The hilt of his halberd slammed into the arena floor, and the ground around it began to freeze.
"You. Stand. Before. A. Supreme. Being. Contain. Yourself."
"This brat started it!"
"Actually—"
"Awawawa…"
Shalltear and Aura locked gazes, while Mare panicked from the side. Momonga could not hold it in any longer, and curtly addressed the two of them.
"...Shalltear, Aura. Playtime is over."
The two of them shuddered in shock, then lowered their heads simultaneously.
"My sincerest apologies!" they said in unison.
Momonga magnanimously accepted their apologies with a nod. Then, he turned and said, "Cocytus, you've come."
"I. Came. Immediately. Upon. Receiving. Your. Summons. Momonga-sama."
The water in the air froze with a crackling sound as it made contact with the white vapor puffing out of Cocytus's mouth as he spoke. This cold was every bit as frigid as the Primal Fire Elemental was hot. Anyone standing near him would suffer the effects of the lowered temperature, and they might even sustain frostbite. However, Momonga did not feel anything. The fact was that everyone here was resistant to fire, cold, and acid attacks, or had some way to deal with them.
"You must have been very free with no intruders around, no?"
"Indeed."
The clacking from his lower mandibles sounded like the threatening noises of a wasp. However, Momonga had the feeling that he was laughing.
"Even. So. There. Are. Still. Things. Which. Must. Be. Done. So. I. Was. Not. Free. At. All."
"Oh? Things that had to be done? What things were these, may I ask?"
"Training. In. Order. To. Be. Ready. To. Deploy. At. Any. Time."
Although it was not too obvious from his appearance, Cocytus was designed to be the quintessential warrior, be it in personality or body. Therefore, from the perspective of a weapon user, his attacks were the strongest in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
"You've done all this for me. You've worked hard. My thanks."
"After. Hearing. Your. Praise. The. Task. Is. Not. As. Tiring. I. See. Demiurge. And. Albedo. Have. Arrived."
Momonga turned in the direction Cocytus was looking, at the entrance of the Colosseum, where he saw two figures enter. The one in front was Albedo, while a man followed behind her like a lackey. Once she got close enough, Albedo smiled to Momonga and bowed deeply.
The man bowed and said, "Forgive me for keeping everyone waiting."
He was about one hundred eighty centimeters tall, and his skin was darkened from the sun. His facial features looked to be Oriental, while his jet-black hair was neatly combed back. The eyes under his pince-nez glasses could not even be said to be narrowed. It was doubtful whether they were actually open at all.
He was dressed in a Western suit, with a matching tie. He gave the impression of being a professional businessman, or a skilled lawyer.
However, his gentlemanly appearance was hard-pressed to hide the evil air about him. A tail sheathed in silvery metal extended behind him, tipped by six sharp spikes. He was limned by flickering black flames.
This man was the "Creator of Blazing Inferno", Demiurge.
He was the Guardian of the Seventh Floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. This demon was designed to be the defense commander of the NPCs.
"It seems everyone is here."
"—Momonga-sama, there are two more people who have not yet arrived," said a resonant voice that seemed to pour into one's heart.
Demiurge's words were empowered by a passive skill. This skill was called 「Command Mantra」, and it could instantly turn the weak-minded into puppets dancing on Demiurge's strings.
However, this skill had no effect on the people present. It was only useful on people below level forty, so to everyone here, it simply sounded good.
"No. Those two Guardians are only to be moved under special circumstances. Therefore, there is no need to call them over at the moment."
"I see."
"...My. Allies. Have. Not. Arrived. Yet."
Aura and Shalltear froze as they heard those words, and the smile froze on Albedo's face.
"...That, that fellow is just an Area Guardian in one of the floors which I… which we are in charge of."
"Y-Yes…"
Shalltear and Aura smiled stiffly, while Albedo nodded vigorously in agreement.
"...Kyouhukou, is it. Indeed, it would be good to inform the various Area Guardians. Then, let the Area Guardians like Guren and Grant know about it as well. I will leave that task to the various Floor Guardians."
There were two kinds of Guardians in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
Floor Guardians, like the ones before Momonga at the moment, were responsible for one or more floors. Area Guardians were responsible for an individual area within a floor. Simply put, the Floor Guardians were in charge of the Area Guardians, who were in turn in charge of a specific domain. Since there were many of them, they were individually not very important. In Nazarick, the term Guardian usually referred to a Floor Guardian.
After the various Floor Guardians showed that they understood Momonga's orders, Albedo commanded:
"Then, everyone, let us pledge our loyalty to the Supreme One."
All the Guardians nodded as one, and before Momonga could interrupt, they had lined up before him. Albedo stood at their head, while the other Guardians formed a line behind her. All the Guardians had solemn, respectful expressions. They showed no sign of playing around.
Shalltear, who stood on one end of the line, stepped forward:
"Shalltear Bloodfallen, Guardian of the First, Second and Third Floors, presents herself to the Master."
She went to one knee, one hand pressed against her chest, and bowed deeply. After that, Cocytus stepped forward and said:
"Cocytus. Guardian. Of. The. Fifth. Floor. Presents. Himself. To. The. Master."
Much like Shalltear had, he knelt before Momonga like a vassal before a lord. Then, it was the twin dark elves' turn:
"The Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Aura Bella Fiora, presents herself to the Master."
"Al-Also a Guardian of the Sixth Floor, Mare Bello Fiore, presents himself to the Master."
They knelt respectfully and lowered their heads to Momonga. Shalltear, Cocytus, Aura, and Mare all had different bodies and thus they should have each taken their steps forward differently. Yet, the way with which they knelt was identical, and they lined up neatly.
After that, Demiurge advanced in a dignified manner.
"The Guardian of the Seventh Floor, Demiurge, presents himself to the Master."
Following his crisp words, Demiurge went to one knee in a graceful descent, as though expressing his heart through his actions. Finally, Albedo stepped forward as well.
"The Guardian Overseer Albedo presents herself to the Master."
She smiled to Momonga, and knelt like the other Guardians. However, Albedo continued speaking in a high and clear voice as she delivered her report to Momonga.
"With the exception of the Fourth Floor Guardian Gargantua and the Eighth Floor Guardian Victim, all the Floor Guardians are gathered before you. Thus do we offer up our utmost loyalty to the Master."
Momonga could not speak as he looked at the six lowered heads before him. A strange pressure veiled the entire area, and perhaps only Momonga could bear the painful, crushing air.
—He did not know how to proceed.
He had never seen anything like this before in his life. In his confusion, Momonga accidentally activated a skill. A dreadful aura roiled out over the surroundings, and a halo of black radiance formed behind him.
Momonga had no time to cancel the skill as he frantically racked his brains to recall a scene from movies or television which would tell him how to respond appropriately here.
"Raise your heads."
With a sha, everyone raised their heads. Their coordination was so immaculate that Momonga wondered if they had practiced that movement together.
"Then… first, I thank all of you for coming here."
"There is no need for thanks. We are all Momonga-sama's loyal subordinates. To us, Momonga-sama is our Supreme Overlord."