‘Did the server shutdown get delayed?’
Inside the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Momonga looked at the familiar ranger screen before him, subconsciously thinking that it was just a delay in the game server shutdown.
He hadn't fully realized what was happening, and instinctively raised his skeletal hand, adorned with gemstone rings, and tapped in the air before him.
‘Why is the control panel gone? The chat system and GM communication are also unusable. What's going on?’
After discovering that the player interface, which he could usually call up at will, had disappeared, Momonga became increasingly puzzled.
He instinctively stood up and began to survey his surroundings, trying to find the reason for this situation.
“Is something the matter, Momonga-sama?”
At this moment, Albedo, who had been kneeling beside Momonga and was originally an NPC, unexpectedly raised her head without being ordered to do so.
Her face wore a vivid expression of concern as she looked at Momonga and asked.
“Hmm?”
At this moment, Momonga also noticed something was wrong with Albedo.
Those large, expressive eyes, and her vivid facial expressions, all pointed to one thing: the NPC Albedo, who originally only acted according to her settings, had now become like a real living being.
“Momonga-sama… Momonga-sama… Has something happened?”
Just as Momonga was pondering the reason why Albedo, an NPC, had become like this, Albedo, who hadn't received a response from Momonga, stood up and walked directly in front of Momonga.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, her large eyes filled with worry as she looked at Momonga.
“Oh… Oh, oh, oh…”
Looking at Albedo, who was close at hand, especially the magnificent ‘justice’ that was further accentuated by Albedo's hands pressing against them, the bottomless cleavage, Momonga, the great mage who had been alone for thirty years in reality, instinctively became excited.
Two points of scarlet light lit up in his hollow eye sockets.
However, just as the desire in Momonga's heart rose to a certain level, a faint green light suddenly appeared on his skeletal body.
In an instant, the desire that had arisen in Momonga's heart disappeared completely, and pure reason filled his heart.
“Strange… GM communication is unusable.”
Feeling the changes in his body, Momonga had an indescribable feeling of strangeness, but looking at Albedo's worried gaze, he cleared his throat and said in a deep voice.
“Please forgive my ignorance, I cannot answer what you mean by [GM Communication]. If you could grant me the opportunity to redeem myself, it would be my greatest honor.”
After hearing Momonga's words, Albedo completely couldn't understand what the so-called [GM Communication] was, and looked at Momonga with a pious expression, blaming herself and hoping to have another chance to redeem herself.
However, at this moment, Momonga couldn't care less about what Albedo was saying, and simply stared intently at Albedo's constantly talking lips.
Although he had already noticed something was wrong when Albedo suddenly spoke, he was now seeing Albedo express her own thoughts and speak her mind like a real living being.
Momonga was now certain that something must have happened in the short second that he closed his eyes after the game server shut down.
Thinking of this, Momonga looked at the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in his hand.
He gently loosened his grip, and the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown automatically flew to the side, hovering in mid-air, just like in the game.
‘This is exactly the same as in the game, but the control panel is gone, and I can't contact the GM, plus the NPCs' abnormal behavior.’
All sorts of doubts filled Momonga's mind, so in order to confirm the current situation, Momonga looked down at Sebas and the Pleiades.
“Sebas, go outside the Great Tomb to confirm the surrounding terrain of Nazarick.
Pleiades, go to the ninth floor and be on guard for intruders.”
“Yes, Momonga-sama.”
“Understood, Momonga-sama.”
After receiving Momonga's orders, Sebas and the Pleiades began to carry them out.
And it was precisely their behavior, like that of intelligent beings, that made Momonga even more puzzled about the current situation.
“So, Momonga-sama, what should I do?”
Just then, Albedo, who was beside the throne, turned her head and looked at Momonga, who was deep in thought, and asked with a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Let me think… Then, come here.”
“Yes!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Albedo approached Momonga without hesitation.
Looking at Albedo, who was close at hand, Momonga, who was a great mage in reality, instinctively leaned back a little, but then a faint, seductive fragrance wafted into his nose.
‘Fragrance! There's no such skill in 《YGGDRASIL》!’
“Albedo, I'm going to touch you.”
The next second, in order to confirm the situation again, Momonga raised his hand and aimed it at Albedo.
After receiving her consent, he directly grasped Albedo's wrist, and instantly a soft, warm feeling came from his palm, and he could even clearly feel the pulse beating.
“What exactly is going on?
明明 之前 只 是 跟随者 设定 的 npc ， 现在 却 仿佛活 过来 一样 ！
Thinking of this, Momonga lowered his head and stared at Albedo's ‘justice’.
Only this, only this must be confirmed!
“Albedo… Can… Can I? You wouldn't mind, would you?”
Across from him, Albedo's eyes instantly became excited after hearing Momonga's request, and the smile on her face became incredibly alluring.
Then, she straightened her body and placed her ‘justice’ in front of Momonga's palm at the most suitable height.
rua…
As the clear tactile sensation from his palm came, Momonga once again fell into deep thought, but even though he was thinking in his head, the movements of his hand did not stop at all, and even became more and more forceful.
‘This kind of behavior is possible, so unless it's a completely new 《YGGDRASIL》, but the possibility is very low.
Another hypothesis is that the virtual world has become a reality, which is impossible… But talking to NPCs, natural facial expressions, and even smells are all things that were impossible to achieve in previous games!’
“Ara! I didn't expect to see such a stimulating scene as soon as I arrived.
I should say, as expected of you!”
Just as Momonga was still thinking about whether this was a completely new game or a virtual game turned into a real world, a sudden voice filled with teasing rang out in the empty hall.
Instantly, Albedo, who had been leaning forward and standing in front of Momonga the second before, turned around directly and launched an attack in the direction of the voice, and her body tightly protected Momonga behind her.
The whole process didn't even take a second. By the time Momonga reacted, he saw Albedo staring ahead in a battle stance. The corners, shadows, and ceiling of the hall were densely packed with guards.
Opposite them, in the center of numerous heteromorphic monsters, stood a handsome young man with short black hair. He greeted Momonga with a smile, giving him the feeling of meeting an old friend.
But the problem was, he had no idea who this suddenly appearing guy was.
"Kill him!"
Just then, Albedo directly issued an order to the guards in the hall. Instantly, countless mantis-like, transparent heteromorphic pillar monsters surged towards Lu Minghao like a tide. Their sharp claws gleamed with deadly cold light, and the air they cut through emitted piercing shrieks.
In less than a second, the heteromorphic guards completely sealed off Lu Minghao's surroundings, acting like elite assassins who disregarded life, precise, deadly, and obeying orders to the letter.
Swish!
A flash of light passed, and blade-like claws easily pierced Lu Minghao's body. But these heteromorphic guards didn't stop attacking, launching another attack at Lu Minghao the moment they landed.
"Hey, hey! Don't push your luck."
Looking at the numerous heteromorphic guards attacking him, Lu Minghao yawned and said with a helpless expression. Then, he began to move his feet lightly. Although his movement speed seemed incredibly slow, he perfectly dodged every attack.
Incidentally, Lu Minghao had dodged these heteromorphic guards' attacks in the same way before. What they attacked were just afterimages left behind by Lu Minghao's movements.
"Albedo..."
"Momonga-sama, please be careful! The enemy is very strong!"
At this moment, Momonga, who had finally reacted, was about to stand up and say something when Albedo interrupted him. Her eyes were filled with unprecedented seriousness and solemnity as she stared intently at Lu Minghao below.
Although he looked like an ordinary person with an extremely gentle smile on his face, Lu Minghao made Albedo feel extreme fear at this moment. In her eyes, beneath Lu Minghao's human appearance, hid a deep, dark abyss with no end in sight.
Just by gazing at the 'truth' hidden beneath Lu Minghao's appearance and surfacing, Albedo felt as if her soul, consciousness, and body were about to be completely devoured.
At this moment, Albedo was prepared to protect Momonga-sama even if it meant dying here. He was the only remaining Supreme Being, and they absolutely couldn't lose Momonga-sama!
"Hey, hey! If you guys keep attacking me, I'm going to get angry."
Below, Lu Minghao, who was still playing with the heteromorphic guards, also noticed Albedo above, who looked ready to block him with her life. Seeing this, Lu Minghao also felt that he should change his attitude. Since the other party didn't intend to talk nicely, he could only silence them and make them listen obediently.
"Stop!"
Just then, Momonga's voice rang out. Instantly, the heteromorphic guards who had been attacking Lu Minghao all stopped and slowly retreated a distance, maintaining a posture where they could attack Lu Minghao at any time.
"Who are you?"
Momonga glanced at Albedo and the numerous heteromorphic pillar guards blocking him, then raised his head and stared at Lu Minghao in front of him, asking. He had a feeling that he could find out what had happened from Lu Minghao.
"What? You're finally willing to listen to me? As for who I am, just think of me as someone similar to you."
Looking at Albedo above, who was full of vigilance and couldn't wait to kill him right now, and the Bone King who was staring at him, Lu Minghao showed a friendly smile and said slowly. Right now, the Bone King, who had just transmigrated to this world, still had most of his humanity.
He hadn't yet become the Bone King who would gradually and completely lose his humanity under the influence of the Supreme Undead race, caring only about the members of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and not caring about other lives.
"Someone similar to me? Could it be that you are also...?"
Opposite him, after hearing Lu Minghao's answer, Momonga, who had already guessed something about the current situation, couldn't help but get excited. He subconsciously wanted to step forward and ask what exactly had happened, but he was immediately blocked by Albedo.
Although she guessed from Lu Minghao and Momonga-sama's conversation that Lu Minghao should be a being similar to the Supreme Beings, even so, Albedo would never allow Momonga-sama to easily approach Lu Minghao. After all, he was the only remaining Supreme Being who hadn't abandoned them.
"......"
Opposite him, looking at Momonga, who was being blocked by Albedo with an excited expression, Lu Minghao didn't answer his question. He just raised his arm, and then, in Momonga's surprised gaze, Lu Minghao's arm began to dissolve, turning into an ice-blue, jelly-like slime.
"A slime similar to Herohero?"
Seeing Lu Minghao turn into a slime arm, Momonga couldn't help but think of Herohero, the last partner to log in before. His race in the game was also a slime, plus he had already regarded Lu Minghao as a player like himself in his heart.
If there was a favorability system at this time, then there would probably be prompts like 'Favorability +1' constantly popping up above Momonga's head.
"...I guess that's about right."
After hearing the Bone King say that he was a slime similar to Herohero, Lu Minghao was silent for a few seconds before nodding. Anyway, as long as he didn't say it, who would guess that he was actually a slime who transmigrated from another timeline?
"That's great! By the way, my name is Momonga, my real name is Suzuki Satoru."
After seeing Lu Minghao nod, Momonga, who had been lonely since childhood due to the death of his parents and had almost entrusted everything to the game, instantly felt a surge of goodwill towards Lu Minghao. Coupled with the sudden change and the humanity that hadn't yet disappeared when he first transmigrated, Momonga happily introduced himself, even saying his real name.
"Lu Minghao, my race is a slime."
"Lu Minghao, then do you know what's going on right now? Why did the game control interface suddenly disappear, and we can't even contact the GMs? And even the NPCs seem to have come to life?"
After hearing Lu Minghao tell him his name, Momonga, who had already accumulated a lot of questions, asked them all at once. He eagerly wanted to know what had happened.
