"Um, may I ask, Father-sama, what brings you to the floor we guard?"
While his head was still being gently patted, Mare looked up at Naohara with curiosity and asked.
"Mare, that's far too rude. Father-sama and the other two Supreme Beings are the rulers of Nazarick. How can a subordinate speak so carelessly?"
Aura shot Mare an annoyed look. His question was simply too presumptuous, and by addressing only Father-sama, he risked leaving the other two Supreme Beings standing nearby in an awkward position. She quickly spoke up to smooth things over.
"It's fine. Since you're Naohara's children, there's no need to be so restrained."
Momonga said calmly. After that brief period of reflection earlier, he had taken his former boss as a model and gained a rough understanding of what a ruler's bearing should be like. Perhaps because he had become undead, he realized that his memory and learning ability had improved significantly, which soothed his previously wounded little heart somewhat.
Mm, let's hold off on destroying everything for now.
'Have they already completely centered themselves around Naohara?'
Looking at the two Dark Elves before him, Momonga thought to himself. Their attitude had clearly changed. Before, they treated everyone equally, but now they were gradually leaning toward Naohara.
It seemed NPCs really did possess a high degree of autonomy. Even when their status was the same, they would still favor the one they liked more.
Come to think of it, was Naohara's earlier behavior meant to test that autonomy? I never would've guessed. That guy had already planned all this out. Looks like I've been slacking off too much. No, I need to work harder. I can't let Naohara's efforts go to waste.
"Aura, Mare, did either of you feel anything strange just now?"
After thinking it over, Momonga asked the two of them.
Although the transmigration had given NPCs intelligence, Momonga wanted to see whether there were any other changes he could uncover.
"Huh? Just now? I didn't feel anything strange. We were patrolling here like usual."
Aura scratched her head, closed her eyes as she thought it over, then replied a little sheepishly.
"I see."
Momonga's gaze flickered slightly. Then he seemed to recall something and continued.
"Herohero, Naohara, and I came here because we have something to discuss. I've already asked Albedo to notify the Floor Guardians of the other levels. They should be arriving soon."
"Since there's still some time, would you like to try being my opponent?"
"A battle… with Momonga-sama?"
Aura froze, then hurriedly waved her hands in refusal.
"No, no way! Fighting a Supreme Being would be a grave act of disrespect!"
Mare, standing beside her, nodded repeatedly in agreement.
In their hearts, a Supreme Being was the strongest existence there was. As creations of the Supreme Beings, how could they possibly dare to raise a hand against one of them?
"It's nothing serious, just a small test. You wouldn't refuse my invitation, would you?"
Momonga lowered his voice as he spoke to Aura, but the will behind his words left no room for refusal.
"Alright… if it's only a test…"
Aura glanced at Naohara standing nearby. Seeing that he made no move to stop it, she finally gritted her teeth and nodded.
"Hey, Momonga! Are you seriously going to fight a Floor Guardian? Isn't that way too risky? Why not wait a bit?"
Watching from the sidelines, Herohero hurriedly contacted Momonga through Message, calling out to him with obvious concern.
This is way too reckless. In Herohero's view, it would make more sense to let the two Floor Guardians fight each other while they simply observed. That way, they could assess the Guardians' strength without taking any risks themselves.
But Momonga charging straight in like this gave him a real scare. Seriously, you're an undead already, do you really have to be this reckless?
"Herohero, this is my decision. And I already said it's just a small test, so don't get so worked up. Besides, aren't you and Naohara here as well?"
Hearing his friend's anxious voice, Momonga quickly tried to reassure him. This was a plan he had carefully thought through, and he also genuinely wanted to understand the true strength of the Floor Guardians.
"Alright, that's enough. You two, stop arguing."
Listening to the two of them bicker back and forth through Message, Naohara finally stepped in to put an end to the pointless exchange.
"Naohara, you need to talk some sense into Momonga. This is far too dangerous. We clearly have safer options."
"I told you, Herohero, I'll be fine."
"And how can you be so sure? What if something goes wrong?"
In this argument, Momonga was completely on the defensive. Herohero kept trying to persuade him to give up the fight, but with little effect.
"Herohero, there's no point. We all know what Momonga is like. He hesitates and fumbles when he's undecided, but once he's made up his mind, he'll never back down. You won't be able to change it."
Naohara explained patiently.
When Momonga was uncertain, he tended to panic and lose his composure. But once he committed to a decision, he would charge forward without hesitation. Even as his close friend, Naohara had no way of stopping him.
"But… fine. Momonga, Naohara and I will keep an eye on things. Just be careful."
Herohero wanted to say more, but in the end, he gave in and offered a cautious warning.
Naohara felt a quiet sense of understanding. He knew why Herohero was acting this way. The death of a certain companion back in the real world had clearly left a deep mark on him.
Momonga finally let out a breath of relief. There was nothing he could do about his friend's concern. Even though he wouldn't change his decision, letting things continue like that would only strain his relationship with Herohero, which was the last thing he wanted. Thankfully, Naohara had intervened in time and prevented the situation from spiraling any further.
"Let's begin."
Momonga steadied himself and walked slowly toward the center of the arena, addressing Aura.
Aura turned to look at Naohara. His warm hand rested gently on her head, and his voice reached her ear.
"Go on. Treat it as my command. Opportunities to spar with a Supreme Being are rare. Do your best, Aura."
Naohara encouraged her, sensing her hesitation. He needed to ease the doubts in her heart.
"If this is Father-sama's order, then I'll give it everything I've got."
Aura took a deep breath and leaped straight into the center of the arena.
"Momonga-sama, I'll fight with all my strength. Please be careful."
Aura looked straight at Momonga, her voice firm, as her weapon materialized in her hands.
"That's good. Let me see the full extent of your strength."
Momonga replied. He extended his bony hand and drew a staff out of the void.
The staff was called [Dragonkin's Blessing], a divine-class artifact he and Naohara had obtained by defeating a hidden boss before the server shut down.