After leaving the Sixth Floor, Naohara headed to the Eighth Floor.
Pushing open the ancient door, a silent wasteland came into view.
At first glance, the endless plain looked ordinary, but it was actually filled with countless deadly traps.
Violent winds constantly swept up sand and dust. A few withered trees stood scattered across the barren land, and fragments of bones could be seen half-buried beneath the shifting sand.
Considering the preferences of Nazarick's 42 Players, the design of the Eighth Floor perfectly matched the image of a grand tomb.
"Naohara-sama."
A small creature floated over to Naohara.
It was about one meter in size, shaped like an embryo with a tail, and its body glowed with an unusually bright pink color.
It was Victim, one of the guardians of the Eighth Floor and Nazarick's final line of defense.
"Where is Sephis?"
Seeing that only Victim was present, Naohara asked with some confusion.
"Sephis-sama was invited by Albedo-sama to attend a tea gathering."
"These past few days, Albedo-sama has often come to chat with Sephis-sama."
Victim replied respectfully.
A tea gathering?
Are those two really that close?
Naohara stroked his chin as his thoughts rapidly spread.
A knowledge video from an uploader in his first life surfaced in his mind.
The topic had been Albedo's background setting.
"The Supreme One Assassination Squad…"
The thought suddenly crossed Naohara's mind.
It wasn't malicious speculation. There was some basis for it.
The original author had indeed hinted that Albedo once had such an idea, and had even formed something called the "Supreme Investigation Squad."
"Hopefully I'm just overthinking it."
Naohara's expression remained calm, but he kept the possibility in mind.
He looked toward Victim and continued.
"What is the status of those special NPCs on the Eighth Floor?"
The special NPCs of the Eighth Floor were also known as mercenary NPCs.
Strictly speaking, these NPCs were completely different from beings like Albedo.
They did not consume many NPC creation points, but they required an enormous amount of data.
The process of creating these special NPCs was extremely complicated.
Their materials came from the corpses left behind by various World-class Bosses, forcibly fused together through a method that was almost like exploiting a bug.
The idea was inspired by the process Tabula Smaragdina used to create Rubedo, though the method itself was different.
Although these special NPCs were not as strong as true World-class Bosses, their base attributes far surpassed those of ordinary Players.
To put it simply, in a one-on-one battle, these special NPCs could not defeat Rubedo when she was equipped with the World-class Item [Caloric Stone].
However, if one of them were equipped with a World-class Item and thus ignored the special ability granted to Rubedo by the [Caloric Stone], any one of these special NPCs would have a very high chance of defeating her.
Even among Nazarick's 42 members, only a handful could defeat these NPCs.
(Web version setting: even if Momonga were fully equipped and had complete knowledge of his opponent, his win rate against these special NPCs would be at most 30%.)
Victim's usual duty was to monitor these special NPCs.
"They remain in a dormant state. Their condition is currently very stable. If Naohara-sama requires it, they can be awakened at any time."
Victim replied without hesitation. He constantly kept watch over those special NPCs in case they lost control.
The probability was extremely small, but it was not impossible.
If those special NPCs were ever to go out of control, Victim would immediately self-destruct to prevent the situation from worsening.
"Good. You've worked hard."
"Keep monitoring their condition at all times. If anything unexpected happens, inform me immediately. I will personally suppress them."
"Yes. This subordinate will remember it well."
Victim replied firmly.
Although he knew how powerful those special NPCs were, Victim still believed without reservation that Naohara could suppress them.
Aside from a few exceptions, Nazarick's NPCs possessed an almost fanatical trust in the Supreme Beings.
(Unless it involved their Creator, or special cases like Momonga who had altered their settings.)
(Fun fact: in an interview, the original author once said that if Momonga ordered Demiurge to assassinate another Supreme Being, Demiurge would try every possible way to make the mission fail.)
(However, if the order came from Ulbert, his Creator, Demiurge would carry it out without hesitation.)
After confirming that everything was in order, Naohara patted Victim on the head as a reward.
Then, under Victim's gaze, he continued toward the deepest part of the Eighth Floor.
The Cherry Blossom Sanctuary.
It was enveloped by complex magic barriers, making the inside impossible to see with the naked eye. It was also one of the few areas where the Guild Ring could not be used for teleportation.
Passing through the Magic Barrier, several girls in fox masks and a boy in a sun mask came toward him.
The girls were mercenary NPCs named [Uka-no-Mitama], each as high as level 85.
The boy was set as [Uka-no-Mitama]'s older brother.
His name was Ootoshi, also a level 85 mercenary NPC.
They served under Aureole, the guardian of the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary. After being strengthened by her, Ootoshi could, for a short time, contend with weaker level 100 Players.
Their main responsibilities were to assist Aureole in watching over the true Guild weapon, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, and to guard Nazarick's strongest single-target existence, Rubedo.
That was right.
Rubedo was sleeping in the deepest part of the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary.
It was all intentional.
Both Rubedo and the special NPCs carried the risk of losing control and going berserk, but neither would ever violate their most fundamental setting: protect the Guild weapon.
And considering the other possibilities, if either side went out of control while Naohara and the others were away, the other could be deployed to respond.
If Rubedo lost control, they would awaken the sleeping special NPCs. With Victim and Aureole working together, they would suppress her.
If the special NPCs lost control, it would be the reverse: awaken Rubedo and use her to help suppress them.
"Naohara-sama, welcome."
A faint scent of cherry blossoms drifted in on the air, followed by light, graceful footsteps.
A young woman in shrine maiden attire approached with a gentle smile and performed an ancient formal salute.
"Aureole, how is Herohero?"
Naohara first glanced toward the direction where Rubedo slept, confirming everything was fine, then asked the question.
Herohero was sleeping within the World-Class Item [Depiction of Nature and Society], under Aureole's supervision.
The main reason Naohara had come was to confirm Herohero's current condition.
"Herohero-sama still has no response. His consciousness remains dormant."
"I was planning to report it to the two Supreme Ones soon."
Aureole spoke softly, her expression troubled.
That a Supreme One like Herohero still had not awakened placed enormous pressure on Aureole as the one responsible for watching over him.
"I see. Then I'll go check for myself."
Naohara's brows drew together, his mood turning heavy as he spoke decisively.
"As you command, Naohara-sama."
Led by Aureole, Naohara passed through a maze of traps until they arrived beneath an enormous cherry blossom tree.
Amid a sky full of drifting petals, a massive scroll floated in midair.
It was the World-Class Item [Depiction of Nature and Society]!
Naohara raised a hand and released the seal. A vortex appeared, and he stepped into it without hesitation.