News of Albedo and Aurelius's baby spread like wildfire throughout Nazarick. The normally serene and ordered floors were filled with an atmosphere of celebration.
Floor guardians, maids, and even the lower-tier servants and summons were swept up in the joyous occasion.
Laughter echoed as congratulations were exchanged, and everyone eagerly awaited their turn outside Albedo's room to meet the newborn baby.
One by one, the denizens of Nazarick offered their blessings and gifts to little Adara.
The infant, with her eyes that sparkled with a blend of Albedo's intelligence and Aurelius's mystery, was embraced tenderly by her mother.
Her tiny fingers grasped the air, drawing awe and adoration from all who saw her.
Meanwhile, Aurelius, the father of Adara and the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick, teleported himself to the 8th floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
Swish!
But as soon as he stepped onto the 8th floor, he felt more than a dozen extremely powerful auras sweep over him.
More than half of them were from the 8th floor hierarchy, and the rest were some of his own creations that resided on this floor.
Subsequently, the moment they recognized that it was their master who had come, the auras retreated even faster than they had appeared, as if in fear of being misunderstood by Aurelius.
Despite this, Aurelius paid no attention to their antics, understanding well the eccentric nature of the beings that lived here.
'How childish... But it's still the same as ever.'
Smiling inwardly while maintaining the cold, ruthless demeanor of the Supreme Ruler on the outside, he stepped forward while observing his surroundings.
In fact, the 8th floor, where the strongest NPCs and "beings" resided, was completely different from the rest of Nazarick.
Unlike the meticulously controlled environments of the other floors, where each floor had a single type of topography, the 8th floor was divided into eight distinct regions, surrounding a Central Region in the middle—making a total of nine regions, each with its own unique topography.
Aurelius was currently at the heart of the Central Region, standing outside a massive, temple-like structure.
Morning mist enveloped the ancient pillars, constructed from aged stone and interwoven with vines and lush greenery, imbuing the place with a sense of timeless serenity.
At the heart of this temple stood the Tree of Life (Sephiroth), its colossal trunk and branches piercing the clouds and reaching towards the heavens.
The intricate patterns engraved on the deep brown bark appeared to glow faintly.
Each of its vibrant green leaves carried a small, golf ball-sized orb of golden light, casting a dappled, golden illumination across the ground. It was a mythological tree, full of mysteries.
"Haaa... Refreshing."
Inhaling deeply, Aurelius filled his lungs with dense air, saturated with life force and mana, invigorating his entire being.
He moved forward, but as he approached the base of Sephiroth, suddenly...
Swoosh!
A blur of motion caught his eye, and before he could say anything to the figure, it rushed towards him and nestled into his arms, shouting loudly in a cheerful, bubbly, and innocent voice.
"Master, you're finally here... Celebi missed you so much!"
The voice was soft, childish, and filled with affection.
Holding the floating, petite figure of the girl in his arms, Aurelius looked down to see Celebi. Her soft, short, pastel green hair fell in gentle waves around her face, adorned with tiny, glistening crystals and a small white flower that added a touch of elegance.
Her large, aquamarine eyes sparkled with an innocent yet curious expression.
She was wearing a light blue dress that sparkled as if it were weaved from strands of water, hugging her slender frame and accentuating her ethereal beauty.
Looking at her after so long, a slight, knowing smile appeared on his lips, and he gently brushed Celebi's hair.
"I missed you too, Celebi... You seem to be doing well here. Has anyone bullied you? Tell me, and I'll teach them a lesson."
As soon as those words left Aurelius's mouth, a few powerful beings on the 8th floor instinctively shivered, glancing around in search of the source of their sudden dread but finding nothing.
Unaware of this reaction, Celebi simply shook her head and replied with a proud expression.
"Master, do you think anyone dares to bully Celebi?! Celebi bullies everyone. Muahahaha."
"You naughty girl."
Aurelius's tone was affectionate yet stern as he reached out and pulled her ears gently but firmly, eliciting a cry of protest from the young girl.
"Ouch, ouch! Master… Sorry… Ah, it hurts!"
"Now you know how it feels to be bullied. Anyway, tell me, are you doing your job properly?"
Celebi, rubbing her reddened ears, straightened up with a serious nod, patting her little breasts in an exaggerated manner.
"Yes, Master! You can trust Celebi. Everything is as it should be. The Tree of Life is flourishing, and I have also been maintaining "it" with the utmost care."
"Good."
Satisfied with her answer, Aurelius nodded. Gently, he set Celebi down, who floated in the air as he asked again.
"Also, have you detected any temporal anomalies in the timeline?"
"…"
At this question, Celebi fell silent, her eyes widened, and her expression shifted to that of a guilty child caught in mischief.
Immediately, a few tick marks appeared on Aurelius's forehead as he understood what her silence meant, and he shouted each letter in an angry voice.
"C-E-L-E-B-I—!!!"
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Celebi started coughing theatrically, followed by a shout, pointing behind Aurelius.
"Huh? Master, what's that behind you?"
She attempted to divert his attention and make a strategic escape from the situation.
But knowing this naughty girl well, Aurelius wasn't fooled. As Celebi tried to flee, he caught her by the collar. Her legs flailed comically in the air as she pleaded.
"M-master... hear me out... there's a reason... yes... a very important reason!"
Unfortunately for her, Aurelius was having none of it.
"Save your energy, these excuses won't help you. You're not getting away this time," he said, pulling her close and delivering a few swift spanks on her ass.
Smack!
"Aiyoo!"
Smack!
"Eeee!"
Smack!
"Ouch! Ouch! Master, I'm sorry! I forgot to check!"
Finally, Aurelius stopped, and Celebi whimpered, immediately grabbing her butt while floating in the air around him with fake tears in her eyes.
"Now, activate your power over time and fate and check for any anomalies," Aurelius ordered.
Seeing that her Master didn't feel even a shred of sympathy, Celebi grumbled in resignation and stopped her act.
She obediently nodded and closed her eyes in concentration.
Not long after, as Celebi's innate powers began to manifest, the air around them was filled with a faint blue light. Celebi's hair seemed to float slightly, and a cosmic radiance surrounded her, as if she were becoming one with the very essence of time itself.
Celebi was capable of controlling time and fate, and under certain circumstances, she could even travel through time.
In fact, she wasn't originally a character from the Overlord world. Aurelius had modeled her after a character from an anime called Pokémon, which he had watched in his previous life.
In that anime, Celebi was a mythical and legendary Pokémon capable of time-traveling and detecting temporal anomalies. Aurelius had always been fascinated by this power, so he created Celebi as an NPC and imbued her with these special abilities.
Of course, to do so, he had to bribe a lot of Yggdrasil's official staff members, but that was a story for another day.
The important thing was that he successfully created her character—not as a Pokémon, but as this sweet, lovely girl. Her powers, although restricted in some ways, were more powerful and versatile than those of the Celebi from the Pokémon world.
Noticing that Celebi had started, Aurelius gently placed his hand on her head and felt a surge of magical energy as her power spread around the space, probing the fabric of the world's timeline.
Suddenly, a mysterious, otherworldly aura also surrounded Aurelius.
Time seemed to stand still around him, and the sounds of the forest faded away, leaving only the hum of Celebi's magic.
And after a moment, Celebi's eyes snapped open in shock, accompanied by a shout:
"Master, there's an anomaly!"
"Quickly, show me."
Without wasting any time, Celebi, still connected to the world's fate-timeline, nodded. Through Aurelius's hand, still resting on her head, she allowed him to see a live transmission of the anomaly.
As soon as Celebi did that, Aurelius's vision shifted, and his perspective changed to that of a fourth-dimensional being, akin to a god, overlooking the world. He instantly saw who and what the anomaly was.
But as soon as he saw her appearance, a wave of questions swept through his mind like lightning.
'Wait, this is… Leora? What the fuck is she doing here, and why the hell is she with Calca?!'
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