Overlord Supreme

However, this skill had no effect on the people present. It was only useful on people below level forty, so to everyone here, it simply sounded good.

"No. Those two Guardians are only to be moved under special circ.u.mstances. Therefore, there is no need to call them over at the moment."

"I see."

"...My. Allies. Have. Not. Arrived. Yet."

Aura and Shalltear froze as they heard those words, and the smile froze on Albedo's face.

"...That, that fellow is just an Area Guardian in one of the floors which I… which we are in charge of."

"Y-Yes…"

Shalltear and Aura smiled stiffly, while Albedo nodded vigorously in agreement.

"...Kyouhukou, is it. Indeed, it would be good to inform the various Area Guardians. Then, let the Area Guardians like Guren and Grant know about it as well. I will leave that task to the various Floor Guardians."

There were two kinds of Guardians in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

Floor Guardians, like the ones before Momonga at the moment, were responsible for one or more floors. Area Guardians were responsible for an individual area within a floor. Simply put, the Floor Guardians were in charge of the Area Guardians, who were in turn in charge of a specific domain. Since there were many of them, they were individually not very important. In Nazarick, the term Guardian usually referred to a Floor Guardian.

After the various Floor Guardians showed that they understood Momonga's orders, Albedo commanded:

"Then, everyone, let us pledge our loyalty to the Supreme One."

All the Guardians nodded as one, and before Momonga could interrupt, they had lined up before him. Albedo stood at their head, while the other Guardians formed a line behind her. All the Guardians had solemn, respectful expressions. They showed no sign of playing around.

Shalltear, who stood on one end of the line, stepped forward:

She went to one knee, one hand pressed against her c.h.e.s.t, and bowed deeply. After that, Cocytus stepped forward and said:

"Cocytus. Guardian. Of. The. Fifth. Floor. Presents. Himself. To. The. Master."

Much like Shalltear had, he knelt before Momonga like a vassal before a lord. Then, it was the twin dark elves' turn:

"The Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Aura Bella Fiora, presents herself to the Master."

"Al-Also a Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Mare Bello Fiore, presents himself to the Master."

They knelt respectfully and lowered their heads to Momonga. Shalltear, Cocytus, Aura, and Mare all had different bodies and thus they should have each taken their steps forward differently. Yet, the way with which they knelt was identical, and they lined up neatly.

After that, Demiurge advanced in a dignified manner.

"The Guardian of the Seventh Floor, Demiurge, presents himself to the Master."

Following his crisp words, Demiurge went to one knee in a graceful descent, as though expressing his heart through his actions. Finally, Albedo stepped forward as well.

She smiled to Momonga, and knelt like the other Guardians. However, Albedo continued speaking in a high and clear voice as she delivered her report to Momonga.

"With the exception of the Fourth Floor Guardian Gargantua and the Eighth Floor Guardian Victim, all the Floor Guardians are gathered before you. Thus do we offer up our utmost loyalty to the Master."

Momonga could not speak as he looked at the six lowered heads before him. A strange pressure veiled the entire area, and perhaps only Momonga could bear the painful, crushing air.

—He did not know how to proceed.

He had never seen anything like this before in his life. In his confusion, Momonga accidentally activated a skill. A dreadful aura roiled out over the surroundings, and a halo of black radiance formed behind him.

Momonga had no time to cancel the skill as he frantically racked his brains to recall a scene from movies or television which would tell him how to respond appropriately here.

"Raise your heads."

With a sha, everyone raised their heads. Their coordination was so immaculate that Momonga wondered if they had practiced that movement together.

"Then… first, I thank all of you for coming here."

None of the Guardians opposed her statement. As expected of the Guardian Overseer.

Momonga looked on the Guardians with a stern face, and he felt a choking sensation in his nonexistent throat. It was the weight of being a leader bearing down on him.

In addition, any orders he gave now would affect his relationship with them in the future. He could not help but hesitate as he contemplated the possibilities.

Would he lead the Great Tomb of Nazarick to destruction because of his decisions — the unease generated by that thought flooded his heart and mind.

"...Momonga-sama, it is only natural that you should have doubts about us. After all, our abilities must be miniscule in your reckoning."

Albedo removed the smile from her face, and continue in a respectful tone that was laced with a stern strength.

"However, if Momonga-sama gives the order, we — all the Guardians will accomplish any task set to us, no matter how difficult or arduous, with every fiber of our beings. We hereby swear that we will never allow the Forty One Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown, our creators, to be disgraced by our actions."

"This we swear!"

The Floor Guardians chimed in right after Albedo. Their voices were filled with power, and that adamant loyalty and determination would not be diminished by any number of foes. It was as though they were mocking Momonga's previous worries that the NPCs might betray him.

The golden radiance of the past still remained.

The embodiment of everyone's hard work, their cunningly crafted creations, were still here. It filled him with joy.

Momonga smiled, although his skeletal face could not display any emotions. The points of crimson light in his eye sockets seemed to shine exceptionally bright. His prior unease had was no longer existent, and he simply spoke the words expected of a guildmaster.

"Excellent. Guardians, I know that you will understand my aims and successfully carry out my commands. There may be some things which are difficult to understand, but I hope you will pay attention and listen. I believe the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick has been caught up in some kind of unknown situation."

The Guardians' faces were still stern, and there was no trace of surprise on them.

"Although I do not know what has caused this incident, the Great Tomb of Nazarick has been transported from its place in the swamps to a vast plain. Did anyone foresee the occurrence of this strange event?"

Albedo looked back at the Guardians, and after seeing the reply written on their face, she said:

"Regretfully, none of us have any idea of what is going on."

"Then, I have a question for the Floor Guardians. Have any of you discovered anything strange in your floors?"

"There are no abnormalities in the Seventh Floor."

"Same with the Sixth Floor."

"I-It's as Nee-chan says."

"The. Fifth. Floor. Is. The. Same."

"Nothing strange has been sighted in the First to Third Floors."

"—Momonga-sama, I shall investigate the Fourth and Eighth Floors right away."

"Then I will leave that matter to Albedo. However, you must be careful on the Eighth Floor. If an emergency situation occurs there, a situation may emerge that you cannot deal with."

Albedo bowed her head deeply to indicate she understood, and then Shalltear said:

"Then, I shall handle matters on the surface."

Surprise flashed across the faces of Albedo and the other Guardians.

In the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, there were four NPCs who were exponents of melee combat. Cocytus had the strongest attack power when using a weapon, Albedo had an impregnable defense when in her heavy armor, while Sebas in his true form was stronger than either of them in melee combat. And then was one more, who was superior to all of them.

There could be no other reason for the Guardians' surprise. Sebas, who could sweep away anyone before him in hand-to-hand combat, had been assigned to the simple task of reconnaissance. They could tell how seriously Momonga was taking this strange occurrence, and everyone was on their guard as a result.

"It's about time for him to return."

Just then, Momonga saw Sebas jogging over to them, until he reached the Guardians genuflecting before Momonga and went to one knee as well.

"Momonga-sama, forgive my lateness."

"It's fine. Then, your report on the surrounding conditions."

Sebas raised his head and looked around at the Guardians kneeling beside him.

"...The situation is critical, so obviously the Floor Guardians need to know as well."

"Yes. To begin with, the terrain surrounding us for a kilometer in each direction is a plain. There are no signs of man-made structures. I spotted some small animals, but there were no humanoid or large creatures."

"Were those small animals monsters?"

"No, they were life forms which had no combat power."

"...I see. Then, were the plains you spoke of covered in frozen grass which would cut you as you passed them?"

"No, it was simple grass. There was nothing special about it."

"And you did not see any sky castles or similar buildings?"

"No, I did not. There was no sign of man-made illumination in the sky or on the land."

"I see, so there was only a starry sky… Thank you for your hard work, Sebas."

As he praised Sebas for his efforts, Momonga was somewhat disappointed because he had not obtained any useful information.

However, he was slowly realizing that he was no longer in the game world of YGGDRASIL, although he did not understand why he could use YGGDRASIL's equipment and use its spells.

He did not know why they had come here, but it would be wise to heighten Nazarick's combat readiness just in case. For all he knew, this might be someone else's territory, and he might be censured for having come here without permission. No, he would be lucky if that was all that happened.

"Guardians, increase the readiness of each floor by one level. We are unsure of what has happened, so do not act incautiously. If you encounter an intruder, do not slay them, but capture them alive at all costs. When you capture them, do as little harm to them as possible. I apologise for imposing such demands on all of you at a time like this."

The Guardians voiced their acknowledgement and nodded in unison.

"Next, I would like to understand the administrative operations of the Tomb. Albedo, how is the exchange of security information between the Guardians of the various floors?"

In YGGDRASIL, the Guardians were simple NPCs, and they could only act according to their programs. There was no way the floors would exchange security information and monsters.

"Each Floor is administered by its respective Floor Guardian, but Demiurge is the overall defense commander, and everyone can share information with him."

Momonga was a bit surprised, but then he nodded in satisfaction.

"Excellent. Nazarick's defense commander, Demiurge. Guardian Overseer, Albedo. The two of you will be in charge of drawing up a more comprehensive administrative system for Nazarick."

"Understood. Will the plans for the management system include the Eighth, Ninth  and Tenth floors?"

"The Eighth Floor is managed by Victim, so it'll be fine. No, entry to the Eighth Floor is forbidden. I rescind the order I just gave to Albedo as well. In short, entry to the Eighth Floor will only be effected with my permission. I will undo the seal and permit direct access from the Seventh Floor to the Ninth Floor. After that, plan for the Ninth and Tenth Floor as one whole."

"Is, is that your will?"

Albedo seemed quite surprised. Behind her, Demiurge's eyes went wide, revealing his thoughts on the matter.

"Will the underlings be allowed to tramp through the domain of the Supreme Beings? Must they be given that much freedom?"

The underlings in question were not the NPCs and monsters designed by the members of Ainz Ooal Gown, but the automatically spawned (pop) monsters from the dungeon. The fact was that the Ninth and Tenth Floor lacked such monsters, barring very rare exceptions.

Momonga muttered to himself.

Albedo seemed to regard that place as a holy sanctuary, but that was not the case.

The reason why there were no pop monsters on the Ninth Floor was simply because if any intruders could overcome the NPC defenders of the Eighth Floor, the most powerful beings in the Tomb, then Ainz Ooal Gown's chances of victory would be slim. Thus, it would be better to play the role of a villain to the hilt, and meet the invaders in the throne room for a final showdown.

"...It will be fine. Because it's an emergency, we need extra hands for security."

"Understood. I shall select only the finest and most potent troops for this duty."

Momonga nodded, and looked toward the twins.

"Aura and Mare… can you conceal the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick? Simple illusions don't seem very reliable, and thinking about the cost of illusions gives me a headache."

Aura and Mare looked at each other and began thinking. After a while, Mare spoke up:

"U-Using magic might be tricky. If we had to hide everything along with the surface… although, we could cover the walls in mud, and then add plants as camouflage."

"Do you intend to soil the glorious walls of Nazarick with base dirt?"

Albedo said that with her back turned to Mare. Although her voice was sweet and velvet, the tone it carried was anything but.

Mare's shoulders trembled, and although the surrounding Guardians remained silent, their attitudes suggested that they shared Albedo's opinion.

In contrast, Momonga felt Albedo was being too much of a busybody. The situation was hardly serious enough to warrant such a reaction.

"Albedo… don't speak out of turn. I am addressing Mare."

His voice was so deep that it surprised Momonga himself.

"Ah, my deepest apologies, Momonga-sama!"

Albedo's head was as low as it could go, and her face was frozen in fear. The Guardians and Sebas stiffened up as well. Perhaps they thought that scolding was directed at them as well.

A twinge of remorse struck Momonga as he observed the quick change in the Guardians' attitude, but he continued speaking to Mare:

"Can you conceal the walls by heaping dirt onto them?"

"Yes, yes I can, if you allow it, Momonga-sama … However…"

"Yes, an observer from a distance would think the ground was bulging up unnaturally. Sebas, are there any nearby hills or the like?"