Her body stood at the left side of a throne, hands hanging at her sides. She couldn't move at all—only her eyes and head could turn slightly.
Turning her gaze to the other side, she saw a beautiful woman in a pure white gown standing there.
The woman's softly smiling face was goddess-like, while the glossy black hair reaching her waist contrasted vividly with her attire.
Aside from the golden, glowing irises and vertical oval pupils that seemed a bit unusual, she was otherwise an absolutely flawless beauty.
From the sides of her head grew two curled horns like those of a goat, and at her waist, she possessed black angelic wings.
Because of the horns, her goddess-like smile appeared to be hiding something behind it—a mask concealing her inner thoughts.
Around her neck was a necklace radiating golden light, forming a web-like pattern that extended from her shoulders to her chest.
Her slender hands were covered with silk-gloss gloves, and her posture was elegant, like that of a noble lady.
Most striking of all were her golden vertical pupils, their gentle light clear and deep, so captivating that one could easily lose themselves within.
Chu Lian knew exactly who she was—the female lead of the anime Overlord, one of the most powerful NPCs in Nazarick: Albedo.
At this moment, they were still inside the online game. These beings had no true consciousness of their own; they existed purely according to the game's mechanics and their creators' designs.
Seeing her, Chu Lian couldn't help but think of her own daughter, Anna—the girl whose hair and eye colors were perfectly opposite to Albedo's. She wondered how Anna was doing without her around.
However, Chu Lian herself was also currently an NPC. Apart from maintaining her smile, she could show no emotion whatsoever.
This part of the story was predetermined. She could only watch without interfering, waiting for the day when the game would become reality and everything would unfold beyond imagination—only then would she be able to act freely.
Just as she was thinking this, the grand doors in the distance slowly opened, and a tall skeletal figure entered. His form was that of a white skeleton with glowing red eyes. Embedded in his abdomen was a dark-red orb that pulsed faintly—proof of his mastery as a supreme magic caster.
He wore a grand black cloak, his enormous figure exuding an aura of majesty and awe.
In his hand he held a staff adorned with seven serpents and jeweled rings—the Guild Symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown, Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. His skeletal fingers glittered with numerous artifact rings.
Of course, Chu Lian knew what those were—every one of them a divine-class item. In fact, every piece of Ainz Ooal Gown's equipment was divine-grade. Damn pay-to-win player!
These complaints could only stay in her heart; she couldn't voice them aloud. Her expression, like Albedo's beside her, remained gentle as both of them watched the supreme ruler of Nazarick approach the steps with Sebas Tian and the Pleiades battle maids following behind.
He glanced at Albedo and Chu Lian, then turned to the others and waved for Sebas and the Pleiades to stay back. Then, he ascended the stairs and sat upon his throne.
He sat there silently for a while, as if reluctant to accept the end that was coming. Finally, his gaze fell upon Chu Lian, and he spoke, "Deloris, it's unfortunate... soon, I won't be able to see you anymore. Though your AI is slightly more advanced than the others, you're still just an NPC."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, seemingly wanting to touch Chu Lian's cheek—but upon noticing his skeletal hand, he hesitated, then slowly lowered it.
After that, he turned toward Albedo and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What kind of setting does she have again?" he murmured. Calling up the system interface, he began to read her details. "Highest-Ranking NPC of Nazarick, Overseer of the Guardians..."
He wanted to continue, but upon seeing the long list of information, he sighed helplessly. "So long..."
Then he recalled that Albedo's designer was Tabula Smaragdina, the guild's setting maniac. For people like him, whose real-world jobs were closely tied to such work, designing characters was nothing short of life itself.
Not wanting to keep reading, Momonga scrolled all the way down—only to notice the final line of her description: "Ah? What's this? Bitch..."
Feeling somewhat defeated by his friend's eccentric settings, Momonga lowered his skull-like head. If sighing were possible in this game, he would have done so a dozen times already. "Tabula sure loved gap moe... but still, this is just too much."
He didn't like the setting very much. But now, with Tabula gone and the guild left with only him, all those things that once required long discussions and votes could now be decided by him alone.
Thinking of that, he glanced at the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown by his side. "Normally, this would require a special tool to modify NPC data... but with this staff, I won't need one."
Raising the staff, he tapped at Albedo's system interface. The screen turned red. Using a virtual keyboard, Momonga erased the last line of her settings, leaving the field blank. "Now... what should I add?"
His glowing eyes moved from Albedo to Sebas Tian and the Pleiades maids, and finally to Chu Lian. "Deloris, this game's about to shut down. You must be lonely, huh? Even though it won't make any real difference... maybe it's better if Albedo keeps you company."
With that, he typed in a new line at the bottom of Albedo's settings: In love with Deloris. "There. Now you'll both have someone to accompany you. That's nice, isn't it?"
Chu Lian had been quietly watching everything. The moment she saw this, she knew that her system's adjustment had worked, and she was thrilled. "Perfect! Now I've gained the support of a Heaven-tier powerhouse!"
However, she had forgotten what kind of personality Albedo possessed. Sure, she had gained a powerful ally—but she had also invited a massive problem. Having someone like Albedo in the harem was a guarantee that things would never stay peaceful.
After finishing the edits, Momonga rested his chin in his hand. "If I remember correctly, the command was..."
"Bow in reverence..."
At once, every NPC except Chu Lian placed their right hand over their chest, lowered their heads, and knelt on one knee before the throne—paying homage to their supreme master, Momonga.
"So only Deloris resists this sort of command, huh? Too bad the game's developers never knew of your existence. Otherwise, they might not have shut the game down. After all, a game character capable of developing their own consciousness would be a revolutionary discovery." His glowing red gaze turned toward the fox-eared girl who alone remained standing, his voice low and thoughtful.
Hearing his words, Chu Lian silently scoffed in her mind. "If they had known about me, they'd shut the game down even faster, isolating my data for observation. There's no way they'd let me connect to any network again—they'd trap me in a sealed digital cage forever. Humans are crazy yet cautious creatures. When they discover the existence of sentient artificial intelligence, there are only two options—study it... or destroy it. Nothing in between."
After saying this, Momonga seemed to let out a silent sigh. Leaning back in his throne, he looked up at the game's interface. In the upper right corner, the shutdown timer continued to tick down.
When it reached 00:00:00, the game that had accompanied him for twelve years would come to an end. He was reluctant—painfully so.
But what could he do? Other games had long surpassed YGGDRASIL. The player base had dwindled, and the official decision to close the servers was inevitable.
"Those memories... really are unforgettable," he murmured, gazing at the forty-one guild flags displayed above the hall. One by one, he counted them softly: "Touch Me... Ulbert Alain Odle... Bukubukuchagama... Peroroncino... Tabula Smaragdina... Warrior Takemikazuchi... Variable Talisman... Genjiro..."
Lowering his hand, he lay back against the throne and stared at the ceiling, silently thinking, "Yeah... those were happy times. Truly happy..."
Watching his actions, Chu Lian felt an inexplicable pang of sorrow in her heart. Losing one's parents, having no ties left, and pouring all emotions into YGGDRASIL—this game had become another life for him. How could anyone easily let go of something like that?
If she were in his position, could she do it? No—she knew she couldn't. She was a sentimental person. Forgetting the bonds she'd made here would be impossible.
"I wonder... will I face the same scene one day?" Chu Lian thought to herself as she slowly raised her head, gazing up at the ceiling. Together with the murmuring Momonga, she waited for the game to reach its end...
Second by second, time slipped away. In the upper-right corner of the interface, the countdown numbers continued to tick down, indifferent to anyone's reluctance, steadily falling to zero.
00:00:00
When the timer finally reached zero, the moment he was supposed to be logged out, the numbers began moving again.
00:00:01
The red light in Momonga's eyes flickered sharply. He froze for a moment, staring at his skeletal hand. "Huh? Did the server delay the shutdown?" He tried to open the control interface as he always did in the game—but nothing appeared.
"The control menu's gone? The chat system and GM contact functions aren't working either." The situation shocked him deeply. Rising from the throne, he stared across the vast hall. "What in the world is happening?"
Just then, a soft, feminine voice spoke beside him. "Is something troubling you, Lord Momonga?"
The voice made the stunned Momonga turn his head. Beside him knelt a beautiful woman, her expression filled with concern.
Seeing his uncharacteristic silence, Albedo tilted her head slightly and spoke again. "Lord Momonga? Lord Momonga? Lord Momonga? What's wrong, my lord?"
Her repeated words left him completely bewildered. He could only stare blankly as Albedo, without receiving any command, rose to her feet and stepped closer. She leaned toward him, studying his face intently. "Did something happen?"
It was obvious that Albedo was anxious. After all, of the forty-one Supreme Beings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, only Momonga remained. If something happened to him, what would become of Nazarick?
Her golden eyes wavered with tension as she clasped her hands before her chest—causing her abundant cleavage to jiggle enticingly. Having never witnessed such a sight before, Momonga felt his undead heart pound with an unfamiliar thrill.
But his undead racial trait—Emotional Suppression—immediately crushed the feeling into nothing. "Huh?" Once calm again, Momonga looked at Albedo and said, "The GM communication... doesn't seem to work anymore."
Upon hearing this, Albedo placed both hands before her thighs and lowered her head apologetically, stepping back a few paces. "Please forgive my ignorance, my lord. I am unfamiliar with this term you call 'GM communication.'"
Her lips moved as she spoke—and that, more than anything, shocked Momonga. "Her... mouth actually moved?"
Unaware of his astonishment, Albedo continued softly, "If you would grant me the chance to atone for my impudence..." She raised a delicate hand to her collarbone, lifted her face, and gazed at him with pleading eyes. "It would be the greatest honor of my life."
"She's... conversing freely?" Momonga thought, utterly stunned. "That's impossible."
He sank back into the throne, resting his skull on one hand. "Could something extraordinary have happened?"
He looked at the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown and released it. The staff floated into the air, rotating slowly above him.
"At least that still behaves the same," he murmured. The action served to confirm what had and hadn't changed. "No control interface... no contact with the developers... what should I do now?"
Lifting his gaze, he called out to the old butler still kneeling before the Pleiades maids. "Sebas."
"At your command, my lord," replied the elegant old gentleman. Momonga's unease deepened. "So even commands still function properly, huh?"
"Whatever the case... I should verify our surroundings first." He straightened and gave his first order. "Sebas, confirm Nazarick's external terrain."
Sebas rose and bowed deeply. "Understood, Lord Momonga."
Then Momonga gave his next order. "Pleiades, proceed to the ninth floor. Ensure that no intruders are present."
The vice-captain of the battle maids, Yuri Alpha, responded with her usual calm expression. "As you command, Lord Momonga." She turned and led the group out.
Each of the Pleiades maids followed silently behind her. To them, Momonga's words were absolute law—orders to obey, not to question.
"This isn't like the game at all... Even without typed commands, the NPCs can understand spoken orders? What on earth is going on?" Watching Sebas and the Pleiades maids depart, Momonga fell once again into deep contemplation.
After a moment, he lifted his gaze toward Albedo, who was still smiling softly beside him. He froze briefly, then began muttering to himself in frustration. "I really need to contact the developers somehow. If GM communication doesn't work, then... what about [Message]? But that's only for player-to-player contact. Could it reach a GM? Wait... can I even still use magic in this state?"
Seeing his endlessly conflicted expression, Chu Lian couldn't help but connect the scene to the story she knew. She could already guess what was running through his mind. A faint smile touched her lips. "Oh, come on, Bone King, why are you still hesitating? Isn't it obvious? You've transmigrated."
At that moment, Albedo finally spoke. "Lord Momonga, what would you have me do?"
Momonga looked at her beautiful, graceful form and said, "Let me think... for now, come here."
Albedo responded softly and stepped closer with a pleased expression, eager to know what her beloved master wanted of her.
"It seems that even though her settings were changed, her loyalty to Momonga as the supreme ruler of Nazarick remains absolute," Chu Lian thought, observing silently. "Even if her feelings toward him are altered, she won't defy his commands."
As Albedo approached, her faint fragrance reached his senses. Momonga froze in disbelief. "Such a pleasant scent... Wait a second—scent? YGGDRASIL never had olfactory input!"
But with such a beauty standing so close, his undead heart wavered for a fleeting instant. "Well then... I'll touch you now."
"Touch?" Albedo blinked, momentarily confused, then turned her gaze toward Chu Lian.
At that moment, Chu Lian knew it was time for her to step in. If she didn't, the harem would be tainted by a skeleton—how tragic would that be?
"Brother, that's far too improper," her voice rang out, clear and melodious like a forest spring. The sound made Momonga's entire being jolt in astonishment. "Deloris—you can talk?"
"Of course..." Chu Lian stepped forward confidently, her chest lifted high as she reached out to remove his skeletal hand from Albedo's arm. Looking straight into his glowing crimson eyes, she said firmly, "Brother, I believe we're no longer on Earth."
Her words struck him like a bolt of lightning—Momonga was utterly stunned.