Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord. This work of fanfiction is being made entirely for fun and to practice writing by the author. No money will ever be made from this.
"It was fun while it lasted... in fact, it was a blast."
Satoru Suzuki sat dejectedly in his chair at the Round Table room in The Great Tomb of Nazarick. His skeletal hand still hung stiffly in the air mid-wave in parting to the last member of the guild that answered his call to gather together on the last day of Yggdrasil, Herohero.
"There's still a few hours left..." he said, talking to thin air at the spot his friend had just vacated and letting himself speak the words he wanted to say out loud to his friend before he logged out. "... maybe we can reminisce and share our favorite memories of the guild…" the volume of his voice slowly reflecting the way he was feeling - low.
Satoru knew even getting one person to show up out of the other three members that were left was a success… but not one that made him feel great. Out of the 41 members that his guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, boasted in the height of its' power - only three were left, four counting Momonga - Satoru's in-game character. The other members slowly had quit and given the guild all their items and possessions in the game before deleting their characters. Satoru knew he might have been one of them if he'd had a reason like the others - some were focused on their families, others hadn't been able to continue Yggdrasil due to focusing on their careers, even their love-lives were more important to them.
Satoru deep-down had none of these things. His mother had passed away years ago, he'd never held any familial attachment to his father and he to him, and the closest relationships he'd had with the opposite sex was that of co-workers at his job at the office. Truly his experiences in the game with his friends and fellow guildmates filled that void in his life these past 12 years, seeing the last of his friends leave on the last day Yggdrasil was due for service left a heavy weight on his heart.
He felt moisture at the edges of his eyes in his real-world body build up as he thought about his greatest memories of his friends. From the creation of the guild from the original nine members, clearing the then six-floored dungeon complex that was Nazarick on the first try, the defense of Nazarick from the eight guilds that had allied together to attempted to defeat them. Satoru had taken screenshots of all those moments in the game and more. 'The defense of Nazarick' in particular had so many photos he'd had to purchase an upgrade because he'd exceeded the storage capacity of his account. Satoru remembered reading an article online on that event alone - nearly fifteen-hundred players from eight guilds along with their NPCs and mercenaries - if that article was to be believed. Satoru knew it was correct.
Momonga stood as Satoru tried to get his emotions under control. He turned towards the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown safely floating on its' pedestal. The Staff drug up more memories… several members even used their vacation time they had accrued just to grind the materials to create it. It seemed a shame that Yggdrasil might end before the Staff had even gotten a chance to be used. As a Japanese person, the thought of all his and his friends' hard work going to waste was almost too much to bear.
"I think I'll indulge myself just this once." Momonga said as he took the Staff from its' pedestal. One might say that what he was currently doing wasn't supposed to be within his power. Indeed, all important decisions within the guild were decided by a majority vote. Satoru knew removing the symbol of the guild from its' pedestal was one that would have required a vote. Though technically, it still is a majority vote… Satoru felt that this way of thinking was more like the thoughts of a dictator instead of a democracy that Ainz Ooal Gown was.
Satoru marveled at the Staffs' golden, twisted frame and the jewels decorating each of the seven snake heads a-top it. It was clear no-one else would know he might act a little selfishly today, so it should be ok, right? Momonga summoned an enchanted mirror from his inventory to admire himself for a moment. In Satoru's opinion, he looked every bit an undead, evil, badass that he imagined his character to be. If he were to face something ferocious-looking as this in the real world Satoru knew he would run as fast as he could to escape the nightmarish terror before him… or something like that. His gaze swept across his divine-level equipment the contrast of his purple-on-black, gold-trimmed robes to the bleached-white chest of his ribcage. His gaze traveled down to the slight bulge in his robes at his waist.
Yggdrasil, being a widely popular free-to-play DMMO-RPG was host to a wide variety of account and cosmetic system upgrades for players to purchase. Having no subscription fees to play the game and the inherent realism of the game were some of its major selling-points to prospective players. Free-to-play games of a similar nature often allowed users to purchase cosmetic upgrades for their accounts such as hairstyles, unique clothing, pets, etc. Yggdrasil was no different in this regard, however the developers took it a step further and offered items that had actual value in-game and were distributed sometimes as special events and prizes for contests related to the game. Items that offered conveniences such as quick-weapon swapping and allowing a one-time use of an instant-cast spell were somewhat common among the players and Satoru often spent 1/3rd of his annual salary on such items, having no other hobbies to indulge himself in.
One such upgrade to Satoru's account was the 'Verified Adult' upgrade. A one-time purchase would allow you extra storage on your account (which originally was why Satoru purchased the 'Verified Adult' package in the first place) as well as allow genitalia on your characters and allow your character to wear unique age-restricted clothing. Satoru shuddered at the mental image of his evil undead character in ass-less chaps. (That particular item, Satoru was sure, would never see the light of day from the bottom of his inventory pile.)
The upgrade had limitations, naturally. Users could not see the 'private parts' of other characters unless they themselves also had the 'Verified Adult' package. The developers still heavily enforced the 'no skin-on skin contact or penetration between 2 or more characters' when it came to the genitalia which, in Satoru's honest opinion, defeated the purpose of such an upgrade - but who was he to judge? The 'bits', as he liked to call them, were different for each race. For skeletons such as him, Yggdrasil opted to go for the dark approach, his organ was, according to lore, similar to the near-invisible 'dark mana' that made up his eye sockets and joints of his body that allowed flexibility - which made sense… in a weird way. The upgrade also seemed to superimpose a layer of skin made of the same 'dark mana' over his entire body - though it only seemed to be partly visible which it was touching something. If Momonga were to kiss the mirror at the moment, only his lips would be visible when it made contact with the mirror, with a normal free account the teeth of his skull would hit the mirror first. Though the genitalia were customisable, Satoru never really saw the point of such a thing in a video game and more-or-less left it at the default setting for his characters height and build, only changing it to somewhat above average in terms of length and girth.
Satoru was tired and had to work tomorrow, but he knew that he would no-longer be able to experience Yggdrasil again like this. After today it would be gone, so he forced himself to stay awake. Maybe a bit of a walk might help me stay awake he thought to himself as he exited the room with the Round Table. As he entered the hallway that led between the 9th and 10th floors he saw several of Nazarick's NPCs waiting on the side of the hallway… specifically, six of the Homunculus maids and the Head Butler of Nazarick. They bowed as he approached. Satoru had forgotten most of their names over the years but knew the Head Butler's name was Sebas. Momonga glanced at the Guild Staff in his hands and activated one of the abilities of the staff and as Guildmaster, all of the names of the NPCs appeared above their heads.
"Ah yes, Sebas Tian was your name…" Momonga said to himself, glancing at the other maids and tried to re-commit their names to memory for a moment. Whitebrim really outdid himself on all of the outfits for the maids… I wonder how his manga is coming along? Satoru felt another pang of loneliness and felt that maybe if he surrounded himself with some of his friends' creations in the final moments of Yggdrasil it might bring him some measure of comfort. "Follow me." he commanded.
All seven of the NPCs nodded and stood. As Momonga continued through the hallway the NPCs formed a line behind him. Satoru looked behind himself to watch their progress after some moments of silence. He was reminded of some of the older retro games… before animations had grown so complex they were virtually the same movements as a real person it was not uncommon for multiple characters under the control of the game's A.I. to follow the exact path the player took to get through an area, creating a sort of player-party centipede. Satoru felt some slight amusement in how long a line he was leading. He had only seen a longer line as part of a holiday meeting at his office, a conga line. Eventually Momonga found he and his party in front of the door leading to the Throne Room.
Taking a moment to admire the artwork on the massive double door, depicting an angel and a demon so life-like they almost appeared real… well, as real as anything could be in this game he thought. At his touch, the doors leading inside creaked weightily inwards leading to the magnificent Throne Room beyond. The Throne Room was lit by warm candlelight from its' many chandeliers and on the whole the room was the very pinnacle of extravagance. The high-backed Throne dominated the room as the focal point upon a raised dais leading up to it.
Each item in the room also had functions tied to it aside from looks. The chandeliers themselves were actually defensive monsters that could summon demons and blast intruders with magic, the 67 life-sized statues depicting various demons dominating the walls leading to the Throne were all golems that could arise to the defense of Nazarick, indeed even the Throne itself was a World-class item called the 'Throne of Kings' that granted its user protections from other World-class items while seated in it. Satoru had hoped to one day be able to use its' protections to deliver the infamous 'Big Bad Evil Guy' Monologue but alas, that day never came. As Satoru and his party approached the raised dais of the Throne, his eyes drifted toward the lone visible NPC standing near it. Satoru didn't need the administrative powers of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown to recall her name for he had long since remembered it. Albedo…
In Satoru's opinion, though most of the player-made NPCs in Nazarick were very beautiful (or handsome, as it were) Albedo was by far the most beautiful creature he had seen in the game to date. It was also a sense of embarrassment that it was partly his fault that she had her current appearance. Satoru could remember the conversation years ago, when they were creating their NPCs, with Tabula Smaragdina - Albedo's creator.
"I know we all agreed not to interfere with the creation of each other's NPCs, but I need a second opinion. Succubi are naturally extremely attractive and I know what I find attractive, but having the opinion of another warm-blooded healthy adult male would put me at ease and help me greatly." Tabula had said back then.
So, to help his fellow guild member like any self-respecting guild leader would, he honored his request. What he did not expect, was Tabula to take every suggestion he had given the man… minus the cat-like yellow eyes, horns, and black wings sprouting from her waist, of course. Even her default shy smile that she was gracing him with as he moved closer to the throne was a result of an off-handed comment he had said… Satoru sometimes felt like such a nerd for finding a female in a video game so attractive.
Satoru paused as he neared the throne and turned back towards his entourage. He would have nearly forgotten they were there were it not for the soft 'tap tap tap' of their footwear in unison. "Standby." He commanded. They all unanimously nodded and moved slightly to the side to allow others to approach. Satoru knew in his heart there would be no others to follow him here. He turned back towards Albedo and after a moment, used the Staffs' administrative powers one last time to look at her settings. Satoru had never actually read any of the NPC's backstories, other than the one he had created himself, Pandora's Actor. An enormous wall of text appeared in the window that housed Albedo's backstory. Holy crap! I'll never get through all this before the server shuts down he thought as he scrolled through the long window of text. Impatiently he flicked his wrist to get to the end and finally reached it. He stared at the last sentence that was written there.
By the way, she is also a slut.
What's this? Tabula… did you really have to go that far? I know I agreed not to mess with her settings but I had a part in creating her too, so he shouldn't be too mad if I change it, right? He thought hesitantly before deleting the last line and replacing it with another.
She is in love with Momonga.
Satoru stared at that line after a moment. Maybe this is just as bad he thought embarrassingly. He couldn't decide what else to write so he didn't change anything else before he ended his editing and finally continued approaching the throne as he sat in it. Satoru felt that something was off as he looked at the NPCs. "Bow down." he commanded. Similar to before, all the NPCs at once bowed in the exact same way. Momonga leaned back and look at his in-game clock, seeing he had roughly a minute left before the scheduled server shutdown. Ugh, I have to get up for work in 4 hours, I better get some rest or I will look undead tomorrow he thought as he had trouble keeping his eyes open now that his character was seated and he felt his tiredness in the real world seep in. He heard the final few clicks as the seconds ticked by on his ingame clock. He waited for the forced logout that preceded every time the servers went down for patches.
…
…
In one moment he was nearly nodding off on the throne and the next he was so wide awake that he nearly hit his head on the back of the throne that he straightened his slightly slouched posture so quickly. He looked back at the in-game clock.
00:00:15
It kept counting up.
00:00:16
00:00:17
00:00:18
What is going on he thought. Was the server shutdown extended? There was no announcement… his eyes roamed to where his chat log was supposed to be located. Nothing was there. I can't see my status either… What is wrong with my UI? Is this a glitch? I can't even see my basic character information! He brought his hand up to access the menu… or attempted to.
"What the …?!" Satoru slowly started to feel rising panic as he nearly lept out of the Throne when he noticed another detail, his voice. It was far too deep to be his and the only character standing near him was Albedo and she certainly couldn't-
"Is something the matter, Lord Momonga?" a silky voice originating near him asked.
Satoru froze. The building panic he felt at his situation was instantly replaced with shock for a moment. Wait, let's look at this logically for a second… he thought as he tried to calm himself down and slowly felt suspicion build in his chest. Is a GM controlling one of the NPCs as some sort of prank? No… someone could lose their job over that. Then what-
"Lord Momonga, is everything alright? If something is wrong perhaps I can help?" Albedo asked in a concerned voice as she looked at him in the eye from her position kneeling before him.
Being so close to her and staring at her as he was, he had no problem watching her mouth move as she talked. That's not possible. Her mouth is moving. That's not a familiar voice and it's not her NPC so Bukubukuchagama wouldn't be able to make that sound file for Albedo… so is this some sort of beta test for a new game or patch? Maybe it is a GM using some sort of new hardware… Satoru cleared his throat. Still suspicious if this was a GM he distractingly said, "The... GM call function... isn't working…" he said.
"Forgive me, I know not of this 'GM call' magic you speak of. Please, I beg your forgiveness for being unable to assist you as my duty states." Albedo's soft reply as certainly NOT what Suzuki was expecting. She seemed too earnest to be trying to trick him somehow and she had bowed even further until she was almost touching the floor with her face in… shame? That's what it looked like to Satoru. Satoru distractingly assured her he did not blame for that.
I need to see if it's just Albedo and I that's being affected or if it's the other NPCs as well he thought as he glanced at Sebas and the maids that were still kneeling a bit further away. "Sebas," he said, nearly making himself jump again at the sound of his own voice, I need to see if he's loyal and can still follow commands… "Sebas, you are to go outside the Tomb and to confirm the surroundings within 1 kilometer. If there are intelligent creatures outside, invite them into the Tomb. Try to keep them alive and unharmed as much as possible. Also, have the Homunuculus maids gather at the 9th floor to guard against possible intruders and bring one of the Pleiades battle maids assist you."
"As you command, my Lord." Sebas' deep voice echoed throughout the Throne Room as he and the rest of the maids stood and left the room to carry out their orders.
So, they can follow commands not explicitly stated in Yggdrasil. There's no video game A.I. that could understand such a complex multi-variable instruction as the one I just gave him. I'm - no, we're not in Yggdrasil anymore. Is this another game? Satoru wasn't sure if this realization gave him a small measure of comfort or worried him more.
"Are there any orders for me, Lord Momonga?" Albedo asked in her smooth-sounding voice. She seemed eager to prove herself for being unable to help earlier.
Satoru stared at her for a moment. The NPCs I've seen so far still seem loyal to me… are their backstories intact as well? Satoru thought of the last line of text he added to Albedo just moments before. Is she waiting for my orders because she is loyal or is it because she might love me? Is this permanent or can their loyalty change based on my decisions from here on out? Satoru didn't know.
"Albedo," Momonga said as he tried to keep himself calm for what he was preparing to do. "come here for a moment."
"Yes, of course!" She replied happily as she moved animatedly towards him. If Satoru could still 'gulp' in his undead body, he would have at how close Albedo had gotten to him. Wow, she smells nice! He thought as he got a whiff of some sort of clean, floral scent that assaulted his- Wait a second, there's no smell in Yggdrasil! How can I even smell in this skeletal body? Satoru felt his nervousness rise as this realization coupled with how close Albedo continued to get to him. Is she inching closer because I haven't told her to stop or- He had to stop his line of thought and say nervously, "T-That's fine, A-Albedo." She was so close their noses were almost touching and she still had that alluring, shy smile from before… thought now her cheeks had gained a rosy tint to them.
I need to see what else is different he thought. Momonga reached out to Albedo's arm and lightly grabbed her wrist with his skeletal hand. He knew he had made a mistake as she visibility flinched and pulled back slightly from him while her face cringed slightly. Wait, did I just hurt her? I didn't grab her that rough- Then it hit him.
In Yggdrasil, Undead had an inherent ability to cause harm to living creatures by touching them. It was a skill that could be toggled on and off, because of his constant creature-farming that he did to earn enough to keep the guild running he rarely ever turned it off as it helped to deal with creatures more quickly. He silently cursed this oversight and after focusing, found that he could still disable the skill. "I'm sorry Albedo, I didn't mean to hurt you… how careless of me." He said as he bowed his head slightly in apology.
She made a face as she bowed her head back to him. "N-no, Lord Momonga. This pain is nothing." Satoru hesitantly reached his hand out to her again and he noticed her tense slightly and then return to normal when it was clear there was no pain.
She has a pulse! Satoru thought in amazement. He furrowed his non-existent brows as he felt her pulse noticeably quicken. Is she still frightened of me? He gazed up at her as she seemed to be fidgeting on the spot, her cheeks had darkened slightly, and her breath had quickened. My eyesight and hearing have improved dramatically… and there is no fatigue, is this another benefit of my current body? Satoru knew he wouldn't normally have spotted those details before. Distracted, he let go of her wrist.
Momonga could see the reflective red dots of his undead eyes as he gazed at Albedo's cat-like yellow eyes. He swallowed down his nervousness and pulled upon the courage of his past experiences as guild master: organizing raids on other guilds and dungeons, settling arguments between members - and cleared his throat audibly as he prepared himself for the words he was about to utter. Ok, Momonga, act natural. This is no big deal it's just an experiment. Yes, it's for the good of Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown. If she's in love with me she will agree to it no matter what.
"A-Albedo, may I kiss you?" Even mentally preparing himself, Momonga couldn't keep the nervous stutter from his voice. "Y-You don't mind, r-right?"
"Eh?" Albedo didn't move or even make any other moment to show that she had heard him and indeed even her face had seemed to freeze. Shit! I blew it! I'm her superior, what kind of person am I to try to force myself upon one of my subordinates? How many harassment-free workplace laws did I just viola- Satoru felt a profound sense of shame at this thought for a moment before he felt exceedingly calm again. What the-
During his self-inflicted shame, Albedo had seemed to snap out of her stupor. "Nothing would please me more, Lord Momonga!" Her smile, if it had the softness of candlelight before, had grown as intense as the Sun now. She almost unconsciously licked her lips, a fact Momonga noticed with his heightened senses on full alert. She tilted her head to the side as she leaned more toward him, avoiding crashing their noses together.
Even though there's still a slight possibility that this is still a game… would this count as my first kiss? Satoru had no idea how he was so calm about this. The one time a girl had tried to kiss him was when recess was still a part of his day back in grade school. He had been so nervous he had panicked even then, stumbling backwards and hitting his head painfully on a desk.
There were no fireworks. There was no sound or heartbeat inside his head. From one moment to the next there was nothing and then he felt something unbelievably soft press against his lips as hers met his. Wait… how is she not hitting my skull? How am I even able to feel this? I have lips? Nothing answered his thoughts and he had trouble thinking of anything but how great Albedo smelt, how soft her lips were, and it was but a moment that went by before her started to emulate her. Satoru was by far no expert but Albedo couldn't be that experienced either, or so he hoped.
This seemed to encourage her as she leaned more into him. He felt hesitant light caresses on the sides of his face, as if she wasn't sure if she should do anything else. Alright Satoru, if there was any time to be a man and take charge it would be now… for science he finished lamely. He let go of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown he had been holding throughout this whole exchange. He didn't feel quite adventurous or knowledgeable enough to know what he should do or grab in this situation but judging by how Albedo was most certainly not pulling away, he appeared to be doing something right at least.
He reached his skeletal hand up to lightly caress her face, mirroring her actions at first. She felt her lean into his touch and her hot breath washed across his face as she sighed through her nose, unwilling to break their liplock. He then glided his hand to the back of her head until he came across a protrusion sticking out from it. Ah, her horns. He applied a bit of pressure to the back of her head as he deepened the kiss. She reciprocated and he felt the courage to do something with his other hand, so he reached up and grabbed her dress-clothed breast.
That appeared to set something off in her. Momonga had trouble keeping track of the order that the next few things happened in.
He felt a breeze and a flapping noise, like a bird, in the still Throne Room and realized her wings were fluttering. Reverberations traveled from her mouth through his and a pleasant 'humm' came from her throat as she pressed her chest more against his hand as she clasped the back of his hand on her breast and held it there. Her other hand moved immediately down to his chest to steady herself.
Or so he thought.
If he had lungs in this body his breath would have caught in his throat as he felt her small delicate hands sliding into the opening of his robes and travel down… What does she expect to find? I'm a skeleton, I don't have a- Momonga gasped in surprise as he felt her hand wrap around his incredibly hard erection and found her skin was incredibly cool to the touch. During most of the kiss he had felt a slowly building tightness behind his navel, as if he were trying to squeeze through a tight space. What the hell? Is this because of my account purchase?
Because of his form he assumed it was some sort of faint impression left over from his humanity. Satoru had heard of a sort of 'ghost limb' that he had sometimes heard of when a person had a limb surgically removed and had assumed that is what he was experiencing. He knew better now. I have to stop this. I don't even fully know the limits of my body right now, I could hurt her! He let go of Albedo's chest and grabbed her by the shoulders to push her away at arms' length, enough that her hand slid out of his robes.
Albedo seemed to have misinterpreted his intentions.
"It's happening, isn't it?" Albedo, Momonga noticed, was incredibly red-faced and seemed to be squirming where she was standing and there was a look in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. What? He asked himself, dumbfounded.
"My first time will be in the Throne Room, My Lord?" She asked. She started speaking even more quickly. "Yes, if that is what you wish it is no problem! Should I take off my clothes or would you like to do that yourself? Perhaps we could un-wrap each other… or we could leave our clothes on if you wish. … Though they will get dirty… no, if that is what you wish, Lord Momonga, it will be so!" Satoru could almost see her thoughts in her eyes as she grew more and more excited and unsure.
"U-un-wrap?" Momonga couldn't remember a time in his entire life that he was as nervous as he was right now. After a moment that feeling unnaturally quenched itself as he was left feeling calm again… before his nervousness resurged only to be brought back down again. Momonga felt like a ping pong ball.
He cleared his throat. "A-Albedo, my apologies, but I'm afraid we don't have time for such things now. Moreover, I'm sorry for letting my desires run rampant... I do indeed have orders for you." Satoru hated himself in that moment as he visibly saw her disappointed posture. The 180 flip in her demeanor was jarring. She straightened as she turned to her 'business mode', though Satoru could tell her shy smile was not faked for his sake, nor was the occasional twitches that ran through her body or the way she silently mouthed '-esires' several times.
"Yes, of course. I await your orders." came the reply as she kneeled back down before him.
Momonga took a moment to gather his thoughts. My own body aside, I need to confirm the state of the other NPCs. I need to see firsthand their actions towards me and ensure I can count on them as allies in the days to come. We still don't know the extent of the situation. "Except for the guardians of the Fourth and Eighth floors, I need you and the other guardians to gather at the Grand Arena on the 6th floor in one hour. I will inform the guardians of the 6th floor myself, so there is no need to inform them."
"Consider it done, my Lord." came the reply. She got up and proceeded to carry out his will.
Momonga waited until he could no longer hear her soft footsteps before he slouched in the Throne. Less than an hour and I'm already feeling stressed… but there'll be time for relaxing later. I need to make sure all of my skills and abilities are usable. He eyed the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown on his finger. This is as good a time as any. He thought before he grabbed the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown and activated the teleportation ability of the ring and disappeared from the Throne Room.
A/N: Not much will change from canon in the first few scenes, however more and more things will change as the story progresses. Please R&R. This story will be cross-posted under the same name on AO3 with scenes that had to be removed for FF.