Chapter 178 ~ Moving Forward

Facing and subjected to the display of immense loyalty and reverence that could only be meant for Gods by the floor guardians, Momonga froze.

Yes… Despite knowing this would happen and having prepared mentally, Momonga's mind still short circuited for a moment.

After all, simply watching it happen through a screen and actually experiencing the sheer imposing aura of all the floor guardians before him was a whole world's difference altogether.

He did not know how to proceed…

In a panic, he inadvertently activated a skill. A dreadful aura roiled out over his surroundings as a halo of black radiance formed behind him.

'Crap!'

Realizing he had made the same mistake he did in the anime, Momonga quickly tried to cancel the skill. But before he could, a tremendous aura of pure, heavenly divinity reverberated from his side.

Then, another aura, darker and more demonic, yet on par with the divine also began to emanate from his side. But instead of clashing with the divinity, it mingled, coalesced… before turning into an even more powerful aura.

He peeked to his side, and saw Yuuji and Aika, both emanating their auras with their wings spread proudly behind them.

Then, yet another aura began to emanate. This time from Lelouch as his jet-black feathered wings spread open and emanated an aura of dark holiness.

At first, Momonga was shocked by their sudden actions. But immediately after, a realization hit him.

They must've known he had made a mistake by releasing such a deathly aura in a panic. But instead of stopping him and embarrassing him in front of the guardians, they followed suit, to make it seemed like all four of them emanated their auras on purpose to answer the pledge of loyalty made by the guardians.

Momonga could not thank them enough for their consideration.

"Raise your heads."

With a practiced unison, everyone raised their heads. Their coordination, so immaculate that Momonga and the others could not help but feel impressed by it upon seeing it in real life.

Though for some reason, when Shalltear raised her head, they could see crimson red blood trickling down her lips…

They all could not help but wonder why her lips would be bleeding. Except for Aika, who understood how a horny, slutty, obsessive girl in love would feel when feeling the aura her hubby was emanating. Even she felt a slight tingle in her womb when he did it.

Momonga shook his thoughts on Shalltear's bleeding lips from his mind and refocused his attention on the guardians.

"First, I thank all of you for coming here."

"There is no need for thanks. We are all loyal subordinates of the Supreme Beings. To us, it is our duty, our happiness, and our wish to serve our great masters."

None of the Guardians spoke in opposition to her statement, as the guardian overseer had perfectly represented all of their feelings, their wishes, and their loyalty through the words she had just conveyed to the supreme beings.

"...Momonga-sama, it is only natural that you should have doubts about us, for our abilities must be miniscule in the reckoning of all the supreme beings present. However, if given the order, we – all 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 41 Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown, our creators, to be disgraced by our actions!"

""This we swear!""

All floor guardians, following Albedo's words, swore in unison. Their voices filled with power, and with adamant loyalty and determination that shan't be diminished by any number of foes.

Even if he didn't have [Insight Proficiency] or have known about their true feelings from the anime, Momonga could tell that their loyalty was genuine.

And upon receiving such loyalty and utter devoteness, a sliver of doubt emerged within his heart.

Each and every one of his words… His order would be carried out, without question, and to each and every letter he had uttered by every single being with the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

Unease began to sink in… Would he lead Nazarick to destruction because of his foolish decisions…?

'No… That won't happen. I am not alone. Not anymore…'

Any kind of doubt and unease was quickly washed away by the presence of Yuuji, Aika, and Lelouch by his side.

Knowing his own flaws and lackingness, Momonga could not trust himself to lead Nazarick into a better future. However, he trusted them.

He trusted Lelouch's intelligence and insight. He trusted Aika's interpersonal skills. And he trusted in Yuuji's leadership.

His reliable teammates. Precious friends. With them by his side, he had nothing to fear.

"Excellent. Guardians, I have no doubt you will understand our aims and successfully carry out our 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."

Momonga spoke with solemn expression, reflected by his somber voice rather than his actual facial expression which would be impossible.

"While I am unaware what caused this incident, the Underground Tomb of Nazarick had been transported from its place in the swamps to a vast plain. Did anyone foresee the occurrence of this strange event?"

Although Momonga knew full well the answer he was going to receive, he still asked regardless. With things in reality not fully identical to the ones he knew in the anime, he needed to make sure for even the smallest of changes.

However, as he had first expected, the answer came negative.

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

Then, Momonga asked them if they had discovered something unusual in the floors they were guarding. And the answer remained the same. Negative.

" –Momonga-sama, I shall investigate the fourth and eighth floors right away."

Momonga nodded.

"Then, I shall 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."

"At that time, you should immediately call me. Do not hesitate. I will handle the situation myself."

At Momonga and Yuuji's words, Albedo bowed her head deeply to indicate she understood.

The eighth floor, guarded by the Sacrificial Fetus, Victim, was home to numerous extremely powerful NPCs working under it. They were the last line of defense tasked to stopping any invaders from getting past the eighth floor. Though, with Yuuji, Aika, and Lelouch's appearance in this history, no invasion, even the largest one, had even managed to see a glimpse of the eighth floor.

Although Albedo was powerful in her own right, if an emergency situation occurs there, even she might not be able to handle it herself. And the only one within Nazarick, who could undermine all the defenses of the eighth floor, was Yuuji himself.

Thus, she did not utter any complaints to his decision over concerns of his safety. It would've been a blatant disrespect to the strength of the greatest supreme being.

"Then, I shall handle the surface."

Shalltear said, her eyes looking at both Momonga and especially Yuuji in enthusiasm.

She wanted to prove herself to be useful, not only to all the supreme beings, but specifically to Yuuji.

"It is fine, Shalltear. Momonga had ordered Sebas to take several scouts to reconnoiter the surface."

"A-Ah… Yes… Yuuji-sama~"

Shalltear felt a shiver of pleasure go down from her ears, down her spine, and to her pussy when she heard her name uttered by her beloved in his beautiful, soft, yet commanding voice.

Her disappointment from being unable to show off her usefulness was immediately replaced by her immense love and lust for her beloved.

On the other hand, surprise flashed across the faces of Albedo and all other guardians.

Within 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 two in melee combat.

And there was one more, who was superior to all of them. The younger sister of Albedo. The Strongest Entity of Nazarick. The only NPC who had ever given Yuuji the enjoyment of battle in a spar.

Sebas, who was capable of sweeping away anyone before him in hand-to-hand combat, had been assigned to command a reconnaissance team and be present in the field himself. They could tell how seriously the Supreme Beings was taking this strange occurrence, causing their guards to rise to the highest level 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 the four supreme beings and went to one knee as well.

"Momonga-sama. Yuuji-sama. Aika-sama. Lelouch-sama. Forgive my lateness."

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

With a practiced, dismissive wave of a hand from Momonga, Sebas raised his head and looked around at the Guardians kneeling beside him. A grave expression apparent to his otherwise stoic and stern face.

"...The situation is critical. To begin with, the terrain surrounding us for a kilometer in each direction is a plain. There are no signs of man-made structures within that range. However, beasts Aura had lent me for this investigation and the Hanzos who served as scouts had reported sightings of a large forest to the west and small village to the south of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. As of now, I have ordered them not to investigate further and watch the perimeter."

"I see… What about living creatures?"

"The beasts have reported that they've sensed several low level monsters within the forest; goblins and the like. As for the village, the Hanzos reported it to be a small village with only around 100 villagers living within it."

"Very well."

Momonga nodded.

The forest Sebas mentioned must be the forest called the Great Forest of Tob, in which the "Wise King of the Forest", a massive hamster-like creature with a scaled tail he named "Hamsuke" in the anime, along with two other "kings" of the forest lived.

As for the village, that must be Carne Village, where the young alchemist possessing the talent to wield any magic item was along with the young girl named Enri, who he would give two "Horn of the Goblin General" items and luckily summon a massive, powerful, goblin army on her second try.

"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 apologize for imposing such demands on all of you at a time like this."

All guardians voiced their acknowledgement and nodded in unison.

"Next, regarding the administrative operations of the Tomb. 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 8th, 9th and 10th floors?"

"The 8th Floor is managed by Victim, so it'll be fine. No, entry to the 8th Floor is forbidden. I rescind the order I just gave to Albedo as well. In short, entry to the 8th Floor will only be effected with my, Yuuji, Aika, and Lelouch's permission. I will undo the seal and permit direct access from the 7th Floor to the 9th Floor. After that, plan for the 9th and 10th Floor as one whole."

"Ah, about that~! Momonga, I can summon my minions to guard the 9th and 10th floor~"

Momonga turned to Aika, the crimson flame that were his eyes flared brighter as he looked at her in shock.

Then only after he recalled their previous discussion regarding the abilities they've received from the Group Chat did he remembered Aika's ability to summon high level succubi at will.

"Very well. I will leave it to you."

"Uhn~ Albedo. Demiurge. You may include them in your plan for the 9th and 10th floor. While they may not be as powerful as some of the more battle oriented high level summons, they'll be enough to distract and gain time for a more appropriate response. I'll even summon enough to protect all 41 homunculus maids in addition to those guarding the floors."

""Understood, Aika-sama.""

Aika nodded in satisfaction at the two guardian's response, while inwardly, she patted herself on the back for successfully executing yet another plan to realize one of her dreams! A maid harem.

Momonga then turned towards the twins, specifically Mare.

"Mare. Would you be able to conceal and camouflage the Great Underground Tombs of Nazarick? After all, simple illusions would not be very reliable."

Mare stiffened at the utterance of his name, but quickly regained composure and began thinking deeply on the supreme being's question.

Then, a few moments later, he spoke up.

"U-Using magic would be tricky, a-as you have said, Momonga-sama. But perhaps, if we were to hide everything along with the surface… W-We could try covering the walls with 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 in which she had said it was anything but.

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

"No, that would be a good idea."

All eyes turned towards the supreme fallen angel of the highest order in shock.

H-How could tarnishing and dirtying the creations of the supreme beings with dirt and mid be a good idea…?!

The idea of camouflaging the underground tomb and hiding it from plain sight was a plan Albedo and Demiurge agreed with. However, the method in which Mare recommended to do so was something they could not agree with.

However… a supreme being, Lelouch-sama himself, said it was a good idea…?

"We are located in a flatland. No matter what we do, the white walls of Nazarick would be too conspicuous if we want to remain hidden. The best thing to do would be to hide Nazarick with the earth and create multiple dummy hills as camouflage while using illusion to camouflage ourselves from the sky and detect us from outside."

Momonga nodded in agreement with Lelouch before turning his attention back to Mare and Aura.

"Agreed. Aura, Mare, I shall assign this task to you. While doing so, you may draw the necessary supplies from each Floor."

""Y-Yes. U-Understood!""

The twin guardians both lowered their heads in acceptance of their tasks.

"Then… Is there anything else?"

Momonga turned to his friends to see if they wished to convey something more to the guardians. Both Lelouch and Aika shook their heads, but Yuuji nodded before he turned his attention to Albedo.

"Albedo, begin making preparations to send scouts to gather information on the surrounding nation's military strength and economy. We will need to understand as much as we can regarding the nations around us and probe their military might if we are to be able to deal with them if they prove to be hostile. We will discuss which nation to prioritize in a meeting tomorrow."

"Yes. As you command."

He then turned towards Lelouch and Demiurge.

"Lelouch, Demiurge, I would also like for you to join the meeting to give your insight on the matter."

"Alright."

"Understood, my lord."

Yuuji nodded to the both of them, before turning to Momonga to indicate that he was done.

Momonga nodded gratefully in response. With Yuuji taking the reins, he wouldn't have to stress and pull his non-existent hair over such things himself anymore…

"Then lastly… I would like to announce something."

The guardians all looked up towards Momonga with solemn expressions, eager and ready to execute any command he would be announcing.

But then, their eyes only widened in shock upon seeing the sight before them.

Figures… 40 jet-black figures appeared behind the four Supreme Beings…

And they were familiar. No, they were unmistakable.

"From this day forward… The spirits and phantoms of every single member of Ainz Ooal Gown shall protect their home once again."

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