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-36
Avalon,
The Eternal Flying Garden of Utopia – Avalon,
Abelion Hills – New World,
Overlord Verse;
Unknown Floor of The Eternal Flying Garden of Utopia – Avalon:
Deep within the darkness, a colossal face emerged—its form woven from shifting dark energy and glowing, ever-changing patterns. The features outlining the face constantly morphs ethereally, evoking a feeling as if the being was unbound by physical dimensions. Its expression shifted with unease, – from the after effects of the violent and oppressive aura that he had felt wash over him. It tried to pierce through the layers of reality, laid through number of floors throughout Avalon, to see across dimensions and glimpse at the source of the disturbance—but its efforts were in vain.
The glowing patterns across his form slowed and tightening, as the vibrant colours dim to deeper shades. His eyes, narrows slightly, and the fluid contours of his face draw inward, giving the impression of concern. Though he lacks a mouth, the lower part of his visage contracts faintly, hinting at unease. The space around him grows still.
The darkness surrounding the colossal being contracts and from the swirl of the darkness, a figure walks out. The form of the figure gradually takes shape – revealing a tall humanoid, cloaked in dark high shoulder armour paired with a long black cape. His head was wreathed in mystic flames, and his eyes burned with constant light with intense energy, as his pupils flickered in and out of existence.
The being shook his head, and walked through the endless darkness.
Walking through the void, his thoughts lingered. 'I felt a strange energy before that oppressive aura.' The figure, lost in his musings, came to the edge of the darkness just as a portal unfolded before him, its swirling light spilling into the black. Without hesitation, he stepped through.
He emerged atop a towering spire that rose into the skies at the very heart of a ruined alien city. The wind tugged faintly at his long black cape as his gaze swept across the scene below. His army—golems of different forms—lay sprawled across the streets and ruins. The golems bore resemblance to Leviathans, and Chitauri from Marvel. Despite their inherent nature as golems, as they were supposed to be resistant to mind based attacks, yet they all lay in a state similar to what living experienced when they fell unconscious.
Dormammu, Floor Guardian of the Third Floor of Avalon, narrowed his burning eyes. His sight extending across the floor with his sight-based skill, he was fed information of the whole floor. The sight confounded him, while he questioned the situation of his floor and guild.
******
It wasn't just the Third Floor. A similar situation could be observed across other floors of Avalon. On the Fourth Floor, Ashborn stood at the entrance of his castle, gazing over the vast expanse. Behind him lay the unconscious bodies of his area guardians, and the same condition afflicted the pop monsters, NPCs, mercenaries, and summoned creatures within his domain. Looking up at the sky, worry gnawed at him for Avalon's fate. 'I hope the Supreme Lord hasn't forsaken Avalon…' he mused, his eyes never leaving the view of his floor. Despite the strange stillness, Ashborn did not abandon his post—his duty to defend Avalon firm—as he awaited further communication from Agartha regarding the strange situation of his floor.
******
On the Fifth Floor, Belordius, the area guardian of the city's first section, rode his steed through the skies. The dark horse, its head a shifting mass of black ooze, released a chilling neigh that resonated with a ghostly aura. Hooves striking against the very air, it galloped toward the city's heart, where a grand and imposing castle stood in all its magnificence. The horse wore a magical cloak, engraved with the guild emblem – permitting it to use its Sky Walk skill. Despite letting the Sky Walk skill bypass the anti-flight restriction within the guild base, the same approached couldn't be used with
As Belordius approached the castle, the horse descended in a measured arc, stomping down upon the invisible sky-road toward the castle's entrance. Waiting before the great doors stood Ivis Necron, a fellow area guardian. High above, on the peak of the tallest tower, the third and final guardian of the floor, Alucard, who sat with an air of complete detachment – his eyes closed, unmoved by Belordius' arrival.
The relationship among the Fifth Floor's area guardians was neither warm nor hostile. They served the same master, answering to the Queen of the city – the Floor Guardian, yet they typically kept to their own territories, rarely intruding upon each other's domains. But their current condition and situation was anything but normal, warranting their personal intervention, prompting them to leave their abode to visit their Floor Guardian – Their Queen.
Belordius dismounted, his boots striking the stone as he strode toward Ivis Necron. Without a word, the two guardians who stood before the castle door and their colleague, resting atop the tower, all waited for their queen.
"What about Alucard?" Belordius muttered, his gaze lifting to the castle's highest spire.
"He's asleep," Ivis replied, shaking his head with disinterest.
"Was he affected by the aura?" Belordius asked, eyes narrowing at the motionless figure sprawled atop the spiral peak.
"He, like us, is a Level 100 NPC of Avalon," the Overlord skeleton caster answered in his deep, resonant voice. "The chances of him being affected are minimal—but the debuffs we feel must be afflicting him as well."
Their discussion shifted, delving into the workings of Avalon and the subtle disturbance that had unsettled them.
"Though our floor feels unchanged and functions as intended," Ivis murmured, his tone uncertain, "it still feels… different somehow."
"True," Belordius agreed. "The traps are operational, the wards hold, and the city runs as it should. Yet—something is off." His voice trailed into silence as he gazed at the ominous red moon suspended in the sky, its baleful light drenching the city that never knew day.
"I hope our Queen is aware of the change," Ivis said at last, his sigh curling into the still air.
Belordius gave a slow nod, turning his eyes back to the towering castle. "I hope the Supreme Lord is watching over us."
Just as their hopes turned toward the blessing of the Supreme Lord, the heavy doors of the castle creaked open. From within stepped out a blonde female vampire clad in a long white dress, her crimson eyes immediately finding the two area guardians. Belordius and Ivis could feel it at once—the overwhelming presence of a World Champion, the successor of Rex Sub Luna – One of the Supreme One of Vanitas Regnum Anta.
Arcueid Brunestud emerged unhurried, seemingly untouched by the urgency written plainly on her guardians' faces. Her gaze swept across the sprawling city that lay beyond the castle's walls. Every undead summon, every monster, lay slumped and motionless under the after effects of the oppressive pressure of the mysterious aura that had swept through Avalon.
A faint sigh escaped her lips, her expression softening ever so slightly. She was relieved by the state of her floor, as the functions of her floor remained intact. She stepped down from the stairs linked to the entrance of the castle door, walking past them without haste, a silent gesture bidding her area guardians to follow.
The castle itself was a vast fortress of black stone, built atop a high, elevated platform at the city's heart. From this vantage, the city stretched outward in all directions—a tangled web of streets and walls forming a defensive labyrinth. The winding paths, split into three great sections, acted as layered sections against any intruder. Each section was guarded by an area guardian, their territories forming an unbroken chain of defence between the outermost reaches of the city and the looming black gates of the enormous castle at the centre.
The city's design was an intricate work built with high complex infrastructures. Its creation had consumed a great deal of time and work. To Kai, the finished result had been worth every effort, pain and time spent on it – so much so that it had sent him over the moon, with satisfaction. He had been giddy with happiness about it, though he hid it from others.
Kai along with the ones he had hired had together brought this city to life, so for him to see the end result, he had been too happy.
Now, standing at the edge of the castle wall high above the ground, Arcueid leaned casually against the cold stone railing, her gaze sweeping over the vast city below. Belordius and Ivis followed in her steps, coming to stand behind their queen.
They were still quietly wondering about Alucard when the answer revealed itself in the most unexpected way—he was already there, cloaked in a long dark red coat. The dark figure stood directly behind Arcueid, having successfully snuck up on them. Neither guardian had sensed his approach, and the fact that he had passed them so completely undetected only deepened their wariness of him.
******
With their queen's arrival, the floor guardian of the Fifth Floor, Belordius and Ivis had remained on edge. The oppressive aura that had swept over Avalon left them wary, their senses sharpened for the slightest sign of attack. Yet what unsettled them was Arcueid's almost languid demeanor. She wandered her gaze across the floor without the faintest urgency or caution, as though this emergency were nothing more than a passing curiosity.
Alucard, too, gave no outward sign of alarm. But unlike Arcueid, he remained cautious. Beneath his calm, his mind worked through possible measures to strengthen the floor's security and prevent such an incident from repeating.
Arcueid, indifferent to the tension etched across her three guardians' faces, seemed far more preoccupied with the information Alice had relayed to her – about the source of the oppressive aura that assailed Avalon. The aura that assaulted the NPCs of Avalon, knocking them all unconscious – With its power more effective to those below Level-100.
Her thoughts drifted, slipping into memories of the past—the Supreme Ones, and above all, the Supreme Lord. The image of meeting her creator still lingered in vivid detail; barely a day had passed since she had first stood before the all-powerful being who had brought her into existence.
'What could have provoked his wrath?' Was all she could think about.
The question gnawed at her until she let it go, her expression softening into something almost serene. In the end, her conclusion was simple, for the one who had erred.
'Whatever it was… or whoever it was that earned the Supreme Lord's anger… is fated to perish, utterly and without trace.' It was inevitable, their destruction was destined for to the NPCs of Avalon, for they found it strange to think otherwise.
Arcueid felt a quiet relief at the thought that her creator—the Supreme Lord—had not abandoned them, nor Avalon so far. Yet that comfort was shadowed by the second piece of news she had received. He was the only one here at the present. No other Supreme Ones could be sensed, and all attempts to contact them had failed. The thought was a wound to her heart, even as she clung to the reassurance of his presence.
She shared in the silent grief of the other floor guardians, mourning the absence of the Supreme Ones. Her mind drifted to her last memory of meeting one of them.
'It had been like any other day,' she recalled, 'when the Supreme Ones had long since ceased to visit this floor… or my castle.' The halls had grown quiet, and she had remained within them, keeping her post alongside the area guardians. 'The silence had become routine.' She mused, staring at the distant hills outside the boundary of her city.
'When, suddenly one day, Lord Rex Sub Luna visited my castle.'
The memory still stirred a faint ache in her chest. After so long without a visit from any of the Supreme Ones, his sudden arrival had been a shock—one laced with joy. She had yearned for the days when Vanitas Regnum Anta gathered within Avalon's halls, plotting their grand conquests across Yggdrasil. Those golden days had faded into history, leaving only the echo of their glory behind.
But that day… she could recall it as though it had just passed—the moment Rex Sub Luna stepped into her castle, and the words he spoke to her.
******
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**The End**
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