As the landscape transformed from heaven to hell in the blink of an eye, the three headed down the path that would lead to the ruined temple that served as Demiurge's home. This Pathway was treacherous in every definition of the word. Demons, undead, and all manner of magical beast flanked every side of the road, leaving very little left that would be "safe." Even without them, many other powerful monsters occupied this realm, that could easily lay claim to their lives if all of them attacked at once. However, they were all firmly under there control as the vassals under Nazarick.
So naturally, these creatures keeled down in their presence as they walked down the walkway to the center of the world of flame. Some pledging there fidelity in silence, and Guren, while not seeming Intelligent due to it having no distinguishing traits to signify higher brain function, even Bowed in acknowledgment to BukuBukuChagama. Likely because they shared the same ancestry as far as race was concerned.
"Man, Ulbert really went all in on this place didn't he?" While Ulbert was not the only one to work on this floor, he was the main contributor. Therefore, most of the finer details could be traced back to him. He said he wanted it to be "A place that would make any hero fall into despair, an incarnation of the word evil."
Not only was the central piece of the unholy land a religious temple that had been utterly sacked, but various other imagery were scattered throughout the realm that would represent the downfall of all that was good. Screams replaced the sounds of wind in this place, as if to give both an audible and visual understanding of the torments that occurred here. Angels were tied up to mast in the center of great inferno's, while smaller demons prodded them with pitchforks. Various bodies of what looked to be priest were scattered about, wearing tattered robes smeared with blood, and even a live performance of demons skinning multiple humans that had been strapped to a large wall, then would heal them to Repeat the process.
I don't remember that decoration being there... well it has been a while since I've visited the 7th floor in person. I probably just forgot.
"Yeah, that guy really knows how to make appearances doesn't he? If I was a adventurer and found this place I'd flee without a second thought! Its a textbook example of the word, Hell."
"That it is. I haven't visited many of the floors in person in a long time, so I had forgotten just how much we had put into some of them. The only ones I've really been to in my time here were the 9th, 10th, and sometimes the 6th. Though thinking back, maybe we should check some of them out."
"When we have some leisure time, than sure. Didn't we make a underwater city in a secret pathway on the 4th floor?"
"You're right! I had almost forgotten that. The coral we used for lighting really gave it a mystical feel didn't it." After seeing the other two nod in agreement, the conversation ended, as they had reached their destination. The domain of the 7th floor guardian, the broken temple. The roof was almost completely gone, and the statues of various gods could be seen shattered along the path to the entrance, as well as the sides of the building.
They entered the building in silence. As it would be terrible rude for them to continue to talk and not greet the demon right away. However, before they could reach him, a voice was heard coming from the throne room.
"The sheep are becoming restless? How so?"
"Well, during the new social experiment we had been instructed to preform, many of them fell into despair and began to attack the other members, which resulted in heavy casualties."
"Hm, strange, I would have thought by now they would have forgone such methods."
The experiment in question that Demiurge had ordered to be conducted, was to bring in a child from one family, then a relative from the same family as the subject. They would then be asked to kill one of the subjects to see which they valued more, the life of a child, or the ones they had grown closest to. Everyone of them seemed to kill the relative of the other family. However, the other family had also been given the same experiment, with the children of the other, which meant in the end, everyone had fairly lost someone close to them. The goal was to see how they would react, since everyone would be guilty of the same thing.
"Well, no matter. Its a calculated loss. I will simply have to inquire to Ainz-sama if he will allow a restocking."
"Of course, Demiurge. If you need more sheep for the benefit of Nazarick, then it is of no consequence to me. You may do as you wish."
With perfect timing, the trio stepped into the room to greet Demiurge, which prompted the demon, as well as the Abyss demon beside it, to kowtow in servitude. "Ainz-sama! As well as Peroroncino-sama and BukuBukuChagama-sama! I must thank you for granting your servants request, as well as choosing to come visit me in my humble abode."
While His courtesy was appreciated, the area could hardly constitute as a room, since the ceiling was missing, and most, if not all of the furniture had been destroyed and could not be considered "Humble" by any stretch of the word.
"Umu, your thanks are not needed Demiurge. Your loyal service is all that I require for thanks. But on to the main topic. As you may know, Touch-san is planning on heading back to his old world, however we have yet to find any way of how that is possible. Thus we seek your knowledge on a certain matter that may help us. It is my belief that beings similar to what I am began to appear in this world 600 years ago. While very little beings can live to such a age in this world, we need to learn of any long lived beings that may be knowledgeable of such a topic. Have any such beings appeared in your intelligence Networks?"
"Indeed, Ainz-sama! I believe I sent you some reports on how we may be able to deal with such beings should the need arise."
"O-of course. However I am not confident on being able to remember every such being that exist. So I had come to you to seek your knowledge on the matter."
"Very well Ainz-sama. Although you needn't be so modest with claiming you cant remember such things."
"No, really... Ahem, well then Demiurge, go ahead and brief us on the matter."
The explanation went on without incident. While many of the names Ainz had heard before, such as the frost dragons the had subjugated recently, Fluder, and many other names he felt had no value. However, four in particular stood out to him.
The Dragon lords of the council state,
The Queen of the dragon kingdom,
The King of the elven nation,
And the vampire known as landfall.
These four were the ones that both he and the siblings agreed were the most promising. Though they information they had on two of these could be considered to be lacking.
The first was landfall. Demiurge stated that he had confirmed her to now be acting under the identity of Evileye of Blue Rose, however he felt she would not be of much assistance. While they could guess she was one of the 13 hero's of old, that only went back 200 years, and she would only be able to detail events with the demon gods, who Ainz filed as low priority, as they seemed to be rather low leveled if they were even players.
The king of the elven nation was a enigma however. Demiurge said that not even he had found out his real age yet, though he had assuredly been around for a very long time. Possibly even longer than Evileye. While he said the elven nation was still a ways off in there plan for domination, but if the supreme ones willed it, than he would make it so. Ainz quashed the idea however, saying that he would be a last resort, as there was too little info as of yet.
And then the group of beings which worried them the most, the council states dragon lords.
"Ainz-sama, if you will permit me to interject, I feel that while they may be the ones that we seek, though I would not advise heading there yet, as the assailant who attempted to take your life is still unknown, and the prime suspect is the head of that state."
"Ah yes, that Riku Aganeia, the decidedly false name he had went under. While we are not certain of his identity, we have decided to sent emissaries to them now that we have freed some man-power. We will have to see based on his reaction whether he truly is that mysterious attacker." He turned to the very confused Peroroncino and BukuBukuChagama as if to say, "I'll explain later."
"I quite agree. And if the Platinum dragon lord is the true culprit, then we must be wary of the others as well. While 5 or 7 of Riku's level would not be able to breach our holy abode, it could be problematic for excursions outside." While it felt ironic for him to call the place holy while they were in a decidedly unholy location of the tomb, the message still carried across.
"Though I feel simply destroying the nation outright would solve any issues, however, I get the impression that is not what you seek."
"mm, and what of the dragon kingdoms queen?"
"While we don't believe she is as old as any of the other beings, she seems to have inherited the bloodline of a dragon lord, and therefore has been granted royalty status. And at the moment, there forces have become strained due to there war with the beast-man country, so I feel that it would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about the dragon lords, and confirm our suspcions.
"An excellent idea Demiurge. I was planning on sending emissaries to them along side the council state, but now we have the perfect opportunity to act as saviors to them, as well as gaining the info we seek. The plan had few risk and much to gain, though there is something that concerns me. You mentioned that she has the bloodline of a dragon lord, so wouldn't they be adverse to us attempting to head there?
"yeah I was thinking that as well Momonga-san, dragons aren't exactly the easiest enemies to battle."
"Ah, no my lords. The dragon lord that she sired from seems to have gone somewhat incognito, and nobody has seen it in decades. So I feel there is no issue on that front. Though we should survey the area during your visit with high level stealth vassals just in case."
"So In other words, now is the best time to head there, as they lack the fighting force to face us if they choose to be hostile, but they also have Information that could help us with our goal. It does seem to be our best option."
"Right Onii-chan, but what is the story between you and these dragon lords Momonga-san?"
"During our conquest of the kingdom, a strong foe had attempted to take my life, and with the information we had acquired, we narrowed it down to the platinum dragon lord, or one of the 13 hero's of old. So we need to be cautious, as he possess abilities that I have never seen, that only a world-class item could hope to replicate."
Looks of understanding dawn on the faces of the two, as they realized why they were taking such caution. If the opponent had a world-class item, then they needed to be extremely guarded against them, even if they outnumbered them.
"Combine that with the unknown assailant that had brain-washed Shalltear, we're really operating under a razor thin margin of error."
"Wait, what happened to Shalltear?"
Anger boiled over Ainz as the memory of what he had to do to his friends beloved daughter resurfaced, but was quickly quelled by his emotional dampener, though he still had a small flicker of hatred in him at the thought, as not even that could hope to fully reign in his ire at them.
"Yes, I'll need to explain to you what happened later on Peroroncino-san, but for now we should head for the kingdom to understand who we are dealing with. I'll tell you the story on the way there."
"very well my lords, then I wish you all the best of luck. However, will the remaining supreme ones also be accompanying you there?"
"No it's just us. Ulbert-san and Touch-san both said they were going to stay here for the time being."
A smile blossomed on Demiurge's face, though nobody in the room was clueless as to why. Now that they had what they needed, it was time to commence with the next phase of the plan. The leave for the Dragon kingdom.
"thank you for your assistance Demiurge, you truly are the greatest mind in Nazarick."
"Your thanks are wasted on one such as myself my lords. Besides..." a bitter smile overtook his joyous one as his line of sight shifted to Ainz. "My intellect could not possibly hope to compare to Ainz-sama's."
The two exchanged confused glances as Ainz desperately tried to deny his delusions. Yet in the end, he was forced to give up, as in a battle of words, he would never overcome Demiurge.
"The let us be off. We'll walk through E-rantel, and then take a carriage, as I haven't been there to use teleportation magic. Follow me guys, I'll show you the city I've created."
and so the trio left in high spirits, with Demiurge looking out towards there receding silhouettes, and though to himself, Ainz-sama is too kind. To think he considers me smarter than himself. But I wonder, in what way will he utterly dominate me and the hearts of the people this time. Fufu... Whatever plan he had come up with, it certainly will outstrip even mine.
.
.
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High up in the capital of the Draconic kingdom, lay the castle of the queen Draudillon. While one might expect it to have a professional air, given the fact that the ruler of the entire kingdom resided here, today the mood was entirely the opposite. Many throughout the castle were in a panic, rushing to get from place to place, which resulted in a furious uproar.
While the throne room was in polar opposite to the pandemonium downstairs, they weren't fairing much better. The room was so quiet, that once may be able to hear the metaphorical sound of silence. "Grim" was the only way to describe it.
"So, they've taken yet another city."
The man who had said this was the right hand of the queen, Carron. While everyone had heard this news up until now, nobody had the strength to say it until him, which was the spark to set the room alight once more.
The Draconic kingdom consisted of 6 different cities throughout its borders. They had already lost 3 beforehand due to there forces being overwhelmed by the ferocious beast that swarmed them like a broken dam. Needless to say, with only one city remaining before the capital came under siege, there situation was hugely problematic.
"So we've lost yet again huh? Haahhh... Damn those beast men! And damn the Slane theocracy! We've already given them there payment to assist in the war, yet they choose to leave us to die this time around!? ARGGGGGH!"
This childish temper tantrum came from, surprisingly, the queen herself. While only her confidants knew this, she wasn't exactly the monarch her people thought of her as. Or rather, it would be better to say her personality was troublesome.
"Yes, it would seem the beastmen commonwealth have deployed there calvalry golems at long last, and as a result, not only was the city of Narod taken over, but the sole adamantite team have died as well." while everyone knew this, it still brought despair to hear it out loud.
"So the worlds strongest pedophile is dead eh? Well, I don't know if I should be happy that I don't have to deal with him anymore, or saddened that we just lost our best fighting force, so I'll just refrain comment." while she was joking, nobody laughed.
"Your majesty, what should we do?" while this was the natural question to ask, answering it was very difficult. They had relied too heavily on the military power of other nations, as well as only having there adventurers to make up the gap in fighting strength. As a result, they seemed to be dead in the water.
"You should know that as well as me right?" everyone in the room merely looked down at the floor after knowing what she was implying.
When word had gotten out that the a new country was being formed known as the sorcerer kingdom, and that country was going to war with Re-estize, they had ignored the news as the had to focus on there own problems. However, as the news of the events that transpired, as well as other rumors about the kingdom began to circulate, they were merely stunned. How could one man possible kill 70,000 people with one spell? The very thought was madness! Yet as more and more rumors and deeds of the sorcerer kings accomplishments began to reach them, the queen had made a decision.
When the true war with the kingdom was announced, she had given her official seal to approve of it. While they had never been enemies, they were already on the brink of collapse. It was the best option at the time to save her own people.
"Since we approved the war they just had, we may be able to convince them to lend us forces from there nation to drive back the beastman. Its clear they now hold the title of the strongest nation, so it would be good to curry favor with them no?"
"But your majesty, the ruler of that kingdom is one of the undead. Are we truly entrusting our future to it?" this voice seemed to be extremely strained as he choked his words out. It was clearly the voice of a man who was out of options, but still did not want to go through with it.
"That undead, went to the most religious country in the surrounding nations baring the theocracy, and now they completely shifted there outlook and a religion has formed to worship him. I don't think a regular undead could accomplish that, so its clear something else is going on. Besides what choice do we have? We have nothing to risk, because even if we choose to shun them, we'll just fall to the beastmen instead. This is simply our best option."
Seeing that no one had any arguments – or it would be better to say that no arguments could be given – she continued on with her stance.
"The sorcerer kingdom seems to be branching out to other countries lately in peace. If any diplomats show up, immediately welcome them without delay, and inform me as soon as possible. This country may not survive without them, so me must be cordial. Until then we must remain vigilant at all times now. This is my command! I won't let my country fall to the likes of those savages!
With this rallying cry from the small child, the people went back to their task, praying for a miracle to befall them.