Prologue (6)

Momonga examined Raynare closely, but she never woke up from her strange zen trance, continuing to lie still on the ground with a slight and mysterious smile. Momonga even used [Awaken] on the girl, but the low-level spell didn't work, so apparently Raynare wasn't asleep either. But if that were so, then her current situation was even stranger than Momonga had assumed.

Raynare didn't wake up during the cutting of the red dragon, which was over in a few minutes. Nor did she wake up during the transfer of its parts, which added to Nazarick's collection, nor even when Momonga, as a test, ordered Aura to get rid of Raynare herself.

When Raynare did not rise even when she was about to die, Momonga was able to determine that whatever the fallen angel's condition is, she was clearly now completely useless in terms of answers… Except maybe using [Control Amnesia]? Where he could see the answers to his questions straight from Raynare's mind. But, as the brief experiment with Issei had shown, the mana consumption was considerable. And it would take a long time and many attempts to accrue an acceptable amount of information.

And, so, relying on the fact that Raynare had no unique escape powers of any kind, Momonga ordered her imprisonment in the Frozen Prison. That done with, he returned to pondering the current situation he had found himself in. Seeing off Raynare, who had never woken up, being carried away with some strange hesitation by Cocytus' vassals who, as if they were in doubt as to how exactly they should treat Raynare.

Although, Momonga had zero knowledge of the body language, gestures, and seemingly unchanging faces of the insectoids, and therefore did not give it any weight. For all he knows, that's their default expression.

'Hmm, Raynare can be dealt with a little later, at the very least, she can be killed and resurrected again to unequivocally rid her of all the statuses affecting her.' Momonga pondered the solution, as if to 'turn on and off' a living being was just something normal, the old reliable technique, before shaking his head.

'Judging by Nigredo's assessment, she should be able to withstand even the lowest-level resurrection, and experimenting with resurrection should have happened sooner or later. However, if she refuses to resurrect, I have no decent ways to resurrect her forcibly, only some high-level magic and [Wish Upon A Star] can do that. And the latter is too valuable, since I can only apply it six times without spending exp, after which I have to spend my own experience to activate it. An unfortunate situation indeed, so it's worth checking first to see if she wakes up on her own, after which I can send Pestonia to help Raynare recover. And only after that failed, can I experiment with resurrection. '

Momonga shook his head once more before returning his gaze to the spot where the red dragon fire had finally gone out. It burned long enough, but in the end it still went out even without using the special abilities of the inhabitants of Nazarick, though it did scorch the walls black completely.

However, the bare walls of one of the random rooms on the first floor were practically worthless. And the daily limits on restoration had covered rebuilding the room, hallway and a couple of corridors damaged when the red dragon suddenly appeared in front of Momonga easily.

"Umu, so the World Class Item is lost." Momonga's emotions surged for a moment, along with his anger at the dragon that destroyed the World Class Item, then at the Goemon that appeared to have somehow participated in it. Then at himself for making such a mistake, before dissipating completely.

'Okay, no point in crying over spilled milk, in a pinch I can always console myself with the thought that I deprived a potential enemy of a World Class Item. I wish I'd gotten it, but at least I got some important information in return. First and foremost, the very information that in this world at least some World Class Items are not just artifacts, but contain other sealed beings with strange and powerful abilities inside them,'

Momonga imagined for a moment himself sealed in the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown], giving the user the ability to use [Goal of All Life Is Death], but dispelled the thought. 'In that case I need to be careful, perhaps the World-Class Items of this world, [Sacred Gear], operate on entirely different principles than those of YGGDRASIL. When the dragon was released from the Inventory of Issei, he appeared intelligent, but far more critical to note was that the [Throne of Kings] did not suppress the effects of his strange ability, [Boost]. If the [Throne of Kings] has lost its function of neutralizing the actions of enemy World Class Items within Nazarick, this is extremely disturbing news, for it suggests that the actions of the World Class Items have changed.'

Momonga rubbed his belly where his own World Class Item was stored in some doubt. 'Or is it that this World Class Item was not directly directed against Nazarick. After all, the ability used, [Boost], only affected the dragon itself, the function of the WCI enhancing the dragon rather than targeting Nazarick directly. Or is it because the WCI of this world, the [Sacred Gears] is a living being, whereas in YGGDRASIL they were merely artifacts? Or could it be that once it left the bounds of the Inventory and, I assume, the gauntlet, the red dragon ceased to be a World-Class Item. And that it became just a high-level creature with the unique abilities for which it was originally imprisoned in an artifact for. And the [Throne of Kings] has no effect on creature abilities? I have so many theories, and I should check them out… But at the same time, I wouldn't want another World Class Item bearer anywhere near Nazarick. If [Throne of Kings] has now changed its effect or World Class Items no longer offer their bearers protection from other World Class Items, it might cost me dearly… Haaaa, I feel exhausted just imagining the consequences…'

After these reflections, Momonga shifted his gaze, finding Hanzo and Goemon still silently awaiting orders, in the 'dogeza' pose with their heads down. As if they imagined themselves as samurais, waiting for the moment when their lord would allow them to seppuku and retire from life with what remains of their honor.

"Why are you still here?" Momonga turned to the two ninjas, then inwardly cringed a little as the two creatures flinched, just realizing how harsh his words might be taken.

"I mean, umu, I wanted to say that you have done your tasks well and can go to rest for a while…"

Both creatures twitched after these words, then nodded slowly, "Of course, my Lord, we will always be ready to answer your call."

'Yes, they've just encountered, albeit briefly, a one hundred level dragon. I might be used to that thanks to my experience from YGGDRASIL, but the both of them, only having existed for… how old? Half an hour old? They must have been terrified of something like that, that must be why they're trembling so much. They showed their best side by rushing to defend me from the red dragon, even though they know they were nothing more than an annoying gnat to him.'

Momonga shook his head slightly. 'Of course, they're much lesser in importance when compared to Nazarick's NPCs, but they're really loyal to me and performed well right after their summoning. Ha, I'll have to figure out how to reward them… Come to think of it, maybe I should reward all of Nazarick's NPCs? They are loyal to me, but their loyalty may change over time. And even if not, I will never forgive myself if I become to Nazarick's NPCs what my old bosses were to me. No, even more than that, they are not just NPCs now, they are now living beings. Human and non-human beings, with their own goals, thoughts and aspirations, not just mindless drones for battle, I will need to devote time to studying them and trying to develop some sort of reward system. Ah, my head starts to hurt just thinking about it. Besides, I still need to figure out exactly what to tell Raynare when she wakes up'.

Momonga shook his head once again, trying to jostle his gray matter. 'I haven't directly confirmed what she said about me being her god or 'father', but apparently indirectly confirmed it to Aura by answering her question. She seemed to easily take for granted that I was some sort of 'god'. Especially when Raynare said that she was 'created'. In the minds of the NPCs, she was 'created' in the same way as they are. And based on the loyalty I have managed to see from the NPCs, it is extremely easy for them to imagine me as some kind of 'god'. If I tell the NPCs now that I just lied to Raynare, then I'll have to answer Aura's question about Bukubukuchagama. Not to mention the fact that posing as a god will obviously make it easier for me to influence Raynare.'

Momonga sighed, feeling the convoluted web of lies he has to manage trying to strangle him.

'But if I accept that Raynare and, I assume, the other fallen angels at least, or anyone else, are my NPCs from the past, there will be a problem with how I should treat them. I just can't consider Raynare on the level of my own NPCs. But if I start treating them significantly worse, the NPCs will notice this, they'll have a question like 'if Momonga treats his past NPCs so badly – then he'll treat his current NPCs, us, badly in the future too'. It'll break their heart… Or maybe they'll revolt, and then I'll be destroyed. I have a lot of trump cards up my sleeve and full information on all Nazarick NPCs, but the most I can fight under such conditions is two hundredth level NPCs. And that's if I burn through every expendable item I have. If all Nazarick turns against me, there is almost nothing to save me, most likely I can't even hope to escape from Nazarick. Especially considering that I don't want to fight Nazarick – the last memory of Ainz Ooal Gown…'

Momonga took a slow breath, then held his breath, and exhaled. 'Okay, Momonga, no need to panic, we'll deal with problems as they come. Raynare appears to be still out cold, and I've ordered the NPC to let me know when she wakes up – so she's not my concern right now. The one issue I need to tackle right now, is something else entirely.'

Momonga shifted his gaze to the bloody pool of blood in which no human figure could be discerned, crushed first by the red dragon's paw and then burned to black charcoal by its flames. "What to do with Issei Hyoudou?"

Scratching his head, Momonga was struck by the conundrum he's in. "Initially, I did plan to let him go home, albeit by taking his [Sacred Gear] and changing his memory. I will not however sacrifice rare, scarce items to resurrect him, especially given the danger that the red dragon in his inventory might resurrect along with his resurrection. Who knows what the dragon's reaction to that will be."

Momonga shook his head. "From what he told me before he died, his parents won't really notice he's missing until 24 hours later, and they're not powerful. They can't make my life much more difficult in the future – especially if I do go back now and kill them… However, if the disappearance of one person can still be justified somehow, the disappearance of an entire family would be difficult to explain. It might attract the powerful figures in the world's attention. Not to mention that in this case, I would not just have to show up for a moment, but to search around the city a bit and possibly leave some traces."

Momonga frowned slightly, coming with another avenue of actions. "If I completely ignore Issei's parents… Hmm, from what he says, magic is not available to his family, or his parents have managed to hide its existence from their son all this time, but more likely still the former. While teleporting into this place would require at least a ninth tier of magic, [Gate], protection from the multiple debuffs of this place is also necessary. Furthermore, an encounter with Nazarick itself, a small island in a seeming infinity of nothingness, seems minimal at best, especially if I keep the scrying defenses up. In other words, the possibility that a threat could come from them is minimal. "

Satisfied with his conclusion, Momonga nodded. "In that case, it's probably easiest to just leave them alone…" Momonga frowned slightly, as another niggling though drilled into his mind.

"But I wouldn't want to upset these people… Huh, how strange, I don't feel anything about Issei's death, but for some reason I am saddened by his parents' possible reaction, just because I can draw a parallel with myself. Really, what a farce."

Momonga tensed for a moment, thinking, trying to reconcile his rational part with his emotional part, or, in other words, trying to find a suitable justification for his feelings.

"Hmm, okay… To begin with, I need information, and while Raynare is a good source of potential information, she is still unconscious, or whatever else happened to her. Also, now that her status is at the level of 'potential fellow NPCs' for the denizen of Nazarick, any harsh actions towards her, like using charm magic, the NPC's will try on themselves. Which means I can't vouch for the truthfulness of the information she can give me, since I can't just torture her… Not to mention the fact that her information may only concern her side, she may lie out of ignorance, or might have biases that I can't detect if I just have one source of information. The need to verify the information she will give me from other sources, the fact that being a weak creature she may simply not know much. And of course the fact that Raynare may overlook some details she would consider 'obvious' if she really perceived me as her 'god'."

Momonga felt some phantom shiver down his back when he imagined the rest of the NPCs calling him god.

"Besides, I just don't want to sit twiddling my thumbs in Nazarick, even if it's my home, it's basically just a box floating in the void, I'd be glad to have some chance to get out of it. Especially if I can find a place without red dragons jumping out of the void every few minutes."

Momonga grimaced like he's feeling a toothache, "What is wrong with these dragons anyway, why am I always bumping into them?! I hope I don't get more dragons in my way…"

Momonga thought of an idea that suddenly struck him for a moment. In principle, after getting rid of Issei, and having the abilities of his new spell, [Create Body], he could just copy Issei's body and impersonate him. Besides, he really wouldn't mind going back to school.

More specifically, the chance to attend high school was a rare chance. He had only managed to learn elementary school in his life, so raising his level of education would be nice. However, his memories of Issei made him instantly drop the plan of using Issei as his cover. Momonga considered himself to be a bad actor, so if he had to play the role of Issei - he had no doubt that he would screw up in something big, and very soon at that… And let's not forget the fact that Momonga didn't want to look like some perverted voyeur!

He was totally not okay with peeping on girls and hanging out with some weird guys just to avoid arousing suspicion! But the support of his family would immediately give him extra protection and plausibility to his story. A man who appeared out of nowhere raised far more questions than a man with a family… there are so many advantages, but so many disadvantages either.

"No, I definitely don't agree to be Issei Hyoudou." Momonga made a firm decision before hesitating, still looking at the black remains of the former human.

"Ahem, maybe I could send a… Doppelgänger? Yes, a doppelgänger sounds great, it could take on the appearance of Issei Hyoudou to allay suspicion and still work for me at the same time, especially since doppelgängers are born actors. But at the same time, a simple doppelgänger would not do, they are able to check their surroundings thoughts, determining exactly how they should behave, but therein lies their main weakness. If two people have different perceptions of the same person at once, a doppelgänger will be torn between two opposing behaviors, which in the end will spell their doom… Or so it was explained and should work, understandably, doppelgängers in YGGDRASIL functioned quite differently, given that it was all just a game. However, since this world is no longer a game…"

Momonga thought and shook his head. "Hmm, okay, so just any doppelgänger won't do, I need someone with a high racial level to not get confused in their role, with excellent acting skills, with high intelligence… And let's not forget that there are really strong beings in this world"

Momonga raised his hand, rubbing his chin a little. "Nigredo has confirmed that in this world, or rather, in these worlds, in this universe? How do you say it right?"

Momonga thought for a second, then threw off the distraction. "There are a multitude of creatures with an average level of forty, including many stronger creatures. And I've already encountered a boss myself, and the owner of a World Class Item, um, [Sacred Gear]. I should start switching to the vocabulary of this world if I want to try to pass myself off as a local god. Of course, it might just be that I'm that unlucky, but potentially, this world is dangerous enough, and sending an untrained and weak doppelgänger on a mission makes no sense… If I still want to use a doppelgänger to gather information, hmm…"

Momonga rubbed his chin in his thoughtfulness once more. "I could even use his disguise myself and even possibly influence Issei's family through him and enroll myself in the high school. My disguise would be even stronger with somebody extensively on my side already entrenched. But in that case, I would additionally need a doppelgänger close enough to me and who understands how I think… So, all in all, I need a high-leveled doppelgänger with high intelligence, strength, and also familiar with my mannerisms to be able to create a fake identity for me to insert myself into…" Momonga sighed.

"Where could I find someone like…"

Momonga suddenly stopped thinking as an eerie thought ran through his mind.

Fear shackled his heart.

His soul quivered in the wind.

All Momonga could utter was a weak denial. "Oh no…"

***

"OH YES!" Pandora's Actor pirouetted on the spot, then instantly stopped in place and gave a martial salute with his hand to his temple. "Mein Gott! Dein Wille wird geschehen!"

"Please, at least not German!" The great Father of the Pandora Actor, froze, opening His mouth before still closing it, clearly admiring the incredible coolness of Pandora Actor himself.

At the thought of his Father admiring him so much, Pandora's Actor felt some strange feeling rise from his depths, as if it would tickle lightly through all his nerve endings. The sensation made Pandora's Actor hold back his laughter and swear in his heart to become even cooler so that his Father could enjoy a great performance. A performance Pandora's Actor would hold in His honor!

"Ah, m, um, yes…" Father finally managed to close His mouth before He coughed into his fist.

"Pandora's Actor, do you understand exactly what I am asking of you?"

"Jawoll!" Pandora Actor saluted immediately, after which he felt his Father literally knock him to the ground, pinning him to the couch next to him.

"I also forbid you to use German during this entire mission!" His Father stared at him with His burning eyes staring deep into Pandora Actor's very soul. "That's right, I forbid you to use German at all! Period!"

Pandora Actor only smiled inwardly at these words. This meant that his Father fully acknowledged the Pandora Actor's actions, that He agreed that the Pandora Actor had fully mastered the coolness that came with the German language that his Father had put into him. And now, Pandora Actor himself had to find new ways to demonstrate his coolness, and at the same time to widen the very horizon of understanding 'coolness'.

Exactly as his Father had bequeathed him!. "Of course, Lord Mo~mo~nga!"

"The singing isn't much better, but they can be tolerated," Father swallowed something, probably an exclamation of just how cool Pandora Actor's is as he pulled away from Pandora's Actor, letting him first lift one leg high. Then, using that as a lever and counterbalance, to rise in a single upward motion, remembering to turn in his movement so that his cloak would rustle behind him and his back would be turned to his Father. The greatest insult a resident of Nazarick could ever show to the Greatest of High Beings, but Pandora Actor was permitted to do so. Because it was Lord Momonga Himself who had created him as such.

Pandora's Actor knew that his pose, the way he now turned his back to his Maker, turning his head to the side as if looking past his Father. Looking at the Lord with one eye and shifting his body slightly as if he were leaning on one leg, and putting out the other to the side, was the peak essence of coolness. "Oh, my Creator, Your will be done!"

"Kuh, can you not call me that?" His Father swallowed yet another exclamation of coolness.

"You may address me as 'Father' or 'Pa…' No, just call me 'Father.'"

"Father?" Pandora actor couldn't believe his ears for a second – which, strictly speaking, he didn't have in this uniform and form. Was it really not a dream, was it real? Had he really earned this, this most sacred right of all, this almost blasphemous right to call Him, the Supreme Being, the Lord of all the Great Tomb Nazarick… Father?! His own Father?!

Pandora's Actor would have cried with the force of a thousand waterfalls if he could, but his body was deprived of that ability… Besides, the Pandora Actor understood that mindless sobbing was not cool, and his Father appreciated his coolness in everything.

He had created him as such. Which meant that the Pandora Actor, who had been given the greatest right of all, the right to call Lord Momonga his Father, could not, in no way, shame his Lord and show his 'uncool' side. And mere moments after his Father had granted him His greatest mercy at that!

Some tears were cool, Pandora's Actor knew this, but with all his great intellect given to him at his Father's creation he could find no way to turn those tears that were waiting to come out, into cool tears. He could only smile helplessly, seeing how, with just one sentence, his Father had turned all his lauded intellect to nothing, and acknowledge his utter admiration and powerlessness in the face of the Greatest Supreme Being.

"Yes, but only in private, umu, it would be strange for you to call me Father on a mission."

Father shook His head, before acting as if he had forgotten something. "Ah, right, I almost completely forgot, in addition to your mission of gathering information and posing as Issei, I will also travel with you as your… Umu, the older brother of Issei, and I'm counting on you to help me maintain my cover."

Pandora's Actor paused for a moment before realizing something magnificent. Indeed, there's no reward as great as the right to call Him, the Greatest, their Father, could have been bestowed without an equally great test. For otherwise it would have been only an undeserved reward, weighing down the soul of Lord Momonga's loyal servant, and becoming a stigma on their minds. For none of all Nazarick would have allowed themselves to benefit from a reward bestowed upon them by a Supreme Being without an equally grand achievement.

And his Father, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, bestowed upon Pandora's Actor just this – the opportunity to prove, not to the Father himself, but to himself, the right for him to enjoy the greatest reward of all. For the Actor was not to take center stage in this play, being only an Actor, he was to become not the leading role, but the support, the main stage decoration, which would elevate his Father above all others.

Just so, Pandora's Actor was to play his part as an Actor is supposed to, and let his Father ascend to the applause of the audience. Playing villain and hero as his role required, to allow his Father to rise above them all.

"Umu, however, I will likely be away a lot on Nazarick business, so I will need to come up with a rationale as to why I will be away a lot. Hmm, maybe sanitary quarantine? No, I don't think they are that common in this world yet, and I don't think I could easily find slums that often use 'cleaners' in this world…" His Father pretended to be thinking for a moment, as if He in his infinite Wisdom hadn't found an answer to something. Immersing Himself in thoughts that were beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, and plans that stretched wider and deeper than any body of water, before shaking his head.

"Ahem, well, that can be decided later."

"That's right, Father!" Pandora's Actor instantly saluted his Father's decision, causing Him to freeze for a second.

"Um, also, please don't salute… Not in Nazarick, not on the mission, not anywhere,"

Momonga nodded seriously, and Pandora's Actor was pleased that his Father considered his salutes also had perfectly achieved coolness, and therefore no longer necessary.

For the Actor's skill was not to repeat the same old tricks, but to seek out new roles, each of which he had to turn into a peak of cool!

"Ah right, regarding the looks you need to use," Father pronounced before with a wave of his hand he enacted a miracle, "[Create Body]."

A moment later, Father's form changed, and a young man with brown hair and brown eyes appeared before Actor. Pandora's Actor felt a joyous longing in his chest, for he knew that the Father was the God of Death and the Supreme Being, but to see a new facet of His power was a blessing in itself. But to see how they would become alike, indeed, as Son and Father, was a blessing above all others, for it confirmed once again that Actor was indeed entitled to call himself a son and Lord Momonga his Father.

'How great is His wisdom, for His every movement leads to its purpose, every gesture is woven into a single story, an endless spectacle where He owns all the roses from the sighing audience. Being both hero and villain, dragon and knight, truly, there is no happiness higher than being His son.' Pandora's Actor fortified his heart, for it had been bestowed upon him by his Father, and began to scrutinize the form of the young lad before him.

Before, a moment later, Pandora's Actor form changed and the exact same copy of the young lad arose before his mirror reflection.

"Umu, okay in that case, um, [Create Body]. I'll take advantage of that."

A moment later, his Lord's form changes again, now a slightly older and slightly taller than his previous one. With shorter hair running neatly down the sides of his head, clearly combed unlike Issei's hair, and eyes a tone darker, so that tracing the family resemblance was incredibly easy.

'Father, even so, I can only rejoice in how similar we are now, even if none of these bodies are our real ones…' Pandora's Actor smiled slightly, but refrained from showing his happiness fully. Wide smiles were very rarely cool, and this was clearly not the time for that.

"Umu, in that case… I'd also like to give this to you for safekeeping, it's the remains of your disguise's World-Class Item, um, [Sacred Gear]. It's pretty much destroyed, but I think we can still benefit from it."

A moment later, Father's hand disappeared into his Inventory, then emerged holding a split and shattered red gauntlet, crumpled in many places and covered in caked blood and black soot. Indeed, there was nothing unusual about the gauntlet, even if the Chief Blacksmith were to repair it, it would become just another gauntlet, a relic among the thousands of others collected in the Treasury of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. But if his Lord said that it was a World Class Item, then it must be one.

In its current state, with caked blood and the imprint of a large claw and the slight, not yet fully gone smell and sense of the presence of the mighty red dragon sealed within, this gauntlet could indeed 'do good'.

'How far does Your knowledge extend, Father? How far does Your eye see, and how grandiose are Your schemes really?' Pandora's Actor took the glove in his hand gently, after which, a moment later, it disappeared into his Inventory. Before, realizing exactly what role he was to play in the new play, pressed his hand to his heart, his outflow of admiration no longer could be held back.

"Wenn es meines Gottes Wille ist!"

Momonga could not hold back his emotions either. "I SAID NO GERMAN!"