Overlord of biblical proportions: Return of the Biblical God (19)

Fortunately for Momonga, the wish he made had indeed been fulfilled by his [Super-Tier Magic], though, even before activating the spell, Momonga was absolutely certain it would work. No one had told him directly, and no confirmation window popped up before his eyes as it might have in Yggdrasil, but he was completely confident that his spell would succeed. 

Somehow…

The limits of this [Super-Tier] Magic in this new world, like all the others, were hard to define due to the altered mechanics of its operation; but with its use, Momonga gained insight into what he could wish for, how it would manifest, and how he could interact with it.

Thus, Momonga knew both that he would transform into the entity known as the Biblical God and that this transformation would be temporary.

One expended use of [Wish Upon a Star] could grant him this form for a cumulative hour, if he wanted, for example, to make the transformation permanent, it would require three wishes at once. And if he wished to retain his original form as well, gaining the Biblical God’s form as a permanent secondary option, it would cost him a full five charges of the magic simultaneously.

And one ring only holds three…

In theory, Momonga could retrieve his second [Wish Upon a Star] ring, which held three more charges of the spell, and use five out of the six total stored spells for such an action. However, despite the greatly expanded arsenal, combat strength, and versatility Momonga would gain in combat by keeping the secondary form of the Biblical God, doing so would mean sacrificing a magic that had just proven itself to be, quite possibly, the most powerful in his repertoire. 

One that demanded thorough testing and study before he would plunge into such a permanent solution. Wasting such power on the first appealing ability that came along, even if it seemed very enticing to Momonga, was not something one of the standout PvP players could allow himself to do. A feat that he had accomplished despite his notably unoptimized build.

Therefore, shifting his gaze to the girl burying her face in his legs, Momonga paused for a second, as if consulting his memory to check if, along with this new body and abilities, he had also inherited the memories of its previous owner. 

Nope, he still didn’t recognize the girl.

Finding none, he lowered his hand and ruffled the angelic girl’s hair. “There’s no need to worry, my child… I am here, and now everything is alright…”

Unfortunately, he hadn’t received any memories with this body. He was certain that if he wished again, he could obtain them, perhaps even ‘just’ expending one wish. After all, memories were far less substantial than an entire build and set of abilities for a new character. 

If desired, memories could even be acquired through trickery with a spell like [Controlled Amnesia], which wasn’t a [Super-Tier Magic] at all. But once again, Momonga refrained from expending further uses of [Wish Upon a Star] until he fully explored the possibilities now open to him from every angle.

The girl at his feet, who had been sobbing, trembled slightly at the touch of his hand, before then pressing herself even harder against his calf, her hot tears rolling down and scalding his leg.

Momonga, not entirely sure what else he could do under the current circumstances, simply continued stroking her head, mentally taking stock of the new body he had acquired for the next hour.

The body provided to him was human, or, to be more precise, a subspecies of the [Human Race], known as an [Immortal]. In Yggdrasil, this was a human race with greater aptitude for Holy Magic than ordinary humans and with lore-based immortality, which seemed to hold true in this New World. However, such a boon came at the cost of heightened vulnerability to dark magic and curses. Nothing too extreme, unlike for the [Heteromorphic] races, whose starting bonuses and penalties essentially dictated their future development paths; human races, if they had any starting bonuses or drawbacks, tended to have them as minor additions to their natural progression. 

As a result, Players of human races usually didn’t differ too drastically in their builds.

The body he now inhabited felt like that of a level-100 player, though very poorly optimized for PvP, much like Momonga’s own true form. However, where Momonga had devoted all his available classes to dark magic, instant-kill spells, and death magic, with the leftovers allocated to necromancy, it seems that the Biblical God had focused entirely on artifact crafting, with the remainder split between holy magic and abilities suited to priests and paladins. 

In other words, just as one could say Momonga wasn’t the strongest necromancer in the game despite all his classes being tied to it in some way, the Biblical God likewise wasn’t the strongest priest in existence, despite assumptions one might make based on his class selection.

In return, Momonga was a master of instant-kill, a player who could easily claim a spot as one of Yggdrasil’s most outstanding practitioners of that art; similarly, the Biblical God was a master of artifact crafting. Momonga hadn’t even been aware of some of the artifact-crafting classes he now observed, though that wasn’t particularly surprising. 

Within Ainz Ooal Gown, there weren’t many artifact-crafting masters, and among other guilds and Players, they rarely appeared openly on the battlefield, let alone in PvP. Thus, Momonga wouldn’t have known of them. Especially in a game like Yggdrasil, where information was a weapon more potent than any ability or artifacts.

However, even a cursory glance at the abilities available to him, or rather, that intangible feeling as if he had always known exactly how they should work, told him that he could craft artifacts even at this moment, literally by picking up the nearest stone. Of course, without data crystals, the effectiveness of such artifacts wouldn’t be great, but the fact that an artifact could be created just by using a random stone that could be found everywhere, was already a feat in and of itself. 

Drawing a parallel to his unique ability [Dark Wisdom], which allowed Momonga to acquire spells from the bodies of defeated enemies, the Biblical God could use some kind of [Alchemical Transmutation]. An ability that enabled him to convert bodies into data crystals for enchantment, a very broken ability. Moreover, the stronger the defeated opponent, the more powerful the resulting data crystals would be. 

Though, much like with [Dark Wisdom], the outcome was somewhat random.

Given this fact, Momonga was genuinely tempted by the idea of permanently acquiring this form right now. 

Not only could he continuously summon undead daily using the bodies of defeated foes, but he could also gradually transform the slain into data crystals, then using them to create artifacts. This would not only expand Nazarick’s treasury but, if luck was on his side, potentially enhance it with artifacts from this world.

Furthermore, the Biblical God also possessed Super-Tier Magic, including [Wish Upon a Star]…

To Momonga, it was somewhat strange how neatly the Biblical God’s character fit into the familiar templates of Yggdrasil, but why this was the case, and exactly how his Super-Tier Magic now functioned, [Wish Upon a Star], clearly wasn’t eager to provide answers. 

Instead, it seemed to silently observe as Momonga increasingly came to the conclusion that he should retreat, lock himself in his quarters, and spend the next month studying every nuance of his most outstanding ability at the moment, as well as how the two different worlds interconnected and adapted to one another.

However, he wasn’t given the chance to do so. 

After a while, the angelic girl stopped trembling, then finally lifted her beautiful face from his legs and slowly rose, first to her knees, then to her feet. She looked at Momonga with an expression that conveyed both resolve and fear that he might still vanish from her sight, never to return. 

“Daddy, we must return to the Heavens at once!”

The girl’s voice cut straight into Momonga’s mind, forcing him to pause his musings and realize that his troubles didn’t end with merely assuming the form of the Biblical God to convince one angel. A much larger issue loomed before him in the form of countless other Angels and the Church itself.

Momonga couldn’t go to the Heavens right now, of course. Considering that he wanted to remain in Nazarick and needed to report what had happened here, and given that in an unknown place like the Heavens, he couldn’t predict what effects another realm might have on him or what might be demanded of him there; and even accounting for the fact that he lacked the memories of the true Biblical God, meaning the growing number of people questioning him would equally increase the likelihood of him slipping up, there was one major issue with that idea. 

The body he had acquired existed for only one hour, of which nearly ten minutes had already passed. 

That meant Momonga risked reverting to his usual form in the middle of the Heavens, or even on the way there. While he might at least attempt to convince the Angel before him of something, relying on the fact that she had seen his ‘Biblical God’ form, what about the other Angels? At best, they would demand he assume the form of the Biblical God once again, meaning he’d need to expend another charge of [Wish Upon a Star], wasting it for another temporary solution. 

That would mean it was better to use the ability right now and acquire this form permanently, but Momonga didn’t want to use it until he fully understood all the capabilities of his Super-Tier Magic…

A spiral of panic began to form over Momonga’s head before dissipating, but this happened for a paradoxical reason, not because of his [Emotion Suppression]. Momonga suddenly paused and pondered why, usually at this moment, his [Emotion Suppression] would kick in and dispel his anxious thoughts, yet it didn’t this time.

The realization of why this happened hit Momonga’s mind a moment later. It was because he had completely changed his form and, in effect, his build as well. Under these circumstances, he no longer possessed the abilities of his Overlord form, including [Emotion Suppression].

In other words, he absolutely could not go with the Angel girl, even more so. Without his [Emotion Suppression] acting as his very important crutch to catch him in moments of faltering emotions, he was utterly defenseless against constant bouts of panic!

“Ahem, my daughter,” Momonga smiled, though his smile came out a bit crooked; now that he actually have facial muscles that could be controlled, after so long having to do without, having to manipulate his expression solely through willpower, rather than like a sculptor crafting a permanently fixed look on his face, it felt odd. 

“I’m afraid I cannot return to the Heavens at this moment…”

“Is this because the Heavens are full of heretics who refuse to accept your return?!” Gabriel instantly flared up her wings at his words, leaning toward Momonga to look at him from beneath furrowed brows, her eyes burning with righteous anger. 

“I never doubted it, Daddy! I will immediately begin the purges to prepare the Heavens for your return! Tell me their names, Daddy, no one will withstand my wrath!”

Momonga’s rational mind noted that becoming the cause of a civil war in the Heavens was definitely not part of his current plans, just another reason to add to the pile why his ‘return’ would be very ill-advised. In his current state of a barely controllable panic, he would undoubtedly blurt out something inappropriate. 

And if ‘his’ Angels were even a tenth as loyal as the inhabitants of Nazarick, and the angelic girl’s current actions hinted strongly at this; then his return would only end in total catastrophe.

But that was the observation of Momonga’s rational mind; his irrational impulse, which was typically suppressed under normal circumstances by his inherent ability to sever excessive emotions, was expressed when his eyes slid down from the girl’s face towards her massive assets. 

Because, when the Angel had leaned toward Momonga, her prominent chest, with an equally prominent cleavage, had leaned forward with her. Despite Momonga’s logical mind screaming at him to avoid looking in that direction, his gaze stubbornly slipped downward, unable to resist peering in. It was as if her breasts had a gravitational pull of their own.

As she bent forward, the Angelic girl nearly touched his chest with her voluminous, swaying curves, forcing Momonga not only to look at them even more intently than before. But also, to feel that, without his [Emotion Suppression], certain parts of his physiology were not only functioning but rapidly redirecting resources from his cognitive processes to those responsible for reproduction and the transmission of genetic information from parent to offspring.

“Ahem, no, that is absolutely not necessary! There’s an entirely different reason for my continued absence, my daughter!” Realizing the trap he had fallen into, Momonga backed away slightly, then attempted to turn in such a way that his robe wouldn’t accidentally reveal certain aspects of his physiology to the girl. 

“My daughter… Yes, my daughter!”

Momonga latched onto the thought that the Angelic Girl before him was his metaphysical daughter to kill his libido; however, since Momonga had never had children of his own and barely interacted with kids at his job, when he tried to imagine a ‘daughter’, the only things that came to mind were memories of his friends’ children. More specifically, Shalltear and Albedo… Which did absolutely nothing to help him keep his physiology and the blood pumping from his brain to the lower half of his body under control.

He was truly almost out of his wits right now, and so, when his old faithful [Emotion Suppression] had failed him now, he could only rely on another.

“My daughter, I’m sure you can easily imagine the true reason why I cannot return to the Heavens at this moment!” Employing the sure-kill trick he had used many times before, Momonga abruptly tried to change the subject with his unbeatable tactic of, ‘random bullshit go!’. It was surprisingly very effective on those that had a tendency to overthink things.

It was a hook with an imaginary bait, one that the fish themselves conjured in their own mind.

“The reason why you haven't come back to the Heavens…?” The Angelic girl frowned at the question, as if she was trying to delve into Momonga’s mind and the intricate twists of his thought process. To Momonga’s growing horror, judging by her contemplative expression — a face on which deep thoughts visibly rolled, apparent even to Momonga himself, his unbeatable plan seemed to have misfired this time! 

Evidently, he still needed some scrap of information about his supposed ‘plan’, something his interlocutor could use to build the picture he needed in their own head. Simply saying, ‘you understand, don’t you?’ wouldn’t work on people he never met!

In his panic, Momonga had made a mistake.

Momonga’s mind churned violently with hasty thoughts and ideas; before a lifeline seemed to float into his grasp as he recalled that, technically speaking, he wasn’t alone at the moment! 

And that the body he currently occupied, despite the [Wish Upon A Star’s] instilled sense of familiarity, wasn’t his true body.

Of course, again, technically speaking, neither his Momonga form nor the body he occupied thanks to the [Create Body] spell was his ‘true’ body, buried deep beneath was [Satoru Suzuki]. But those were trivial details he decided not to bother himself with right now.

“Shalltear!” Hoping that he had at least managed to convince the angelic girl that he was indeed her creator and the true Biblical God, even if she was still thinking about the reason why Momonga couldn’t go back to the Heavens; Momonga decided to resort to a second, and only obvious, available tactic.

It was the tactic he used whenever he had to explain something to both Albedo and Demiurge ‘Explain my plan, but not to me; address it to another subordinate who understands nothing, while I just stand nearby as you describe it!’

Jeez, he must really be desperate to try this tactic with Shalltear of all people… But beggars can't be choosers.

Immediately, as soon as her name passed Momonga’s lips, Shalltear appeared beside Momonga. First, the black, opaque passage of [Gate] opened next to him, and, to Momonga’s satisfaction, he noted that the tense Angelic girl immediately rushed forward, positioning herself between Momonga and the portal. Judging by how quickly her wings unfurled, and the pristine white glow it emanated intensified, it seemed that the Angel was preparing to protect him from an unknown assailant.

To his great satisfaction, it seems that, even with his refusal to go to the Heavens, the Angel was fully convinced that he was indeed the Biblical God.

When Shalltear emerged from the [Gate], gracefully gliding out with a poised gait, the Angel didn’t relax her battle-ready stance, a reaction Momonga could also commend. No matter how an opponent appeared, it didn’t always reflect their combat capabilities. 

Though a stray thought, the idea that this might also be true in this world, did file itself away in a separate corner of his mind.

Shalltear, casting a glance at the Angel, perhaps because she wanted to show off, or for some other reason, she stepped forward deliberately, enjoying the Angel’s reaction, before allowing the [Gate] behind her to slowly close. Then, with equal deliberation, Shalltear turned to the Angel and performed a curtsy – if Momonga remembered the name of the gesture correctly, before slightly tilting her head. 

“I, Shalltear Bloodfallen, Guardian of the First, Second, and Third Floors of Nazarick, loyal servant of Lord Momonga, have arrived.”

Shit! Shalltear’s introduction immediately triggered a momentary bout of panic in Momonga’s mind. Indeed, he hadn’t told Shalltear to keep the information about Nazarick and his true name under wraps, especially from his ‘former NPCs’, which apparently included the Angel in front of him.

However, the Angel reacted to these words with remarkable restraint, dimming the radiance of her wings slightly, before she cast a glance at Momonga. Receiving no reaction from him regarding Shalltear’s arrival, no panic or even an order for the Angel to defend himself, not that the Angel thought such a thing necessary, she straightened up and performed a gesture similar to Shalltear’s. 

“Gabriel, Angel of Mercy, second of the Four Great Seraphs. Loyal daughter of the Biblical God.”

For a moment, Momonga thought he saw a vein pop on Shalltear’s forehead in anger and irritation at the mention of the Angel’s claim as his ‘daughter’, before she completely wiped the expression from her face and replaced it with a welcoming smile. If he had not caught it himself, he would have thought that it was nothing more than a trick of his eyes.

Showing none of her previous anger, she addressed Momonga directly. “You called for me, Lord Momonga?”

“Yes, I wished to introduce you to… Gabriel,” Momonga inwardly patted himself on the back for his quick thinking, and Shalltear’s support, even with her slip of the tongue about Nazarick, at least he now knew the Angel; name. 

“And I want you to help me inform Gabriel the reason why, that, unfortunately, I cannot go to the Heavens with her right now.”

Gabriel shot a glance at Momonga, hoping for an explanation, then at Shalltear, who immediately bowed her head to him. “As you wish, Lord Momonga.”

Momonga tried his best to ignore the phantom-like cruel smile of satisfaction that passed through Shalltear’s face.

“Gabriel, I’m afraid the events that transpired with Lord Momonga after he left this world have become problematic for his possible return to the Heavens,” Shalltear said, clearly forcing herself to even appear cordial. She then raised a hand to her fingers and, before Momonga could process what she was referring to, slightly slipped off a ring from her fingers.

It was too late for Momonga to try to stop her.

A moment later, Gabriel’s eyes widened, as if she were trying to solve some excessively complex and uncooperative equation in her mind.

“An Undead? A vampire… of incredible power? And holy power as well…!?” Gabriel muttered under her breath before a realization dawned on her. She turned her gaze to Momonga, her expression a mix of shock and determination. 

“Daddy! It doesn’t matter at all what the others think, you always were, are, and will be my Daddy! No one will dare oppose your return, no matter what form you take at that moment! All the Angels will stand under your banner once more!”

‘I would make sure of it…’ The whispered promise, and threat spoken under her breath was most definitely not something that Momonga was meant to hear, so Momonga once again, with practiced ease, pretended that he hadn't heard.

“Perhaps, but can we be certain of that?” Momonga inwardly rejoiced, not only because he understood what Gabriel meant, but also because it seemed he had finally found a breakthrough in his attempts to come up with a reason not to return to the angels immediately. 

“Even just assuming this form… I mean, returning to my previous self, cost me immense effort, and it’s only a temporary transformation. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if I can assume this form again in the future…”

Momonga played it safe, both to avoid expending further charges of [Wish Upon a Star] to retake his ‘true’ form later, and in case, after all his experiments, he decided to keep the Biblical God form as a permanently available option. He wanted to keep both options open.

He expected some anger, or even denial, however, the reaction he expected didn’t come from Gabriel but from Shalltear instead. “Lord Momonga! In that case, allow me to be your executioner’s sword and direct your wrath upon all who even thought of defiance!”

Shalltear immediately dropped to one knee, bowing her head deeply, with Gabriel mirroring her actions. “Daddy! If there is anyone amongst my brothers and sisters who dare to oppose your return, allow me to deliver their punishment!”

It was only a second later that Momonga realized what he had said and how it could be interpreted in Nazarick, and by Gabriel, if she truly harbored a loyalty akin to that of Nazarick’s inhabitants, by the Heavens as well… Well, maybe Gabriel is simply a special case? 

What a scary thought… He really misses his [Emotion Suppression], without it, he actually had to fight his instinctual reaction of a full body shiver… Never mind the drawback of his current form, he quickly stepped forward, determined to prevent the outbreak of a civil war in the Heavens! 

“No need for that, my daughter… Er, my children! I wish no harm and bear no grudge against the Heavens, I understand their doubts and am not saddened by them! Yes, precisely, even more so, umu! I fully understand and approve of their choice! I mean, their doubts have allowed them to protect the Heavens! After all, I wouldn’t want just any impostor to take the throne of the Heavens simply by claiming to be God!”

“But Lord Momonga!” Shalltear interrupted his impassioned entreaty, his panicked reaction of not wanting yet another faction to be arrayed against him.  Daring to speak out of turn, and thankfully so, considering Momonga was on the verge of spiraling into panicked justifications, she raised her gaze to him. 

“If anyone dared to mistake your magnificent person for an impostor, they must be punished in the harshest manner possible! And if anyone fails to recognize your august self, they must also be punished equally! Please, Lord Momonga, do not forgive such transgressions!”

“Daddy…” A quick glance at Gabriel revealed that not only had she mimicked Shalltear’s reactions, but, lifting her gaze to Momonga, she was also shedding tears at that moment. 

“Daddy, you are still… so merciful… Daddy, my heart cannot bear your kindness!”

“Um, er, umu, yes,” Momonga inwardly once again cursed the absence of his [Emotion suppression], which wasn’t returning for at least another half-hour while his [Wish] remained active. 

This meant he needed to change the subject of the conversation as quickly as possible before his emotions got out of control. “Yes, mercy! Exactly, I have chosen to show my mercy, for that is what the Biblical God, that is, I, am known for! Therefore, there’s no need to pursue any internal enemies, because they are not enemies! I have no enemies!”

“But Daddy~!” Gabriel raised her tear-streaked face to Momonga, unabashed by the streams still flowing down her cheeks speaking plaintively, like a child, which is completely incongruous to her very ‘mature’ appearance. 

“We all… All of us have been waiting for your return! Ever since that day… We’ve all believed you would come back to us! Please, Daddy, my heart cannot bear it if you don’t return to us again!”

“Um, er, uh-huh,” With no other choice, Momonga grasped at the first response that came to mind, one he might have used under similar circumstances. Even if it indeed meant that he had to do something he didn’t want to do in the future. 

“I will definitely return! Absolutely and without a doubt, I will return to the Heavens! I just need to prepare for it! Yes, exactly, I need to prove that I am indeed the Biblical God, even if my form is entirely different! I’ll simply prepare to properly prove it and will definitely come back to the Heavens!”

The thought of having to juggle the roles of being the leader of the Heavens and the leader of Nazarick, along with figuring out how to connect the two, and the mountain of problems that would follow from this, hit Momonga’s mind only after he finished speaking. Worst of all, he had made a promise! And Momonga is one that rarely ever breaks his word.

But, before he could come up with a new excuse, which would likely dig him even deeper into his current predicament, Gabriel interrupted him. “Prove? But how exactly…”

A second later, Gabriel’s face lit up, and a spark of understanding flashed in her eyes, making Momonga tense up, bracing for trouble in her next words. “Of course, how did I not realize it sooner! The [Heavenly System]…”

“What…?” Momonga, stripped of control over his emotions, blurted out loud, fortunately, Gabriel was too taken by the idea that had popped in her head, ignoring his outburst, seemingly lost in her own rapid musings. “Indeed, even without a body, if the [Heavenly System] recognizes you, and you can demonstrate your full control over it… Then no one will have a choice but to acknowledge your return, Daddy!”

Momonga desperately wanted to know what this mentioned [Heavenly System] was, but at this point, he wasn’t even sure what scared him more; arousing suspicion due to his apparent ignorance of what seemed like basic knowledge about the world around him, or receiving a clear answer that would undoubtedly plunge him into another whirlwind of emotions.

Strangely, though Momonga’s [Emotion Suppression] had vanished with the change of body, perhaps after enduring so many shocks in such a short time, his emotions seemed to dull, as if it had become desensitized by the constant upheavals. So, in response to this remark, Momonga merely hung his head and nodded, Gabriel had mistaken it as a confirmation of her idea, while in truth, Momonga had just given up.

 “Good. Yes, exactly. You’ve correctly deciphered my plan, Gabriel…”

Hearing these words, Gabriel nodded in return, then broke into a smile that so strongly reminded Momonga of the smiles of Nazarick’s inhabitants when they too had ‘deciphered his plans’. 

Momonga nodded once more, before then, tried his hardest to end the ongoing conversation lest he promised more things that he couldn’t accomplish. 

“I assume then… that’s all? And there are no additional questions you’d like to ask me? So you need to return home now, don’t you?”

Gabriel pondered his words for a second. Momonga watched the scene with bated breath, fearing that she would say, ‘Actually, there is one more question’, and bury him even deeper into shit than before. 

But, apparently, the universal law of karmic balance decided to repay Momonga’s misfortune with some luck, Gabriel's contemplative expression finally broke into a smile and nodding. “Indeed, Daddy, I need to return. I still have a lot of work to do!”

“Excellent,” Momonga barely restrained himself from heaving a deep sigh of relief, nodding back instead. “In that case, I can only wish you luck, Gabriel.”

“Silly Daddy, I don’t need luck when I know you’re watching over me!” A second later, Gabriel unfurled all her wings, then swiftly launched herself upward, abruptly lifting off the ground and moving at an impressive speed, leaving Momonga and Shalltear, still kneeling on one knee before him, behind.

Momonga, watching the receding bright dot in the sky, could finally exhale a sigh of relief, releasing all the pent-up emotions he had held in during this ordeal.

“I’m exhausted…” Momonga muttered under his breath, processing everything that had happened in the past forty minutes of his life, slowly slumping as his self-control gave way under the weight of his emotions. 

“I need to take a rest. Maybe I could take a wal…k”

A moment later, Momonga cut himself off, then glanced around furtively, as if checking whether another tragedy might seize upon his careless words. He then turned on the spot.

“No way,” Momonga shivered in fear, before looking at Shalltear who was still on her knees. 

“Shalltear, open a [Gate]. Back to Nazarick it is; at least there, I know what to expect from the random encounters…”