PROLOGUE

Divine Realm. The southernmost nation on the continent, as well as the most secretive. Ever since its ruler, the First Prince, decided to close the borders as a precaution against the Evil Deities who were wreaking havoc throughout the continent, very few outsiders have been allowed to enter the country. Some two hundred years have passed since then. Besides a few merchants from some city-states with special permissions, not even diplomatic envoys entered. This has resulted in the other nations believing that the Divine Realm has long since perished. Only the Slane Theocracy higher ups and a few people of talent know of its continued existence.

The country is situated in a peninsula, and the only way to get in by land is through a mystical deserted area, accurately named the Grey Waste. This region is filled with strange and exotic creatures not found in other parts of the known world. Man eating monsters with heads resembling those of electric eels called Zavos are the most common beings. Their ability to fly, thanks to their demonic looking wings, and their resistance to any magic of the 3rd tier and below, makes them difficult to deal with by travelers. Surprisingly, the few merchants who trade with the Realm have never had any encounters with them. All they ever hear are stories of how bandits and adventures tried to cross the Grey Waste, only to be snatched away in the middle of the day or attacked during the night by packs of Zavos. Very few merchants have actually seen those creatures. Most just think they may have seen something that could have been a Zavo. But it could have also have been a bird or some other animal. This behaviour has resulted in the mythification of both the desert and the country that lays ahead of it, but it isn't of much concern to the rulers of the Divine Realm. After all, both the Grey Waste and its creatures were all man-made by them. More specifically, the founders of the Realm.

It had been a fortnight since they received news of the Re-Estize Kingdom's annihilation at the hands of the Sorcerer Kingdom's undead armies. Few cities were spared. Most of the population was exterminated, in what some deemed to be a genocide.

At this moment, the most important people and ministers of the Realm were gathered before their Prince in the Royal Palace's Great Hall.

"Let us start from the beginning." Said Raphael.

"It has been 3 years since the first known appearance of the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown. Back then, the Theocracy was trying to lure out the Warrior-Captain, Gazef Stronoff, by destroying villages in-between the borders of Re-Estize and the Baharuth Empire. The Sunlight Scripture encountered a masked magic caster with a strange name. The same name Stronoff gave his King when he returned to the capital. And he wasn't alone. He had a subordinate in full black armour beside him. Name currently unknown."

The person speaking was a young man whose athletic physique might make people think of him as an adventure or a knight. However, his demeanor and attire contradicted that hypotheses. He wore a white and light-blue tunic that covered his entire body, two golden bracelets on each wrist, and a delicate crown made up of what looked to be leaves. No adventure would be rich enough to dress like this, and very few would command the same respect and admiration as Raphael, the First Prince.

"After that, the next event was the appearance of the adventure team known as Darkness, made up of just two members. A male warrior named Momon, and a female magic caster named Nabe. They were responsible for stopping the graveyard incident at E-rantel, as well as killing a powerful vampire. The latter of which allowed them to be promoted to adamantite level adventures. And they proved themselves again against the fifth event, Jaldabaoth."

He paused for a moment, waiting for someone to pick up on that. Someone did.

"Fifth? Shouldn't Jaldabaoth be the third event, your Highness?"

It was the minister of finance who made the interjection, Ignias Seraphim. A man of thirty and something years, and despite his youth, he was one of the best subordinates that Raphael had at his disposal.

"Unfortunately I don't think that is the case. I believe the third event to be the vampire that Darkness supposedly vanquished. My spy in the Theocracy said that around this time, the Black Scripture was on a mission to capture a Dragon Lord, when they came across a powerful undead creature. They deemed it to be a vampire, however they thought it was far more powerful than any vampire in existence. Stronger even than Landfall."

"I see." Said Ignias Seraphim.

"It is worth noting that one of their Godkins, the 1seat, was present and fought the vampire but failed to stop or even injure it. They were forced to use one of their holy items, a World-Item, to subdue it. Knowing that, it's easy to theorize that this vampire, and by association the people who destroyed it, are far stronger than the Evil Deities who plagued our continent centuries ago. That is the reason for the vampire to be the third event."

None of his ministers said anything. They kept their eyes on their ruler, eager to see what else had he figured out. This gave Raphael the sweet feeling of attention he craved for. He loved to be in the spotlight.

"But I don't think that event is yet finished. From our reports in Re-Estize, it seems that the swordsman known as Brain Unglaus, also came in contact with a vampire on the same night the Black Scripture had their encounter with it. We will designate that night as the Event Night for now. It turns out Unglaus meet the vampire for a second time during Jaldabaoth siege of Re-Estize capital. Although this one didn't seem to recognize him."

"Could he have been mistaken? Or could this vampire be the second vampire that Momon claimed to exist alongside Honyopenyoko?" Asked his minister of foreign affairs.

"Both are possibilities. And when our contacts meet with Unglaus, he had already drank a few too many. But if this Shalltear Bloodfallen is indeed the same vampire the Black Scripture fought and Darkness killed, than her lack of memories coincides with what we known of resurrection."

"But who resurrected her? Was it Jaldabaoth?" Asked Ignias Seraphim. Curious to know more about his Prince's knowledge.

"I believe it doesn't matter who brought her back. Whether it was Jaldabaoth or the Sorcerer King himself, her existence is tied to that of the Sorcerer King. So if she was resurrected, it was done at his command. But in all cases we should assume the worst of it. That two Shalltear Bloodfallens do exist, and they are working for the Sorcerer King, in secret. The other name, Honyopenku or something. Let us leave it aside for now. It is too much of a hassle to pronounce or write down. The very reason why some of our reports have conflicting statements and errors."

He paused for a second time. Some of his ministers had a look of embarrassment on their faces.

"Ainz Ooal Gown and his companion at Carne village are the first event." He picked up the chess piece of the King and Queen and placed them on the board in front of him, as he said this.

"Darkness is the second event." Two bishops were place on the board.

"The Shalltear Bloodfallens are the third, and Jaldabaoth is the fifth." The two knight pieces represented the vampires and one of the rooks the archfiend. He looked at his subordinates for a brief moment and then picked up another rook before continuing.

"The fourth is a butler named Sebas who Unglaus encountered in the Capital. He claimed it to be on pair with the vampire, and even recommended his help against Jaldabaoth. But the most curious thing about this person is that, during the Event Night, a butler from the Baharuth Empire who matches Sebas description was seen in E-rantel's Shining Golden Pavilion. One of their high class inns." He laid the second rook on the board.

"I believe that this Sebas is connected to the vampires and by association, to the Sorcerer King himself."

"The sixth event should be the surprise invasion of the Empire's capital at the hands of two dark elves and a golden dragon. This latter developed into an alliance between Ainz Ooal Gown and Emperor Jircniv. Followed by the massacre at Kazte Plains, the founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom and the vassalization of the Baharuth Empire, some months later." Since one side was finished, instead of using pawns he picked up pieces from the other side and placed a third rook, a knight and a bishop on the board.

"So in total, 6 events and 11 YGGDRASIL individuals?" Said his minister of war.

"That is correct." Responded Raphael.

"How can this be? Has there ever been that many entities of that power level come to our world before?"

"I believe there were about 17 Evil Deities, although there could have been others. We do not have a record on all of them since their power levels differ from each other." Said the minister of education.

"Correct. And even those demons aren't on the same level as the ones we are currently facing. My guess is that those ten individuals, plus the Sorcerer King himself, are all YGGDRASIL entities of level 100. This would make them far stronger than the Theocracy's Godkins, as well as the most powerful beings on the continent. "

He paused again. Took a moment to watch the nervous looks of his ministers and then reiterated.

"Well, discounting my brother."

"Has the General already reached the maximum permitted by the Laws of the World?" Asked the minister of war.

"Not yet. But that is nothing that a few World-Items won't balance out. And we have three of them. Left to us by the Eight Greed Kings. My ancestors. "

He was lying. Although his brother was stronger than even the Slane Theocracy's Certain Death, there was no way he could face someone on the level of their ancestors and expect to survive. Not without a World-Item anyway. He needed them to believe that Michael was this powerful, otherwise they might consider abandoning him.

"If I may, your Highness?" Asked his minister of the interior. Raphael nodded.

"How do we know that Momon and his teammate are really on the Sorcerer King's side? If there are indeed two vampires, then the one Brain Unglaus encountered may be different from the one Darkness defeated? Do we have any concrete evidence to suggest that Darkness is also working for the Sorcerer King?"

"We have more than evidence. We have a witness. Send her in".

After saying this, one of the Prince's guards left the room and returned moments later with a young lady by his side. She had blond-orange hair, a petite physique and a peculiar expression on her face. Seemed to be unconscious. The guard helped her sit on the furthest chair from the Prince and gave her something for her to sniff. She seemed to regain awareness of her surroundings."

"Tell me your name."

"Aaaaaa~ Clementine, your Highness." She said this at the same time a wicked smile grew on her face.

"Do you know who I am?"

"But of course! You're~ The immortal prince of that nation. The nation that's suppose~se to be destroyed, but I'm one of the few that knows it still exists! Fufu~"

"Do you remember how you died?" Raphael asked this with a smirk on his face. In turn, the look on Clementine's face twisted in anger.

"Yes! I was killed by some unknown adventure who hid his true strength. Momon."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Fufu~ He wasn't a warrior at all! He was an Elder Lich!"

Everyone in the room, except for Raphael and Clementine, made gasps of surprise.

"I don't know how, but that f*cking skeleton was stronger than anyone I've ever faced. That wasn't right. I should have won! Magic casters are easy to kill."

"You can take her away now."

Clementine seemed like she was about to protest when the guard that helped her sit on the chair, gave her another thing to sniff and she collapse on his arms.

Raphael waited until she was out of the room to continue.

"Clementine was aiding a member of the Zurrernorn in his attempt at becoming undead. Their plans were foiled by Darkness, an incident that made them famous in E-rantel. Zurrernorn managed to take their bodies from the city, and our Valkyries managed to take the bodies from them. "

The Valkyries were a secret military and research organization within the Realm, directly controlled by the First Prince.

"We had to ask Tanya to use her power and help Clementine regain her memories. She was a member of the Black Scripture after all. There might be knowledge inside her head that we can use. I believe this should be enough to justify my reasoning, Sir Mustaffe?"

The minister of the interior nodded in response.

"Momon is an undead creature. His teammate is most likely undead as well. I find it hard to believe that they are not minions of the Sorcerer King."

He paused and thought about what he needed to say next.

"We can't just sit by and wait until the outside world makes a move anymore. We need more powerful weapons, and I know exactly where to find two other World-Items.

His ministers were shocked. They knew the power that World-Items possessed. The former Prince had spent his entire life looking for others throughout the continent to no avail.

"There is no need to look so surprise. I am not my predecessor but I have always covet those items. And with the threat of Ainz Ooal Gown growing larger by the day, we can't wait anymore. And we won't. This morning a bird flew in with a message

saying that the Platinum Dragon Lord has left the fallen capital of Eryuentiu and is staying in the Argland Council State. Without him there the city will be easier to take."

"Should I make preparations for that assault, your Highness?" Asked his minister of war.

"There is no need. The Valkyries have already been sent. Alongside with Michael and the Ultimate Shield. I now want all of you to start preparing this country to open itself to the continent. Stavos, how are things with the Cassias Empire? Have they responded to my proposal?"

"Forgive me, your Highness. I should have notified you right away. Yes, the Emperor has agree to your marriage proposal. An Imperial envoy will arrive within a fortnight to discuss further arrangements. Both the Princess and the Emperor will be present."

The Cassias Empire was the strongest nation on the other side of the sea. Having an alliance with them would enhance their survival odds by a considerable margin. If worst comes to worst, the Divine Realm could always relocate its citizens to the Empire and fight a new war from there.

Author: Kiba (or Empty_Way)

Author's Notes - 21-05-2020:

Thank you all for taking the time to read this small introduction to my Overlord fanfiction! Special thanks to reisskeks for pointing out the memory inconsistence. Hope I'll be able to fix that with this update and be more consistent with the next chapters.