Although Enhela had been taken to the Theocracy by the Six Great Gods, the endless cycle engulfing the Roble Holy Kingdom had still not been broken.
The Crack had stopped spreading, but it had not disappeared. Instead, it remained stretched across the sky like a hideous scar.
Every so often, Chaos Beasts of various shapes and forms would descend through it.
Of course, none of that had much to do with Naohara anymore.
After collecting everything there was to gain, he set off for Nazarick with his mental avatar and the Minotaur Sage.
The White Dragon Lord and the Platinum Dragon Lord, however, did not leave with them.
Given the Roble Holy Kingdom's current situation, someone needed to remain behind and keep watch in case anything unexpected happened again.
The White Dragon Lord volunteered for the job.
He claimed that he was willing to contribute what little strength he had, but Naohara saw through his intentions immediately.
In the end, his so-called "volunteering" was merely a roundabout way of expressing what he really wanted.
He was eager to prove his usefulness, but lacked the strength to do much more.
Naohara's gaze moved across the White Dragon Lord's forehead before settling on the vertical pupil glowing crimson at its center.
The eye looked like a gemstone embedded in his forehead, possessing a strange beauty that made it especially striking.
It was one of the organic components of Naohara's true body, containing a terrifying amount of power and allowing its wielder to indirectly manipulate the power of Catastrophe.
Naohara had temporarily granted the eye to the White Dragon Lord so he could help track down the Minotaur Sage.
Clearly, the White Dragon Lord was afraid Naohara would take it back.
That was why he had offered to remain in the Roble Holy Kingdom, hoping to use that as a reason to keep the vertical pupil.
Naohara thought about it for a moment and decided to simply go along with him.
He already knew what the White Dragon Lord had done throughout the events in the Roble Holy Kingdom. It was fair to say that he had done everything he could.
In that case, there was no harm in letting him keep the eye.
Naohara could simply pretend he'd forgotten about it and never bring up returning it.
As for the Platinum Dragon Lord, he remained as consistent as ever.
The man firmly believed in preserving the balance of the world, so it was perfectly natural for him to volunteer to stay behind as well.
Seeing this, Naohara casually offered him a few words of encouragement before pulling out another Reverse Scale and inserting it into the Platinum Dragon Lord's chest for the second time.
It wasn't because Naohara suspected or distrusted him.
His experiences in the Roble Holy Kingdom had improved his opinion of the Dragon Emperor's son somewhat.
There were three main reasons behind his decision.
First, he still needed to remain cautious of the Dragon Emperor, who might not actually be dead.
Second, the True Dragon Lords led by the Primordial Mother could appear at any time, so precautions had to be taken in advance.
Third, if another new creation of Kuyō descended upon the Roble Holy Kingdom, the Platinum Dragon Lord and the White Dragon Lord needed enough strength to fight it.
After all, the power of Catastrophe was undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to inflict meaningful damage on Kuyō's creations.
On top of that, because of Enhela's Nine Kuyō Divine Right, time within the Roble Holy Kingdom was forever frozen on "yesterday."
Unless someone possessed the power of a World Boss, or could use the Power of Faith to coordinate an attack from both inside and outside as the Six Great Gods had done, no one could escape this land, and outsiders would find it equally difficult to enter.
The entire region had effectively become an isolated dungeon, forever cut off from the real world.
Taking all of this into consideration, Naohara made no attempt to suppress the omnipresent torrent of Catastrophe flowing freely throughout the Roble Holy Kingdom.
Aside from the White Dragon Lord and the Platinum Dragon Lord, the world's malice would indiscriminately attack every living creature moving across this land.
Since it was difficult to accurately identify individual targets, he might as well let the world's malice cover the entire region.
No need to distinguish friend from foe. If it moved, it was an enemy!
Naohara felt that this unique environment could be put to excellent use as a monster-farming area similar to [Demon Gate].
Although the Chaos Beasts were generally low-level and gave very little experience when killed, the Chaos Stones they dropped were extremely valuable materials.
Judging by the effects they had displayed so far, Chaos Stones might even be more useful than experience points.
While patrolling and keeping watch, the White Dragon Lord and Platinum Dragon Lord could also collect the Chaos Stones scattered throughout the region.
They wouldn't even need to fight.
The torrent of Catastrophe itself would deal with every enemy for them.
At the same time, to maintain a connection between the Roble Holy Kingdom and the outside world, Naohara deliberately opened a tiny gap between the two.
From now on, personnel would be sent through that gap into the Roble Holy Kingdom every day.
On one hand, they would handle the delivery and transfer of supplies. On the other, they would ensure that Message communications were not cut off.
If anything unexpected happened, Nazarick would learn about it immediately and could respond without delay.
Everything had been accounted for quite thoroughly.
...
The Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The Supreme Dining Hall.
The Minotaur Sage was hunched over the table, completely absorbed in eating.
Countless delicacies filled the table before him, and he was devouring everything in sight.
Naohara had not lied.
When he said he would invite the Minotaur Sage to a meal, he meant exactly that.
Everything else could wait until after he finished eating. They weren't exactly short on time.
[Damn it. So what if they have a Guild? Even if this Sage dies, at least I'll die with a full stomach.]
The Minotaur Sage viciously bit into the burger in his hand before grabbing the Coke beside him and taking a huge gulp.
At this point, he had more or less given up worrying about what would happen.
Ainz Ooal Gown.
A guild ranked third in the game, based in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, a stronghold renowned for being nearly impossible to conquer.
There was even a famous story about how its mere 42 members had completely annihilated a 1,500-member invasion force, though not everyone in that force had actually been a Player, and no top-ranking guilds had taken part.
The Minotaur Sage had once watched a video online showing the invasion force being completely wiped out on the 8th Floor.
The whole incident had caused quite a stir at the time.
The operators' inbox had been flooded with complaints accusing the guild of using illegal modifications, and the controversy had become widely known among Players.
The Minotaur Sage felt like a lamb that had walked straight into a tiger's den.
After spending six hundred years hiding and avoiding danger, he never imagined he would finally slip up today.
What was this meal supposed to be?
His last meal before execution?
Whatever.
He might as well eat. Refusing wouldn't change anything.
Hmm...
He had to admit, this tasted far better than the food in the New World.
Dying now suddenly felt like kind of a waste.
When fellow countrymen met in a foreign land, they either embraced with tears in their eyes or stabbed each other in the back.
Still, the Six Great Gods seemed to get along with them perfectly well. Maybe he should try to negotiate too?
He was a tutor at the Magic Academy, after all.
Surely that made him one of them... probably?
Besides, a miserable life was still better than a glorious death.
While his thoughts wandered all over the place, the Minotaur Sage quietly glanced toward the two figures standing not far away.
Near the dining table, Naohara was speaking with Momonga.