Ainz watched curiously as the Philosopher's Stone Core he stole from Gluttony was inspected by Truth. "Hmm, yes, this is quite enough payment. Just the fact you took care of one of them is enough. I can revert the stone itself to simply be a power source for you to use, and I should be able to assist you with reviving your... Pandora's Actor." the entity giggled to itself quietly. "My, that name certainly has many interesting connotations. You say you created him from scratch?" Pandora's Actor's body lay on the ground before Truth, the white god inspecting it thoroughly.

Ainz nodded absentmindedly, focused on the multiple menus in front of him. There was a multitude of screens floating before him keeping him updated with live feeds from multiple summons. One of them was for the Eyeball Corpse he had floating high above Central, its gaze zooming in far below on the Military Headquarters. Yet another was a Bone Vulture's gaze, watching Edward Elric from afar as the Military interviewed him about remains of the fight they had. He had to make sure his allies were safe, if the Homunculi wanted them then they would be very important. Multitudes of others were live views of his headquarters in the Desert, watching Barry, the military headquarters, the tunnels, Envy's containment room, and the surface above. Each one was a view from either a Skeletal Vulture or the Eyeball Corpse summons he had made. One even had an Eight-Edged Assassin's point of view. It had been a surprise when they realized Envy had a monstrous form, but a quick reaction from Barry had the Homunculus destroyed again before he could grow. Before Envy had fully healed, Ainz had summoned the two Liches to guard him. Every time he had regenerated, the Liches would harm him. This was a test to see the limits of the Philosopher's stones, what happens when an 'immortal' creature were tortured over and over again, and if Envy would give up any information they did not know.

The tunnels the Primal Earth Elemental had been digging had made contact with multiple tunnels under the city. The summon had quickly blocked off the tunnels and began making a second one going North, where it seemed to be heading. If he could figure out what the tunnels were for, he could make a move against the Homunculi and this mysterious 'Father'.

"He was my first and only permanent creation. My... allies of the time and I each made a servant or two for our home. Ever since they left ages ago I've been the one they look to for guidance. Pandora's Actor may be a bit eccentric, but I still made him." Ainz explained, comfortable with sharing his story with the god.

"I understand, I too care for my creations, but not as much as you clearly do. He'll be fixed shortly." Truth began fiddling with the soul in his hands, the representation of Pandora's Actor himself. When he had died at the end of the battle, his soul had passed through Truth's Gate as was proper of all beings who died in this world. Truth had thankfully caught the anomalous soul before it had been recycled or whatever happened to souls that passed through the Gate. "I'm a bit curious as to what you plan to do with Envy and the rest of the Homunculi. This Father figure has been hiding from my gaze still, so I'm thankful you've uncovered some of his plot."

Truth may be omnipotent, but not omniscient. He could only directly interact when someone was violating the natural order, and was limited in this sense. That was why he was indirectly using Edward Elric for help before Ainz had come along to handle the Homunculus. "Well, Envy's been a thorn in our sides for quite some time..." Ainz murmured to himself. His soulfire orbs flickered brighter in anger as he seemed to be thinking. "First I want to try to use his Philosopher's Stone to power my magic. If that fails, I'll torture information out of him. Finally, I want to know what happens when one kills a Homunculus."

Truth nodded, golden glowing strings of light beading off of the soul towards the body like a spiderweb, carefully choosing his words. "I would be cautious, Sorcerer King. Shattering a crystal filled with hundreds of thousands of souls would have quite the negative effects if done improperly." The body began glowing softly, the wounds from the Vermilion Nova healing seamlessly, life returning to the Doppelgänger's face. Ainz watched in interest as he observed the process. The Resurrection looked to be different than his items that would be used on players. Rather than an instant glow caused by resurrection, the body seemed to slowly absorb the soul like a sponge. Ainz waited with bated breath as they watched the NPC.

"MEIN GOTT!" Pandora's Actor cried with a shout as he sat up in surprise. He turned to Ainz and practically threw himself to the ground in embarrassment. "Ich bin zurück gekehrt! Was ist mit mir passiert?" He said loudly. He coughed in surprise and repeated himself in English. "My Lord? What happened to me? Where are we?" He looked around in interest at the endless white plain. "Oh no! Have we died? Woe is me, it appears I have been slain!"

Ainz was holding in a smile at the familiar personality. He could almost forgive the Doppelgänger for speaking German. Almost. "Calm down. We are not dead and are not in danger."

Pandora's Actor sighed in relief. "Ah, that's wunderbar!" Ainz twitched but continued.

"It appears we were transported recently to another world, much like what happened to Nazarick. I was alone when I arrived, and met Truth." He gestured to the god who waved a hand. "You are the only one of the inhabitants of Nazarick I have located so far. You were..." he hesitated slightly. "You were under the control of the enemy commander, known as Father. I managed to best you in combat much like I did with Shalltear all those years ago. I need you to tell me anything you can remember from the experience."

Pandora's Actor went silent, his boisterous attitude vanishing in the light of such news. "I must say, my memory is a bit hazy. I have memories of a man with golden hair and eyes commanding me. He mentioned something about trying to 'Grow yet another life from his Jealousy.' He referred to himself as Father, thinking himself my creator." Ainz was startled by Pandora's Actor as his form twisted into what appeared to be a much older Edward Elric with a beard and wearing a toga. "I was not quite myself at the time. I recall a few figures, who were later revealed to be Homunculus." He then changed into Lust, extending his claws. "Lust was sent on some kind of mission at one point to assassinate someone. I was masquerading as a few government officials as my ability to transform is inherently different than Envy's."

That was true. Pandora's Actor changed in both appearance and skill, rather than Envy's change of appearance. He could not, however, change into any shape, but only that of a living being. A loophole would be to change into Envy and then use Envy's ability. He shifted into a few generals that Ainz recalled spotting in the military headquarters. "I planted fake orders that set off a few conflicts in some cities across Amestris. Father was very specific about the locations. After Lust didn't return from her mission, Wrath" he changed into Bradley, "decided to send Gluttony and Envy after Scar to remove him as a threat. The only other thing I remember is Envy alluding to the fact that he started the Ishvalan war."

Ainz pondered this information, multiple ideas sparking through his head. "This sounds like some kind of Alchemical ritual or long term spell, no?" he muttered.

Truth exhaled angrily. "Those stubborn Homunculi! What are they doing?!" He began muttering and paced from side to side.

"Is something wrong?" Ainz asked the furious god. Truth threw up his arms in frustration. "That's just it! I don't know what they're doing. As I believe I mentioned, I only get information from whenever someone does human transmutation. I'm not as hands on with my realm as other gods, so I have no clue."

Ainz nodded, glancing to the screens again. "Well, that can be solved rather quickly. I'll take out the rest of the homunculi and make Father tell me his plans. The villain always gets overconfident. Even I was at fault to this every now and again, but I made up for it with my sheer power and skill. I would assume the tunnels my Elementals made contact with would have the information I need. I will go inspect them soon myself." A Gate opened and Ainz began making his way to it.

"Ainz?" Truth called.

Ainz turned to Truth. "Yes?"

"I'll say this again. Please don't destroy my city accidentally. That forest was enough on its own."

Ainz chuckled. "Very well." He stepped into the Gate, Pandora's Actor following closely behind him. Once they were out of sight, the portal closed with barely a whisper.

Ainz exited the Gate, stepping into the stone halls of the underground base. He eyed the Core in his hand, considering whether to keep it or destroy it. "This could be useful." He muttered, dropping it into his Dimensional Pocket.

He turned to the cell where Envy was being guarded by two Liches. The summons had orders to burn Envy whenever he tried ti change shape, as to prevent him from escaping. The bedraggled Homunculus glared up at him with furious eyes, lightning still arcing off of his body to heal the extensive burn scars.

"Finally decided to stop?" Envy sneered from the corner. He held a very good facade, but Ainz could see the desperation in his eyes. When he looked over at Ainz, he raised a brow in surprise. "Wow, what happened to you? Fall into a chemical bath or something? I haven't seen someone like you before."

Ainz chuckled. "There is no one like me." he said.

Envy narrowed his eyes. "Hang on... you sound familiar. Are you that armored guy? Man, you really do have a good reason to wear that armor. Didn't you kill Lust? "

"Perhaps." Ainz responded. "Do you want to tell me your Father's plans? Things will go a lot easier if you did so."

Envy grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know! Why the hell should I tell you anything? I'm more curious as to why you care so much about these puny humans. You're not human yourself! In fact, you should be helping me! That's why I wont say shit, asshole." He flinched slightly when the Liches each held up another fireballs, but stood firm.

Ainz nodded, ignoring the Homunculus' choice of language. "We know you were causing incidents in Amestris, like Ishval, and that they were in specific locations. I also know you have tunnels being dug underground, and they are there for a reason. I want you to tell me why." Ainz explained, red eyes burning furiously.

Envy's eyes widened. "Ishval?" he started laughing. leaning forward with a smirk. "You remember the incident which started the war, right?"

Ainz nodded. "I've heard it was because a military officer accidentally shot an Ishvalan child." Envy's smirk grew. "But we both know that isn't true." Ainz finished.

"Ah, so you really found out?" Envy asked, leaning in. His smile became deranged, pupils dilating in glee. "I mean, talk about invigorating! I ravaged the country with a single bullet! And the best part-"

"Yes, yes, we know about all that." Ainz said with a wave of his hand.

"Ruin my fun, why won't you..." Envy muttered.

"What I want to know is why." Ainz asked.

"What, you haven't figured it out?" The homunculus said, tone changing to be sarcastic, with shit eating grin on his face. "I'm surprised. I'm honestly flabbergasted. You're telling me you don't know?! I mean, you went through all that trouble with fucking useless Pandora's Actor and the sacrifices and you have no clue? Hah! At this rate you won't even be able to save your little friends, not to mention all of Amestris! I don't even know why that fool of a shapeshifter would follow an idiot like you. I bet any friends you've had hate-AARGH!" Envy shrieked in agony as Hellfire burst into existence, engulfing him in blackish flames, exponentially hotter than his previous torture.

His flesh melted instantly. Thanks to the exact mechanics of their pseudo-immortality, the Homunculi could be tortured indefinitely. Rather than not taking any damage or having a particularly high defense, they regenerated from any attack. This means they are essentially average humans that heal really well. This means a high level spell like Hellfire was like dropping a candle into a volcano, but it would fix itself over and over. Ainz swore he saw the Philosopher's Stone itself melt slightly when the spell finished, but a moment later it smoothed out again.

"I will allow you to speak insults towards me, but do not speak that way about my friends." Ainz said darkly. "They were and still are greater people than you worthless being. Now, tell me what I want to know."

Envy gasped for air, throat ragged as his body stopped burning. He then turned towards Ainz with an exhausted scowl on his face. "Never."

Ainz calmly watched Envy, gauging his reaction. The devotion in Envy's eyes was like the Floor Guardians of Nazarick when they spoke to him. There was no way he would get anything else from Envy. "Very well then." With a single movement, he used Grasp Heart, and the Philosopher's Stone in Envy shattered. The Homunculus froze, staring down at his chest where a shard of the stone pierced through his skin. He screamed out in agony as the very skin on his body began turning to dust. Such was the power of a 9th Tier spell.

"What did you do? This is impossible!" He began writhing as he disintegrated. Red light burst from his chest, ripping apart the walls and leaving cracks everywhere. The two Liches moved away from the damaging aura but Ainz ignored it, the damage to him was negligible and would heal in moments. Envy twisted to look at Ainz' impassionate face. "Don't look down at me, you worm!" he cried out as he was decomposing.

Envy changed into multiple forms, wings appearing, then burning away. An enormous arm erupted from his body before vanishing as well. Ainz stared silently as the sniveling creature shifted over, and over, and over in agony. It was a blur of whirling limbs and faces as Envy tried to escape the fate he was destined upon.

He shrunk, smaller and smaller and he lost mass. Finally, ask that was left was a worm, squirming to get away. It let out one more shuddering gasp and vanished into nothing.

Ainz rolled his eyes after the homunculus had finally dissipated. "Moron." he muttered. "I didn't expect that to actually work though... this does prove some theories I had about this world. Demiurge would kill to be here and experiment." He turned to the Liches that were on standby. "Now that that's taken care of, gather the troops."

It was time to take the offensive. Ainz went around, preparing to summon Overlord Generals. Overlord Generals were skeletal leaders that could be summoned by a select few. The mana cost and summon limit deterred other players from specializing such creatures. Ainz had thoughtfully added them to his arsenal once he had made an army in the New World.

They bowed, and floated down the hall towards the other summons. Ainz raised The Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, the real one this time, and began chanting. In his other hand, bound by magical chains, lay the Philosopher's Stone Core from Gluttony. "Triple Maximize Magic: Summon Overlord General! Summon: Death Knight!" The Core he took from Gluttony glowed a ruby red as it was used. Using the souls within the stone, Ainz was able to summon the undead units he needed, with the human sacrifices being replaced by souls in the Core.

The air swirled as skeletal beings rose from the shadows. Each stood proudly, skeletal faces covered in enchanted armor, not dissimilar to the Nazarick Old Guardians. They knelt as one before him. "We serve you, Supreme One." they intoned.

Ainz gestured for them to rise. "We are going to expand into the tunnel system the Elementals located. I fully expect them to lead into the enemy's base, as well as connecting to other locations in the country. You will reach head a separate direction down the tunnels with a quarter of the troops staying behind to defend the base. Our goal is to find the limits of these tunnels and take out all who are within. If you encounter any unknowns, report back immediately. You are to not expand above ground or be seen."

With a sweep of his arm he gestured to the entrance behind him. The Overlord Generals moved forth, the forces behind them following in unison. Ainz nodded in satisfaction, turning to the base once more. Barry and Pandora's Actor stood proudly, eagerly awaiting orders. "Hey boss, what do you want us to do? I've got one or two more tricks I want to try!" Barry said excitedly.

Pandora's Actor dropped to his knees, prostrating himself in front of Ainz. "I'm so sorry, my lord! I will do whatever I must to make up for my past transgressions! I even remembered some more information! Sloth, the fastest Homunculus is the one digging the tunnels! He is currently digging towards fort Briggs as we speak, nearing the completion of the tunnels!"

Ainz nodded, and snapped his fingers. An Overlord General near the tunnels turned around just before it left with the others. "What do you wish of me, my lord?"

"Take Barry and your assigned troops through the tunnels. Find the one that leads north, out of the city. I will take Pandora's Actor and follow the other Overlord Generals into the tunnels." He ordered. "Kill all who are within, other than the humans in Briggs."

Barry giggled in glee, anxiously clacking his fingers together in glee. "Oh boy! I can't wait!" He danced down the hall after the guard.

"Now, Pandora's Actor, do you know if-" Ainz glanced at the vision of one of the Bone Vultures distractedly. "What's this?" he muttered, leaning in towards the screen.

Two figures were making their way into a tunnel, possibly one of the ones that connected to the underground tunnels Ainz was about to enter. He glanced at another screen, connected to an Eight-Edged Assassin group he had following Bradley, and saw the Fuhrer in conversation with Roy Mustang. "Now, this is interesting..." he turned with a flourish. "Pandora's Actor, we depart at once. There is no time to waste." With a movement, he made his way into the underground labyrinth.

Pride sat at his dining table, working on his homework. His mother was cooking a meal in the other room. It was a simplistic scene, something that would be the norm. If someone were to look deeper, they might notice the vicious twinkle in his eye whenever someone looked away, as if looking forward to a meal. Or perhaps the fact he licked his lips as the shadows lengthened.

A thin line of shadow extended from him beneath the floorboards, running through a pipe into the excavated area under Amestris. From there it made a series of twists and turns until it was deep within a labyrinth. The shadows spread out like a spider's web, moving along through the empty- Ah.

Pride blinked in surprise as one of his shadows encountered a group of people moving down the hall in complete darkness. Who was this? A shadow moved forward, eyeing the group. Shallow breaths and fog filled the air as an army of hulking skeletons in massive armor shambled down the hall, behind it was a group of living liquid... slime? He eyed the group with distaste. This was clearly an invading force of some kind, similar to the skeletal figure who was in the lower chambers a little while ago. This time he would take them by surprise, and win. He reached for the phone as his shadows moved in to strike.

Bradley took a sip of tea. "Now, Colonel Mustang. Do you know why I brought you in here?"

Roy frowned, leaning forward. "I can't say I do."

Bradley sighed. "I have a few questions about an event that happened yesterday night. Particularly with a large amount of fire?"

Roy realized he was referring to Ainz' attack last night. "Ah."

Bradley nodded. "I see you understand. Now, how about we have a little chat about Homunculi, shall we?" He asked, turning to glare at Roy with his Ourobouros eye.

Deep beneath central and on a train moving towards Central, two identical beings felt the stirrings of power in the distance. A time of change was approaching, and neither knew if it was for the better or for the worse.

END CHAPTER

(So apparently middle clicking a tab in Chrome deletes it, and does not duplicate it. I lost so much effort in that one click. Thankfully I was able to finish this chapter in time. Let me know of any typos please!)

NN: The 'screens' are a part of the YGGDRASIL menu system, which shows up in the Anime at one point in season 3, when Albedo is seeing through the eyes of Nazarick's security system. I'm taking artistic liberties to have Ainz connect to his summons in a similar fashion, as in most games like StarCraft you can see the area around your allies through the fog of war. The Overlord Generals are canon, being mentioned in the light novel and being on the wiki.

If anyone thinks Envy shouldn't have talked to Ainz, he didn't mean to. He was trying to gloat, unaware that they actually didn't care for his life. He also gave away some info that may help Ainz in the future.