The Supreme Overlord (Multicross)

In the year 2138, human technology had advanced significantly. Yet, despite these technological strides, a crucial challenge remained unsolved: energy.

Even in 2138, humanity had not mastered the energy technology necessary for extended space travel. Unable to access the resources of the universe, the over ten billion humans remained confined to Earth, and the energy crisis had arrived as expected.

The shortage of energy had caused severe class stratification, with rising unemployment rates each year and global instability.

In this dire situation, ambitious individuals were poised for action, and a new world war seemed imminent.

To resolve the current crisis, the simplest solution would be to harness a new energy technology that could propel humanity into the interstellar age.

If the legendary third-class perpetual motion machine could be created, it might bring about revolutionary changes to human civilization.

However, such technology remained a mere fantasy.

In the face of this reality, virtual reality technology based on network and nanotechnology became widely adopted.

Every citizen could use their ID to purchase nanomechanical nutrient solutions at minimal cost. By injecting these solutions to enter the virtual world, human metabolism could be slowed, reducing the excessive consumption of resources.

This was the approach chosen by nations to cope with the energy crisis, though it was merely a temporary fix.

The social ecology of the time could be summed up with a term coined over a century ago: Cyberpunk.

...

Yggdrasill, a game named after the Norse World Tree, was one of the many virtual reality games that launched twelve years ago when the new policy was implemented.

At that time, it was also the most highly anticipated game.

Yet, that was twelve years ago.

"What nonsense is this? This is the Great Tomb of Nazarick that we all worked so hard to create. Why can you just abandon it so easily?"

Around the enormous, obsidian-glowing round table were forty-two opulent seats.

A skeletal figure clad in magnificent robes, exuding an aura of infinite terror, was now shouting in extreme anger.

Momonga with his frightening eyes glowing a menacing crimson, slowly surveyed the forty-one empty seats aside from its own.

Opening the guild member list, he saw only five members remaining, with the other four showing as offline and grayed out.

Momonga's anger quickly dissipated, replaced by a profound emptiness and loneliness.

Thirty-seven members had long since left the guild, and the remaining four had been inactive for a long time, leaving only Momonga alone in the guild.

Ainz Ooal Gown, a game guild founded by forty-two heteromorphic players, had once held the rank of seventh in the world during its peak.

It was only ranked seventh due to Ainz Ooal Gown's policy of admitting only heteromorphic players, which limited the guild's membership to forty-two.

Compared to the hundreds of members in large guilds, Ainz Ooal Gown was truly a small group within the game.

But it was precisely because of its small number and the persecution of heteromorphic players, who were often denounced as symbols of evil, that the guild members became even more united and passionately achieved this incredible accomplishment.

However, the guild had long passed its peak, now falling outside the top twenty in world rankings.

The reason the guild still held a ranking in the twenties with only five members left was due to the substantial legacy left by the departed members and the fact that the game was nearing its end, with the server's population dwindling.

Today was also the day the server was scheduled to shut down.

In Momonga's bony hand was a magnificent staff.

The staff, modeled after Hermes' caduceus, was entwined with seven serpents, each holding a different-colored gem in their agonized mouths.

This was a unique guild weapon, representing Ainz Ooal Gown, and its destruction would mean the dissolution of the entire guild.

Despite its power, the staff had never been used by the nominal guild leader, Momonga. Instead, it had always been displayed in the room where the Supreme Beings held their meetings.

The cyberpunk reality was numbing, and only the virtual world could provide joy and excitement.

The game had been running for twelve years, and Momonga had spent the most precious years of his human life within its realm. Thus, he held a deep emotional attachment to the Great Tomb of Nazarick and all its guild members.

Those friends with whom he fought side by side were regarded as his only family, his sole kin. After all, in reality, he was all alone.

Momonga would never allow himself to do anything that might endanger the guild. Even though this staff was incredibly powerful, he would never use it.

"Let me be a little indulgent today, everyone..."

Momonga murmured to the empty room. Even though he was only a skeletal figure, his profound sadness and loneliness could be felt deeply.

The departure of the guild members and the decline of Ainz Ooal Gown were like being abandoned by loved ones, causing him pain akin to losing his home.

In times when no one was online, he liked to talk to himself in this room, reminiscing about the past, like an empty-nester without family.

"But Zarathustra and Tabula said this staff was designed to resemble the Caduceus of Hermes, but what exactly is the Caduceus of Hermes?"

Momonga pondered, examining the staff in his hands with some curiosity.

Zarathustra and Tabula were kindred spirits. In this numbing era, the two of them, who shared an interest in classical mythology, always had many topics to discuss.

Momonga fell into a nostalgic reverie, reminiscent of the past.

They had once sat here together, laughing and chatting. Ulber and Touch Me were always bickering, while Zarathustra and Tabula discussed myths that no one else knew about.

He and Perorochino would quietly discuss galgames, occasionally laughing out loud and attracting disdainful looks from others.

They had crafted the guild weapon together, adventuring with a shared spirit every day.

They had faced formidable foes together, overcome challenges, and even came close to having the entire guild destroyed in the most dire moments.

That was the most glorious and prosperous time for Ainz Ooal Gown.

Fragments of memories played in Momonga's mind as he feared forgetting them, imprinting them deeply within.

After sitting for an unknown amount of time, Momonga stood up, shaking off his elaborate robe as he left the round table.

In these final moments before the server's shutdown, he decided to walk through the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick once more, cherishing it as the most beautiful memory of his youth.

Passing through the hall where the round table was located, he first arrived at a grand hall with a hemispherical design.

The hall's ceiling was adorned with four-colored crystals, and the walls were punctuated with seventy-two niches, each holding a statue.

Each statue resembled a demon, and this hall was known as the Key of Solomon.

The statues corresponded to the Seventy-Two Pillars of Demons, crafted from an ultra-rare magical metal to create golems.

These demonic statues were initially created by Tabula Smaragdina, the renowned alchemist, along with several demon-type players. However, they grew weary after completing over sixty statues and abandoned the task.

It was Zarathustra who could not bear to see their work left incomplete. Believing in seeing things through to the end, he took it upon himself to finish the remaining statues.

"I remember that Zarathustra completed the statues of Baal, Barbatos, Paimon, Morax, Asmodeus, Camio, and Gremory. What were the others again?"

"…Ugh, these demon names are really hard to remember."

Momonga grumbled, scratching his bald head.

The one who enjoyed such ceremonial aspects and settings was none other than Tabula Smaragdina.

Passing through this hall, Momonga came upon a stone door, intricately carved with images of angels and demons.

Opening this grand door revealed an expansive hall.

The hall was vast, spacious enough to accommodate hundreds without feeling crowded, supported by Roman-style columns that held up a lofty dome.

The walls were primarily white, adorned with luxurious golden patterns, and dazzling crystal chandeliers made from colorful gemstones cast a dreamlike hue.

Gigantic banners with intricate designs hung from the ceiling to the floor, totaling forty-two in number.

Beneath each banner stood a towering throne, symbolizing the forty-two members of the guild.

This was the deepest and most significant part of the Great Tomb of Nazarick—the Throne Room!

Although Momonga was the guild leader, he was not unlike the others in many respects.

He knew well that the strongest member of the guild was not him, nor the most invested, nor the wisest or most knowledgeable.

His position as guild leader came about simply due to his gentle demeanor and serious, responsible nature, which led the others to elect him.

It was precisely because of his earnestness that he felt the weight of the guild's decline so heavily, experiencing both loneliness and dissatisfaction.

Momonga stared blankly at the Throne Room, his skeletal face glowing with red light, his emotions wavering.

Finally, he sighed with regret and began to scrutinize the hall carefully.

His gaze first fell upon a book floating in front of the Ainz Ooal Gown banner.

The book emanated a faint glow, appearing ancient and mysterious.

This was a world-class item!

World-class items were the most powerful artifacts in the game, each possessing a unique and unparalleled ability.

Among the two hundred world-class items, the top twenty are specially referred to as the Twenty.

The Twenty are so powerful that they can severely disrupt game balance, to the extent that they could compel the game developers to adjust the game system.

Just possessing a world-class item would catapult a player's renown in Yggdrasill to unimaginable heights.

The book floating beneath the guild banner in front of him was one such world-class item, and it was the most prestigious of them all.

Its name was Avesta, and while it theoretically belonged to the guild, in reality, it was an individual possession, that of the guild member Zarathustra.

Thinking of this friend, Momonga found himself lost in nostalgia once more.

Due to his gentle nature, he had good relationships with all the guild members.

Zarathustra could be considered the most famous member of the guild, and arguably the most renowned player in Yggdrasill.

He was one of the original nine members of Ainz Ooal Gown, a cornerstone of the guild.

No one knew Zarathustra's real name or what he did in the real world, but it was clear to the guild members that he was a remarkably successful and influential person.

Though it might seem immodest to praise one's friend, to Momonga, Zarathustra was a man of considerable skill and depth.

Many of the guild's strategies and tactics, including those for conquering dungeons, were devised by him and Tabula.

Moreover, Zarathustra maintained excellent relationships with all guild members.

Whether dealing with the justice-driven Touch Me or the oddly obsessive Ulbert, he could always handle them with grace.

Of course, Zarathustra was somewhat closer to Ulbert.

Initially, the guild members had all agreed to elect him as the guild leader, a decision that included Momonga's support.

Zarathustra was certainly capable and had better relationships with the members than anyone else.

However, managing the guild's numerous affairs was too burdensome, and Zarathustra used his dislike for such administrative tasks as an excuse to decline the offer.

To the guild members, it seemed he merely wanted to avoid the responsibility.

Zarathustra's fame in the game came from being truly the world's strongest player, a title universally recognized in Yggdrasill.

The game's official world championship was held annually, and Zarathustra had won five consecutive world titles since the first tournament.

It was only when he grew bored and chose to stop participating that other world champions began to emerge.

Among all the participants in the tournaments, he was even dubbed the Demon King.

Like most games, Yggdrasil offered only two paths to power: grind or spend. The only fair arena was the official tournaments, where everyone's stats and equipment were the same, and the outcome depended solely on skill and technique.

Winning five consecutive world championships in such a competitive environment solidified Zarathustra's reputation as the Strongest in the World.

As a reward for his five consecutive titles, the game's developers themselves took action. After discussions with Zarathustra, they crafted for him the top-ranked world-class item—Avesta.

The capabilities and specific functions of this world-class item remained a mystery, even to the members of Ainz Ooal Gown.

After receiving Avesta, Zarathustra placed it between the thrones. According to him, Avesta would be the final safeguard for the guild.

Should any players ever breach the depths of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and reach the thrones, this world's strongest item would surely turn the tide of battle.

What exactly does the top-ranked world-class item do? What is its power?

Curiosity drove Momonga to approach Avesta.

"Well, since today is the last day of the game, why not take a look at the description of this item?"

He extended his skeletal hand, hesitating as he reached for Avesta.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch Avesta, he stopped abruptly.

Quickly shaking his head, he withdrew his hand and muttered to himself, "...No, this is an item that Zarathustra obtained through immense effort and hardship."

"...It embodies the hard work of all the members of Ainz Ooal Gown."

"Even as the guild leader, even on the last day of the game, I can't tarnish the feelings among friends!"

With this resolve, Momonga refrained from touching the item.

As he whispered to himself, a deep yet lighthearted male voice suddenly echoed from behind him: "...It's been a long time, Momonga!"

Startled, Momonga stiffened. He turned around swiftly to face a terrifyingly large demon!