Chapter 1
Ainz sighed as he looked over the large pile of documents. His desk had papers stacked so high he couldn't see anything else in the room. Ever since he had returned from the Holy Kingdom he has been swamped with paperwork. Ainz was currently reading the backlog of reports that had piled up while he was away.
'I suppose I should be looking over these more carefully…'
Ainz snuck a glance at the Homunculus Maid who silently stood by the door. In the 5 hours since Ainz had started working the maid had not moved nor said anything while maintaining a perfect posture. He sighed again.
'Ahh I want to give this job to someone more qualified than me. No, it would not be right if the boss were to slack off while his subordinates worked themselves to the bone.'
While Ainz mindlessly skimmed over a document on grain shipments, something catches his eye: "8th Floor: Report #28 on the status of the doors."
Ainz felt his nonexistent heart skip a beat.
'Wait wait wait, what is this? Why hasn't anyone told me about this?'
He began to read the report.
"The status of the doors and its guardians has not changed. Situation remains consistent since report #1."
'Eh? That is the entire report? I don't know where these reports go after passing through my office and I can't ask around for them in case the NPCs realize I am not reading them.'
Ainz stood up.
"Foss, I have business to attend to in the Throne Room. You are to remain here."
"Of course Lord Ainz."
The maid bowed as Ainz moved past her and out the door.
Ainz sat on the [Throne of Kings] and activated its effect, familiar holographic menus appeared before him giving Ainz the ability to view the status of everything and everyone considered to be a part of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Ainz scrolled down to the section that held the information on the Eighth Floor.
'Guild Base:
1st Floor: Grave
…
2nd Floor: Grave
…
3rd Floor: Grave
…
4th Floor: Underground Lake
…
5th Floor: Glacier
…
6th Floor: Jungle
…
7th Floor: Lava
...
8th Floor: Wilderness
NPC List:
Rubedo - Level 100
...
…
…
Victim - Level 35
8th Floor: Cherry Blossom Sanctuary
NPC List:
Aureole Omega - Level 100
…
…
…
8th Floor: Vault
[BLOCKED]
'
'Nope, nothing out of the ordinary. I recognize everything listed here and nothing seems out of the ordin- oh?'
As Ainz reached the bottom of the list he saw something completely unexpected, there was a heading for a different section of the 8th Floor, one that he had no recollection of. Ainz quickly scrolled down and found every category of the so-called 'Vault' area had a single line, [BLOCKED].
'I can name every location and every NPC in Nazarick so why is it that I have no memories of this area? Also, why am I unable to view what is in the Vault? This could be really bad.'
Ainz casts [Message].
"Albedo this is an emergency. Have Demiurge reinforce the defences of the tomb and put the Area Guardians on high alert. Then I want you to gather the Guardians and the Pleiades. Meet me on the 8th Floor at the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary. Ensure everyone is battle ready."
Blaine watched as the large undead guards patrolled the streets of E-Rantel. He knew that normal human guards were obsolete compared to the undead yet they continued to serve in the city guard long after E-Rantel fell under the control of the Sorcerous King.
Suddenly the route of the undead changed. Blaine frowned. This is odd, not once had the undead ever deviated from their normal patrol routes. Unable to suppress his curiosity Blaine began to follow them. He watched from a distance as they marched into a plaza where they joined a group of undead guards that was already there. Suddenly a swirling vortex appeared in the plaza and Blaine watched in shock as the undead marched into the inky darkness.
Jircniv sat bored on his throne as one of his scribes droned on about taxes. But boredom is a blessing compared to the stress Jircniv felt when dealing with the Sorcerous Kingdom. In fact, Jircniv has had the good fortune of personally interacting very little with the Sorcerous Kingdom since the vassalization.
Suddenly a knight ran into the room and knelt in front of the emperor.
"My lord! The undead soldiers that we rented from the Sorcerous Kingdom have left their positions and vanished!"
"What!?"
Cries of confusion and surprise rang throughout the room. Jircniv however, remained silent, thoughts racing through his mind. He then understood.
"It seems his Majesty has finally decided to make a move. I feel bad for the poor fools that his Majesty plans to crush."
Six robed figures gather in a windowless room. The many layers of spells hide their conversation from magical observation.
"Our spies report that the number of undead guards has decreased substantially in E-Rantel. There are also rumors that the number of undead guards dispatched to the Empire has also suddenly dropped."
"Perhaps the rumors are true, that the damnable undead was killed in the Holy Kingdom."
"We have reported sightings of the undead 'king' in the Northern Holy Kingdom after the defeat of the Demon King."
"Confirmed?"
"Not by our agents."
"Everything points to him being dead. There have been no public sightings of him within his own country, his government has made no statements, and now his undead guards are disappearing."
Mutters of agreement echoed throughout the room.
"This may be the time to liberate the people from that undead filth. Begin the necessary preparations."
"The Six provides."
"The Six protects."