Monkyspanner moved like the wind, seizing Climb by the collar.

The dozens of meters that separated them shrank to zero in less than a second.

The sudden gust from his movement sent tents snapping violently in the wind, and the blue-haired man nearby instinctively grabbed for his sword with a startled, "W-what the hell?!" But that didn't matter.

Whatever this tall man tried to do, it wouldn't so much as scratch Monkyspanner.

"What? What did you just say?"

"Ghk—M-Monkyspanner-sama? W-what are you—?!"

He ignored the stammering and shook Climb roughly by the collar, both hands gripping with iron strength.

The young knight's feet dangled helplessly above the ground as his airway closed. His choked gasps and frantic thrashing were powerless against muscles harder than steel.

"That thing you just said! Repeat it! What exactly did you say?!"

"P-please… let go…!"

Monkyspanner finally released him with a sharp exhale. Climb collapsed to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing harshly, his face pale as a corpse.

Beside him, Brain Unglaus narrowed his eyes. His hand gripped his sword tighter, every muscle coiled like a spring. The hulking figure was already within his range, and Brain was ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Hey, Climb! Are you alright? You bastard…"

"N-no, I'm fine, Brain-san! This is Monkyspanner El Dragondream, head of the great house!"

"…Hah? This musclehead is?"

Brain stared, dumbfounded.

The giant before him was said to be the patriarch of that legendary clan?

He'd heard the introduction earlier but hadn't paid it much mind, having kept himself distanced from such affairs. Now, up close, the truth was undeniable.

He couldn't see himself cutting this man down—not even in his visions. It was absurd. This was the third transcendent being he had ever met, after Shalltear Bloodfallen and Sebas Tian.

If Shalltear had felt like bottomless darkness, and Sebas like a vast ocean, then this man was a sheer cliff face—immovable, unscalable, hopeless.

Swinging a sword at him felt as futile as an ant waving a twig against the forces of nature.

The difference was overwhelming. This was what it meant to stand at the pinnacle of humanity.

'So the legends… they were real. The great house, the guardians of mankind… they weren't just names.'

Once, because Gazef Stronoff was said to rival them, Brain had scoffed at the idea of the "great house" being so extraordinary. That thought evaporated now, replaced with awe and despair.

And yet, Monkyspanner ignored Brain's turmoil entirely. He crouched before Climb, his massive frame looming like a crouched boulder.

"Forgive the sudden threat. But the matter is urgent, so I need your cooperation. Climb… repeat what you just said."

"Y-yes! Of course, Monkyspanner-sama!"

Though still trembling, Climb straightened and forced himself to speak. Pain lanced through his tongue where he'd bitten it, but this was nothing compared to the honor of standing before one of the three men he respected most in the world—perhaps the hardest one to ever meet.

"Do not be nervous. Just speak… Yes, tell me again what you said. About… Ainz…"

"You mean Ainz Ooal Gown?"

"Yes. Where did you hear that name?"

Climb's voice trembled as he raised it higher.

"I-I heard it from the Warrior-Captain, Gazef Stronoff! When he went to investigate those bandits raiding villages, he said he encountered a masked magic caster called Ainz Ooal Gown in a place called Carne Village. Later, when his life was in danger against a powerful foe, that caster saved him."

"…So Gazef said that, did he? You are certain?"

"Yes! I only repeat what I was told! I can't say if it's true or false, but I don't believe the Warrior-Captain would lie about such a thing!"

Monkyspanner felt thunder crash inside his skull.

That name. Ainz Ooal Gown.

He had heard it before.

Not just heard—it lingered in his memories of Yggdrasil, where countless gods had spoken it again and again. As soon as the name reached his ears, those memories resurfaced with perfect clarity.

"…Impossible."

Monkyspanner pressed a hand to his forehead. Climb froze, cowed by the overwhelming presence before him, but the man no longer even saw him.

This was information of colossal magnitude—no, catastrophic.

Gazef had mentioned being saved before, but Monkyspanner had dismissed it amid talk of the Theocracy's schemes. Now, by sheer accident, he had stumbled upon the name of names.

Ainz Ooal Gown.

It was carved into the very records of Shinshi. Every first-generation citizen—every NPC with memories of Yggdrasil—had been required by law to record what they remembered and submit it to the Great Archive.

Among those records, one name appeared more than any other: Ainz Ooal Gown.

And the descriptions were always the same.

"The strongest DQN guild."

"A den of perverts."

"The most powerful small elite force on the server."

"A nest of demons."

The rumors were endless, ranging from ridiculous to terrifying. But stripped of exaggeration, the conclusion was unanimous:

They were extremely dangerous.

A guild of aberrations, a cabal of villains, a nest of monsters.

The guild itself had been founded for heteromorphic beings, with the goal of opposing and eradicating beings of light.

And though it numbered only forty-one players, in all of Yggdrasil there were scarcely any powers that could truly oppose them.

Compared to Shinshi, of course, their scale and resources were far smaller. But the fact that such power was concentrated in so few—that was the problem.

According to what the gods once spoke of, there was an infamous incident: some 1,500 strong—players and their vassals alike—once banded together and launched an assault on their base.

They sought both the fame of felling the forty-one demons, and the treasure hoarded within.

But instead of glory, they walked into traps and schemes, and not only failed to land a true battle against the guild members, but were utterly annihilated—and stripped of their equipment and treasures for their folly.

These were not the gods of Shinshi, but still, 1,500 was no small number. Many among them had reached the same limits as High Priests or Governors, as elite commanders—perhaps not all, but certainly several hundred. And yet they were slaughtered, all of them, by forty-one.

It was absurd. Terrifying. No detailed accounts remained, of course—recorded memories were only fragments of overheard words from the gods. But the danger of that guild was clear enough.

A heteromorphic guild. A den of evil. Forty-one demons. That alone was enough to mark them as a threat.

But that such a guild might fall into this world—that was never considered.

And yet… it wasn't impossible. Shinshi itself had descended, whole nations had come across. Five centuries ago, the Eight Greed Kings had arrived alongside what was believed to be their guild base, a flying castle. If that was possible, then so too was the arrival of Ainz Ooal Gown.

And if they had already come… the weight of that name would be crushing.

The guild Ainz Ooal Gown possessed more than enough power to threaten Shinshi itself. And now they lurked in the shadows of this world.

Could it be…? The ones moving within the Royal Capital—could they be Ainz Ooal Gown?!

The thought chilled him. Ainz Ooal Gown was a guild of heteromorphs, of evil-aligned beings. Demons would certainly be among them. That demon, calling itself Yaldabaoth, could very well belong to them. Perhaps even that vampire, Honyopenyoko, had been one of theirs.

And now, to realize it only now? If only he had known earlier!

Monkyspanner shot to his feet.

No longer did it matter to survey the situation or weigh his own safety. He had to return to Shinshi. Immediately. This super-critical information had to be shared. Every record on Ainz Ooal Gown needed to be reexamined, analyzed, studied in detail.

Fortunately, the Great Archive held not only the written recollections of Shinshi's people, but also the records left behind by the gods themselves. If those were reinterpreted in light of this knowledge, there would surely be more to uncover about the guild.

Analyze them. Study them. Learn their strengths and weaknesses. Monkyspanner did not doubt Shinshi's might—but never, never could they afford to underestimate such an enemy. The name alone demanded the assumption of the very worst, the darkest scenarios.

I have to hurry!

No more hesitation. He had to escape the capital. The moment he crossed the boundary of the teleportation seal, he would flee to Shinshi.

Use it, Aura—!

And then.

That unease he had been feeling for some time suddenly surged into certainty.

Monkyspanner's instincts flared, clearing his mind in an instant. Still crouched, he leapt.

Climb and Brain, seated nearby, could only gape as the giant burst upward through the tent in a single bound.

"Damn it—!"

Something unseen was upon him. Dangerous. Dangerous. Dangerous.

A threat unlike any he had ever felt in over two centuries bore down upon him. Lethal. Inescapable.

"N-no—!"

He screamed, thrashing his limbs, fighting desperately against the unseen grip. Something was closing around him, smothering him. Fatal. Terribly, fatally dangerous. He had to break free!

But his struggles were meaningless.

The world—no, the World—swallowed him whole.

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