Albedo understood at once. She stepped forward to face Momonga. On her flawless face there was none of the excitement or nostalgia one might show a former masteronly cool, official solemnity, and the absolute devotion to her current Supreme that smoldered in her eyes.
"Before you stands the sole ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarickthe one who saved us and this land from the abyss of nothingness, who commands the world's very source and granted us true life and will: the Supreme Lord, Rei Ao!"
Her voice was clear and steady, every word striking like a hammer against Momonga's soul.
"You, undeadthis place is no longer the game you remember. The covenant of the past has ended. The Great Tomb of Nazarick and all who dwell within it, myself included, have sworn fealty to Rei Ao-sama as the one and only Supreme."
"Know this: what stands before you now is real lifenot the virtual data you think you know."
"!!!"
Albedo's words crashed over him like thunder. He was dumbstruck. His mind almost stalled.
Nazarick a sole master? Not a game? Real life? Albedo speaking? Speaking fluently, with logic and emotion?!
He looked around. Demiurge's eyes glittered with calculation. Cocytus's silence held a weighing gaze. Shalltear's disdain was open, her scrutiny unhidden. Aura and Mare watched him, a little tense yet resolute.
All of it pointed to a truth he couldn't graspand that horrified him.
These NPCs had come to life.
They possessed true intelligence and self-awareness.
This was beyond a "game bug" or a "prank." YGGDRASIL was only a full-dive game. However realistic, NPCs could not break their base logic and awaken into real sapience. That was impossible. Absolutely impossible.
He stumbled half a step back; the soul-flame in his skull lashed.
"Who who are you really? Are the GMs messing with me? Is this some new invasion event?"
Chapter 1,027: Log Out! No More Undead King!
Flying Squirrel tried to pull up the game menu and use the guild's admin privilegesbut nothing happened. No familiar interface popped up, no system chime. It was as if he'd truly become an undead standing in the real world.
Aside from wearing the same body model he used in the game, he had lost every "player" privilege.
A crushing sense of absurdity and loss of control seized him. He had come to say goodbye to a virtual world, only to find he'd barged into a terrifyingly real parallel timeline? And in this timeline, the Great Tomb of Nazarick he had built with such carethose NPCs he was so proud ofhad all changed hands, and were looking at him with the complicated gaze one reserves for an "outsider."
"Suzuki Satoru, is it?"
The man on the throne finally spoke, calmly uttering Momonga's real name.
"As Albedo said, this place is no longer the game world you knew. The Great Tomb of Nazarick and its inhabitants have shifted from virtual to real and now truly exist."
His gaze seemed to pierce Momonga's skeletal exterior and see the ordinary human soul named Suzuki Satoru within.
"And I am the new master of Nazarick."
Rei Ao lifted a hand. An invisible force swept the throne room. At once, Momonga felt the surrounding space grow more solid, the world's sense of reality intensifyas if proving the truth of the man's words.
"As for you," Rei Ao looked at him, "as one of this place's former creators, your arrival is a kind of fate."
Momonga listened in a daze. The information was too much to digest at once. The NPCs he created (configured in-game) had come to life. His guild base had become real. And a stranger claiming to be lord of the world sat on his throne as Nazarick's new master.
He looked to the Guardians. They seemed to recognize him, but offered no response. Their loyalty had been given, wholly and without reservation, to the man on the throne.
Nazarick remained. The Guardians remained. But everything was different.
HeMomonga, guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gownhad become an outsider in this real Nazarick?
"A real world a new Supreme"
He murmured. The chaos flickering in his soul-flames gave way to a deep, hollow confusion. He had come to see a game off the stage, yet had stumbled into the dawn of a new era. And what was he supposed to do now?
The air in the throne room congealed, subtle and tense. He stood there rigidly; the soul-fire in his hollow eye sockets lashed, betraying the storm inside. Albedo's cold, resolute proclamation, and the silent posture of submission from the other Guardians, all hammered home a single facthe was no longer the master here.
Then, cutting through the suffocating silence, a translucent system promptone only a player could seesuddenly appeared in the corner of his vision:
[System Announcement] YGGDRASIL server shutdown countdown: 00:00:10
The red numbers ticked down mercilessly: 9 8 7
That familiar countdown tugged him back from his spiraling thoughts. Right. Whatever unfathomable change had occurred here, the game was shutting down. Perhaps that meant all this strangeness would vanish in a few seconds when the servers closed?
A strange hint of relief rose in himtinged with an even deeper sense of loss and aimlessness. His eyes drifted back to Rei Ao.
The man still sat there, utterly calm, as if everything in the world was under his control. At the approach of shutdown, not a ripple crossed his face. If anything there was a faint trace of expectation?
Countdown: 6 5 4
Momonga parted his jaw, as if to ask one last questionor do something, anything. But just as the counter slipped into its final three seconds
Seated on the throne, Rei Ao casually tapped a knuckle against the armrest.
Tock.
A tiny sound, barely audible. Yet at that instant, Momonga's tall skeletal form erasedlike words rubbed out by an eraser, like a faulty projection losing signalwithout so much as a ripple, disappearing from the hall altogether. As if he had never been there.
[System Announcement] YGGDRASIL server shutdown countdown: 00:00:00
Zero.
And yetthere was no expected disconnect, no forced logout into darkness. The throne room was still bright with lamps. Nazarick stood as solid as a mountain. The Guardians remained, fully real.
The game had not shut down.
More precisely, the way Nazarick existed within the game had undergone a world-shaking metamorphosis.
"R-Rei Ao-sama!" Albedo stared, startled, at the spot where Momonga had vanished, then looked to Rei Ao, confusion written on her beautiful face. "He"
Rei Ao slowly withdrew his finger. "It's fine. I merely logged him out of the game," he said, tone flat and even, as if brushing away a speck of dust. He had no intention of erasing Momongaonly returning him, in the ordinary way, to his original world.
Still, having taken his Nazarick, Rei Ao had given him a measure of compensationfor instance, altering the doomsday-like state of the world he lived in.
"Logged out." Albedo rolled the phrase on her tongue. Thinking back to his sudden appearance and disappearance, and the countdown that hit zero without bringing an end, she seemed to understand.
Rei Ao-sama had used his authority as master of this worldat the instant before that system called "the game" executed its shutdown command, he forcibly stripped the former Supreme's existence from this realm and sent him back to his own world.
~~~
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Chapter 1,028: Towards the New World!
Rei Ao's effortless, rule-transcending power once again stunned Albedoand deepened the reverence in the hearts of the bowed Guardians below.
Just then, a barely perceptible glint flashed in Rei Ao's eyes as he sat upon the throne. He lifted his head slightly, as if sensing some vast change beyond mortal reach.
An invisible, immense ripple was surging outward from the Great Tomb of Nazarick as its center!
It wasn't an energy shock, but a shift on a far more fundamental, law-level plane.
All of Nazarickfrom the uppermost graveyard to the lowest underground palacebegan to tremble faintly. It wasn't a destructive quake; it felt more like a colossal beast, asleep for countless ages, stretching its limbs and acclimating to a new environment.
The Guardians felt it clearly. By their very nature they are tightly bound to Nazarick, and that bond let them sense the ground beneath them slipping its familiar anchor and sailing toward a completely unknown set of coordinates.
A clear, knowing, faintly amused smile tugged at Rei Ao's lips. "Just as I thought" he murmured. His gaze swept the Guardians below, whose faces showed shock and doubt, and his voice carried through the hall.
"Do not panic. This is neither an attack nor a calamity. This is the beginning of rebirth. The Great Tomb of Nazarick has cast off its old shackles and is crossing the barriers between worlds to arrive in a brand-new realm."
His words landed like an anchor, instantly calming their restless heartsonly to be replaced by even greater astonishment and curiosity.
"A a brand-new world?" Demiurge pushed up his glasses, eyes gleaming with fierce excitement and hunger for knowledge. "Rei Ao-sama, do you mean Nazarick as a whole is being transported to another world?"
"Yes," Rei Ao affirmed. "A real world, with complete physical laws, an ecosystemand perhaps native civilizations. From this moment on, the ground under your feet and the sky above your heads are real."
A subdued stir ran through the Guardians despite their iron discipline.
Shalltear covered her mouth, crimson eyes full of disbelief. Cocytus's four arms drew in slightly, his carapace rasping. Aura and Mare traded a tense look, seeing in each other the same shockand a flicker of curiosity about the unknown.
"A new world" Albedo breathed, her gaze drifting to the throne room's shut doors, as if she could see through the heavy stone to what lay beyond. Her heart swelled with boundless gratitude for Rei Ao-sama. It was he who saved her from oblivionand who was now leading them into a grand new horizon.
Rei Ao rose from the throne. The motion was unhurried and natural, yet carried a decisive weight. "Albedo," he said, "come with me. Let's take a look at this new world."
"By your will, Rei Ao-sama!" Albedo bowed at once, eyes alight with expectation.
"Supreme One! Please wait!" Demiurge stepped forward quickly, bowing low, his tone earnest and anxious. "An unknown world means unknown risks. You are Nazarick's supreme pillarpriceless. You must not take risks lightly. Please, let us Guardians conduct the reconnaissance."
His concern was reasonable. In a world completely unfamiliar, no one could predict what might happen. If the new Supreme suffered any harm, it would be a catastrophic blow to a Nazarick that had only just been reborn.
Rei Ao paused and looked at Demiurge. There was approval for his loyalty in that gaze, but no intent to yield. "Demiurge, I see your loyalty and caution," he said evenly. "But this world poses no uncontrollable risk to me."
The quiet certainty in his voice allowed no doubt.
Demiurge opened his mouth to press the point, then, meeting Rei Ao's calm yet unarguable eyes, swallowed his words and bowed deeply.
"Yes. I overstepped. The Supreme is farsighted and his power reaches the heavens; of course he fears nothing." His eyes flicked, and he offered a compromise.
"In that case, might you allow Shalltear to accompany you? As Guardian of the first three floors, she is strong, highly mobile, and keenly attuned to undead and living beings. She can scout the vicinity and handle trivial nuisances so they will not disturb your pleasure."
Being named so suddenly, Shalltear blinkedthen her crimson eyes blazed. To venture into a new world at the Supreme Lord's sidewhat an honor, what favor! She bobbed her head like a pecking chick, hurried out of line, dropped to one knee, and in her distinctive voiceslightly coy yet utterly reverentpled:
"Rei Ao-sama, please do allow Shalltear to attend you! I will use this body to clear every obstacle and crush any ant that dares offend your majesty!"
She raised her head, eyes fever-bright with hope, terrified he might refuse.
Rei Ao's gaze passed over Shalltear and Demiurge; he understood Demiurge's intent perfectly. Send a bodyguardand give a Guardian the chance to be at the new Supreme's side, tightening the bond. He didn't mind that kind of calculating loyalty.
"Very well," he said lightly.
"Thank you, Supreme Lord!" Shalltear nearly burst with joy. She forced herself to bow again, shoulders trembling with excitement.
Rei Ao said no more and strode toward the throne room doors. Albedo shot Shalltear a cold glare, then followed at once, graceful and composed. Shalltear hastily smoothed an already immaculate dress, lifted her chin and squared her shoulders like a proud peacock, and quick-stepped after them, her face shining with barely contained delight.
Behind them, Demiurge and the other Guardians lowered their heads with solemn respect, watching their Supreme, the Overseer, and a fellow Guardian walk toward the doors about to openonto an entirely new world.
Chapter 1,029: Gazef Stronoff and Slane Theocracy Situations...
Rei Ao didn't take Albedo and Shalltear through Nazarick's usual exits. With a mere thought, the three of them appeared soundlessly above the Great Tombhigh in the cloud layer.
A vast, lush forest stretched beneath their feet. In the distance ran winding rivers and rolling mountains. The air was fresh, scented with earth and green things. Sunlight poured down with a warmth that felt truly real. It was nothing like the fixed background textures of the game; this was aliveuncertain, vivid, real.
"So this is a real world?" Albedo drew a deep breath. She could feel faint currents of magic in the wind, and the presence of life far away. Shalltear, eyes bright red with curiosity, glanced about excitedly at the new sights.
Rei Ao's gaze swept the land below as calmly as a god surveying a board. His perception spread like invisible ripples, racing outward to an extreme range.
His brows lifted a fraction, and he looked toward the edge of the forest. "Noisy over there," he said mildlyand his figure was already drifting forward. Albedo and Shalltear followed at once.
An instant later, the three of them were floating over a small village: Carne Village. But its peace was gone. Thick smoke rolled up; cries, harsh laughter, and the clash of steel tangled together.
Soldiers in crude armor were rampaging through the streetsburning houses, looting, and cutting down any villager who dared resist. It was a scene that would be unbearable for most.
"Hmph. A bunch of lowly human antsslaughtering each other over scraps. Utterly repulsive." Shalltear curled her lip, showing naked disgust and contempt, as if watching insects brawl.
