Chapter 167 ~ The New World
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sato- I mean, Momonga, are we not…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji turned to look at the Overlord by his side, sitting on the obsidian throne World Item named “Throne of Kings”; a world item Ainz Ooal Gown received upon clearing the Underground Tomb of Nazarick dungeon in a single attempt.
<span style="font-weight:400">The appearance of his dear friend in this form was one familiar to him, as he had seen it often through the anime. However, aside from his appearance which was much more intimidating and impressive in reality, the aura and presence Yuuji would expect Momonga to exude were… absent.
<span style="font-weight:400">Another evidence that proved they were still in the Yggdrasil game.
<span style="font-weight:400">Momonga nodded with a slight sound of bones hitting bones as he responded.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. We are still in Yggdrasil. As you can see in the top right of your screen where the server time is, we have around 10 minutes before the server shutdown.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji did not miss the slight disappointment and sadness within his voice as he spoke thosest few words.
<span style="font-weight:400">A game he had called home for more than a decade. A ce where he could belong when reality did not give him that. A ce where he could be his best self. And a ce he could be with his dear friends.
<span style="font-weight:400">And now, such a sacred, beloved space would reach its end. No matter how much Yuuji and the rest of the group chat members had help him and be his new family, the past wouldn’t be so easily forgotten. No, it would never be forgotten.
<span style="font-weight:400">But, at the very least, Yuuji hoped Satoru would slowly ept the fact and move on.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see… Then, perhaps we can use this chance to get our bearings and familiarize ourselves with our powers and… memories.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji sent an emoticon of a winking face holding a thumb up, to which Momonga rescinded with a chuckle and a thumbs up.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, Momonga turned towards Lelouch, who seemed to be slowly recovering from the pain.
<span style="font-weight:400">He was truly shocked when he saw the three suddenly appear by his side, and with such striking appearance.
<span style="font-weight:400">From a first nce, Momonga could make an educated guess of what their race and ss could be. However, apart from that, he had no idea what their builds were or what kind of equipment they’re wearing.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Does your head still hurt, Lelouch?”
<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“Nggh… It’s starting to not hurt as much… But the phantom pain is still there.”
<span style="font-weight:400">He held his head with his gloved hand and shook his head. This… This was the first time he had ever felt such tremendous pain in his head. Did Yuuji experience this every time he teleported to another world for the mission…?
<span style="font-weight:400">Satoru nodded towards Lelouch. Then, he turned towards Aika, trying to see if she was also still in pain.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Aika, how about you? Are you- E-Eehhh…? W-What is she doing…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Guhehehe… Guhehehe~ Oh nyooo~ Hubby, you can’t~ Ahn~! Just where are you touching me~? Not there~ Don’t tease me~”
<span style="font-weight:400">Hearing her little chuckles and murmurs, the three boys all turned to look at Aika, and they saw her facing away from them, hugging herself while wriggling in ce, giggling creepily.
<span style="font-weight:400">And while Momonga couldn’t show any expression due to his skeleton features and Lelouch due to it still being a game, Yuuji could tell they were making a weirded out expression right now.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Aaahh… Well, let’s just let her live in her wondend for now…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lelouch and Momonga nodded… They still have around 8 minutes now, so they still have a few minutes to spare.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji couldn’t help but smile helplessly at Aika… Wondering if she too was super horny since they haven’t seen each other in so long.
<span style="font-weight:400">And with her new appearance… Yuuji could barely hold himself back. If possible, he’d like to spend his first night in this new world with her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji shook his head, keeping the lewd thoughts he had in the back of his mind for now, and turned towards Momonga.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Momonga, as you can see, we have received the supporting items from the group chat. And… we also have the “memories” about being a part of Ainz Ooal Gown…”
<span style="font-weight:400">There was silence as Momonga slowly processed Yuuji’s words.
<span style="font-weight:400">He turned to look at the line of gs, hung across the throne room; each one depicting the symbol of his dear friends.
<span style="font-weight:400">And then, he saw three “new” gs he had never seen before.
<span style="font-weight:400">The first one was that of an angel’s wing and devil’s wing. The second, a pair of devil’s wings with a heart in the middle. And the third, a pair of angel’s wings with the symbol of Geass.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was easy to tell which one belonged to whom. And the fact that they existed here meant that…
<span style="font-weight:400">Satoru let out a sigh, at least inwardly as he could not truly sight in the game or as a skeleton.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, he looked back towards Yuuji and nodded.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I understand… Please don’t mind it. I… understand how the group chat works. But… I’d like to hear your stories soon.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji and Lelouch both nodded to his request.
<span style="font-weight:400">Momonga then leaned back to his throne and looked at the server time, slowly ticking down to itsst minutes before the shut down at 00:00:00.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘It has been… a journey. I used to think this would be the end… But.’</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">He nced at Yuuji, who was now busy snapping Aika out of her daze, and Lelouch who was fiddling with his system UI. And a sense of relief, excitement, and nostalgia filled his chest.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘It’s yet another start… A start to an even more adventurous journey.’</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">He turned his gaze back towards the gs. The gs of his friends.
<span style="font-weight:400">Touch Me. Nishikienrai. Hero Hero. Bukubukuchagama. Peroroncino. Warrior Takemikazuchi. Tab Smaragdina. And many more…
<span style="font-weight:400">Including the three who had left the guild early and were now reced by Yuuji, Aika, and Lelouch.
<span style="font-weight:400">His dear friends…
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘I’ll be keeping your legacies… And keep moving forward with my new friends. I hope you don’t mind.’</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">He closed his eyes, reminiscing the precious memories he had with his guild mates, friends, and families in this game. The happy. The sad. The excited. The disappointment. Everything, now beautiful memories he will never forget and would forever fuel him in his life.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, he opened his eyes, and turned towards his new, dear friends.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s time. Are you guys ready?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhn~!!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“We are.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji, Aika, who was clinging onto Yuuji’s arm, and Lelouch all nodded.
<span style="font-weight:400">And soon… the server time ticked until there were only seconds left.
<span style="font-weight:400">23:59:56
<span style="font-weight:400">23:59:57
<span style="font-weight:400">23:59:58
<span style="font-weight:400">23:59:59
<span style="font-weight:400">00:00:00
<span style="font-weight:400">……
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">.
<span style="font-weight:400">00:00:01
<span style="font-weight:400">--------------------------------X--------------------------------
<span style="font-weight:400">Carne Vige.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was a vige located on the border of the Re-Estize Kingdom, near the edge of its border with the Baharuth Empire, close to the southern tip of the Azellerisia Mountain Range.
<span style="font-weight:400">A small, quiet vige just outside a patch of woond named The Great Forest of Tob, a ce that brought the vige both bounty and danger.
<span style="font-weight:400">Considering its size and its location as a frontier vige of the Re-Estize Kingdom, its poption was unexceptional. A mere 120 people, distributed among 25 families.
<span style="font-weight:400">The vige made its living from the resources of the woond forest and agriculture, taking advantage of the vastnd around them.
<span style="font-weight:400">Apart from doctors and herbalists who’d sometimese to collect herbs from the Great Forest of Tob, the only visitors to the vige were the yearly tax collectors.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was a ce fairly cut off from the rest of the world.
<span style="font-weight:400">Without technologies found in cities, or even simple magic items such as items that would create magical illumination of [Continual Light], the vigers within this small patch of civilization worked ording to the whims of nature around them.
<span style="font-weight:400">They would start working early hours in the morning, the moment the sun peeked out from the horizon, up until it set fully on the other side of the world.
<span style="font-weight:400">Today was no different from any other.
<span style="font-weight:400">Waking up early in the morning, Enri Emmot went to the well to carry water. The beautiful, blonde-haired girl with untanned, surprisingly pale skin despite her farmer lifestyle, a slender figure, lithe arms, and slender legs despite her quite sizable womanly features both front and back, quickly made her way to the well.
<span style="font-weight:400">After filling up her bucket with water, she hoisted it up and made her way back home. And she would be making the same trip twice more, totaling to three times, to fully fill her house’s water tank.
<span style="font-weight:400">Despite her lithe figure, the slender, te arms of the young woman belied the true strength and muscles she had beneath those pale, soft skin. Long years of farm life and helping out with chores and manualbor had made sure she had grown some muscles, making her quite fit and lean, despite the suppleness and softness she still retained as a young girl.
<span style="font-weight:400">As Enri made her way home, she couldn’t help but dread the fact that she would need to make the same trip twice more. If she had a bigger bucket, even if it were to be a bit heavier, she would’ve taken it if it meant decreasing the number of trips she had to make.
<span style="font-weight:400">Suddenly, she heard a sound that snapped her out of her idle daze. She turned to look, and immediately from but a nce, she could feel the tension in the air, and seeds of fear began to sprout within her heart.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her ears picked up sounds of woods being broken as well as… A scream.
<span style="font-weight:400">A chill ran down her spine.
<span style="font-weight:400">No… It must be a mistake. She must be mistaken. It couldn’t be a human voice. Why would a human suddenly make such terrifying cries?
<span style="font-weight:400">And then, she noticed one more thing that made all thoughts disappear from her mind.
<span style="font-weight:400">The fact that the screams… came from the direction of her home.
<span style="font-weight:400">Casting away the bucket of water, Enri ran. She ran as quickly as she could.
<span style="font-weight:400">And perhapsdy luck pitied her so much that she gave her the luck to not trip over her own long skirt and help her keep her bnce to keep on running.
<span style="font-weight:400">The sound rang out once more. And this time, she could not deny it anymore… It was a human scream.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her heart sank to her stomach, yet she kept running, no matter if she could feel her legs burning from the acid her muscles excreted due to the inability of her breath to catch up to the demand of oxygen she needed to run so quickly.
<span style="font-weight:400">She ran, ran, and ran.
<span style="font-weight:400">The neigh of horses. The screams of humans. And the cracking of wooden structures.
<span style="font-weight:400">The sounds became clearer and clearer as she neared her home.
<span style="font-weight:400">And she soon saw someone… and another one in armor, swinging a sword at him.
<span style="font-weight:400">The viger copsed to the ground with a howl of pain, and with a single thrust to his mortal chest, the howl vanished, and the man dropped to the ground, like a puppet that had its strings cut off.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Morga-san…”
<span style="font-weight:400">In such a small vige, even someone unrted to her family or work would be as close as kin. As such, she knew full well who the viger that had been cut down was.
<span style="font-weight:400">He was a loud person, a rambunctious one. But he was a good man deep down… He had done nothing wrong that would deserve a steel de through the heart.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was unfair. But, Enri gritted her teeth and continued to run. Run towards her home. To find her family, while praying to whatever Gods may listen to the prayers of a little, vige girl like her. Pray that they will be safe.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Dad! Mom! Nemu!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Enri opened the door with a shout, and she saw three familiar figures with unfamiliar looks of fear etched on their faces.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Enri! Are you alright?!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">Her father held her tightly in his arms. They were strong, brawny, tough arms from all the work he had done in the field. But now, they were trembling… It was as if it took him everything to hold her tightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Aaah… Enri…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Her mother also embraced her. Her gentle, lithe arms now seemed even weaker as she trembled all over.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good! Now that Enri’s back, we need to flee as well!!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">They couldn’t stay any longer. They need to flee, lest the steel des would find and pierce their chest as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">The family of four immediately grabbed each other''s hand and ran out of their home. But just as they were about to leave, a man, a fully-armored knight bearing the insignia of the Baharuth Empire, stood at the doorway. A long sword in hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Baharuth Empire was the neighbor to the Re-Estize Kingdom, and the two had frequently waged war upon each other. Most of the battles have been mostly limited to the region around the fortress city, E-Rantel and had not reached the vige.
<span style="font-weight:400">That is… until now.
<span style="font-weight:400">The cold eyes that pierced through the vision slits of his helmet froze the entire Emmot family.
<span style="font-weight:400">And just as he was about to enter the house…
<span style="font-weight:400">“UOOOOHHH!!!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“KUUH!!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">Enri’s father lunged at the knight, toppling him over and causing both men to stumble around the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Damn you!!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Blood streamed from the small cut on her father’s face, a small wound that he must’ve suffered from bull-rushing a man in full ted armor.
<span style="font-weight:400">He continued to struggle against the knight as he held the knight’s hand from drawing his short sword, while the knight held his hand which was holding a kitchen knife.
<span style="font-weight:400">The sight of blood and struggle for life stunned the two young girls of the Emmot family.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Enri! Nemu!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The cry of their mother snapped both daughters out of their frozen fear. And as they turn to look, they could see their mother, shaking her head while wearing a heartbreaking expression on her once beautiful, gentle face.
<span style="font-weight:400">They ran. The three of them ran as quickly as they could as to not let the ultimate sacrifice of their beloved father and husband go to waste.
<span style="font-weight:400">Guilt and hesitation wed at her heart, drawing fresh blood and leaving a scar that would probably never heal.
<span style="font-weight:400">The neighing of horses. Angry shouts. sh of steel. And the smell of iron and burning flesh.
<span style="font-weight:400">All of them assaulted Enri’s ears and nose from the direction of the vige.
<span style="font-weight:400">The fear was enough to freeze her in her step… If not for the small hand that spurred her on, her little sister’s hand, she wouldn’t have the ability to keep on running for long.
<span style="font-weight:400">Suddenly, her mother, who was running ahead of her, suddenly froze, turned around, and doubled back, her hands frantically gesturing to her children to run somewhere else, and far.
<span style="font-weight:400">Even without a word, Enri knew what she had done…
<span style="font-weight:400">She bit her lips, held her little sister’s hand tighter, and continued to run as she forced back the tears in her eyes in futility.
<span style="font-weight:400">She continued to run… And steeled herself to make the same decision as her mother for her little sister.