A Journey Through Worlds Beginning with the Supreme Sovereign

Momonga's terrifying skeletal head hurriedly shook from side to side, refusing to admit that he had gotten emotional just now.

Still, those few brief words with Saigō warmed Momonga's heart.

Back when all the members of Ainz Ooal Gown were still around, they used to laugh and chat like this.

At that moment, Saigō slowly walked over to the enormous throne and sat down. He took out a book and began flipping through it.

Momonga secretly glanced over and saw that the book in Saigō's hand was titled Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Momonga knew that it was the work of a German philosopher named Nietzsche from over two hundred years ago.

It was not because Momonga himself was particularly learned. Saigō simply read that book all the time, and Momonga had grown curious enough to look it up online.

"Zarathustra, are you logging off soon, or are you planning to stay until the servers shut down?"

Hope tinged Momonga's scarlet gaze as he asked carefully.

"I'll stay with you until the servers shut down. There isn't much time left anyway."

Saigō casually replied after glancing at the countdown on his interface.

Hearing Saigō's answer, joy seeped into Momonga's heart. His thoughts stirred excitedly as he tried hard to find a topic to talk about.

"HeroHero logged in earlier, but he logged out again after only a few minutes. You could tell he was exhausted in real life."

Momonga sighed. He completely understood why HeroHero had logged out early.

As a fellow corporate slave, a screw in this Cyberpunk society, Momonga deeply sympathized with HeroHero's exhaustion.

"Oh, right. HeroHero said there might be a Yggdrasills 2. If there really is, Zarathustra, would you come play with us?"

Momonga suddenly remembered something and quickly asked.

Saigō closed the book in his hand. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "...I haven't heard anything about a Yggdrasills 2 being developed."

Momonga was immediately disappointed.

"Is that so? Then I guess HeroHero got false information."

Momonga trusted Saigō completely.

He knew that Saigō must have held a high position in real life. If even he said so, then it had to be true.

"You needn't be like this, Momonga. People meet and part, just as the moon waxes and wanes. No feast lasts forever."

"...No matter what, we laughed and enjoyed ourselves together, spending so many happy years in this game."

"Keep those feelings engraved in your heart. Taking them out now and then to reminisce over them will make them among the most important memories of our lives."

Saigō offered Momonga a few words of comfort.

He knew Momonga wanted to rebuild Ainz Ooal Gown in another game, but Saigō knew that was merely wishful thinking.

People could not live in games for their entire lives. Especially after starting families, they would always have to set games aside.

The members of Ainz Ooal Gown had long since scattered to every corner of the world. Just as Saigō said, they had become precious memories.

"I understand, Zarathustra. It's just that sometimes, I still can't accept it."

Momonga lowered his head and spoke bitterly.

Saigō changed the subject. "...I remember you complained about your real-life job when we last met. Are you still doing that job?"

"Yeah, I'm still doing it. Zarathustra, you know how high unemployment is these days. It isn't easy just to have a job. No matter how tiring it is, I have to keep at it."

The moment Saigō mentioned the real world, Momonga felt a headache coming on.

One reason he cared so much about Ainz Ooal Gown was that he wanted to escape reality.

"In that case, give me your contact information. I'll get in touch after we log off and help you find an easy, simple job with a high income."

Saigō lazily said as he reclined against the massive throne.

"Th-this... wouldn't that be inappropriate? Wouldn't it cause you trouble?"

Momonga was overjoyed, and even his voice trembled.

"It won't be any trouble. It's a small matter. We've been friends for nearly twelve years, after all. Helping a friend with something this minor is only natural."

Saigō waved his hand dismissively.

Momonga was deeply moved.

If the circumstances had been different, he would have wanted to rush over, hug Saigō's leg, and shout, "...Boss, carry me!"

Momonga did not feel embarrassed or ashamed about it. He had done exactly that in the game before.

Momonga could not help sighing. Just as everyone had imagined, Zarathustra was a big shot in real life too.

In today's society, anyone who could easily accomplish something like this was someone who truly wielded power.

The two continued chatting idly. When there were only five minutes left before the server shutdown, both Saigō and Momonga fell silent without prior agreement.

Momonga stared blankly at the countdown. He was reluctant to let go, yet he also felt a sense of relief.

He did not feel too sad or lonely, because this time, a friend was accompanying him to the very end.

Saigō once again flipped through the book in his hands, but his attention was not on its pages. He merely stared at the countdown, his heart filled with unease.

This was the second world Saigō had traveled to.

After "dying" in the experiment called the "Third Star Particle" in the world known as Little Garden, Saigō had traveled here.

He had still been a baby, but this time his luck had not been as good. He had not been born into wealth and privilege, instead becoming someone at the bottom of society.

What delighted Saigō was that this journey had not started from nothing. The mysterious object called the "Third Star Particle" had continued flowing through his blood.

Although the "Third Star Particle" had not granted Saigō world-destroying power, it had given him a physique and intelligence beyond those of ordinary people.

Though the overall social environment of this world was excessively bleak, he believed that with this cheat, he could easily rise above others.

With longing and hope for the future, Saigō lived through more than ten years of his life like this.

Even in a world where social classes had become utterly rigid, he had relied on his outstanding intelligence to leap continuously through the ranks.

Just as Saigō had set himself the goal of researching the "Third Star Particle" in his blood once he acquired sufficient power, he had heard his father mention in the laboratory that this thing was related to a Third Kind Perpetual Motion Machine.

As it happened, the world he now lived in was suffering from an energy crisis.

As long as he developed a Third Kind Perpetual Motion Machine, he would become humanity's savior, completely rewrite human civilization, and gain supreme prestige and power.

This was the goal Saigō had set for himself: to become humanity's "Emperor"!

But the appearance of the game Yggdrasills interrupted Saigō's plans. He discovered that he was actually in the world of Overlord!

Saigō had only watched the first season of that anime. While he did not know what happened afterward, he still knew the basic setting.

Under such circumstances, he naturally entered the game, joined Ainz Ooal Gown, and spared no expense, spending money and grinding relentlessly.

At the same time, with his consciousness and physical reaction speed surpassing those of ordinary people, he became world champion for five consecutive years, gaining tremendous prestige and benefits.

Saigō had even considered whether he could use real-world methods to directly alter the game's data.

But in the end, that idea came to nothing.

In the social climate of that time, the first to release virtual games in response to the calls of governments around the world were the great financial conglomerates of each nation.

Even with intelligence far beyond ordinary people, in this society where class divisions were so rigid, Saigō believed it would take him at least another five to ten years to reach that level.

Yet Saigō vaguely felt that some kind of "will," some kind of "principle," seemed to be preventing him from doing so.

That was why he could not accomplish that goal during the game's twelve years of operation.

He even had a premonition that the values within this game were not game data at all, but power that truly belonged to him!

This game had merely manifested his power as numbers. Even altering them would be useless.

Forget it. If I really tampered with the game data, perhaps this kind of journey would never happen again.

...Compared to the crushing despair of reality in this world, a world of swords and magic is much more interesting.

If I fail to travel again this time, then at worst, I'll continue researching the Third Kind Perpetual Motion Machine.

With those thoughts, the unease in Saigō's heart vanished without a trace.

Whether he could travel again or not, he had already prepared a way forward for himself.

Besides this game, Saigō also had an even greater secret, one connected to that dark space where his consciousness had once existed.

23:59:10, 9--

Looking at the countdown on the screen, Momonga turned to Saigō and said, "...Then, Zarathustra, shall we contact each other in real life later?"

"...Oh, right. After knowing you for so long, I still don't know what you're called in real life."

Momonga rubbed his bald head and said awkwardly.

"Saigō!"

Saigō declared firmly.

At the same time, the number on the timer changed to 0:00:00.

"Hm?"

Momonga realized that he had not been forcibly kicked offline, and the timer's numbers continued moving forward.

What's going on? Is there server lag?

Momonga pondered uncertainly.

But at that moment, the expression on Saigō's demon face, formed from Black Flame, changed slightly.

He could clearly feel the power surging from within his body.

That power roared. That power raged. It was as though Saigō truly possessed the ability to grant all things decay, becoming one of the Six Great Devils of Zoroastrianism!

At the same time, the "Third Star Particle," which had always flowed slowly through his body, suddenly stirred and began rushing endlessly within him.

As the "Third Star Particle" surged, "energy" emerged from nothing!

Just as Saigō was immersed in this sudden "power," a female voice, respectful yet innocent and seductive, rang out through the throne room:

"...What are your orders, two Supreme Sovereign Lords?"

Saigō came back to his senses and slowly turned his head toward his side.

The beautiful pure-white demon was lowering her head, a faint smile resting on her lips.

That statue, as beautiful as a Goddess, had finally come to life.

Saigō rested one hand beneath his chin and studied the pure-white demon with great interest for a long while. Then his tone changed as he gave a low, commanding order filled with majesty:

"...Come here. Crawl before me, Albedo!"

God is Dead

(Thank you all for supporting this new book!)

(I really can't guarantee the update speed this time. After writing for so many years, my hands are genuinely worn out, and my occupational injury is serious. Sorry~)

"Yes, Lord Zarathustra!"

Hearing Saigō's command, one that nearly trampled her self-respect completely beneath his feet, Albedo did not hesitate in the slightest.

The beautiful pure-white demon answered respectfully, then approached in light, graceful steps, wearing a gown that displayed her figure to its fullest.

Albedo's steps were light and elegant, like those of a refined young lady from a distinguished family.

Her slender, jade-like hands were covered in white silk gloves. She walked before Saigō, bent her incomparably lovely waist, and prostrated herself upon the ground in the utmost display of submission.

A faint fragrance wafted into his nose. That enticing scent made the Black Flame forming Saigō's demonic body tremble slightly.

Saigō raised an eyebrow. This demon truly possessed an indescribable attraction to males, making one desperately want to claim her as a forbidden possession and imprison her forever in one's palm.

But although Albedo's tone was respectful, when she knelt, Saigō could still see from her exquisite face a twisted love, sick with obsession and hazy desire.

Hm, what was Albedo's setting again?

Saigō revealed a thoughtful expression.

He had watched the first season of Overlord before and knew Albedo's original setting.

But that was ultimately only the setting he remembered.