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-44
The City of Dor,
Abelion Hills,
New World – Present Time;
Overlord Verse;
The Temple of the Supreme Lord – The Omnipotent God;
Merlin and Medea were quite shocked with the revelation by the Old Griff, yet they maintained their calm, hiding it from the Demi-Humans before them. As they now gazed at the Greydor with intrigue, toward the old Griff, as his race was called, mutter about the Door to their guild base having been open in the past. But were quick to associate it with as a miracle of their master. Though, Merlin planned to discuss it with Albion, before raising the issue at the meeting of guardians of Avalon, later.
But as they watched the old Griff, they felt unease. It was as if, the old Griff could feel their mana. As if every method they had used to hide it, was exposed before him. This intrigued them both, as well as made them wary of the old Griff. Despite his dismissal strength, they wondered about the mysteries of this old Griff. Though, they had wondered about, why the old Griff had not been at the main hall, before the Divine Door, when they had entered inside the temple. But, looking at his condition, they could understand the reason. They put the thought to back of their mind, intrigued by the Old Griff's strange prowess.
After a pause, a massive turtle beastman stepped forward. His shell had runes and sigils inscribed on them, the sight surprised Merlin. The sight of runes being engraved on body, just made him more curious with this runecraft, as his inner-demons fought, curious about the new form of magic.
"Ogorth, the Lord of Martial Arts, and the Chief of the Turtle Clan. I greet the Divine Ones."
Another turtle rose after him, "Lorsen," he said, before continuing, "I hold the seat of the Lord of Agriculture, Divine Ones."
While, Merlin was surprised and intrigued by the culture and civilisation of this Four-Clan Alliance and the mysterious runecraft they used. He was still amazed by the different style of greeting of different races and the way they addressed him and Medea.
Bringing him out of his musing, came a younger Griff than Greydor, but appeared a bit older than Grest. He wore a fine armour, comparable to Grith's, who had stood guard near the Divine Door, while unlike the two Griffs in the meeting chamber, Greydor wore no armour. All their armours lined with many runes inscribed upon them. He stepped forward bowing, introducing himself.
"Adrovath, Lord of Military, and the Chief of the Griff Clan, Divine Ones."
With Adrovath's words, the circle was complete. All eyes turned back to Merlin and Medea, waiting. Merlin gestured faintly, urging the Elders to take their seats. As the chamber quieted, he wove an illusion spell, discreetly shielding his fellow Guardian as she prepared to cast
******
Merlin and Medea were accompanied by the Elders of Council to the Divine Door, after their lengthy discussion.
The conversation between Merlin, Medea and the Elders of the Council was used to detail the current situation and the way that the Four-Clan Alliance functioned on. The Elders went on lengths to express their devotion to the Supreme God. From their surrounding location, to information about their neighbouring nations were discussed. To the Elders under Charm Species effect, they were very free with laying out their information and secrets to their thoughts. And by the end of the meeting, after Merlin and Medea had confirmed their loyalty, they undid their control spell.
Now, Merlin, Medea and Alucard walked through the Door, returning to their Guild Base. They found themselves in the outer-garden of Avalon. Returning back to their home, bought a smile to their face. Through it majorly contributed to being in the presence of their Master.
Merlin exhaled softly, letting the quiet fragrance of Avalon's flowers wash over him. Their colours shimmered faintly in the light of the guild's inner moon, as the flying island was encased within an artificial dome, with its own artificial sky, while the petals shifted with the breeze under the moonlight. He turned, glancing between the two who had accompanied him on his mission.
"Alucard," Merlin's tone was calm, as he relayed his orders. "Pass your findings to Medea. Once that is done, you can return to your post."
The vampire bowed deeply, his crimson eyes glowing faintly as his cloak waved with the wind. "As you command, Lord Merlin. I'll take care of it, before returning to my floor."
Merlin then shifted his attention toward the woman, her eyes brimming with expectations for work to dedicate herself to the Supreme Lord, her master, to make herself useful to her master. "Medea, take what Alucard provides and compile it into a proper report. We'll need it prepared for the meeting. Make use of your colleagues at the Administration Department to quicken the pace."
Medea inclined her head, her voice steady and respectful. "Yes, Lord Merlin. I shall see it arranged and made presentable."
Satisfied, Merlin straightened slightly, letting his gaze sweep across both of them. "Good. Once you've finished, deliver the report to me directly and keep copies ready to be shared with other guardians. I'll be meeting Albion before returning to Agartha. Now, you can leave."
Both Medea and Alucard bowed again, as Merlin was a Floor Guardian, opposed to them, with Alucard being an Area Guardian and Medea, an NPC of Administration Department. Merlin ranked higher than them, in terms of ranking within the guild. While, Administration Department was present on the same floor as the one Merlin guarded, just beside the Palace of the Supreme Ones.
Their creation was credited to the Supreme Ones, who created a building and a department in name to store and maintain the records of NPCs, summons of Guild, traps and other nitty-gritty details of the guild. With a building built, they had proceeded with creating NPCs to supposedly manage the office. Now, their work also included maintaining contact between NPCs of different floors, as well keeping them informed about the news, and to handle all the paper work, of the guild.
"I'll get it done." Alucard replied, before stepping back.
"It shall be done," Medea followed his suit, already turning in her mind how best to organise the flood of information they had gathered.
With that, the two dispersed, Alucard heading to Agartha, accompanying Medea to report their findings, before returning to his floor. Their steps faded, leaving Merlin alone, in the garden of Avalon.
He lingered a moment longer, the familiar tranquility of Avalon, easing his mind. It had been ages since he had stepped outside, Agartha. He missed those days, when accompanied the Supreme Ones and his master to Guild Wars. Slowly, he began to walk along the stone paths, his hand brushing against the silver leaves of a tree nearby, as he cast multiple spells layering them one after another.
The spell overlaid itself upon the first, his unique loophole activating as the spells stacked their effects with one other. It was a unique loophole, though he did not think of it as such. His master had designed him to use it, in such manner. As the combination of a few racial classes with select skills and job classes of mage build, let the user stack multiple spells effects together. Now, he was back to using them, to find his fellow floor guardian of Avalon. His vision expanding to his surrounding, mapping every being in his vicinity, friend or foe, to detecting their HP, MP and size.
'Still works as intended,' he thought, amused as always at the little trick his Master had taught him or instructed him to use.
Following the trail, he turned deeper into the greenery, passing under the shadows of towering trees whose roots curled into marble fountains. His pace slowed, gazing at the giant white dragon, the floor guardian of First Floor, the Garden of Avalon.
"Albion," he murmured under his breath. "So, you're here."
"Merlin," Albion greeted, his deep voice carrying through the quiet garden. "It has been some time."
Merlin inclined his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "It has indeed."
Merling stepped closer, with him holding his long staff. "We can chat at length later, Albion. It's a bit urgent. For now, I have a few questions for you. Tell me, was the Door to Avalon opened after we arrived in this New World? Before we stepped outside?"
Albion remained silent for a moment, contemplating the question of his fellow Floor Guardian, before answering. "No."
Merlin's expression shifted, his usual composure faltered, and he considered raising the issue with his Master and other guardians. His mind turned sharply, tracing through the sequence of events that had been relayed to him by those Elders of the Four-Clan Alliance, after their guild door and guild base had descended into this new world. With a slight tilt of his head, his voice turned softer, as he continued.
"Then… were there any intruders? Anyone who dared set foot within Avalon after our arrival?"
Albion pondered silently, internally questioning the purpose of this question, before answering. "No."
Merlin exhaled quietly, as he grew wary of the situation. "Then nothing… unusual caught your notice after we arrived? Was there nothing different?" He questioned, placing great importance to his words at the end.
The great dragon paused, contemplative, before answering, his voice low. "No. Not after… whatever it was that angered the Supreme Lord." His gaze drifted toward the endless night sky above the garden.
"I see…" Merlin's tone dropped, uncharacteristically dormant. "Then I'll need to investigate. Still…" A soft chuckle escaped him, but it was humourless. "If this anomaly is tied to our Master's anger… that's troublesome. We can't have him burdened with grief or irritation. Not again, if not what purpose do we serve? We can't risk anything… that might drive him away, like the other Supreme Ones. Though we still are not aware about the cause for their departure."
A heavy silence draped over the garden, broken only when Albion inclined his colossal head in agreement. "We can't let trivial matters sour his mood. Though, unlike the players or Supreme Ones, the Supreme Lord is absolute and the One, who is beyond everything."
Merlin hummed softly, thoughtful. "Hmm. True. Our Master is the One who transcends everything. But I'll consult Arrodes and Deicide, just to be on the safer side. If anyone could know about it… It will be those two. Still, if this is linked to that… then we'll need to tread carefully." His gaze lingered on the garden, his smile faint but strained.
"That will do," Albion rumbled, his tone softer now. "But tell me, Merlin. What was it like… outside? How different is this world from the one we knew?"
Merlin's smile turned almost wistful, the faintest hint of amusement in his tone. "Hmm… Vastly different, yet oddly familiar."
From there, their conversation flowed, as they shared and delved into their personal experience of this New World. With Merlin recounting his observation of the Four-Clan Alliance, the races that made of the alliance and the religion that worshipped their Master. The topic that excited them both, as they, despite their opinions, were on agreement for ignorant creatures to worship their Master to redeem their meaningless existences.
While, Albion shared his accounts of his journey to space with his Master. And his worry about the unknown power he felt, until their Master's calm words had dispelled his fear. He was grateful towards their Master, for enlightening them. The conversation proceeded forward in ways that Kai could have never imagined, or been prepared for.
******
AN: I know that is a bit of a slow burn, but don't worry, I'll be picking up my pace by after the meeting of Guardians. As by then, I won't have many character introduction of world introduction chapters or parts, and we can go through the scenes with better or faster pace. The next chapter will be the meeting of Guardians of Avalon, and it should be wrapped up in one chapter, but could take two chapters at most. And after which, Kai will be stepping out in the world and his adventure in the New World would finally begin.
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**The End**
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