasn't unusual for people to spend money on the 'gacha' in YGGDRASIL, but Momonga was on a whole other level. I suspected he was actually quite rich, but from the way he complained about work sometimes I quickly found out he worked an average office job like most people.

With all these facts, I found out that, for Momonga, YGGDRASIL was all he had. No family or a lover or any friends outside of YGGDRASIL.

It was incredibly sad and I pitied him for it really, though I tried not to. I wasn't friends with Momonga because I felt sorry for him, I would never forgive myself if I forced myself to be friends with someone just because I pity them.

I'm friends with Momonga because we both greatly enjoyed YGGDRASIL; we had adventures there, we had similar hobbies and he even helped me with my Japanese when I struggled with it, but I wish I could've helped him or something.

With this, he just confirmed my suspicions.

The possibility that I might abandon him here, my best friend…

It didn't feel good. It didn't feel good at all.

But the possibility of never seeing my family again was so much worse.

"Right," I said out loud, resolute in my coming decision and staring him right in the eye.

"You're right. I do want to go back home, I do want to see my family again." I told him, unwavering as I saw his gaze drop down a bit.

"But if you think I'm going to abandon you here then you're wrong," I told him, as looked back at me with a slightly open jaw, "If you decide to stay here, that's your choice. I can't make it for you, but if you think just because of something like this, I would ditch you and leave you alone by yourself here, well, you've got another thing coming."

He looked at me with an open jaw as I said out loud:

"You're my friend, Satoru. Nothing is going to change that and I'm not going to abandon you, now more than ever."

He just stared at me with his open maw, gawking at what I said.

"...Well, say something. That was embarrassing to say, you know?" I implored him as I felt my cheeks heat up.

Oh great, I can blush.

I hate this form.

"...Fuahaha!" Momonga started laughing loudly.

What?! I pour my heart out and this bag of bones just laughs!?

"W-what are you laugh-!" I started to say before I felt something drop on my head.

Oh god no.

"Thank you, Ryan. Truly. I'm glad you're here with me for this." He said to me with a joyous filled voice and started moving his hand back and forth through my hair.

"Stop that!" I pushed his hand off my head and glared at him, "I'm not Aura or Mare, goddammit!"

"You're not far off with that form and your scowls don't really work either." He told me as we went back to our chairs.

"I'll make it work, dammit, but more on that later. For now, we have to talk about our main concern." I told him as he sat back down and I climbed back up.

I hate this form.

"Indeed, the human village. Let's decide on one thing first, though. Whether to tell the Floor Guardians about it or not."

"Hmm…" I thought about it. There was no reason not to tell them, but what worried me is what idea they could get about it. If they held the same feelings about outsiders like Narberal than it could end in disaster.

But they won't do anything if we tell them not to so as long as we make it clear that we need it for information, they shouldn't attack it or something.

"I feel like we should tell Demiurge and Albedo at least. Albedo is the overseer of the Guardians and should be kept updated about stuff like this and Demiurge is in charge of the defence of Nazarick. If we make a mistake and get invaded, Demiurge needs to be on top of what's happening and Albedo needs to make arrangements." I explained to Momonga.

"You're right, but if that's the case, should we not tell all of the Guardians? It would save time and they would be able to prepare their Floors in such a case. Plus, if they haven't been informed yet of your human form, now would be the time."

"Fair enough," I nodded my agreement, "We'll summon them to the Throne Room when we're done and we have a plan of action."

"Indeed, and speaking of a plan, let me hear yours." Momonga leaned back in his chair and stared at me.

"Right, now hear me out and no interruptions, okay?"

"Go on. I'm looking forward to this." He said smugly.

"Just trust me on this. First thing I do is walk in." I held up a finger.

"Second thing I do is ask directions to the nearest city." I held the second finger.

"Then we go to the city and search around for information." I held up a third finger.

I stared at Momong after I finished.

Momonga stared at me, waiting for me to continue and realise that, yes, that was my plan.

"Is-is that it? That's your plan?" He asked me, flabbergasted by my genius.

"Yeah. Good plan, huh? Short, sweet and simple." I nodded to myself.

I mean, why go to a village when you can go to a city? There must be one and we could learn much more information there than some village.

I looked at Momonga with a wide grin on my face.

Momonga looked at me before he put his head on the desk and let out a sigh filled with suffering.

"What? What's wrong with it?" I asked with a confused look, seeing the Lich raise his head from the desk and rub his skull.

"What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it, he says." He rubbed his skull before looking at me with bright crimson pupils.

"First," he held up a long bony finger, "is that we have no idea of how strong the humans are. They could be level 100 or even higher and if they are, they could possibly see through your human form."

"Second," he held up another long bony finger, "Is that we have no idea how far the city is or if they even have one. They could even not know what a city is, for all we know."

"Thirdly, is that if they somehow didn't see through your form and if they somehow did have a city and it was somewhat close by, we don't need a city. We need information, information we can get easily from the village. Going to a city poses an incredible amount of danger we can avoid."

"Fourthly, if there is a village here, it's very likely that someone owns this land or the village and if that is the case, they could have some military power, power we need to avoid. We have no idea what we might run into outside and we need to make sure that Nazarick stays safe and nothing comes back to it."

"And fifth," he held up five bony fingers, "If you think I'm going to let you go alone into such unknown territory, by yourself, then you are very wrong." He glared at me, his red pupils bright, almost burning.

Right.

So maybe I didn't think this out as much as I thought.

"Well…" I looked away, trying to think of something to say in defence.

"Well...I wasn't going to go alone?" I offered weakly.

Momonga just looked at me, probably knowing I just thought that up on the spot.

"Okay, okay, so maybe I didn't think it through." I held my hands up in defeat, "But we can't send any NPCs into the village, you know that. That would be disastrous."

Sighing, he slumped back into his chair, "I know, but I have an idea of what to do."

"Do you remember the PoP monsters that surrounded Nazarick and Mercenaries in it?" He asked me as I thought about the self-spawning NPCs around Nazarick.

Nazarick mostly had undead PoP monsters because undead creatures didn't cost anything to maintain and they were annoying enough to Invaders to slow them down and the Mercenary NPCs could do some damage.

Mercenary NPCs were a unique type of NPCs that players could make with in-game gold, but they were generally considered inferior to Custom made NPCs like the Floor Guardians and players.

"I do, but don't we mostly have undead? I don't see where you're going with this. If we're working on the chance that the villagers are level 100 then PoP monsters are worthless." I confessed as I tried to remember what was so special about the low-level monsters that auto-spawned around Nazarick.

PoP monsters could only level to 30, but while Mercenary NPCs could be higher level, it generally wasn't worth it.

"Indeed, but like I said, we don't know if they're level 100 or not. Do you remember the Eight Edge Assassins?" Momonga asked me out of the blue as I thought about the drider-like Assassins.

Eight Edge Assassins were a race of Black Spiders insectoids with ninja-like classes that made them ideal for a hit or run and a passive ability to turn invisible….

Oh.

"Ah," I felt my lips curl up in a large grin, "We send the Assassins to scout and infiltrate the village and if they see them, we know they're above level 50. If they don't, we know they're below and we can see how strong they are."

"Exactly. We have to give explicit orders for them not to attack the village and to avoid detection, but this is the best course of action. This way, we're not in danger and we'll make sure they don't lead back to Nazarick. What do you think?" Momonga asked me as I thought about his plan.

It was a good plan. It kept us out of danger, it should give us some information, no matter how little and we'll get a good idea of how strong people are in this new world.

But I had my doubts about it. I was afraid that something would get lost in translation. Narberal and Entoma showed me that most of Nazarick thought differently than a human mindset and I was willing to bet others had as well and the last thing we need is incorrect information.

"I like it, but I want to add something to it." I told him, "I think one of us should rendezvous with the Assassins every night and they report to us directly and not to someone else."

"Hmm...you want to make sure we can come to our own conclusion and the information doesn't get muddled?" He asked me.

"I do. The Floor Guardians or any other NPCs might think that something isn't worth our while and they might just decide not to tell us." I explained to him.

He hummed and thought about it before saying:

"We'll do that, but we'll take guards when we go out though I think they'll come anyway, really."

"Hmph, you're not wrong. Did you see how on edge the Pleiades were? And we are on the 9nth Floor of all things, I dread to think how they'll be on the surface. We can't keep being around them, you know."

"I know," he let out a sigh, "But we need to keep up appearances for now. I'll figure something out later, but we'll concentrate on the village for now. Also, are you going to change back? I thought you said your human form was uncomfortable."

"Oh, it is," I told him matter of factly, "But I need to get used to it. I have a hunch this will come in handy when we eventually have to meet people."

"Fair enough. Are you going to stay in your human form for when we meet the Floor Guardians?" He asked as we both got off from our chairs and walked towards the doors, making sure to grab the Staff as he got up.

"I will. It's better to make sure they all know what it looks like first hand and, well…"

"Well?"

"As much as I hate this form, I still want to see the looks on their face when they see it," I smirked at him.

"At least you have one good reason," He sighed, "I'll get into contact with Albedo, can you send a [Message] to Yuri Alpha about where we are going?"

"Right," I nodded as I casted [Message] and felt it connect with Yuri.

"Sir Dracul, how can I be of service?" I heard her voice in my head.

"Yuri, Momonga and I are finished with our discussions and we're moving to the Throne Room for a meeting with the Floor Guardians. Are you and the other Pleiades done with your task?"

"I can assure you that I have informed Floor Guardian Demiurge, Overseer Albedo and Sebas, but I'm not sure of the others. My apologies, Sir Dracul."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be telling the Floor Guardians myself about my human form so no need to worry about that."

"I see. Shall we stop our current task then and converge at the Throne Room to continue guarding you and Lord Momonga?"

"I'll leave that up to you. Momong and I will be in the Throne Room with the Floor Guardians so we won't be unguarded or in danger."

"Understood, Sir Dracul, but if I may have a moment of your time? It's about Narberal and Entoma this morning."

"Yuri, if you're scared that I'm angry or offend-"

"Ah, it's not that, Sir Dracul. Forgive me for interrupting you, but I know you didn't take any offence at what Narberal said and I'm thankful for that. It's just that Narberal and Entoma will not forgive themselves until a proper punishment and I worry about them in such a state."

Huh. Didn't expect that but what would be a proper punishment for her? I don't want to hurt them or, hell, even punish them.

"I see. While I don't feel the need to punish them for something that isn't their fault, I'll take your word for it. What do you think she would consider proper punishment?"

"Thank you, Sir Dracul. If I may, I suggest that you take Entoma as your personal maid for a week."

"...Yuri, I don't know if you noticed, but Entoma wanted to eat me."

"A-Ah! Forgive me, Sir Dracul, I didn't explain. If you were to take Entoma as your personal maid for a week rather than Narberal, she would feel like she is being punished for what she said while Entoma would be punished by how embarrassed she'll be when serving you considering what she said to you."

I guess I can see that. Entoma didn't seem able to look me in the eye after what she said. That week will be torture for her, but I won't touch her so she'll be safe.

"I see. I'll trust your judgement on this. Make sure to inform Entoma and Narberal about it and I suppose the rest will sort itself out."

"I will see to it, Sir Dracul. Thank you, truly."

"No worries, Yuri," I told her before disconnecting the conversation.

"I've told Yuri about what's happening. You told Albedo?"

"I have. We should make our way to the Throne Room to get ready."

"Right, let's go," I said as we made our way to the Throne Room.

.

---

.

Momonga was sitting on his Throne, holding his staff, while I stood to his right still in my human form, when the Floor Guardians entered the Throne room and took notice of my new form.

Demiurge, Albedo and Cocytus had the weakest reaction and I supposed they were told about my new form, though I suspect Cocytus wasn't the much for showing his emotions.

Mare, Aura and Shalltear though….

All 3 had gaping mouths like fishes and wide eyes as if they couldn't believe what they're seeing, a human standing next to their Lord.

"You-!" Shalltear started to shout before Albedo quickly grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Albedo, what do you think you're doing!? Th-"

"Calm yourself, Shalltear. I understand your confusion, but that is not a human, are you, Sir Dracul?" Demiurge told her and looked at me.

"Indeed, Demiurge," I said with a massive grin and felt the gentle ripple through my body as I change into my Dragonoid form, "I'm sorry for playing such a trick, but I just couldn't help myself."

Shalltear, Aura and Mare just stared at me, doing their best impressions of gaping fish, while Albedo and Demiurge smiled at me and Cocytus started chuckling.

"I understand, Sir Dracul. I would do the same in your position, but I expect this is not the reason for calling us here."

"Indeed, Demiurge. There have been recent developments that the Guardians should be aware of, due to the efforts of Dracul. I will let him explain." Momonga told them as he waved me forward.

Looks like I'm up on the front stage.

As I stepped forward, the Guardians got to their knees and bowed their heads to us in respect while they waited for me to speak.

"Last night when Sebas reported his findings on our surrounding areas, I went outside to confirm his report and for the most part, he is right. I don't know if anyone of you has been outside, but we're surrounded by grassy plains for miles around us and no sign of intelligent life anywhere close to us."

"After I had looked around, I flew up into the air to get a better look on the ground and a greater vantage point, but even up in the air I couldn't see anything but more grassy plains."

I could see that the Guardians didn't like the fact that I went so far away from Nazarick, unprotected, but they didn't say anything or raise their voice so I went on.

"As I flew far out, I didn't see any man-made structures or anything, really. Just more of the same grassy plains, so I decided to make my way back to Nazarick, to confirm to Momonga that Sebas was right."

"That is until I saw something. A dim light far away from where I currently was. I flew towards and I came upon something."

"About 6 miles from the Great Tomb of Nazarick, is a human village."

That caused the Guardians to raise their heads in surprise to look at me and Momonga.

"I see... do you intend to take over or exterminate the village, Sir Dracul?" Demiurge said to me with wide eyes, allowing me to see the gems he had in his eye sockets.

That's terrifying to see, but I carry on.

"No." I bluntly said, confusing Demiurge, "Momonga and I have discussed on our course of action regarding the village and we decided on what's going to happen." I looked at Momonga who waved at me to stop as he explained to the Guardians their role.

"Demiurge, I want you to round up a squad of Eight Edge Assassins and make sure everything is prepared in case of an invasion. Take any precaution you feel is necessary and contact Dracul when you have assembled the Assassins. He will lead them to the village and give them their orders."

"I see! Of course, Lord Momonga." Demiurge enthusiastically responded.

"Albedo, I know you and Demiurge haven't had much time, but how comes along the improved administrative system for Nazarick?" Momonga asked Albedo who raised her head up.

"I regret to inform you that I and Demiurge haven't finished the new administrative framework yet, but we do have the groundworks layed out." Albedo said as she hanged her head.

"That's fine. For now, I want you to manage the Floor Guardians and make sure we're ready in case of an invasion if something goes wrong with the village. After that is finished I want you and Demiurge to continue working on it."

"By your command, Lord Momonga."

"Mare, how goes your work on the dummy hills?"

"U-um, it'll take a few m-more days for me to finish them, 3 at m-most."

"I see. In that case, continue your work, but feel free to enlist any help you feel you may need to speed up the process."

"O-of course, Lord M-Momonga!"

"Shalltear, Aura and Cocytus. All of you are to raise the security level on your Floors along with making any preparations you feel is needed."

"Of course, Lord Momonga!" All three shouted, loyalty filling up their voices.

"Floor Guardians," Momonga said as he stood up from his Throne, "If all goes according to plan, we shall have much more knowledge available to us and it will allow Nazarick to prosper. Carry out your duties to your fullest and know that I and Dracul have the utmost faith in you."

Immediately all of their faces lit up with joy and wide eyes before they all shouted their devotion for all to hear:

"By your command, Lord Momonga!"

"I'm glad for all of your faith. You're all dismissed to carry out your tasks." Momonga told them, crimson pupils flaring up intensely.

They all bowed to Momonga before getting up and leaving the Throne Room, one by one.

After they had all left and the massive doors shut, I finally let out the breath I had been holding and rested against the Throne.

"God, that's exhausting," I said, finally letting myself relax.

"Indeed it is, but we have to keep up appearances, unfortunately," Momonga told me as he sat down on the Throne and relaxed, "What do you plan to do until Demiurge assembles the Eight Edge Assassins?"

"Now? Well, there is something I would like to s-"

Growl~~~

Ah.

I haven't eaten in about 24 hours I think? Maybe more.

I need to work on that.

"I think I'll get some food, first," I said, rubbing the back of my head and Momonga just sighed.

.

---

.

The Floor Guardians leaving the Throne Room of their Lord and Sir Dracul buzzed with energy, feeling energized by their Lords words.

"...Did you see Sir Draculs human form?" Aura asked aloud to her fellow Guardians.

At the mention of Sir Dracul, Shalltear went stock-still and refused to meet any of their eyes.

"Y-yeah, it was...small. I-I didn't even know he c-could change forms..." Mare responded to his sister question.

"Indeed, and speaking of Sir Dracul." Albedo said and turned to the trembling, blushing vampire, "Shalltear, I don't think I need to tell you how lucky you are."

"Erk!" Shalltear choked as if the words were cutting her, "I-I didn't know he could change forms! None of us knew!"

"I knew, but only because I was informed by Yuri Alpha. I suspect he pulled the same trick with them and it might have caused a similar incident." Demiurge said to her.

"Hrk!" Shalltear once again choked before hiding her blushing face in her hands, "Oh, what have I done? I almost attacked Sir Dracul!"

"If you wish to make it up to him, Shalltear, maybe you should start preparing your Floors? It might please him if he sees you so devoted." Albedo suggested, innocently.

Looking at Albedo after taking her hands off her face, Shalltear knew she was trying to do something, but she was so overcome with embarrassment and shame at almost attacking Sir Dracul, that she was willing to do anything to make it up for him.

"You're right. I needed to get started straight away," Shalltear said as she opened a [Gate], but not before whispering to herself, "Maybe he'll still punish me…? Oh, I'm getting excited…"

"Pervert." Aura said after Shalltear had left and turned towards Albedo, "That was surprising, Albedo. I thought you and Shalltear didn't get along because both of you were competing to be the first wife of Lord Momonga?"

"Oh, we are," Albedo informed Aura happily, "But if she concentrates on Sir Dracul, the less that lamprey will focus on Lord Momonga and I can spend more time winning his love. Who knows, maybe she'll want to be Sir Draculs wife?"

"Uh...yeah, maybe." Aura said dubiously to the Overseer before saying, "Well, I'm off. The faster we make the preparations, the better." She told her fellow Guardians before walking off to her Floor

"Indeed, we should begin as soon as possible but before that, Cocytus?" Demiurge turned to look at his friend.

"HMMM?"

"Were you also told about Sir Draculs human form? You didn't seem very surprised about it."

Chuckling, the Warrior looked at the Tactician and told him:

"SIR DRACULS HUMAN FORM IS VERY CONVINCING BUT HE IS A WARRIOR LIKE ME. THE WAY HE STOOD ON GUARD NEXT TO LORD MOMONGA TOLD ME ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW."

"Truly?" Demiurge said with open eyes, "Hmmm...That gives me an idea, but I will have to enact it later. Thank you, Cocytus. Until next time."

"UNTIL NEXT TIME, DEMIURGE."

After saying their farewells, the Guardians made their to enact their tasks given to them.

.

---

.

After the meeting and deciding to actually eat something today, I found myself being escorted by three Pleiades; Entoma, Solution and Shinzu to one of the cafeterias on the 9nth floor while Momonga was being guarded by the rest while he did paperwork or something.

They led me to an extragvent room filled with tables covered in red cloth, much like a high-class restaurant.

It was also completely empty except for the staff, a couple of homunculus maids who turned to look at me with wide eyes and quickly got to work.

"This is a fancy place. Who's supposed to eat here?" I asked.

If I remember correctly, there were quite a few cafeterias but it was used by the maids mostly.

"...The 41 Supreme Beings, Sir Dracul." Shinzu informed me with a monotone voice.

Oh.

Oh, that's just sad.

"...I see. Why have you led me here then? Last time I checked, I'm not a Supreme Being." I questioned them, curious as to why they led me here.

All 3 of the battle maids looked at each before looking at me.

"Sir Dracul, may I speak bluntly?" Solution said to me.

Looking at her, I raised my eyebrow, "Of course."

"Sir Dracul," She bowed, "While you did refuse the offer to become the 42nd Supreme Being, you chose to ally yourself to Nazarick and even stayed behind with us and Lord Momonga to the very end. To all of Nazarick, you have proven why you were chosen to become the 42nd Supreme Being. It is only fitting that someone like yourself would eat here."

So that's how it is. While I may not be technically a member of the guild, they still saw me as one or close to one due to what I did back in YGGDRASIL and even when I stayed with Momonga at the shutdown.

"Fair enough, I suppose. Let's go then, I'm starving." I said as we walked towards a random table and sat down.

Well, I sat down. The 3 of them stood behind me, on guard.

For god sakes, calm down a bit. We're on the 9nth Floor, dammit!

Almost immediately after I sat down, A homunculus maid came towards me, nervous and jittery, holding a menu and giving to me.

Yeesh lady, calm down.

"Thank you." I smiled at her, trying to calm her down.

Apparently, that's the wrong thing to do, because she started blushing and kept opening and closing her mouth, trying to say something.

"U-uhm! You're welcome, Sir Dracul!" The maid said before bowing and running off.

Well.

Okay then.

"Allow me to apologize on their behalf, Sir Dracul." I heard Solution said behind me, "It's just that, with Lord Momonga being the only Supreme Being left and because he's undead, he doesn't need to eat…" She trailed off.

"Ah. I understand, don't worry about it. I know she didn't mean anything by it." I said as I opened the menu before stopping.

"Entoma."

"A-ah, yes, Sir Dracul?" Entoma said, her voice uneasy.

"Are you still hungry? I'm pretty sure I can give you something to eat." I said as I moved my arm in an obvious fashion.

"Eep!"

Wow, she eeps as well?

"I-I'm very sorry about this morning, Sir Dracul! I didn-!" She started bowing up and down.

This really is a bit cruel, but too much fun at the same time.

I wonder how she'll do for the week she serves as my personal maid?

Awkward probably.

"Ha! Don't worry about it, Entoma. I'm not angry at you or Narberal this morning so don't worry about it." I calmed her down.

"...Really?" She asked me quietly and stopping her bows.

"Really. Don't worry about it."

"I-I see. Thank you, Sir Dracul." She bowed once more and stood straight, but still couldn't look me in eye.

Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine.

After that, I quickly read through the menu before I saw the meal I wanted.

I put down my menu and soon after the same maid as before came up with a notepad, but she wasn't trembling as bad as before.

"I would like the steak, please," I told her as she wrote down my order and hurried back to the kitchen.

For the moment, it was silent with the only noise being the kitchen as the staff cooked up my meal and the battle maids behind me didn't seem to be one for conversation. That's fine as it gave me time to think about something.

Specifically, my swordsmanship.

Playing a warrior type in YGGDRASIL was a...weird and awkward thing for most. The game controlled how fast you were due to the AGI stat, but it didn't control your stamina so you had to be in a good shape at least to be a good warrior.

I didn't physically move, but due to NNI being wired straight to my brain it gave me the illusion of moving and that could tire you out, at least mentally and that's not to say anything about actually using weapons.

Anyone could swing a sword, but to be among the best, you had to learn swordsmanship or at least have knowledge about it.

Luckily due to using a massive claymore, War-san, also used a weapon that had 180cm in length, trained me and showed me the dos and don'ts about using a massive weapon like Balmung and I eventually became quite skilled in using large weapons, specifically claymores.

But how did that translate here, in this new world? Well, thankfully I had a simple solution to that problem.

Just gotta spar with Cocytus when he and I have some free time, though I suspect that won't happen for a while.

Soon after, a maid approached with a large plate filled to the brim with vegetables and a big, juicy steak in the middle.

"Here is your meal, Sir Dracul." She placed it down in front of me and I licked my lips in anticipation.

"Thank you, I'm starving," I said before grabbing a knife and fork and cutting a piece of the rare steak and eating it.

For the moment, I just chewed on it while the maid looked on in rapt attention and a bit of fear.

I swallowed.

The maid went still.

I looked at the maid.

The maid swallowed.

Still looking at the maid, I let out a smile and said:

"Delicious. My compliments to the chef."

The maid let out a massive sigh of relief before deeply bowing to me, "Thank you, Sir Dracul! Enjoy your meal." She said to me and running back to the kitchen.

I was back on my steak, tearing it up before I heard Shinzu say something.

"...Sir Dracul likes to tease."

Well, you're all so uptight all the time and it stresses Momonga out so I have to do something.

I didn't say anything, but I did smile at her comment.

Soon though, all good things must come to an end as I felt something 'click' in my head.

"Sir Dracul, I finished my preparations and I have assembled a squad of Eight Edge Assassins on the surface, awaiting your orders."

Not a moment too soon either as I finished the rest of my meal.

"Good work, Demiurge. I'll be there shortly."

"Of course, Sir Dracul."

Disconnecting the [Message], I got up from the chair and looked at my guards.

"That was Demiurge, telling me about a task I need to do. I'll be using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to reach the entrance in short order, the 3 of you are to report back to Yuri Alpha and join the rest of Pleiades in guarding Momonga." I ordered them.

But I could see by the look on their faces they didn't like I was going on the surface without them.

"Sir Dracul, I must object. We can not leave you unguarded on the surface. It is our duty to guard you and Lord Momonga against any and all threats." Solution told me in a heated voice.

I knew this would happen, dammit.

"Calm yourself, Solution. I will not there be for long and I will not be unguarded. I will have a squad of Eight Edge Assassin around me for this. The risk of me being in danger will be very little." I told her in a calm voice, trying to soothe her and others worry.

She bit her lower lip in thought and stared at the floor for a moment before looking at me and bowing, "As you say, Sir Dracul. Me, Entoma and Shinzu will report back to Vice Captain Yuri."

"Thank you," I smiled at them, "I will be back shortly."

I used the ring and thought of the entrance before a bright flash enveloped me.

.

---

.

I soon saw myself outside, the sun high in the sky and bearing down on me without a cloud in sight.

I looked around to see we were now surrounded by growing dummy hills and I looked up to see Mare on top, working his druidic magic on moving the land.

Damn, that kid has been working hard to get this much dirt around us in such a short time.

"Sir Dracul!" I heard Demiurges voice call out above me.

I turned around to see Demiurge flying over the dummy hills with bat-like wings before landing in front of me and bowing.

"Sir Dracul, due to the efforts of Mare hiding Nazarick in dummy hills and by following your directions, I managed to find the village and station the Assassin inside the forest close by."

Uh oh.

Shit, did he attack the village?

"Demiurge, did you attack the village or give any orders to the Assassins?" I asked, hiding the fear in my voice.

"No, Sir Dracul. By Lord Momonga's command, I merely told them to stand by and wait for your orders."

Oh, thank you, god.

"Good work, Demiurge. I'll take it from here. Go and carry out any other duties you have." I told him as I took my helmet from my inventory and put it on.

You know, I think this is the first time I equipped my helmet since arriving here.

Doesn't feel any different than not having it on.

"Of course, Sir Dracul. By your leave." He bowed to me and walked back into Nazarick.

I and Momonga are gonna have to do something about everyone else walking everywhere, though that's for another time.

Spreading my wings once more, I flew to the skies, my heart pumping with adrenaline.

God, I love flying.

Making sure not to get distracted, I flew towards the village.

.

---

.

After making some rounds, I finally found the Assassins in the forest, almost on the edge. They haven't been found yet so far so good.

Gently and making sure none of the humans saw me, I landed in the forest as the Assassin surrounded me and kneeled.

"Sir Dracul, we await your command." The biggest one, I presume the leader, said to me.

Nodding, I spoke, my helmet distorting my voice into a low rumble, "Here is your mission, but first let me makes this perfectly clear."

"This mission is vital and you must as exactly as I order you, do you understand?"

My words must've shaken them because they went stock-still before the leader nodded his head, not saying anything, but resolute.

"Good. Here is your mission:"

"One, you are not to kill, hurt or capture any one of the village. This is an information-gathering mission, not an assassination and yes, the irony is not lost on me."

"Second, you are not to expose your presence here in anyway. If they see you because they can see through your passive invisibility, that's fine. Come back to Nazarick after you're sure you're not being followed in that case, however, do not expose yourselves due to anything else."

"Thirdly, I or Momonga will come here every night, including tonight, for you to report directly to us. Not to the Floor Guardians or anyone else. Do not leave anything out of your report, no matter how insignificant you think it is."

"Fourthly and last of all is this. This village is our best chance of getting information about where we are, what kind of danger we're facing and among many other things. As such, if the village is in danger, I want one of you to use this to contact me." I raised my arm and put my hand inside my inventory to pull out a sealed Scroll I borrowed from Momonga and handed it to the leader.

"That is a [Message] Scroll, do you know how to use it?" The leader nodded, "Good. Just to remind all of you, that is a one-time use item. Do not use it unless you feel the village is in danger. Do you all understand your mission now?"

"By your command, Sir Dracul!" They all shouted, kneeling to me as I felt the pressure on my shoulders increase.

Christ, I need a drink.

"Good. Go and carry out your mission, all of you." I pointed to the village.

They bowed once more and shoot up from their kneeling position, racing through the forest, towards the human village.

I waited for the sounds of them running to fade before I went to a nearby tree and rested against.

"Christ," I sighed, "I want to go back to bed."

I waited a while in the forest, enjoying the silence of it.

Right, I don't hear any screaming so let's check on the Assassins.

Walking through the forest, I silently, or tried to, walked towards to edge to see what was happening.

Transforming into my human form, I hid behind a large tree to see what was happening in the village.

It was a perfectly normal village, really. Farmers attended to their crops, other did work around the village and the like.

The Eight Edge Assassins stood on the houses and listened closely to any conversation they could and moving on when they're were finished.

Good, it seems the humans can't see them which must mean they're below level 50, at most.

Right, I should tell Momonga about this. Casting a [Message], I 'clicked' with Momonga.

"Momo, are you free? I've got an update on the village situation and some good news."

"Dracul? Where are you?"

Ah, shit.

"I'm in my human form right now, hiding behind a tree. I'm watching the village right now."

"Dracul…"

"Don't worry, Momo, I'm not doing anything or planning to do anything. I'm just watching the Assassins gather information."

"Just as long you don't get near the village. Now, you said you had some good news?"

"Yeah, it seems the humans can't see the Assassins or even detect them. They're completely invisible."

"I see, that is good news. Did you give them the Scroll along with instructions?"

"I did. They should only con-"

Before I could finish speaking, I felt something hit me in my back.

What the fuck?

I whipped around to come face to face with an ugly, monstrous green face with elongated ears and eyes with no iris or pupils staring at me and the broken sword in its hand in confusion.

It's a Goblin, albeit a very ugly Goblin covered in rags and rusty plate metal.

A Goblin, here, in this new world.

A Goblin that just tried to kill me.
(That trash dares to touch us! Trash like him deserves to burn!)
Looking at this piece of trash that dared touch me, my hand shot out and I wrapped my hand around its throat, squeezing it.

"You dare?" I felt my throat grow out the words that felt like they weren't my own and as I continued to slowly squeeze its throat.

This thing, that dared to attack me, clawed at my hand and brought its snapped sword down on my hand, trying to use its pitiful strength to pry it open.

It didn't work.

It reached out to my face, to try and claw my eyes out, to make me cry out in pain so I would let go.

"Trash like you…" I growled out at it, a clearly inhuman voice as my hand started to heat up like a furnace, boiling the skin of this thing.

"...deserves to burn," I said as [Burning Touch] ramped up its temperature as this thing started flailing about, trying everything and anything to free itself.

It didn't work.

It would've screamed if it could if I wasn't continuing to restrict its airways and its vocal cords weren't burning inside of its own body.

Soon afterwards, it stopped struggling and its limbs fell limp to its side and soon the smell of burnt meat reached my noise.

I looked at the goblin I had killed.

I had killed it. With my own two hands.

Or one hand rather, but still.

I let go of it and it flopped forward, like a puppet with its strings cut and its throat now a bubbling mess of burnt meat and charred flesh.

Oh.

I just killed something.

I looked at my hands, one clean and one stuck with bits of sizzling meat.

They weren't shaking.

If anything, I felt calm, too calm after what I had done.

I mean, it was in self-defence, right? I just-

"Dracul!? Dracul, are you alright?!"

I jolted upwards as I heard Momonga shout inside of my head.

Shit, was he shouting all that time?

"U-uh, yeah, I'm alright, Momo, just….a bit shaken up, really."

"Dracul, what happened? You cut out all of a sudden and when I tried to contact you, you wouldn't talk back."

"Well…" I looked at the smoking goblin corpse, still indifferent to what had happened and calming down from the fury I felt when it attacked me.

"I'll show you, I think. Trust me, you'll want to see this."

I heard Momonga let out a sigh, "Fine then. I'll meet you at the entrance of Nazarick."

"Right. Meet you there." I disconnected the [Message] and walked over to the goblin corpse.

I shifted to my Dragonoid form and picked it up with my hand, but not before taking a look at it.

Nothing. I felt nothing.
(The Dragon does not concern itself with burnt trash)
What's happening to me?

Shaking my head, I spread my wings and flew towards Nazarick.

.

---

.

Momonga, Overlord of The Great Tomb of Nazarick, is once again worried about his young friend.

He hoped this didn't become a recurring theme.

While speaking to Dracul about the human village he was scouting, he cut out in a middle of sentence and Momonga thought something had gone wrong.

He immediately recasted [Message] and soon after he connected to Dracul again.

He wished he didn't.

As soon as he reconnected to Dracul, he tried speaking to him, but he wasn't responding.

The only thing he got from Dracul, was a feeling of burning hatred.

A burning hatred and smouldering anger directed at something other than him, but he wasn't sure what.

Momonga thought back to their conversation this morning and realised that maybe, just maybe.

They weren't even human anymore.

Momonga felt oddly calm at this, but he suspected even if he did panic, his emotion suppression would kick in and squish it down.

But he did worry about Dracul and how it might affect him. Dracul clearly did not have anything suppressing his emotion, indeed, it might be the opposite.

Maybe his emotions, anger in particular, were being enhanced.

Even so, he didn't have enough proof to support this theory and even then, he didn't wish to test it.

Momonga promised he would get Dracul home and he will not send him home, traumatized.

In truth, a small part of him wished that Dracul would stay with him in this new world, removed away from the monotonous and depressing cycle of work, eat and sleep in his old world.

But he will not.

He knew, more than anyone else, what it was like to lose your family all of a sudden and he refused to put his friend in the same place that he once was.

"Momonga-sama? What has happened?" He heard a melodious voice break him out of his dark thoughts and looked at the source.

Albedo looked at him with worried eyes as they, along with Mare and Shalltear, stood outside the entrance of Nazarick.

The Floor Guardians with him were looking at him with fearful eyes as they thought they had something wrong.

Momonga contemplated telling them about Dracul possibly being attacked by someone and decided that it would be best if they knew so know it wasn't anything to do with them.

"...It is my belief that Dracul might've been attacked while he was outside of Nazarick."

The words had an instant effect on the Guardians present.

Mare gasped, looking at Momonga, with pleading eyes for him to be wrong, but gripping his staff in anger.

Shalltear went stock-still and gritted her teeth in fury at those who would dare attack the Dragon of Nazarick and Lord Momongas friend as the shadows around started curling around her in response to her anger and her hands balled into fists.

Albedo went rigid and stared at the man she loves with wide eyes before her eyes became slits and simply said:

"Who dares?"

"Before anything else, know that Dracul is fine. He is coming back and he is bringing back the one that attacked him back to Nazarick." Momonga attempted to calm down the furious Guardians.

It worked. Somewhat.

Mare let a sigh of relief and his grip relaxed on his wooden staff, but his eyes still held anger mixed with worry.

Shalltear stopped gritting her teeth, but her face still held nothing, but animosity and her hands are still balled into fists, shadows curling around her, but calming down.

Albedo relaxed, but her eyes still held steel and fury, wanting to inflict pain and suffering on those who would dare try to attack any of Nazaricks denizens.

"Momonga-sama, even still we can't-"

"Momonga!" They heard a familiar, growling voice shout out above them.

They looked up to see Dracul, wearing his full plate armour with his helmet on and carrying something with him.

It was a corpse.

"Dracul-sama! Are you okay?!" Mare shouted as ran towards the Dragon, looking up at him.

Dracul gently descended with his flapping wings, picking up a little of wind and stopped in front of Mare.

"I'm fine, Mare," he said simply as the Overlord and the 2 female Guardians approached him.

"Dracul," The Undead said to the Dragon, "Is that your attacker?" he pointed to a small, green body that he was carrying in his right hand.

"Yeah, it is." He nodded and threw down the body as if it was a piece of trash.

Momonga knew his friend could be close to those who won his trust, but he could also be incredibly petty and cruel to those who he felt that wronged him.

But even so, this was disturbing and it reached a new level.

Momonga could only hope he found a way back home soon.

Looking at the body, Momonga stilled and looked at it with an open jaw.

It was a Goblin, a Demi-Human race from YGGDRASIL.

"A...Goblin?" Shalltear looked in confusion before she noticed the goblin's throat, "Dracul-sama, is that your doing?" She pointed to the throat.

Or what was left of it.

It had cooled off, but Momonga could see that whatever Dracul did must've been incredibly painful.

Most of it was melted off, revealing the inner workings of the throat, and the vocal cords that had seemed to be merged with the airways, exposing disgusting red tissue to the outside.

Momonga felt disgust rise within him before it was suppressed and got a good look at its face.

Goblins were never pretty in YGGDRASIL, but this one had reached a new level.

Warts littered its face and its egg-white eyes without pupils showed its beastly nature and its fangs jutted outward of its open jaw. It was covered in rags and the odd plate of rusty metal covering certain areas of its body like its shoulder.

Goblins in YGGDRASIL could both be a Demi-Human race and a monster, but when you killed a monster in YGGDRASIL, it would drop data crystals and disappear in a flash of light.

Here, Momonga could see that such things did not happen as he stared at the cooling corpse in front of him.

"I did, Shalltear. It attacked me in my human form while my back was turned. I merely took what action I considered necessary." Dracul said, voice blank and neutral.

To the Guardians, it merely seemed that Dracul had done what was right and made the attacker suffer and said what was needed on the subject.

To Momonga, it seemed that his friend merely wanted to stop talking about it.

"Dracul, may I try something?" Momonga asked, curious to try a spell and divert attention away.

"Go for it," He shrugged, "It's not going anywhere." He stepped back from the goblin corpse.

Walking towards the corpse, Momonga held out his palm and said:

"[Create Low Tier Undead: Skeleton]"

As soon as he casted the spell, a dark fog emerged from his hand and went towards the goblin's body and melded with it.

The body stood up and started convulsing violently as if something was trying to get out of its flesh. Soon enough, a wet tearing sound echoed out throughout the dummy hills.

The flesh of the goblin seemed to be tearing itself from the inside out as scraps of flesh flew off, throwing blood everyone, but strangely it landed on nobody.

Soon enough, all that stood was a skeleton of a Goblin with scraps of flesh thrown about and bits still hanging off of it.

Well, Momonga thought.

That was a disgusting experience and nothing like that ever happened in YGGDRASIL.

Though Dracul wore his helmet, Momonga knew that he's surprised as he was at what just happened.

"Mo-Momonga-sama?" He heard Mare say to him and giving him a curious glance.

"I simply wished to see that my Necromancy could work on the humanoids here. It seems that it was a success." Momonga explained to the Floor Guardian before turning to Dracul.

"Dracul, come with me. I shall hear your report in private, in my office."

"Alright, but what about this thing?" He pointed at the miniature skeleton.

Momonga looked at the skeleton and wondered what to do with it.

He only casted to spell to see if it worked and it did, but not think much further than that.

"You. Clean up this mess." He ordered as it nodded and went around picking up the scraps of Goblin meat.

Well, that mess is sorted out.

"I shall see you in my office, Dracul," Momonga said as he used the Ring to teleport himself.

.

---

.

Watching a body tear itself inside out and the Skeleton pick up its pieces is probably the most surreal thing I've ever seen.

I expected Momongas Necromancy to work like any other Magic, but like that…

Jesus.

"U-hm, Sir Dracul," I heard Mare talk to me before I used the Ring to teleport myself to the 9nth Floor.

"Yes, Mare?" I asked, trying to disguise how tired I am.

God, it's still midday.

"I just wanted t-to say that I'm glad you're okay," Mare said to me, blushing all the while, but still looking at me.

I felt my lips curl up into a small smile.

No matter how I felt or didn't feel about my encounter with the Goblin, I'm glad I have Nazarick to at least return to.

"Hmph," I snorted out as I reached out to pet Mare, "It'll take a lot more than a Goblin to hurt me, you know."

Staring at me, he said, "O-of course! I didn't m-mean-"

"I believe Sir Dracul knows what you mean, Mare." Albedo said, walking forward towards me and Mare.

"Heh, I do, but I won't keep you from your duties anymore and I don't want to keep Momonga waiting long."

"O-of course, Sir Dracul." Mare bowed to me.

"Until next time, Sir Dracul." Albedo nodded to me.

"E-er yes, until next time, Sir Dracul." I heard Shalltear say, still not looking me in the eye.

Is she still embarrassed about what happened?

Dammit.

"Shalltear, before I go, will do you me a favour?" I asked her, causing her to jump and look at me.

"Of course! Anything, Sir Dracul!" She said, with a blush on her face.

Lord in heaven, save me.

"Talk to Narberal and Entoma, when you can, will you? I think it'll show what you did isn't as bad as you're making it out to be." I said to her.

"Eh?" She blinked at me.

"Thank you, Shalltear. Until next time." I said as I quickly used the ring for a tactical retreat.

.

---

.

I found myself outside Momonga's office with the Pleiades guarding the doors.

"Sir Dracul, welcome back. How was your trip?" Yuri Alpha asked me as she and her sisters bowed to me.

"It went well, but I have to report Momonga the details. If all goes well, we should have some much-needed intel tonight." I said as I walked towards the doors, taking off my helmet and they opened them for me.

"That's good to hear. Lord Momonga waits for you inside." Yuri waved me through.

After saying my thanks and putting my helmet in my inventory, I walked inside to find Momonga sat down on his chair at his desk.

"Dracul. How are you feeling?" He asked me as I sat down on the armchair.

"Exhausted, mentally. Physically, I feel fine though, so that's something at least." I told him as I finally let myself relax and sunk into the soft armchair.

"Would...would you like to talk about it?" Momonga offered, hesitantly.

I thought about it, how I felt then and my thoughts during when I killed the Goblin.

"Honestly? Yeah, I do." I took a deep breath and let it out as I started talking.

I told him how I felt something hit me in the back and seemed to disconnect the [Message]

I told him how I came face to face with the Goblin.

I told him how angry I felt, that someone like this would dare attack me.

I told him how I basically melted its throat and strangled it to death.

I told him how I felt nothing. Both now and back then.

After I had finished, we both sat in silence for who knows how long as I just stared at the floor.

"If I may ask…" Momonga words cut through the silence and I looked up at him.

"What did you expect to feel?"

That stumped me.

What did I expect to feel?

Remorse?

Worry?

Fear?

"I guess...I guess I expected to feel something, anything at least. Adrenaline for how quick it was or how I managed to avoid losing my life. Maybe fear? Fear that something would attack me with the intent to kill?"

"I don't know, honestly. How can I? I've never been in this situation before."

Momonga stared at me with worry before saying, "If it means anything... I'm glad you're safe, Dracul."

I looked up at him and I felt myself smile, "Thanks, Momonga. That helped a lot."

"Now," I said as I slapped my cheeks, "for my report on the Eight Edge Assassins and their infiltration."

"Indeed. You said it went well?"

"Really well," I nodded, "The humans have no idea that the Assassins are there. I gave them an order to use that [Message] Scroll you gave me if the village came into any danger and they have explicit orders not to kill or harm anyone."

"Good. I shall go there tonight to hear their reports, will you go there the next day?"

"Yeah, I will. The meeting location is on the edge of the forest, close to the village, but not close enough for any of them to see."

"Very good. What will you be doing for the rest of the day then?" He asked as we both got up from our chairs.

"Practicing my swordsmanship. I was able to defend myself with magic, but I want to see if I'm still able to use Balmung as well as I did back in YGGDRASIL. Don't worry, I won't fight anyone, I'll just do some swing it around a couple of times. What about you?"

"I still have some experiments that I wish to conduct, mostly with weapons and that undead I created, so I expect that will take up my time until tonight." He told me as we exited his office.

"Right then, I'll see you later than, Momonga."

"See you later, Dracul."

After our exchange, we went our separate ways to other parts of Nazarick.

.

---

.

After that, there only noteworthy thing that happened was me going to Floor 6 to practice with Balmung and even that was uninteresting.

I confirmed that my body still remembers the muscle memory of my sword strikes and I could still fight with Balmung just as well as before, if not even better due to my improved motor functions.

Aura watched me go through my strikes with rapt attention and she was disappointed when I was finished until I pointed out I practised for almost 3 hours.

She just rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously.

Soon enough, the night arrived and Momonga started going out. I offered to go with him, but he wanted me and Albedo to stay in Nazarick just in case.

Fair enough, but I also expected that he wanted some alone time and I don't blame him.

After word got out that I had been attacked, albeit by a weak Goblin, my guards, who seemed to be Solution, Shinzu and Entoma, stuck to me 24/7, only my room is safe for me to be alone.

I tried to reassure them that I wasn't in any danger by the Goblin, but Sebas scolded, actually scolded, me saying that 'I shouldn't devalue myself' whatever that meant.

Shalltear approached me during my practice and said that she talked to Narberal and Entoma like I suggested and apologized for acting the way she did. I don't know what they talked about, exactly, but I'm glad to see Shalltear was alright again.

Though she did keep looking at me with a blush on her face while I was practising.

I make sure to lock my bedroom door every night after that.

After Momonga had come back from his outing to the forest, he contacted me to meet with him and talk about what the Assassins had told him.

They gathered a surprising amount of information. Much more than I expected.

We learned that the village is called Carne village and it was part of a kingdom called the Re-Estize Kingdom. We learned that there was, in fact, a city close by, called E-Rantel and something about an Alchemist called Nfirea or something like that, came around once a week to collect ingredients for his potions.

The most interesting thing, though, was something called the Adventurers Guild. The Assassins couldn't really tell us what they do, but apparently, it was a very widespread organization, possibly spread throughout the world and had a base in every country.

With that, Momonga told me his long-term plan.

"We're going to become world famous."

"Huh?"

"Dracul, do you believe that we're the only ones here?"

"No." I said instantly and shaking my head, "I refuse to believe that we're the only ones."

"So do I and if someone else is here, they may know a way back so we're going to become world famous. Spread our names so that anyone else from YGGDRASIL will know we're here."

It made sense. I and Momonga had some infamy in YGGDRASIL, him due to being the guild master of Nazarick and me for being the only person in YGGDRASIL to achieve a Dragon race change, even if I had to call the developers out.

So I agreed to it. Not like I can do much else.

The second day arrived and went without much issue.

It was honestly surprised me how quickly I got used to this, actually living in a different world. I wonder if something had happened to me, mentally, so I would quickly adjust.

Night soon arrived and I went out to meet with the Assassins, to see what they had learned.

They didn't learn as much as yesterday, but they did tell me two things.

One is that magic was commonplace and it was general knowledge. Apparently, the Alchemist that visits the village uses magic in his potions alongside with herbs, though we had no idea what tier of magic he used or if they even used tier magic, but it was a start.

The second was much more surprising.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked them as I stood in the forest with my guards and the Assassins kneeling.

"At high noon tomorrow, Carne village will be attacked and torched by, what seem to be, heavily armed bandits." The leader Assassin told me.

Oh.

Oh shit.

.

Spoiler: A/N

Here is Chapter 3 and as you can see, things are starting to change, at least for the characters. I know some people were probably expecting the Battle of Carne Village and honestly so was I, but I just wanted to get this out and Carne Village and aftermath will probably be a chapter by itself. I don't have much to say this time, but I hope you can see how being a Dragon is changing Dracul, like how being undead changed Momonga. That's it for this A/N, so please tell me what you liked and tell me what you hated so I can improve. Thanks. Also 2 lines of invist text

 

[Ereli]

The Overlord's Dragon.​

.

Quod Draco Surgit.​

For Enri Emmot, the day started out much as the same as any other.

She woke up at the crack of dawn and started the arduous task of getting her little sister out of bed.

She would haul water from the nearby well to fill the water tank in the house and after that, her mother would've cooked up whatever they had left to eat for breakfast this morning.

As she lifted up the bucket and walked towards the well, her thoughts wandered to something else, something new that happened in her unchanging life.

Or rather, some people.

Just the other day, her village was visited by two...unique travellers.

Well, they were quite frankly terrifying, but they kept to themselves and they didn't cause any trouble so the chief decided to let them enter the village to see what they wanted.

They were both tall and massive, but besides that, they really couldn't be different from each other.

The Mage introduced himself as Ainz Ooal Gown but she heard his companion call him 'Momo' though it seemed to be a slip of the tongue or a cute nickname for the scary looking the magic caster funnily enough.

He wore a pitch-black robe that covered his whole body with gold thread edges around it, that quite frankly looked like it should've suffocated him and give him heatstroke, especially in such hot weather.

He wore the strangest pauldrons or shoulder pads she ever saw. Large bone-like things that jutted out with a large ruby in the middle of each one.

They must be fake, what else can they be? Real rubies, that size? Or real bone that big?

Speaking of fake, the staff he used couldn't be anything but. Really, a solid gold staff with 7 gems in those snake mouths? Ridiculous, really.

He also wore a strange red mask with crystal blue eyes that seemed to be laughing and mocking who ever talked to it and plated gloves that hid his hands. He seemed...not shy, but withdrawn.

As if he felt uncomfortable being among other people, but Enri wasn't surprised. She pegged him for a Noble as soon as she saw him along with being a Mage. Who else would wear a robe in a place like this and with those giant fake rubies?

Enri knew the wonders of magic but also the dangers of it as well. Her friend, Nfirea, told her stories of things magic could do, but it wasn't the Mage that worried her.

It was Dracul, the Warrior that accompanied the Mage, that worried her.

From what Nfirea would tell her, it's a common setup for a Warrior and Mage to travel together. The Mage would cast support spells while the Warrior would attack or defend, depending on the situations.

The difference being, that a Mage needed a Warrior, but a Warrior didn't need a Mage.

While she has heard of Mages casting powerful spells like [Fireball] or [Lightning], those were 3rd Tier spells and if he had those, he wouldn't be travelling with a Warrior that could fight for him frankly

No, she was far more afraid of what Dracul could do to her village than what the Mage could do.

If what the Mage wore should've given him heatstroke, than Dracul should've collapsed from exhaustion as soon as he put it on for more than a minute.

Wearing full plate armour along with a large red cape and lugging that colossal sword around on his back, Enri could hardly believe that the man is human.

The dark red, plate armour and along with the helmet he wore both depicted Dragons of all things, his chest plate showing a rising Dragon and his helmet is in the shape of a Dragon's head with a closed maw.

The most outstanding feature would have to be his weapon that he carried, that enormous sword that's as tall as the man himself and a wide, double-edged blade that seemed to gleam in the sun and a dark red middle with steel grey edges.

Nemu, bless her sister, was enraptured by their weapons and would've done something stupid if she didn't hold her back.

When the two travellers arrived at Carne Village, to say that they caused a stir would be an understatement.

They were asked to wait on the outskirts for the Chief, but even so, it's not like the village could force them if they didn't want to.

Surprisingly enough, they allowed themselves to wait and soon enough the Chief approached them and asked them what they wanted.

Enri herself wasn't there, but from what her father told her, Ainz and Dracul were travellers from a faraway land that just got lost and would like some directions or a map, to see where they are.

Her father didn't believe them and she suspected nobody else did either, but they couldn't really call them liars or even prove them wrong so the Chief showed them the map inside his house.

Afterwards, the chief and his wife came out of his house and holding a small leather bag in his hand, looking dazed as if something amazing just happened.

He told everyone to go to the village hall for a meeting. An important meeting.

The chief said that the travellers are going to stay for the night and until tomorrow midday in the village hall.

This caused some discomfort and murmurs among the rest of the villagers. Two heavily armed strangers come into their village and now they're demanding room and board?

The chief corrected them, though. They weren't demanding.

They were paying.

He opened up the small leather bag and dropped its contents on a table for everyone to see what they were paying with.

Gold.

Gold coins with a beautiful woman's face and a serpent surrounding a tree, with the words YGGDRASIL on them. They sparkled and glittered, even in the low light hall.

Everyone went silent.

The chief explained that he tested them for their purity himself, three times over.

They were at least worth twice as much as a Re-Estize Gold coin, but due to the artwork on them, they could be at least five times more than that.

He also said that, in that bag alone, there were 60 coins.

25 families live in Carne Village and that rounded up to 120 people, give or take.

The chief carried on.

He said, they will give them another bag by tomorrow if they allow them to stay for the night and they'll be gone by midday tomorrow.

120 Gold coins that were worth at least five more than normal for 120 people in the village.

It wasn't surprising that most people that objected to the two travellers staying were now quiet.

But Enri didn't like it. It was far too suspicious, far too generous for just a nights stay in a remote village like theirs.

So she spoke up.

"Aren't we being too greedy? Doesn't everyone find this farfetched? That two travellers, with gold like this, would spend it here of all places?"

Enri loved her home more than anything, but she wasn't blind to what it is.

A poor village.

A poor village that two rich men are now paying, in gold, to stay for one night and half a day?

She wasn't the only one, many other voiced similar doubts. They may not have much, but they had enough to live happily.

Until the chief asked a simple question.

"What could we do to make them leave? What is to stop them from forcing themselves to stay?"

The answer was nothing. There was nothing they could, realistically do, to make them leave.

They were all farmers. Peasants. Their weapons were scythes to cut wheat, not bone, and pitchforks to pierce and lift hay, not flesh and they were so far away from any cities, that they had no guards or anyone trained to fight.

Enri knew this and so did everyone else.

Everyone left the village hall that day and the two travellers moved in, soon after.

The day passed by quickly enough and it was like they were never there to begin with, for a while at least.

It was late evening, just after Enri had finished all of her chores and getting ready for bed to start the day all over again before she saw them.

From the way they talked, she saw them before they saw her, but not for long.

"...uldn't be here, Dracul. You and I at are far too much risk." She heard a deep baritone voice say to the large Warrior before he responded:

"We owe them this much Momo, you know. If it weren't for them we wouldn't-" She heard a voice, rumbling like thunder, said before being cut short.

Enri stared at the two, very big and very scary travellers, with wide eyes.

The same two travellers stared at her, both faces hidden, one by a Dragon's visage of a helmet and one by red mask wearing a wide mocking grin.

"...Good evening." the Mage nodded at her while elbowing the Warrior besides him who did the same.

"A-Ah! G-good evening!" She bowed to the almost certain Noble and his bodyguard before quickly walking towards her home, past them and they went past her before she stopped herself.

She didn't want to talk to these two.

She didn't want anything to do with them and she, quite frankly, wanted them to leave.

But she had to ask them something.

Just one thing and that'll be it.

She turned back around and quickly ran after them, her footsteps making noises and causing the two to turn around.

"U-uhm, could I ask you two something? Please?" She asked them earnestly.

The two companions glanced at each other before the Noble looked at her, "You may."

"Th-thank you. You two aren't…" She let out a deep breath, resolving herself, "You two aren't going to cause trouble, are you?" She looked at both of them in the eye.

For a moment, neither of them said anything and Enri was beginning to worry that she offended them, which she probably did, before the Warrior started chuckling, sounding like softly rolling thunder.

"I can assure you, miss…?" He trailed off.

"Ah! Forgive me, my name is Enri Emmot." she felt her face flush and bowed in apology.

"Really? Nice to meet you then, Miss Emmot. My name is Dracul." The Warrior said as he and the Mage nodded to her.

"Now to answer your question. Miss Emmot, I can assure you that I or my friend here want to cause no trouble for Carne Village. We have no reason to, and we simply want to do what we came here to do." Dracul told her with no dishonesty in his tone.

However, she couldn't see either of their faces, so she couldn't truly tell if they were lying or not.

"I-I see, thank you for your time then," Enri said in a quick rush before turning on her heels and walking away in a fast pace and heading to bed.

She couldn't work up the courage to even ask them what they wanted to do but as long as they didn't cause trouble, she supposed it didn't matter.

Enri sighed as she pulled up the water-filled bucket from the well, rolling up her sleeves and grabbing the handles.

What she did was awfully rude, especially to two strangers who just wanted a place to stay the night. She may not believe or even trust them but there's no reason for rude-

She smelled it before anything else.

It was a heavy scent and one she was familiar with, whenever she or someone else had to burn something.

Smoke.

She whipped her head around towards her home to see a large, black cloud of smoke, drifting upwards into the sky.

The village is on fire.

Her home is on fire.

Then the screams started.

Dropping the bucket on the ground, the water soaking the dirt, she sprinted towards her home and praying that this was a dream, that this wasn't real.

As she got closer and closer, the smell became stronger and the screams, louder.

"Mom! Dad! Nemu!?" She rushed into her burning home, the smoking clogging her nose and stinging her eyes.

She looked around the house, trying to see through the fog of smoke that clouded her vision until she looked at the floor and her eyes widened.

Her mother and father both laid there, stab wounds decorating their bodies and glassy eyes that remained open while blood pooled around them.

Enri covered her mouth to stifle the scream that threatened to tear its way out of her throat until she noticed something.

Her sister wasn't here.

"Nemu?! Nemu, where are you?!" Enri cried out as she ran out the front door, desperately trying to find her younger sister in the midst of the carnage.

"Sis!" a young girl's voice cried out to her as she turned around.

She saw her sister, her 10-year-old sister, trapped in a corner as a man in silver grey plate armor and a longsword in his right hand, raising it over his head and her sister's face marred with tears and blood not her own but her shoulder had a deep cut, staining her blue dress red with blood.

"No!" She screamed as she saw the sword fall, as the man went to kill her sister.

She ran to her sister, to do anything, something, to save her.

She looked on as the sword continued to fall, almost in slow motion.

She wasn't going to make it.

Her sister was going to die and she would be next, knowing she failed to save her.

Or so she thought.

Over the screams, her own and others, and the crackling of fire as her world and all that she knew burned down, she still heard a deep baritone voice that bellowed:

"[Grasp Heart!]"

.

---

.

As I looked up to the night sky with its glittering stars, I thought to myself.

Is there a God?

My experiences over the past two days have...changed me, to say the least.

Being stuck in another world, being able to change forms and even being able to fly high into the sky, among other things.

As I look up to the night sky, I realised that God may exist and if that was the case:

Fuck you, God. You're a cunt.

"When you say 'tomorrow high noon', I sincerely hope you don't mean high noon, 12 hours from now," I said aloud in a calm tone, bringing my head down to look at the leader Assassin.

"Forgive me, Sir Dracul," the lead Assassin bowed, "I didn't mean to cause confusion. No, the raid will take place the day after."

You know what, God, you're pretty alright.

So that means I have tonight and the whole of tomorrow to think of something, so I've got some breathing room at least.

But before I do anything, I have to confirm some things first.

"These bandits, describe them to me. What they look like, what their weapons are like, things like that."

"By your command, Sir Dracul," he bowed once again before telling me what he saw.

I wish I never asked in the first place.

From what he told me, it's more like an invasion force than a bandit raid.

45 men in total with a mix of mages and soldiers, though they had more soldiers than mages and their leader is a blond man with a large scar on the side of his face.

The soldiers had a full suit of armour with some blue cloth underneath and used a longsword, but besides that, they didn't stand out and the Assassins confirmed that neither the mages or the soldiers noticed them but they did have a strange emblem on the armour.

Right, so they're still below level 50 then so we got that going for us.

The mages wore black and white robes that had no symbols or marks we could identify and all but one, the leader, wore a hood which hid their face.

The mages didn't have any items of interest on them and the soldiers gear wasn't anything magical and just seemed to be plain steel.

So we potentially have a 45-man raid but they could only be level 49, at the most. If they're level 49 mages, I could expect 5th Tier magic, maybe 7th Tier at most.

The soldiers were an none issue. I could handle them, no matter what.

"Did they say anything about their plans or what they hope to achieve?" I asked, my mind racing.

"They did not say much, but some of them were grumbling about and wishing the 'wolf would bite the bait already'. The leader said they would use this village as said 'bait'."

They were trying to bait someone or something? It sounds like this isn't the first village they targeted either, so the question remains.

Who were they baiting? Could they be baiting us?

No, that's stupid. How would we know about the other villages and why we would we even care? While I find the thought of attacking those that can't defend themselves repugnant, we didn't even know Carne Village existed until 2 days ago.

So it definitely wasn't us so I could only guess it was someone else, someone that was native to the new world. If that was the case there's no point in trying to figure it out and I should concentrate on what to do.

Though, I do have one question.

"How did you find them? I can't imagine they're that close to the village." As I asked, I saw the leader turn to one of his subordinate, a smaller Assassin with more youthful looking features.

"Sir Dracul," The young looking Assassin stepped forward and knelt, "I'm the one that found the bandit camp."

"Good work," I nodded to him, "So how did you find it?"

"Some of the villagers like to go into the forest, usually to gather firewood or other resources and during such time, I would follow them, to see if they would say anything. This time, I had no such luck but while the villager went back, I saw a set of fresh footprints that someone tried to hide."

Taking a breath, he carried on, "While some villagers would go into the forest, they would never go deep into it, only to the very outskirts but these footprints walked inwards. I was curious so I followed them. Soon enough, I came upon a patrol of armed soldiers, complaining about the jobs they had to do."

"And the rest is history." I said as he nodded, "You've done well."

"A-ah, thank you, Sir Dracul!" He exclaimed as he backed up and joined the others.

I need to [Message] Momonga about this, without a doubt but we'll need a proper plan and soon.

Looking around me, I counted 6 Eight Edge Assassins and quickly came up with something.

"I'm going to [Message] Momonga about this. Wait for a moment." I told them as I connected with Momonga.

"Momo, I've got some news you're going to want to hear."

"That doesn't really inspire confidence in me, Dracul."

"If that's all it going to take, then wait till you hear this."

So I told him what the Assassins told me about the so-called 'bandits' how many there were, what they planned to do and my own thoughts on it.

"...I see. You and I need to talk about this as soon as possible, but you said you've got a plan?"

"Yeah, just send the Assassins in. They could handle it and no one will be the wiser."

I just realised that I might've signed the death warrant of 45 men, possibly more but these pieces of trash have destroyed or killed hundreds of defenceless lives, all to bait one person. Besides, this village has been a huge help to us for information so we owe them.

"Hmm…Dracul, do you remember the conversation we had before?"

"You mean the one about becoming world famous? I do but I don't see what that ha...oh. Oh, I see what you're saying." Unfortunately, I couldn't keep the distaste out of my voice.

"You don't sound too pleased about it."

"I can see the merits of what you're saying but if you're thinking what I know you're thinking, then yeah, not a fan. We'll talk about more later though."

So that plan is out the window. I can see what Momonga is saying, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth but I'll handle that later.

I look around the 6 Assassins, still kneeling, before I remembered something.

"Do you still have that [Message] Scroll?" I asked the leader Assassin.

"Yes, Sir Dracul."

Right, I can work with this then.

"Momo, I've got another idea. I have 6 Assassins here so I send 3 to the village to keep watch, but I'll send 3 with the [Message] Scroll to the 'bandits' and they contact us when they're making their move or in an emergency."

"Do that then. Tomorrow night, the both of us will go and get an update from the Assassins and see what happens from there."

"Right. See you in Nazarick then." I disconnected from Momonga and looked at the Assassins.

"Here are your new orders:"

"3 of you will go back to the village, but instead you will keep guard for the time being. If any of the 'bandits' attack earlier than we thought, you are to kill them."

"The other half of you will take the [Message] Scroll and go to the 'bandit' camp. You are to not kill or hinder any of them, instead, you will use the [Message] Scroll to contact me when they are preparing to attack or an emergency."

"And lastly, Momonga and I will be coming here, tomorrow night for an update and you will receive new orders then."

"By your command, Sir Dracul!" They all shouted before bowing and leaving, one half in the direction of the village and the other half inwards to the forest.

I let out a sigh as I took my helmet off and breathed in the fresh scent of the forest.

It's been two days and we're already dealing with an invasion force. At this rate, we'll be dealing with demons or something.

Though, I'm pretty sure Demiurge or Albedo can deal with that.

"Are you okay, Sir Dracul?" I heard a cutesy, high-pitched voice say behind me.

"I'm...frustrated, you could say but I'm fine, Entoma. Thanks for asking." I told her as I turned to face her.

After my encounter with the Goblin, it seems the Pleiades get a bit...antsy when I go outside without a guard, and at least one of them will try to guard me whenever I try to step foot outside Nazarick but it was usually Entoma due to her 'punishment'.

Honestly, I do enjoy all of the Pleiades company, but I do wish they would just piss off sometimes.

I'm not a child to be coddled and, quite frankly, I find it insulting that they don't trust I or Momonga to handle a bit of danger on our own.

While I do understand their worry for our safety and they just don't want us to get hurt or anything, the only thing the Goblin did was annoy me. It's not like I was in mortal danger.

I sighed, yet again as I felt my frustration rise. One thing at a time.

Deal with the 'bandits' and then try to find a way for me and Momonga to get some breathing room.

"Come on, Entoma. We're going back to Nazarick, the sooner I and Momonga talk about these so-called 'bandits' the better."

"Of course, Sir Dracul." She said as we both flew into the air and back to Nazarick.

.

---

.

"Is it me or do we spend a majority of our time talking in here now?" I said to the seated Overlord in front of me as I sat down on my armchair.

Shrugging, he told me, "It's one of two places where we can talk privately, the other being my bedroom."

"Yeah, we need to talk about that before anything else," I let out a sigh, "Momo, I'm going insane from this. I can't do anything without a pair of eyes on me, it's suffocating and I don't know how much more I can take. Hell, it took me ages for me to convince the rest of the Pleiades that Entoma was far more than enough."

I let out a breath as I finished my rant, feeling a bit better and seeing Momongas shoulders slouch and relax against his chair before he started.

"Trust me, I know how you feel. The Pleiades are just outside this room and they follow me everywhere, not even saying anything. Sometimes, my own room isn't safe due to a Homunculus maid cleaning it or something. Once, I tried to sneak out during the day to just get some fresh air but Sebas caught me and gave me a scolding."

Shaking my head, I said, "It's insane and we definitely need to sort it out later, but first things first. We need to about these so-called 'bandits' and what we're going to do about it."

"Indeed we do," he nodded and sat up straight, "Do you have any new plans I should hear first? Maybe you should ask them directions to the city?"

"Bite me," I rolled my eyes but with a small smile, "But no, I still stand by my plan where we send the Assassins in."

"I see. I do admit that's probably the safest way to handle this problem, but if we are to get famous, you and I both know we must start somewhere and this is probably the best starting place." He told me what I already knew.

"I understand that, but…" I let out a huff and leaned back, "Momo, I just want to be sure of this:"

"Your plan is to let the village be attacked and then we go in and rescue it, aren't you?"

His crimson pupils stared at me until he nodded, "Yes, that is my plan but it seems you object to it."

Taking a moment to think, I thought about how I found it distasteful, really.

Not because we were letting an innocent village get attacked, but because of one simple fact.

Carne Village, whether knowingly or not, has helped us and we owe it a debt as much as the others would find that thought impossible.

"I don't mind your plan," I started, staring Momonga in the eye, "I know the merits of it far outweigh my plan, but you're right. I don't like it. I don't like it, because Momonga, the fact is this:"

"If it was not for Carne Village, we would still be in the dark about a lot of things. We wouldn't know magic exists, we wouldn't know about the Adventurers Guild. Hell, we wouldn't even know where we are. You may not feel the same way, but to me, we owe them a debt. A debt we can repay and we can use to our advantage at the same time."

For a while, he just stared at me before he finally let out a breath.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked me.

I felt my lips curl up in a big smile, "Thanks, Momo." I told him.

"I agree with you that we can use this to jumpstart our fame but like I said, we owe them a debt, at least I feel we do and here is how we can settle both."

"First thing we do is-" I started saying before Momonga lifted his hand to stop me.

"Dracul, this isn't your plan from last time is it?" Momonga said. exasperated.

"...No."

Momongas red pinprick pupils bore into me.

"...Maybe."

Still staring.

"...Okay, it may be a little similar, but I promise that this time, you'll actually like it! This time, we have information about how strong the humans are so it's not like we're going in blind." I tried to assure Momonga.

He didn't look very assured as he sighed, "Carry on then but I have the right to veto this if it isn't any good. Like last time."

"Fair enough," I nodded, "So first step is, that we both go in our true forms but we cover up our, you know, stuff." I pointed at my wings for an example.

"And how do you plan to do that, exactly?"

"Well, Momo," I grinned at him, "I know you. I also know you have something you can pull out of the bag of magic trick of yours."

He just stared at me before sighing and face-palmed. He opened up his inventory and pulled out a red cape.

"This," He handed it out to me, "is a Disguise cape. If I'm right, you should be able to put it on your back and it should hide your wings and tail."

"See? A bag of tricks might as well change from Mage to Magician." I grabbed the cape, getting out of my chair and putting it on.

It was a bit awkward as I've never put on a cape before and not to mention my wings and tail blocking the way but when I did manage, I felt a slight tingle go across my whole spine.

I looked as my tail and wings grew smaller and smaller until they disappeared into my back, just leaving the cap there.

"Well, I'll admit that felt weird but it seems to have worked. If I put on my helmet, I should pass for a human, albeit a very large one." I said as I sat back down on the chair.

Wait a minute.

"Momo, how did I sit here before with my wings and tail?" I asked while looking behind me.

"You rested on your wings and your tail was on the floor. I thought it looked uncomfortable, but you never said anything about it." He shrugged.

"Huh. Whatever, that isn't important. If you can cover your face, chest and hands, you should be able to pass for a human as well."

"And what about our gear? Your armour and my robe, should we change that as well?" Momonga asked, his tone being neutral and non-judging.

"No," I shook my head, "This is the perfect chance to see how strong we are compared to others in this world but we shouldn't handicap ourselves needlessly. I'll be using Balmung and my fire Magic."

For the moment, he said nothing, mulling over my idea. If he chose to veto it and go through with his plan then so be it.

But, I can't help but find it...below me, really. If we can't save the village from the start, we should at least do the next best thing.

We owe them that much at least.

"Dracul, before I say anything, I want to make one thing clear," Momonga said to me, his burning red pupils flaring up.

"Do you truly feel indebted or is it something else?"

I know what he's asking me though I don't know why or what he hoped to glean from it.

"...Momonga, do you remember the Goblin I killed? What it looked like and such?" I asked out of nowhere.

"The one you brought back? Yes, I do bu-"

"Because I don't."

Momonga looked at me, with his jaw bone open and red pupils dimming.

"I really don't. The only reason I remember that Goblin? I saw its skeleton picking off its blood off the walls due to your orders. I saw it and my first thought was, 'Oh, that's still here'."

"Momonga," I carried on, "I think you're forgetting something, whether we do your plan or mine."

"And what is that?"

Looking straight at him I said:

"We're going to kill people, Momonga. Humans, even if they're trash."

I saw Momongas pupils flare up and go stock-still as soon as I said that.

"You've noticed it as well then? That we're changing? I told Momonga as he slumped in his chair.

"...I have. Truthfully, I've suspected for awhile, but…Dracul, I'm sor-"

"Stop that." I held up my hand to stop him, "This isn't your fault, Momonga. What's happening to us, isn't your fault and it isn't mine. I said it before, right? I'm sticking with you till the end and this doesn't change that."

Momonga just stared at me, gaping, "...Thank you, Dracul." he said eventually, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"It's fine, Momo." I smiled at him, "So what plan is it? Yours or mine?"

"Hmm...You do make a good point about us owing a debt, but to go there ourselves…"

I waited patiently for him to mull it over. While I may be a bit reckless with my plans, Momonga was always the one to plan something out whenever we played together in YGGDRASIL.

Even if it is a bit boring at times.

Eventually, though he looked at me, coming to a decision.

"We'll go with your plan but my biggest worry is how the NPCs will react when they learn we're going go by ourselves."

Ah.

Shit

"Well, I mean it's not like we're going in there unguarded. I'm pretty sure I can fight on the front lines while you sling spells behind me. It'll be like old times."

"That's true but you've seen how zealous they get about our safety. Do you think that's going to be enough?"

"Well," I scratched the back of my head, "Worse case, we can bring Albedo with us in her armour but that might scare off the 'bandits.' They're expecting a defenceless village but if they see two warriors guarding a mage…"

"They might decide to not to attack at all but even if they do, Carne Village remains safe so either way, our objective is complete albeit without jump-starting our fame."

"Fair enough," I shrugged, "Do you have anything else you want to talk about?"

"I do, actually. I would like your input on something I've been thinking about, ever since we made our plan to become famous."

"Oh? Sure, what is it?" I asked, curious about what he's planning.

"Well, I was thinking of changing my name, from Momonga to Ainz Ooal Gown."

Well.

I wasn't expecting that.

"Really? Why?" I frowned at him.

"Let me explain. The name of Ainz Ooal Gown is more well known than the name of Momonga and if anyone else from the guild is here, then they'll know we're here as well." Momonga explained to me as I fell silent, furrowing my brow.

I can see what he means by the name of Ainz Ooal Gown being more famous than his own due to being a previous top 10 guild.

"I can see the merits of it, but I don't really feel that strongly about it and besides…" I trailed off.

"Besides?" He said.

"I'm still going to call you Momo, no matter what." I grinned at him while he shook his head slightly.

"Of course you will," he sighed, "But I'll decide later. I have something I'd like to show you in my dressing room, concerning the weapon restriction we seem to have." He told me as we both got up from our chairs.

"Did you figure something out?" I asked we walked out of the office and the Pleiades fell in line behind us.

"Something like that. You'll have to see for yourself." He told me.

We walked in silence the rest of way as I thought about the conversation I just had with Momonga.

Honestly, I should be feeling shocked, horrified or something at my way of thinking. To kill another human being, like I once was, it takes a certain type of person to do that.

But that's just it, isn't it?

I'm not Human. Not anymore, at least.

And neither is Momonga for that matter.

I don't know why we're like this, whether we're being forced to or its just how things work around here, for me and Momonga to treat people outside Nazarick like they're worthless or something.

But even so, no matter what changes happen to me, whether I lose my humanity entirely or not, I'm sure of one thing.

That Momonga or I will always have each others back.

I can always take comfort in that, at least.

We eventually came upon a set of ornate doors that opened on their own, showing me the room inside.

If I thought my room was lavish, than Momonga is absolutely excessive in its splendour.

A room twice as big as mine, with velvety red silk drapes on the walls, a four-poster bed that could support a group of people, but I have no idea why you would do something like that. A massive purple flag above it that showed the symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown with gold thread.

Jesus Christ.

"Dracul and I are going to test something out in my dresser. Wait out here." He ordered the Pleiades.

Yuri had her eyes set wide open before she calmed down and bowed, "As you command, Lord Momonga. Is it going to be an a...private affair?"

I'm sorry, what? Why did you phrase it like that?

"I suppose it is but if something urgent comes up, don't be afraid to inform me," Momonga said, smoothly hiding his surprise and walking through the doors, to his room.

I followed him but not before seeing all of the Pleiades faces twisted into shock and, even more confusing, blushing.

Well, Entoma didn't blush but she did keep looking between me and Momonga in quick succession.

The doors shut behind us and I looked at Momonga who seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked, confused.

"I have no idea." he shrugged.

.

.

As Albedo, the Overseer of the Floor Guardians, walked through the halls of Nazarick to make her report on the new administrative system that she and Demiurge were building, she thought back to Demiurges proposal about Sir Dracul.

She and the rest of Nazarick had nothing but respect and admiration for Sir Dracul and the only person to trump his orders would be Lord Momonga himself, but there is a snag that needed to be addressed.

Sir Dracula himself had no official position in Nazarick.

Of course, he was offered to be the 42nd Supreme Being and while he may be the closest to being a Supreme Being out of anyone else in the world, the fact is that he refused to actually become one.

As such, Sir Dracul has no official position and it made things...awkward, really.

The Floor Guardians answer only to Lord Momonga but her love considers Sir Dracul to be his equal, so should they also answer to him? Or would that anger Lord Momonga, for them to take orders from anyone else? What if they refused, would that also anger her Lord, for them not to listen Sir Dracul and his sage advice?

Yes, it did make things awkward, concerning many things.

That is, until Demiurge called for a meeting of all the Floor Guardians in regards to Sir Dracul.

.

---

.

"Thank you, everyone, for making this meeting in such short time." Demiurge nodded to them as they sat around a large round marble table that he had made in his residence, the Blazing Temple on the 7th Floor.

The Blazing Temple is a Greece style temple that had pillars smashed together and various statues of gods and goddess desecrated and broken as if a group of demons had attacked the temple and left it in ruin, with only a white throne left intact.

"It's no big deal, Demiurge, but you said this had to do with Sir Dracul?" Shalltear asked as she took a seat as Mare sat down next to her.

"Indeed I do but first, I would like to ask you all a question first about Sir Dracul," Demiurge said as he took a seat at the head of the table.

"What is Sir Dracul's position in Nazarick?"

Furrowing her brow in confusion, Aura asked:

"You mean like a position of authority?"

"Of course. As Lord Momonga stands over all and Albedo stands over us as the Overseer, where exactly does Sir Dracul stand?"

Aura opened her mouth to speak before she adopted a confused expression and closed it, thinking about the question.

The rest of the Floor Guardians similarly tried to answer but nothing was satisfactory.

"I WOULD SAY BELOW LORD MOMONGA AND ABOVE ALBEDO…" Cocytus said, his breath visible even in the scorching temperature of the Temple.

"BUT NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, SIR DRACUL REFUSED TO BECOME A SUPREME BEING AND WE SWORE LOYALTY TO LORD MOMONGA. IF HE WAS A SUPREME BEING, IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT BUT... "

"Cocytus is right. Sir Dracul, while not an outsider, does not have a clear-cut position in Nazarick." Albedo said, sitting opposite to Demiurge.

"Exactly," Demiurge agreed, "But I believe that, due to something Cocytus said to me, I have a solution to that."

"...DO YOU MEAN WHEN SIR DRACUL REVEALED HIS HUMAN FORM TO US?"

Shalltear let out a noise while Demiurge put on a wide grin showing off his sharp teeth.

"Indeed I do, Cocytus," Demiurge said.

"Eh? What did you say?" Aura asked, tilting her head at the large Insectoid.

"WHILE I WAS NOT INFORMED OF SIR DRACUL'S HUMAN FORM, I KNEW WHO HE WAS AS SOON AS I SAW HIM. HE IS A WARRIOR THROUGH AND THROUGH AND IT SHOWS THE WAY HE STANDS BY AND GUARD OUR LORD." Cocytus explained to his fellow Floor Guardians.

"Ah, it was a warrior thing then." Shalltear said as leaned back with a frown, "Isn't this discussion pointless? If we bring such a thing to Lord Momongas attention, couldn't he just offer Sir Dracul to become the 42nd again? That would solve the issue, would it not?"

"Hmph," Aura snorted, "You don't know Sir Dracul very well, do you, Fake tits?"

Shalltear snapped her head to look at Aura, snarling, "What was that, Shorty?"

"Aura is right, Shalltear," Albedo said calmly, causing the True Vampire to look at her in surprise, "While none of us knows why he refused, I'm certain he would refuse again, no matter how many times Lord Momonga would offer. Sir Dracul was friends with most of the Supreme Beings but he refused when they offered him his seat, and if Lord Momonga offered again, he would refuse on the principle that the other 40 Supreme Beings are not here to support his decision."

Shalltear stared at Albedo before she huffed in defeat and Aura wore a victorious grin and stuck her tongue out at Shalltear who snarled back.

"It as you say, Albedo and I have no doubt Lord Momonga knows this as well so I offer this:"

"Sir Dracul shall be Lord Momongas Champion," Demiurge told them as he spread his arms out in a grand gesture and a wide grin on his face.

"CHAMPION?" Cocytus asked, confused as the rest of the Floor Guardians.

"Let me explain. Sir Dracul, like Lord Momonga, is a 'Player' from YGGDRASIL and more than that, he is a warrior. A front line fighter while Lord Momonga is a magic caster and as such could protect him from anything that would seek to harm our Lord." Demiurge told them as their eyes lit up in understanding.

"I see, so Sir Dracul would be Lord Momongas guard?" Aura said before her face scrunched up in confusion, "But don't the Pleiades already do that?"

"They do and I have the utmost faith in their loyalty and skill but as a 'Player', Sir Dracul power eclipses theirs by far. Not only that but, Sir Dracul knows Lord Momonga better than anyone else, even us. As Lord Momongas Champion, Sir Dracul could effortlessly complete any plan that Lord Momonga ask of him and could no doubt fulfil his will."

"Hmm, while that is true, what about Sir Dracul himself? While he doesn't have a clear position in Nazarick, that's no reason to leave him undefended." Shalltear expressed her concern.

"U-uhm, I don't think we need to worry about that," Mare spoke up for the first time.

"Oh? Why is that, Mare?" Shalltear asked, turning her head to look at him.

"Because Lord Momonga will protect Sir Dracul."

"Eh?" Shalltear looked at Mare, baffled at what he just said.

"Yes, do you mind expanding on that, Mare?" Albedo asked the young Dark Elf, her eyes narrowed in yellow slits.

"A-ah! Well, I mean," Mare fidgeted under the gaze of the Overseer before letting out a breath and steadying himself.

"Sir Dracul isn't like us. He and Lord Momonga are friends so just like Sir Dracul will protect Lord Momonga, Lord Momonga will protect Sir Dracul." Mare said in a steady voice, staring at Albedo.

Silence wrung out of the temple after what Mare said and as the Floor Guardians thought about what he said.

"Indeed Mare," Demiurge smiled at him, "That is one of the main reasons I made for this arrangement. Not only will Sir Dracul keep our Lord safe, so will Lord Momonga support Sir Dracul in their battles and together, I have the utmost faith nothing will be able to harm them when they work together."

The Floor Guardians fell into silence as they thought about it, until they came to a decision:

"Alright," Aura nodded to herself, "I can't think of anyone better than Sir Dracul for the job."

"U-uhm, I agree!"

"I HAVE NO OBJECTIONS. I TRUST IN SIR DRACUL'S BLADE."

"I suppose you've made a good argument. Very well, I support this decision."

"Albedo?" Demiurge looked at his superior who had so far remained silent.

For the moment, the Overseer of the Floor Guardians didn't say anything until she let out a sigh.

"I do not object to this. I'm going to report to Lord Momonga an update of our new administrative system and I will mention this prospal of yours to him and Sir Dracul."

"Of course," Demiurge bowed his head, "If either of them refuses it, then nothing will come of it."

After that, the meeting concluded and the Floor Guardians went back to their respective Floors.

.

---

.

Albedo wasn't against the proposal that Demiurge laid out, in fact, she found it perfectly suitable.

But there was a possibility of a divide in power if Lord Momonga makes Sir Dracul his Champion.

Maybe she's just being paranoid, maybe she's just jealous…

But she's worried that Sir Dracul may become greedy.

That he may betray her Lord and try to usurp him.

Of course, if such a thing were to happen the whole of Nazarick would rise up against him but the damage would already be done.

Albedo released another sigh as her thoughts turned darker and her mood worsened.

She can't be thinking like that. Sir Dracul has surpassed her expectations constantly.

Whos to say he won't this time?

Albedo would never say out loud but she respected Sir Dracul far more than the other supposed 'Supreme Beings' who left her loved one alone at the end. Even her own creator, Tabula, is guilty of that very sin.

Because, at the end of the day, the man she loves was abandoned by all but one and he suffered for it.

Even so. Lord Momonga is the only one worthy to rule Nazarick. That will never change.

"...so that's the reason he never tried to use any of us." She heard a cool voice say, recognizing it as Solution Epsilon.

"But I gave him so many signals~" Entoma cutesy voice bemoaned.

"...Pheromone signals don't work on Dragons." Shinzu told her.

"Eh? They don't?"

"No, they don't, Ento-" Yuri started to say before she noticed Albedo walking towards them.

"A-ah! Mistress Albedo." Yuri bowed to her, along with the rest of the Pleiades, "How may we help?"

"Hello, Yuri." Albedo nodded to the Vice-captain of the Pleiades, "Is Lord Momonga available? There are some matters I need to bring to his attention."

"A-ah, well uhm…" Yuri looked at the doors behind her as the rest of Pleiades inched away from Albedo.

"Lord Momonga is in his room at the moment with Sir Dracul." Yuri bowed at the waist to the Overseer.

Albedo blinked.

"Oh I see," Albedo said lightly, "That's convenient. I need to speak with him as well."

Albedo started making her way to the doors as they opened for her as the Pleiades stared in shock.

The doors close behind her without a sound as the Pleiades let a collective sigh of relief.

"I really thought we were going die, su~" Lupusregina wiped her forehead of the sweat that gathered.

"I would've thought that Mistress Albedo would have a more...extreme reaction," Narberal commented.

"...Maybe Mistress Albedo doesn't see Sir Dracul as a love rival?" Shinzu offered an explanation for her sisters.

"But isn't Lord Momonga an-" Entoma started saying before she was interrupted by a shrill shriek and a massive crack that came from Lord Momongas room.

Instantly all of the Pleiades moved towards the source of the noise, Yuri Alpha punching the doors open, turning it into splinters.

"Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul, are you al-!?" Yuri started to yell but the ensuing scene struck her silent.

Albedo is holding the dresser room door, having it ripped off by its hinges and seeing Lord Momonga in an expensive looking pure black plate armour, that covered his entire body, with a red cape and gold edges.

Sir Dracul is in his human form wearing his black mage robe, holding a dull grey metal staff with the head being of two dragons intertwined with each, resulting in each one looking at the other one.

Lord Momonga wore a black metal helmet, covering his face with only a small visor for him to see out of and as such, no one could see his expression of shock.

Sir Dracul had no such coverage and was staring at the scene in front of him with a gawking mouth and wide eyes before saying what both he and Momonga are thinking:

"What the fuck are all of you doing?"

.

---

.

"So have you found out anything new regarding the weapons?" I asked as we entered a large room filled with various types of gear; weapons, staves, armour and the like.

Most of it was on the floor or in boxes, haphazardly thrown about without a care. There were even swords and plate armour Momonga couldn't even use, along with a mirror that took up the whole wall so anyone could get a good look at themselves.

"I have, both bad and good." He told me as he lifted up a simple longsword, "The first is, that no matter how hard I try, I can't use melee weapons like this."

To demonstrate his point, he swung the sword in his hand only for it to slip like last time and clattering to the floor among the other weapons.

"Tch," I clicked my tongue, "So that means I can't use Balmung in my human form, just like in YGGDRASIL then. What's the good news then?"

"The good news is that I've discovered a way for us to use weapons we're not suited for. Do you remember [Create Greater Item]?"

"Yeah, I used it to make my robe in my human form but I don't see how that helps," I told him with a frown.

[Create Greater Item] was a way for players to make gear that looked good on the fly without any hassle, but that's really it. It was never supposed to be used by players in the game as it usually inflicted heavy penalties whenever worn.

Hell, I think the only time I've ever used it was to make my robe in my human form and I can't even use any of my warrior skills when wearing that.

Considering I can't use Balmung though, it isn't a huge loss. I could still cast all of my spells but I also couldn't wear my armour so they wouldn't be as strong as they could be but my Racial and Job passives would help mitigate that.

"Just watch," He told me as he stepped away from me.

"[Create Greater Item]"

A flare of magical energy consumed Momongas frame for a brief instant before I saw what he made.

His robe was replaced was replaced by a full body of black plate armour with gold edges. He wore a red cape, much like mine when I need to hide my wings, and his helmet hid almost all of his skull with only a small visor available to see out of.

All in all, you couldn't tell that he's an undead and he looked like a proper warrior.

Well, a flashy one at any rate.

"Not bad." I said with an appraising eye before I realised something, "Wait, couldn't you make a weapon?"

"Indeed I can," he told me as I saw him make a greatsword and hold it in both hands, giving a couple of amateurish swings before he brought above his head and swung downwards, kicking up wind and scattering the weapons on the floor.

"Eh, I give you an A for effort at least." I shrugged with a smile.

"Thank you," he said dryly as he got rid of the greatsword, "Though I can use any weapons I make with [Create Greater Item] we can't make staves or wands it so I doubt it will work the same way for you."

"That's alright," I shrugged, "I don't really need a staff to work my magic but I do have an idea"

Turning into my human form, I stretched out my hand.

"[Create Greater Item]" I said as I felt the magic take place and a staff materialized in my hand.

The staff itself was a simple long stick of dull grey iron with the head being of two dragons entwined with each other and both were locked in a glaring match at the head of the staff.

Although it looked like a mage's staff, all it really is just a cool looking walking stick and occasional club.

"Though, I do have to ask why you would need to wear that armour or why I would need to make a staff," I asked with a frown.

While it was nice to know that we, well Momonga, could use different weapons through [Create Greater Item] I didn't really see why he would have to bring me here to show me.

"Well, two things mainly. Do you remember that discussion we had? About becoming famous?"

"Yeah? I thought we were going to become adventurers in the Adventurers Guild, weren't we?" I wasn't liking where this was going. At all.

"Indeed but I had a thought to expand on that idea with us also gathering information. The countries, this kingdom and, most of all, to see if we can find anyone else from YGGDRASIL."

"Alright...but wouldn't that come naturally anyway? So what's changed?"

"Well...I was thinking of making new identities for our adventurer persona as it were." He told me as I processed what he just said.

New identities? I mean, I doubt the government this new world has is very advanced so I doubt they keep track of everyone like back home so it should be easy.

"But why though?" I asked, getting more confused by the minute, "I mean, if we go as Momonga and Dracul, won't we get more famous? Or rather, people from YGGDRASIL will know that we're are here?"

"That's true," Momonga nodded, his armour clinking, "but we still don't know how strong adventurers are so I would prefer it if we didn't reveal our whole hand just yet. We would have to sacrifice the chance of getting in contact someone from YGGDRASIL, but we'll get much more information about this new world and a higher overall chance of meeting them at a later date."

I weighed the options in my head as I mulled it over.

He wasn't wrong per say. Information is power, especially when we're in such an unknown situation such as this and if we rushed things, we were bound to attract unwanted attention.

But if we go with that and chose new identities for ourselves, wouldn't Momonga have to wear that armour and use melee weapons, what about m-

Oh.

Oh no.

"Momo," I asked him, my voice quiet.

"Yes, Dracul?" He said with a smug tone.

He knows.

This bag of bones knows.

"It's just going to be me and you, right? No one else?"

"Yes. Your human form makes it incredibly easy to blend in and this armour hides all of my body and that's not even mentioning the attitude that the NPCs seem to have about humans."

"And you want us to handicap ourselves. For us to distance our real selves from our adventurer persona." I waited for him to nod.

He nodded.

"And what better way for a mage to handicap himself than wear a full suit of plate armour and use a sword…"

"And what better way for a warrior to handicap themselves than to simply use magic?" He finished for me.

I stared at Momonga.

Momonga stared at me.

"Fuhaha…"

And now he's chuckling.

I stared at Momonga as my eyes widen and my mouth gaped.

"Dracul," he clapped me on my shoulder, still chuckling, "Welcome to being a spellcaster."

"You motherfucker." I said in disbelief, "You've ruined me."

At that moment, I felt a chill go up my spine as if I've been drenched in cold water and I saw Momonga go stock-still.

What the hell was th-?

Before anything else, I heard a screech.

A screech of a demonic monster that had come from the very depths of hell.

That came from outside the door.

I and Momonga looked at the door as we both saw a white-clawed hand burst through, spraying splinters at us.

The clawed hand ripped the door off its hinges, making a squeal as the metal hinges are ripped apart and giving us a full view of the demon that had come to take our souls.

Wait, is that Albedo?

Yes, yes it is, actually.

But it wasn't the Albedo I knew.

The Albedo I knew was a respectful person who always seemed to have me and Momonga best interests in her heart.

The Albedo I'm seeing right now reminds me more of a rabid animal, frothing at the mouth.

Albedos mouth is twisted into a snarl, showing off her sharp teeth and her eyes were shadowed, giving them a terrifying shine with the slitted pupils bulging. Her hair was waving about her as if it had a life of its own.

So.

This is how I die.

By a scorned woman.

Who seems to have heard the literally only thing that could be sexual if taken out of context.

Great.

However before anything could happen, I see the bedroom doors burst open in a show of splinters, courtesy of Yuri and the rest of Pleiades bursting through.

"Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul, are you al-!?" Yuri started to shout before she took in the scene before her.

I looked at the Pleiades.

I looked at Albedo who seemed to realise who I am and looked incredibly confused by my presence, her hair calming down.

I look back at the Pleiades.

I look back at Albedo.

"What the fuck are all of you doing?" I blurted out.

Apparently, that snapped Albedo out of her berserker rage and kept looking between me and Momonga, growing more confused by the minute.

"Sir Dracul? I thought-" Albedo started to say before I held my hand up to stop her.

Jesus Christ.

"Albedo, can you please put the door down before anything else?" I asked, keeping my tone patient and preparing for the incoming headache.

Albedo glanced up to still see her hand in the door, above her head.

"Ah, of course." Albedo put the door down by the wall and wrenching her hand from it, spraying even more wood chips, somehow keeping a serene expression on her face all the while.

You can't just ignore what happened or what you just did.

"My apologies, Sir Dracul, Lord Momonga. I thought there...was someone else in there with Lord Momonga when I heard what you said."

She said all of this with a straight face.

Are all women this terrifying? Jesus Christ.

"...I see. Albedo, I presume you have a reason for visiting me?"

Momonga, you can't just ignore what happened!

"I do, Lord Momonga. I also have something to tell both you and Sir Dracul." Albedo said, bowing by the ruined door.

So is this going to get fixed or what?

Nodding, Momonga said, "Meet me and Dracul in my office."

He ran away, using the ring to teleport.

The office is only a 5-minute walk from Momongas bedroom.

Sighing, I raised my hand to my face.

"Are you not going as well, Sir Dracul?" Albedo asked me.

Shaking my head, I said, "I will soon enough, I just want to say something first."

Turning, I looked at the Pleiades.

"Pleiades, can you clean this up?" I waved my staff around at the ruined room.

"Of course, Sir Dracul." Yuri told me and bowed along with her sisters, "We'll get started on it straight away."

"Thank you," I nodded to them, "I'll see you soon, Albedo."

"Until then, Sir Dracul." she bowed to me.

Without another word, I used the ring and a flash of light surrounded me.

.

---

.

Me and Momonga, I was still in my human form while Momonga removed his armour, listened to Albedos report on various things, mostly around Nazarick and what the Floor Guardians are doing.

It was pretty boring, all in all, the only interesting thing was that the new warning net in place in case anyone approached.

Does Momonga have to sit through this every day? That's a little impressive. Probably helps that he can't fall asleep though.

"That concludes my daily report as well the update on the new administrative system." Albedo bowed to us.

"Thank you Albedo," Momonga waved his hand for her to stop bowing, "Now, you said you had something for Dracul?"

"I do, Lord Momonga." She turned to me, standing by Momonga, "Sir Dracul, as of right now, you have no official position and that makes things...awkward for me and the rest of the Floor Guardians in how to interpret your orders."

I raised my eyebrow at that. I don't think it's that big of a deal but I wasn't going to say anything.

"And as such, Demiurge as offered a proposal to the rest of the Floor Guardians," Albedo told me in a neutral tone.

"Sir Dracul, would you take up the mantle of Lord Momongas Champion?"

I'm sorry, what?

Momonga and I looked at each other, both confused as to what she meant by 'Champion'.

"What do you mean by 'Champion' Albedo?" I asked her, hoping to clarify what she meant.

Nodding, she explained to me what I do as Momongas 'Champion'.

Mostly, I would guard Momonga against any threats and I would be his escort when he went outside.

Only Momonga could tell me what to do and my position of authority would be higher than Albedo, basically making me second in command.

On one hand, this is great. Momonga and I would be free from the overbearing bodyguards we have now, and Momonga could freely go outside as long as I went with him.

On the other hand, I noticed something.

Albedo didn't like this arrangement but I have no idea why. The neutral, almost dead way she told me about my duties, the way she gripped her hands told me what I needed to know.

Was it the fact that I would be above her in authority? I doubt it, she never seemed to care about being below someone but then again the only person above her was Momonga and she loved him so that's no surprise.

Eh, screw it.

"Albedo, can I ask you something about this?" I said after having her explain to us.

Blinking, she said, "Of course, Sir Dracul."

"You told me that the Floor Guardians all agreed to this but I would like to hear your thoughts before anything else."

As soon as I asked, Albedo went stock still for a second before relaxing again.

"I have no objections, Sir Dracul."

Yeah, that's not really what I asked.

"Fine then," I sighed, "Before I do anything though, I'd like to change it."

Both Momonga and Albedo looked at me in surprise, her eyes wide and his pupils burning bright.

"A-ah, to what, Sir Dracul?" Albedo asked me, thrown off.

"I'll guard Momonga, no doubt." I told her, "But that bit about me being above you in authority? Get rid of it."

"Eh?" Albedo made a noise of surprise.

"Dracul?" Momonga said to me.

"Come on, Momonga," I said with a grin, "Tell me the truth. Do you really want someone like me giving out orders?"

"Yes. Dracul, you wouldn't do as bad as you're making yourself out to be and we both know that." Momonga said in a surprisingly heated voice.

"Maybe," I nodded, "But we also both know that planning really isn't my forte and you're much better than me in that regard."

"Even so, I can trust you to make the best out of a bad situation." Momonga insisted.

Before I could retort, I heard a soft giggling coming from Albedo and catching both my and Momongas attention.

"My deepest apologies, Sir Dracul." She bowed me with a radiant smile, "I can assure you, that I no longer have any doubts about this anymore."

So she did have doubts then?

"Good to know," I smiled at her before turning to Momonga, "What about you? Are you alright with this?"

"Of course." He said instantly before turning to Albedo, "Albedo, tomorrow morning, gather the Floor Guardians in the Throne Room. I will announce Draculs position as my Champion then along with something else."

"As you command, Lord Momonga." She bowed to the both of us, still smiling, before leaving.

"I can't believe that just fell on to our laps like that," I told Momonga when the doors closed.

"I know. That fixes a lot of issues in the future but with that being said…" he sighed, "Did you see what happened to my bedroom?"

"Don't worry about it, I asked the Pleiades to clean up before I left, though I will say this. Women are terrifying."

"That they are, Dracul. That they are." he sighed again as slumped, "I need some fresh air."

"Let's go outside then," I said simply, "I'm your bodyguard now so no reason not to and you won't be hounded anymore."

"Hmm...You're right. I want to test a [Fly] necklace when I wear my armour anyway." He stood up and donned his black armour.

I changed into my Dragonoid form, put on my helmet, and we both teleported to the entrance of Nazarick.

.

---

.

As the scenery changed from Momongas office to the mausoleum, I and Momonga were going to start walking outside, a few steps, until we noticed three figures in front of us.

One was a handsome looking man wearing full plate armour and with his abdominal muscles on display for all to see, but his bat wings and two horn protruding from his temple told me he's a Demon.

The second was a woman with a crows head in tight bondage gear and showing off a disturbing amount of cleavage.

The third and final was the most monstrous out of all them. He was far bigger than anyone else in the room with fangs protruding from his mouth and flaming wings and a snake-like tail. He had sharp claws that looked like it could tear through bone and it was covered in scales.

If I remember these guys are Demiurges personal subordinates: the Evil Lords of Greed, Jealousy and Wrath, respectively.

The question though, why are they here? Aren't they supposed to be on the 7th Floor, guarding Demiurge?

They stared at us and we stared back, until Momonga noticed a figure behind them.

"Demiurge." He said aloud, catching the Demon's attention.

Demiurge adopted an expression of surprise at being referred by name.

Wait, doesn't he recognize Momonga? If he doesn't, he should recognize me at least.

Momonga started to walk towards them, without any regard for the eyes on him.

Well, if there's any time to start acting like a bodyguard, now's the time.

I started walking by Momonga, making sure to keep close to him in case any of them attacked.

Even though their eyes were upon us as we both walked towards them, I found myself relatively calm for some reason though I don't know about Momonga.

I guess after that incident with the Goblin, I'm confident I could protect Momonga from these Demons even if they far stronger.

As we walked closer towards them, all of them went to their knees to us and bowed their heads to us, with Demiurge being in the front.

"Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul. May I ask why you're here and dressed like that?" Demiurge asked Momonga.

Well, we've been found out but it wasn't like it was hard. We did teleport in front of them.

"It's...complicated, Demiurge but I'm sure you can figure it out," Momonga told him.

Didn't you just want some fresh air or something?

Demiurge frowned, thoroughly confused by a plan that didn't exist before he looked at me and his eyes widened with understanding.

"Ah...I see!"

See what? What did I do?

"I assume Albedo has told you about my proposal, Sir Dracul?"

"Indeed, she has," I nodded towards Demiurge.

"Let me be the first to congratulate you then, Sir Dracul. With you and Lord Momonga side by side, we can all rest easy knowing the both of you will be safe from harm."

Demiurges voice was filled with relief that Momonga was safe and utter faith in my ability to protect him, as if I could never fail.

I felt the familiar weight of responsibility on my shoulders again but it was offset by my own unexpected confidence that I felt a surge through me.

"Have no fear, Demiurge. I will keep Momonga safe, no matter what." I said with the same confidence I felt all of the sudden.

Where the hell did that come from all of a sudden?

"Indeed, Demiurge. I have the utmost faith in Dracul but we must be going." Momonga said as we both started to walk through a gap the kneeling Demons left.

"Of course, Lord Momonga, Sir Dracul." He bowed his head as we left him and his generals behind.

We walked towards the entrance in silence before we both saw the beautiful sight that greeted us.

"Blue would've loved this place," I said wistfully, both of us looking up the star-filled sky that sparkled like jewels in a box.

"Yes...yes he would've." He said in the same tone of me, reaching up to the sky with an open hand, "They look so clear and so close, that we could just take them for ourselves as if they're jewels waiting to be adorned."

"Nazarick too small for you? Getting a bit greedy there." I joked.

"Hmph, is the Dragon calling me greedy?" He said as he reached into his inventory to get the [Fly] necklace.

"Hey now, I never said it was a bad thing and I'll have you know that I'm a low maintenance Dragon," I told him as I felt the cape dissolve and my wings shimmered into existence, spreading them.

Huh, convenient.

"As you say, Dracul." He said to me in a disbelieving tone and put on the necklace.

"[Fly]" He said as I saw him faintly glow blue before he started flying up in the air.

Giving my wings a much-needed stretch, I followed after him into the night sky.

.

---

.

As Demiurge watched his Lord and Champion fly into the night sky, he realised how far out of his league he is when compared to Lord Momonga and even now, he continued to underestimate Sir Dracul.

When Demiurge first saw the Dragon, he thought that Sir Dracul would be much like his friend, Cocytus.

Not stupid but simple-minded. Cocytus was made to be a warrior, in both body and spirit, and it showed in his devotion to their Lord. He expected much of the same of Sir Dracul, simply a powerful Warrior to fight in Lord Momongas name and glory.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Sir Dracul's efforts and initiative have given Nazarick a valuable source of information along with discovering how weak the lower life forms are in this new world with his use of the Eight Edge Assassins.

Not only that but after hearing Lord Momonga and Sir Dracul's conversation, he could tell that Sir Dracul instantly knew what his Lord meant while it took him a scant few words to understand what they were talking about.

Truly, he can see why Lord Momonga considers Sir Dracul his one and only equal.

"Lord Demiurge? Is something the matter?" A low, guttural voice asked him.

Demiurge turned to look at his Evil Lords with a grin showing off his sharp teeth and the moonlight glinting off his crystal eyeballs.

"No, Wrath. Nothing's wrong."

"Nothing at all…"

.

---

.

As Momonga and I gained speed flying upwards, the wind whistling past us, I'm pretty sure my wings are actually decorations for flying or something.

Momonga should be the fastest due to him using a spell but I'm managing to quite easily keep pace with him as we ascended to the skies.

Whatever, I still love my wings either way.

Soon enough, we're far above the ground with the Moon and the stars looming over us, still looking oh so close but still so far.

The bluish moonlight illuminated the sky, allowing us to see clearly and reflecting off our armour like specks of light and making the gently swaying grass look like silver.

Momonga took off his helmet and threw it away, falling to the ground, as he took a deep breath and looking up at the stars above.

"What do you think Blue-san would say, Dracul? If he was here now?" Momonga asked me in a somber tone.

"Honestly?" I said with a small smile, remembering the nature fanatic and friend, "I think we would have to give him some private time."

"Heh, I'm inclined to believe you." He said quietly as we both just stared at the world around in all its splendour.

"...Hey, Momo." I said to him, causing him to look at me, "Don't worry. I miss them as well."

"...Thank you, Dracul." He let out a shaky breath before he steadied himself, "Dracul, do you think...do you think some of them made it here?"

I stayed quiet, the only sound being the gentle flapping of my wings and the wind in the air.

"...I don't know. [Message] doesn't work but we both know that's changed. It could even be blocked now because it's a spell. They could even be on a different continent for all we know." I finally said, my voice quiet and somber.

"I see. Then the only thing we can do is…," He turned around to look down at Nazarick, "Is the spread the name of Ainz Ooal Gown. To send a message throughout the world, a message to all Players."

We both looked at Nazarick, our home, before I spoke up.

"So that's it then, That's your choice?"

It took a moment, but eventually, he nodded.

"It is. I will announce it tomorrow." He said out loud, resolute in his decision.

"Fair enough," I shrugged, "But I'm still going to call you Momo."

"Of course you will," He sighed out his resignation but I knew he liked it. We both caught glimpses of something interesting on the ground.

We saw slow moving dirt started moving towards Nazaricks walls, fusing together with more dirt until it made a small hillock and smashed itself against Nazaricks walls.

"Huh, is that Mare?" I said as I thought about the kid.

Mare, like his sister, is a Demi-Human and could only take Job Classes and not Racial levels.

If I remember he's a druid spell caster so he is the only one that I could think that would be able to do this.

"It is, he's the only one that could do something like this. He's using [Earth Surge] but he's also using his skills to enlarge the area of effect as well with his other Class skills to make it easier." Momonga told me with respect and pride in his voice.

"Damn," I whistled, impressed, "Wanna go down to meet him? See how he's doing?"

"I do. I plan to give him a reward for his hard work in person." He told me as made another helmet and equipped it.

We descended down to near where Mare is and he noticed us approaching from above, running towards us.

"Lord M-Momonga, Sir Dracul, w-welcome. H-how may I help?" He greeted us meekly.

"Don't be so nervous, Mare." I took off my helmet, holding it under my arm and smile at him, "We're just taking a look at what you've done so far."

"It's as Dracul says, Mare. Don't worry, you haven't made a mistake." Momonga waved away Mare's worries.

"T-thank you Lord Momonga, S-Sir Dracul." He bowed to us with a relieved expression on his face.

I looked around at Mare's handiwork and I noticed he was also using Golems and undead to work on the hills and help him out in general.

"Not bad," I complimented him as I pointed out his helpers, "Using minions that don't get tired so the work is finished faster. Good work."

"Indeed but even so, moving around large amounts of earth like this will leave gaps in the landscape," Momonga told us as Mare looked nervously at him.

"Th-the gaps left, I'll be f-filling them with plants and d-dirt I can make with my m-magic so n-no one will notice," Mare explained to us, stuttering all the way.

"Hmm...your workload will increase quite a bit then and what you're doing is already hard work to begin with," Momonga muttered, impressed with Mares work ethic.

Mare's eyes went wide and he looked shocked, "I-I'm sorry, Lord M-Momonga, I'll-!" he starts bowing.

Seeing Mares distress, Momonga gently lifted up his palm and petting Mare.

Really?

"Calm down, Mare. I wasn't criticising you. I was praising you." Momonga told him, gently ruffling his hair.

"Mare," Momonga said before the kid could apologize again, "What you're doing is undoubtedly important work. Even with our new security net in place, your work is to make sure it doesn't come to that. It sets me at ease, knowing you're the one handling this."

Momonga lifted his hand off Mares head and Mare furiously nodded with a puppylike look of wonder on his face.

"And that's why I wanted to give you a reward for all your hard work," Momonga told him but Mare had a wide eye confused look.

"How can I accept something like that!? I was only doing what was expected of me!" Mare exclaimed loudly.

Wait, is that the first time I heard him speak without a stutter?

"...Mare, me and Momonga both know how hard you're working so it's only natural to get a reward for it. Especially for something like this." I tried to tell him in a calm tone.

But Mare didn't budge, shaking his head back and forth.

"But we exist to give our all for the Supreme Beings! Hard work should be expected from us!"

Jesus, Mare would thrive back home.

For the moment, I saw Momonga and Mare go back and forth about his reward.

There was something inherently amusing watching Momonga argue with a child.

I could see Momonga get more and more frustrated arguing with the kid so I stepped in.

"Mare, think of it like this," I said, catching both of their attention, "If Momonga gives you a reward for your hard work, should you not repay his kindness by remaining loyal and striving to work even harder in the future?"

I saw Mares face go through a multitude of emotions before Momonga spoke up, hoping to put the final nail in the coffin.

"Dracul is right, Mare. In exchange for this reward, continue your loyal service to me and Nazarick."

That seemed to mollify Mare as he nodded his head, "I-if you say so, L-Lord Momonga…"

Momonga thrust his hand out before Mare could think up any more arguments and a produced a familiar ring.

Mare looked at the ring in question with wide eyes and open mouth, shocked at what he saw.

"Lord M-Momonga! I can't accept this!" He shouted as he looked at the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown in Momongas palm.

Okay, I'm not going through this again.

"Mare," I said to him and gently put my hand down on his head, "Just calm down for a minute and listen, okay?"

He looked up at me with those puppy dog eyes of his before blushing and muttering an apology.

Momonga gave me a nod and looked back at Mare and I lifted my hand off his head.

Kids getting spoiled with these headpats, I'm sure of it.

"Mare, Teleportation magic is blocked in Nazarick except for this ring. This makes for all kind of inconveniences, especially for Floor Guardians like yourself." Momonga started to explain to Mare who started calming down.

"The best-case scenario is that we're not invaded at all but that's naive to think. In case we do get invaded, I want all Floor Guardians commanding their Floors for the invasion. At the same time, however, it would be quite a predicament if the Floor Guardians can't move around freely in Nazarick and so, Mare, here. Take this ring."

Mare extended his hand slowly towards the ring, grabbing it like a delicate piece of glass that would shatter if held too tight.

"...But sh-shouldn't everyone get one then?"

"I intend to but you're the first because I'm pleased with the work you have done. If I gave this to someone who did no work, it would have no value. Or do you intend to make this ring worthless?"

Wait, what about me? You gave me a ring pretty easily and I didn't even do anything!.

"No! I would never do that!"

"Then I look forward to your loyal service in the future."

Mare looked at the ring in his palm with reverence. He put it on his finger as it changed to fit comfortably on his finger as he raised up his finger to the moonlight, making it glitter.

"T-Thank you, Lord Momonga, Sir D-Dracul! I'll strive to work even harder from today so I won't disappoint either of you!" He said, determination written into his face.

Why oh why, did you make him dress as a girl, Buku-san?

I don't think I'll ever know nor do I want to.

Just as I was pondering the inner machinations of that woman's mind, I saw Mare starting to take in Momongas current outfit with a look of confusion.

"Uhm...Lord Momonga, why are you dressed like that, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ah.

Wasn't it because he wanted to test the [Fly] necklace or something?

Before I or Momonga could start explaining, we heard a small flutter of wings from above us and I noticed a single black feather gently falling down to the ground.

"That's simple, Mare." A familiar, melodious voice said behind us as we all looked up to Demiurge and Albedo flapping their wings and setting themselves on the ground.

"Lord Momonga didn't want to disturb anyone as they worked and Sir Dracul has already taken up his duty as Champion." She said to us with a serene smile on her face as moonlight behind her made it seem like she has a faint halo of light behind her.

I don't know what's more tragic really.

That Momonga doesn't have a penis or that he didn't even mean to land a beauty like Albedo and did it by complete accident.

"When Lord Momonga approaches, it's only natural for us to stop what we're doing and bow to him and Sir Dracul decided to waste no time taking up his role. Isn't that right, Sir Dracul, Lord Momonga?"

Well, no, you're completely wrong but sure, why not?

"Of course, Albedo," Momonga nodded to what she said, "As I expected from you, the Overseer, to understand my intentions."

Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "No point wasting any time."

"It's good to see you so dedicated to your duty, Sir Dracul." She smiled at me, "Lord Momonga I'm sure that, even if I were not the Overseer, I could understand your heart like no other."

She bowed to us but with a blush on her face as she looked at Momonga with a smile while Demiurge grimaced behind her after she stopped talking.

"A-ah, so that's why..." Mare said with awe in his tone as he looked up to the both of us.

As Momonga and I looked at Mare, we both saw something incredulous out of the corner of my eyes for a brief instant.

Albedos eyes opened up so wide, that I thought they would fall out and her mouth opened up slightly before she recovered and assumed a normal posture.

What the hell was that about?

I looked at Mare with a frown, trying to discover what the hell Albedo saw that she exhibited such an expression.

I saw the glinting ring on Mares' finger.

The ring that's on his left hands ring finger.

Jesus Christ.

"Mare," I said, keeping the urgency out of my voice, "How about you take a break and get back to work? The quicker it's done, the better."

Mare looked at me with wide eyes and bowed, "O-of course, Sir D-Dracul! I'll get st-started right away!" He told me before running off.

Godspeed, Mare.

"Albedo, what are you doing here?" Momonga asked the Overseer as Mare ran off.

"I was informing the rest of the Floor Guardians of the gathering tomorrow until I heard you and Sir Dracul were out here so I came here to pay my respects. Forgive me for my dirty appearance." She bowed her apologies to him.

Dirty? I suppose she seemed a bit scruffy but that doesn't really distract from anything.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Albedo," I shrugged, "It's only a little bit of dirt but it doesn't detract from anything."

"Indeed, Dracul," He nodded to me, "Albedo, I must apologize to you. Having someone of your beauty running around and getting dirty is a tragedy but this is an emergency and I must ask to continue working. My apologies."

Momonga, you do know she's in love with you, right?

"O-of course, Lord Momonga! I will endure any hardships for your sake!" Albedo said with a bright red face.

"Thank you for your loyalty, Albedo. I have something to give you, that befits your position as Overseer and that'll be helpful for you in the future."

With wide eyes, she looked at Momonga, "Certainly, Lord Momonga. May I ask what is it?"

Holding out his hand to Albedo, a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown appeared in his palm.

Oh no.

Albedo looked at the ring in his palm for a moment before bowing and taking the ring.

"...Thank you for this gift, Lord Momonga." She said in a calm voice.

Huh, I expected more of a reaction from her of all people.

Oh, wait, no. I can see her wings trembling along with the hand holding the ring clenching, opening and closing. The corners of her mouth are twitching upwards as she desperately tries to hide her excitement.

"I look forward to your continued loyal service. Demiurge...some other time."

"Of course, Lord Momonga." He bowed elegantly to him, "I will endeavour myself to be worthy of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown."

While Demiurge is the picture of perfect calmness, Albedo seemed to be hardly holding herself back, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree and her whole body trembling.

Right, yeah, no.

"Momonga, we should head back. It isn't fair that we're shirking our duties while everyone else working. Plus, I don't want to worry the Pleiades, we did leave rather suddenly after all." I told him, mostly because I think Albedo is going to explode if we don't leave soon.

"You're right, Dracul. Goodbye Albedo, Demiurge."

After the two Demons bowed to us, we teleported to the 9th Floor though we did hear a joy-filled shout just before we left.

"Yes!"

.

---

.

It was the day 3 of me and Ainz being in this New World and we're waiting for the Floor Guardians in the Throne room so we can tell them how we planned to kill a 45 man bandit raid.

God, that sounds so weird and it's only day 3 of being here.

"So, what's the game plan? I know we're going in incognito but how do we plan on staying the night there?" I asked as I leaned against the Throne that Ainz sat on.

"I have a plan for that. After you went to bed last night, I visited the Treasury. Look at this." He reached into his inventory to pull a small leather bag. He opened it and I leaned over to see what was inside.

I felt my breath hitch slightly and I reached inside to take one of the gold coins in the bag and hold it up the to lights.

It's a gold coin of YGGDRASIL. A real gold coin that shone in the light.

YGGDRASIL had a simple economy in the game with just gold coins as the currency. It was used for various things as a resource; alchemy, blacksmithing and everything else really.

"Damn." I let out a breath of awe, "Is this real gold?"

"As far as I can tell. I'm betting that gold is still valuable here and we can use it as a form of currency to pay the village for us to stay there for the night."

"Nice," I nodded and I put the coin back in the bag with the rest, "So how much do you have in that bag? Think it'll be enough?"

"I hope so. I have two bags of 60 gold coins each, including this one. If they take this one, I'll give them the other one the day after." He told me as he put the bag back in his inventory.

At that moment, we saw the doors begin to open. I stood up straight while Ainz gripped his Staff.

The Floor Guardians walked into the Throne with Albedo leading them. They lined up with Albedo in the front and kneeled before us.

"Lord Momonga, we have gathered here just like you commanded and await your orders," Albedo spoke up.

"Thank you for hard work, Albedo," Ainz said graciously before addressing everyone else.

"I have called all of you here for three things mainly," Ainz told them, his voice echoing out the Throne Chamber.

"The first, as I'm sure most of you are aware, is that Dracul has accepted the position of my Champion. From now on, he will be my guard whenever I shall leave Nazarcik and only myself is above him in the chain of command. If there are any objections to this, speak now."

While I doubt any of them would speak up, I kept my eye on them to see if any of the Floor Guardians didn't like the idea. A stiffening of posture or a split second scowl, something like that.

Albedo and Demiurge had smiles on their faces, both for probably different reasons but happy nonetheless.

Cocytus didn't change but I saw his mandibles click with satisfaction.

Mare and Aura both seemed pleased, Aura with a grin and Mare with a timid smile.

Shalltear wore a smile, showing off her teeth and with a light blush on her face.

That reminds me, I need to install an extra lock for my door, just in case.

"I see then," Ainz said after a moment of silence, "Dracul, tell them what we've learned."

Nodding, I stepped forward and told the Floor Guardians all the information we had, where we were, the Re-Estize Kingdom, everything really except our plan to become adventurers.

After I finished, I looked back at Ainz and saw him nod to me.

"For the past 3 days, all of us have been doing our best to set up our defences in case of an attack in the near future. However, after discovering these facts, I and Ai-Momonga have come up with a plan for the long term." I said aloud before Ainz gestured me to stop.

"And the plan, my Floor Guardians, is this:

We shall make the name of Ainz Ooal Gown into a eternal legend."

I saw the Floor Guardians look positively bewildered at what Ainz said, though Demiurge had a hopeful look.

"The name of Ainz Ooal Gown shall be steeped into myth and legend. If there are heroes, they shall be replaced by Ainz Ooal Gown for none can compare to the might of Nazarick. If there are kings, they shall be brought to their knees before Ainz Ooal Gown." Ainz started saying, getting more and more heated before he stood up with [Despair Aura] activated.

"Let the entire world know! That only Ainz Ooal Gown is the only true hero!" He roared to the heavens, spreading his arms in a grand gesture and the black aura surged around him.

Ainz, you massive nerd.

"And that legend," Ainz calmly said in spite of the massive dark aura surrounding him, "Begins today. Dracul."

That's my cue, "On it."

Drawing Balmung, I quickly jumped up to one of the flags decorating the Throne Room. A familiar one that I knew well.

In a blink of an eye, I slashed downward on the pole that wore Momonga's flag and symbol, cutting through it as if it weren't there.

One of the things I learned during my practice with Balmung is that I'm stupidly strong and durable. I could easily jump from the Throne down to the base without so much as a twinge of pain.

As I fell down to the floor, I saw the Floor Guardians looking at me with incredulity as if I just did the impossible.

I heard the pole clatter down to the floor and I turned around to look up at Ainz as he held out a finger and said:

"[Fireball]."

The [Fireball] shoot forward from Ainz finger and setting the flag ablaze. He looked down at us from his Throne, his eyes blazing red.

"From henceforth, my name is no longer Momonga."

He looked down at us, a pitch black halo surrounding him and flooding the Throne Chamber with a pressure on everyone's shoulders but mine.

"My name, from now on, is Ainz," He told us, his old flag now burning to cinders.

"Ainz Ooal Gown."

.

---

.

After Ainz's dramatic reveal of his new name, we told the Floor Guardians our plans for Carne Village, how we're going to defend it from the 'bandits'.

They took it surprisingly well, all things considered. I think the fact that I'm now Ainz's personal guard eased some of their worries and they were confident that we would be safe on our own, especially if they couldn't see the Eight Edge Assassins.

There was, however, one person disgruntled by the current arrangement.

I'm in my room, testing out some stuff with the cape that Ainz gave me but I couldn't really relax due to one thing. A constant feeling of displeasure emitting from behind me.

"Entoma, you've only been here for 5 minutes but I can tell you're not pleased about something," I said to my maid who was standing behind me on guard.

I have no idea why she's on guard but I've given up at this point.

"E-eh?" I heard her say, broken out of her thoughts, "M-my apologies Sir Dracul, it's just that…"

Seeing her fidget in the reflection of the mirror I'm posing in front on, I decided to take a shot in the dark.

"I take it you don't like the fact that I no longer need a guard when I leave Nazarick now?"

Judging by the way she stiffened and started fidgeting even harder, I could tell that I hit it right on the head.

"Come on, Entoma, speak your mind. I won't get angry." I spoke in a gentle tone and turning around to face her.

I kept quiet and waited for Entoma to speak up, trying not to seem impatient before letting out a breath and bowed to me.

"Sir Dracul, I mean no offence but I don't understand why you're putting yourself in danger for these lesser beings." Entoma told me, staying bowed all the while, "If you just give me the word, I'll gladly lay down my lif-"

"Entoma." I snapped at her.

My tone had her go stock still and I couldn't help but let out a sigh. I could see where she was coming from but that didn't make it any less horrific what she just said.

"Entoma, look at me and listen," I said gently, causing her to look at me with her bug mask.

"The people that are going to die tomorrow don't matter to me and I refuse to send you or anyone else on a suicide mission, do I make myself clear? Neither I or Ainz will ever waste the lives of those in Nazarick."

I realised as I said it but the lives of some human villagers and bandits mean nothing to me compared to the lives of those in Nazarick.

It wasn't unexpected to me that I feel like this but I suppose it's nice to have confirmation in a weird sort of way that I can still feel something resembling empathy.

"Bu-but, Sir Dracul! If you or Lord Momonga get injured when we could've prevented it, it would-!" Entoma started to shout, getting a bit hysterical and I could see the antennae on her head twitching furiously.

Oh right, just me and the Floor Guardians know about Momongas new name.

Right, time to deploy calming measures.

God, I hope this works on her like it works on Mare.

I raised my hand, causing her to go rigid and bow her head, seeming to think I meant to strike her.

I let it drop slowly on top of her head, making sure not to put too much force on it.

Instead of the familiar softness like Mare, Entoma's 'hair' is hard and rigid but I persisted on the pets.

"Eh?" She jumped up in surprise and looked up at me, her antennae now basically vibrating.

"Entoma, it's nice to hear you care so much about my and Ainz's safety," I told her with a smile, "But have some trust in us, alright? We're not going anywhere and we don't plan on dying anytime soon and I highly doubt we'll be in any danger."

I felt a pang of guilt hit me when I said I wasn't planning on going anywhere but I pushed that feeling down. I already made my choice.

"Ehmm…" Entoma said in a shy voice, not looking at me and shuffling about, too embarrassed to say anything.

Oh god, I just made this weird.

Oh god.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I started to lift my head before Entoma started shaking her head vigorously back and forth.

"No, this is fine! This is more than fine! Perfect even!" She insisted, looking up at me.

Her expression didn't change but I could feel her determination radiate off her.

Yeesh, this has to be a joke.

Putting my hand back down on her 'hair', Entoma made a strange clicking sound as if she's an insect cat or something.

"Entoma, did you hear what I said?" I asked her as I continued petting the clicking Insectoid.

I feel like I made a bad decision.

"Eh?" She looked up at me, "A-ah! Of course, I'm so sorry, Sir Dracul!" She stared bowing, shaking in embarrassment.

"Heh, don't worry about it Entoma. Still though, have some faith alright? We'll be back before you know it." I said to her as I lifted my hand from her head.

She made an even stranger noise as I removed my hand but eventually she bowed to me and said:

"Of course, Sir Dracul. I'll await your return."

Thank god. That was like pulling teeth.

"Thank you, Entoma. Speaking of having faith, I want you to have something." I accessed my inventory, taking out two items.

My helmet, which I put on, and a small brass key which I gave to her.

She gingerly took the key from me with her claws, looking up to me.

"That's the key to my room. If all goes according to plan, we should be staying in the village for the night so I'm trusting you to look after my room while I'm gone."

I'm also hoping she guards it against pervert vampires but I'm probably being paranoid about nothing.

Hopefully.

"I-I…" She started looking between me and the key, her whole body shaking and her usually high pitched cutesy voice rising even higher.

"Of course, Sir Dracul! I will guard this room and this key with my life!" Entoma said with enthusiasm and clutching the ring to her bosom with all her might.

"Don't be like that," I chided her gently, "You mean more to me than my bedroom, you know. I just trust you to make sure that my room stays the same when I'm gone. Don't risk your life for something so small."

I mean, yeah, she gets on my nerves sometimes when she kept insisting on guarding me and constantly being on guard and just making me uncomfortable 24/7 but I did enjoy her company for the most part.

Besides, from what I learned, this is just a guest room. There are loads more like it anyway, I just didn't see the point of moving to a new room when this one is more than enough.

"A-ah…" Entoma said, shuffling about and looking at the floor but still holding the key close to her, "Of c-course, Sir Dracul. I will make sure your bed ch-chamber is the same upon your re-return."

I couldn't help but raise my brow at her sudden change of attitude, but I didn't have enough time to ask about it. Ainz is probably waiting for me already.

Doing a once over in the mirror just in case, I turn to Entoma and told her, "I'm going now so I'll see you later, Entoma. Try not to worry too much, alright?"

"A-as you say, Sir D-Dracul…" She said to me, still in a shy demeanour from whatever I said.

Jeez, what is with her?

"See you soon, Entoma," I said to her before teleporting to the entrance of Nazarick.

.

---

.

I walked up the staircase leading to the outdoors and front entrance to see three figures waiting for me along with that stupid goblin skeleton still trying to scratch out some dried blood in the stone.

How long has that been here now? About a day now? Summons aren't supposed to last that long, maybe Necromancy works differently here?

I saw the familiar large frame of Ainz with his pitch black robe but he's wearing some extra accessories to hide the fact that he's a undead.

He is wearing a red mask with a mocking grin that I recognized as the Mask of Envy, the headwear given to people on Christmas Eve if they were logged in YGGDRASIL between 7 and 10 pm.

Admittedly, I cheated because I played in the United Kingdom with the different time zones but still. I found it a funny joke. Everyone else, not so much.

He's also wearing some plate gauntlets and some kind of clothing covering his ribcage and his skeletal hands.

All in all, he looked like an eccentric person but he could pass for a human if he's careful.

The other two were a woman in a white dress and an older gentleman in a butler suit.

Albedo and Sebas bowed to me as I approached while I gave them a nod in return.

"Sir Dracul, Sebas and I have come to see you and Lord Ainz off for your journey to the human village," Albedo told me.

"Thanks, you two and don't worry too much. I'll make sure Ainz won't be in any danger." I assure them just in case.

"Be that as it may, Sir Dracul," Sebas said to me, looking at me seriously, "Your safety is still a top priority for us. Please, do not put yourself in unnecessary danger."

"Do not worry, Sebas. This is not the first time Dracul and I have fought together. I will make sure that we'll both come home, safe and sound." Ainz said, his voice slightly muffled by his mask.

At the word 'home' I saw Albedo's face light up like a Christmas tree and Sebas's eyes widen for a moment before he relaxed.

"Of course, my Lord. We shall await yours and Sir Draculs return." Sebas bowed to us along with Albedo, still with a heavy blush and small but genuine smile.

"Ready to go, Dracul?" Ainz asked me as I started to walk to his side.

"Yeah," I nodded as he summoned a [Gate] for us.

"Let's go and be a couple of Heroes."

.

---

.

"God, this feels so good. I swear I was going to snap if Solution and Entoma insisted on coming with us." I said to my companion as I stretched my arms above my head.

"I'm going to agree with you on that," Ainz said to me as we just walked the rest of the way to Carne Village, "Ever since you were attacked by that Goblin, Sebas and the Pleiades have been on high alert. It's been exhausting."

Ainz was only willing to take us halfway to the village so we had to walk about 3 miles but it wasn't a big deal for either of us. It would take us about an hour to reach the village at our current pace and we could just relax and talk during that time, with the sun over our heads.

Like old times.

"Speaking of Goblins, did you see that skeleton still trying to clean his own blood from the stone? Now, I'm no expert in Necromancy like you are but I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to last that long."

Out of all my spells, I only knew about 4 summons so I wouldn't even call myself an amateur in the field. Ainz, while I wouldn't say his build was revolved around summons and Necromancy exclusively, is way more experienced than I was and a good chunk of his spells were about Necromancy.

"They're not. They should last about 2 hours at most, not for a whole day. I think my Necromancy works differently in a fundamental way here though I will have to test it out." Ainz explained to me as I thought about how his Necromancy could've changed.

"Hmm…" I hummed before a thought entered my mind.

"Could it be because you used it on a body this time?" I offered my own idea, "I mean, when you raised the Goblin, some sort of black mist entered his body and then the whole flesh thing happened. That never happened in YGGDRASIL, it was just usually a standard summoning effect, so maybe it changed because now your Necromancy is real in a weird way? So you should be able to raise permanent undead now."

"You could very well be right but I still have to test some things out. Though that does beg the question of your summons or others like it. If I remember correctly, all of your summonses are elemental in nature?"

"Yeah, but I only have four and one of those is [Primal Fire Elemental] which I can only summon once a day like the staff can. I doubt I can make them permanent like your undead though. I mean, fire isn't known for lasting without fuel so I'll probably have to keep giving them mana or something."

"More than likely," Ainz said to me before letting out a sigh, "Though I suppose we'll see soon enough what works and what doesn't."

"Yeah. yeah, we will." I said and we both went quiet as we just walked along the path.

We spoke about a few things here and there but for the most part, we walked in silence, just relaxing finally after 3 days of non-stop being on edge by the NPCs but we were finally able to relax, at least for a little while.

Soon enough, we saw a hazy image in the far distance, a small brick house with a tiled roof and some people in the distance doing their chores for the day, fetching water and working on the field for whatever they grow.

"Right, so what's the plan? You're a wandering mage and I'm your bodyguard?" I whisper to him.

"Yes, that should work well. For now, let me do all the talking. Hopefully, you should be able to intimidate them just by being silent." He whispered back to me.

As we approached closer, I saw a villager, a young man with black hair carrying some logs back to a house see us approach. I couldn't see the expression on his face very clearly but he did drop the logs he was holding on the floor like they were on fire and started running as fast as he could back to the village.

Well, looks like we made an impression at least.

I and Ainz continue walking towards Carne Village but soon enough, we saw a group of men waiting for us at the village outskirts.

"Ready?" Ainz asked me.

"Ready," I told him.

As we got closer, I saw the group waiting for us and I was able to clearly see how they looked.

Their leader, or at least the one in front, is a stout man with a chin strap beard and brown eyes and bright blond hair.

He's also the only one that didn't look like he was going to pass out of fear, just watching us with narrowed eyes.

All the others had the same expression of worry and keep shifting their eyes to each other, ready to run at the first sign of trouble.

Cowards, the word just springing to mind without warning and distaste rising up within me.

Where the hell did that come from?

"Good afternoon. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown and this is my companion, Dracul." Ainz introduces us before I could think any further on my unexpected anger and just nodded my head slightly, trying to focus on calming myself down.

God, I only just meet these people and I'm already getting angry at basically nothing. I never got this mad at Entoma when she kept smothering me or anyone else in Nazarick really.

Something tells me I may have some anger issues.

The men seemed taken aback by Ainz's polite greeting but the leader just kept looking at us with narrowed eyes.

"Good afternoon," the leader bowed his head, "My name is Guss Emmot. Sir Gown, I'm going to be blunt here, you and your companion are making quite a lot of us uncomfortable. May I ask what you're doing here?"

Sir Gown? Really?

"...Just Sir Ainz works," Ainz clarified, sounding a bit stumped at what they called him, "And to answer your question I and Dracul are...lost for the lack of a better word. We're travellers from a distant land but we've seemed to lost our way. We would just like to know where we are to reorient ourselves, that's all."

Nice wordplay there.

For a moment, Guss didn't say anything and the men around him grew even more anxious before he said:

"Alright. If you two will wait here, I'll get the chief. He has a map that you can look at and find your way back."

As soon as he said that, a man near him grabbed his arm roughly and looking at him wildly, "Guss, what the hell are you-!"

"Alright then. We'll wait." Ainz said simply, cutting through the argument.

"Huh?" The man holding Guss's arm looked at us in surprise along with everyone else.

"Did you not hear me? I said we'll wait here for your chief." Ainz said for a second time, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion.

Oh come on, this is just getting annoying now.

"We'll be back with the chief," Guss said, removing the offending hand holding him, "Come on, you guys. I'm not leaving any of you here."

"Wh-what?! Guss, ya can't be serious! We can't just leave these two here by themselves!" The same one who grabbed him yelled after him.

"I'm not risking you idiots pissing off a mage and his bodyguard! Let's just get the chief and be done with this before something happens!" Guss yelled back, still walking.

The man looked between us and Guss wildly before making his choice, "Damn it all... forgive me, Sirs! We'll be right back!" He said before he and the others jogged back to the village, following Guss.

Making sure the group is out ear shoot, I turned my head to look at Ainz.

"Am I hard of hearing or did they really just call you Sir Gown?"

"No, I heard that too and well... I'll admit, it didn't sound good. I also noticed that their mouths didn't really match up with what they're saying, even though they're speaking Japanese."

Wait, they were speaking Japanese?

"Japanese?" I asked Ainz.

Ainz turns his head to look at me and asks, "...Dracul, what language are we speaking right now?"

Come to think of it, I haven't heard Ainz say one lick of Japanese since we got here besides honorifics for the other members of the Guild.

"...English. In fact, everyone, including you, has been speaking English for the past 3 days." I admitted sheepishly.

You would think I would notice something like this sooner but honestly, these past 3 days have been crazy.

"I see. For me, everyone has been speaking Japanese, not English. It appears that we're both hearing our native language or what we're used to hearing the most, at least. Seems whatever brought us here may have changed us more than we thought."

"Great," I sighed out before I saw the group coming back with someone new.

"They're coming back with the chief. Ready?"

Ainz nodded and turned to look at the approaching group of village men.

Huh, I know we're at the outskirts of the village but I expected to see more people, at least during this time of the day.

We might actually be scarier than I thought.

The village chief is the same height and build as Guss but he had light brown hair along with some hair covering his chin, though not as much.

As soon as he saw Ainz, his eyes widen in fear and his mouth slightly agape.

When he saw me, he looks up to my helm and his mouth opened up even wider and he started to shake. He whipped his head around to look at Guss, who just shrugged nonchalantly.

"By the Gods…" I heard the Chief mutter under his breath. He took a deep breath and steeled himself, stopping himself from shaking. He walked towards but he still kept his eyes on me for some reason.

What the hell did I do? I literally didn't even say anything or do anything. Was it Balmung?

Actually, it might be Balmung. It's a pretty big sword all thing considered. Should I have equipped a smaller one?

Nah, small swords suck.

"Sir Go-Ainz, let me welcome you to Carne Village. I've been told that you're lost and you w-would like to examine my map to know where you are?" The Chief bowed to Ainz and making sure not to stumble over his words.

"Indeed," Ainz nodded, "Dracul and I merely just wish to know our general location. We have no wish to harm or disrupt this village."

"I-I see. If that's the case, please just follow me. I'll lead you to my house and you two can examine the map." The Chief turned around and the group behind him parted to let us walk into the village. The Chief walked through the divide and we followed after him, into Carne Village at last.

As we walked silently through the village, I looked around us to see the mortar made houses all closed up with shut doors and windows. The three Assassins were on the rooftops, each kneeling to us as we went past. I made sure to send one of them a [Message] to let them know we're visiting the village.

Huh, they actually can't see them or even sense them. I expected for them to at least feel something was wrong but they appeared completely oblivious.

The group from before followed behind us in some weird attempt to make sure we didn't run off or something. I get that they don't trust us but really? This is the best you can come up with?

The distaste I felt before was coming back in full force which I had to squish down again. I don't need to put these peasants on edge even more.

As I kept looking around, I saw some faces peeking out of the windows. Most of them are curious children who were dragged back into the house by their mothers or siblings.

One house, one that's actually quite far away, I saw a flash of red hair and a big pair of eyes.

It's a child, a young girl with bright red hair, with a big smile and wide eyes who kept trying to get out of the window but she's being held back by someone I couldn't see.

"Come on, sis! You should see them, they're so cool looking!" The young child whispered.

"Father told us to stay indoors, Nemu! We don't want to cause any trouble!" Her sister whispered back, still trying to wrangle her little sister.

"Enri's right, Nemu. Come back from the window and I'm sure your father will tell you all you want to know about the two strangers." An older, more mature voice whispered gently to the child.

"Alright, mom…" The child, Nemu, moaned.

Heh, cute kid. I'm surprised I can even hear that far and clearly as well.

Soon enough we came upon a house indistinguishable from the other houses in the village, built with the same mortar and brick. Honestly, I was expecting mud huts or even wooden houses but they managed to build with bricks instead.

Opening the door, the Chief welcomed us into his home, "Please, come in."

"Thank you," Ainz said his thanks before he entered the house, angling himself slightly so his bone pauldrons didn't get stuck on the door frame.

I nodded my thanks, ducking under the doorway to not hit my head but Balmung's handle still scraped against the wooden door frame.

Jesus, either I'm too tall or too small but like hell, I'm changing to my human form right now.

I managed to stand at my full height in the house but it's a tight fit. If I had my wings or tail out, I suspect this would be a lot more uncomfortable. If I have to fight, I'm going to have to go outside or risk some major property damage.

I wonder what's the melting point for stone?

The inside of the Chief's house is made out of a small selection of rooms, all interconnected. The kitchen was made out an of a stone oven and there's a sort of metal kettle on the oven. From the entrance, I could see a room consisting of just a single double bed meant for two people. All of the rooms could be accessed from the main living room which just a had large rectangular table with some chairs around it and staircase leading up to an attic.

Seeing this sparse household, I realise that I may have been spoiled by Nazarick and its creature comforts.

While I was taking a stock of the house, I noticed that there was another figure in the house, a bulky woman who just came out of the kitchen.

She's looking at both me and Ainz with a shocked expression, like we just appeared out of thin air.

She quickly bowed to the both of us, "F-forgive me, Sirs! I d-didn't realise you would be h-here so soon!"

"It's alright, dear. How about you heat something up for our guests?" The Chief said to his wife, trying to hide the urgency in his voice.

She shakily nodded her head and went back to the kitchen while the Chief turned to us.

"My ap-apologies, Sirs, tru-" The Chief started to say but stopped when Ainz held up his hand.

"It is no issue. Now, you said you had a map for us?" Ainz said to the Chief, impatient to finally get a clear a picture of where we are.

"Of course, it's in the attic. I-I'll go and get it for you. Please, sit down and make y-yourself at home." The Chief directed us towards the table before making his way up the stairs.

Ainz pulled out a chair and sat down on it but I decided to just stand behind him. I doubt the chair could even support my weight and it's already awkward enough standing here in this small house. I can feel the tip of my helmet scraping against the wooden beams whenever I moved my head.

While her husband is upstairs, searching for his map, I heard the tall tale sign of a kettle whistling in the kitchen and soon after, she came out with a tray that had two wooden cups of steaming tea. Strangely enough, I couldn't smell anything from them.

Eh, probably isn't a big deal.

She put a cup on the table for Ainz who gave her thanks and then she noticed me.

Standing.

Dammit.

To make it easy on her I simply held out my hand to her. She had a relieved expression when I did and simply passed me my cup to my hand, bowing to the both of us before she went back to the kitchen.

Right, so.

How are we going to get rid of this?

Ainz can't eat or drink and I can't take my helmet off so that clearly isn't going to work.

Hmm…

Wait. Yeah, that could work.

The wife is in the kitchen, doing whatever and the Chief is still upstairs so I'm gonna have to do this quick.

Opening up my inventory with a quick gesture, I shot out my hand to grab Ainz's cup, causing him to jump in his chair and look at me and the rift in space-time I tore open.

He started to just swing his head back and forth frantically and trying to figure what the hell I'm doing.

Unfortunately, I heard the footsteps of the Chief coming back down from his search of the map.

You know, this may have been a bad idea.

As quick as I could, I throw the contents of the cups in my inventory which thankfully went in and stayed inside instead of just passing through and splattering the wall behind it. Quietly, I put Ainz's and my cup down on the table, both empty.

Ainz stared at me as I closed my inventory.

I gave him a shrug.

I mean, what was I supposed to do? Neither of us could drink it and I didn't really wanna waste tea. That's just rude.

Ainz continued to stare at me, desperately trying to figure why I just did that. Unfortunately, the noise of heavy footsteps coming down the stair broke him out of his stupor and he looked at the stairs to see the Chief coming down with a large roll of tattered old paper in his hands.

Now we're finally getting somewhere.

The Chief pulled a chair and with shaky hands, he opened up the map and laid it out on the table for us to see.

Now, let's see what the New World has to offer us.

.

---

.

As Nigun Grid Luin sat in his tent he felt himself getting impatient, to say the least.

He knows that getting rid of Gazef Stronoff is of incredible importance and he can think of few things more important than the permanent removal of the Re-Estize Kingdom strongest warrior and he's no stranger to long missions, even if this mission was brought on by an angry Noble of Re-Estize.

So much human potential wasted in that cesspool called a Kingdom but orders were orders and money was money.

This was testing the patience of him and his men though. There are only so many villages that make their home on the border between the Baharuth Empire and the Re-Estize Kingdom and he's pretty sure that most of them are gone by now along with their inhabitants, courtesy of him.

The main source of his annoyance though was the incessant prattling of Captain Belius, that stupid wealthy noble's son. Always bragging about his sword arm but a peasant father managed to scare him off while he was still in full plate armour. He only killed him when some men restrained the peasant for him to stab.

By the Six, if it wasn't for the money, he would've replaced or killed him long ago.

Letting out a tired sigh, he looked over the papers, maps and reports, on the table in front him, mostly to just pass time until he saw two of his Mages approach him.

"Speak." He ordered, not bothering to look up and thinking it was nothing important.

"Sir, we bring an update about the village. It seems like two travellers have arrived but...they're like no one we've ever seen before."

Nigun felt his irritation flare up at being told with such useless information but he knew everyone was just waiting for tomorrow and he would've been even angrier if they didn't tell him anything at all.

"Tell me what they look like." He told his men with a huff, finally looking up from the table full of worthless paper.

When Nigun heard what the these two looked like, he couldn't help but laugh at the description of the two travellers. There is looking unique and then there is trying too hard, but it doesn't matter. If these two were famous or skilled at all then he would've heard of them or at least someone that wears giant bone pauldrons or a Warrior with a Dragon's visage.

As such, they're probably of no consequence. The magic caster with the golden staff probably couldn't even cast Tier 2 spells, let alone 3rd and there are very few Warriors stronger than Gazef anyway.

Still, though, he didn't get this far by being arrogant.

"If it looks like they could possibly be at the raid, send 15 men wherever they are staying," Nigun ordered, causing the two Mages in front of him to bow and turn around to carry out the order.

Before they could leave though, he had a genius idea.

"One more thing," Nigun said, causing the two magic casters to turn around in confusion.

"Make sure that Captain Belius is in that 15 man group."

Maybe he'll get lucky and he'll fall on his own sword or something, Nigun thought.

Never noticing the slight rustling of leaves above nor taking the fact that no wind blew in the forest.

.

---

.

I have no idea what I'm looking at.

All I'm seeing right now is a bunch of lines with some letters that I can't tell head or tails from and some little pictures of forts, cities and maybe mountains? I don't even know where the village is and I'm guessing that Ainz isn't faring any better. Even so, we've both been staring at this map in silence for a moment, trying to comprehend anything.

"Uhm...Sir Ainz, you said you and Sir D-Dracul came from a distant land, correct?" The Chief said to us and causing the both of us to look at him.

"That is true, yes."

"I-if that's the case, I could p-point out the countries and the like on this map for y-you?" The Chief offered to us, looking more scared by the second.

Thank god.

"Thank you. I'm afraid that neither I or Dracul recognize anything on this map."

Yeah, that's understating things a bit. This sure as hell isn't YGGDRASIL and while I couldn't read maps, I'm pretty sure I would recognize a map of back home.

We really are stranded on a different world, aren't we?

What should've come as a massive surprise and a shocking revelation just turned into a dull confirmation of what we already knew. This is going to make getting back home a trial but that isn't a big issue at the moment. I should just listen to the Chief for now and what he has to say.

The Chief face flooded with relief and said, "I'll start where we are right now then and move on to others..."

And so the Chief told us about this New World and who rules it, starting with his homeland.

The Re-Estize Kingdom was founded after the defeat of a group of Demons called 'Evil Deities' who at one point threatened to destroy the world but were stopped by a group known simply as the 'Thirteen Heros'. He didn't actually explain anything specific about these 'Heros' or 'Deities' but it seemed to be common knowledge around here. Gonna have to find out more about them later.

The Re-Estize Kingdom is surrounded by a natural mountain range called the Azerlisia Mountains that also act as a natural border to its neighbours, the two main ones being a place called the Slane Theocracy, which laid to the south, and the Baharuth Empire, which laid to the east. Apparently, there's a Dwarf Kingdom hidden within the mountains but the Chief didn't know much about them.

But what was even more interesting is the confirmation that Dragons existed here and they actually lived relatively close by in the mountain ranges, but the way he talked about them made it all too apparent what kind of Dragons were like in this world.

Oh, the irony.

Though the fact that he called them 'Frost Dragons' sucked a bit but I'll take what I can get.

The Kingdom, Empire and Theocracy were the major human nations but there were others Kingdoms like the Roble Holy Kingdom, which was the one I'm most worried about frankly.

A place with a name like 'Holy Kingdom' is bound to be filled to the brim with Paladins or Holy Casters that could hurt Ainz, Shalltear or any unholy types in Nazarick but we'll cross that bridge when we'll get to it.

"This 'Holy Kingdom'," I said, my sudden voice causing the Chief to jump in his chair, "I presume it has Paladins? Holy Casters?"

Ainz looked at me, no doubt seeing what I did.

He may not like it that I spoke up or I'm speaking such an obvious question that could give us away but it's my job to make sure Ainz isn't hurt and Holy Magic isn't nearly as effective on me as it is on him. If needed, I'll do what I have to.

"Er...y-yes, they do. They're f-famed for it actually and they're a highly religious c-country but the T-Theocracy is worse, you could say in that regard and they're m-much stronger." The Chief explained to me and getting more scared by the second as I stared at him.

"I see. Sorry for interrupting you, please. Carry on." I nodded my understanding and he carried on.

I'll bump up the Slane Theocracy up on the threat list if they're worse than a place called the 'Holy Kingdom'.

Carne Village itself and, by proxy Nazarick as well, settled outside the safety of the mountain range of its Kingdom and instead is on the border between the Kingdom and the Empire and the nearby forest is called the Great Forest of Tob that apparently housed some strong monsters called the Three Monsters.

Which is great for us because that means we're in a remote location and due to Mare's efforts, we should be safe until we make our move, but there is one problem.

The Kingdom and the Empire that, apparently, had an annual war between each other for as long as the Chief could remember.

Luckily, or unlucky depending on who you were, the Azerlisia Mountains made invading the Kingdom incredibly difficult or even outright impossible without heavy costs to both the Kingdom and the Empire and so both nations would fight on some plains called the Katze Plains which laid southwest to the Empire.

The only thing the Chief could say about the Katze Plains is that they're a barren wastelands, flooded with undead due to so much death happening there.

Honestly, I couldn't care less about the annual war or the reason for it. My only concern is that Nazarick and Ainz stay safe. If these humans are going to kill themselves and it doesn't benefit us, then it isn't worth thinking about.

The Chief couldn't tell us much about the Slane Theocracy, only that they are the most powerful human nation, more religious than a place that called themselves the 'Holy Kingdom' and that they hated Demi-Humans or anything like them and actively hunted them out for not being human. The Kingdom and The Theocracy had a strained relationship due to a difference in religion but they aren't at war with them, unlike the Empire.

The only other two settlements worth mentioning, or rather the only other two on the map, were a kingdom called the Dragonic Kingdom and the Argland Council State.

Now, with a name like the Dragon Kingdom, my interest skyrocketed, to say the least.

Unfortunately, when questioned about the Dragon Kingdom or Argland, all the Chief could say is that they are the only two Demi-Human nations on the map and not much else. Even if he did own a map, he only knew rumours and hearsay about these two nations.

It's a shame but we've already learned so much from here so I wasn't too upset about it. Though the way he said that there are only two Demi-Human nations on the map made me think that the map in front of us may actually not be all the accurate. Even so, it still serves our purpose for now and a massive help overall.

"Thank you, truly. You have been of tremendous help." Ainz said gratefully, bowing his head slightly and the Chief finally let himself relax.

"Thank you, I-"

"However," Ainz interrupted the Chief who looked like he messed up badly, "I'm afraid I must take advantage of your hospitality for a while longer."

"A-ah, is that so? B-but, Sir Ainz, we're just a poor village, I'm certain that we simply don't have the accommodations that would suit you or Sir Dracul." The Chief said to us desperately.

Raising his hand to calm the Chief down, Ainz said, "Do not worry. We are not asking for anything extravagant or unreasonable. We simply wish to stay the night so we can plan what we're doing next. Just having a place for the night will be enough and of course, we'll compensate you for your troubles."

Ainz reached into the hanging underside of his sleeve and pulled a small leather bag, the same bag he showed me in the Throne Room, and placed it on the table in front of the Chief who looked at the bag in disbelief.

He looked at Ainz who simply pushed the small bag towards the Chief. Seeing that it was alright, he hesitatingly reached for the small bag on the table and undid the string holding the bag closed.

When he saw what's in the bag he let out a loud gasp and looked in the bag, eyes wide with wonder, and reached in with shaky hands to pull out a glittering gold coin of YGGDRASIL.

"I-ho-wha-?" The Chief started to splutter his words with pure confusion and looked at Ainz with wild eyes as if to confirm that this is real.

"If you can, I was hoping you could also see what value these coins have compared to your own."

"I-I," The Chief continued to splutter. He took a small breath to calm himself down, "Of course, Sir A-Ainz." The Chief nodded his head rapidly and putting down the coin on the table with shaky hands.

"Dear, can you bring me my set of scales and weights? They should be inside the kitchen somewhere." The Chief called out to his wife who started to rustle through the kitchen.

Soon enough his wife came with the scales and weights and put them on the table in front of her husband. She saw the coin sitting on the table along with the bag and let out a small gasp, putting her hand to her mouth.

The Chief put the weights on the scale first and then the YGGDRASIL coin. For a moment, the scales tipped to one side and then to the other before it settled into an equal balance.

The Chief performed a few more tests on the coin before he explained to us what he discovered.

YGGDRASIL coins, which are all gold, are worth twice as much as a standard gold coin due to the purity but the artwork on the coins could possibly bump that up to five times.

He also explained to us the basics of currency for the Re-Estize Kingdom and the world at large. There are 4 main metals used in coins, which were:

Copper, being the lowest.

Silver.

Gold.

And Platinum, being the highest.

Now, he didn't give us any examples of how much a Platinum coin could buy but the way his breath quickened and his face paled, I could make a reasonable assertion that this is the most money he has ever seen.

It took me awhile to wrap my head around but I just realised.

We're rich.

Huh, what an anticlimactic way to become rich.

"I see. I suppose that means that this currency is viable?" Ainz asked the Chief who gave a shaky nod of his head.

"Y-yes but I've never s-seen or even heard of these type of coin before. I don't even recognize the i-imagery on it."

"Is that so?" Ainz said with a disappointed tone before he picked himself up, "Even so, I'm willing to offer another 60 coins for my and Dracul's stay."

"An-another 60?!" The Chief spluttered out, looking at Ainz with a pale face and the wife looking like she's going to faint.

The Chief looked down at the bag of coins like it was his lifeline and shifted his wide eyes to me and Momonga. He looked to his wife and she at him, both looking like they couldn't believe what was happening right in front of them.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir A-Ainz but can I take just a moment to t-talk it over with the others?" The Chief asked Ainz, his body shaking the whole time.

"O-oh, Of course. Take as long as you like." Ainz said to the Chief, surprised at his request.

The Chief nodded his head gratefully to Ainz and got up from his chair. He walked to the front door, with his wife trailing behind him and both looked exhausted and dazed.

"Do you think we came off a bit strong?" I ask Ainz when the front door clicked shut.

"I think that's putting it mildly. Did you see how he looked when you spoke up? I'm wondering if we should've put on our adventurer disguises for this." Ainz said morosely but allowing himself to relax.

"Well, nothing we can about it now," I shrugged, "Still though, I didn't actually expect our gold to be worth that much. You know more about this stuff than me but do you think we're going to upset the economy if we pay with YGGDRASIL gold?"

"...It's possible but I don't know for certain. This was the only thing I could think of that we have a surplus of at that might be valuable yet we can afford to lose right now. Do you think we should do something else while we still can?" Ainz asked me, looking at me out of the corner of his mask.

"Well…" I said, an idea forming in my head, "We could always ask for it back?"

"What?" Ainz turned around fully to look at me.

"I don't mean right now, I just-" I shook my head, trying to explain it in a clearer fashion, "Look, soon enough they're going to think they owe us when we save them from the raid happening tomorrow and when they ask how they can repay us, we ask for the money back."

"Hmm... that could work, I suppose but won't they find that a bit suspicious? For us to turn up, save the village and just ask for it back?"

"Maybe but they won't have any proof. Plus, whatever they may or may not think, it doesn't change the fact that the only reason they're still alive is because of us."

I knew, in my mind, that we're being incredibly callous, apathetic and manipulative of this innocent village but I just couldn't find it in me to care.

I've always been a selfish person. I've always valued the happiness of the people I care about and mine personally over people I don't know, that part of me hasn't changed for sure but that doesn't mean I'm a sociopath. I still felt bad about things happening to people I don't know if they got a bad hand or something.

But even so, this is level of apathy is disturbing, to say the least.

"True, true. We'll do that then when the time comes. What was it that you said that one time? 'Every yen counts'?"

"Pennies but yeah, basically. We can still use our gold to make scrolls right? If remember correctly we have someone that can make scrolls, Titus or something?" I asked Ainz, trying to rattle my brain for who was in charge of scroll production.

"Titus Annaeus Secundus, yes. He specializes in making scrolls but I don't feel comfortable making scrolls just yet because of our limited supply of leathers or papers. Besides that scroll I gave you, I've made sure that no one else is using them at the moment until we can get some substitute materials to make them with." Ainz explained to me.

Titus Annaeus Secundus, if I remember correctly, is the Grand Liberian of the Ashurbanipal, the Grand Library of Nazarick. While I haven't talked to Titus yet, I do plan on visiting the Library at some point, at least to see what kind of books they have there and if there's anything useful that we missed.

Ainz told me that most of the books in Ashurbanipal are summoning books made from monster data crystals and because of how common they were, most of the summoning books in the Library were just to make it really difficult for invaders to find any of the magical items hidden there. Apparently, they had some literature from the real world in there due to Tab-san but I couldn't get a good look at it because of the servers shutting down.

"Also, Dracul," Ainz said to me in a terse tone with a faint red glow where his eyes were.

"Err...yeah, Momo?"

The only time Ainz ever used this tone with me is when I did something stupid, bad or both. I think the first time he ever used it was I tried to first fight Surtr, the Lord of Muspelheim and one of the more tougher raid bosses in YGGDRASIL.

At level 80.

Needless to say, Ainz and the others weren't too impressed, probably because I wiped out a nearby party that got dragged into it.

"Could you mind explaining why you opened up your inventory, in broad daylight, and threw tea in it?"

"Ah...well, you see, the reason is-" I tried to explain myself to the miffed Overlord before I heard something 'click' in my head.

"Sir Dracul, I have urgent news for you and Lord Momonga regarding the bandits." The voice of the Head Assassin entered in my mind all of a sudden.

"Report." I must've made a gesture or something because it seems like Ainz knew what had happened and stopped talking.

"The 'bandits' know of your presence in the village, Sir Dracul, but they still plan to attack the village tomorrow. Moreso, they plan to deploy a squad of 15 soldiers to attack both you and Lord Momonga. Simply give me the word, Sir, and we shall gladly deal with these lower life forms."

"No, not yet. Await further orders for now."

"Sir."

I told Ainz about what the Assassin just told me and asked what he thought we should do next.

He thought for a moment before saying:

"Order them to come back to the village and rendezvous with the Assassins in the village. We'll meet them in the evening on the outskirts of the forest."

"Right," I nodded and relayed what Ainz said to the Assassin.

"Understood Sir. I shall gather up the others and head there immediately."

"Good, we'll see there but one more thing. Momonga changed his name, it's Ainz Ooal Gown or just Ainz from now on."

"Understood Sir, I'll make sure to tell the others."

With that, I disconnected the [Message] and not a moment too soon either because I heard the front door open to see the Chief and his wife coming back from their meeting.

"W-we've managed to find a place for your stay, Sir A-Ainz." The Chief told us.

"Thank you for letting us stay the night," Ainz bowed his head slightly and got up from his chair, "If you could just lead us to where we're staying, that would be much appreciated."

"O-of course, if you would just follow me." The Chief bowed to Ainz before leading us to our abode for the night.

As we walked through the village with the Chief leading us, he told us we would stay at the village hall which is the only place we could stay in and still have privacy.

As we walked through Carne Village, I and Ainz saw that the 3 Assassins who were spying on the 'bandits' made their way through the village and talking with the other Assassins, probably to get to the meeting location.

Soon enough and with nary a sound, the village must've been devoid of the Eight Edge Assassins for the first time in days. We came upon to the village hall, a long single storey house that mostly consisted of one large hall with a bunch of chairs and tables and 2 shaggy looking beds in a corner.

"My apologies S-sirs, but this is the only-"

"It's fine," Ainz interrupted the Chief, "This is more than enough. I think we'll be fine on our own in here."

"O-of course, Sir Ainz. I'll take my leave." The Chief said, getting the hint and left the large hall with only myself and Ainz in here.

"You know, I was thinking this back in the Chief's house but I might really be spoiled by Nazarick," I said to Ainz as I look around the aged wooden hall with the corners being damp and rotting.

The beds weren't much better, more like straw with a dirty blanket on top and a pillow that I'm pretty sure is filled with just more straw.

I appreciate the fact that they tried at least but I don't think anything will ever rival my bed in Nazarick.

Now I just want to go back to Nazarick and sleep. Great.

"I get what you mean, the difference is quite striking, to say the least. I don't think you can even fit on the bed." Ainz said as he gazed around our place for the night.

"Yeah and I'm sure as hell not changing forms now but I think I'll survive for the night," I told him as I wandered about and trying to find somewhere to sit.

I get the feeling that if I tried to sit on anything, even the tables, it would break under my own weight.

Don't know how that makes me feel, to be honest.

"Now then, Dracul…" I heard Ainz say behind me.

Oh no.

"Let's talk about your use of the inventory and tea in public, shall we?"

Damn it.

.

---

.

As the Overlord of Nazarick looked out of the dirty and cracked window of the village hall into the night sky filled with bright spots like glittering diamonds, he thinks to himself that he'll never get over this sight.

Back in his old world, the pollution was so thick and corrosive that the only way to see greenery or stars would be in a book or online. Here, it was as simple as looking out a window.

At this time of night, Ainz Ooal Gown is probably the only one awake in the whole village but that's due to him being undead and being unable to sleep rather than anything else.

He's still can't decide if it's a blessing or a curse just yet.

The only noise that Ainz could hear in the sleeping village is the slight snores of a sleeping Dragon.

Ains looked over to his side to see his young friend sat down on the floor, his back against the wall and Balmung laying up against his right shoulder. He still wore his armour and the only thing that even told Ainz that he's sleeping is the light snores coming from his helmet.

Ainz wondered if Dracul knew that every time he snored in his sleep, he made plumes of smoke that wafted out of under his helmet. He presumed they came out of Dracul's snout but he couldn't be sure without seeing.

Dracul tried to convince Ainz that he could afford not sleeping for the night to be ready as soon as possible for tomorrow. Ainz rightfully pointed out that only one of them needs sleep and Ainz could just keep watch anyway.

Dracul pouted and grumbled a bit but he relented eventually and soon enough he was asleep by the window Ainz was staring out of.

He hoped the plumes of smoke didn't happen in his human form. That would be awkward to explain and make pretending to be humans much harder.

Pretending to be human.

Had they already come to such a state that they have to pretend to be human? That they already forgot what it means?

Ainz let out a sigh and thought back to what Dracul said, back in Nazarick when they were planning on what to do with these 'bandits'.

"We're going to kill people, Momonga. Humans, even if they're trash."

When Dracul told him about the 'bandits' going to attack the village his first thought was to simply not do anything, to just leave the village to its fate. The village had served their purpose, they had vital information with minimal risk and there wasn't a reason to endanger themselves or Nazarick for a simple village.

Except that Dracul felt there was a reason, a debt that only Dracul himself probably felt.

When Dracul suggested his plan of sending in the Eight Edge Assassins squad to deal with the 'bandits', to say that he was surprised and...disturbed would be an understatement.

It was a brutally efficient plan and it wasn't half bad, but to just write off so many lives like that and so fast... Ainz couldn't help but think if that Goblin attack did something to Dracul.

And if that was the case, what about tomorrow?

What about when they start to kill Humans, like Dracul said?

Would that make it worse? Would Dracul change even more? What about him? Would Ainz start to become even worse than he is now?

Ainz promised he would get Dracul back home but to have already stained his hands with blood and now Ainz is taking him, a 16-year old boy, into a battlefield to kill…

What kind of friend is he to do such a thing? As the eldest, he should be making sure that the youngest would not be dragged into such thing like this.

But here he is, doing it anyway.

Ainz felt trapped. He felt like there is nothing he can do for Dracul, nothing to make sure he doesn't change for the worst. If he just left him in Nazarick with the NPCs, Ainz thought that Dracul might just drop all pretences and run off after him anyway and possibly make enemies of the NPCs.

Ainz shook his head slightly to clear his head and tried to focus on the positive, little as there is.

Dracul still wanted to get more involved to save the village than Momonga wanted and he still acted roughly the same. Thankfully, he can restrain himself among the NPCs and not call him 'Momo', at least in public.

And Dracul's conversation with that girl, Anri or something, showed to Ainz that Dracul can still hold a conversation and not get angry like he seemed to be when they first made contact with the village.

When Ainz asked him about it, all he did was just shrug and said:

"I like her. She still talked to us even though she was scared."

While Ainz couldn't understand what he meant, he just took it for what it is and left it at that.

Ainz thought back to the meeting they had with the Assassins about the 'bandits' and what little else they learned. While the Assassins main mission was to make sure the 'bandits' didn't attack anytime sooner rather than gather intelligence on them, it was worth to see what the Assassins had learned which turned out to be nothing at all. It wasn't a big deal to Ainz or Dracul because they could learn all they want tomorrow.

Ainz looked out the window into the night sky once more, his mind exhausted and his shoulders heavy.

And he saw it, rising over the horizon as if reading his thoughts and mocking him.

The red dawn of a new day.

.

---

.

It was a familiar smell that awoke me, acrid and heavy in the air.

My eyes shot open and I looked out the window that I was sleeping against to see what was happening.

I saw some of the houses burning and some men in grey plate armour cutting down some of the villagers like pigs to a slaughter with screams to match.

But that wasn't what interested me, surprisingly.

What interested me is the group of soldiers, 15 in total, with their swords drawn and approaching the hall.

"Good morning Dracul, I was just about to wake you." I heard Ainz say behind me and looking out the window as well.

"Good morning," I said with a grim voice, "This just started?"

"Yes," Ainz nodded and I rose up from the floor, holding Balmung in one hand, "Are you ready, Dracul? If you want, you can still back out. We've already learned all we can from them. You don't need to risk your life for them."

There was something in Ainz voice that I couldn't quite figure out but I didn't have enough time to figure out what it was.

"No, Momo," I shook my head, "If anything, we owe them more than we did back then. Plus, if you really think I'm gonna run away when something like this happens and just let you deal with it, you've got another thing coming."

"We came here together, Momo. I'm not abandoning you when shit happens."

At this point, I could hear one of the soldiers swearing and throwing abuse at the others.

"Cowards, all of you! Afraid of some no-name Mage and his mercenary bodyguard? Pathetic!"

"C-Captain, these aren't peasants we're fighting, we need to take precaut-"

"Did I say you could speak?!"

Okay, this is getting annoying.

"I see...then, are you ready, Dracul?" Ainz asked me, either not hearing outside or just not caring about it.

"Yeah," I nodded, walking up to the front door and hearing the Captain making his way to us.

I lifted up my left arm and gently push the door open.

"Let's go be Heroes."

.

---

.

Captain Belius is furious.

It was obvious to all those under his command, especially to the squad he was apart of right now.

When he was told that he was in charge of a squad to kill some unknown Adventurers, to say he was less than pleased would be an understatement.

No one knew why he is so angry about his assignment, but they didn't really care either. They were used to it by now.

"And you call yourselves soldiers of the Slane Theocracy?! Pah, let me deal with these worthless scum then."

No one bothered telling him that they were wearing armour with the Baharuth Empire's symbol emblazoned on it.

The Captain swaggered up to the door, unaware of the danger that laid behind it.

"Honestly," Belius grumbled, "What a waste of my ti-"

Before he could even finish speaking, the door slowly swayed opened.

When the door opened, a figure stepped out as if unafraid of the assassins in front of it and stopped in front of Captain Belius.

They all had been briefed about their targets, what they look like and what they might be capable of.

But none of them could believe the red mountain of a man before them could be human.

The blood red visage of a Dragon greeted them with a cold silence and a colossal dark red sword with steel grey edges that shone in his right hand as if it weighs nothing.

The Dragon looked down at the Captain in front of him and stared at him, the visage of the Dragon boring into his eyes.

Judging him.

The Captain felt a cold shock go through his whole body, his instincts screaming at him to run.

He ignored them.

Sneering at the Red Dragon, he raised his sword to cut him down.

At that moment, instead of a clash of swords they expected to hear, they heard something else.

It was a scream cut short, strangled.

Before the Captain could even react, the Dragon shot out his left hand and grabbed him by his neck, hefting him up off the ground and bringing him to the Dragons height.

Belius dropped his sword in shock at being lifted by his neck so suddenly and the force of the grab rattling his bones. He tried to pry open the hand that held him.

It didn't work.

He tried beating his fists against it, a burning sensation on his neck getting hotter and hotter by the second.

It didn't work.

"What are you idiots doing?!" Belius shouted, his voice hoarse and the burning sensation on his neck becoming unbearable, "Kill him!"

Snapping out the other soldiers with his shouting, one rushed towards the Red Dragon to strike him down.

In the short time the Red Swordsman had appeared, they had forgotten that he was not alone.

"[Dragon Lightning!]" a deep baritone voice yelled out from inside the house.

In an instant, a streak of white lightning that took on the shape of a dragon shot from the doorway of the village hall and struck the soldier going for the attack. The lightning cooked him inside his own armour, killing him instantly, not giving him any time to scream.

He fell down like a puppet with its strings cut and smoke coming from the cooked corpse.

Another figure came out of the doorway, making his presence known.

The Black Mage with a twisted golden staff and a jeering red mask came out of the village hall and his left hand crackled with lightning.

"Hmph, seems like measly 5th Tier spells work well enough." The Black Magic Caster said in a dismissive tone and causing the rest of the soldiers to be taken aback by what he said.

" Really? Then we must've overestimated these guys," A harsh guttural voice said to the Mage, "You could probably deal with them by yourself."

As soon as the soldiers heard that voice, they knew who had spoken.

"Wh-who do you thi-!" Captain Belius started to say before a sickening crunch silenced him.

The Red Swordsman dropped Belius and he crumpled to the floor like a bag of meat, his neck twisted in unnatural ways and crushed with an iron grip looking at the rest of soldiers with blank eyes.

The rest of the assassins took a step back from these two monsters, fear for their lives outweighing reason or sense.

"[Triplet Magic: Blazing Arrows]" That same low. grating voice said aloud.

Above the Dragon's head, 9 long and thin arrow-like flames blazed in existence.

Before the soldiers could react, the 9 [Blazing Arrows] fired onto them.

Those who ran were shot down. Those who tried to defend themselves found their weapons and armour melted into slag.

Some had their hearts shot out and charred, others had heads explode in a shower of blood, bone and brains like a ripe fruit being popped.

In a matter of moments, only 4 of the 15 that were sent still lived.

Seeing their comrades decimated in such short and brutal order, their minds finally snapped.

"Ahhhhh! Monsters!" One of them screamed, having thrown himself on the ground in an attempt to protect himself from the arrows.

The soldier scrambled up in a frantic effort to run away, taking his eyes off the Dragon.

The next moment, a spray of blood had burst forth from his neck as his head was severed from his body.

Moving faster than they could react, the Red Swordsman had appeared with his sword in hand, dripping with fresh blood and growled out a single disdain filled word:

"Coward."

Whipping around to his right he swung his sword and cut down the soldier, blood spurting into the air. The body fell over, cut in twain, viscera covering the ground.

The two soldiers left alive trembled with fear but can't will their bodies to run lest they are cut down as well.

Until a deep voice yelled out:

"[Chain Dragon Lightning!]"

Before they could react, that same white dragon-like lightning arced from the outstretched finger of the Black Mage and struck one of the soldiers, cooking him alive.

The last soldier dropped his sword and turned tail, running from the two monsters. He ran back towards the forest, hoping to lose them amongst the trees.

He didn't see the dragon-like lightning chasing him and no one but the Black Mage and Red Swordsman heard his screams when it caught him.

.

---

.

Well, that was...something.

I mean, really?

We were worried about these guys?

I mean, there's still the matter of the mages I guess but…

Jesus, if I had to say these guys must be level 8 at the most. I don't how it looked to Ainz but to me, they seemed to move slow, almost like wading through thick cement when they attacked.

I raised Balmung to my eye, examining the blood that dripped from the blade.

As I thought, I didn't really get grossed out by the blood or even the gore littering the ground. Good to know because throwing up in the middle of a fight would just cause me to die of embarrassment.

With a flick of my wrist, all the blood slid off the sword and splattered onto the ground, making it as clean as it was before.

Huh, that actually worked.

"Dracul? Are you okay?" I heard Ainz walking towards me.

I knew what he was asking. I didn't even get touched and if I did, [High Tier Physical Immunity III] would kick in and make all their attacks useless.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you? How do you feel after that...fight, I guess we would call it."

"I'm fine. As for how I feel...well, I guess we really stopped being human in mind as well as body. I felt nothing as we killed them." Ainz told me as we walked to my side, looking down at the bodies strewn about.

"Yeah...I feel the same," I said to him before shaking my head, "Come on, Momo. We have a village to save. We've wasted enough time and we can talk about this later."

Nodding his head, Ainz said:

"That we have. Let's go, Dracul."

Without a further word, we both walked towards the burning village.

.

---

.

As we walked through the village, we quickly killed any and all soldiers that we found along with saving the few villagers still left alive.

We found out from the villagers and one soldier we 'interrogated' that most of the villager had been rounded up in the centre, presumably to make it easier to slaughter them.

Speaking of that soldier, I took a quick glance behind me to see the towering Death Knight following us.

Ainz told me that me about Death Knights and their skills to survive with 1 HP so I wasn't surprised that he wanted to make one just in case and he also said that he wanted to test something about his Necromancy.

What did surprise me was the way it was made.

I don't think I'll ever get used to Necromancy. Still cool though.

As we got closer to the centre of the village, I could just see a group of villagers all huddled together in a big group with about 25 soldiers closing in on them, thankfully being idiots and not rushing the slaughter.

Just as I was about to run over to stop them, we heard a scream come from somewhere else.

A scream of a little girl, a child.

"Fuck!" I whipped my head to where the scream came from and the soldiers about to kill the whole village.

Even if I wasn't human any longer, leaving a child to die left a bitter taste in my mouth. They couldn't defend themselves and they're children for fuck sake.

"Dracul," I heard Ainz say besides me, "Go and save the villagers. I'll make sure the child is alright."

Before I could say anything, Ainz put his hand on the Death Knight and said:

"[Greater Teleportation]" and whisked away in a small flash of light.

"Hmph, dick," I said fondly to the empty air. I turned around the village centre and tensed my legs, ready for a leap.

"Thanks, Momo."

Making sure to hold back, I pushed my legs and leapt.

One moment I was a couple of yards away from the group of villagers about to be killed.

The next, I'm behind a soldier that was about to kill the Chief and his wife, with my hand curled into a fist and raised above the soldier.

I threw my fist down onto the soldiers head, popping it with a shower of blood and gore and covering the Chief, his wife and me in blood.

"Wh-" I heard one of the soldiers said to my right.

Not willing to lose momentum, I swung Balmung down on him in a vertical slice, cutting him down the middle and causing guts and blood to fall on Balmung, while I said:

"[Triplet Magic: Blazing Arrows]"

Nine familiar arrows made of flame formed above my head and shot out, each seeking a different target.

While the arrows are killing their targets, I didn't stop. I reached out my left hand to grab the soldier to my left by the head, lifting him up.

By the time I had grabbed the soldier, who is now screaming and trying to cut off my arm with his sword, the [Blazing Arrows] had already killed their targets, either by burning through their chests or going through their heads.

In a moment, 11 people had died by my hand and only 14 were left.

"Sergeant Londes!" I heard one of the soldiers cry out, causing the man in my grip to scream something.

Oh, an officer? Then I know what to do then.

Ramping up my [Burning Touch] to the max, the soldier's head in my grip suddenly lights up in a blaze of flames, the pain of being burned alive causing him to frantically swing his sword to try and cut off my arm.

It didn't work.

They couldn't see my eyes but I kept staring at each and every one of them in a sort of dare to try something.

Guessing how their mouths gaped and some had fallen to the ground in terror, I don't think they wanted to test me.

Soon, I no longer felt any fists beating my arm and I let my grip go lax.

Make that 12.

I didn't look at the corpse but going by the screams, I guess it didn't look pretty.

I looked at the soldiers, some of their blades slick with blood and felt a familiar anger raise up in me and suddenly my vision turned red.

"Cowards," I growled out all of a sudden, causing said cowards to flinch, "Do you think yourselves warriors? Do you think yourselves strong, killing those that won't fight back? And now that someone is here that can fight back, you cry and piss yourselves with fear."

"Trash like you," I carried on, Balmung starting to boil the blood and setting fire to the guts stuck on it, "Deserves to burn."

Before I could do anything, I heard a voice call out above me of all places.

"That's enough, Dracul."

I looked up above me to see Ainz with the Death Knight by him and I felt myself calm down, even if it was a little bit.

Ainz gently floated down to my side with the Death Knight by him, its heavy footstep making a big clunk when it landed.

"Greetings, gentleman. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown and I see you've already met my companion, Dracul." Ainz waved his hand to me as I snorted at his nonchalant attitude.

"If you throw down your arms, I can guarantee that Dracul will take no further action and your lives will be spared. However, if you would like to-"

Before Ainz could finish speaking, someone threw down their sword.

Soon after, all the others followed in a loud clatter of swords being thrown on the ground.

Huh, must've made an impression.

"Hmm, you must be tired but don't you think you're being a bit too arrogant with heads held up so high?"

In a mad scramble, they all hastily fell to their knees and making a racket in the process, looking like they were criminal awaiting their execution.

Ainz looked over them in silence before saying:

"I will permit you to live this day. However, in return, tell your owners, your masters, this:"

No doubt using [Fly], Ainz glided to one of the soldiers kneeling. He saw Ainz approach him and his whole body started shaking.

Ainz gripped the helmet and rips it off, showing a man with exhausted eyes and their gaze met.

"This village and this area is under the protection of Ainz Ooal Gown and Dracul. If they return and cause trouble again, then their country will be naught but ash and death."

"Do you understand?" The soldier nodded his head rapidly, his whole body trembling and his face ghostly pale.

"Good. Leave and make sure to relay this to your masters." Ainz said dismissively.

Seeing that was their cue to leave, the soldiers scrambled like rabbits in a mad dash to live.

I made my way to Ainz's side after his little speech, the Death Knight following me.

"Ainz, you alright?" I asked him after flicking off all the gunk and guts on Balmung.

"I am fine, Dracul, but…" Ainz trailed off.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

Through all of this, we still hadn't met one magic caster.

Where the hell were they?

"Ah...Sir Ainz, Sir Dracul…" I heard a tired voice call out to us.

I turned my head to see the Chief who's looking at us in wonder along with the rest of the villagers.

"Do not worry. You've been saved and there are no bandits left." Ainz said aloud to the gathered villagers who murmured among themselves uncertainty.

"Of course, this wasn't for free. I expect a reward for our efforts in saving this village and proportional to the amount of villagers we saved."

"Ah, but with the village being in such a state, we ca-"

"That is fine. Tend to your dead and take some time to calm down. I managed to save a young child and her sister. I shall bring them here to you."

Without letting the Chief speak, Ainz turned around with a flourish of his robe and started walking back into the village with the Death Knight and me in tow.

.

---

.

As I walked along the outskirts of the village, I found my thoughts wandering to the battle.

I told Ainz that I should patrol around the village in case the 'bandits' decide to attack again or get revenge.

They wouldn't, of course. They were so scared and so outmatched that it's insane. They would have to be idiots to attack again.

And Ainz knew that as well but he still let me patrol, probably to set the villagers at ease. Plus I wanted some time to myself to just reflect on how I felt.

Or how I didn't feel, really.

I replayed the battles in my mind a couple of times by now to try and find something, anything, that I might feel about.

To my surprise and absolute disgust, I did.

For the most part, like Ainz, I felt nothing when I killed the soldiers. It was just another chore to be done.

Except for one instance.

It was the person who tried to run away, the one who screamed at me and Ainz for being monsters.

It wasn't that he called us monsters or anything.

It was the fact that he tried to run.

When I saw him get up, ready to abandon his comrades in a selfish desire to live, I felt something in me snap.

Not only do they try to attack Ainz and me, not only do they try to attack a village under our protection, he had the audacity and cowardice to run? To let his comrades die in his place so that he can live?

When I beheaded him, for a single solitary moment I felt some sort of sick satisfaction at what I did.

"Honestly, normal people shouldn't feel that sort of thing," I grumbled to myself as I patrolled by myself around the village, not caring about the villagers pointing and whispering.

I knew in my mind that I should feel disgusted and apprehension at what I did but I suppose it's like Ainz said:

"I guess we really stopped being human in mind as well as body."

"Uhm...Lord Dracul?" I heard a young woman's say behind me, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I looked behind me to see a young woman, Enri Emmot if I remember correctly, standing behind me and shuffling about uncomfortably. Her eyes are red and puffy.

Wait, Lord?

"I-I just wanted to thank you. For saving my home and the others," Enri bowed to me at the waist, "If it wasn't for Lord Ainz, my little sister, she would be…" Enri's eyes started to water.

Christ, she's tearing up.

Bloody hell, I have to say something before she makes a scene!

"But she isn't, is she? She still lives?" I asked, trying to make my voice as softest as I could.

Looking shocked that I had spoken aloud, she rapidly nodded her head and wiped her eyes clean.

"Yes, yes she does. She's sleeping at a friends house right now."

"Then don't dwell on that. Just be happy that she's alright and still lives."

Comforting people has never been a thing I've been good at. In fact, I'm terrible at it and that's to people I actually care about.

Enri looked at me, surprise written on her face before she smiled at me and bowed again.

"Of course, Lord Dracul. Thank you."

I nodded to her and started to move out again but I heard her call out to me before I could leave.

"Erm! Lord Dracul, just wait a moment please!" I turned around to see Enri jogging after me.

"I-I was hoping I could ask you some questions?"

"...I'm on patrol, in case they try to attack again," I explained to her.

"A-ah, I see, then excu-"

"If you still wish to ask me questions," I interrupted, causing Enri to look at me, "Then you can accompany me."

"O-oh, okay then!" I started walking again with Enr in tow now, causing all the other villagers to gape at the somewhat amusing scene of me and Enri walking side by side.

"Uhm…My little sister, Nemu, was injured quite heavily but Lord Ainz gave her a red potion that I didn't recognize. After she drank it, her wounds healed but afterwards, she fell asleep…"

"That was a Minor Health Potion. Do not worry, the potion would've only healed her wounds. I suspect that she was exhausted and simply needed some rest for one so young."

Enri let out a breath and her shoulders sagged like a weight had been lifted, "That's good to hear then. Thank you, Lord Dracul."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I asked all of a sudden.

"E-eh?"

"Lord. I'm not nobility. There's no reason to call me Lord."

I could get why the NPCs called Ainz Lord and they called me Sir but I don't see why Enri and by proxy the other villagers might call me Lord.

"W-well, because you and Lord Ainz saved our village, our home. I-it only seems right, do you not like it? I'm so-"

Before she could start rambling, I held up my hand, "Calm down. You didn't offend me. I simply wished to know why you called me Lord. If you must call me something, Sir Dracul works. I'm not nobility so there is no reason to call me Lord."

Enri blinked at me, probably because that was the longest she heard me speak, "O-of course, Lo-Sir Dracul."

She reached behind her to take something off that was dangling from her hip and presented me a pair of familiar horns.

"Lord Ainz gave me these horns and said to use them if I was in trouble, but he didn't say what they did…"

I held out my hand to her in which she looked at it for a moment before giving it to me. I held up the horn to take a good look at it.

"These horns are a magical item called 'Horns of the Goblin General'. If you were to blow it, a squad of heavily trained Goblins would be summoned and under your command with you as their master."

"E-eh!? Really?!" Enri looked absolutely floored by what I just said which confused me a bit.

I mean, they're only Goblins. Maybe it's my racism against Goblins speaking but they're worth about as much as a Lizardman.

"Really. Though Ainz or I never found a use for it, you can keep them. They're not very useful to us." I answered honestly, not really bothering to hide how shit they were.

I gave her back the other horn which she took back gingerly like it was a precious item.

She looked at the pair of horns in her grasp, biting her bottom lip in thought.

"Do you plan on using them?" I asked bluntly.

She looked back up at me and then back down at the horns, "...If you don't mind me asking, what do you think, Sir Dracul?"

Huh, didn't expect that.

I stayed silent while I thought it over, an uncomfortable silence hanging over us until she spoke up suddenly.

"...My parents, my mother and father, they...they didn't survive," Enri said in a quiet and somber tone, "And I almost lost my little sister. The only reason she's still alive is because of you and Lord Ainz."

I kept quiet while she told me this. I couldn't think of anything to say so I just didn't.

But I do have some advice to give to her. To make sure that she doesn't feel helpless again at least.

"Without father, without mother, we only have each other now and as the older sibling, it's my duty to protect her, now more than ever."

"And I even almost failed that."

While I couldn't see her face, I did start to see her shoulders shake and hear small hiccups coming from her.

"...I think that this is your choice to make, Enri." I told her.

She looked up at me when I used her name but I carried on.

"You were lucky this time. It's as you said, the only reason that your sister still lives is because of Ainz, but what if you're attacked again? What if one of the bandits decides he wants revenge and comes back?"

"You have a choice: To remain weak or to become strong. I can't make that choice for you."

I turned my head to look at Enri's face with tears now dripping down her cheeks and making her eyes even more red and puffy than before.

She opened her mouth to say something back, but before she could, someone interrupted her.

"Uhm, I'm sorry to interrupt…" We both turned around to see a young man looking like he wants to be anywhere else, "But we're holding the burying ceremony right now, Enri, and Lord Ainz would like to meet you there, Lord Dracul."

"T-thank you, I'll be right there," Enri said while I nodded my head.

Enri wiped her eyes again and looked at me with a small smile, "Thank you, Sir Dracul." She bowed to me again.

"You're welcome. Come, I believe we're going to the same place."

Granted, I doubt the Horns will help her much but it would be a start.

Enri nodded her head and walked off as I followed her to the graveyard.

.

---

.

Ainz Ooal Gown, Dracul and the Death Knight stood away from the rest of the village as they prayed and paid their respects to the dead. The Village Chief recited verses that neither Dracul nor Ainz recognized, not from their world or YGGDRASIL.

As Ainz and Dracul watched the service, the Overlord held a small wand made of Ivory, capped with gold and covered with runes.

It was a Wand of Resurrection, an item from YGGDRASIL that resurrects the dead at a cost of Experience Points.

Ainz thumbed the Wand hidden within his robe, debating on what to do.

Taking advantage of the Village Chiefs gratitude, not only did he ask back the 60 gold coins he had given to him, he also asked a variety of questions that might've seemed strange to ask before.

One of those questions was on Magic and what this world's Magic is like.

One of the things the Village Chief said that Magic couldn't resurrect the dead but Ainz knew for a fact that the item he held could do that very thing. If he was to use it, to create a miracle…

But Ainz hesitated. Ainz didn't care about the Gods or anything like that.

He simply didn't see the benefit of doing so.

At Dracul's wish, they had come to this village and saved it. Though Ainz had his worries about such a plan, he couldn't deny the fact that they received much needed and valuable information, though Ainz plans to take himself and Dracul to the city called E-Rental to become adventurers for more nuanced information, especially about people of notice or strength.

But now? Now they offered nothing and Ainz's major worries were the safety of Nazarick, Dracul and himself, not some villagers.

Ainz shifted his gaze to his right, to see Dracul standing there, motionless with Balmung on his back and his dark red cape hiding his inhuman traits.

But Ainz's wasn't alone. He couldn't in his right mind not involve his friend in a decision like this.

"Dracul," Ainz whispered to his friend, causing him to shift his head slightly.

He flashed Dracul a look of the Wand that Ainz held within his sleeve, careful that no one else saw.

Dracul knew what Ainz was trying to say and looked over to the mourning villagers, specifically 2 sisters, one older with bright blond hair and the young one with dirty red hair. The younger sister weeps silently while her older sister holds her and whispers soothing words.

One part of Dracul wanted to say yes. That it was the right thing to do.

The other part wanted to say no. That they shouldn't waste it.

After a moment, Dracul made his decision and whispered:

"No. We've done enough."

Ainz nodded, trying to not show his relief and put the Wand back into his inventory.

Soon after, Ainz and Dracul left the burial service with the Death Knight in tow and the Sun sets over the battle-hardened village with a soft red glow of the evening.

.

---

.

"Wait, so these guys had the Baharuth Empire emblazoned on their gear but they could be from the Slane Theocracy instead?" I asked in bewilderment as Ainz told me what he could learn from the Chief.

"It's possible. We should've kept one of them for questioning but there's nothing we can do about it now. Our only choice of action right now is to wait and see what happens. We should have enough goodwill with the Kingdom so we should be safe for now." Ainz reassured me.

Both Ainz and I are walking on a road back to the village so we didn't interrupt the funeral. Ainz just told me about his theory that these soldiers might've actually been a part of the Theocracy rather than the Empire.

"Great," I resisted the urge to palm my face in frustration, "Of course we piss off the one country that has more religious fervour than a place called the 'Holy Kingdom'."

"I doubt we've done more than put ourselves on a list for now but it's not them I'm worried about. I'm more afraid of Players from YGGDRASIL and if they'll be hostile or not."

"Ah, you mean because of the Guild's rep?" I asked Ainz who nodded to my question.

"Yes. We made quite a lot of enemies back in YGGDRASIL due to our PKing activities and for how no one could beat Nazarick. It's possible that we might meet someone who holds a grudge or, even worse, another Guild."

"Well, I hope we don't meet any Lizardmen then because I'm pretty sure I've met them before then." I offered in a far too chipper voice.

"How many did you even PK?" Ainz questioned me with incredulity.

"Not enough because people were still playing them."

Ainz just sighed at my answer as I just laughed at his reaction. I let out a sigh as we both walked in a comfortable silence.

I looked over at the Sun in the bright red sky, now lowering ever so slowly over the horizon and covering Carne Village in a gentle warmth.

"You know, I don't think I've seen a real sunset before or at least a proper one. What about you, Momo?"

He turned to look at the Sun as well, "No, I don't think have. It's quite the sight."

Ainz and I just stared at the sunset for a while, memorised by a sight we've never seen before.

"Dracul," I heard Ainz say my name softly, "...Can I ask…"

I turn my head to look at Ainz, confused at his sudden change of tone.

"Ainz? You alright?"

"...No, it's nothing important," Ainz shakes his head, "We should go and say our farewells to the Chief and the rest of village."

"Ainz, you are okay, aren't you?" I ask him in a worried tone.

Ainz just nods his head, "Dracul, I'm fine. It was nothing important."

I stare at him and give him a once over, trying to see any wounds just in case. I didn't see anything and I didn't want to push the issue, at least not here.

"Well, if you say so…" I said uncertainly as we made our way to the Chief's house.

We walk to the Chief's house to find him and a group of villagers around him, looking worried.

Oh great, what now?

Ainz must've seen the look on their faces as he asked:

"Is there an issue, Chief?"

The group finally took notice of us when Ainz spoke and the Chief adopted a hopeful expression.

"Ah, Lord Ainz, Sir Dracul. It appears there seem to be some soldiers on horseback approaching the village…"

I couldn't help but raise my brow at that, even though no one could see it.

Really? I doubt these guys are the Mages but I didn't think the village would be attacked again so soon. What awful luck this place has.

"I see…" Ainz mumbled, looking at the crowd gathered around us.

They all looked at Ainz and me with hopeful expressions on their faces and I felt myself grow a bit annoyed.

Not at the villagers, it's only natural for them to look to us for safety after what we did last time.

No, I'm annoyed at these idiots that dare to attack our village, the village we just went through the effort of saving.

Something tells me I'm gonna have to deal with these flashes of emotions every once in a while.

"In that case, leave it to me. Gather everyone to the Chief's house," Ainz said, causing a wave of relief among the villagers present, "Death Knight, go to the Chief's house and guard the survivors gathered there."

The Death Knight gave an emotionless nod and he walked to the Chief's house to take up position as a bell rung throughout the village.

And then I heard it, faintly and at the edge of my hearing.

Horses galloping.

"Do not worry. This time will be free." I heard Ainz say to the Chief as I whipped my head round to the source of the noise.

"Dracul?" Ainz said to me in surprise.

"...I can hear some Horses galloping. They'll be here soon." I told Ainz.

"Then let us wait. We still don't know if they're same soldiers as before so no rash actions." Ainz said to me as we stood side by side.

"Hmph, I won't do anything if they won't."

For awhile the three of us stood there, waiting as the sounds of galloping Horses got closer and soon enough, some figures could be seen in the distance.

The horses had stopped galloping and now slowed down to a light trot and allowing me to a get better look at them.

"They're different. These aren't the same soldiers as last time." I said aloud as Ainz hummed in agreement.

The other soldiers, the ones that bore the emblem of the Empire, all wore the same uniform, the same heavy plate armour and even the same weapons. They were perfectly uniform which I suppose was on purpose.

The group in front of us, on the other hand, is the exact opposite:

Some wore helmets, others didn't, though I could see all their faces.

Others wore full plate, while some wore leather with chainmail underneath it.

Even their weapons were varied amongst themselves, some held spears and maces while others held bow and swords.

On one hand, you could call them a veteran gang of soldiers.

On the other, they look like the definition of ragtag sellswords.

The man in front, who I presume is their leader, is the fiercest looking out of all of them. He had a short black trimmed hair and a short beard. With broad shoulders and thick muscles, the words Brickhouse sprung to mind. His eyes are constantly on watch of his surroundings though he eventually saw us. His gaze lingered on the Death Knight for a moment before coming to me.

He looked straight at me without flinching, his gaze hard and calculating.

I had no idea what he was thinking, but I could see that this man is a cut above the ones that attacked this village, along with his men.

I felt the familiar flare of competition rise up in me like when I first met Cocytus and I had to stop myself from drawing Balmung.

I'm not a battle junkie, am I? I mean, I liked fighting back in YGGDRASIL but that wasn't real so that shouldn't count.

Bollocks, I hope it doesn't.

While I was lost in my thoughts, he eventually switched his stern gaze to Ainz, same as he did to me.

Is this an intimidation tactic? I feel like the heavily armed band of veterans would be enough but apparently not.

Eventually having enough of staring at us in silence, he spoke up in a deep and grave voice:

"I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By the orders of the King, I have been visiting each frontier village to exterminate the knights from other countries that are causing trouble."

His deep voice echoed throughout the village and causing some commotion among the villagers.

"T-The Warrior-Captain?!" I heard the Chief whisper behind me.

Now that's a title. Actually, I wonder if this is the guy the 'bandits' wanted to bait?

"Is this man famous?" I asked the Chief who nodded his head rapidly.

"According to the traders, he's the man who fought and won the championship of martial arts in front of the King himself and now he leads an elite group of soldiers loyal to the King."

I took another look at Gazef and I felt myself tense, ready to fight. He's slowly making his way to us now, never taking his eyes off me or Ainz.

"Is he strong?" I ask the most important question right now.

"...I do not know, Sir Dracul. I've only heard stories."

Great.

He did win a championship so I'll work under the assumption he can hold his own. Taking another look at the soldiers, I noticed they all had the emblem of the Kingdom on their armour so I doubt they've come here to cause trouble.

After making his way to the Chief and us, he looked down from horseback and asked:

"You must be the Chief of this village. Can you tell me who these two are beside you?"

Rude, we're standing right here.

"There's no need for that," Ainz interrupted before the Chief could speak, "My name is Ainz Ooal Gown and I am a magic caster. This is my companion, Dracul."

I nodded my head slightly as Ainz carried on, "We're travellers from a distant land and we came upon this village. They let us stay the night and in return, we saved it."

Almost immediately after Ainz finished speaking, Gazef dismounted from his horse and solemnly bowed his head.

"Thank you for saving this village. There are no words that I can express to the both of you for saving this village."

I heard the Chief gasp and the villagers in the house start muttering fiercely when Gazef bowed his head to us.

I suppose he must really be famous if they all know who he is and it must've been a strange sight to see such a famous and renowned person to bow his head to a couple of complete strangers.

Still, to bow like that all of a sudden just because we saved a village…

Reminds me of Touch in a weird way.

"We did not do it without asking for a reward, so do not worry about it."

"Oh? Are the both of you perhaps Adventurers then?" Gazef asked with surprise.

"Something like that."

Gazef took another look at me and Ainz, "You two seem strong... I'm afraid I haven't heard of either you though."

"That is to be expected. Dracul and I are on a journey at the moment and we were merely passing through. Our names may not have spread much."

"I see. I have no desire to waste two Adventurers time but I must know about the group of knights that attacked this village."

"That is fine, Warrior-Captain. I am more than happy to tell you everything about the knights," Ainz waved to me as I stepped forward, "Dracul here killed almost all of them. He and I will tell you what we know."

Gazef tilted his head upwards slightly to stare at my helmet and tried to probably catch a glimpse of my eyes or something.

"Killed?" Gazef muttered, a frown on his face, "Did you really kill them all, Sir…?"

Why did he trail off? Wait a minute, if this is like medieval times then…

"Just Dracul works," I spoke, causing some of the men behind Gazef to stiffen, "I don't need a surname. My job is to protect Ainz from danger and the knights were a danger to Ainz and myself."

For a given word of 'danger' but you know, he doesn't need to know that.

Gazef stared at me strangely but snapped out of it quickly, "I see. Are you Ainz's bodyguard then, Sir Dracul?"

"Something like that," I nodded.

"Then do you mind if I ask some questions?"

I shrugged my shoulders and turn my head to Ainz who gave a nod, "Go ahead."

"Thank you. First of all, what is that?" Gazef pointed to the Death Knight, just standing guard by the house.

"That is a minion I created so Dracul would not worry when he and I had to split up."

Okay, really? That's not even the reason you made the bloody thing in the first place!

"Alright," Gazef nodded, "And may I ask what the mask is about?"

"As a magic caster, I have my reasons for wearing this."

"Could I get you to take it off?"

I felt myself tense at his question and my vision suddenly zeroed on the Warrior-Captain.

Gazef and his men must've noticed that something changed when his eyes whipped up to look at me.

"That," Ainz said as the Death Knight started to stir behind him, "Would be a very bad idea."

Gazef took a moment and nodded gravely, "I see. I suppose it is the same for you, Sir Dracul?"

"Yes," I said simply, letting myself relax a little bit.

"Well, then. Can we take this discussion indoors for more details? I would like to hear everything you know about these knights."

"Hmm…" Ainz hummed looking at their weapons and back to the Chief.

"Chief, are you and the villagers alright with seeing so many weapons so soon after the attack?"

"Yes, Lord Ainz. We'll be fine."

Ainz nodded and turned back to Gazef, "Sorry for being rude, but the villagers have just been under attack. Had they not felt comfortable, I would have to ask you to leave your weapons behind."

"That's quite alright, Sir Gown. Had these weapons not been bestowed upon by the King, I would've done so in a heartbeat," Gazef gave Ainz an appreciative nod and turned to look at the Chief, "Also, I'm hoping to-"

I heard something on the edge of my hearing again and whipped my head around to the village square.

"Someone's coming," I said suddenly, causing everyone to look at me, "Someone on horseback, galloping. One of yours?" I asked Ganzef.

He frowned, but gave a single nod, "It must be. I left a couple of my men to scout the outskirts of the village. If one of them is coming back this soon, then that must mean…"

"They're back," I said grimly.

Soon enough, a single rider came galloping to us, looking ragged and out of breath.

"Captain!" He shouted desperately, "Captain, several figures have been spotted in the area around the village! They're surrounding the village and they're approaching!"

Oh.

So that's where the mages were.

.

---

.

After making sure all the villagers were in one spot, Ainz, Dracul and Gazef made their way into a house to get a good look at the invaders surrounding the village. From their spot inside the house, they could only see three slowly making their way to them with a fixed distance from each other.

The three figures wore no armour and held no weapons. They only had a black and white robe with a hood like mask covering their faces.

Gazef knew just as soon as he saw them that they were magic casters.

As if that isn't enough proof, the angels in the sky told him all he needed to know.

White shining armour, wings made of light and a flaming longsword in their hands, they are Archangels Flames, creatures from YGGDRASIL.

But Gazef didn't know what kind of angels they are and did not care. He cared only how strong they were.

"I see, so they're…" Gazef muttered under his breath, realising who the magic casters are and knowing why he was sent without the Kingdoms Five Treasures so suddenly.

Ainz stared out a window with Dracul looking over him to look out the same window like an ever-present shadow.

"Who are they?" Gazef heard the strange magic caster ask, "I doubt this village is that valuable."

Gazef turned his gaze to Ainz, "So you don't know them, Sir Gown? If they are not after you, there is only one answer…"

Ainz and Gazef eyes met as Dracula continued watching outside, his only interest in the mages outside and their summoned angels.

"It seems you've got some enemies, Captain."

Gazef smiled grimly, "I suppose there's no helping it because of my position but this… is a rather large problem for me, to say the least. For them to summon so many angels and with so many casters, they must be from the Slane Theocracy."

"The Slane Theocracy?" A guttural voice asked, causing Gazef to look up slightly at the helmet with a Dragons visage staring at him intently.

"Yes, and I suspect for them to be involved with a mission like this, this must be one of their special ops unit, one of the rumoured Six Scriptures. Numbers, strength and not to mention magic, we're completely outclassed."

Gazef grumbled about it like it wasn't a big issue, but inside he's angry and filled with anxiety.

"It was smart of them to separate the treasures from me and the Nobles of the Kingdom helped them out, no doubt," Gazef continued grumbling, "If that snake was sniffing around the court, I suppose we should count our blessings as they are. Still though, for the Theocracy to be after me…"

Gazef is trapped along with his men. He had been tricked and baited into this death trap of a village with no way out and no one to help him.

"Hmmm…" Dracul rumbled, "Ainz, are you seeing this? Aren't those Archangel Flames?"

Unless…

"Indeed they are or they at least look like them, but what are they doing here? Is it because the summoning magic is the same? If that is the case then…" Ainz started to mutter under his breath while Dracul continued to watch outside the window.

"Sir Gown, Sir Dracul, I would like to hire your services."

Both turned to stare at what the Warrior-Captain had said. They did not respond, merely giving him an intense stare.

"I can offer anything in compensation."

Ainz went to say something but hesitated at the last moment. He turns to look at Dracul who merely gave a shrug of indifference.

"I believe we must refuse."

Gazef frowned, "If we could just borrow your summoned knight…"

"I do not think so."

Gazef tried one last desperate move.

"And if I invoked royal law and forcefully drafted the both of you?"

In a instant, the atmosphere in the room changed. Gazef did not take his gaze of the magic caster known as Ainz Ooal Gown but he already knew what the chill on his spine and the pressure on his shoulders meant.

Gazef had met many warriors, some strong and talented like Brain Unglaus he had fought against in the tournament for the title of Warrior-Captain and to be crowned the strongest warrior in the Kingdom.

He had met some that had very little talent, like Climb but worked hard for his strength and worked endlessly to improve themselves even a little.

Gazef had even met warriors of different races, like the Lizardmen that travelled the world out of wanderlust. He had fought and killed monsters such as Trolls, Goblins and many more in his duties as the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

In all his travels, in all his fights that pushed him to the brink, he has never encountered anyone like Ainz Ooal Gown and Dracul.

Gazef knew that Ainz Ooal Gown held great magical strength and that Knight creature he had summoned only reinforced that notion. If that's the case, Ainz Ooal Gown had no need for a guard. He could protect himself with no issues.

Gazef had assumed, at first, that Ainz Ooal Gown had paid Dracul to protect him as a bodyguard on his travels, but as he continued to interact with them, he found that it's far more likely that Dracul and Ainz have known each other for awhile and should be far more than aware of each other's strength.

But that begs the question, how strong is Dracul himself, to protect such a strong magic caster?

Gazef had met many swordsmen, warriors and monsters, fighting to the death more often than not.

None of them or the fights he has been in, sent a chill down his spine like Dracul does.

Gazef is not blinded by arrogance despite his title of the Kingdoms Strongest Warrior and he can recognize when he is outmatched. Even he would be hard-pressed to kill so many of the Theocracy's soldiers in such a short time like Dracul had if what they say is true.

Whether by strength or by skill, Gazef admitted to himself that Dracul outmatched everyone he had fought up till now and even himself.

"That," Dracul growled, sounding more beast than man, "Would end very badly for you."

Gazef stared at Dracul and Ainz. Eventually, he broke his gaze and turned towards the window.

"I guess we would be annihilated before I could try, huh?"

Just as soon as it appeared, the pressure on Gazef shoulders had disappeared and he could see Dracul visibly relax, but he didn't take his eyes off Gazef.

"Thank you for understanding." Ainz said as if hadn't noticed the atmosphere in the room, "But…"

"Hmm?" Gazef hummed, looking at Ainz who had trailed off.

"I swear on the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, that Dracul and I will stay here and defend the village from these attackers."

Gazef's eyes widen at Ainz's announcement, "Really?"

"Really," Ainz nodded, "I and Dracul owe this village a debt, you see. We had hoped that defending it before would be enough, but if we run now just because of something like this, it would bring shame to the both of us."

"I see then," Gazef nodded with a relieved expression and bowed deeply to the two travellers, "In that case, thank you for defending this village. I truly have no other words to express my gratitude."

"N-No need to be like that," Ainz stumbled slightly, "I can assure you that Dracul and I will protect this village with our utmost ability."

"Then I can go into battle with a clear mind," Gazef stated clearly to the two travellers. Taking off his gauntlet, he shook Ainz hand, "You're doing an amazing thing, protecting the innocents. It was nice to meet the both of you."

Ainz shook Gazef bare hand with his gauntlet and Gazef went to shake hands with Dracul who took a moment before Dracul shook hands.

"Fight well, Captain." He simply said.

"Ha! I plan to, Sir Dracul." Gazef said after shaking hands with Dracul. He put his gauntlet back on and made his way to the door before a voice stopped him.

Gazef turned around to Ainz and saw him holding out his hand. In his open palm is a small wooden statue of something that Gazef didn't recognize.

"Please, take this. It's a...good luck charm, for our homeland. Who knows, it might bring you the luck you need." Ainz said to Gazef who took the small wooden statue and held it up to the light to take a good look.

Gazef didn't recognize it at all.

Gazef thought that these two had come from Argland or even the Dragon Kingdom, but now…

"If I may, before I leave, you two said you came from a distant land?"

Ainz and Dracul glanced at each other. Ainz nodded, both silent.

"What is its name?" Gazef asked simply.

"It...doesn't exist any longer. Dracul and I are the only ones that managed to stay together when it was destroyed." Ainz told Gazef who eyes lit up in understanding.

Now Gazef understood why they travelled together despite their strength.

"I see. Then, I wish you luck on your journey." Gazef bowed his once and set once again to meet his fate.

.

---

.

Both Ainz and I watched Gazef's figure ride into the distance with his men by his side. For an instance, I thought I saw his armour turn into pure white like a certain paladin but it was gone the next moment.

Even if I did unintentionally use [Draconic Presence I] when he said he was going to conscript us, I couldn't help but admire that fearlessness.

"I'm impressed, for him to just ride to his death like that…" Ainz said beside me as we watched Gazef ride off.

"Me too. Did you see the resemblance as well?" I asked Ainz.

"I did," Ainz nodded, "He reminds me of Touch me-san in a way."

"Yeah, same," I turn my head to look at Ainz, "Thanks, by the way."

"Hm? What for?"

"For staying to defend the village. I know you didn't like being here like this, but thanks. Means a lot to me that you promised as well." I said honestly without any sarcasm.

"I-well, we've already come this far," Ainz stammered, "And we both feel the same about leaving a job unfinished."

"Heh, yeah that's true. I saw that item you gave him by the way, gonna use it?" I asked as I heard some feet thumping against the ground.

"...Maybe, it'll depends on how his fight goes. As impressed as I am with Gazef, I'm not going to put you or me in needless danger. If however, we are in no danger at all then I see nothing wrong with swapping places."

"Fair enough," I shrugged and turn my head to see the Chief with two villagers beside him, "Heads up, the Chief is here."

"Lord Ainz, Sir Dracul," The Chief said with panting breaths, "Was that the Captain just now? Wh-why is he running away? Why isn't-?" The Chief started to rant, getting red in the face, before Ainz held up a hand to stop him.

"Have no fear. The Captain is the one they want and so he's gone off to fight them so this village doesn't become a battleground. This was the best option for you."

"A-ah, right then," The Chief bowed his in embarrassment over his anger, "In that case, what should we do? Should we stay here or…?"

"No, I'm sure they'll attack this village in search of survivors once the battle is over," Ainz said simply. As soon as he said the words, the Chief and the villagers besides him fell.

"I-I see then," The Chief said in a somber tone, no doubt realising that the Captain had sacrificed himself to buy time, "T-Then should we evacuate?"

"Hmm…" Ainz hummed, "Do you have someplace that can hold the villagers and is a ways from the village?"

"Err, yes, Lord Ainz. We have a warehouse where we store our tools and such. I can lead you to it, if you want?"

"Please do. Dracul," Ainz turned his head towards me, "Keep a watch on the battle. I doubt they plan to do anything while they're fighting, but just make sure they don't try anything."

"Will do," I nod to Ainz who turns back to the Chief.

"Now then, Chief, show me this warehouse and get the other villagers to it. I shall cast some magical spells that'll protect it and anyone who's inside it." Ainz said to the Chief who nodded.

"O-of course, Lord Ainz. Right this way." The Chief started walking off to the village with Ainz behind him. I turn around and made my way to where Gazef and his men rode off to.

After a couple of steps, I could see where Gazef and his are fighting against the Slane Theocracy. Something must've happened to Gazef's horse because I can't see it anywhere and he has his feet on the ground while his men are on horseback.

Gazef is fighting one on one with an Archangel Flame while other closed in around him. His men were doing their best to fight them, but either their swords bounced off the angel's armour or the angels attacked and killed them.

Taking my eyes off Gazef for a second, I look at the Slane Theocracy and its angels. As soon as I did, I spot something quite interesting.

"Well hello, Principality Observation. Nice to see you here."

At their backline with two pairs of glowing wings and holding a mace and shield is a Principality Observation, a mid-tier angel that could enhance the defence of any allies in its sight as long as it wasn't attacking.

And, funny thing, it isn't attacking anything. Just staying behind a man with blond hair and a scar running down the right side of his face who has a look of sadistic glee as Gazef fought for his life.

I switched back to Gazef who just managed to finally kill that angel he was fighting with. All I could see that he managed to cut through it sideways and it disintegrated into motes of light.

How the hell did he manage that? Archangel Flames have a passive that made normal weapons almost useless on them and Gazef didn't have anything magical on him, I or Ainz would've noticed.

I'm missing something here, something big.

Going back to Gazef, I see that during his duel with the one angel, 6 other angels had taken the opportunity to gather in the air and surround him. Through all the dust being kicked up by the horses, I could see Gazef face scowl at the angels and hold his weapon with both hands.

Now, either he's going to die or he's going to live. Let's see which.

Gazef opens his mouth and yells something that I can't hear over the thundering hooves and the clashes of weapons.

Gazef swings his weapon towards the 6 charging angels, not even hitting one of them.

What?

In a blink of an eye, 6 slashes tore through the air and cutting the angels in half. Like the others, they turn into motes of light and disappear.

What.

After Gazef killed the angels, cheers from his men erupted around him but as soon as they did, the angels came back in full force and started the fight once again.

Gazef kept using those strange skills to kill the angels, but for everyone he killed, 2 more were summoned and sent forth and I could see Gazef getting more and more tired from those strange skills he used.

Soon enough, the ground littered with chipped weapons and bloodstained bodies. Only Gazef still stood, bloody and beaten but still fighting albeit barely.

Sending a [Message] to Ainz, I felt a familiar click connect to him.

"Ainz, you watching this?"

"I am. I'm also listening on their conversation right now an-"

I didn't hear the rest of what Ainz said or he might've stopped talking.

I heard a yell of pain that broke me out of my conversation with him.

I look back at Gazef to see a streak of blood come out of his side, courtesy of the flaming sword that an Archangel Flame had pierced him in the side with.

"Oh fuck."

"...Ah."

"...He's still alive but barely." I can see that Gazef had fallen to the ground after being stabbed, but he shakily got back on his feet, still holding his sword.

It would leave a really bad taste in my mouth that someone like Gazef died in a place like this. Especially when I can stop it.

"...Ainz, I'm going in."

"What?! Dracul, you can't-!"

"Ainz, Gazef went into this fight for the village, for us! Sure, if we couldn't handle it or we don't have enough information on what they can do I'm willing to just let him die and evacuate the village, but those are YGGDRASIL Monsters! And YGGDRASIL Spells! We can win this, easily!"

For a moment I didn't hear anything on the end.

"...Haaaaaaa…" I heard Ainz let out a long-suffering sigh over the 'call'.

"Fine, I will take your word for it, but don't fight. I'll use the item as soon as I can and let me handle it, okay?"

My lips curled up into a smile when I heard Ainz give me permission to help.

"Thanks, Momo. I'll try not to hog all the fun."

I disconnected the [Message] with Ainz and look back to where Gazef stood.

Gazef and the blond man are yelling to each other so thankfully the blond one is an idiot that simply didn't kill Gazef when he had the chance.

"[Greater Teleportation]" I spoke aloud.

One moment, I'm by the house, overlooking the battlefield of where Gazef fought.

The next, I'm being yelled at by some blond idiot.

"-Finish off that village!" The Blond Idiot yelled with a manic grin before he noticed me standing between him and Gazef, "Huh? Wh-How did -"

"S-Sir Dracul? Is that you?" I heard a whizzing voice ask behind me.

"You fought well, Captain," I told him with honest praise. I drew Balmung from my back and stab the tip into the blood-soaked dirt.

"We shall take over from here." Balmung bursts into flames, causing the ground crackle and dry.

I heard gasps from both the peanut gallery and from Gazef when I activated Balmung's primary ability and the Blond Idiot's eyes are wide open as he gazed at Balmung.

"...Tell me, do you know of Blue Roses?"

What the hell? A blue rose? We're about to fight to the death and this idiot is talking about a blue rose?

"Tch, it doesn't matter," The Blond Idiot says before I could respond, "You're all going to die anyway. Men, prepare the angels."

As ordered, the magic casters readied two angels to charge at us.

"Sir Dr-!" I heard Gazef start to yell before his presence is replaced by a familiar one. Going by the way the Blond Idiot is blinking and staring behind me, I could already guess who just turned up.

"Took you long enough," I said to Ainz as he walked to my side.

"I was making sure that the warehouse is secure. If you-"

"Who the hell are you?!" The Blonde Idiot interrupted Ainz, "And where is Gazef?! What did you do?!"

I think he's a bit upset.

Ainz and I turn to look at the offending group in front of us. Some of them I could hear gulp when we look at them.

"My apologies, that was rude of me. Good evening, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown and this is my companion, Dracul." Ainz waves his hand to me as I lift up Balmung and hold the handle with both hands, pointing the blazing blade forward.

"Hmph, you two are those Adventurers that stayed the night at that pathetic little village. I don't know what you did with Stronoff or his men, but I'll find out. Instead," The Blond idiot's frown grew into a blood thirsty grin, "Let's make a deal:"

"Give up your lives quietly and I shall give you two a painless death. Refuse, and I shall make you regret defying the will of the Slane Theocracy."

When the Blond Idiot finished speaking, I feel my vision turning into a familiar shade of red and my teeth bared in a quiet snarl, though no one could see it.

Who do you think you are, to make demands of us?

"...My, you are quite arrogant aren't you?" Ainz said after a moment of silence.

"Huh?"

"Know this. From what I've seen and heard, you can not beat me or Dracul." Ainz states simply to the gathered group.

"Now who is speaking arrogantly? Do you hear yourself talk?"

"True," Ainz nods, "But, if I could not win, do you really think I would show myself? Or that Dracul would intervene so carelessly?"

Dick.

I saw the Blond Idiot's face contort into a complicated expression like he doesn't want to admit that he has a point.

"As such, let me ask you something. Those Archangel Flames that you've summoned, that's a 3rd Tier spell, isn't it?"

Before he could respond, Ainz kept on talking, "But maybe you don't call them angels? Most of the creatures of YGGDRASIL came from mythology and angels along with devils come from Christianity. If you did call them angels despite the fact you're not Christ-"

"Enough," The lead spell caster's voice cut through Ainz ramblings, "What have you done to Stronoff?"

"I teleported him to the village." Ainz states.

"...What?" The Blond idiot said with a confused expression before it morphed into frustration, "You fool. If you're lying, we simply need to search the vill-"

"It's most certainly not a lie." Ainz said with genuine offence in his tone, "There is a reason why I am telling you all of this though."

"Oh? Is it so you can beg for your pathetic lives? If you stop wasting time and bring me Stronoff th-"

"No, you see, I was listening in on that conversation between you and the Captain and I'll repeat myself here:"

"Your arrogance astounds me."

Ainz holds his arms out like he's asking for a hug and takes a step forward.

I take a step forward, Balmung still blazing in the twilight, and I feel my hands squeeze on the grip.

They take a step back in fear, some of them are shaking and the Blond Idiot along with them.

"You said you would kill the whole village, the village that Dracul and I saved. That's not a nice thing, you know? It's awfully rude."

At that moment, a breeze from the wind started to pick up and causing Ainz midnight black robe to flutter in the wind and Balmung flames to swish about.

"S-So what of it? What can you do about? A single magic caster and his mercenary bodyguard?"

"Hmph, what did you say earlier?" Ainz hums while he takes a deliberate pause, "Ah, yes! You offered us a deal, did you not? Well, let me offer you mine."

Ainz takes another step forward, his cloak fluttering gently in the wind.

"Give up your lives quietly and I shall give you a painless death. Refuse, and I shall make sure that you die in despair."

Ainz takes another step forward.

"A-Angels, kill him! Kill him now!" The Blond Idiot shrieks.

Finally.

Two angels shoot forward, their swords primed and ready to strike us down. Before I could even step forward, Ainz thrusts his hand to stop me.

"Let me deal with this, Dracul. We both know what's going to happen."

"...Heh, fine then. If you die, I'll resurrect you myself and kill you again."

"Now that would be embarrassing," Ainz said just as the Archangels impale his body with their flaming swords.

I feel my heart hammer itself in my chest and for an instant, I thought I had just let my friend die on this bloody battlefield.

"...Hahaha! All that talk, now look at you. Wretches like you shouldn't talk so big," The Blond Idiot said with a smug grin before it turned into a frown, "What are you doing? Call them back already."

"W-We're trying sir, but…" One of the mages said to him.

At that moment the clattering sounds of struggling armour echoed out.

From where I'm standing I can see that Ainz is holding the angels that stabbed him by their necks, Ainz strength holding them in place despite their best efforts to remove themselves.

Their wings are fluttering about strongly like vermin stuck in a hole.

Slowly, Ainz parted them from each and makes himself visible to everyone else. All the summoners let out a gasp.

"This has to be some kind of trick or some kind of illusion..."

"O-of course! There is no way he can survive that!" Shouts went up in panic, trying to explain away their fears.

"They're in denial," I note dryly.

"They are, aren't they? Nice to see that [High Tier Physical Immunity III] still works as it should. Now then…"

Without warning, Ainz slams the two angels in his grasp down onto the floor. The ground cracks under the force and dirt is kicked up into dust around us. The angels and their swords disappear into motes of light.

"I would like to know more, but since you refused my deal, I suppose that will have to wait. Since you've already had your turn, it's ours now. Are you ready, Dracul?"

"Ainz, I've been ready as soon as I lit up Balmung," I said with eagerness in my voice.

With a pale face, the Blond Idiot screams, "Angels! Attack, attack and kill them now!"

40 or so Archangel Flames move forward, readying their blades and their wings lighting up. I move to hold Balmung in a sideways grip and use one of my skills.

"Dracul."

But it appears that Ainz has other plans.

"Gotcha," I told him, already jumping away from Ainz and having a feeling on what he's going to do.

Not a moment as soon as I got away, I heard Ainz yell:

"[Negative Burst!]"

In an instant, a sphere of black energy formed around Ainz and explodes outward, obliterating all the angels in the sky and making the ground rumble.

"I-Impossible!"

After the spell had dissipated, I jump back by Ainz side and hold Balmung one-handed.

"My turn yet?" I ask Ainz.

"Ah...Ahhhhhhhhhh!" One of the mages screams out.

"Monster!"

"Devil!"

Well, my name is Dracul so congrats on that at least.

"[Charm Person!]"

"[Fear!]"

And now we're being bombarded with spells though thankfully they're barely 3rd Tier spells, let alone 4th.

"[Fire Rain!]"

"[Poison!]"

"I think you scared them a bit," I said to Ainz under the barrage of spells, but an invisible shield stopped the spells before they could even hit us. That's probably our [High Tier Magic Immunity III] coming in to play.

"I think you may be right, Dracul," Ainz looked around at the spell casters as they sling spells at us, "All of these spells are from YGGDRASIL. I wonder who taught them? Someone from the Slane Theocracy or another YGGDRASIL player? Still so many questions, but that'll have to wait for now."

"Earghhhhhhhhhhh!"

I look at the person who let out a strange scream and I see him loading some sort of iron pellet in a slingshot contraption on his arm. He aims and fires at Ainz.

Yeah, no.

I hold out my hand in front of Ainz, just before the iron pellet could hit him. Surprisingly, despite the strong impact, my hand didn't get blown off or even hurt at all.

I turn my gaze my towards the attacker who is now on the floor after having seen me catch his pellet barehanded. I ramp up [Burning Touch] to the max and instantly the iron pellet is glowing red hot and smoke is coming up from my hand.

Without delay, I throw back the pellet back to the attacker with some force.

One moment he was scrabbling back up from the ground to run.

One moment, the only thing left is the lower half of his body and the upper half is gory, smoking mess.

"You know that wouldn't have hurt me, right?"

"Oh yeah," I said lightly as the peanut gallery are screaming at what I did, "But come on, you've talked and monologue like some sort of villain and I've just stood here and looked pretty."

"Well, you certainly did one of those things."

"Funny."

"P-Principality Observation! Attack!" The Blond Idiot screams at the angel.

Wow, he must be desperate to waste it like this.

"This one is mine," I told Ainz as I walk forward.

"Are you sure?"

"Damn right I'm sure. You've killed like 40 angels or something. Let me have this one."

Principality Observation spreads its wings and charges at me, leaving behind a streak of light like shooting star.

I feel my lips curl up into a grin.

The angel raises its mace upwards to strike me down and I raise up Balmung in a sideways grip with both hands to block it.

The earth beneath my feet shook and dirt kicks up when it smacks the mace down onto me like a freight train.

I didn't feel a thing.

It raises its mace yet again to strike me down. Taking advantage of the wide opening it had left when it attacks, I move my grip on Balmung from a sideways grip to a vertical one in a quick and fluid gesture.

Before the angel could even begin to attack, I swing down Balmung in an overhead strike on its arm that holds the mace.

Or held rather.

A large thump hit the ground as the angel's arm is burning to a crisp on the ground.

A streak of fire and flame follows Balmung when it went down, burning the angel and catching fire as it stump where its arm was, is now burning and spreading slowly across its body.

"I-Impossible! No human could ever do something like that! What kind of Devil are you?!" I hear the Blond Idiot yell out.

I don't bother responding.

The angel is barely alive after my attack, but it's still alive and that means I'm not finished.

The angel is on the ground and on its knees. I rise up Balmung for a final blow but it rises up its shield with a shaking hand to try and defend itself.

It didn't work.

I swing Balmung down once again and it cleaves through the shield like it wasn't even there and the angel just as well.

It didn't even time to turn into motes of light as it's consumed by flames.

Silence rang out the field as I walk back to Ainz's side.

"I'm surprised that you didn't just kill it in one shot," Ainz said to me.

"I wanted to see how Balmung functions more in-depth when in combat. And I am not disappointed in the slightest." I said with satisfaction.

"Th-that can't be…"

"In just two swings!"

"H-he could've killed it in one! H-he was playing with it!"

Well, playing is a strong word. I was more testing if anything.

"Impossible! There is no way Ainz Ooal Gown or Dracul are your real names! To kill so many angels with one spell and to kill Principality Observation so easily, there is no way you two could have remained hidden up to now! What are your real names, you bastards?!" The Blond Idiot shrieks at us.

"Impossible? If you call that impossible, then you must be very ignorant or stupid. Or is it just how things are in this world? In any case, let me answer one of your questions."

Ainz takes a step forward and spreads his hands and announces:

"Ainz Ooal Gown is my name. No pseudonym, no code name or anything."

I step forward, holding Balmung lightly in one hand.

"My name is Dracul."

I take another step forward. They recoil backwards.

"It means Dragon."

I hear gasps come from all of them, some of them trembling violently.

"D-Dragon!?"

"C-Captain, what are we going to do?!"

The Blond idiot's face contorts, "Figure it out by yourself! I'm not your caretaker, dammit!"

As if hit by a bolt of lightning, the Blond Idiots face lit up with hope and he scrambles to reach inside his robe.

"T-Time! I need time! I'm going to summon the highest order of the angels!"

Oh.

That doesn't sound good. Ainz is weak to Holy magic, incredibly so. If they summon a Seraph or, god forbid, a Seraph Empyrean, we could actually be in trouble.

Fuck that.

I feel the well of energy in me roll around like a turbulent ocean when I hold out my hand. A long, thin twig-like object made of flames begins to form in my hand, looking incredibly fragile despite being a Tier 10 spell.

"[Lævat-!]"

"Wait, Dracul." Ainz grasps my outstretched hand and the spell dissipates.

"Ainz, are you mad?!" I whisper to him harshly, "If they summon a Seraph Empyrean, you're more in danger than I am, you know that!"

Seriously, we're just going to let them use their trump card?! A trump card being a holy fucking angel?!

"True," Ainz said all too calmly for my taste, "But if that happens, we can defeat together and look. Doesn't that seem familiar to you?"

He jerks his chin towards the Blond Idiot and I turn my head to look at him and see him holding up a blue, glowing crystal in his hand.

"A Sealing Crystal?" I mumble out.

"Yes, and by the way it glows, it can't hold a spell above the 7th Tier."

"...Fine then. Let's see how this plays out." I grumble to Ainz as we turn back to the Blond Idiot.

"Ainz Ooal Gown! Dracul!" The Blond Idiot declares bombastically, "It's only natural that you would squabble amongst yourselves in front of this holiest angels! You should've run while you had the chance!"

I move in front of Ainz and I hold Balmung in a tight grip with both of my hands.

"Dracul-"

"Momo, I'm the one with a flaming claymore and plate armour that isn't weak to holy magic, you're the one with a golden staff and a robe along with your innate weakness to holy magic. Don't even start." I growl out to him.

"Hmph, you also know I take precautions against that," I hear Ainz pout behind me, "But, you're right. Hold nothing back, Dracul."

"But now!" The Blond idiot is still bloody monologuing, "Now witness the holiest of angels that killed even an Evil Deity!"

I tighten my grip on Balmung and feel my heart start hammering itself in my chest. I feel a rippling sensation course through my body much like when I shift to my human form.

But where that's a gentle motion, like a flowing stream, this one is violent. It feels like a violent storm or some sort of whirlpool is forming inside of my body.

He holds up the Sealing Crystal up to the sky.

"Now come!"

Balmung's flames get violent and heat starts radiating off me. Patches of grass start to catch alight, causing small fires to pop up.

Oh, so that's what [Flame Aura] feels like.

"Dominion Authority!"

Wait, what?

The Sealing Crystal shatters into fine dust and then it appears, as if descended from the heavens themselves.

A gentle light bathes the area around us and a very slight fragrance of something that smells like incense wafts through the air.

It appears above the Blond Idiot, its body a strange shape with no legs and no head. Its wings have actual bright white feathers unlike the angels of the third sphere and it holds a large, golden sceptre in its hands. It has a large, glowing symbol in front of where its chest is and wore it as if it was a crown.

This has to be a fucking joke.

Balmung's flames are instantly snuffed out and the fires I raised died down to hot embers and ash.

I just stand there, stupefied and quite frankly embarrassed that I was worrying over such a thing.

"...That's it? That's your trump card!?" I hear Ainz say behind me in disbelief.

I turn my head slowly to see Ainz holding his head in one hand and shaking his head slightly.

"Sorry, Ainz...I actually thought, that…" I mumble underneath my breath, a bit embarrassed about how I was acting before.

Before Ainz could respond, the Blond Idiot starts yelling again.

"That's right, Ainz Ooal Gown! This is the highest level angel of the heavens themselves! Usually, I would like to not use such a valuable item on only two people, but I shall make an exception for the both of you."

Highest level my arse!

"Ainz Ooal Gown and Dracul! I have summoned the highest level against the both of you. Know, that I respect you as an opponent-"

Yeah, how about you go and fuck yourself.

"-Honestly, I would've liked to fight alongside the both of you as brothers in arms but that time has passed and my orders act against you. We shall remember you as the caster and the warrior that forced our hand."

Why are you still talking, for christ's sake?

"...What a disappointment." Ainz's cold voice said from behind me, the silence making it seem louder than it actually is.

"I know, right?" I said to him, "Here I was, getting all pumped up and they pull out this? What a letdown."

"You?! You dare act so arrogantly in front of the highest angel?!" The Blond Idiot shouts at us and being wrong in every way possible.

"Indeed, Dracul," Ainz says to me, ignoring the Blond Idiot, "I'm sorry, I should've let you used [Lævateinn]. I'm still quite shocked that this is all they managed, this child's play."

"C-Child's play!?" The Blond Idiots screams at us, "Y-You're bluffing! There's no way you're stronger than Dominion Authority! This Angel killed a Demon god!"

Ainz turns his head slowly to look straight at the Blond Idiot who took a step back.

With a crazed, fearful look in his eyes, he shrieks:

"Dominion Authority! Use [Holy Smite!]"

With that command, Dominion Authority's staff cracks and breaks into glowing fragments. The fragments started to slowly float around Dominion Authority in a circle.

I couldn't help but frown at what it just did. I didn't interact all that much with the angelic or demonic part of YGGDRASIL so I don't know any of their abilities.

"Is it suppose to do that?" I ask Ainz who just hums.

"It is. It's a special once per summon skill that Dominion Authority has. It drastically increases a spells effectiveness every time it is summoned."

"Are we in any danger?" I ask non-chantly as a large circle of holy light forms around us.

"No." Ainz answers instantly with confidence, "But you should still-"

"Yeah, I'm not leaving," I answer back.

"Hmph, you're always so difficult about stuff like this," Ainz says to me without any real heat. The light is getting more intense from the circle.

"Don't act like you don't love it." I joke lightly.

Not a moment passed when I hear the Blond Idiot yell out:

"[Holy Smite!]"

In instant and with a roar to the heavens, a huge pillar of holy magic descends from the sky onto Ainz and me.

The loud sound of wind whooshing passes my ears and I can feel a weight press down on me, trying to crush me.

It didn't work.

I lift my hand effortlessly and move it around. It feels like someone is trying to push down on me, but it feels like a weak child rather than a strong adult.

I look at Ainz who's looking at his hand, same as I was doing.

As sudden as it had appeared, the ray of holy magic disappeared without a trace of it ever being there.

"Are you okay, Dracul? Any injuries?"

"No," I shake my head, "But what about you? You're weak to this kinda stuff anyway."

"I'm fine, but I did take a little amount of damage though that is what I expected of a spell that's extra effective against evil beings. Seems like I can still feel pain but my motions are still fluid and my emotions stay calm," Ainz nods his head, satisfied, "Good, good. The experiment was a success then."

"Y-You!" The Blond idiot screams out and points a shaking finger at us, "I know what you are! You're the same as they are! Y-You must be Evil Deities!"

We really need to find out what an 'Evil Deity' is but if they died to an attack like [Holy Smite] then they must suck at being Gods.

"D-Dominion Authority! Use it again! Cast [Holy Smite] again!"

Yeah, how about no?

"If you don't kill it, I will. I'm itching to test out some of my Skills."

Ainz holds out a hand, "Let me deal with this. If you use one of your Skills now, you might cause some collateral damage. We still have questions that need answers."

"My turn," Ainz lifts his hand up to Dominion Authority, "Know despair."

Ainz, you are having far too much fun with this.

"[Black Hole!]"

A small, miniscule, dot appeared in front the pure blue body of Dominion Authority as if a bug had landed in front of it.

It grows bigger and bigger, to the size of a basketball and vacuums everything around it into itself. Dominion Authority warps in unnatural ways and is eventually sucked into it.

It only lasted a second.

For a few seconds, no one said anything. The only sounds that could be heard are the winds whistling pass us and the gently rustling grass swaying in the wind.

"What…" A hoarse, ragged voice whispered out loud, "What are you? To kill the highest angel in such a way, to be even stronger than Evil Deities?! Who are you?!"

"I've said it from the beginning," Ainz shakes his head in annoyance.

"Ainz Ooal Gown. Once, there was not one person who did not know this name. But, that's neither here or there. I think Dracul and I have had enough of this anyway."

"Wait! Wa-wait a minute! Sir, no, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown!" The Blond Idiot shrieks aloud, thrusting out his hands in a frantic gesture for Ainz to stop.

"I-I can assure you t-that my country will pay a substantial amount for our lives! I-In fact, I am of p-particular value to my country, so if you must kill someone-!"

No…

No, he isn't actually saying what I think he saying. There's no way.

There is no way that someone could do something that scummy.

"C-Captain Nigun! W-What are you saying!?"

Ignoring his subordinates outburst the Blond Idiot carries on begging:

"-Then y-you can kill the others besides myself and-!"

He is.

"Shut your mouth, you pathetic piece of pond scum."

As soon as the words left my mouth, everyone's eyes are on me. The Blond Idiot, Nigun I think, looks at me with wide eyes and a pale face.

And then he starts screaming.

Along with his men.

"Ahhhhhh! Wh-What are you?! What the hell are you?!"

"M-Monster! H-He's a monster! Devil!"

"Dracul! Your wi-!" Ainz hisses at me.

"Let's count your sins, shall we?" The words come out of my mouth in a growl, ignoring the screams.

"First: You've attacked countless villages and killed so many more, all in a cowardly act to draw out one man and you couldn't even kill him with your summons. Pathetic."

I begin taking long but slow strides towards him, ignoring Ainz.

"Second: You threaten this village that I and Ainz saved from your sorry excuse of knights. Who do you think you are, to decide such a thing?"

I notice that my footprints in the dirt are smoking and charred as I get closer. I can feel a strange sensation on my back. I ignore it.

"Third: You hoot and holler about the strongest angel, but you pull that out? Don't make me laugh."

I thought I was angry, back at Carne Village. I thought I knew what rage felt like.

I was wrong.

Those times, where the Pleiades would smother me whenever I went outside, those were like embers compared to now.

That time when that knight tried to run away or when I saw the blood-soaked blades, a dying campfire compared to the raging inferno I feel right now.

"Fourth: You think to make us a deal with our lives as the price? Who are you, a piece of trash, to demand anything of us?"

The Blond Idiot has fallen to the ground on his back and I tower over him. I raise Balmung and point the tip at him. I can hear someone screaming.

I ignore them.

"But worst of all, the one thing that pisses me off like no other…"

Balmung lights up in a bright blaze of fire and flame, more like a solid piece of fire than a sword.

"When you find out how weak you are, how outclassed you are, what do you do?"

Balmung is a raging blaze. It illuminates up the night sky with its fires and scorches the earth around me. I can see the Blond Idiot is trying his best to put himself out.

It doesn't work.

"You cry. You beg. You make deals. Where is your pride, your dignity? As if that wasn't enough, you have the audacity to offer up the lives of your men like they're yours to give. Like that would cleanse you of your sins. Trash like you…"

The sky above me cracks and breaks, the sound of glass shattering echoing out.

I ignore it.

"...Deserve to burn."

.

---

.

The sky above us shone with the now familiar sight of bright stars. Usually, I would be staring up at them, the sight never really boring me.

Instead, Ainz and I are walking back towards Nazarick in a very awkward and a very uncomfortable silence.

During my little 'outburst' and before I could kill Nigun, Ainz casted an 8th Tier spell called [Waterfall] that put out me and my flames out.

Apparently, Ainz anti-scrying kicked in when someone tried to use divination magic. It only lasted a moment, but that means they must've seen us even if it was a little.

Though, Ainz told me that my [Flame Aura] had gone absolutely berserk so he wouldn't be surprised that if all they saw was just ash and fire.

After Ainz had saved those that he could from my rampage, he opened up a [Gate] and more or less threw each of them in it. From what Ainz told me, an NPC called Neuronist Painkill would take care of them.

That was about a 30 or so minutes ago.

We haven't said anything to each other since then.

Damn it, I screwed up. I really screwed up.

After Ainz had snapped me out of my anger, I saw what I had done to the surrounding area.

It looked like Hell.

All the grass had turned into ash, the ground blackened and charred. Some of the more unlucky spell casters had been killed by the flames. The less said about how they looked after, the better.

The only reason Nigun and the ones closest to him had lived was because of Ainz and their own efforts. Ainz had casted the highest fire protection and magic protection on them while they kept trying to douse the flames.

And to put the icing on the screw-up cake, I had my wings and tail out. Because of course, I did.

Fuck, we're going to have to get Mare at some point to cover that up if he even can that is.

After Ainz had transported the survivors, he grabbed me and teleported us away from the village.

And now here we are.

"...Sorry, Ainz," I mumble out in shame, "I don't know what came over me."

Ainz shifts his glowing red eyes and his skeletal face now out in the open without the Mask of Envy.

"Dracul, I'm more worried about how you acted than angry. I've never seen you act like that before, ever. What happened?"

"I don't know," I said quietly and shook my head, "I really don't. I mean, I was getting steadily angrier as the fight dragged on, but not that angry."

I let out a shuddering breath, "I-I guess what tipped me over the edge is when he offered up his own men. That kind of betrayal and the fact he did it so quickly…" I trail off.

"I see...so that's how it is for you then," Ainz mutters under his breath.

"How's what for me?" I ask Ainz, who looks up at me.

"Well, I told you about how my emotions are being repressed and it got me thinking about you or rather, your emotions."

"...This isn't going to end well, is it?"

"I think," Ainz carries on, "That you're forced to feel emotions stronger than you're used to. For example, I don't know if you noticed it or not, but when we first met the villagers I could feel how irritated you were for a second."

I couldn't help but wince at that, "Ah, you saw that, did you?"

Ains nods while I let out a sigh, "Damn it. I was hoping you wouldn't notice that."

I look up at the night sky as I thought about what Ainz told me.

The thing is, he isn't wrong but I couldn't help but feel that he's missing something, something crucial. I get mad sometimes but then again who didn't?

Come on, there has to be something different from what I just did and when I met the villag-

Ah.

"For the most part I agree with you, but I feel like there's something else to it," I look at Ainz who had stopped walking, "When I got annoyed by the villagers or something like that? It didn't feel like it was me getting angry. It felt like something else, as weird as that sounds."

"When I had my temper tantrum, that was all me, 100%. Nothing else." I shamefully admit to Ainz.

Ainz lets out a thoughtful hum, "Then, why did you react that way? The angriest I've ever seen you was when you won the World Tournament back in YGGDRASIL and that doesn't even compare to what you just did back there."

"Yeah, and I have an idea about that. I think that certain emotions of mine, especially anger, are amplified."

"What do you mean?" Ains asks me.

"Well maybe, like the way your emotions get suppressed, it's the other way round for me. Yours get weaker but mine get stronger. I mean, you said it yourself. You've never seen me that angry before and I can tell you that I never felt that angry before."

For a moment, we just stood there in silence with one thought going through my head.

I just want to go home.

"...Dracul," Ainz eventually broke the silence, "I wanted to wait until we get back to Nazarick to ask you, but I suppose now is the best time:"

"Dracul, how do you feel about today? About what we did?"

"Well," I say aloud and thinking it over, "I mean, let's ignore the ending bit and I think we did pretty good in all honesty. We saved a village, repaid our debt and we know how strong we are compared to most people. If you're asking about the people we killed..."

My thoughts wander to Enri and her little sister, Nemu.

To the family they lost.

"I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. What about you? How do you feel?"

"I admit, I had my doubts about this but its as you say. We've made connections to both Carne Village and the Kingdom through Gazef. We know that this world uses Tier Magic, but they're actually quite weak in using it and we know far more than we did before. As for how I feel about killing, well...I suppose I feel much like you do."

Just like before the atmosphere around us drops like a lead weight. Letting out a sigh, I proceed to give myself a couple of gentle slaps.

"Dracul?" I hear Ainz ask as I walk over to him.

I slug my arm around Ainz's shoulder and causing him to almost trip due me basically throwing my weight on him.

"D-Dracul?!"

"Momo, today was a good day," I state without hesitation.

"If we let one shit thing hold us back from all the good things we did today, we'll never get anywhere. Sure, I won't lie and say I'm not worried about how easily we managed to brush off our kills but I'm not gonna act like they didn't deserve it. So come on, let's go back to Nazarick, alright?" I say to Ainz, making sure to take off my helmet.

While I won't worry Ainz with that one particular kill that I felt satisfied with, I'll make it clear to him that I've made peace with what we did today.

"I see," Ainz mutters before he rises his glowing red pupils to me, "I suppose you're right, Dracul. But please get off of me, you're heavier than you know."

"Rude," I say without any heat to it as I back off from Ainz, "Come on, let's go and have a rest. I'm exhausted."

"I know what you mean," Ainz says as he opens up a [Gate] back to Nazarick.

"Let's go, I don't want to worry the Floor Guardians by being late."

"Right behind you, Momo."

We walk through the [Gate] back to Nazarick.

Back to home.

.

Spoiler: A/N

So this is a lot of words.

It's been a while since I last posted a chapter and I could lie and say it was the length of this chapter that took so long, but I won't. I know people don't want to read any blog posts so I'll keep it short and simple. Work has been hard and it hasn't gotten any easier.

Getting that shit out of the way, let's talk about this chapter and address some concerns some of you have. First, Dracul becoming Ainz 'Champion'. I would just like to say this doesn't mean that Dracul and Ainz will be stuck at the hip, I actually have some ideas for Dracul to go adventures just by himself. To me, this just seemed like the most natural conclusion considering Dracul's lack of an official position in Nazarick.

Second, Dracul's Morality. Many have gone on to say that they hope Dracul will lighten up the events, (For example, Volume 7. We all know what happens there.) I want everyone to keep in mind, that Dracul is a lighter shade of black but he is still black. He isn't a hero at all. He might do heroic things, but that's more likely because he considers himself above certain things, rather than being a good person. Also, someone pointed out that I missed Dracul's Karma score.

At first, that was a genuine mistake on my part but I got to thinking if I should keep it hidden. I don't like putting Morality on a number, but I know some people will be interested so I added it in the first chapter. In case I forget to do so, it's -100 which is Neutral evil.

Third, Dracul's temper tantrum. That whole section was to show how quickly Dracul could fly off the handle and could really screw things up. Up till now, Dracul only interacted with people he likes (IE anyone in Nazarick) and when he did interact with someone he didn't know or felt annoyed by, he just doesn't talk unless he feels like he should. When they do something that really pisses him off though, like what Nigun did, he risks doing some stupid shit. This is my personal opinion but I think Carne Village is a really good way to show how the MC has stopped being human and become something else. Hopefully, I did it well with Dracul.

Now for everything else. Someone pointed out that I got the Elf Twins eye colour wrong. I was going to point out that was the eye colour the Twins are said to have in the online version of Overlord, but I went back into the official physical copy I bought and checked that the person was actually right. So if anything like that happens again, don't be afraid to call me out.

For the last thing, I want to ask you guys a question before I get started on the next chapter.

Do you guys want me to write the Drama CDs or no? For those who don't know, Drama CDs are 20-25 minutes of audio clips that detail the time in between novels. For instance, one Drama CD has Ainz and Nabe protect a noble from a Basilisk and this is during the set up before the Lizardman War.

I personally would like to write them, at least to give you guys a more concrete view of the timeline and the events that transpire between them, but it's up to you guys because I know some of you would like to see the main story unfold and not bother with other material.

I think that's everything relating to this. God, what a stupid bloody A/N but I didn't want to leave any details out.

As usual, if you liked this, please tell me what you liked or if you hated it, tell me what I did wrong. Have a good one. Also, that google translated Latin up top? It should be "The Dragon Rises" but Latin is fucking weird and Google translate is iffy at the best of times.

 

[Ereli]

The Overlord's Dragon.​

.

Tick Tock.

How long have I been in this hell?

Tick Tock.

Have I done something to deserve this? Did I commit some misdeed in a previous life? Or was it the murders I committed a couple of days ago?

Tick Tock.

Oh, I know why.

Tick Tock.

It's because I was bored. Bored of just standing around, doing nothing all day.

Tick Tock.

I mean, the irony here is palatable, I can just taste it. I played YGGDRASIL to unwind after a hard day of schooling, studying and general work around the house.

Tick Tock.

But now, here I am.

Tick Tock.

Doing bloody paperwork.

Tick Tock.

I am going to break that fucking clock.

The worst of it though came from the fact that I brought this upon myself. A day after the battle of Carne Village, I mentioned to Ainz that I don't actually do anything in Nazarick besides training on the 6th floor.

With that in mind and the disgust I felt at being a freeloader, I offered to help Ainz with the paperwork.

Worst choice I have ever made.

Ainz tried to warn me of my mistake by saying that because the Floor Guardians do all the hard work, all he does really is just double check it. All I would be doing is triple checking it.

I should've just let it rest. I should've left it alone.

As I look over the damnable paper on the large desk that Ainz and I are working at, with Albedo and Sebas standing by, I suddenly feel the urge to just active my [Flame Aura] at least for a little bit.

I mean, paper isn't that flammable right? It can survive a bit of heat.

A stack of thick looking parchment dropping onto the desk breaks me out my pyromania fantasies and I look over them with tired eyes.

"Hmmm... this is our supply of parchment for scrolls. There haven't been any problems yet, though we should consider the possibility of running out."

I look to Ainz who seems to just get lost in paperwork and who actually might be a sadist at heart. If I knew stuff like this was going to happen, I wouldn't have deleted my first character, a vampire blood-mage called Dracula. At least I wouldn't get so bloody tired then.

Ainz says something to Albedo about scrolls, but I just tune it out and carry on robotically going through the rest of the paperwork. Who knows, maybe I'll die from overwork and Ainz will raise me up as a Zombie Dragon?

Actually, if he does that, won't that mean more paperwork?

"...Try to find materials to substitute those from YGGDRASIL…" I barely hear Ainz in my stupor.

Give me some very sharp knives and I'll get you some damn Dragonhide ASAP. God knows it'll be less painful than this.

Wait a minute, Dragonhide?

I'm sure that we can get Dragonhide somewhere close by. Didn't the Chief of Carne Village sa-?

"Lord Ainz, forgive me for my rudeness but perhaps it's time for you and Sir Dracul to rest?"

I try my damndest to not instantly shoot up from my chair. I do, however, raise my head from the awful paperwork to see what Ainz says.

"Hm? What time is it now?"

"It is currently three in the morning," Sebas says the words that cause me to go stock still.

"Three?! I remember us starting in the evening…"

"Indeed. Since Sir Dracul and Lord Ainz have entered into his office, 10 hours have passed."

10 hours.

10 fucking hours!?

No wonder I'm so bloody tired! This is child abuse! This is slavery!

"10 hours!?" I hear Ainz exclaim and looks at Sebas and Albedo, who have been standing by our sides the whole time. He looks at me who's just holding a piece of paper detailing some nonsense about killer plants or something.

I look at him with pleading eyes to let me go, to free me from this hell.

"I seem to have forgotten myself. You three may leave and rest for the day. I can handle the rest by myse-"

Oh, thank you, merciful God.

"Lord Ainz!" Sebas suddenly shouts, "How can a butler think of rest when his master still has work to be done?"

Sebas, please, shut up.

"Sebas is correct, Lord Ainz." Albedo chimes in with her own version of bullshit.

I'm going to cry at this rate, I swear to God.

"For us, those who serve the Supreme Beings, rest means nothing to us…"

Well, good thing I don't serve anyone because rest means everything to me! Let me go to bed already, Albedo!

"Rather, should you and Sir Dracul not have a rest?" Albedo says the words that restore my faith in her, "Ever since Nazarick have been transported to this world, the both of you have buried yourselves in work or training."

Well, I trained because I was bored but sure, let's go with that. Whatever gets me out of this hell.

"Your bed has been left empty for so long…" Albedo says in a sensual manner.

Okay Albedo, you can stop now.

"It's fine," Ainz mercifully cuts off Albedo, "After all, it's only natural for a superior to take care of work left behind. In any case, Dracul doesn't have any items or skills that prevent him from feeling tired or hunger."

Ainz, if I was a gay man I would kiss you on your non-existent lips.

Sebas and Albedo turn their heads to look at me with wide eyes while I just sit there silently, not really sure on what to do or say.

"My deepest apologies, Sir Dracul!" Sebas yells out while he and Albedo start to bow deeply, "I did not realise that you were pushing yourself so hard!"

Oh, Jesus Christ.

"Er… It's fine, Sebas. It's my fault as well, I keep forgetting that you don't know what I can and can't do." I try to keep my voice steady to hide the excitement I feel at finally going to bed.

"Even so, Sir Dracul, we exist to serve the Supreme Beings and you, who were chosen to be the 42nd, it is of great shame to us to fail as such. I'd like nothing more to devote my whole being to Lord Ainz, both in body and soul." Albedo says with an increasingly red face.

See, you started strong Albedo, but now it's going to get real weird real fast.

"Wherever that may be. In the bed, at work or in the bathtub-"

I am far too tired to deal with this debauchery.

"Or even right now, if he so wishes." Albedo finishes as she makes bedroom eyes at Ainz.

I glance at Ainz to see him deliberately not looking at Albedo and floundering about.

"A-ahhh..." Ainz glowing eyes dart wildly before they land on Sebas, "Ah, yes! Sebas, what do you think?"

"If that is your desire, Lord Ainz, then I shall accompany you to both your bed and bath," Sebas says with a certain tone.

Oh, my God.

"Pft!" I let out a snort as I try to stop letting out a laugh. My body shakes as I put a hand around my mouth to stop myself from laughing at Sebas basically propositioning Ainz.

"Nononono!" Ainz shoots up from his chair, skidding it back, "That isn't what I meant at all!"

"Hm? I see, forgive me for my mistake," Sebas bows to Ainz before turning to me, "Do not worry, Sir Dracul. If you wish for it, I will inform Entoma and Solution to give you assistance as well."

"Errr…tha-that's fine, Sebas. I can take of myself." My tired mind blurts out.

I did not just say that.

Jesus Christ, I did.

"Anyway!" I yell out almost immediately after and clap my hands, "Ainz, with your permission…?"

"A-ah, of course. Good night, Dracul." Ainz nods his head at me.

Finally.

I get up from my chair and nod my head at them, "Good night, Ainz. Albedo, Sebas, see you tomorrow."

"Of course, Sir Dracul. Rest well." Sebas says to me as Albedo echoes what he said.

I open the door and walk out of Ainz's office and let my shoulders slump from exhaustion. If that's how it is going to go, maybe I should get some items that prevent me from feeling tired and hungry.

But damn it all, I like sleeping! And eating!

"Sir Dracul? Are you alright?" I hear a young, cutesy voice say behind me. I turn around to see Entoma looking up at me along with the rest of the Pleiades standing by and looking worried.

"Just a bit tired, Entoma. Nothing to worry about." I ease her worries as I look over the rest of the Pleiades.

I have no doubts that the Pleiades have stood here for 10 hours, just like Sebas and Albedo have but that doesn't seem right. Ainz would know more about stuff like this and he seemed pretty shocked at the fact he and I worked for 10 hours without break.

I want to talk to them, tell them that they can have a rest for the day because God knows I need one but I knew it would just be more trouble than it's worth.

That, and I just want to go to bed.

"Goodnight girls, I'm off to bed for the day. Don't worry about waking me up unless Ainz tells you too or it's important." I said in a dull voice. Without waiting for an answer I drag my feet to my bedroom.

.

---

.

As the Pleiades see Sir Dracul drag his feet to his bedroom without even waiting for Entoma to escort him like she usually does, they couldn't help but worry.

"Is it me or did Sir Dracul seem...different?" Lupusregina says aloud to her sisters who all but one hummed in agreement.

"Maybe Dragons need more rest than usual?" Narberal thought aloud. She looks at Entoma who hadn't said anything when Dracul left.

"Maybe, but there is someone who would know more about that than us. Isn't that right, Entoma?" Solution says with a teasing tone.

"Eh?" Entoma snaps out of her slump and turns around to the rest of Pleiades.

"Oh yeah!" Lupusregina mouth turns into a lecherous grin and sways her way closer to Entoma, "Just before Lord Ainz and Sir Dracul left to take over that human village, didn't you come out of Sir Dracul's bedroom with shaking legs? I wonder what the two of you did in there, su~"

"I-I told all of you that nothing happened! Sir Dracul, he just- all he did was-!" Entoma flounders about and waves her arms about in embarrassment as Lupusregina continues to say more and more obscene things.

"Now, now," Yuri says, getting the attention of the Werewolf and Arachnoid maids, "Lupusregina, we both know that Entoma and Sir Dracul did nothing of the sort. If they did, we would all know about it."

"Haaa~" Lupusregina lets out an exaggerated sigh and shrugs her shoulders, "Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing Entoma about the fact that Sir Dracul didn't throw her down on the bed and-"

"Stooooop!" Entoma wails pitifully as the small Insectoid maid waves her arms in front of Lupusregina who just gave a mischievous grin.

"...Then what did you do?" Shinzu stoically asks.

"Ermm…" Entoma touches the tips of her claws together, the clicking sound echoing in the ensuing silence. Entoma's mind flashes back to what Sir Dracul said to her back then.

"Don't be like that. You mean more to me than my bedroom, you know."

"Uwahhh…" Entoma whines as the memories come flooding back.

"Entoma," Sir Dracul snapped at her after her blatant disrespect. Her mandibles snap shut with a click and she bows her head.

He tells her gently that nothing will happen to him or Lord Ainz. That they didn't want to hurt or lose anyone in Nazarick.

She insists that he and Lord Ainz should have some protection. Sir Dracul had already been attacked once and that is one too many, especially when she herself was appointed his personal maid, at least for the week.

Sir Dracul looks at her and she can feel the annoyance at her back talk. He raises his hand and she prepares herself for the incoming blow.

Instead, she feels a warm, scaled hand drop onto her head and gently rubs it. She looks up to see Sir Dracul's smiling face.

Entoma grabs her face-mask and looks at the floor, "Hauuuuu... It's really embarrassing…"

Just before her sisters could press her for more, the doors to Lord Ainz's office open, revealing Albedo walking out. In an instant, the Pleiades bow to the Overseer of the Floor Guardians.

"Did Sir Dracul already go to his room for the night?" Albedo asks the bowing maids.

"He has, Mistress Albedo." Yuri Alpha answers Albedo's question in a crisp tone.

"I see," Albedo hums and looks at each of the maids, "Who is attending Sir Dracul when he wakes then?"

"That would be Solution, myself and Entoma, Mistress Albedo." As Yuri Alpha says the names of the maids and herself, they step out of the line one by one.

"In that case, I have a mission for the three of you regarding Sir Dracul," Albedo states to the three maids, causing them to look at each other in uncertainty.

"What would you have us do, Mistress Albedo?" Solution asks the question all the maids are thinking.

Albedo gives a smile that would not be out of place on Lupusregina.

"Well, it has to do with what Sir Dracul said just before he rested for the night…"

.

---

.

I groggily open my eyes to my dimly lit room as my rests upon the fluffy pillows. With a gesture, the room lights up and I'm momentarily blinded by the sudden burst of light until my eyes get used to the light.

I wipe my eyes free from all the gunk and take a look at the clock.

1:16 PM.

I really hope I just slept for 10 hours and not two bloody days.

I look down at my hands, human hands, and I feel my heart race for a brief second before calming down.

Of course, it won't be that easy.

Shaking my head, I get off from the comfy bed and make my way to the shower in the bathroom to get ready for the day. Afternoon. Whatever.

As the scalding hot water cascades down onto me, my thoughts wander back to last night when I went to sleep.

It's been a couple of days after Ainz and I had saved Carne Village from the attack by the Slane Theocracy.

When Ainz and I had committed murder.

Oh, sure they had it coming. I'm willing to bet some of them had killed more than Ainz or I combined and probably did far worse to the villagers before Carne Village.

But murder is still murder, even if justified. This isn't even a case where we can claim self-defence because they had no way to hurt us and we already knew how strong they were because of the Eight Edge Assassins.

I expected some sort of dream or nightmare the night we came back from Carne Village. I expected maybe some visions to back when I felt satisfied about chopping off the head of that one knight.

Nothing.

I woke up the next morning, just as rested as I am now.

I truly didn't feel anything about the fact I had become a murderer or that I burnt several people to death.

Resting my head against the smooth, white tile wall, I thought back to what I said to Enri Emmot and the question that races in my mind.

Why didn't I just take back the Horns?

I and Ainz have already established that we don't feel anything when we kill humans and I find myself apathetic to the fact that we could've saved more lives if we just killed the Theocracy's knights and mages straight away. We need every resource we can get our hands on right now and while the horns aren't valuable, who's to say they work like they did back in YGGDRASIL?

So why did I let her keep them? Why didn't I just-?

"...My parents, my mother and father, they...they didn't survive."

Ah.

"And I almost lost my little sister. The only reason she's still alive is because of you and Lord Ainz."

That's right, isn't it?

"Without father, without mother, we only have each other now and as the older sibling, it's my duty to protect her, now more than ever."

Flashes of a scene play throughout my head, out of my control, as if I was right there.

A smack echoes out in the playground and a small body falls to the ground, clutching his bloody broken nose.

"Stay away from my little brother!"

"And I even almost failed that."

"Damn it, Jack…" I mutter my older brother name, wiping my eyes wet from the hot shower and nothing else.

Turning off the shower, I grab the towel and dry myself off. Looking in a mirror to make sure nothing is out of place, I wrap the towel around my waist and reach up to open the door back into my bedroom.

And come face to face with 3 beautiful women in my bedroom, going through my things.

I stop dead in my tracks and look at each of the women who are now staring at me with varying difference in shock.

Entoma is on my bed, for some reason, my covers were thrown back and I've seemed to catch her in the act of looking underneath the bed itself. Her face-mask doesn't show anything, but the way she snapped in place and stared at me told me enough.

Solution was in the middle of looking through my drawers even though they're empty. She made it to the middle one before I opened the door and caused her to turn around. Her face is one of shock with wide eyes, an open mouth and...and she's blushing? What the hell?

Yuri, however…

Yuri, it seemed, was on her way to the bathroom for whatever reason and her hand is halfway to the door handle.

Due to the difference of height in my human form though, her hand was instead cupping my cheek.

Oh, this isn't going to end well.

I look up at Yuri and see her face in a state of shock much like Solution's, but her face is even redder. Probably from the heat of the shower I just had, it's like a sauna in there. I shift my eyes to her hand and almost instantly her eyes widen even more and she takes back her hand like I just burnt it.

"A-ah, S-Sir D-Dracul!" Yuri shrieks, her eyes wildly looking around, "I-My deepest apologies!"

Before I could calm her down, Yuri swiftly bows down at the waist.

Without having taken a step back.

Thunk.

After the collision of Yuri effectively giving me a headbutt at full force, her head flys back in an impressive arc that, thankfully, lands on the bed with a small pomf.

I don't say anything. I just gently rub the top of my head where Yuri's head hit me and I just silently look at the 2 other maids, just as shocked as I am.

Yuri's body trembled while whatever she's saying is muffled because of my bed.

"Pft…."

My whole body shakes while I bring up my hand to cover the wide grin on my face.

Entoma slowly lifts up Yuri's head from the bed who is talking so rapidly I can barely make out what she's saying.

"I'msosorrysirdraculididn'tmeantolordainzjustwantedtomeetyourightawayandwecouldn'tfind-!"

"Pft!" I snort aloud, causing the women to look at me in confusion.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Hahahahahaha!"

It was just so stupid that I couldn't even be mad at them or the fact they invaded my privacy.

God, I really needed this.

"Hah…." I let out a sigh with a smile on my face. I wipe my eyes and look at Yuri, her body already put on her head during my laughing fit.

"Thank you, Yuri. Really, I needed that." I said with a smile, thankfully still holding the towel around my waist.

"I-I don't know what you mean, Sir Dracul. Even if it was by accident, I s-struck yo-" Yuri calms down, at least a little bit, and starts to apologize, but I hold up my hand to stop her.

"It's fine, Yuri, I'm not talking about that but something else. I'm not going to punish you over an accident either so don't worry about that. I'm far more curious as to the fact that you all yourselves in my bedroom"

I mean, either the Pleiades wake me up when I ask them too or they wait until I wake up. They've never come into my room before except for Entoma that one time.

"W-well, Lord Ainz has asked for your presence in the Supreme Beings dining area. When we tried to wake you up, you didn't respond. We tried again, but nothing happened. Forgive us for our rudeness, Sir Dracul, but we feared the worst so we took it upon ourselves to investigate." Yuri explains to me as I thought about what she said.

"Okay…" I trail off, "But, then why is Solution going through my drawers?"

The aforementioned maid stiffened up upon me drawing attention to her. Blushing even more, she tries to explain herself.

"S-Sir Dracul, I-I simply thought that y-you would leave a message of some kind." Solutions stammers out.

In my drawers?

"Okay… I presume it's the same for you, Entoma?" I ask the Insectoid maid.

Entoma didn't answer back or even say anything back, she just continues to stare. I look at her, waiting for an answer.

"...Entoma, you there?" I snap my fingers at her to try and get her attention.

Seriously, what is with these three today? What the hell is going on?

Entoma jolts and suddenly she's looking everywhere but me, "O-of course, S-Sir Dracul…" Entoma mumbles out.

"...Well alright then," I said and promptly just ignored that for now, "If Ainz is waiting for me, best not to keep him waiting but I'll have to get dressed first."

"Of course, Sir Dracul. We shall be waiting outside." Yuri picks up on my unspoken request and walks to the door with Entoma and Solution in tow.

After the doors shut, I give my human form a proper look to check if something was strange. It isn't like I'm made of muscle, but I'm not made of fat either. Hell, if I suck in, I can quite clearly see my ribs.

Nothing seems out of place either. Maybe they didn't know what humans looked like?

No, that's stupid. They have human forms so that's out of the question. Maybe the heat from the showers threw them off?

Meh, I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill here. I use [Create Greater Item] to make my black robe and iron staff with the two intertwined dragon heads and make my way to the door.

"...I can't believe you, Solution! You pervert!" I heard Entoma hiss, an actual hiss, at someone.

"Me?! You didn't even give Sir Dracul a proper answer because you were so busy drooling over him!" Solution harshly whispers back.

Oh? What's this about?

"I-I don't know what you m-mean, I di-" Entoma starts to explain herself, but Yuri interrupts her.

"Now, now, we need to focus on our mission."

Mission? What the hell mission are they talking about?

"Entoma, Solution, did you two find anything where Mistress Albedo said they would be?"

"...No, I didn't find anything. The drawers were completely empty." Solution stated.

"I didn't find anything either," Entoma mumbles, "...Should we really be doing this? Sir Dracul seemed really suspicious of us and it isn't right of us to abuse his trust like this."

Thank you, Entoma, for speaking sense.

"...I understand how you feel, Entoma. Sir Dracul has been nothing but kind to us, but if what Mistress Albedo said is true, we should do what we can to help him." I hear Solution say to Entoma in a soothing voice. Entoma just gives a depressed sigh in return but doesn't argue.

Albedo, what the hell are you forcing my maids to do?

Right, enough of this.

I open the door to see that all three of them had snapped down into a bow.

Which is probably a good thing because the smile on my face feels incredibly strained.

"Come on, Ainz is probably wondering what's taking us so long."

Without waiting for them to say anything, I start making my way to Ainz.

.

---

.

I look around the restaurant to find Ainz sitting at the biggest table with the rest of the Pleiades behind him.

Waving at him, I say, "Morning Ainz. Or Afternoon."

"Afternoon Dracul," He greets me before turning to the Pleiades, "If you have any other duties to attend, you may leave."

At once, all the Pleiades bow at the waist and said in unison:

"Of course, Lord Ainz."

The Pleiades leave one by one until it was just me and Ainz.

"I hope you don't mind, but Shinzu told me what you usually ate so I ordered it for you in advance."

"Nah, don't worry about it, I'm starving. Though I am curious why you wanted to meet here. Something happened after I went to bed last night?"

"That it did. First of all, let me apologize for last night, I had no intention of making you work so late." Ainz bows his head to me.

"Don't worry about it Ainz," I wave off his concerns, "I know how you feel about that kind of thing and you would've never done it on purpose. So what's up?"

"Well, after you left for the night, I called the Floor Guardians for a meeting…" Ainz begins to explain as my steak is set down for me.

Ainz tells me what transpired last night as I ate in silence and listened to him.

Turns out, all the Floor Guardians work 24/7 without rest because of the heightened alert level right now. Ainz, understandably upset about such a thing happening before him, told them that everyone in Nazarick was going to daily breaks.

Or he tried to at least.

Apparently, they kicked up quite a lot of fuss about having basic rights. Shalltear tried to get out of it by claiming that, because she was undead, she didn't need rest. Cocytus said he already completed his Life Cycle so he wouldn't grow any bigger which just made me think of a mini Cocytus with mini weapons.

They even asked about how I and Ainz spend our days off.

Ainz told them about how he 'travelled' with everyone else, but as for me…

"Really? Hunting? That's the best you could come up with?" I ask with amusement.

"Well, it's not that far from the truth, is it? Whenever you came on, if you weren't farming materials for Balmung or trying to find out a new Job Class, you were always in the Midgard, PKing Lizardmen."

"Well…" I scratch my cheek in embarrassment, trying to think of an argument, "Anyway, let's ignore that. So what happened next? Did you force them to have breaks in the end?"

"It feels like it. In the end, Demiurge managed to convince the rest of them to take breaks, but in return, only the Floor Guardians are having breaks right now." Ainz lets out a tired sigh and I wipe my mouth as I finish my meal.

"So, all the Guardians are having breaks, right? What about us? Do we get breaks?" I ask the all-important question.

"You get breaks-"

Oh, thank God.

"-Due to me being undead, however, I don't need breaks."

I'm sorry, what?

"Ainz, Shalltear is undead as well, you can't be ser-"

Ainz holds up his hand before I can start, "As the Floor Guardians superior, I have an obligation to continue work so that is easier on my subordinates."

I stare at him for a moment and I said:

"You just stole that from those books you're reading, didn't you?"

"Hrk!" Ainz makes a strange noise and tries to pass as clearing his throat, "In any case. Dracul, you are 16 years-old. I made you work for me for 10 hours, do you know how black-hearted that is? HeroHero-san was having issues with fewer hours. To make you work for so long..."

"You didn't do it on purpose," I let out a grumble, "But fine, I can see you're not going to budge on this. So I suppose you have more paperwork for me?"

Please, God, I'm begging you. Please no more.

"No, I believe it will be better for the both of us that you stay away from paperwork in the future."

"Oh thank God," I exclaim and letting my shoulders drop, "But then, what am I going to do for today?"

I'm not gonna mouch off of Ainz and Nazarick, so I'm going to help him whether he likes it or not.

"I know how you feel about not helping, so I have something for you to do if you want."

"Oh, really? Sure, shoot."

Ainz nods his head, "I want you to go and see the Guardian that's on their break today to see how they're doing, see if they're actually relaxing like they should be."

"Hmmm…Alright then. Who's on break today then?" I ask Ainz as a maid takes my empty plate away.

"...Ah." Ainz mutters, "That would be Shalltear."

"Well, that'll be fun." I mutter dryly, "Though is that it? Just check on Shalltear?"

"I do have some paperwork that nee-" Ainz starts to say some cursed words that my ears can't comprehend.

"Right, check on Shalltear. Should be easy enough," I push myself from the table and jump off of my chair.

"Are you going to stay in your human form?" Ainz says as he got up from the table as well.

"Yeah," I nod, "I woke up like this and I'm too lazy to change back, honestly."

"In that case, I shall see you later, Dracul."

I wave to Ainz and he waves back as he teleports away using the Ring.

I walk through the doors to the restaurant to find Yuri, Entoma and Solution waiting for me.

"Welcome back, Sir Dracul. Was your meal with Lord Ainz satisfactory?" Yuri asks me as she and her sisters bow.

"It was good. Ainz gave me something to do on the Second Floor involving Shalltear though, so if you have anything to do on the 9th Floor, you can stay here if you want."

I'm tempted to ask them about this 'Mission' that Albedo gave them, but I think I'll wait until we're not on the 9th Floor to ask them about it.

"Mistress Shalltear?" Yuri says and starts to look uncomfortable, "I see. There are some other duties that we can attend to, but Sir Dracul, if you-"

"Don't worry, Yuri. If I plan to go outside today, I'll contact you." I stop her before she can start worrying.

"A-ah, thank you, Sir Dracul." She bows to me.

"Don't worry about it, Yuri. This shouldn't take long." I told the three Pleiades.

They all bow again as I use the Ring to teleport myself to the Second Floor.

.

---

.

After a flash of light, I see the familiar Catacombs and various undead mindlessly walking about. After a while, my eyes adjust to the total darkness and soon enough I can see clear as day in here.

Innate night vision, always handy.

Now if I remember correctly, Shalltear makes her home on the Second Floor, along with Kyouhukou. She lives in a place called the Grave Vault of Adipocere, but getting there is going to take awhile.

"Right, now where is that chapel…?" I mutter under my breath as I look around the derelict tomb. To get to Shalltear's home, I need to go through the broken down chapel, across the rope bridge with those moaning corpses and that should be it.

Shrugging my shoulders, I just start walking in a vaguely familiar direction. As I stroll among the walking dead though, some of them start to approach me.

If I'm attacked, I'm not responsible for afterwards.

A disgusting green zombie with an open skull showing it's rotting brains and a hanging eyeball gets the closest to me and moves to attack me.

But, something happens before it could.

I'm not worried, it's not like they're a threat. But just before it could touch me, it looks at me with its one glassy eyeball and backs off at the last moment.

After that, the group of undead that had gathered around me broke off, now just ignoring me.

Well, that was weird.

"...What just happened? Why did these undead just congregate here?"

"...I don't know. Do you think it's an invader?"

A pair of sensual voices of two women said to each other, just on the edge of my hearing.

I think those might be Shalltear's bodyguards or assistants, a type of vampire called a Vampire Bride. They must be patrolling while Shalltear is on her break.

Soon enough, a pair of two stunningly beautiful buxom women draped in a revealing white dress and crimson eyes. Their lavender skin and longish black nails mark them as undead. One has long, silky black hair while the other one has short, black hair.

They spot me instantly, a living 'human' amongst the undead, and quickly made their way towards me.

As soon as they came near me, they kneel down in unison.

"Sir Dracul, welcome to the Second Floor. How may we serve?" The long hair one says to me.

I couldn't help but let out a smile, "I see Shalltear told you about my human form."

"She was very...thorough, in making sure we didn't make a mistake." The short hair one told me.

"Good. Hopefully, the other Guardians have the done the same," I nod to myself, "Speaking of Shalltear, I've come to check on her while she is on her break. If it isn't too much trouble, could you two show me where she lives?"

"O-Of course, Sir Dracul! It would be our honour to show you the way!"

Jesus Christ, calm down.

"Uh, okay. Lead the way then." I said simply. They both nodded and got up from their kneeling positions.

We walked in silence through the various undead and soon came upon the rundown chapel. Through that, we came upon a derelict wooden bridge with rotting planks and old rope. The bridge hangs above a vast cavern with various shadowy silhouettes of corpses moaning in pain that reached for us when we walked above them.

When I first started playing YGGDRASIL, most of the undead freaked me right out. Seeing this helped get rid of that little fear and the fact that my best friend is a Skeleton helped out a bit.

We come upon a smooth stone door and the long hair Vampire Bride knocks the door, the sound of metal ringing out. Soon after, the sound of the door unlocking could be heard from within.

"Aren't you two a little bit ear-?" An another Vampire Bride opens the stone door, this one with hair buns, and started to say something before she noticed me standing there.

"Hello there," I said simply as the Vampire Bride's eyes widen and she quickly bows.

"M-My apologies, Sir Dracul! I didn't see you there!"

"It's fine," I said to her with a smile, "But, is Shalltear in? I would like to see her while she is on her break."

"O-of course, come in. I shall go and inform her of your arrival." The hair bun Vampire Bride welcomes me and goes back inside to Shalltear.

"U-Uhm, Sir Dracul." One of the Vampire Brides behind me catches my attention.

"Hmm?" I turn around to the two Vampire Brides to see them looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Mistress Shalltear has ordered us to patrol the Floors in case of in-" The short hair one starts to say, but I just held up my hand.

"Don't worry, I know what you're saying. I believe I can look after myself here," I smile at them and bow my head slightly, "Thank you for showing me the way, and sorry for keeping you from your duties."

"I-it was no issue, Sir Dracul! It was our honour to help one such as yourself!" The short hair one said with a small blush.

How do Vampires even blush in the first place?

"...If you insist, but still. Thank you and good luck on your patrol." I said to them. They bowed once more and left to continue on their patrol and I go into Shalltear's home.

You know, I think this is the first time I've ever been into one of the Guardians homes. I wonder what I'll find inside?

Thick, overpowering smells of perfume and sickly sweet fruit invade my nostrils and the sounds of lewd moans and laughing can be heard from other rooms. The whole place is covered in gauzy pink chiffon veils and thankfully obscured my vision to the lewd acts that are certainly going on.

If I had to use a word to describe this place, it would be erotic. Honestly, it felt like stepping into a different world considering the damp and dark catacombs.

Oh.

Oh, this is going to be awkward.

The Vampire Bride that answered the door walks up to me and bows, "If you would follow me, Sir Dracul. Mistress Shalltear is expecting you."

Nodding my head, I follow the Vampire Bride through the hallway and trying my best to not show my discomfort as I can hear the various orgies happening.

To be honest, I don't know what I expected. I mean, Shalltear is Pero-san's NPC so I should've expected something like this, but still…

I have no experience with women myself, at least in any sexual way, due to my GCSEs and studying for them, but I really hope Shalltear doesn't get the wrong message with my visit. I don't think my heart could take that.

Soon enough, the Vampire Bride led me to a pair of ornate wooden doors with some vampire symbology, large bats and such, on them.

I really hope this isn't her bedroom or I'm just teleporting the fuck away as soon as I can.

"Mistress Shalltear awaits for you beyond these doors, Sir Dracul."

"Thank you," I nod to her, "I can take it from here."

I most certainly can not, but I can't really say that.

The Vampire Bride bows to me once again and leaves me to face my destiny.

Taking a deep breath, I put my hands on the large doors and push them open.

The doors open up to reveal a room covered in velvety red drapes, lit lamps on the walls and a small wooden round table with two chairs and two cups of steaming tea on the table.

Shalltear, who is sat on one of the chairs, sees me enter the room and gives me a wide smile that shows off her pearl white fangs.

"Ah! Sir Dracul, come in! I had some tea prepared if you're thirsty."

"Thank you, Shalltear," I feel my lips curl up into a smile and make my way to one of the chairs and sit down on it.

Huh, this is actually pretty comfy.

And hopefully, this tea is actually tea this time, not just hot water like back in Carne Village.

It's not I didn't trust Shalltear or anything, but I haven't drunk my morning tea like I usually do and I'm really thirsty so I'm just going to take the very small risk that Shalltear may or may not have spiked this.

I pick up the teacup in front of me and take a steady sip of the piping hot liquid.

Instead of tasting weird, it instead tastes bitter, but somewhat sweet like someone put a spoonful of sugar in it.

Wow.

This tastes really good.

"Wh-What do you think, Sir Dracul? Is it to your standards?" Shalltear asks me, twirling a strand of hair around her finger and expectations written across her face.

But I don't have any standards when it comes to tea though.

"Yes, it's really good," I tell her the truth and her face blossoms into a smile and see her do a little fist pump under the table, "Did you make this?"

"Yes, but not without some help. Entoma gave me some tips and with this new 'vacation' that Lord Ainz has bestowed upon us Floor Guardians, I thought I would try my hand at it." Shalltear tells me with a blush on her face and that got me thinking.

Are Entoma and Shalltear close? Why would Entoma give Shalltear of all people tips in making tea?

Whatever probably isn't important.

"That's good to hear. Speaking of your break, that's actually why I'm here." I told as I drink more tea.

"Oh? Am I doing something wrong? Did I fail some sort of test?" Shalltear asks me with 100% seriousness and worry, which just caused me to chuckle.

"Nothing like that, Shalltear. Ainz just asked me to see how you were doing and how your break was going. Don't worry, there isn't a test or anything like that." I bring the cup up to my lips and take a sip while Shalltear's cute face scrunches up in thought.

"O-oh, I see…" Shalltear mutters under her breath, "In that case, there is nothing wrong. I am spending my 'break' as I think best."

"Shalltear, don't think I didn't notice that stutter at the start. If you think something is wrong or there's something you'd like to say, I'd like to know about it." I said honestly, putting the empty teacup down onto the table.

Shalltear's face flushes with red and she looks away for a moment. She lets out a sigh and looks back to me.

"As I'm sure you know, we Floor Guardians were made by the 41 Supreme Beings to serve their every need and to defend the Great Tomb of Nazarick with our lives. To fulfil our purpose the best we can, we are equipped with items that negate exhaustion or hunger, but even knowing this, Lord Ainz still bestowed upon us this 'vacation' where we aren't supposed to do our duty, but Lord Ainz still insists on working..."

The more Shalltear talks about this, the more uncomfortable I can see her getting. Wringing the hem of her dress with one hand, tapping her finger on the table with the other. I can even see the shadows around us distorting slightly.

"I think I know what you're getting at, Shalltear," I tell her simply, pouring more tea into my cup.

"Eh?"

"Yeah," I nod my head, "You don't like the fact that Ainz is working when you're not. You don't think it's fair." I tell her with a grin on my face.

"Hrk!" Shalltear makes some kind of noise and immediately starts to splutter, "Wel-I didn't mea-!" Shalltear's face goes red as a tomato and starts making wild hand gestures.

"Hahahaha!" I let out a laugh as Shalltear gets even more and more red in the face.

"Sh-Shalltear, it's fine. I know how you feel, don't worry about it." I said to her as I try to calm down my laughter, "Ainz actually gave me a break after this as well."

"Eh?" Shalltear snaps to attention, "Truly, Sir Dracul?"

"Yeah. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he wouldn't have any of it." I shake my head, "Honestly, it's not like I'm made of glass or anything."

10 hours without rest is a bit much, but I can at least do something to help out.

"I see... then, after this, you're not doing anything for the rest of the day?" Shalltear asks me in a tone that said she has something in mind.

Oh no.

Shalltear leans forward, her face blushing for a different reason and she positions her arms to emphasize her large fake breasts.

Fuck! Diffuse, quickly!

"N-Not entirely," I can feel my face heat up a slight bit and I hope to God Shalltear doesn't notice, "There is something I plan to do outside Nazarick after this."

"Oh," Shalltear deflates slightly and lets out a small sigh, "I see. May I ask what you're doing that requires for you to be outside of Nazarick?"

"Well…" I think over whether to tell her or not, but she probably already knows, "I'm sure you know that Ainz has stopped all production of Scrolls until we can ensure a viable alternative?"

Shalltear nods, "Indeed I do. All the Guardians have been contacted about it."

"Well, while I don't think I found a permanent solution, I do think I have found a temporary one, a way for us to have a supply of Scrolls with 10th Tier spells, at least for a little while," I tell her as I take a sip of the now lukewarm tea.

"Scrolls with Tier 10 spells? But the only materials that can hold that kind of power is Dragonhi…" Shalltear frowns at what I said for a moment before it turns into a look of pure horror.

"Sir Dracul, please don't do this!" She violently grabs the edge of the table and lunges towards me. Her lips quiver and her eyes are wet.

What's got her in such a stat-?

Oh.

Oh, that's my fault.

"Shalltear, I'm not going to skin myself," I tell her plainly.

"O-oh…" She slinks back into her chair and proceeds to look anywhere but me.

"Sorry, I should've been clearer," I wince and bow my head to Shalltear.

"N-No, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so fast." Shalltear flushes with red and starts bowing her head to me.

"Don't worry about it," I wave my hand, dismissing her, "I can see why you thought that. I'm talking about the Frost Dragons that live in the Azerlisia Mountain Range."

"Frost...Dragons?"

"Ah, I don't think we actually told you. Let me explain…"

And so for the past few minutes, I told Shalltear about the Frost Dragons and Azerlisia Mountain Range and how I planned to hunt down some Frost Dragons for their hide.

"But...Sir Dracul, as a Fire Dragon, are you not weak to Frost?" Shalltear asks me, quiet contemplation on her face.

"I am, but I want to help Ainz, you know? It's the least I can do for him." I shrug my shoulders with a rueful grin on my face.

I know Ainz would never do it, but he could've just left me on my own when we came here. He could've just told me to find my own way home, but he didn't. Instead, he's given me a roof over my head, hot meals and a promise to try and find a way back home.

How could I just sit back and let him do all the heavy work? Never mind asking what kind of friend I am, it would be more fit to say what kind of person I am to just coast along instead of helping out in any way I can.

Shalltear's eyes widen slightly when I finished speaking and she bites her bottom lip in thought.

"You know, if you're worried, you can come with me." I offer her and I finish off the rest of the tea.

Damn, that was really good tea as well.

"Eh? Truly?"

I shrug my shoulders, "Sure, it isn't a big deal. Yuri, Entoma and Solution will be coming with me as well."

"O-Of course, Sir Dracul! It would be my honour to guard you!" Shalltear says excitedly, more or less vibrating in excitement.

Yeesh, it isn't that big of a deal.

"Well, alright then. Let me just [Message] Ainz and Yuri first though."

A moment later, I felt the connection 'click' with Ainz.

"Ainz, you busy?"

"No more than usual. I presume you've checked up on Shalltear? Did...something happen?"

"Don't worry Ainz, my purity is still intact. I'm still with Shalltear right now, but she isn't working or doing something like that. Hell, she even made me tea."

"Tea? Not what I would've expected, but as long as she is relaxing like she should be."

"So, now I'm on my 'break', right?"

"...Yes, yes you are. What are you planning?"

"What makes you think I'm planning anything? Where's your trust?"

"Because I know you, Dracul. I very much doubt you're going to stay inside Nazarick."

Damn it.

"...Well, I'm thinking of going to hunt down some Frost Dragons."

Silence greeted me after I said that to Ainz.

Did the connection get cut or something?

"Ainz? You still there?"

"...Yes, yes I am. At least tell me you're not going alone."

"No, no. I told Shalltear about it and she wants to go with me. Plus, I plan to take some of the Pleiades with me. They're still a bit twitchy."

"I suppose that's better than nothing. Shalltear is the strongest Guardian and as an undead, she's also immune to Frost. I don't know how much the Pleiades will be able to help, but Entoma and Solution can provide support while Yuri guards them."

"See? It all works out in the end. Come on, Momo. You said so yourself that we need to find some substitute materials for scrolls. Might as well see if Dragonhide from here can be used. "

"...Fine. If you're taking Shalltear and The Pleiades with you, it should be alright. If you can't win-"

"Then we'll retreat. With my Ring and Shalltear's [Gate], we can run away pretty quickly."

"Good. Then, happy hunting I suppose."

"Thanks, Momo. Talk to ya later."

"You as well, Dracul."

I disconnect the call and look to see Shalltear's slitted red eyes peering at me.

"He said it's fine, so don't worry, you won't get in trouble," I tell her. She lets out a small sigh and smiles slightly.

Is she that bored? I suppose she doesn't have a lot to do.

Right, next is Yuri.

"Yuri, are you and the others free?"

"Yes Sir Dracul. How may we serve?"

"Well, Ainz has given me the go-ahead to have my break now and I plan to spend it outside today."

"I see. Let me gather Entoma and Solu-"

"Before you do that, let me just tell what I'm actually going to be doing so you know what to expect."

And so I did. Yuri didn't speak up during my explanation but she did make a strange noise when I mentioned that Shalltear would be coming.

"If you are going outside to hunt for Dragonhide, Sir Dracul, than that is even more reason for us to come with you. We may not be of much help, but it would be an honour to help you in any way we can."

"If you're that sure...Start gearing up then and make your way outside. [Message] me when you do, I'll use the Ring to bring Shalltear and myself."

"Of course, Sir Dracul."

With that, I disconnect the 'call' from Yuri and look back at Shalltear.

"Yuri and the others are making their way to the First Floor but considering they're on the 9th Floor, they'll probably be a while yet."

And I can't think of any conversations starters. Gr-

"In that case Sir Dracul, there is something I'm curious about."

Oh, thank God.

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

Shalltear lets out a melodious hum and asks me:

"Had you accepted to become the 42nd Supreme Being, what kind of NPC would you have created?"

NPC?

Huh. I've never actually thought about it.

"Hmmm…." I rest my chin on my palm as I lean on the table, my mind racing with thoughts.

"...They' would've been undead, A Skeleton to be precise. I know that at least."

Shalltear's red eyes lit up when I finally spoke, "Ah, like Lord Ainz used to be?"

"Yeah," I nod at her question, "It was Ainz who introduced me to Nazarick. Seems appropriate, but that would've been where the similarities end."

"He wouldn't have been a spellcaster but focused more on melee and defence rather than spells. He would've had some levels in Lord of Undeath and Knight of Niflheim so he had some access to spells, but he would be a warrior through and through."

Shalltear leans towards me, enraptured by my description of my would-be NPC.

"As for his position? I suppose he would guard the Treasury along with Pandora's Actor. Having some extra help guarding the World Items is always appreciated."

"Pandora's Actor? You mean the NPC that Lord Ainz made personally?" Shalltear asks me as I think back to the Greater Doppelgänger in the Treasury.

Actually, did Ainz ever visit Pandora since we came here? I'll have to ask him about it.

"Yeah, but I've never seen him before. He's the only one guarding the Treasury though and it seemed lonely to me that he's the only one down there."

That, and whenever I asked about Pandora's Actor, Ainz would always just clamp up and divert the topic and the guys weren't much better as they would always crack up whenever I brought it up.

"I see, I see." Shalltear says with enthusiasm and nods rapidly, "What would you have called him then?"

"His name?" I wonder aloud.

I suppose Richard sounds good. Like Richard, the Lionheart would work nicely.

But…

"Jack." The words slip from my mouth before I could stop them.

"Eh?" Shalltear tilts her head at my answer.

Ah shit.

"Jack, His name would've been Jack," I say more clearly and with greater confidence.

It's not a bad name, but I'm sure Shalltear won't know why I choose Jack exactly. I mean, if I'm going to make him a Skeleton in honour of Ainz, I might as well name him after my brother.

"Hmm...Jack," She rolls the name around for a bit before letting out a smile, "As expected of you, Sir Dracul, to pick such a strong name."

I have no idea how a name can be 'strong' but glad you like it I suppose.

"Sir Dracul, we have made our way to the First Floor."

"Really? That was fast. Alright, Shalltear and I will be there soon."

"Yuri and the others have made their way to the First Floor so we should probably start making our way there." I push my chair back as Shalltear does the same.

Swiftly changing into my Dragonoid Form and giving myself a once over to make sure that I'm equipped, I turn to Shalltear and hold out my hand to her.

Shalltear looks at my held out hand with a confused look and blushing all the while.

"Ready?" I simply ask her.

"A-ah, of course, Sir Dracul," She gently places her small, pale hand onto mine and a flash of light consumes the both of us.

.

---

.

I have no idea where we are, except for the fact we're above the clouds and mountains.

You would think that Dragons would be easy to spot, what with being gigantic flying lizards that can use magic and fly in the air and all. I mean, if I was a Dragon, I would be spending my days flying above the clouds and doing stunts so I thought they would be doing the same.

Apparently not.

Picking a random direction, Me and everyone else flew around

I look around the frosty mountainous sky, furiously looking for the Dragons that I was promised.

Like, come on! Dragons! Real Dragons in real life that I could hunt instead of inside a video game!

"So, how long have we been out here?"

"For about 45 minutes, Sir Dracul," Yuri said behind me.

45 minutes wasted.

Damn it all.

Letting out a sigh, I came to a decision.

"Right, let's go below the clouds then. Maybe we'll see something on the ground, something that we missed." We descended through the fluffy clouds and get a clear view of the mountainous landscape.

It's breathtaking.

The Sun rises high over the mountains, making the snow glitter like silver in the sunlight and the patches of wet grass where the snow has melted sway gently in the cold wind, dripping with morning dew.

Maybe I didn't find any Dragons, but damn if this doesn't partially make up for it.

Taking in a deep breath of clean mountain air, I start looking around us to see if any Frost Dragons were flying in the air.

Nothing.

Nothing as far as I can see.

"I swear, if that Village Chief lied to us…" I mutter under breath as I start flying lazily through the air.

I heard Shalltear snarl behind me and Entoma starts making a clicking noise, "If that lower being lied to one such as yourself Sir Dracul, we will happily go and teach him and his hovel the error of their ways."

"Errr, that's okay Shalltear. It's more likely he didn't know, rather than actually lie to us." I try to soothe Shalltear, "In any case, Ainz and I have declared Carne Village under our protection so destroying it after one minor mistake is pretty shitty."

Shalltear's face drops like an anvil and starts to profusely apologise to me. Before I could stop her, I hear something on the wind that sounds an awful lot like…

Whistling?

Not whistling like someone is blowing their lips, but like someone just shot an arrow from a bow.

Or just threw something at us.

The whistling gets closer and closer until the others caught wind of it and surround me, their weapons at the ready. I snap my head around until I finally get a glimpse of what's attacking us.

Three, massive boulders made out of pure ice race through the air right towards us like shooting stars.

"[Maximize Magic: Blazing Arrows]" I growl out as the three familiar flame like arrows blaze into existence, now only longer and thicker, like spears.

They shot out towards the ice boulders, leaving streaks of light and smoke behind them.

The first one collides with its target head-on, exploding and the boulder breaks down into tiny bits and the rest melts from the heat.

The second and the third goes much like the first, but the pure heat from the fires melt it down rather explode like the first one.

A fine mist of water forms, but quickly dissipates as I finally get a good look at our attackers.

Aways from us and on the ground, I see a group of 50 or so blue… giant humans?

The one that stands out the most has a giant double-bladed axe, the blades being made out of ice and the shaft out of iron that has been frosted over.

I couldn't see their face due to a helmet covering the top half of their face, but the white long braided beard and the mane of white hair told me enough.

The thing that stood out most to me, however, is the large cloak of blue scales that he wore around his neck and covered his back.

He looks up to us, his mouth gaping wide before contorting with gritting teeth. He turns around to three other blue humans wearing some sort of cloth robes and starts shouting something I can't hear, spittle and froth coming from his mouth. About 6 blue humans pulled up on either side of the robed ones. They kneel down onto one knee and pull out the massive bows strapped onto their backs while the three robed ones start casting some sort of magic.

In an instant, the bows are loaded by giant arrows made out of ice and the blue humans string them back.

Blue skin, white hair, ice magic and giant weapons? Yeah, I know what these guys are.

"I didn't expect to see any Jötunns here." I muse aloud as the Jötunn with the axe starts barking orders to the archers.

"Fine then," I growl out and I reach behind me to take hold of Balmung, "We may not have found any Dragons, but I suppose this works out."

I point Balmung to the sky above them.

They take aim.

Balmung lights up in a familiar blaze and I feel the pool of power in me stirring.

The Jötunn with the ice axe roars at his archers and they let loose the arrows that soar through the air like a shooting star.

It was the last thing they ever did.

"[Sword of Light!]" My voice booms throughout the mountain range as I use one of my most powerful skills and a personal favourite.

The flames that Balmung make start whipping around the blade and suddenly they shoot through the air in a streak of fire and flame. They pass through the giant ice arrows, melting them and turning any water near it into steam.

The flames converge and merge above the Jötunn Warband, the sight making all of them drop their weapons and look with trepidation and fear as the flames start to take shape.

The smarter ones start running.

As I fed more and more flames and mana to the skill, a truly colossus ornate sword about 40 Meters long and 20 Meters wide forms above them, the very heat it gives off melting the snow around us for miles around and setting the field beneath on fire like a scene straight out of hell. Many Jötunns are trying everything they can from rolling on to the ground to tearing off their clothes so as to not be burned to death.

It doesn't work.

The Jötunn with the double bladed ice axe is now swiping at the flames pitifully with the axe, trying his best to keep the flames at bay.

He looks up at me, his eyes hidden by his helm.

I lock eyes with him.

I look at the giant [Sword of Light] that I've made.

This actually may have been a bad idea. If I let the sword drop now, I'm pretty sure the Dragonhide that the Jötunn leader has will be destroyed along with him.

[Sword of Light] is a powerful skill I can only use three times a day, but if I 'merge' all of my uses into one and feed some extra MP into it, I can do this instead. Usually, I didn't because it took so long to cast and it really wasn't practical in PvP, but I kinda wanted to use one of my skills instead of spells for once.

Lowering down Balmung and extinguishing the flames, the floating [Sword of Light] disappears quickly without its fuel source. I look down at the Jötunn Warband to see the damage.

The snow that covered the mountains around us had evaporated into nothing and the grassy field where the Jötunns are is now nothing more than ash, scattering to the wind. The ground is scorched completely back, some places still on fire.

50 Jötunns attacked us.

Now only about 20 seem to be alive, but barely. Some of them are badly burned or the unlucky ones are still on fire.

The leader though seems exhausted, but unhurt. Probably because of that axe of his and maybe some sort of magic on his cloak.

"Girls," I said aloud to my entourage.

They all snap to attention and turn to look at me.

Shalltear is breathing heavily and is sporting a heavy blush, looking at me with crazed eyes.

Damn it, I'm an idiot! Shalltear is undead, of course, I made her uncomfortable with the heat.

I'll make sure to apologize later, but let's handle this mess first.

The Pleiades have more of a stern expression, but I could tell what they saw affected them.

Solution looks at me with wide eyes and a slight blush, Entoma's expression doesn't change, but I could hear something akin to purring coming from her and Yuri has a slight frown on her face.

I have no doubt that it's scorching hot down there so I should probably make sure that everyone is safe when we get down there. Entoma's insects would probably burn alive just from the heat alone and to say nothing about Yuri or Shalltear's status as undead. Solution may be alright, but I'm not going to risk it and I'm not really knowledgeable about Slimes, Shoggoth or otherwise.

Moving closer to Shalltear, I put my hand on her shoulders and chant:

"[Surtr's Protection]"

A dark, red light infuses itself with Shalltear and disappears a moment later. Shalltear looks at herself while I do the same to the others who look just as confused.

"That's a skill of mine from one of my Job Class; Chosen of Surtr. Think of it like the spell [Protection Energy - Fire] but it's much better and lasts a lot longer." I explain to the girls as they look over themselves.

I look down onto the burning battlefield and see the Jötunns that survived are gathering up weapons and the leader starts shouting at them while pointing up at us.

"Everyone, consider this my first order." As soon as I said that, they all snap to attention.

"Do what you want with the survivors. Leave the one with the axe to me."

Shalltear lets out a hungry grin, her fangs on full display and her hands tighten on the Spuit Lance.

Various insects start to buzz around Entoma and slips of paper peek out of her sleeve. A minuscule droplet of drool starts to form from under her mask.

Solution's mouth forms into an impossibly wide grin with no teeth.

Yuri simply nods, checking over her spiked gauntlets.

"They may not be the Frost Dragons we were looking for," I said as Balmung lights up, "But I suppose if we can get our hands on that cloak, it won't be a total waste."

I look down at the Jötunns to see that they've taken up arms. Swords, axes and spears that either seemed to be made out of ice or glow with an ethereal blue light.

The leader Jötunn looks up at me, a snarl on his lips and holding his icy axe ready.

"Well then," I spread out my wings to the full length.

"Don't hold yourselves back, but like I said. Leave the Leader to me."

Shalltear sports one last grin and dives bomb downwards to the Jötunns, Entoma and Solution not far behind them. Yuri let's out a sigh and mutters something about her little sisters and chases off after them.

I start flapping my wings and fly downwards onto the burnt battlefield as I watch Shalltear and the Pleiades start wrecking house.

Shalltear doesn't slow down her dive bomb, her white feather wings flapping in the wind, and goes right through two Jötunns in the midsections in an explosion of gore and blood who fall to the ground, dead. Absolutely covered in blood, Shalltear licks her bloody lips with a frenzied smile that shows off her blood covered teeth.

Wait.

Wait a minute, doesn't Shalltear have Blood Frenzy?

Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine.

"Ahahahahah! Come on, is that all?! Show me a good time already! I'm dying of boredom here!" Shalltear yells out as she zips around to another Jötunn and rips his throat open barehanded, practically bathing herself in even more blood. The Jötunn falls to the ground, grasping at his open throat.

...Well, I guess this makes up for earlier.

One of the Jötunn goes to smack her out of the air with his mace in hand, his eyes brimming with tears and a snarl on his lips.

"[Bullet Bug!]" A cutesy voice rings out and the sound of machine gun fire rings out. The same Jötunn that went to attack Shalltear is riddled with bullet bugs, his head nothing more than a bloody patchwork of skull and grey matter.

His body falls over with a massive thud and Entoma skips over to him and eyes the corpse hungrily for a moment before shaking her head and starts to gun down the other Jötunns.

Yuri and Solution work together to take down their foes. Yuri gets in close and personal, breaking bones and bodies with her fists and martial arts while Solution goes behind the Jötunn busy dealing with Yuri, either jamming her poison-laced daggers into their throats or dissolving vital parts of their bodies with her slime.

The leader Jötunn looks at the carnage surrounding him, his men screaming in agony and pain as their bodies are broken, gutted and dissolved with brutal efficiency. His hands shake and he barely holds onto his own weapon, taking steps back from the girls.

Coward.

"Haaahhhhhh…" A familiar sounding but distorted voice lets out a weird sounding sigh, "Is that all? Did I break them all?"

Oh shit.

"No, no…..there's one more to play with…"

I snap my head to look at Shalltear, her body hidden by her armour and her face hidden by her mattered, blood-soaked hair.

Her neck moves in a stiff and unnatural way as she lifts her head up to stare at the Jötunn leader. I couldn't see her face except for a single, solitary completely red eye.

"Hahhhhhhhhh...More foooooood!" Shalltear screech's to the sky, her screams echoing out the mountains. Her back bulges and a pair of large, leathery bat wings pop out. She gives out a mighty flap and she shoots like a bullet towards the Jötunn.

Oh fuck.

"[Greater Teleportation!]"

Forgoing my lovely little stroll through the air, I teleport in front of the Jötunn leader.

And a massive rush of wind passes through my head as I look down the point of the Spuit Lance that had stopped right in front of me and finally get a good look at Shalltear's true form.

Her face is no longer the pretty, pale face that I've come to associate her with or her red slitted eyes.

Instead, her face is now completely monstrous, a True Vampire's real form. Her lips and mouth have turned into a red fleshly circular maw, razor-sharp teeth pointing outwards on her lips, forming a disgusting looking circle of a mouth like walking lamprey.

A long, plump red prehensile tongue that seems far too big to fit in her mouth, moves about like a tail and as if to taste the blood in the air. Her eyes are completely red with no pupils with a feral look in them and her hands look more like claws than actual hands.

Despite this, I wasn't disgusted or anything. I knew what a True Vampire looked like, hell I even played one before I made Dracul and met Ainz. I'm more worried about her mental state though because of Blood Frenzy.

I'm such a stupid idiot, I should've seen this happening. Ainz and I already know how spells could change in this New World so I should've taken into account Shalltear's Blood Frenzy.

Right, first things first.

I point my arm back to the Jötunn leader and hold out my hand.

"[Fireball]"

"Wh-!" A deep, thunderous male voice shouts out before the [Fireball] blew his head off. I felt the ground shake when his body hit the floor, kicking up clouds of ash.

Shame, I was hoping to fight him with that axe of his but Shalltear matters more.

"Shalltear," I gently said to her while looking past the tip of her Lance and into her blood red eyes, "Calm down."

Shalltear looks at me with wide eyes for a moment before she wrenches the Spuit Lance back.

"S-Sir Dracul, I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mea-!"

Oh, thank God. Her voice is still distorted, but at least she hasn't gone completely insane. Already I can see her True Vampire visage slowly turn back into her human form.

"It's fine, Shalltear. I'm just glad that you're still you. I was just worried that your Blood Frenzy was getting out of control," I wave off her concerns that I know she's going to have, "We'll talk about it later. For now, let's just make sure the others are okay."

Shalltear meekly nods which really doesn't suit the way she is right now, but I'm honestly just glad that she's okay, more or less.

We float over to the three combat maids who are waiting patiently on the ground, next to a bunch of Jötunns corpses.

You know, from an outsider's perspective, this scene is kinda crazy. 3 maids, a Dullahan, a Shoggoth and an Insectoid stand in an ash-covered battlefield with giant corpses littering it.

Sounds like a really bad joke.

"Sir Dracul, Mistress Shalltear, is everything alright? When we saw that Mistress Shalltear went to attack that Jötunn…" Yuri asks me, a frown creasing her face.

"It's fine, Yuri, nothing happened." I wave off her concerns and walk to the giant Jötunn corpse.

As I look over the massive body, only one thought crosses my mind.

They seemed a lot smaller in the air.

Looking around, the leader was the tallest out of all them, about 20 or 25 Meters tall. No wonder they freaked out at the [Sword of Light].

"Shalltear, give me a hand with this, please."

"O-Of course, Sir Dracul!"

Rolling my eyes, I turn back to the Pleiades, "Shalltear and I are gonna lift up this guy. While we're doing that, unhook his cloak and try to get it out from under him."

The Pleiades bow to me and move into position around the where the head was until I blew it off.

I move to his ribs while Shalltear moves to his hips and we both grab hold of it.

"On the count of 3. Ready Shalltear?" I ask her and make sure my grip is steady and strong.

"Ready, Sir Dracul!"

Yeah, I'm gonna have to talk to her later.

"1...2"

My hands' grip and I tense my arms while Shalltear does the same.

"3!"

Shalltear and I thrust our arms upwards, moving the Jötunn's corpse upwards and I feel the weight press down onto me like a heavy log.

Huh.

I expected him to be a lot heavier than this. I mean, the sheer size of him alone would make this pretty awful to do this alone and I knew my strength is better than back when I was human, to say the least.

I just expected a mountain of a corpse that's made out of muscle to be a lot heavier.

Or maybe I'm just stupidly strong?

I shift my eyes over to Shalltear who's turned fully back into her human form. Her arms aren't shaking or anything, hell, she isn't even paying attention to the lifting.

She's looking down on the ground; biting her bottom lip, her brow furrowed in thought and every so often her eyes shift over to look at me before quickly looking away.

I look over to the Pleiades to see them having some trouble getting the cape off. Entoma is hanging from the right side, trying and failing to unlock the clasp on the cape. Eventually, she lets out a cute little 'humph' and calls for one of her bugs that turns into some sort of sword and starts cutting.

On the left side, Yuri is holding Solution while she stands on Yuri's shoulders, her short skirt giving me a clear view of her-

My eyes snap back onto the ground, making sure my eyes don't wander to places they shouldn't.

I understand the fact that, as a Slime, Solution doesn't really need armour or even clothes, but come on! At least wear a longer skirt or something!

The [Mass Fly] I casted earlier must've worn off so that explains why they're not just flying to undo the clasps, but really. All they have to do is just ask and I'll cast it again.

All of a sudden, a massive shadow falls over me and Shalltear and I hear a big 'thumwp' sound as the suddenly loose cape falls onto the ground, kicking up massive clouds of ash.

"Good work, girls. Now pull it out from under him. Don't be afraid to be a bit rough with it if you have to, we can spare some rips in it."

We actually could as well. This bloody thing is as big as the Jötunn himself. We'll get a ton of scrolls from this.

"Understood Sir Dracul," Yuri says to me and orders Solution and Entoma to take up positions.

With some tugging and pulling along with a few snags, we finally managed to get the whole cloak off of the corpse.

And what a cloak it is.

Despite the short but furious battle it had just been through, the blue-white scales sparkle in the sunlight like shining sapphires and remain cool to the touch even with the stifling heat in the air.

Shalltear and I let the body drop unceremoniously, kicking up what little ash is around us, left and we walk over to the Pleiades, currently looking over the cape that is now covering a large section of the field with mild interest.

"Sir Dracul, may I ask how you plan to transport this to Nazarick? Shall I call for some reinforcements?" Solution asks me as we stand by the giant cape.

"Well…" I mutter, looking around, "Just watch for now. I have an idea."

Actually, I have a couple. The first and foremost would be for Shalltear to use [Gate] and we roll it up and just carry it through.

But, this is actually a good opportunity to talk about Albedo's 'mission' and give Shalltear a little pep talk.

"First of all, good work. All of you," I praise them honestly as I open up my Inventory in the air and grab a fistful of the cloak.

Yuri, Solution and Shalltear faces are suddenly flushed with red while Entoma lets out a noise and they give me a hasty bow.

"S-Sir Dracul, we only did our duty, nothing more...and I e-even-" Shalltear says with a quivering lip.

"Shalltear, I put myself in your way and you had no way of knowing that I was going teleport in front of your charge so stop beating yourself over something like this. Plus, I had faith that you would stop before you hit me and stop you did." I told her plainly as I more or less just chuck the cloak into my inventory.

Honestly, this way is going to take so damn long but it gives me some much needed time.

"Even so, Sir Dracul I-!"

Though she couldn't see it thanks to my helmet, I roll my eyes once again, "Alright, alright. If you feel that strongly about it then, come here." I stop what I'm doing and turn around to Shalltear, who is looking mighty confused along with the Pleiades.

"E-eh? S-Sir Dracul?"

"Come here. There are two things you can do to make it up to me right now if you want." I state plainly, taking off my helm and putting it into my Inventory.

Shalltear's face lights up once again and I could see the corners of her mouth threatening to turn into a pervy smile.

"R-Right away, Sir Dracul!" Shalltear practically skips over to me, "If you desire me in such a place as this than I sh-!"

I should be surprised, but I'm really not at this point.

While Shalltear is babbling about all sorts of perverted things and making the Pleiades uncomfortable as all hell I bet.

Entoma at least doesn't seem too pleased, her antenna twitching.

Good thing I have morals then.

I hold up my hand, use my thumb to hold back my middle finger…

And flick Shalltear on her forehead.

"Ah!" Shalltear lets out a yelp and holds her forehead in surprise.

"There, you're punished." I said dryly, "And here is the other thing."

"Sir Dracul?"

"Don't lose control of yourself again."

Shalltear looks up at me with wide eyes, still holding her forehead, "Eh?"

Giving her smile, I carry on:

"Shalltear, I know that you, or anyone else in Nazarick for that matter, would never hurt Ainz or me on purpose. Even when under the effects of your Blood Frenzy, you stopped when I appeared in front of you without any warning whatsoever."

Shalltear looks like she's going to say something, but I carry on:

"So don't worry about it. I had faith in you and that faith was repaid in full, though with that being said, don't be afraid to let loose or have fun once in awhile. Just...be aware of some things first before you mess around."

Shalltear's eyes go down, thinking before she looks back up, an expression of resolve on her face and snaps a salute.

"As you say, Sir Dracul! I will do all that I can to make myself worthy of your faith in me!"

"Now, now. You're supposed to relax on your break, remember?" I tease her a bit as she suddenly sputters at what I said.

"Heh, but still though. I look forward to it," I give her a warm smile and turn to the Pleiades, "Now, like I said before, you guys did a good job here and that deserves a reward. So if you want anything from here or if I can do anything, just ask."

Turning around back to my Inventory, I return to chucking in handfuls of the cape in it. I heard Yuri start to say something behind me, but suddenly, someone grabs her shoulder and starts whispering to her so quietly that I couldn't hear them.

What the hell?

"What are you three whispering about?" I heard Shalltear asks them. I turn my head to see Entoma wave Shalltear over who looks at me.

I just give her a shrug and went back to work. I meant for them to have an individual reward each, but they must've misunderstood me.

At least, that's what Ainz told me to do. Something about being a good manager or something? Probably from those books he's been reading.

Shalltear walks over the Pleiades and leans into the group as the whispers continue. Something tells me I should be more worried about what they're talking about…

"Eh?! Is that true?!" I heard Shalltear shout all of sudden before she is hurriedly hushed down.

"Girls? Is everything okay over there?" I ask them as I stuff more and more cape into my Inventory.

Jesus, how big is is my Inventory anyway? Where the hell does it even go?

I look over to the huddled group of women who suddenly stopped whispering when I shouted at them.

Eventually, Yuri stands up and clears her throat, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"S-Sir Dracul, if I m-may ask…"

Oh boy.

"Yes, Yuri?"

"Wh…" Yuri starts to say as the blush on her face gets redder and redder.

I wonder how Yuri even blushes in the first place. I mean, her neck isn't even connected to her hea-

"What kind of women do you like?!" Yuri suddenly says all at once.

I'm sorry, what?

I drop the cape that I held in my hands.

I slowly look over to Yuri who is shuffling on her feet right now. I could virtually see the emotion damper working on overdrive right now.

And then a thought struck me.

"...Is this about the mission Albedo gave you?" I shot in the dark.

Going by how Yuri and the others went stiff, turns out my shot in the dark hit the target.

Letting out a sigh, I carried on, "I heard you three talking about it through my door. Listen, if Albedo is forcing you into something you don't want to do, just tell me and I'll ask her to sto-"

"I-it's not like that, Sir Dracul…" Entoma interrupts me, fiddling her claws together, "Mistress Albedo said to us that Dragons are very promiscuous beings-"

Oh my fucking God no.

"-But last night, you said something that worried Mistress Albedo and so she asked us to find out what you find desirable in women. Because we know so very little about Dragons, we were worried about your health…"

"Well…" I mutter under breath, "Let me make a couple of things clear. First, my health isn't going to be affected by my...libido, so don't worry about that."

"O-oh…" Entoma sighs and her shoulders droop along with Shalltear.

Just gonna ignore that.

"...Anyway, I appreciate your efforts," I let out a sigh, "With that said, I don't think knowing what kind of women I like isn't necess-"

"Uhm!" Shalltear says all of sudden, "I-I would like to know, Sir Dracul!"

"M-Me too!" Entoma joins in.

"What?" I said, looking at Shalltear and Entoma.

Shalltear is looking at me with hunger in her eyes while Entoma's antennae twitch.

Solution and Yuri tried to show outwardly how calm they are, but my gut feeling told me they were just as interested as Entoma and Shalltear.

God, is it really that important? Are we really going to have this conversation here of all places?

Then again, I did promise them…

"...I suppose I like strong, honest women." I said carefully, "You know, someone who can handle themselves in a fight, that sort of thing."

Turns out that was the right thing to say because Shalltear's face lit up like a Christmas tree and I could see Entoma doing little fist pumps behind her.

"Anyway," I hastily go back to my task, "This is going to take a while so search the field and see if something catches your eye. Weapons and such."

"Uhmm, Sir Drac-"

"And if any of you just so happen to be hungry or skipped breakfast, go wild," I said and most certainly didn't hear a little squee.

I realize that giving Entoma permission to eat corpses is a bit fucked up, but it could be worse and, like always, I find that I don't really care.

With that, Yuri and Entoma go off together to search on one side of the field while Solution and Shalltear go off on the other.

"You know, Solution, this might be a good chance for you to show me how you dissolve flesh like you were telling me about earlier." I heard Shalltear say to Solution.

"Of course, Mistress Shalltear, it would be my pleasure. These Jötunns are too large to fit inside of me, but it would be a simple matter to cut something off." Solution eagerly says to Shalltear.

...Well, that' a bit of a turn-off.

As I expected, there really wasn't anything of value among the dead Jötunn. Their weapons were interesting, but nothing I haven't seen before. It seemed they have been enchanted slightly to do extra frost damage, like a shitter version of Balmung. The Ice Axe though…

Now that is something else entirely.

Using [All Appraisal Magic Item] told me all I needed to know about the Ice Axe.

Or Howler, as it seemed to be called.

The shaft and the iron bits weren't interesting to me, but the blades of ice are. Out of all the weapons here, it was actually closest to Balmung, but barely.

It didn't generate ice, frost or even get colder. It did, however, generate cold, howling winds that the wielder could use, direct and even enhance. It could only do it about 2 times a day though, but that really doesn't matter.

What mattered to me, is how this weapon was made.

The other weapons were just enchanted with Tier Magic spells and not even strong ones at that, 3rd to 4th Tier if I had to guess. But a weapon like this would've required something that this New World doesn't have.

Data Crystals.

You could get Data Crystals simply by killing mobs in YGGDRASIL, but that obviously doesn't happen here so how the hell did this weapon come to be? [All Appraisal Magic Item] told me who made this weapon, a Jötunn called Mimiron or something. Probably the Jötunn I just killed and Entoma is currently munching on.

Or maybe not, I don't really care.

"Well, Ainz knows more about this kind of stuff than I do. I should probably just give this to him. Or maybe Titus?" I wonder to myself, "Eh, I'll figure it when I get there." Reaching for Balmung, I lazily swing it through the iron shaft and reach down to pick up the Howler's icy blades.

Damn, this thing is as big as Cocytus. Maybe we could make a smaller version for him?

I open up my inventory and throw the axe head in, dusting off my hands of the ice it left on them.

"Right then, I think that's everything. Everyone ready?" I turn around to see Shalltear talking to Solution about something or other. Solution stiffens up a bit upon hearing my voice, her face blushing.

Shalltear smiles at something I can't quite understand and probably never will.

Women. I don't think I'll get what goes through their heads, even when I do get older.

"Entoma! We're leaving!" Yuri yells at her little sister who is currently snacking on the ribs of the Jötunn leader.

"O-Oh, okay! Coming!" Entoma chirps up high. She summons some kind of bug with large wings and floats down to us. Through some miracle, her outfit is spotless of any blood.

"Well then, I think today went well, all things considered. Shalltear, if you would?"

"It would my pleasure, Sir Dracul," Shalltear bows to me and opens up a [Gate] back to Nazarick.

Taking a step through the [Gate] with Shalltear and the Pleiades behind me, I couldn't help but think…

What were the Jötunns doing out here in the first place?

.

---

.

As The Red Dragon left along with his bodyguards, they did not notice a pair of glowing, pale blue eyes, adorned with glasses, watch their every step.

He did not dare move.

He did not dare breathe any louder, in fear that they would hear him.

He hoped that only he could hear his thunderous heart beats in his chest.

When the Monsters had left, he felt strength leave his body and he slumped against the mountainside, sucking up gulps of much-needed air.

It was bad when the Frost Giants had spotted him when he finally worked up the courage to leave Feo Berkana, at least for a little bit. He was ready to just fly away back home, in shame. But he was alright with shame if it let him live another die and he was used to it by now.

When the Monsters had arrived, from above the clouds themselves and straight into the path of the giant ice boulders that the Frost Giants threw, he could only hope that the distraction would be enough for him to run away.

He never expected...that.

Even now, he could still feel the heat on his scales, crawling its way to his very core like a parasite.

The image of that sword hanging in the air will forever be burned into his memory.

And those females that the Red Devil commanded like they weren't strong enough to harm him, as they weaved on the battlefield like dancers…

Were they mates? Lovers? He did not know. He did not care.

50 Frost Giants, all with massive weapons that could decimate any Frost Dragon and finally seemed like they had banded together to rule over Azerlisia Mountains, killing all and any Frost Dragons in their way.

Dead.

Burned to ash by the fires of Hell itself by that, that Red Devil.

"I-I have to tell Father, he has t-to know, s-someone has to know…" He gasps out as the Frost Dragon known as Hejinmal flaps his wings back home to bring a warning.

A warning about the Red Devil and his Mistresses.

.

Spoiler: A/N

So here is the first Drama CD of the Overlord's Dragon, Dracul's Disastrous Dragon Hunt, as I like to call it. I debated whether putting the ending bit of the Canon Drama CD in, where the Floor Guardains + Sebas are talking and Ainz is eavesdropping in, but I don't think it was necessary so I didn't bother. It would've been the same except Shalltear would've just bragged about her and Dracul's little hunt.

So, this is kinda what you can expect from these Drama CDs from now on and can I just say I'm really happy that people wanted me to write these. It gives me a lot of opportunities to expand and develops Dracul character and show what his life was back before he and Ainz got stuck in the New World and just kinda show why he want's to go back home.

Funny how I said I don't like making long A/Ns but there is something I want to say first of all and that's on the subject on shipping.

It's not happening. But let me explain why it isn't happening and why it doesn't fit the story.

Dracul is 16-years-old, first of all. Considering the laws of the UK and that 16 is the age of consent here, that isn't a big deal for me, but I understand that many of my readers are American where the age of consent is 18 (Hopefully) and that kind of stuff can turn people off. Plus, Dracul himself doesn't really know how to handle people like Shalltear who would drop her panties if he only asked and he doesn't really feel comfortable with it either. For Dracul, most of his actions, like head patting Entoma before Carne Village isn't considered romantic or anything. In his mind, he calms down Mare and Aura the same way so ergo it should work on Entoma. Of course, he wouldn't headpat, lets say, Cocytus or Albedo, but that's just how it is. Of course, just because Dracul doesn't see how his actions can be considered romantic doesn't mean others can't interpret them that way as well.

Jesus, this is a long A/N, but fuck it. Past this point, I'm talking about the subject of other fics I have in mind so if you have no interest in that, fair enough.

Because of how big this for my first fic (373 Follows and 283 Favs, fuck me) and my confidence boost, I'm going to start writing my second fic and this is where you guys come in.

To be honest, I have a lot of ideas for fics that I really want to write, but I'm only choosing between three. If you're interested in seeing one of these fics, there is a poll on my profile with a short description of each fic and you can pick which one I write. I want to write all three but I know if I do that, I'm going to overwhelm myself so I'm setting a rule for myself and that is no more than 2 active fanfics at the time, maybe three, but no more than that which means The Overlord's Dragon is still going to be updated so don't worry. The poll will be up for about two weeks after which I will choose the winner of the said poll and start writing it.

That's it for this long ass A/N. Work is still a busy bitch and fuck this heatwave, but have a good one.

 

[Ereli]

So I don't think spamming these chapters was a good idea for my first posts on here.

 

[Marty7928]

Where's chapter 2?

 

[Ereli]

Where's chapter 2?

Click to shrink...

It says it's 'awaiting moderator approval'.

 

[TimeLordLucario]

Didn't think I would enjoy this, but hey! What a nice surprise.

 

[Zanji117]

I really can't wait for more I'm loving this story

 

[TheLurker]

So I don't think spamming these chapters was a good idea for my first posts on here.

Click to shrink...

Admittedly, yeah, you'd probably have been better off sticking to releasing one every week.

 

[Nitro]

I like the latest chapter, but I have a big problem with the first four, they read almost like a re-write of the light novels just with an extra character stuck in with them. If future chapters continue to be more original works, like the latest one, then this could be a very enjoyable fic.

 

[BurnNote]

I like the latest chapter, but I have a big problem with the first four, they read almost like a re-write of the light novels just with an extra character stuck in with them. If future chapters continue to be more original works, like the latest one, then this could be a very enjoyable fic.

Click to shrink...

Oh, there is actually something original? Because I started skimming in chapter 2, and held down the page down button somewhere in chapter 3. It's not bad, but given that I've seen essentially this twice now (original LN + anime), I'm not really motivated to start on a 100k read. That's a full novel right there.

It's a bit of a shame, because it's not bad at all, and obviously a lot of work has gone into it, and if it does start doing more original stuff, then that would be a big improvement. But the entry barrier is still a bit to high.

 

[Lord Sia]

I like it, but like the others have said, to keep it interesting you'll have to keep digressing from canon. Thus far you have a promising start, especially since just the interaction with Momo is making him think more than he did in canon.

 

[Unoriginal name]

I thought it was interesting to see how he interacts with the NPCs, I'm really looking forward to when he starts to go around as a tiny mage with a warrior Momo it should be fun I think.

 

[BlackWink]

I think people are over exaggerating the retreading canon aspect. Having read it alll I'd say it offered a unique enough perspective and new scenes. The problem is that when it does retread canon, the only change is an inserted Dracula or him replacing someone. This last chapter was my favorite because it avoided all of that and offered us soemthing different.

It's obvious you plan on having Dracul replace Narberal as Momo's wizard adventurer and while its the safe option and makes sense in universe I'm not excited for that prospect at all. I can't see anyway this won't be a boring retelling of that arc. I hope you have Dracul go off on his own hand crafted adventure, the NW is a big place with lots of interesting characters so I'm sure you could work something out.