If you notice any errors, please feel free to give me constructive feedback. English is not my first language, so if you notice any mistakes, please mention them in the comment section at the end of the chapter. I do not own Overlord. All property rights belong to their respective creators. Let's begin the story!
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Chapter-48
Hall of the Divine Throne;
Divine Throne, Seventh Floor,
The Eternal Flying Castle of Utopia – Avalon;
New World,
Overlord Verse;
In the Hall of the Divine Throne of the Seventh Floor, its area guardians remained in their positions as they listened to Tiamat recount her story.
"I suppose we now share a common goal, Tiamat?" Arcueid spoke, looking directly at Tiamat and smiling, her earlier expression gone.
Hearing the proposal of the Floor Guardian of the Fifth Floor, Tiamat helplessly shook her head. "Yes," she replied.
"Is that it?" murmured Quinella.
"Yep," Arcueid nodded at the Area Guardians of the Seventh Floor.
"But for now, we should first find the reason why the Supreme Ones left Avalon," Tiamat agreed, as she strategised their next plan of action.
"About that, only Arrodes, Saber, Sebastian, and a couple of others are aware of it," Arcueid echoed.
"What about the other Children of Yggdrasil?" Ishtar raised a question, puzzled by the secret Quinella said only the Children of Yggdrasil knew. Though even if other Children of Yggdrasil knew about it, it would still have been impossible to find out. Even the current roster of guardians in the know of the secret were tough ones to crack.
"Nope," Arcueid echoed in reply, dashing all hope for the Area Guardians of the Seventh Floor to uncover the truth.
"I will look into it," spoke Tiamat, relieving those present.
"Great, now it should be easy to move forward," Arcueid smiled in relief.
When suddenly, Quinella raised a question. "Lady Arcueid, what about the Area Guardians of the Fifth Floor?"
"No, I am alone on this quest," Arcueid replied.
"Alone?" It was Güliedistodiez who spoke, puzzled. Reuniting with their Master and Creator was a dream and a wish shared by every guardian of Avalon. To serve their creator was the very purpose of their lives.
"Don't worry, I'll get them on the team later, once we have made good progress," Arcueid replied.
'Unlike us, where the Supreme Lord assisted Lady Evernight Candidum in creating us, Belordius was created solely by Lord Zorsius. While Lady Arcueid, Ivis Necron, and Alucard were co-created by the Supreme Lord, just like us,' Güliedistodiez mused. 'So for Belordius to possess no desire or yearning to reunite with his creator sounds suspicious.' He remained skeptical of the whole arrangement.
"Ah! Right," Arcueid spoke, turning toward Güliedistodiez. Noticing his unconvinced face, she smiled as she spoke to him. "You should be careful and remain alert. This time, you had Tiamat rescue you." She jollily nodded as she continued, "That Black Cloud is definitely among the top five most dangerous individuals in Avalon."
She continued, as if lecturing a child. "Though he is not among the top five strongest guardians of Avalon, nor are Tiamat and I on that list, he should still be within the top fifteen strongest guardians, or perhaps the top ten. It is quite confusing, since we are all still clueless about the strength of many guardians of Avalon. And from what I heard, even the Supreme Ones do not know about it." She spoke, nodding to herself, explaining the complexities of Avalon's power rankings.
"But I am sure the Supreme Lord knows about it," Arcueid said, sounding certain.
"Yes, Lady Arcueid," was all Güliedistodiez could muster in reply.
"Good," Arcueid uttered, before turning to Tiamat. "That does it, I suppose, Tiamat. I'll be taking my leave now." She spoke, conveying her intention to return to her floor. There were still many things left to be done. Most importantly was the assembly of an army, needed for emergency situations where their guild base might come under siege. As the ruler of the Undead City, she was expected to produce high-quality, high-level undead and contribute them to the guild army that would be used in the outside world.
Undead were the best disposable army the guild could muster, unlike golems, which consumed exorbitant resources to create at higher levels.
"Yes, Arcueid. Take care," Tiamat replied, conveying her wishes as Arcueid spun on her heel and turned away.
Since teleportation between floors was blocked in Avalon, Arcueid took a stroll as she walked toward the exit of the Seventh Floor.
******
Standing outside the giant pair of golden doors, upon which were carvings of paradise, with a golden sun hanging in the sky, Arcueid stared at the carvings. The sun created an illusion of its presence within the carving on the door. Staring at it, Arcueid felt heat rise within her body. It appeared as if staring at it for too long could incinerate oneself.
Feeling the heat, Arcueid shook her head, amazed by the wonders of Avalon. Each floor was distinct from another, all of it a marvellous creation of the Supreme Lord. Avalon, their abode, was built by the Supreme Lord with the aid of the Supreme Ones, where the Guild Guardians were created to guard it, to guard their home, only to be abandoned by them in the end.
Arcueid grew frustrated by the situation and raised her right hand, lightly punching the giant pair of doors in anger. A loud sound echoed through the hallways leading to the main section of the Seventh Floor. Despite her frustration, she had not put much strength into the punch. Still, it carried considerable force, and yet the door remained unmoved, unchanged, without a dent or scratch upon it.
Arcueid stared at her hand as a red gauntlet appeared upon it. The World Champion Artefact of Rex Sub Luna shone with brilliance on her arm.
"Rex Sub Luna," she muttered, a murderous glint appearing in her eyes as she remembered the reason the Supreme Ones had left. All of the anger bubbling within her calmed, and she let out a silent, resigned sigh. As she felt helplessness at the problem and her current situation.
******
South of the Abelion Hills;
And West of the Elf Kingdom;
Somewhere in the Abelion Hills,
Abelion Hills;
New World,
Overlord Verse;
In the makeshift port of the Abelion Hills, Mors stood staring at the vast seas connecting the continent to the deep ocean and the wide world beyond. 'First thing I look at after stepping outside the City of the Four Alliance and my guild is the sea. Though it has been quite long since I last saw a sea that wasn't polluted by nuclear waste', he mused, gazing fondly at the beautiful sight before him.
'Well, it does ease one's heart knowing that the two disturbing presences I felt on the first day are nowhere to be found in this world', he sighed. 'Though it does keep me on my toes, wondering when they would next appear in this world, or this planet.'
While Mors stood gazing at the waves, the residents of the City of Dor went about their business. Many were busy preparing for the voyage at sea. Dark Dwarves worked diligently, readying the small ship for its journey.
Turning to his left, Mors looked over at the small-sized ship that the Dwarves used to trade with the southern parts of the Roble Holy Kingdom.
Gazing at the troves of Dark Dwarves checking the sails and inspecting the boat surprised him. 'It sure is a surprise. I suppose this change was brought about by my presence in the New World. The Dark Dwarves were only said to trade with Demi-Humans in the Web Novel, if I am not wrong. And they weren't even mentioned in the Light Novel', he mused.
Interrupting his thoughts, Mors heard a voice calling out to him. "Lord Williams." He turned to see the young heir of the Griff race, Adravth, along with the heir of the Goat Beastmen, Zorak, and the heir of the Dark Dwarves, Zenith.
"Adravth, Zorak, and Zenith, if I am not wrong," Mors spoke, wondering if he had their names right.
"Yes, Lord Williams Moriarty," nodded Adravth, along with Zorak and Zenith.
"So, what can I do for you, young masters?" Mors spoke, addressing the group with a friendly smile plastered on his face.
"I wished to thank you for reviving my father, Lord Williams," muttered Zorak, shy, as he wasn't used to expressing gratitude.
"Worry not. As fellows serving the Lord of the Divine Door, it was a given," Mors replied, now going by the name Williams Moriarty.
"Right," echoed Zorak, as he looked at the smiling face of Williams Moriarty and his companions.
"So, is there anything else you need?" Williams asked, questioning the group about their purpose in seeking him out.
"There's nothing else, Lord Williams," echoed the group of young heirs.
Shaking his head at their overly formal manner of addressing him, he spoke. "There is no need for formalities. You can just call me Williams."
"We could never…" the group echoed together. After all, to them, Williams Moriarty was someone from the Divine Kingdom of the Supreme God. They could never address him so lightly, much less given his elevated standing. He even had two guards and a maid accompanying him beyond the Divine Door.
Their gazes briefly shifted toward the long, purple-haired, golden-eyed man named Sinbad, standing on the deck of the ship. Next to him, they looked over at the beautiful woman in a maid's uniform behind Lord Williams, her long purple hair called Medusa. Lastly, they looked toward the woman with long violet hair standing some distance away, carrying a long red spear. Scathach, if they remembered correctly.
"Well, I suppose you will loosen up with time," Williams muttered, looking at the band of boys accompanying him to the Roble Holy Kingdom. He mused as he glanced at the Chief of the Dark Dwarves, Zeni, who was now accompanying them under disguise, similar to the young heirs of the Four-Clan Alliance. All of them wore pendants that cast illusions on Demi-Humans, making them appear human, all except for the Dark Dwarves, who had already established trade relations with the humans of the Roble Holy Kingdom.
"We will take our leave now, Lord Williams," spoke Zenith, and the group turned to leave. They walked past Williams, who stood facing the sea.
Without turning around, Williams called out to the young heirs of the Four-Clan Alliance, stopping them in their tracks.
"I am impressed by your loyalty to the Divine Door, Avalon," Williams spoke, addressing the three young Demi-Humans. "Your dedication and your undying loyalty to protect and die for the Eternal Flying Garden of Avalon is impressive," he uttered.
The name rang in their ears. The name of the Divine Kingdom, the domain beyond the Divine Door where their Supreme God resided. All these years, they had been calling it the Divine Door, oblivious to its true name. They had remained ignorant of its identity and grandeur. But now, everything was different.
They had finally learned the name of the Divine Domain that lay beyond the Divine Door and had also met its residents, those serving the Supreme God of the Eternal Flying Garden of Avalon. 'Even its name feels divine', the young heirs wondered.
They could now envision a distant future where they might be granted an audience with the Supreme God. All their efforts over the past centuries would finally gain meaning. And now, here they were. They turned around to look at the resident of Avalon who had acknowledged their efforts. Standing before them was a black-haired, black-eyed man in a three-piece suit, with a hat and a cane. Though his attire appeared alien to them, it only made him seem all the more divine.
They watched as Williams raised his hand, stretching it to his right, revealing an apple of the deepest red they had ever seen. Twirling it idly between his fingers, he turned to face them, his gaze calm.
"Your dedication hasn't gone unnoticed," he spoke, passing the apple to Adravth, and similarly to Zorak and Zenith.
'The Experience Fruit of the Divine Tree of Immortality, which ripens every single day,' Williams mused.
******
Port of Abelion Hills;
Abelion Hills;
New World,
Overlord Verse;
Now, Williams stood gazing at everyone busy fulfilling their roles, pondering their journey that had brought them to the makeshift port of the Four-Clan Alliance. He was reminded of how everyone back in the City of Dor had fought to accompany him on this journey. The same could be said of the guardians back in Avalon.
'Well, it was chaotic, but Sinbad is the best choice for the sea, while Scathach…' he paused. 'She won the draw,' he mused, smiling at their eagerness to accompany him. 'Even the Chiefs of the Four-Clan Alliance have sent their children, since most of them couldn't come.'
Mors casually ran his fingers along the brim of his hat, resting his cane against the ground. 'They remind me of my life on twenty-second-century Earth, where I blindly chased perfection and power. They, and the NPCs of Avalon, remind me of my journey through Yggdrasil. It was memorable. Twelve beautiful years of my life, spent conquering Yggdrasil. And yet, all I did was chase glory, never truly enjoying it while it lasted. Regrets pile up, as I remained helpless to even chase after Shouko in the end, with my condition and the timer that ran above my head.' He mused.
'It was truly a dull life, except for Yggdrasil. I was blinded by glory and perfectionism. Maybe I should relax and live a laid-back life now. I have lost everything from my previous life, except Avalon. And is that truly a life I wish to repeat?' he pondered. Reminiscing about the past, when he had fooled himself into believing he had achieved it all. 'Maybe, I should go on an adventure, to explore this vast world and maybe conquer it in the process. Only in Yggdrasil did I truly enjoy myself, letting it all out. In the end, isn't it happiness and fulfilment that I seek?' He smiled faintly as he contemplated his future.
'I want to truly live a carefree and meaningful life,' Mors thought to himself. Stretching his arms toward the sea, he reached out as if to grasp the world itself. His contemplation was interrupted by his maid. Raising his head, he saw that the preparations were complete. Everyone now waited for him to board the ship and set sail.
Williams let out a soft sigh and stepped toward the ship.
'Now that I am here in the New World, let's live a truly carefree life, free from everything.' he mused.
******
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**The End**
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