Just as Ren Kuroda had known from the story he remembered, the entire guild of Ainz Ooal Gown, as the fourth wave of players transported from YGGDRASIL, had been brought to another world.
And the NPCs of the Great Tomb of Nazarick—the guardians and battle maids who had once only existed as game data—had now become living beings.
They possessed their own thoughts and personalities.
They were no longer mere AI programs that could only act according to prewritten commands.
Even Momonga, after being transported to this world, had undergone certain changes.
Because the race of his character was Undead, the mindset he once had as a human had gradually begun to shift.
Originally, he had been human.
Now, he was undead.
Just like the forced calmness buff that constantly suppressed his emotional fluctuations, Momonga's way of thinking had subtly changed along with his race.
His memories and intelligence remained the same.
But when considering problems now, he no longer placed himself in the position of a human being.
And the reason was simple.
His alignment value now stood at –500 Justice, the extreme end of evil.
Furthermore, since most members of Ainz Ooal Gown had been heteromorphic races themselves, the NPCs they created were also mostly nonhuman.
Just like Momonga, when these NPCs arrived in this world, their alignment values were heavily influenced by their original race settings.
Which meant that, in the eyes of most people…
The guardians and battle maids of Nazarick were essentially true villains.
It was worth mentioning that after Ren's own transfer, he also gained an alignment attribute.
His Justice value was +100.
Among the residents of Nazarick, he was one of the few who could be considered relatively righteous.
Alignment values—whether positive or negative—had a maximum magnitude of 500.
Which meant Momonga and most of Nazarick's guardians had already reached a level of evil that was practically rotten to the core.
As for Ren—
With a Justice value of 100, he wasn't exactly a shining hero.
But he still possessed a basic sense of conscience and moral boundaries.
At best, he could be described as somewhat neutral.
"Overseer of the Guardians, Albedo, together with the Floor Guardians of Nazarick and the Pleiades, offer our highest respect to the two Supreme Beings."
Because the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick had been transported to this world, the NPCs had become beings similar to Ren and Momonga.
After the transfer, they not only gained independent personalities—
They didn't even seem to realize that anything had changed.
In their memories, the Great Tomb of Nazarick had been created by forty-two Supreme Beings.
But for unknown reasons, the other forty gradually left.
In the end, only the two Supreme Beings standing before them remained.
At present, the main combat strength of Nazarick—excluding certain hidden or restricted forces—consisted of the following:
Albedo, the succubus serving as Overseer of the Guardians.
Shalltear Bloodfallen, the vampire guardian of Floors One through Three.
Cocytus, the insectoid warrior king who guarded the Fifth Floor.
The twin dark elf guardians of the Sixth Floor: Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fiore.
The guardian of the Seventh Floor, the highest-ranking demon: Demiurge.
And finally, the butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the dragonoid Sebas Tian.
All of them were Level 100 NPCs, the highest level possible.
They were currently the strongest combat forces within Nazarick.
Behind them knelt the Pleiades Battle Maids.
Although their combat abilities were far below the guardians, their average level was still around Level 40 to 50.
As one of the strongest guilds in the entire game of YGGDRASIL, the Great Tomb of Nazarick naturally possessed far more NPCs than this.
However, each one was responsible for guarding their assigned domain.
Unless special circumstances occurred—or unless commanded by the Supreme Beings—they would not leave their designated areas.
Looking at the many NPCs of Nazarick now standing alive before him, Momonga felt utterly astonished.
Yet because of the forced calmness buff, his expression remained completely composed.
Meanwhile, Albedo and the others kneeling below interpreted his calm demeanor as perfectly natural.
To them, a Supreme Being should behave exactly like this.
When he had first arrived in this world, Momonga had indeed been somewhat panicked.
But after hearing from Ren that the NPCs of Nazarick might have become real living beings, Momonga's first thought had been to summon all the guardians.
After all, the only remaining members of the guild were himself and Ren.
And his own class was primarily support-oriented.
If the NPCs of Nazarick truly possessed independent will and intelligence—and worse, if they developed hostile intentions toward them—
Then the two of them would stand no chance against the combined might of Nazarick.
That was why the current scene had occurred.
Momonga activated his Level 100 skill, "Despair Aura."
A crushing pressure radiated outward toward the kneeling guardians below.
On one hand, it demonstrated the overwhelming power of a Supreme Being.
On the other, it served as a test of loyalty.
However, watching this unfold, Ren couldn't help but feel that Momonga's actions were completely unnecessary.
The NPCs of Nazarick might betray anyone in the world—
But they would never betray their creators.
Perhaps because they had once been NPCs, their minds seemed deeply engraved with one fundamental directive:
The Supreme Beings are everything.
To them, the two remaining Supreme Beings of Nazarick were more important than their own lives.
"Guardians present," Momonga finally spoke.
"I wish to hear your thoughts."
"How do you regard the existence of myself… and Ren?"
Albedo immediately answered.
"Lord Momonga and Lord Ren are the Supreme Beings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the ultimate symbols of power!"
"And Lord Momonga is also the one I love most deeply!"
Shalltear followed without hesitation.
"The aura emanating from Lord Momonga is so powerful it excites me to the point of… getting wet!"
"But the one I truly love is only Lord Ren. That will never change, no matter what happens."
Ignoring the shamelessly perverted declarations of the two women, Momonga quickly turned his attention to the other guardians.
He had a rough idea why Albedo and Shalltear behaved this way.
Cocytus spoke next.
"Unlike the other Supreme Beings, you chose not to abandon Nazarick and instead remained here."
"For that reason, I believe the two of you are Supreme Beings who are both merciful and powerful."
Demiurge nodded in agreement.
"I share Cocytus's opinion."
"Both Supreme Beings are symbols of strength and wisdom, figures we must admire and serve for all eternity."
Aura and Mare barely spoke at all.
Instead, whenever another guardian spoke, the twins simply nodded their heads vigorously in agreement.
After this round of questioning, Momonga had essentially confirmed one thing:
The NPCs of Nazarick had no possibility of betrayal.
But immediately afterward, a new problem emerged.
Momonga suddenly had no idea what to say next.
After all, being transported to another world was a first-time experience for him.
So while the guardians knelt before him awaiting orders—
Momonga quietly shot a sideways glance at Ren.
His eyes seemed to ask:
What do we do now?
For the NPCs of Nazarick, yesterday and today were essentially the same.
They had no idea anything unusual had happened.
So at this moment, they were also confused.
Why had the Supreme Beings suddenly summoned them all?
What important matter required their presence?