Lucius, The False Angel

Everything was going exactly as planned, Gazef Stronoff wasn't at the village, all soldiers were fully covered in the Baharuth Empire's armor and carrying its crest.

All they had to do was wait until Gazef arrives, kill him with the ambush they prepared, leave some stranglers to report to the Re-Estize Royal Family and that's it.

A perfect ploy to reignite the flames between the two nations urging them to battle, fastening the rapid decline of the Re-Estize kingdom while weakening the ever expanding Baharuth Empire. A brilliant and tactical move to take down two birds with one stone.

It's a risk free plan, and it's going ver smoothly…or at least it was, because the moment that wretched scream was heard…everyone came instantly crashing down.

“ROOOOAR!!!”

One second the soldiers were winning, the had nearly imprisoned all villagers, those who resisted were instantly killed, they just had to wait for Gazef to came running like a blind fool and they'll win, but what came wasn't Gazef.

It was horrifying, a twisted a abomination that just kept on killing, there was no way to stop it, no way to run from it. It was as if the god of death had send them his apostle to punish them for their sins.

But, some of them truly didn't understand the situation for what it was.

“Bastards! Hurry up and take down the monster! I'm not a person who should die in a place like this!”

It was one soldier in particular, he had different looking armour compared to the rest, it was shinier, more polished and more importantly, it wasn't covered in blood.

“You there! Buy some time! Be my shield!”

While all soldiers were busy figuring out a way to deal with the monster, this one didn't do anything, not like he could do anything normally, he didn't even have a sword to begin with.

And as the soldiers were being slaughtered with no end in sight, he kept backing further and further away from the scene, but when the monster set his sights on him, he panicked.

“Chief Belius, quickly esca-!!”

The poor man didn't even get to finish his sentence, one second he was there, the other he was cleanly cleaved in half, he was sliced right through, like a hot knife though butter.

“W-Wait!! Is it m-money? I'll g-give you m-money!”

Now, the so called ‘chief’ had no-one to save him, and the monster was slowly approaching.

“I'll give you 200 gold pieces!!”

It has to be known that throughout middle earth, the exact same economic system is in use, with copper being the lowest, followed by silver, then gold and ending with platinum.

So, anyone throughout the entirety of middle earth, regardless of their status or standing, would in their right mind deny gold coins, no matter the amount.

Belius believed in this wholeheartedly, but instead of being met with eagerness, or even greed…he was met with silence, as the monster slowly continued to get closer and closer.

“I'll g-give you 500 gold coins!!”

He started panicking, frantically looking left and right for a way to escape, but all he saw was corpses…a see of red blood splattered in every direction.

“A 1000 gold pie-!! AHHHHHH!!”

He didn't get to finish his offer and got stabbed, his high quality armour kept him alive, but his screams didn't suggest he was happy about it.

“P-Please s-save me!!!”

For the first time since it was summoned, the monster’s blade met resistance, the pesky human didn't die, so it just kept stabbing him, over and over and over.

“Money!!! I'll give you mon-! AHHHH!!”

The brutal scene was out in the open, in front of the left over soldiers whose lives hadn’t yet been claimed by death, and the villagers, who watched with both glee and horror.

They were glad, seeing the death of the monsters who laid claim to their own lives, filled them with a twisted sense of happiness…But, the thought of the monster turning on them after it was done with the monster…this was what terrified them.

“Calm down!!”

A solider appearing in his late twenties suddenly yelled out, his eyes never leaving the monster that was finally done killing his undeserving commander.

“Call the horses and the horseback archers on my signal, the others will buy us time”

As if demonstrating the poise and charisma of a competent commander, the soliders immediately swarmed beside him, and didn't question and of his orders, despite him being a regular foot soldier, like all of them here.

“Begin!!”

He gave out the signal, and some immediately sprinted to call the horses, while the majority rushed the monster, hoping to overwhelm it with sheer numbers.

…But it was to no avail, the monster held up its massive shield, blocking every and all attacks that touched his nigh impenetrable armor…and as for those unfortunate enough to get remotely close to it.

“AHHHHHH!!!”

…They were immediately sliced in half.

“Dammit!”

The young commander was soon left alone, his hand unconsciously tightened on his sword, his legs shaking from the fear that kept accumulating, his breath came in short gasps due to the exhaustion…but he didn't run away.

He ran into the monster, knowing that he would ultimately die, but hooping to atleast hinder the monster in any way.

The monster's giant shield had a flaw, it wasn't wide enough to fully hide its massive body. The young commander saw the flaw, and after deciding where to strike, he lowerd the sword into a wind up position as he ran.

The commander reached the monster, his sword fully winded up by his side, his eyes dead set on the monster's exposed right, all that's left is to strike, and he did.

A second he was looking at the monstrosity, the other he was looking at the sky, it took the young commander only but a second to finally know that he had died.

He had been decapitated, the monster held up its sword and stroke without him being able to even perceive its movement.

'We're doomed' was the last thing that was on the commander's mind as his head fell on the ground, followed by his headless body, whose blood sprayed on the ground with no end in sight.

Not all soldiers had died yet, the monster still hadn't fullfiled its purpose, so it immediately turned its empty and malice filled dead eyes onto the surviving soldiers, but as it was about to rush towards them, a powerful voice echoed in the air, and the unstoppable monster, the thing that killed with no remorse or mercy…immediately stopped in its tracks.

“Death Knight, that's enough”

The source of the overbearing voice was a man, his stature that of a great warrior, his robes are those of a knowledgeable scholar, and him being accompanied by an equally intimidating figure clad from head to toe in armor greatly boosted his presence.

But that wasn't what all people present paid attention to, what truly mattered wasn't man's aura, or looks…what truly mattered was that he's flying.

Flight wasn't exactly uncommon in middle earth, there had long been artifacts which sole purpose is to allow and harness flight. So the fact that he's flying wasn't the real problem.

What was really uncommon, almost impossible actually, was achieving flight with magic, which wouldn't normally require someone to study the secrets of magic for their entire life, just to grasp a fragment of its true potential. And naturally, many didn't manage such feats.

So, As the unknown man commanded the monster to stop as he and his companion were flying with a spell, the remaining soliders along with all surviving villagers suddenly thought the exact same thought.

'A very powerful magic caster'

Sensing the tension in the situation rising, Ainz slowly floated down in the ground, standing right in front of the death knight, with Albedo by his side.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown”

His face that was covered by a strange looking mask looked up to sky slightly, his hands, plated by iron gloves, came out from inside his robe and spread to his sides, as his deep and powerful voice echoed around amidst the silence.

“I shall have you alive today…but tell you owner this”

The mask lowered to eye level again, as it stared into the eyes of every surviving soldier, making them feel an even greater amount of dread and despair.

“Next time you cause trouble in this area, I'll destroy your entire kingdom…Now Go”

His voice flat and unwavering, his cold stare could be felt from even behind the mask, despair reached its highest levels, so when the executioner spared them, they took the chance without any seconds to waste.

They ran away, their tails tucked between their legs, and as the overlord watched the fleeing soldiers from behind, a thought popped up in his head.

'How come soldiers of a different nation are slaughtering some villagers in the middle of nowhere?’

It dawned on him now, the reason he actually came here for was the divine energy, and the one who sensed it in the first place was Lucius.

‘But neither of them are to be found, huh'

He already scanned a couple of times already, but everytime he did so, the result was the same.

‘No players are around, no beings with divine energy in a mile’s radius either’

But that can't be right, because while he didn't fully trust Lucius when it came to matters concerning Nazarick, it didn't mean that he didn't trust the man.

Lucius was a great deal of things, but he wasn't much of lier, he wouldn't lie about something concerning the safety of the ‘only player here besides him' as he said. 

Which brings us back to our first point, if he did say the he sensed divine energy, then it exists, we just have to wait for it…as for the overlord not sensing him around, that's just silly.

‘I can feel his gaze, a creepy unblinking gaze that chills me to the bone. It's like he wants me to know that's he's watching’

Which he probably does, maybe he wants to know why the human girl called him a god the moment she saw him? That's why he's observing for now?…who knows.

Deciding to shed the useless thoughts away and proceed with the small plan he had prepared, the overlord took calm steps towards the kneeling villagers, only to stop a few places away from them, so as to not alarm them much.

“S-Sir, M-May I a-ask? W-Who are you?

Kneeling at the head of the crowd of villagers were an old and simple looking couple, a man and a woman, likely the village chief and chieftess.

He spoke with a shaky voice, sweat poured down from his head as his face's complexion grew paler and paler, and the overlord, being the king of the dead, could feel his soul leaving his body bit by bit, so he quickly decided to calm the alarmed villagers down.

“I saw the village being attacked so I came to save you”

He stated with calmness and posie fit for a ruler, if he had practiced the lines a thousand times over…which he probably did to be honest.

“But, it wasn't free. I would like to thanked for it”

He remembered reading the fact in a book once before, that humans tend to be more at edge when they get offered something for free, and tend to accept it more if it came with a price of some sort.

He didn't believe it then. I mean, who would in their right mind deny free stuff? A lunatic if you had asked Suzuki Satoru.

…But here and now, as the overlord Ainz Ooal Gown watched as the villagers' eyes brightened when he requested that they pay him, he truly understood what the saying meant.

'Truly interesting, humans sure are the fascinating creatures’

The villagers began discussing upon themselves, and as the overlord was lost in thought, he realized something he should've already realized a while ago.

‘I’m not thinking of myself as a human anymore…have I truly become my avatar in YGGDRASIL? Is that thing that's hampering my emotions related to my race as well?’

‘Realistically, it should be. Concerning that undead aren't supposed to possess emotions in the first place, and I used to be a human before, maybe its coming to some sort of middle ground?’

“Excuse me, lord”

As the overlord was silently wondering to himself, the village chief interrupted him with a nervous look.

“Would you please be kind enough to follow me to my hut? We'll further discuss your compensation in detail in there”

‘Maybe I'll ask them for some money to calm him down, but what I truly need is information'

“Very well, lead the way”

……..

As the overlord was walking through the village with his companion by his side, he was reminded by the discussion he had with the village chief a while ago.

After deciding that what he truly lacked currently was information, the overlord asked the old couple a few questions about the world and its inhabitants.

Firstly, he asked about the currency that the world uses, and discovered that YGGDRASIL money doesn't work in this world, but the gold itself has its worth, and was valued quite highly.

‘We may need to find another way to get money for now, don't want too much attention’

Next was the surrounding kingdoms. The Re-Estize kingdom which they’re already in, The Baharuth Empire who harbuored bad intentions to the Re-Estize kingdom and often engaged in skirmishes with it.

Then there was the Slane Theocracy, who sat at the south of both countries.

'Based on the soliders that attacked the village crests', the slaughter was assumed to be the responsibility of the Baharuth Empire…but something just doesn't seem right, maybe I should've captured one of them for questioning’

Lastly, there were mentions of monsters. The village chief exactly named goblins, orcs and orges. Also mentioning that so called ‘Adventures’ hunt in this area.

‘When I asked about them, he said they hunted monsters for rewards from the guild, I guess this is your typical fantasy troupe then'

Wait, does it mean that the receptionist is a beautiful young woman?

‘…I'll think about that later'

“Hello there”

A gruff and slightly huffed voice suddenly sounded, cutting off the overlord's thoughts and pulling him back into focus.

It was a male villager passing by, he was carrying various building equipment across the village, helping the other villagers in rebuilding the destroyed areas due to the attack.

The man didn't linger for long, as soon as he said his greeting, he kept going onto his way, but the overlord couldn't help but notice Albedo's blank stare being directed at the man.

Her face was completely covered in her helmet, but the overlord could sense negative emotions constantly emanating from her, so he decided to ask her.

“Albedo, do you hate humans?”

He couldn't help being curious, it hasn't been long since all of Nazarick's NPCs became sentient, and as the one who'll be leading them for the foreseeable future, he thought that getting to know them wouldn't be that bad.

…It was in fact a must to get to know them, but he wouldn't think like that to avoid falling into his usual depressed mode. 

“Weak creatures. Lower life forms. I think of how beautiful it would be if I crushed them like the bugs they are”

…That wasn't that much of a surprise to be honest, the overlord kind of saw a glimpse of her feelings towards humans when she wanted to kill the two little girls on sight, but still.

“...Albedo. still tr-”

<Don't be such a prude, succubus. Not all humans are at level 1, at least the ones heading here are not>

The overlord's words were suddenly interrupted, and with a brief look around him, it seemed that besides him and Albedo, nobody else heard the words spoken just now.

There’s only one being who's capable of forcibly telepathically communicating with the overlord, and based on his words, it seems that some people are approaching the village right now.

Even Albedo understood the meaning behind the words, and ignoring the comment about her being a prude, she grasped her axe hilt tighter.

Ainz was also getting on edge, it was only him and Albedo here, and there's only so much they can do on their own without the support of Nazarick.

‘I don't like this, I don't like the feeling of not knowing something’

“Lucius, will you help us if they attack?”

The overlord asked in a low voice, quiet enough for only him and Albedo to hear, knowing that Lucius would have surely heard him.

But instead of hearing a reply, the overlord was met with silence. Which put him more in edge, he had to know if Lucius would be helping them in case of danger or not, because if he wasn't going to, the overlord decided that he and Albedo will flee at the first sign of danger.

And as for Albedo, she didn't share Ainz's worries, she wasn't blind to them though, and in addition to worrying about the incoming potential threat, she was inwardly cursing herself for her uselessness.

How dare she let her master worry about his own safety, isn't she supposed to be his guardian? His ever loving and most loyal follower is now practically useless, which ended up forcing her lord to seek help from that…outsider.

‘Disgraceful’

Inwardly cursing both herself and the current situation, she tugged on her axe a little tighter, deciding to operate on the basis that her lord is currently in danger.

“Mo- Ainz-sama, I'll immediately get into contact with Nazari-?”

<You won't need my help Momonga, the highest level being among them is 30>

Lucius' voice was suddenly heard again, dispelling the tense situation and calming the duo down considerably.

“sigh. I guess we have nothing to worry about then”

Again, Ainz's words were met with silence, which he was half expecting to be honest.

‘At least he gave us some information’

The overlord sighed again, he hadn't been in this new world for too long, but the constant dealings with that man were going to eventually make him lose his hair…if he had any.

And now that the situation had calmed down a little, the overlord noticed the villagers discussing something with the village chief anxiously, and knowing that it's probably about the first group finally coming, he turned to Albedo first to confirm something.

“You heard what he said, right?”

The blank look from the armour turned in his direction, as the woman inside bowed lightly in acknowledgment.

“Yes, M-.. Ainz-sama”

“I see, then be sure to not be overly rude to them. Then be sure to act politely with them, even if it's just an act”

The succubus' ever blank stare was still apparent, but despite not seeing her face at all, Ainz somehow felt that she found the order he gave a little difficult to bear.

Nonetheless, she bowed a little in acknowledgment. Making the overlord sigh internally to himself.

He was ordering Albedo to be polite, yet he immediately killed the soldiers upon his arrival with no questions asked, and he also didn't forget that he felt nothing then, no hate, no nausea…just nothing.

And as he started approaching the villagers, the impending reality dawned on him once more.

‘I have truly become undead, huh'

“Is something wrong, village chief?”

The group of villagers turned towards the new arrival, and seeing that it was their previous saviour, helpless looks were etched across the villagers faces, including the chief.

“It seems that some kight-like people are heading towards this village”

‘It went exactly how he said to would…how terrifying’

The overlord was a little awestruck internally, being able to sense a group before it arrived was a huge deal, but Lucius here was able to sense them from nearly across the country…the man wasn't someone that anyone could afford to cross in any way.

“I see”

Was what the overlord said, because after all. He knew that they were coming.

Turning to look at all the villagers at once, the overlord spoke with serene calmness.

“Get the surviving villagers to gather around your house, while us and chief meet with them at the square”

The villagers were immediately overjoyed upon hearing their saviour's words, and without wasting any time, the village chief agreed.

……..

The sound of horses galloping was heard across the silent town square, which rang out louder and louder as the source of the sound got closer and closer.

The village was completely empty, all the villagers were hidden inside their homes with the only ones out and the open being the chief, the armored lady and the overlord.

Soon enough, the figures riding the horses came into view, and they turned out to be soldiers bearing the Re-Estize kingdom's crest.

The one leading the charge, a muscular man of around thirty years old, with sunbathed dark face with noticeable wrinkles, short, trimmed, black hair, and black eyes sharp as swords, was the first to step forward.

“I am the Royal Chief Warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff”

The chief warrior's gaze poured down on the figures with unmasked sharpness, which didn't diminish as he continued speaking.

“I have received orders from the king to hunt down knights of the empire, that have been wreaking havoc in this area, by visiting all the villages”

His words were spoken with undisguised malice in them, which was understandable considering the situation, but not appreciated.

‘Looks like he doesn't trust us'

“R-Royal Head warrior..”

The old and awestruck voice of the village chief was suddenly heard from behind Ainz's massive frame, which made Gazef notice the old man for the first time.

“You must be the chief of this village. Who are those standing beside you?”

Gazef's cold gaze fell on the old man, demanding the truth from him and attempting to figure out any falsehoods, but before the old man could answer, the overlord interrupted him.

“Do not worry”

The overlord stepped forward a little, and bowed his head lightly in greeting.

“Nice to meet you, Royal Head Warrior. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, a magician who came to help this village while it was being attacked”

The overlord's words were flowery and polite, it reminded Gazef of the corrupted nobles back in the Re-Estize kingdom, but one look at the village chief proved the magician's claims.

And who was Gazef to personally scorn and honest man for his own personal thoughts, so he did what any sane person would and he dismounted from his horse.

“Thank you for saving the village, mere words cannot express my gratitude”

The head warrior’s tone softened considerably, as well as his gaze, who now didn't resemble that of a hawk as much as before.

The overlord silently accepted the head warrior’s thanks, which the head warrior considered an act of acknowledgment, but that wasn't the reason.

The real reason for the overlord's silence was because he could now sense people approaching. Specifically, he could sense divine energy approaching.

“Head warrior!!”

Suddenly, a soldier from the head warrior's troop suddenly called out to him, he had a look of emergency etched on his face, which made the head warrior tense considerably.

“Unknown figures have been spotted!”

………

“There are a lot of them head warrior, they've surround the village in equally spaced intervals”

Inside the village chief's house, which overlooked the entire village, there hid the warrior chief along with his entire small team of fighters, in addition to the overlord and his companion.

“Who are those exactly?”

The overlord took his eyes off the figures outside and asked his question amidst the tense silence.

“Only the Slane Theocracy could dispatch this many magic casters at once”

Without taking his eyes off the figures outside, the head warrior slowly answered the overlord's query, while trying his best to think of a plan out of this situation.

“What’s more, they're one of the special ops units under the head priest. Which means that this must be one of the six scriptures”

The head warrior fell into silence after he finished his explanation, which gave the overlord enough clues about the reason for this entire situation.

“Then, the ones who attacked earlier are….”

“Yes, they were dressed as soldiers of the empire, but it looks like they were from the Slane Theocracy all along”

The head warrior's word confirmed the overlord's suspicion, but for added reassurance, he decided to ask the man himself.

“Then why are they attacking? Is this village particularly important in some way?”

Only after the overlord asked this question did the head warrior turn to his direction, with a small tired smile on his face, he spoke half resigned and half determined.

“Gown-dono, if you have no idea why they're attacking, then there may only be one reason”

This confirmed it, the Slane Theocracy seems to have been targeting the head warrior in particular, which made the overlord feel a little sympathetic towards the man.

“It looks like you're quite despised, Head Warrior”

The overlord spoke with a humor filled voice, which drew out a chuckle from the head warrior as he reciprocated with the same tone.

“It's quite a problem, isn't it?”

He smiled half deprecatingly and turned back to stare at the window, as he continued speaking again.

“To think that even the Slane Theocracy is after me…”

Silence soon ensued, but as all people present were incredibly tense and worried, the overlord was currently thinking something else entirely.

'So these were the source of divinity. Lesser Angels, but why are there monsters from YGGDRASIL here?’

“Gown-dono”

After being drawn out of his own thoughts, the overlord slowly turned to the head warrior and waited for the man to speak.

“I’d like to hire you if possible, I will be sure to reward you as you wish”

It was an offer that the overlord expected, and so he didn't give it much thought.

“I decline”

There wasn't any benefit to exposing himself at the moment, and no amount of compensation that the head warrior is offering could be of any use to the overlord.

The head warrior seemed to have saw the rejection coming as well, so after smiling to himself once more, he drew out his hand in a handshake, and after the overlord took it, he smiled again.

“Then Gown-dono, take care. And thank you for saving the village”

The overlord could feel the sincerity of the emotions this man held for the village, and despite being a man of significantly higher standing than all of those present here, he didn't shy away from expressing his feelings of gratitude at their fullest.

“It may he selfish of me, but I ask you to protect this village once more, I have nothing to offer you, but plea-”

The head warrior's tone was quite desperate, he even went as far as to try and kneel on the ground in hope of convincing Ainz of protecting the village, but before he could do so, Ainz stopped him.

“There no need to go that far, I'll protect this village, and that's on my name as Ainz Ooal Gown on the line”

The overlord spoke with absolute certainty, as if his words held no questionable grounds whatsoever, as if the enemy in front of them posed no threat in the slightest, his words were objectively, quite arrogant.

But unlike some who may react to such words with skepticism, the head warrior felt that there may not be any further insurance than this, so stood back up with a smile on his face.

“Then I will have nothing to worry about, I'll just have to focus on the enemy in front of me”

He spoke with incredible vigor, it was the words of a man who had fought countless wars for his country before, and would gladly do so once more should his country be in danger.

'He'll die'

These were the honest thoughts that the overlord had, it wasn't speculation, but the objective truth, a level 30 human wouldn't be able to hold his own against all these low level angels.

The overlord contemplated for a second, should he save this man or let him die? 

His human side is adamant on informing the man of his eventual demise, but that part of him also knows that the man will do it anyway even if he knows he'll die.

Logic suggests that Ainz doesn't do anything, and just lets the man head into his death, but that doesn't sit right with the overlord, so he chooses another option.

“Then, please take this”

The overlord held out a small totem carved out of wood, it contained magical traces, so it was obviously an artifact of some kind.

“A gift from one such as you, I'll gladly take it”

But the warrior was none the wiser, he pocketed the artifact in his armor and bid the overlord one final goodbye, before hopping on his horse and heading into battle.

……..

As Ainz watched the soliders of the Re-Estize kingdom ride their horses to practically their own demise, he suddenly felt a presence appear by his side. But knowing who he was, he didn't react much.

“Is that why you gave him the totem? Because you knew he's going to die?”

As there was no one around them at the moment, Lucius decided to show himself, for some reason.

‘Knowing him, it has be because he's curios’ The overlord thought to himself, as he spoke out.

“That is partially the reason, yes. But, I found myself caring very little about humans lately, or any one not from Nazarick for that matter”

The overlord fully turned to the nephalem and spoke idly, his words got out a few nods of acknowledgement form the succubus who was listening nearby, it was obvious of course, why would the undead overlord care about those lesser beings in any way? It was far beneath his majesty!

These were Albedo's honest thoughts, but what she didn't know was that Ainz's words carried a hidden meaning that only Lucius understood.

<So you're saying that becoming undead changed you?>

The overlord heard Lucius' voice echo inside his own head, and seeing as Albedo didn't react in any way, it was safe to assume that his words were directed to himself alone.

So he lightly nodded his head in acknowledgment, he had no way of telepathically communicating with Lucius after all, so that's the only way to acknowledge his words without alerting Albedo.

“I see, I also have had some difficulty associating with humans as of lately, or any being for that matter”

His words were similarly understood by Ainz, he was basically saying that his race change affected him as well, it made him feel indifference towards all beings, unlike Ainz who felt so towards any being whose origins didn't lay in Nazarick.

'So it wasn't just me, but isn't this dangerous? To have a being capable of destroying the world falling into his instincts?’

The overlord thought to himself, the sheer thought of having to deal with a literal living and breathing apocalypse bringing shivers down his bony spine weren't very pleasant, and having enough of a hard time imagining such horrible events, he decided to question the man himself.

“Won't that be dangerous?”

Ainz didn't elaborate much, he couldn't do so due to Albedo being here anyway, because he knew that Albedo was designed to be incredibly smart, and any hint no matter how small it may be may expose him and his origins. So, he had to be as subtle as possible.

Thankfully, Lucius seemed to have understood him, and in response to his worry, he just waved his hands lightly.

“Mere emotions won't sway me much, you don't have to worry about it”

It had to be said that Ainz was having a really difficult time managing these so called ‘mere emotions’, the only reason he even spared a glance at Gazef was because he was amusing, and you're telling him that Lucius wasn't being swayed by his new physiology?

'What the hell man? How?!’ These were the overlord's honest thoughts, but outwardly, he was very calm.

“If you say so”

He politely acknowledged Lucius’ words, and after a few moments of silence, Ainz's voice sounded again.

“The divine energy turned out to be lesser angels, I wouldn't have guessed that they existed here as well, do you think that all angels exist here too?”

It was more of a curious question than that of determinantal one, because seeing the literal strongest warrior in one of the strongest nations in this world being a level 30 human…it made him question the entire concept of strength of this world as a whole.

“Unlikely, you know my other title right?”

“Yeah, ‘Usurper of Heaven' right? Single Handedly killing all six archangels wasn't something I could forget to be honest…even if I wanted to”

A monumental achievement that was recorded in YGGDRASIL's whole history, archangels were ones of the hardest bosses in the entirety of the game, and slaying even one of them required entire guilds to band together, so when Lucius killed all six of them alone, and AT THE SAME TIME…that understandably shook the entire game.

It also earned him the title ‘Usurper of Heaven' which was rumored to be quite broken, or that's at least what the rumors that spread afterwards said about it.

“Yes, that one. It grants me absolute control over anything divine, but the downside is that I've literally become the antithesis of all that's divine”

“What the hell!!”

That doesn't even make any sense? How can he take control of divine energy while simultaneously being its opposite? And also being an angel? And more importantly!!

‘How can someone have such an ability! This is beyond broken!!’

The overlord was inwardly and outwardly having a meltdown, which was understandable to be honest, having to now live with the man that literally controls one aspect of reality was quite nerve-wracking.

“But I guess it's fitting, considering that I'm a literal demon and angel hybrid, a Nephalem”

Now that Lucius had said it, the stupidly overpowered ability really made sense, and while it may quite be a contradiction, it perfectly suited his nature, a nature that was that of a contradiction in of itself.

But while that may be true, the overlord still didn't understand what being the divine's anthesis mean? And what does it have to do with the absence of higher level angels in this new world?

But it looks like Lucius noticed his confusion, so he started explaining.

“Basically put, I have your relationship with the light, but reversed. Even more so, because my aura drives those of divine origin into despair, so if higher level angels did exist here, they would've either fled already, or were foolish enough to come to me

The overlord quieted down for a moment, trying to digest the baffling information that Lucius just threw into his face, and after doing so for a minute or two, he decided to ask some questions.

“May you answer some of my questions?”

The Nephalem didn't have any particular reaction, he only conjured two small chairs made out of metal from the ground and sat on one in silence.

The overlord understood the meaning behind the gesture, so after sitting on his chair, he asked his first question.

“You said that the divine has the opposite relationship with you in relation to mine, doesn't it mean that you're now weaker to darkness?”

A valid question, because everyone knew that undead were weak to fire and light but wielded incredible dark magic, and factoring in the natural opposition between light and dark made Ainz's words sound reasonable.

“Valid, but not true. I'm technically the son of the literal first demon to exist. I'm immune to darkness, and now also to light”

His words honestly surprised Ainz, many knew that Lucius was a nephalem back in YGGDRASIL, but no-one knew the exact backstory of his character, many speculated of course, and having the name ‘Lucifer’ in his name sure helped, but having it confirmed to him was honestly still surprising.

“I see. Then why did you bring us here if you knew you could control all angels?”

After knowing what the hell was being able to control light meant, the next thing the overlord was curious about was about the reason for them being here. Because if the man had the ability to control light, why did he warn him of the presence of angels when he could literally control them?

“That's because I didn't know if my ability worked here or not, so I brought you here in case it didn't. To keep you from being ignorant”

'Ahh, I get it now'

 The overlord inwardly had a revelation, because since crossing the portal, he didn't understand why a being as powerful as Lucius would want him to be here at all. But now it made sense.

'He doesn't want dead weight, huh'

The thought was honestly a little humbling, but thankfully…or not, the years of working as a salary man did quite a number on poor Suzuki Satoru's inner self-esteem.

“Do you have anything else to ask me about?”

“Yes, I have one last question. I noticed that after the girl said that you're a god, you didn't appear in front of any humans. So, do you have any idea on why that might be?”

The overlord was honestly curious, because after the little girl first saw him, she immediately knelt and announced her worship after claiming him to be a god.

Nobody does that, and it may be a problem with the girl herself, but that didn't diminish the overlord's curiosity in any way, it in fact made it grow. 

As for Lucius, hearing Ainz's question made him visibly annoyed, his handsome face looked like he literally swallow a bitter pill

“It’s likely because of divinity title, but I'll have to interact with other humans to see the effect first hand”

“I see, then please tell me the results of your experiments if I'm not present, it’s certainly quite an interesting topic”

Seeing the Nephalem nodding to him half heartedly, the overlord didn't pursue the topic much further.

More importantly, it seems that what he was waiting for has finally come. So he stood up and took out a totem similar to the one he handed to Gazef before.

“It should be time by now. Then, if you'll excuse me”

“You're going to him? I'll come, there's something that I want to confirm”

Lucius said so and then immediately vanished, and so did the two metal chairs he summoned.

“Very well. Albedo, let's go”

“Yes, Ainz-sama”

The overlord crushed the totem in his hand in a tight grip, and upon immediately doing so, his and her figure immediately vanished, and in their place came the figure of a bloodied and nearly unconscious Gazef, who fell to the ground as soon as he landed.