Chapter 36.

Jircniv engrossed in his thoughts rode a carriage to the Sorcerer kingdom, only disturbed by the occasional bumps he weaved his meticulous plans to achieve the greatest benefit for the empire.

It has been a week since he received intel about the outcome of the battle.

First, he didn't want to believe that such a thing could come to pass and yet here he was. On his way to negotiate with the united demi-human nation in person. Such things were below him, but if it meant securing his rule, then he would endure the humiliation. Many wouldn't think of it that way, but to the prideful Jircniv this was a hard blow.

He laid back as he listened.

"Such melody, I could get used to it," the birds did not sing within human borders, not anymore. He could only hope that the ruler of the elves and other demi-humans would provide aid as they had promised. These were hard times, and he predicted it would only get worse in the coming years. The time was now to secure his position and his empire while he still had power in negotiations.

Although the empire had suffered a heavy blow due to the loss of over 80% of his legions, but they were nothing more than foot soldiers. Their trump cards the god-kins were still ready to be deployed… humanity was still strong, strong enough to pressure the elves if it came down to it.

Jircniv let his eyes close. It was a long way to go, he should rest before the battle. A battle of words.

"My lord, we the guardians Pledge our eternal fidelity."

"We the guardians serve and obey, always and forever. This we vow!"

The atmosphere in the colosseum of the 6th floor was tense, the stadium packed to the brim with monsters of all sizes and powers roared as one in confirmation. They wanted to show their loyalty as well, thus they followed the guardians' example and gave voice to their feelings.

Starting with the most basic of spawns up to the highest echelons of servants you could find every and all creatures under the Supreme ones' command.

The monsters exuded unbearable pressure as they waited with withheld breath for their Supreme leader, overlord of the 41 Supreme beings to declare his will.

It has been too long…

… far too long without commands to obey, without orders to fulfill. But today, today has finally arrived, the day their master took the position of One Above All for once and for all.

Their master seated atop the VIP island flanked by an elf dressed in golden cloth stood up.

Silence descended upon the crowds of monsters.

The scene has become surreal as now even the chirr of insects in the surrounding forest had died down. The presence that made itself known commanded absolute submission to such a degree that even those without conscious instinctively realized their place and bowed deep.

The crowd waited impatiently, as the oppressive aura pressing down on them kept on increasing second by second, finally it reached a degree where even the Guardians struggled to keep themselves steady. The very air trembled as the light flickered in the artificial atmosphere.

The hollow sky of the 6th floor darkened while the shining aura of the elf woman dimmed behind the Lord. The Supreme being, Ainz Ooal Gown has overshadowed everything and everyone effortlessly, so much so that the guardians couldn't help but question if their lord was holding back in the days of Yggdrasil… he was just too imposing.

"Raise your heads." He simply said, and yet it seemed as though the very air trembled as they felt the pressure intensifying tenfold. A dark aura seeping out of every bone obscured their vision of the master. They found it hard to meet his deathly gaze that burned with intensity never seen before.

"You all did well to gather here. Thank you…

… I am confident that all of you will be able to fulfill your duties without fail!"

The crowd remained silent as Ainz Ooal Gown's discerning eyes swept through it, weighting each and every one of them. As if to decide if they were truly up to the task.

"Right now, I have business to attend to…" The Supreme one said as he gestured to Demiurge.

"I had already informed Demiurge of the situation. He may explain the details to you if you need clarification…"

Silence… Unbeknownst to the gathered Ainz was sweating internally. 'Tough crowd, hah.'

"For the final agenda on today's inquiry, Iet me introduce you to Queen Aerin Velatha Jastira Aneirin Ellee, ruler of the elven council and Sorcerer kingdom, which I may add… we had formed together centuries past…"

It was expected that their master would easily dominate any nation, and form one of his own, but… together? With a lower life form? Unprecedented.

Gasps could be heard in the crowd as several eyes filled with disbelief turned to the elven woman seated on Ainz's left. She was a beauty, even by Nazarick's standards. Dressed in royal clothing, embroidered by silver and gold she radiated an aura that spoke highly of her origins.

Still, to the gathered she was an outsider thus a lower being, however if the Supreme one held her in that high of a regard, then maybe, maybe then they could acknowledge her… still, jealousy lit up like an inferno as two specific guardians stared at the woman with their fists clenched. No doubt, they would jump her if not for Ainz Ooal Gown standing before her like an impenetrable shield.

The woman stepped next to Ainz and whispered silently into the towering undead's ear, her voice so delicate that it didn't reach the ears of the guardians… however it must have been of great importance they summarized, as the ruler of the Great Tomb froze for several seconds — certainly in thought beyond their comprehension — before he finished his speech and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the elven Queen all alone to face a furious succubus and a certain vampire…

…

Ainz let out a deep sigh as he made his way into the treasury. Though, he ceased to be human long ago this simply little habit of his sticked with him to the very end. He never did attribute a bigger meaning to it, but it was still a good way of stress release even if he had his undead suppressor.

He passed by Pandora's Actor and finally reached the innermost section of the treasury of Nazarick.

He stared down at the World Class Item {Hygieia's Chalice}. One of the dozen world class items the guild Ainz Ooal Gown had painstakingly gathered in their golden days… although it was a great achievement — being that most guilds possessed none, or a few at tops, but to Ainz who had found 37 WCIs throughout the years he had spent on this new world could no longer excite him.

That said the memories associated with the items were invaluable and thus he wouldn't fuse them into his essence using a technique he had developed in the void.

He reached out his skeletal hand to the golden chalice and lifted it to his boney chin. The cup promptly filled with a white liquid that had a texture similar to lead.

Ainz knew that he couldn't drink due to his skeletal nature, but that didn't mean the item wouldn't take effect. It most certainly would.

He spilt the liquid into his empty hole of a gut and a white glow enveloped him, rapidly draining away the corruption and curse from his bones.

Soon, the pristine white bones returned, and he could feel his auto hp recovery take effect…

He let out a sigh. "Ahh, much better."

In all the bliss he felt before his feelings were inevitable dampened, he failed to notice his power levels rising. Unbeknownst to him the curse not only chipped away at his Hp, but sealed away over 99% of the stats, classes, and abilities he had acquired using {Drain}, {Absolute Drain} and many other powers he had acquired in his journey in the void.

He felt peculiar as he marveled before a magic item that served as a mirror for character customization in game. Finally, the avatar he had created was good as new, no longer was it plagued by curses, nor corruption. Just the same old pristine overlord he had grown accustomed.

One of the rings on his skeletal hand however was acting up, burning his bones as its light continued to brighten before he could feel the ring shattering…

"What th-!?"

The room was enveloped in pure darkness, then it switched to pure light, then to a hellish inferno and so on and so forth… every element had its place as Ainz had devoured powers from all kinds of beings using his summons, making sure he was well rounded against every situation that may arise.

Luck would have it that he was inside the treasure, a dimension on its own, thus his display of confusion and overwhelming power remained unnoticed. Or did it?

…

Ainz spent the night with Ellee outside of the Great Tomb, in the green plains.

They would make small talk while staring up at the beautiful night sky, exchanging stories and telling of each other's ups and downs in the past century or so, but Ainz's plans were disturbed.

When he went outside to spectate the smoothing stary sky that put him at ease time and time again what he had found was a wreck. Dark gaps where no star shone spanned across the endless skies, and even where no such strange phenomenon was present the sky itself wasn't the same either.

It had a sickly grey color and if someone asked what was happening, he would probably answer that the sky was glitching, but that couldn't be the case now, could it? This wasn't inside a game now, but a real world. This shouldn't be possible…

Although, when he had left the tomb for the guardians, he didn't notice it, but now there was nothing to distract him. Seeing the destruction of beauty enraged him to no end, but the emotional suppressor did its job splendidly as he was calmed down again and again, green light dancing around his boney structure.

First, he thought it must be the humans' fault, — they must have driven this world into annihilation like they did on his home planet, — but when he was forcefully calmed down, he admitted that there was no way humans could do this. If they didn't grow hundreds of times more powerful while he was gone, then it was unfeasible to achieve such a horrendous act. An act he would have to correct.

He stared at the dead skies above as he weighted his options. Should he use a super tier spell? Boosted by his special attributes he was sure that it could correct this phenomenon, but before he could decide the world shook and the heavens fell.

In the deep cosmos outside of the edges of creation a swirling mass of tentacles raged — lashing out, sending waves of power ravaging the universe. Shub Niggurath was furious beyond belief. She just felt the presence of the dead. Someone she could swear she extinguished, and yet here it was. The one who doomed her children to death, he lived.

Unforgivable.

She lashed out in anger destroying countless galaxies indirectly as she teared at the barrier separating worlds.

Soon myriad eyes opened all around her, staring her down, into submission.

"Do NoT tEsT mY pATenTce wOmaN." An echo of sound, indistinguishable yet infinitely complex, made up of countless intertwined voices reverberated all around her. A voice that spelled certain doom, no matter the enemy. Just the sight of the being wrought certain madness, but the sound of his voice would outright kill, ravage even the Gods of Old.