Warnings: Violence, gore, death, torture, kidnapping, enslavement, human experimentation, war, master/servant relationships, manipulations, toxic, yanderes galore, and smut.

Things referenced but never written out: Forced breeding / rape. Spoiler, but I feel that it's necessary so you may understand what you're getting into. In the light novel, one of the main characters creates a "farm" where he force breeds humans with monsters then harvests their offspring's skin to test what skin works best to create magic scrolls.

This is a horror / conquest story first, and a yandere romance second.

Please be mindful of the warnings and do not read this if you are not in the right mindset for this story.

Full summary: Ainz Ooal Gown had forty-two members in its prime, but when the end finally arrived, only two remained. Momonga, an undead; and Lumière an angel. The two friends face a fantasitcal and unknown world with only their wits and creations at their side. OCxOC.

Cover of Jack & Lumière drawn by (AtSign) Cantrona on TikTok / Instagram.

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In the year 2138 AD there was a term: DMMO-RPG. That word was an acronym for "Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game". It was a revolutionary new way to play games that used virtual reality and nano-technology. Among the myriad DMMO-RPGs that flooded the market, one of them stood head and shoulders above the others: YGGDRASIL.

That game had been painstakingly developed and released twelve years ago, in 2126.

Compared to other DMMO-RPGs of the time, YGGDRASIL's selling point was player freedom; it had over two thousand basic and advanced job classes.

Every class had a maximum of fifteen levels, and so in order to reach the overall level cap of one hundred, one would need to take at least seven different classes. However, players could take as many classes as they wanted as long as they met each class's prerequisites. A player could even take a hundred classes at level one each. As such, in that system, it was exceedingly difficult to make identical characters unless one was deliberately trying to do so.

One could use various creator tools (sold separately) to fully customize one's armor, weaponry, flavor text, appearance, and other cosmetic settings. A vast playing field awaited its players. There were nine worlds in total: Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Midgard, Jotunheim, Niflheim, Helheim, and Muspelheim.

In essence, YGGDRASIL boasted a massive world, numerous classes, and freely customizable appearances.

It was inevitable that it would skyrocket in popularity and ignite the muses of millions of creative players.

Of course... that was all in the past now.

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A gigantic table carved of gleaming black stone sat in the center of a luxurious room, surrounded by forty two chairs. Of all of those chairs, only three were occupied.

One of the seated attendees was clothed in a magnificent black academic robe edged in violet and gold. The collar was excessively gaudy, but it still melded well with the overall design. The person's head was exposed, revealing a bare skull. Points of dark red lights glowed in its large eye sockets. Behind that skull pulsed a halo of black radiance.

Further down the table was a being that was not human either, merely a mass of black, sticky substance. Its tar-like surface roiled and writhed continuously, never staying in shape for more than a few seconds.

At the very end was a person who at a glance could pass as human, if not for the pointed ears and wings at their back. That person wore ethereal flowy robes. Its silvery halo at the back of its head illuminated its long pale-blonde hair.

The first attendant at the table was an Overlord, the highest-ranked of an undead magic-caster. The second was an Elder Black Ooze, which boasted the most powerful corrosive ability of the slime families. The last was a Seraph Empyrean, the highest-ranked of an angel-raced healer.

One might encounter those monsters in the most difficult of dungeons in YGGDRASIL. Overlords could use powerful curses or spells of the highest tiers of magic; Elder Black Oozes were dreaded for their ability to degrade weapons and armor; and Seraph Empyreans were universally despised when found near bosses.

However, they were not game monsters, but players.

In YGGDRASIL, players could choose their character races from three broad groups: humanoid, demihuman, and heteromorphic.

Humanoids were the basic player type and comprised humans, dwarves, wood elves, and the like. Demihumans tended to be ugly, but possessed superior attributes to humanoids. Examples of demihumans were goblins, beastmen, ogres, and so on. Finally, heteromorphic races had monstrous abilities, but despite their stats being generally higher than those of other races, they also possessed various drawbacks. There were around seven hundred playable races in total, including the advanced versions of those races. Naturally, the Overlord, Seraph Empyrean, and Elder Black Ooze were among the high-tier heteromorphic races that were playable.

The Overlord—who was speaking at the moment—did not move his mouth. That was because even the most advanced DMMO-RPGs of the time still could not overcome the technological hurdle of properly modelling the changes on a character's face in response to emotions and speech.

He spoke in a jovial tone, "It's really been a while, Herohero. Although this is the last day of YGGDRASIL, we didn't expect you to show up."

The slime wobbled. "Indeed it has, Momonga." The slime nodded in the direction of the Overlord, then at the angel who nodded back in return. "Lumière."

"How has work been for you?" asked the angel.

The slime sighed, letting loose a small tirade of complaints. Momonga and Lumière listened patiently as their friend vented.

After about ten minutes, the torrent of words that flowed from Herohero dwindled to a trickle.

"... I'm sorry for making you listen to my whining. I can't complain much IRL."

"It's really no worries," assured Momonga. "We're happy you were able to come by at all."

"Ah. It was so nice to see you both after so long. I was afraid to find no one here." Herohero's tentacles waved at both of them. "But it is getting late... How long will you two be on?"

"Until we're automatically logged out once the servers shut down," answered Lumière.

"Since it's still a ways off, we might get more visitors like you," added Momonga.

"Ah. I hope so. I see you both have taken good care of this place."

Momonga and Lumière did not respond, neither of them wanting to show the surge of mixed emotions Herohero's words caused.

There were a few more parting words, but eventually, Herohero left and it was only the two remaining members once again. Momonga sighed again and Lumière spared him a glance. Their expressions could not be relayed through their avatars so she sent him a frowny face instead.

The quiet disappointment was understandable. Their guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, had slowly died out over the years as more and more members left the game. In the past two years only Momonga and Lumière regularly logged on. They had sent emails out to the other members of the guild asking for them to join them on the final day, but unfortunately only Herohero responded.

"I'm going back to the tower," said Lumière. "Meet up later?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to you in a bit."

Lumière left after that point, teleporting to the Hidden Tower at the 10th floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had once been a six floor dungeon, but it had been dramatically altered after Ainz Ooal Gown took control of it. Currently, it was a ten floor dungeon, and each floor had its own unique theme. The First to Third Floors were modelled after a tomb. The Fourth Floor was an underground lake. The Fifth Floor was a frozen glacier. The Sixth Floor was a rainforest. The Seventh Floor was a sea of magma. The Eighth Floor was a wasteland. And the Ninth and Tenth Floors were the realm of the gods—in other words, the home base of Ainz Ooal Gown, which had ranked among the top ten of YGGDRASIL's thousands of guilds. In the Tenth Floor there were a few hidden areas, although only one was regularly used—The Hidden Tower.

The entrance was hidden in the Throne Room. It was a tower built by Lumière, Blue Planet, and Amanomahitotsu as a hidden level. Not that it mattered since the only raid that came close to it was stopped in the Throne Room.

The tower had five levels, the first three dedicated as testing areas for Nazarick's Lead Researcher, Jack. The Fourth Floor was a luxurious library with a big fireplace, and lots of comfy spots to lounge in. At the top of the floor was Lumière's room.

Upon entering the tower, Lumière stopped before the Tower Guardian, Cheshire.

In a game like YGGDRASIL, guilds enjoyed several benefits if they possessed a guild base of castle tier or higher. The NPCs that the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick could field were undead monsters. These automatically spawning NPCs—or "pop monsters"—had a maximum level of thirty. Even if they were destroyed, after a while they would respawn on their own, at no cost to the guild. However, players could not customize the AI and appearances of these "pop" NPCs. They were hardly useful in deterring intruders, who were universally players.

There was also another type of NPC; the ones designed from the ground up to their makers' satisfaction. If a guild possessed a castle-grade guild base, the owning guild would be allowed a thousand levels to be distributed between any number of NPCs they wanted.

Because the highest level in YGGDRASIL was one hundred, by those stipulations, a guild could make seven level one hundred NPCs and six level fifty NPCs, or any combination thereof.

When designing an original NPC, one could customize weaponry and other equipment in addition to clothing and appearances. As a result, one could create NPCs that were far stronger than the automatic spawns and place them in key locations. Of course, not every NPC had to be designed for battle. A certain guild which called themselves the "Kitty Kingdom" used no NPCs other than cats or cat-related creatures.

It was a nice guild to visit.

Cheshire was one of those specially crafted NPCs. It was a shapeshifting fairy created by Lumière. Its default form was that of a dark cat with stripes and an eerie smile that showed several rows of sharp teeth. It was heavily inspired by the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, albeit with a more malicious mindset. It was designed to use "illusions" to trick players when entering such as changing what they see on screen to something else, or swapping what keys did what and so on.

Cheshire always floated down to whoever entered the tower. Its default setting would be to greet whoever came. It had a special message tailored for all the Supreme Beings.

Cheshire was someone very specially created for Lumière.

Lumière, in real life, struggled with a lot of depression due to her condition. Cheshire was a creation made to be at her side and send her happy messages to "cheer her up." A lot of her friends in the guild came together to help create him specifically to ease Lumière's depression.

He was meant to always be at her side, like a virtual therapy pet.

"Welcome back, my dearest lady!" greeted Cheshire. As Lumière was its creator, she designed it to greet her as mistress, or my dearest lady. She gave the same order to her other creation, Jack.

Jack was stationed at the first floor of the tower. He was near some desks in the lab designed to look like a mad scientist laboratory. Lumière made up his character, leaning into an assassin-lich trope.

She almost went with the skeletal appearance, but Bukubukuchagama talked her out of it. Bukubukuchagama bemoaned how there were already plenty of other "scary" monsters in the guild. She tried to bribe Lumière to make Jack a genderswap like her Dark Elves, but Lumière resisted. She compromised as a bishie. Or at least as much of a bishie as an undead could get.

Not that anyone could see it since Jack wore a mask.

That way he could appear as a "scary" monster to befit the evil lab, but in actuality, he was a pretty boy underneath which satisfied Bukubukuchagama. A happy Bukubukuchagama meant free visual novels for Lumière which in turn made for a happy Lumière.

Win-win all around.

Lumière brushed past both of her creations, stepping into the laboratory and looking around.

Well, it is the last day, she thought as she glanced over at her creations.

"Come with me," she ordered both of them.

Neither responded, both simply stepping closer to her. Er, well, Jack stepped forward while Cheshire hovered closer. She guided them up the tower to her favorite spot in Nazarick; the cozy little library.

With a wave of her hand she turned the fireplace on and took a seat on the lush couch in front of it. She let out a slow sigh as she stared at the flickering flames.

[23:55:48]

She hadn't even realized so much time had passed, she had zoned out watching the flames dance. That had been happening with greater frequency the past couple of weeks. Lumière's body in reality wasn't in good condition. It was a struggle to even get out of bed, her lungs slowly filling with fluid each day. She'd need another draining surgery in a month.

Her fatigue caused her mind to drift away, not quite falling asleep but close to.

What will I do when they shut the game down?

It was a question that had occurred to her several times, but she never found an answer. It wasn't that YGGDRASIL was the only game she ever played—Civilization CXI and Warhammer were nice ways to pass time, but YGGDRASIL was special to her. Ainz Ooal Gown was a place she finally had proper friends.

[23:59:58, 59—]

Lumière closed her eyes. What a shame.

[0:00:00...1,2,3]

?

Lumière knew something was immediately wrong when the first breath she took was not hampered. She reflexively breathed deeper and found that it did not incite a fit of coughing. Her eyes shot open and she abruptly stood up from her seat.

Even the movement came with ease.

What in the—?

[0:00:38]

Lumière twisted her body one way to another, breathing in the scents of—

Scents?! YGGDRASIL couldn't mimic smells.

But lo and behold Lumière could distinctly smell the fire. It had an odd woodsy scent to it, as if it were scented logs burning inside. Lumière had never gone camping before, nor had she experienced fire first hand in her life. She marveled over the odd smell it emitted, sniffing delicately at it.

I quite like this smell, she thought.

"My dearest lady?"

Lumière twitched in surprise, looking over at Jack. The NPC had approached Lumière, a hand placed over his chest where his heart would have been had he not been undead. Jack, like all of Nazarick's NPCS, had two default outfits: battle and casual. The battle would originally have only been triggered during a raid, so he currently wore his casual.

Lumière had been pretty huge into Sherlock and anime at the time of his design, so he was heavily inspired by an anime version of Jack the Ripper.

He had a black ulster coat with the collar flipped up. Underneath was a white button up shirt, and black and red suit vest. He had the classic dark gloves, and black slacks to complete the look.

Oh, and of course the famous top hat. Could never, ever, forget the top hat for someone inspired by Jack the Ripper.

Lumière opened her mouth to say something but rapidly closed it. She placed a hand over her chest, breathing.

I can breathe without pain. I have a sense of smell and touch. Is it—did I die?

Isekais were rather popular. Given her sickly body it wouldn't have been too much of a stretch to say she passed away and had no memory of it.

The end result was still the same: she was in her avatar's body. A body strengthened by a hundred levels and not plagued by illness or frailty. A smile curled her lips and she said, "Jack, how are you today?"

A question that an NPC could never answer unless specifically programmed for. Lumière had never given such line to Jack which meant that if he answered—

"Lovely now that I can gaze upon you," he answered, stepping closer.

A surge of embarrassed adrenaline shot through Lumière at his intensely warm tone. Ah, wait—

She had almost forgotten how she programmed Jack's personality. Leaning into the guild's theme of "monsters" and "evil" she pushed on with his serial killer design. Cruel, sadistic, obsessive, and dangerously smart. She went all out, using a character design sheet Tabula put together. Lumière wasn't as inventive or imaginative in the edgy department so she asked Ulbert to help. Ulbert had already made a pretty evil demon, Demiurge, and was delighted to try his hand at an evil undead serial killer.

At the end of the design she, while giggling at a joke with Peroroncino, added that he was a yandere for her.

Peroroncino was utterly delighted by that tag as he has added it to his creation, Shalltear as well.

Ahahahaha... I'm sure it'll be okay.

「Message from Momonga」Lumière?

Uwa! Momonga's here?

「Message to Momonga」Momonga! You came here too?

「Message from Momonga」Came here... you're really in the game, too?

「Message to Momonga」It looks like it. I can breathe without trouble.

「Message from Momonga」Ah. I'm happy for you. I'm going to conduct some tests to make sure I can cast more spells. Do you want to meet up in the arena?

「Message from Momonga」Yeah, I'll meet you there.

"Cheshire," Lumière said, raising her hands up. "Come here."

The fairy disguised as a monster cat floated over with a wide smile. "Yes, Mistress?"

She reached out and the monstrous feline leaned into her palm. She felt his fur, his warmth, and beneath it all a heartbeat.

Jack responded with an answer on his own, Cheshire is warm and has a heartbeat, I can move freely... I'm here. This is real. They're real.

Lumière smiled shyly, taking Cheshire into her arms. He was fluffy and warm. "We're going to the arena to meet with Momonga."

"As you wish, my lady," demurred Jack while Cheshire flicked his tail.

Lumière did not have to travel far to reach the arena.

The Hidden Tower's doorway could lead to anywhere in Nazarick for those who were members. She only needed to turn the doorknob to the right level. It was an idea inspired by Howl's Moving Castle, an old classic she used to love to watch as a child.

The door swung open to reveal the entrance to the arena. Lumière stepped out into the stone hallway, Cheshire purring in her arms and Jack right at her heels.

Gates drew quickly up into the ceiling like a well-timed automatic door. Passing beneath, Lumière was able to see the Colosseum, with its multiple levels of spectator seating encircling its central arena. It was an oval of 615 by 510 feet, 157 feet high, identical to the Colosseum built in Rome during the imperial period. [Continual Light] was cast in various locations, throwing enough white light that he could look around the area and see as if it were high noon.

This place was called the Amphitheatrum, or Arena. The actors were captured raiders, the audience was made up of golems, and in the VIP seating would be the members of Ainz Ooal Gown. What was on the program? A slaughter, of course. With the exception of the 1,500 in that huge raid, every intruder, no matter how strong, had met their end here.

To Lumière's surprise there was a spectacle taking place. Two small dark elves were battling against a golem of fire. It took Lumière a moment to recollect herself, her wings fluttering nervously behind her as she thought.

Right—that's Aura and Mare.

Aura and Mare were the beloved creations of her dear friend, Bukubukuchagama. Bukubukuchagama was fond of cross-dressing, and had the twins dress opposite of their genders. So Mare, the boy, was given a cute skirt and dainty personality while his twin sister, Aura, was given pants and a brash personality.

"Momonga!" Lumière exclaimed upon spotting her friend.

The overlord turned to greet the angel, red lights gleaming in his empty sockets. "Lumière, I'm glad you're here."

"Likewise," she said, unintentionally squeezing Cheshire from nerves.

"I was testing some of my abilities with the twins," explained Momonga. "So far everything is working."

"O-Oh?" Lumière realized that was a good idea. "Even passives?"

"Yes, I had Aura test with moon wolves."

Lumière closed her eyes in thought. "A perfect transportation then, huh...?"

"Oh? Am I the first?" It sounded younger than one might expect from the tone. At the same time, a shadow spread across the ground, rose up out of it, and took on the shape of a door. Then, someone walked slowly through.

Her whole body was wrapped in a soft-looking raven-black ball gown with a full, wide skirt. She covered up on top with a bolero cardigan featuring frills and ribbons. Add to all that her fingerless lace gloves and almost all her skin was hidden from view. Only her shapely face was visible, its almost waxy white skin exposed. Her long silver hair was gathered to one side and up so not a strand of it fell in her face. Her crimson eyes had a weirdly jubilant look in them.

She looked fourteen or possibly younger, and with that in mind there was something jarring about someone so youthful looking having such large breasts.

Lumière recognized Shalltear, but she distinctly remembered that the vampire had been designed with a flat chest. She remembered because Peroroncino had a very strong preference for lolis. Namely lolis that were secretly thousand plus year old demons or whatever and could "step on him in a thousand different ways."

"Teleportation is restricted in Nazarick for a reason! Don't just go using a gate! You entered the arena the normal way, so couldn't you have just kept walking, Shalltear?" snapped Aura, brimming with hostility.

Next to Aura, Mare began trembling again. It was probably wise of him to be inching away from his sister.

"Ah! My masters," cooed Shalltear, stepping closer to Momonga and Lumière. She blatantly ignored Aura. "The only beings I cannot conquer."

The way she cooed that as she reached for the nearest one—Momonga—reminded Lumière that she was definitely designed by Peroroncino and his... tastes.

Lumière was suddenly very aware of how close Jack stood behind her.

I—I let Peroroncino help design him, she thought, suddenly very concerned with the yandere tag she had jokingly added to him.

Lumière glanced behind her at Jack, the undead was fixated on her, staring at her behind his mask.

Her heart thumped, her stomach churning nervously.

She squeezed Cheshire so tightly the fairy let out a wheeze.

"Oh," she said, quickly releasing him.

"Give it rest," Aura cut in, still glaring at Shalltear who hung onto Momonga.

Shalltear sneered at Aura. "Oh, little shorty. You were here?" Aura flushed. "It must be difficult, Mare, to have such a crazy older sister."

"Fake boobs."

Shalltear seized, withdrawing away from Momonga to cover her chest. "What?!"

"Looks like I was right," Aura chuckled. "That's why you went through the trouble of using a gate to get here. You were in a hurry, but since you overstuffed your breasts they would shift if you ran."

"Shut your mouth," Shalltear shrieked. "You have nothing yourself!"

"I'm still only 76, but you're an undead. It must be tough having no more chance to grow. Why don't you just accept what you have now?"

"You bitch—!"

"Enough. You are in the presence of our lady and lord," Jack coldly cut in, and both immediately fell silent, looking properly chastised.

It wasn't terribly much longer that more Guardians arrived; Cocytus, Demigure, and Albedo. They assembled before the two guild members and Albedo stepped forward.

In a soft, steely voice she called out, "Now, everyone. To our supreme leader, and cherished lady, the ritual of fidelity."

Shalltear stepped forward first. "The Guardian of the first, second, and Third Floors, Shalltear Bloodfallen." She kneeled and placed her right hand over her non-existent heart. "I bow before the supreme ones."

"The Guardian of the Fifth Floor, Cocytus," Cocytus stepped forwards, his booming rough voice echoed across the arena. He kneeled. "I bow before the supreme ones."

"The Guardian of the Sixth Floor Aura Bella Fiore."

"A-Also the Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Mare Bello Fiore," Mare added on.

As one the twins kneeled, placing their hands over the hearts. "We bow before the supreme ones."

Demigure moved forward next. "The Guardian of the Seventh Floor, Demigure." He kneeled. "I bow before the supreme ones."

"Guardian of the Hidden Tower Cheshire purred, gently floating to the ground. "Cheshire."

"Head Research of Nazarick," Jack softly intoned, "Jack."

Together they kneeled and said, "We bow before the supreme ones."

"The leader of the Guardians, Albedo." Albedo kneeled. "I bow before the supreme ones. Other than the Guardian of the Fourth Floor, Gargantua, and the Guardian of the Eighth Floor, Victim, all the Guardians have gathered to bow before you. Please bestow your orders upon us, Supreme Ones. We offer our complete loyalty to you."

As Momonga was the leader and technically above Lumière, he would have to be the one to respond to them.

Momonga's racial trait, [Despair], began to leak out a bit, and Lumière shifted. Is he doing it on purpose? He may not have complete control over it.

Thankfully, Lumière was an angel: beings who had special resistance to undead.

Oh—am I also releasing my racial trait?

Overlords constantly unleashed a powerful [Despair] passive, while Seraph Empyrean's had a constant [Hope] passive. As Lumière did not have access to a screen anymore, she wasn't sure she could turn her passive off.

The dark aura manifested in black, shadowy magic rising off him like steam. "Raise your heads. You all did well to gather here. Thank you."

"Your thanks is wasted upon us. We here have all pledged ourselves to you," Albedo said passionately. "Lord Momonga, and Lady Lumière, you may find us lacking; however, we vow to work hard and live up to the expectations of the supreme beings who created us."

"We vow this," the other Guardians echoed behind her.

"Wonderful, floor Guardians! I—no, we—are confident that all of you will be able to fulfill your duties without fail. Now then, right now the Great Tomb of Nazarick is caught up in an unknown situation. We already had Sebas survey our surroundings—"

They turned towards Sebas, who was waiting off the side. He approached the duo and kneeled before explaining what they had discovered.

"Grasslands?" Lumière echoed in surprise upon his explanation.

"Yes. Completely different from the swamps that surrounded the Great Tomb of Nazarick. I could not confirm a single building, human, or monster in a one kilometer radius."

"Then Nazarick has been transported to an unknown land for some reason," Momonga concluded, sharing a look with Lumière.

For the same reason we are here, then? Lumière wondered, and she knew Momonga would wonder that, too.

Momonga faced the Guardians once more. "Floor Guardian leader, Albedo, as well as the defensive leader, Demiurge; create a stronger information sharing system and fortify our defenses."

Lumière cocked her head. "Aura, go and further scout the land. We need to know if there are any immediate threats in the area."

Momonga nodded towards his companion. "Mare, is there a way to conceal the Great Tomb of Nazarick?"

"I-It would be difficult using just magic, but if we covered the walls with dirt and concealed ourselves with vegetation."

Albedo's low voice growled out, "You want to smear the glorious Nazarick walls with dirt?"

"Albedo, don't make unnecessary remarks."

"Yes. I am very sorry, Lord Momonga."

"Is it possible to conceal ourselves by covering our walls with dirt?" Momonga inquired.

"Ye-es. As long as you allow it, however—"

"Yes a random mound would look unnatural. Sebas were there any hills around the area?"

"No. Unfortunately we are surrounded by flatlands.

"I see. Then what would happen if we made dummy hills in the area?"

"I believe we would blend in with such a surrounding."

"All right, then that's what we'll do. Afterwards, we will hide the open areas that we cannot cover with illusions. And lastly, I wanted to ask each floor Guardian something. First, Shalltear: What kind of person is Lumière to you? What kind of person am I to you?"

Lumière glanced at Momonga, curious to why he would ask that, and mortified at being put on the spot like that.

Shalltear blushed. "Lady Lumière and Lord Momonga are the crystallization of beauty. They are the most beautiful creations to have ever existed!"

Lumière found her cheeks growing hot under such praise—her other self was by no means a beauty. She had been sickly for as long as she remembered and was little more than a wasted skeleton, wheezing in pain most days. Even in her carefully constructed avatar, hearing such praise made her flustered.

"Cocytus," Momonga inquired, giving no time for Lumière to recover from such heavy praise.

"Stronger than all the Guardians. Lord Momonga is a man worthy to be the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and Lady Lumière is above reproach."

"Aura."

"Lord Momonga is a merciful leader who excels at foresight, and Lady Lumière is our compassionate caretaker."

"Mare."

"V-Very kind."

"Demiurge."

"Lady Lumière is a woman with vast wisdom and charm to capture the hearts of any, and Lord Momonga is a man who makes clever decisions and acts upon them efficiently. Both truly fit the word inscrutable."

"Sebas."

"Lord Momonga is the head of all the supreme beings, a wonderful leader who stayed behind with us until the end. Lady Lumière is the beloved light of Nazarick, and loved us until the end."

"Cheshire."

"Fun." The cat grinned.

"Jack."

"Perfect," Jack answered, his gaze fixated on Lumière. The angel felt her cheeks grow warm again.

"And lastly, Albedo."

Abledo's eyes gleamed with unhidden affection. "Lord Momonga is the highest ranking of all the supreme beings and our ultimate master, and the man I love! Lady Lumière is our beloved angel who we all adore."

"I-I see. We have heard your thoughts. Continue working faithfully in our name."

Momonga then teleported away, and Lumière hurriedly joined Momonga. Her companion was leaning against a wall. "They have some glorious views of us, huh..."

Lumière nervously smiled, her wings fluttering behind her like some nervous tic she couldn't control.

"How are you?" he kindly asked her.

"Scared, but... happy?" she whispered.

It was all so much. A whole new world before them, a new environment, a new body, but—

Compared to what Lumière had before, it was almost too good to be true.

"I can't help but wonder if I died?" she asked, her voice cracking. It wouldn't have been a surprise.

She was already dying a slow and painful death.

Momonga reached out a skeletal hand, placing it on her shoulder. "Maybe we both did. You are... you really aren't in pain anymore?"

Her eyes burned and she reflexively wiped at them. "No. I can breathe without any issue now."

He squeezed her shoulder. "I'm happy for you. Although this is all very strange... if it means you get to live without pain, I'm so grateful it's happened."

"Oh my friend..." Lumière sniffled, her wings beating rapidly. "And you? Are you happy?"

"I think I'm still in shock," he chuckled weakly. "For some reason... I'm thinking way too logically. I can't get upset, but I can't get ecstatic, either."

"Well... it's good you can be level headed in this."

"I suppose." Momonga sighed. "We've a lot to think about. What are we even going to do?"

"I don't know," she said, a sliver of fear in her voice. "If we're not in the bogs anymore... could we be in a high-level dungeon?"

Momonga stiffened. "Hopefully not. We'll send out more scouts to survey the area with Aura."

"Yes..."

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(Interlude)

The pressure all but forcing their foreheads into the dirt vanished.

They were all aware their masters, the highest beings they could ever known of, had departed, yet no one stood up. Some time passed before someone let out a sigh of relief. The tense mood relaxed.

The first one to stand was Albedo. The places where her knees had pressed her white dress into the ground had gotten slightly dirty, but she didn't seem to care one bit. She fluttered her wings to shake the dust off her feathers. As if given momentum by Albedo's example, the others stood. Then scattered thoughts began to be voiced.

Mare was the first, the druid clutched nervously at his staff. "T-that was really something huh, sis?"

"Seriously. I thought I was going to be crushed," Aura exclaimed, fanning herself.

"I'd expect nothing less from our Lord and Lady, but to think that their power would affect even us Guardians..."

"I KNEW THAT AS SUPREME BEINGS THEY ARE STRONGER THAN US, BUT I DIDN'T REALIZE BY HOW MUCH."

The pressure that had shoved them all toward the ground was the conflicting auras created by Momonga and Lumière.

[Aura of Despair]. It caused the fear status effect along with ability penalties. Normally it shouldn't have worked on NPCs the same level as him, but the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown had boosted its effects.

Coupled with [Aura of Hope]. It caused the hope status for allies along with buffs. In the presence of undead it doubled in power.

The two auras clashed heavily with one another, nearly suffocating all of the Guardians with their contradicting presence.

The Forty-Two Supreme Beings were their Creators. Naturally, everyone was enveloped in incomparable happiness at having witnessed the true nature of one who deserved absolute devotion. The greatest joy of not just the Guardians, but anyone created by the Forty-Two Supreme Beings, was to be of use. After that came being paid attention. This was only logical, of course. For someone created to be useful to the Forty-Two Supreme Beings, what greater joy could there possibly be?

"Ahhh... so cute..." Jack clutched at his mask. "Ahhh... so precious..."

Cheshire placed a paw on Jack's knee, patting him. "You did well to hold yourself back!"

"The way she fluttered her wings, I felt their breeze..." Jack trailed off, squirming in place. "Ahhhh. I am blessed today. I could die happy."

Sebas cleared his throat, nonplussed by the undead's squirmy joy. "Well, I'm going to head back. I don't know where Lord Momonga went, but I should probably being serving at his side, as Cheshire should be at Lady Lumière's."

It was Sebas's duty to tend to the leader of the guild, but it was Cheshire's sole purpose to tend to Lumière.

"Ah yes, yes," said Jack, immediately recollecting himself. He stood up abruptly, brushing off the dirt. "Cheshire, should she ever need me—"

"You'll be the first to know," the fairy lazily promised, floating off.

"And Sebas—" Albedo was quick to add as the butler began to turn away. "Attend to Lord Momonga respectfully, and if anything comes up, let me know immediately. If he calls for me, I'll go running at once, no matter what I have to cast aside."

Demiurge, listening to Albedo and Jack, had a faint look of exasperation.

"Oh, but if he calls me to his bed-chamber, tell him I'll need a little time. I should bathe first. Of course, if he says to come as I am, I don't mind at all. I'm keeping myself as clean as possible and paying meticulous attention to what I wear so he can summon me at any time. In other words, though it's only natural, Lord Momonga's wishes take priority—"

"I understand, Albedo. If I waste too much time here, I won't have as much to serve Lord Momonga. That would be terribly rude to him, so apologies, but I take my leave. Excuse me, everyone." After saying his parting words to the envious Guardians, he jogged off.

Demiurge spoke as if to dismiss Albedo's look that said she hadn't finished. "Well, it sure is quiet. What's wrong, Shalltear?" Everyone turned to look at her. She was still kneeling.

"WHAT IS IT, SHALLTEAR?"

She lifted her head only after being addressed a second time. Her unfocused eyes glistened.

"IS SOMETHING WRONG?"

"Th-that awesome presence was so thrilling that my underwear are in quite a state."

Silence.

No one knew what to say, so they just looked at one another. Shalltear had the most twisted fetishes of all the Guardians, and all they could do was grimace when they remembered. Mare was the only one who didn't get it and stood there, perplexed. But there were two who wouldn't let that be the end of it—Albedo and Jack.

"You would soil our angel with that kind of leering?" he snarled as Albedo screeched, "You bitch."

The insults caused Shalltear's lips to curl into an alluring smile.

"Huh? Lord Momonga and Lady Lumière are Supreme Beings, as well as extremely beautiful. It's a reward to be hit with such a wave of power by the both of them. You're crazy if you didn't get turned on!"

"You depraved whore," Jack snapped.

"You were squirming not too long ago!"

"In admiration! Not because of some lust—"

"Oh-ho! So if Lady Lumière invited you to her bedchambers, you'd refuse?"

They glared at each other, Albedo moving to stand beside Jack and join in scowling at Shalltear. The other Guardians didn't think it would devolve into a death match, but they still looked on anxiously.

"I was created the way I am by the Supreme Beings, and I have no complaints. Do you?"

"The same goes for all of us," Albedo argued.

In response, Shalltear began to leak a black mist as if preparing for combat. Albedo's black wings stretched open and Jack summoned his daggers.

"Oh dear," Mare fretted.

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Follows light novel version of events (with some anime mixed in for funsies). Beginning is similiar since the basic rules are the same. I have drastically different plans in mind for the later chapters.

I'm writing this to try and step out of my comfort zone. There are things I want to test out and use to challenge myself. Including a smut, so... *nervous shrugs*

Question: Which Guardian would you want to be obsessed with you—assuming you are a Supreme Being?

Reviews are love!