The Disappearance of Nazarick

Higashino Makoto received the message late at night.

He was lying on Akeno's bed at the time, his golden eyes staring at the ceiling.

His fingers gently combed through the long, black hair, while his other hand rested on the enormous, malevolent object, feeling its soft texture.

Akeno lay on his chest, her red and white shrine maiden robes half-undone, revealing her fair shoulders and deeper marks. Her purple eyes were half-open, and a lazy, satisfied smile played on her lips.

The communication crystal lit up.

It flashed rapidly with a blood-red light; it was the marker for emergency communications.

"Mr. Higashino Makoto, there's news."

"Who sent this, Ainz?"

"It shouldn't be. The mark is from the guild; it's Black Cross."

Higashino Makoto sat up, Akeno slid down from his chest to lean on his shoulder.

He picked up the communication crystal and infused it with magic.

A voice came from the crystal.

His voice was low, rapid, and tinged with barely suppressed shock.

"Higashino, this is Ayami. Urgent information! Nazarick has disappeared."

Higashino Makoto's fingers paused for a moment.

"... What did you say?"

"The Great Tomb of Nazarick vanished completely, along with the forest and the surrounding terrain. Only a massive spatial turbulence remained, slowly expanding."

Where is Ainz?

"Fleet. Lord Ainz should have been inside when Nazarick disappeared."

Higashino Makoto remained silent for a long time.

So long that Akeno's breathing changed from rapid to even, so long that the moonlight outside the window changed from silvery white to pale gold, so long that Ayami, in the communication crystal, thought he had already hung up.

I'll be right there.

He disconnected the communication, stood up, and began to get dressed.

Her long black hair was disheveled, and her dark robe was taken down from the hanger.

"Mr. Higashino Makoto, what's wrong?"

"Nazarick is gone, and Ainz may have disappeared with him."

Akeno's fingers tightened slightly, and she paused for a moment. Then she sat up and began to dress, her movements much faster than usual.

The two walked out of the room, their footsteps echoing in the corridor.

At the end of the corridor, a massive spatial rift silently unfolded.

On the other side of the rift, through the gray sky, withered grass, and the distant land swallowed by spatial turbulence, one could see a view.

The former site of Nazarick.

Higashino Makoto emerged from the rift and stood on a barren piece of land, his golden eyes gazing at the distorted space before him.

Himejima Akeno and Gokusai Kaibi stood behind her.

When was it discovered?

"About two hours ago, the mercenary responsible for monitoring Nazarick reported abnormal magical fluctuations in that forest. I came to investigate myself and saw this."

She pointed to the turbulent space.

The place where the Great Tomb of Nazarick should have stood is now just a desolate wasteland.

The space there is not continuous, but broken layers, like a mille-feuille, or like a shattered mirror being pieced back together.

Occasionally, something would fall out from those spatial rifts.

A pebble appeared out of nowhere, bounced a few times on the ground, and then came to rest.

A broken bone, from some unknown creature, with bite marks on its surface.

"It's very similar to the previous Dolor Desert hollow."

Higashino Makoto crouched down, picked up the leaf, placed it in his palm, and examined it carefully.

"But it's bigger, more chaotic, and more unstable."

"What's the reason?"

"According to intelligence, it's highly likely that this was caused by experiments conducted by Demiurge, Albedo, and others."

Gokusai Kaibi's voice was calm.

"Before Nazarick disappeared, the Guardians had been studying that small void. They tried to stabilize it, utilize it, and even reverse it to open a portal to other worlds. They may have succeeded, or they may have failed."

Higashino Makoto remained silent for a moment.

Then he laughed, a laugh tinged with a helpless, wry smile.

"Those guys... I even talked to Ainz before about whether we should erase this void, but they disagreed. Now look what's happened, they've even destroyed their own home."

Aren't you sad?

"Sad? A little, but mostly happy, about 30/70."

Gokusai Kaibi looked at him, a hint of confusion flashing in her crimson eyes.

"Happy?"

"Don't you think those guardians of Nazarick, despite their good relationship with Ainz, were always a destabilizing factor? Now that they're gone, my Garden is safe."

"But Lord Ainz is your friend."

"I know."

Higashino Makoto stood up, put the leaf into his backpack, and gazed at the distorted space with his golden eyes.

"So, I'm a little sad. Because of Ainz, because the person who explored the dungeon with me, who drank tea and chatted with me, is gone."

He turned around and looked at Gokusai Kaibi.

"Humans are so complicated. They still get upset even when it's something good."

Because you are not a cold-blooded person.

"No, I just haven't completely become an asshole yet."

He turned around and walked towards the spatial rift.

"Find someone to investigate where Nazarick went. If Ainz is still alive, he should try to contact us. If he's gone... well, that's fine."

"Yes, sir."

Higashino Makoto stepped into the rift, with Akeno following behind him.

The rift closed quietly after the two people passed through.

Gokusai Kaibi stood there, gazing at the now-vanished door, remaining silent for a long time.

Then she turned around and looked at the distorted spatial turbulence.

"Nazarick... he just vanished like that."

A gust of wind blew by, swirling up a few withered, yellow blades of grass.

In the distance, an angel hovered in the air, its golden wings gleaming softly in the morning light.

That was a surveillance unit left behind by Higashino Makoto.

At this moment, on this desolate land, only the sound of angel wings and the low murmur of spatial turbulence remain.

Novas Etier, Seventh Floor, Private Study.

Higashino Makoto leaned back in his armchair, his golden eyes gazing at the ceiling.

Fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, the rhythm sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

Akeno stood behind him, holding a teapot in her hands, her purple eyes looking at him.

"Mr. Higashino Makoto, are you worried about Lord Ainz?"

"A little."

"Why? You just said Nazarick is gone, and your Garden is safe."

"I'm telling the truth. Nazarick is gone, and my Garden is indeed safe. I've never really trusted those wicked guardians. And now, all those destabilizing factors have vanished overnight."

He paused.

"But Ainz is a friend, and if a friend disappears, it's not fair to say you don't care at all."

"You care about him?"

"I do care, I guess."

So what do you plan to do?

Higashino Makoto thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Do nothing. The reason for Nazarick's disappearance hasn't been determined yet, and that spatial turbulence is dangerous. Rushing in could get us killed too. Besides, Ainz is strong; he won't die so easily."

He paused.

"So, I'll wait, wait for him to contact me. Or I'll wait for the spatial turbulence to stabilize, and then I'll go check on him."

Akeno looked at him, her purple eyes flashing with a complex light.

You are very calm.

"It's not that I'm calm, it's that I know rushing won't help. Besides, I'm actually quite happy."

He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

Artificial sunlight streamed in, illuminating the entire room.

In the distance, Novas Etier's floating islands appeared and disappeared in the clouds, their white buildings shimmering with golden light in the sunlight.

"The Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown, vanished overnight."

His voice was very soft.

"Life is truly unpredictable."

Fortunately, my Novas Etilius has been placed in a small world, so I don't have to worry about a situation like Nazarick occurring.

But in which world did Nazarick end up being thrown by the Great Hollow?

He was very curious.