4

Chapter 4 - Battle for Carne Village, the New Gods

Ainz was sitting across the table of the village chief, looking over the map. The paper was yellow and the map itself was almost faded, but it was still readable. The village chief was explaining what he knew.

"This is our village here and here to our south is the city of E-Rantel. You can find both traders and adventurer's guild there. All this is part of the Re-Estize kingdom to which we belong to. To the east is the Baharuth Empire. Our kingdom has a yearly war with them at harvest time. This one to the south is the Slane Theocracy, they don't like non-humans."

Ainz noticed that a large unmarked area to the west of the village was, to his estimate, the forest area he observed through the mirror.

"Why is the forest area unmarked?" Ainz asked the village chief.

"The Forest of Tob is full of monsters; even adventurers don't go deep in it, but this map is old so maybe newer ones will show more."

"Could I keep this map?"

"I guess. With everything that happened, I might need to make a trip to E-Rantel anyway and I would have to just buy a newer map."

The old man has explained little, but Ainz now had a general idea of the nearby countries. He hoped that the captured soldiers would give more information.

Then he got a message from Albedo.

{ Lord Ainz, the eight-legged assassins report another band of soldiers approaching. They are not wearing the same armor as the soldiers killed before. Should I give the order to eliminate them? }

{ No, let them approach, but be on guard. }

"There is another group of soldiers approaching. I would suggest gathering the remaining villagers and hide as we wait for them to arrive." Ainz addressed the village chief right away.

The village chief hurried out to gather his people, and Ainz followed. Peros and Bukuma were already back with both girls Ainz saved and Ainz came out at the right moment to hear Albedo reporting the news to them.

"More soldiers. Maybe I will get some action too," Peros remarked as they waited.

The villagers scurried away and hid in one of the larger buildings. The village chief came back after about 5-6 minutes and waited with them. He was feeling unease but trusted the strangers that had already saved his village once.

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Gazef and his troop had finally reached the village. He let out a sigh of relief at seeing that Carne wasn't in flames. Once they got closer, he saw six figures standing as if waiting for them. Then he noticed a pile of corpses in plate armor - empires armor. It was easy to guess that the figures waiting for him were the ones responsible. Four of them wore armor and clothing suited for royalty. One was an older man dressed in simple clothing that Gazef assumed was the village chief, and behind them was a tall monstrosity standing perfectly still.

With the order, "Assume battle positions. Do not provoke them to attack us," Gazef led his troop towards the village. The unease was palpable among his troops. Even as trained soldiers, they weren't prepared to face opponents who had massacred at least the same number of soldiers in full plate armor. They approached carefully on horseback and when they were close enough, Gazef rode out of formation and addressed the strangers.

"I am the captain of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Re-Estize, Gazef Stronoff. We've come on the king's orders to subdue the imperial knights terrorizing this region."

He turned to the village chief adding "You must be chief of this village, could you introduce us to the people standing next to you."

There was clear suspicion in his eyes as he eyed the four people standing beside the village chief. One was a human dressed in a regal robe, and he gave the impression of someone in control. Somehow, he felt if this man shouted an order to kneel before him, everyone would just obey without a question. With him were two dark elves, both with one green and one blue eye. Seeing that they were about the same age, Gazef guessed they were siblings. Both wore armor that an average noble couldn't afford. Gazef expected them to show disdain or hatred towards humans, but they just eyed him with curiosity. Both were unnaturally good-looking. The last one was a woman clad in jet black plate armor with a strange horned helm. She was the only one with her face covered. Then there was the monster behind them. He assumed one of them controlled it.

Before the village elder could answer, Ainz spoke up himself, "That won't be necessary. It is a pleasure to meet you Captain Stronoff. I am Ainz Ooal Gown, and these are my companions, Peros Ooal Gown, Bukuma Ooal Gown, and Albedo. We happened to be near when this village was attacked and came to save it."

It took Gazef a few seconds to process what he just heard. The three of them, including the two elves, were introduced with the same last name, so he inquired more.

"You have my thanks, Lord Gown, for saving these people, but I don't recognize your family name. May I ask from where you came from?"

"Our dwelling is deep within these woods, and until recently, we had sealed ourselves off from the world to devote ourselves to study and training. Currently, we are five Lords of Ooal Gown, and I was elected as the leader."

"I see... we thought the forest of Tob to be inhospitable due to all the monsters, but I have the impression you are strong enough to be safe there," Gazef said openly staring at the death knight who was standing behind Albedo. He then pointed at it and asked.

"I have to ask; what kind of monster is that? It looks undead."

"That is a death knight. Necromancy is one of my specialties, so there is no need to worry. It is completely under my control," Ainz replied in a calm tone seeing overall fear in Gazef's troops.

Gazef was still showing a calm and confident face, but fear was creeping in. He wasn't sure he could even defeat the monstrosity controlled by Ainz, not to mention the four people standing in front of him. They had saved the village, but their motives to do so were unclear. Gazef also suspected that either one of them, or the undead monster, was responsible for the corpse that was shattered against the tree on their way here. Even if he somehow could put a fight against them, his soldiers would likely just get massacred. With that, he decided to keep a calm and polite tone to not give a reason for them to attack.

"Lord Gown, I would like to keep in contact with your organization. My king, Ramposa III, might be interested to open a relationship on behalf of the kingdom of Re-Estize."

"As long as your kingdom doesn't decide we owe them anything for just existing, we have no problem with officially introducing ourselves to the kingdom of Re-Estize."

While Ainz and Gazef were talking, one of the eight-legged assassins informed Albedo that the village was being surrounded by another force seemingly unrelated to neither the soldiers they killed nor Gazef and his troops.

"Lord Ainz, the village is currently being surrounded by another force. The scouts report about 50 spell casters of unknown power," Albedo reported to Ainz.

The more Gazef was thinking about the situation, the more he concluded that this Ainz Ooal Gown wasn't just a leader of some rich hermits from the forest. From his way of speaking to the unknown scouts monitoring the nearby area gave the impression that an entire organization of unknown power and proportions were hidden in the forest of Tob. What unnerved him was the fact that he didn't even notice any scouts on the way here.

"Captain Stronoff, would you know anything about it?" asked Ainz, interrupting Gazef's growing unease. His tone was calm and polite but hinted that he wanted an explanation from Gazef. The situation was getting worse now.

"You say many spell casters are surrounding us? Re-Estize doesn't employ spell casters in their military. My guess is that they are one of the Slane Theocracy's scriptures. Their appearance here together with what seems imperial soldiers is far too strange to be considered a coincidence. So, if they aren't after you, my guess is they set up a trap for me."

"Is there a reason such a large group would target you specifically?" Ainz asked, assessing if that wasn't a trap for him and his friends and sending a message to the eight-legged assassins to report everything to all four of them, and to try to determine the average power of the casters. Ainz, of course, suspected that it might be an ambush, but this man in front of him gave the impression of someone honest.

"As the Royal Knight Captain, I'm sure to have enough enemies. My death would weaken the king's position. But for what purpose the Slane Theocracy would do it is beyond me."

Gazef was growing desperate. If the Slane Theocracy was after him, then he just had walked into their trap and as much as he hated to admit it to himself, these Lords of Ooal Gown might be the only hope not only for him but for his troops and the villagers as well. Indebting himself and the king didn't sit right with him but dying a pointless death and dragging innocent civilians with him was an even worse option. He swallowed his pride and asked,

"To be honest, my troops are not prepared to fight them, so I must ask if I could hire you to assist us?"

"We will discuss it among ourselves, if you don't mind," Ainz answered, wanting to know the opinions of his comrades.

"Of course, but please hurry. I would prefer to avoid endangering the villagers if possible."

They all for walked some distance away as Ainz erected an anti-spying barrier around them and spoke first.

"So, do we help them? The reports mention that the casters surrounding us have summoned Archangel Flames. Which means they can use magic from Yggdrasil. The best-case scenario is that they are as weak as the soldiers we already eliminated. But there is a chance they are putting up a show to seem week and lower our caution."

To his surprise, Peros was paying very close attention to everything.

"Ainz, all of them were pissing in their panties when looking at the death knight. Even this Gazef guy was almost shaking. If they are after him, we can safely assume they are just as weak. No one would send 50 of level 100 guys to kill someone who I think could be maximum around level 30 in terms of power. He is worried about a trash mob, like a death knight after all. Also, Ainz, if you have only suspicions that meant they have not used any recon magic to figure out our strength. So, I say we engage and the moment it gives the impression that they are strong, we run back to Nazarick and we go into full siege mode."

"That is an excellent plan Peros. Buku do you agree with us proceeding with it?"

"Sounds good to me, but you better pull us out if something goes south since even with the full defense I could only take about 80-100 level 100 hits and I think Albedo can take maybe a bit more damage than me at this point."

"We will follow behind this Gazef and see how it goes. If we don't see any clear sign of anti-teleport field or high-level tempering we fight, otherwise we are returning to Nazarick right away."

With that, they returned to Gazef.

"Captain Gazef, we will assist you and your troops, but not as mercenaries. Consider this a small favor to open a positive relationship between our organization and your country. You will have to lead the charge as on horseback you can reach them faster and we will follow close behind and give a surprise strike to them."

{ Albedo, you will stay behind and protect the village. If you get into a fight and even suspect that you might lose, retreat to us as fast as you can. }

{ Understood Lord Ainz. }

Ainz cast Distant View to himself and Bukuma so they could keep an eye on the battle before they reached it. He didn't bother to cast it on Peros since his perception range was around five kilometers and could easily observe the casters from the village.

While Ainz led his team towards the battle with a brisk pace, Gazef and his troop had engaged the spell casters. The battle was rather one-sided as the summoned angels started taking the soldiers down one by one. Only Gazef was putting up a decent fight. Ainz and the others noticed him using some unknown magic. With shouts, he instantly reacted to any attack and countered them, decimating the attacking angels. Then when the opportunity came, he let out a shout "Sixfold Slash of Light" and swung his sword with great speed and six slashes of light flashed in front of him, killing about ten angels. Still, it did little to sway the battle. The casters just continued summoning angels as soon as they were defeated and were wearing Gazef down more and more.

Peros was unfamiliar with the move Gazef used and he would love to investigate this kind of abilities, so he asked Ainz.

{ Hey Ainz, you recognize those moves? }

{ No. I haven't seen anything like that in Yggdrasil. If Gazef survives, we can ask him. }

They were getting close and then Gazef tried the last desperate move to reach the enemy commander guarded by Principality Observation, which Ainz recognized as a 4th tier angelic summon. The moment Gazef tried to dash in the commander's direction, he was surrounded by angels again, but this time didn't manage to kill them all and was stabbed on his side. Gazef dropped to one knee, holding on to his sword.

Ainz ordered the eight-legged assassins to surround the casters in case they try to run, and at this point, he was now quite sure they were just as weak as the soldiers his death knight had killed. The enemy commander started to monologue towards Gazef but was eyeing them as they approached. His expression showed that he was on guard and didn't plan to take Ainz, Bukuma, and Peros lightly. Still, the enemy commander was telling Gazef to just lie down and he would be granted a quick and painless death. Despite his somewhat arrogant demeanor, this man striked Ainz as careful and calculating.

Ainz interrupted his monologue. "Unfortunately for you, I will have to convince you not to kill the good captain over here." and pointed at the angels in the sky.

{ Peros, clear the sky! }

Moments later Peros shot out 40 arrows at the same time and with 40 explosions the sky was clear of any summons. The enemy commander just blinked, trying to process what just happened. His victory was slipping away fast. The newcomers were strong, at least Black Scripture members strong and it was very, very bad. His anger rose. This human leading two elven scum angered him. On top of that, he had never seen an archer shoot that many arrows at the same time.

"And who are you? Why are you standing in our way?" He asked in an angry voice.

Ainz replied in an authoritative voice.

"We are Lords of Ooal Gown and the village of Carne is under our protection. Since you were so generous to offer Gazef a deal, I will make you the same offer - lay down as good dogs and we will give you quick deaths. Refuse and you will learn what true despair is."

The enemy captain sneered in anger. His insult was spat back at him, so he said with a shout,

"I am Nigun Grid Luin, captain of the Sunlight Scripture! We exterminate subhuman trash like you." He clearly pointed at Bukuma and Peros. Nigun had assumed that Ainz was a human working with dark elves. He had been in hard situations before and would not back down, even if the enemy was stronger than his unit. On top of that, he had a secret weapon which he was already preparing in secret.

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Two weeks ago.

Nigun was walking through the streets of Kami Miyako, the capital of Slane Theocracy. The Sunlight Scriptures' three days R&R was coming to an end. He was about to receive his deployment orders. Nigun had heard rumors about beast-men attacks in the Dragon Kingdom, so he concluded his Scripture would be sent to cull numbers of 'those animals'. His excitement was slowly raising as he approached his destination, an audience with the Cardinals. Nigun was the kind of man that lived for his job and was good at it. In his younger days, he was almost nominated to join the Black Scripture because of his magical talent but fell a bit short. The Black Scripture was the nation's most elite unit, only those far beyond the abilities of normal humans were in it. At first, it hurt his pride to be rejected, but as he started his career in the Sunlight Scripture, he soon realized it was a blessing in disguise. The Black Scripture was rarely deployed, unlike his current position, where they got only enough time off to rest a bit, for his men to visit families, get some steam off in brothels, and spend their impressive salaries on various other entertainment.

Nigun was rather young when he became the Captain of the Sunlight Scripture. His mentor died twelve years ago, a hero's death leading the charge against hordes of demihumans. A lucky strike from one of the catlike beasts ended his mentor's life and the Sunlight Scripture came out on top of it only thanks to Nigun's quick thinking, who despite seeing his mentor die, could take the leader's reigns right away when the units' vice-captain froze in panic. After they returned home, he half expected to be disciplined for usurping the chain of command in the middle of a battle, but to his surprise, the Cardinal of Light commended him for his excellent work and nominated him as the new captain of the unit. It was the first time when he had an actual conversation with a Cardinal and it all but cemented his respect for them in his eyes. They didn't care about his upbringing or age, only his skills and ability to lead.

Nigun entered the cathedral, and one of the priests led him to meet the six cardinals. The highest authorities in the Slane Theocracy. Each of them represented one of the six gods: humanity and the Slane Theocracy worshiped. 600 years ago, six great gods appeared and saved humanity from the brink of extermination and established the first human nation. Nigun only knew they disappeared sometime later, leaving behind divine artifacts. He followed the priest to the room where the Cardinals awaited him. Nigun kneeled and recited the prayer.

The Cardinal of Light, Yvon held one of the holy artifacts in front of him.

He spoke in a deep, authoritative voice once Nigun was finished with his prayer.

"Nigun, Captain of the Sunlight Scripture, your next task is to eliminate Re-Estize chief warrior Gazef Stronoff, do the final blow to that rotting and decadent kingdom. We have full confidence the Sunlight Scripture can handle it without problems but due to the importance of this mission we will entrust you with this magical sealing crystal. It contains the summoning spell of our most powerful angel. The same that killed the Demon Gods 200 years ago. Use it only as a last resort."

Nigun accepted crystal carefully. To be entrusted with a divine artifact was the highest order of honor he could ever hope to achieve. Without rising head, he said " Thank you. I will not let you down."

"We know you won't and will pray for your success," said the Cardinal of Fire Berenice, a bit plump elderly woman with a motherly smile.

The next day, his unit was fully prepared to set out. He had requested an army unit to accompany them disguised as some Baharuth empire knights and to this dismay, a pompous son of a noble oversaw it. It was a nightmare to work with those spoiled shits who thought that they could get away with anything just because their daddies hold titles in the Slane Theocracy. Nigun felt like it was the rot of Re-Estize infecting his homeland. The nobles, a useless and despicable cast of parasites.

The brief exchange had left a foul taste in his mouth. The noble had the audacity to look down on the Sunlight Scripture and even tried to imply that he was in charge of the operation. Nigun shut down that notion right away, reminding him that the Scriptures answer only to the Cardinals and thus his noble title meant nothing to him. The little shit had tried to throw a tantrum, but one smack from Nigun shut him up. Nigun had already planned an accident for him. There would be an investigation for sure, but even nobles couldn't touch the Scriptures so no personal vendetta could be enforced.

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Nigun knew that summoning Archangel Flames was pointless as long as the elven archer stood, so he gave orders to his troops.

"Attack them with offensive magic now."

The casters cast an array of third-tier magic at the three standing figures, but to Nigun's horror nothing affected them. Then the elven woman spoke.

"What are they doing? Is this a joke to them?"

Nigun panicked. What kind of monstrosities were in front of them? Even the adamantine-level adventurers wouldn't brush their attacks off so easily. He had to use the crystal; he had to summon the highest tier of an angel so he ordered his own summon, to attack so he could prepare.

"Principality of Observation, strike them down!"

It went for the man in the caster's robe as it seemed the easiest target, but then the elven woman got in the way and took the strike with the mace from Principality of Observation head-on without a helmet. It struck the side of her head. Nigun expected her skull to be shattered. He was a summoner specialized in empowering his summons, and with this boost, the strike was strong enough to shatter the skull of a minotaur or even a troll.

What happened next was beyond belief. The ground buckled a bit under her, and she just hit it back with a fist, not even bothering to use her sword, and Principality of Observation was destroyed with a single hit.

His troops, spell casters of the 3rd tier, trained with iron discipline were in disarray. Some of them whimpered. Nigun himself was in a full state of panic. His only hope remaining was the holy artifact. His shouts sounded demented.

"This, this crystal holds the angel of the highest order. You have deemed yourselves worthy of being used against," and with those words, Nigun activated the crystal.

Ainz said to Bukuma right away "Bukuma guard us. If it summons an angel of the highest order, we will get Archangel Metatron and that thing can hurt me bad even with my current gear."

Bukuma replied with "Of course Ainz" and activated her defensive barrier awaiting the level 100 angel. The highest holy summon player could get in Yggdrasil.

Nigun continued shouting "Behold! Dominion Authority!" as about a 5-meter tall angel appeared in the sky. It was clad in golden armor with six white feathered wings. By size, it was one of the largest angels as higher tiers are more human-sized and with more human features.

Bukuma lowered her shield in confusion and turned to look at Ainz, who was facepalming. A mere 7th tier summon. He was on full guard for a 7th tier summon.

"We put up our guard for this?"

"Afraid!? You should be! It killed the Demon Gods of the past!" Nigun shouted at them with maniacal glee. His sanity was slipping away from him as the events he already had witnessed were too much, even for a hardened veteran like him.

Ainz while still facepalming just said "This is stupid. I can't believe we put our guard up for this farce."

Hearing this, cold sweat appeared on Nigun's face as he started to feel dread like never before. He just shouted in disbelief "You're bluffing! No one can withstand its attack! Dominion Authority, attack them!"

Dominion Authority spread its arms, and a column of light hit Ainz, Peros, and Bukuma from the sky. For a moment there was just the sound of light striking them and then laughter.

"So, this is how it feels to take damage, this is pain," Ainz shouted with laughter. The light finally faded and all three were still standing with Peros remarking.

"Pain would be a bit strong word. Pulling out a feather hurt more than this light show."

Nigun was shaking with fear. This is all wrong, this can't be possible. A thought crossed his mind. New Gods! It was a somewhat known fact among the elite of the Slane Theocracy that about once in a century, new godlike beings appeared in the world. The last apparition was with the thirteen great heroes from 106 years ago.

And the next moment all but confirmed it as the one called Ainz raised his hands saying, "Black Hole," and Dominion Authority disappeared in a single point, leaving behind only the night sky. Nigun dropped on his knees, weeping. He ignored the signs. If only he had tried to talk, if only he had abandoned the pursuit of killing Gazef. Words came back into his mind. 'Lay down as good dogs and we will give you quick deaths, refuse and you will learn what true despair is.'

Nigun knew there was no point, but he prostrated before them, begging through tears, "Lords of Ooal Gown, show us mercy!"

Gazef was in the same disbelief as Nigun seeing what had happened. He had witnessed all that happened; he felt like passing out, but share spectacle kept him conscious long enough. No one would believe him. All his soldiers were either unconscious or dead, he alone saw all that happened. Finally, his vision faded, and he fell to the ground.

Ainz looked at the prostrating Nigun with disdain and then opened a gate to Nazarick and ordered the eight-legged assassins to deliver the living Sunlight Scripture members to Neuronist, and the dead ones to the fifth floor of Nazarick for safekeeping.

After that he, Peros, and Bukuma went over the battlefield and used healing potions on the soldiers who were still alive. Including Gazef, they were only eighteen of the original fifty-one who survived.

Gazef opened his eyes, seeing a smiling Bukuma crouching over him. Her beautiful smile flustered him as his cheeks grew a bit red.

"Welcome back Captain Stronoff. I'm glad the world didn't lose a cute one like you."

Gazef was stunned. Was she flirting with him? This woman with an almost unnatural beauty. Even the Golden Princess, renowned for her beauty, wasn't on her level.

He sat up as she stepped back and unlike his usual self, maybe due to blood loss, maybe because of being too busy to marry, he looked at her longer than he intended to. She clearly noticed as she let out a cute giggle and went to administer strange red-looking potions to the other soldiers, as her comrades were doing the same.

Bukuma smirked when she turned away from Gazef. She got him. One smile was all it took to ensnare the seemingly stoic Royal Guard Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

Gazef slowly stood up and walked towards Ainz. Ainz noticed him and turned to him, saying,

"Captain Stronoff, I'm glad you made it. Unfortunately, many of your men didn't, I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Lord Gown, for saving me and at least some of my men. We are in your debt. I will report today's events to my king and I'm sure he will want to thank you personally. I wanted to ask how we can reach you with a formal invitation."

Ainz pulled out about ten scrolls seemingly out of nowhere saying "These are message scrolls; each has one use but they will help contact me or my comrades. Just think of one or more of us and then open one of them and you can transmit a message. Your king can use it in your stead if he wants to invite us personally."

"Thank you, Lord Gown," Gazef responded with a bow and then went to his men to check on them, surprised that all of them were healed. He watched as Peros, Ainz, and Bukuma left. For a moment, his gaze was on her backside, which was covered in plate armor, but he caught himself immediately and looked away, to not make his men notice. That woman got him, and he reminded himself that he shouldn't so easily fall for the woman's charms. He wasn't a teenage boy, after all. Gazef then ordered his men to gather the dead for a morning burial in the village's cemetery and set up camp for the night.

As his men set up camp, Gazef realized one thing. There were no bodies of the Sunlight Scripture. Even if they just ran away, he was convinced that at least three were killed by his men and even those corpses were now gone. In his exhausted state, it wasn't the thing he wanted to think about even if the implications were disturbing.

Meanwhile, Ainz, Peros, and Bukuma went back to the village, picked up Albedo all four returned to Nazarick via a gate.

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All four returned to Nazarick, appearing in the conference room where Ulbert already waited for them, curious how it all went. Ulbert had caught wind of it since, when Albedo left with Ainz, Demiurge oversaw Nazarick's administration and reported it to Ulbert right away. Bukuma, Peros, and Albedo left, leaving just Ulbert and Ainz to discuss the events. Both were the ones doing the most planning, and Ulbert was an excellent right-hand man for Ainz. Ainz reverted to his Overlord form as being a human didn't feel right anymore, quickly retold the events, showed Ulbert the map he got from the village chief, and explained what he learned about the world they were in.

"Hmm, so you managed to put the Royal Guard Captain in our debt, assessed the general power level of this world, which seemed laughably low, and even captured live prisoners for interrogation. You already had given me a list of opportunities and tasks to solve. First, I'm sending shadow demons to monitor this village of Carne. It sounds like a nice starting point to spread out our influence as I'm sure they will feel gratitude towards their saviors. Let's see what Neuronist will get out of these Sunlight Scripture captives." Ulbert was getting more pumped up with excitement.

"Those are fine points, Ulbert. I'll leave you to it then. Also, I was thinking sending out Sebas with one of the Pleiades, as traveling merchants or nobles, to Re-Estize for information gathering and some of us could travel to this fortress city of E-Rantel and pose as adventurers. It would serve as a simple method to not only gather information but to scout out potential people and resources we could acquire. I even think we can pose as nobles and heroic characters to gain trust and admiration of locals and thus building up characters for later use to gain extra trust in us and Nazarick when needed." Ainz made additional suggestions.

"We could send out doppelgangers to do it as well, but I guess a more personal touch with you as a lead will work better since I have a feeling you just want to personally experience the new world yourself."

"You don't mind being left in charge of Nazarick while I at least set it up and then leave the rest for doppelgangers?"

"Since I, for now, don't want to leave Nazarick, there is no harm if you're going out to have fun, and I can report to you daily through message, anyway."

"Ulbert, I'm not doing it for the fun of it. You all asked me to be the leader, and with our plans, that might include the entire world. I need to experience how the common people live to not grow ignorant of how this world works."

"Of course. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you just want to goof around."

"Don't worry, Ulbert, your concern was understandable." Ainz replied, adding,

"I will start planning who to take with me. I think Peros and Bukuma will want to come as well," Ainz stated and then added. "There is one more thing, Gazef the guy representing the Re-Estize Kingdom used strange abilities called martial arts as a warrior. I think there is merit in investigating it, but from what we gathered not that many people can use it."

"How about we send Shalltear out for hunt? No one will miss bandits and outlaws, and there is a chance at least a few will be usable?"

"I would prefer not to send out too many people at the same, but I guess we can send her on a short hunting mission."

"Then it's settled. I'll start planning tomorrow morning. For now, I wish you a good night Ainz and will take my leave."

Ainz responded with "Take care, Ulbert," and both walked out of the conference room.

Ainz decided to walk back to his quarters instead of teleporting. He had noticed that even simple gestures as a polite greeting from him and his friends made the inhabitants very happy. With that, he walked in a slow stride, greeting a few maids and guards on his way. At the entrance of his quarters, Albedo was waiting for him. She was out of her armor and wore her usual white dress. Ainz noticed that she had made herself as presentable as possible while he was talking with Ulbert. Her hair was freshly combed, and she wore a particular perfume.

"Lord Ainz, you must be tired. Shall I prepare your bed or maybe a bath for you?" She said with a smile, as her wings were moving in excitement.

Ainz luckily was in his Overlord form and couldn't blush at her suggestion.

"Albedo, you must be tired as well, you should rest."

Albedo's expression changed to an unhappy one. Ainz had no experience with women, but he wasn't dense enough to not notice her blatant attempt at seduction. This was a dilemma. He was clearly aware of his friend's intention to basically marry his daughter to him and she was trying so hard to get his attention. Ainz, or more precisely Satoru, did not know how to react in the current situation. At the same time, he knew feigning ignorance of her advances would just make her unhappy and frustrated and he didn't want to torture her.

While Ainz was lost in thought, Albedo was back to her pleasant smile and with "Then I wish you a pleasant night, Lord Ainz!" turned to leave.

"Albedo wait...",

Albedo turned back as hope rose in her eyes again. After a moment of thinking, Ainz had decided to not turn her down. He was at a loss of what to do and just switched to his demon form in front of her. Ainz hoped that the influx of emotions would guide him. Albedo, seeing him changing form, took it as a cue and warped her hands around his neck as her breasts pressed against his chest. Her face moved closer to his, and her aura of lust was overwhelming him. It took him mere moments to give in, as his lips locked with hers in a passionate kiss. He already felt some of his energy-draining. While she was grinding against him, her tongue invaded his mouth and Albedo was losing herself in passion as well.

He sensed that some nearby guards and maids were watching intently. He pulled Albedo off for a moment saying,

"I think... I think we should take it slow."

But it was too late, her gaze showed overwhelming lust for him. She half-moaned, half-whined.

"Please, Lord Momonga, don't turn me down. I need you, please..."

There was some self-control remaining in her, as she managed to stand back and not tear Ainz's and her own clothing off right there in the hallway. Ainz looked at her and knew there was no turning back. He was rapidly losing his control as well. Ainz pushed her inside his quarters and closed the door and at that moment their lips locked again as they started to tear their clothes off. Albedo as a virgin succubus basically hadn't learned to control her aura and energy-draining the moment she got aroused, so fueled by it both were lost in animalistic passion. The moment the clothes came off, Ainz was pushed to the floor and Albedo mounted him with a force that would shatter the bones of a regular human.

The maids, witnessing them disappearing in Ainz's quarters, curiously crept closer to the door, and they started to hear Albedo's loud moans and fueled with Ainz energy, Albedo's aura of lust now spread like a torrent. Both maids got red cheeks and rubbed their thighs together feeling the effects of it.

At the same time, Peros was enjoying a drink, with Eztli massaging his shoulders. He remained in his elven form as he now found it easier to drink with a human-like mouth and it also allowed kissing. His ears perked up as he sensed it and loudly chuckled.

"Looks like Ainz is finally getting at it," and then Albedo's rapidly spreading aura hit him. Eztli's pale face got redder as she got more and more aroused. She was much bolder now because of Peros' encouragements and massaged his chest through the shirt he wore and purred in his ear at how much she wanted to be taken by him. Peros concluded that having his quarters next to Ainz's had unforeseen positive benefits.

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In the early morning, Peros was standing near the doors of Ainz's private quarters with a sly grin on his face. There was no way he would miss them coming out of there. Fortunately, Peros didn't have to wait for too long, as Albedo came out with a beaming smile on her face. She noticed Peros leaning against one of the columns and greeted him with a sing-song voice.

"Good Morning Lord Peros, up so early?"

"Oh, I couldn't miss you lovebirds coming out of there," he said with a chuckle.

Albedo was a bit surprised and asked.

"Lord Peros, how did you know?"

"Your aura hit my quarters like a shock wave. Eztli and I did it till she passed out, so my thanks for the extra boost."

That statement made even Albedo blush a bit as she bowed and apologized.

"My apologies for that. I will learn to keep it under control in the future." She then ran off towards the throne room a little embarrassed.

Peros then basically barged in to see Ainz sitting on the couch in his skeletal Overlord form, but his usual red flames were barely noticeable in his eyes. He was dressed in a half-opened silk bathrobe. Ainz didn't bother to close it, as in skeletal form there wasn't anything to hide.

Peros crashed down on the couch opposite of him and asked with a grin.

"So, finally got her? You look like she kept you up all night."

Ainz looked at him weakly,

"She has drained me dry. I had to turn my demon form off after, what I think was the third hour in and even that didn't stop her," he replied and took out another mana crystal to drain. About eight empty ones were already dropped at the side of the couch.

"Hey! Don't make me envious right away. I will have to work hard to get enough girls for an all-nighter and Albedo alone can do that to you. But looks like she's that one of the kind types, huh? Well, I will be the best man at your wedding, and don't you even dare give it to Ulbert."

"If I manage to live that long. If she keeps it up every night it will be the death of me."

"Man can only dream to go that way, we would have to high-five your corpse at a funeral.," Peros retorted with a cheerful laugh.

"Hur hur, don't laugh at my expense I'm at a loss what to do..."

"Talk to her, I'm sure she can control that energy drain if she tries, and she was a bit embarrassed that her aura spread so much during your fun, that it hit me and Eztli, so I guess start there."

"Thanks, Peros. I'll try that."

"Glad to help, buddy," Peros said, patted Ainz on the shoulder, and left his quarters to get breakfast. He heard the maids already quietly chatting about it. Thanks to the chatty homunculus maids, news spread like wildfire; Ainz and Albedo's union was the topic of the day as enthusiastic chatting could be heard everywhere. Shalltear's vampire brides weren't too thrilled about it, though, as the rage of their mistress came upon their heads when she heard the news.

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Nigun now understood what was meant with the words, 'you will learn what true despair is'. First, he and his men were tossed in a strange portal by spider-like monstrosities. But even that paled to what came next; a grotesque squid-like thing that resembled a drowned, bloated corpse awaited them. She, at least it called herself a woman, started her work right away. Nigun had seen the Slane Theocracy's inquisitors at work, and even that paled to what he and his men were exposed to. No matter the damage done to their bodies, they were healed right away and tore apart again and again. He tried to withstand it but it took mere few hours for him to break and start confessing everything.

The next day was even worse. The torturer, Neuronist Painkiller, started her work in a foul mood. She was rambling something about an ugly gorilla, stealing her chance with her beloved. In her anger, she killed one of his men by accident. Nigun had already said a brief prayer for the man that was finally free, but then a dog-headed woman came and resurrected him. Nigun dropped in pits of despair he didn't know existed as even death would not set them free.

He was telling everything he knew. He knew he was betraying his country for a chance to not be tortured anymore because, while he spoke, there was no pain. He confessed everything the Sunlight Scripture had done, the Slane Theocracy's political structure, he even told them about the existence of the Black Scripture and confessed all he could about himself.

After there was nothing else to confess, he was left alone, chained to the wall. Nigun had only hoped that death would come, but then demons came and unchained him. About three meters tall, scaly and beastlike, one of them just grabbed Nigun in one hand like a rag doll and one of Nigun's soldiers in the other, while the other demons also picked up some of the remaining soldiers.

Nigun didn't know where they were being carried, but at least he caught glimpses of the place he was in. It was called Nazarick and everyone here served the Lords of Ooal Gown, the ones that defeated him and his unit. After a while, they were carried through a portal and the scenery changed. It gave an impression of the hall of a royal palace of some overly decedent kingdom.

They then stopped by a guarded door. The demons informed bug-like guards they were ordered to deliver the test subjects and were let in. The space was luxurious beyond Nigun's belief, everything was made with such intricate details. Nigun couldn't wonder at it for long, as he was carried to another room that resembled a laboratory. They strapped him to the vertical surface again, and another squid-like monster came into view. He wore a regal robe and the demons kneeled the moment he appeared.

The huge demon that carried Nigun said, "Lord Tabula Ooal Gown, we delivered the test subjects as you ordered," to which he responded with a deep guttural voice in a friendly manner.

"Thank you for such a timely delivery."

Ooal Gown, that meant he was one of the lords. Nigun hoped he could appease him and spoke up in a weak voice.

"Lord Tabula Ooal Gown, please... please let me serve, I wish to atone for my misdeeds."

Tabula came up to him. He knew what these men were, and even if he still could feel sympathy for humans, he had none for them. At the same time, one of his goals was to make more loyal servants of Nazarick, so he simply told.

"For now, you will just be the subject of my experiments. However, if you survive and show true loyalty, and believe me, we can tell the difference, you will be permitted to start your true servitude in Nazarick."

Nigun had hope, in this deepest pit of despair, a small spark of hope was given. He clung to it, as it was the only way to keep his sanity. If he lived, he would be allowed to serve. All he had to do was survive whatever horrific experiments they planned for him.

Meanwhile, six figures were sitting around the table, all reading the same report. The six Cardinals received information that the Thousand Leagues Astrologer had gathered while observing the Sunlight Scripture. The news were bad, what little she had seen through heavy distortion was very, very bad. The cleric who delivered the news said that he had never seen the woman so scared before. Yvon the Cardinal of Light was talking grimly,

"Of what she could gather through strange interference was that the Sunlight Scripture was wiped out and Dominion Authority was destroyed with a single unknown spell. Other sources claim the ones' responsible called themselves Lords of Ooal Gown with the leader being called Ainz Ooal Gown. The field agent who accompanied the warrior captain was unconscious during the Sunlight's Scriptures encounter with these new beings."

"This sounds like another appearance of ones of the same race as our gods, called players," said Dominic, The Cardinal of Wind.

"Is this another case of the Greed Kings or simple misunderstanding, as two of them were elves?" spoke the Cardinal of Darkness Maximilian. Since the god he represented was the only non-human of their gods, an undead named Surshana, he was a bit more lenient towards non-humans.

Yvon then stood up announcing, "I propose sending the Black Scripture to investigate. If the report is true, these newcomers are very dangerous, and we may need to stop them before it grows out of hand."

"If we even can stop them that is," Domenic interjected then added, "and with the Black Scripture's 9th seat going rogue and disappearing with the Crown of Wisdom I would say we are in too much of a vulnerable position to pursuit these 'Players'. We already lost one of the very few filled casting crystals and now with one of the Miko princesses dead and the crown gone, we can't even prepare new highest tier summons.

"We can't just sit and wait, not in a situation like this. If they can't be reasoned with, the Black Scripture is the only one standing a fighting chance against them, so let's vote now!" Yvon almost spat back.

With five for and one against it, it was decided to send the Black Scripture, their most elite unit to investigate. The mood was grim. Even if these newcomers were reasonable and friendly towards humans, what seemed to be the case, it would be only a matter of time till they found out what the Sunlight Scripture was and where they came from, thus putting the Slane Theocracy in a bad spot. What was worse, they could already assume that even the Black Scripture would have a hard time standing up against even one of them. The limited report was a testament to that. Still, there was hope that with Downfall of Castle and Country, an artifact that allowed control over one being no matter how powerful, they could set a Lord of Ooal Gown against the others just like what happened with the Greed kings in the past.

After the vote, Berenice, the Cardinal of Fire, spoke up. "If this is all for today, I will go check on Relzanu. After witnessing such disturbing events she may need some word of advice and comfort," getting nods of approval from the other Cardinals.

After a few minutes walking, Berenice knocked on Thousand Leagues Astrologer door. The girl opened and seeing her did a polite bow and with a bit, shaky voice greeted her.

"Cardinal! It is an honor to see you. For what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh Relzanu, you don't need to be so formal with me," the older woman responded with a warm and reassuring smile as she was let in.

Berenice sat across Relzanu and then asked, "How are you holding up girl? The report we read was quite a disturbing one."

"I'm fine, I think. Seeing the highest-tier angel just disappearing with a strange spell has shaken me up a bit."

"It is understandable but be assured we will take a course of action necessary to keep our home safe. Have faith young Relzanu, we will stand together in these turbulent times."

"But are Zesshi and the Captain enough? Are they stronger than those three?"

"We can only hope for now."

Side Story - Cocytus, The one who was left out.

Cocytus was doing his routine patrol through the 5th floor. Much had changed over the last few days. Four Supreme ones had returned. They changed names, assigned themselves roles and duties. Lady Bukuma Ooal Gown had taken the role of Grand Marshal of Nazarick. She had visited him once; he was a warrior, and for the most part, would serve directly under her unless the Supreme leader Lord Ainz would have different plans for him. He was proud that she had visited him and told her that in Nazarick's army he would be one of the generals serving under her.

But there was one thing that was eating him. The creators of all the other floor guardians had returned, but not his. Warrior Takemikazuchi had not returned. Was it his fault? was he not worthy of his creator's return? He had heard of heartfelt reunions, where the floor guardians had been told they had done a great job of protecting Nazarick. These thoughts continued to eat at him more and more until he decided to ask one person who he considered the smartest in Nazarick - Demiurge.

He send a message to him, { DEMIURGE, DO YOU HAVE TIME FOR A FEW QUESTIONS? }

{ Is something the matter Cocytus? }

{ I WAS THINKING, ALL THE CREATORS OF THE FLOOR GUARDIANS RETURNED, ALL EXCEPT MINE. HAVE YOU SEEN ME DO SOMETHING WRONG? I CAN'T STOP FEELING THAT I HAVE SOMEHOW DISAPPOINTED MY CREATOR. }

{ I had a similar opinion about myself until Lord Ulbert assured me otherwise, and I with my meager intellect don't see particular faults in your work. I would suggest seeking an audience with Lord Ainz. He, in his infinite wisdom, would know more. }

{ THANK YOU DEMIURGE FOR YOUR ADVICE. }

{ Always a pleasure to help out my fellow floor guardian. }

Cocytus then contacted Albedo and asked for an audience with Lord Ainz. After a short wait, she informed Cocytus that she had put a request with Lord Ainz.

Still anxious, maybe even more so knowing that he would speak with Lord Ainz, he continued his patrol. After an hour he finally returned to his sanctuary, only to be greeted by Ainz already waiting for him.

Cocytus kneeled saying,

"LORD AINZ, IT IS AN HONOR TO SEE YOU."

"Raise Cocytus. Albedo informed me you wanted to talk."

After hearing him out, Ainz spoke.

"As far as I know, Warrior Takemikazuchi left for his own reasons and I can assure you that in all the time I watched over you I haven't seen you do anything wrong."

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS LORD AINZ. I APOLOGIZE FOR BOTHERING YOU WITH SUCH AN UNIMPORTANT MATTER."

"But it was important to you, so it is important to me. I can guess it is because all the other floor guardians have their creators back and you don't?"

"YES."

"It may not mean much but how about I take you as my adoptive son, at least until Warrior Takemikazuchi returns. It may not mean much but I don't want for you to feel left out."

As soon as Ainz let out those words, Cocytus was on his knee again.

"THANK YOU. I CAN'T IMAGINE A GREATER HONOR THAN TO BE CALLED YOUR SON."

Although Ainz couldn't smile in his Overlord form, his voice expressed it anyway.

"Then it's settled. I will inform anyone that from this day you are my adoptive son."

Ainz finally said, "Keep up the good work," and teleported away. While talking to Cocytus, Ainz had realized that he hadn't had a personal talk with Pandora's Actor since their arrival in the new world. Moments later, he appeared in the treasury. Seeing Ainz, Pandora's Actor got up from his couch to greet him.

"Creator, how may I be of service?" with a very theatrical bow.

"I just came to check up on you. Do you need some extra accommodations? The treasury by itself isn't the most comfortable after all."

"Thank you for the generous offer creator but I have everything I need. So many items to go through, so many wonderful pieces of equipment waiting for a place to be put in," Pandora's Actor spoke in an ecstatic voice, his obsession with sorting the treasury was a borderline fetish.

Ainz was a bit reluctant to ask, but he felt that the question must be asked, as his friends were openly calling their creations their children.

"One more thing. Do you want me to call you my son and let you address me as your father?"

"Yes, my father. More than anything."

"I'm happy to hear it."