Overlord: Evil Dragon Demon God Harem

After finishing his business on the 8th floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Aurelius returned to his duties.

Life moved forward, and time continued its unyielding march.

Even the destruction of the Slane Theocracy's capital began to fade from most people's memory.

The Legion of Dragons had obliterated any witnesses to the event, and the remaining Cardinals either captured or subdued the few survivors. Fearing retaliation from surrounding kingdoms, the Slane Theocracy ensured that no news spread about what had happened.

In a desperate attempt to maintain control, they went so far as to halt trade with neighboring nations, closing their capital and declaring their seclusion from worldly affairs. They even suspended their long-standing war with the Elf Kingdom.

Such a situation caught everyone off guard, but the Slane Theocracy took a strong stance, blocked all sources of information, and deterred everyone.

They dared not speak of Aurelius or his assault on their land.

Meanwhile, the Re-Estize Kingdom remained largely unchanged, with its trajectory still closely following the original Overlord plot.

Aurelius had his own designs for the Re-Estize Kingdom, though they were unfolding in the shadows. On the surface, he allowed events to follow the timeline, giving him an advantage over others while minimizing unpredictable variables in his plans.

Without direct interference, the Re-Estize Kingdom moved along its intended path.

On this particular morning, Climb, a young man with short blond hair and blue eyes, donned his pure white full-plate armor. As Princess Renner's bodyguard, he was training alone when Gazef Stronoff interrupted him, noting that Climb was overworking himself and needed to take a break.

Despite acknowledging Gazef's concern, Climb persisted, apologized, and resumed his training. He reasoned that to protect Princess Renner, he needed to grow stronger.

Gazef, moved by Climb's determination, proposed a sparring match and managed to impart a few valuable lessons to the young man.

After the match, Climb left to resume his duties guarding Princess Renner.

He found her in her chambers, having tea with Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, leader of the Adamantite-ranked adventurer group Blue Rose. Lakyus then tasked Climb with delivering a message to Gagaran and Evileye in the capital.

Everything was as it had been in the anime, with a few subtle differences.

For instance, this time, Gazef spoke to Climb about Aurelius instead of Momonga, warning him of the dangerous aura he had felt from him.

Slowly but surely, even in places untouched by Aurelius, changes were creeping in. Conversations and events started to diverge from the original plot.

Back in the present, Climb found Gagaran and Evileye at the most expensive inn in the Royal Capital.

Gagaran was an imposing, muscular woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. She wore heavy crimson plate armor, with a silver tiara resting on top of her head—likely enchanted.

By contrast, Evileye appeared to be a young girl, no older than twelve, with her body concealed beneath a reddish robe and her face hidden behind a stark white mask.

Climb approached them. As he drew near, Gagaran noticed him first and greeted him in her usual boisterous manner.

"Yo, cherry boy!"

It was the nickname she had given him long ago. No matter how often Climb begged her to stop, Gagaran refused to address him by his proper name. Realizing it was futile, Climb resigned himself to the teasing, pretending not to care.

"Good to see you again, Gagaran-san. And Evileye-sama," Climb greeted politely, bowing as he stopped before greeting the two.

Gagaran's broad grin widened. "Oh, it's been a while. Have you finally decided to sleep with me?"

As usual, Climb's face flushed red, and he stammered out a polite rejection. Gagaran's teasing was relentless, but he knew it was harmless.

Clearing his throat, he quickly explained his purpose for being there. "I'm here to deliver a message from Lakyus-sama."

"Hm? Leader sent you?" 

"Yes, she asked me to tell you, 'You might need to move out in a hurry. I'll explain the details when you get back.' She also wants both of you to be ready for action at any time."

"Got it," Gagaran replied, her grin returning. "Still, quite the hassle for something so small, don't you think?"

Climb nodded in agreement, but he then remembered something else. The conversation soon shifted into a more casual tone as he began recounting his recent training session with Gazef Stronoff.

Gagaran listened attentively before offering some advice of her own with seriousness and encouragement.

"You know, if you really want to get better, you need to find a move that works in most situations. Something with universal application. Problem is…" She paused, smirking slightly, "You don't have the talent for that kind of thing."

Climb winced at the bluntness of her words, but he appreciated Gagaran's honesty.

"That's why you should focus on developing a combo. Three strikes—fast, fluid, and relentless. Make sure it's something your opponent can't counter, even if they manage to block the first hit."

Climb nodded again, absorbing her advice. "Understood."

"Now, that won't help you much against monsters with extra arms or crazy abilities, but against humans? That'll do just fine. The key is to hammer them repeatedly. Don't let them get up. Keep hammering them until they break."

Climb wasn't sure he could develop such a combo right away, but the desire to improve burned within him. He had to grow stronger for Princess Renner's sake.

"Thank you, Gagaran-san," he said, bowing deeply. "I'll do my best."

As the conversation drew to a close, Gagaran suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right! Weren't you asking Shortie~ about magic last time? You thinking of learning some tricks?"

"Yes."

Climb glanced at Evileye. The last time he had asked her, she had only laughed at him from beneath her mask, and the conversation had ended there. Asking her the same question now, when nothing had changed, would likely lead to the same outcome.

But then—

"Kid."

A muffled voice reached his ears.

Her voice was always a surprise. Despite the mask she wore, which wasn't particularly thick, it still distorted her tone in a way that made it difficult to tell her age or even her emotional state. He could only gather that she was female.

It was probably the magic in her mask. But why did she hide her voice so carefully?

"You have no talent. You should find something else to focus on."

Her words left no room for rebuttal, as if she had made her judgment and there was nothing more to discuss.

Climb knew exactly what she meant.

He wasn't gifted in magic—far from it. And even in swordplay, no matter how hard he trained, no matter how much he bled, blistered, or calloused his hands, he couldn't reach the heights he aimed for.

For him, the barriers that the talented could leap over with ease were towering walls he could barely even approach.

But giving up wasn't an option. He had no choice but to work harder, to push himself past his natural limits, and hope that sheer effort would make up for what he lacked.

"You don't look too happy about that."

Evileye, as perceptive as ever, saw through the mask he wore to hide his frustration.

"Talent is something you're born with… Some people like to think that everyone has talent, like some kind of dormant seed waiting to bloom. Hmph, to me, that's just nonsense, a comforting lie for the weak. Even the leader of the Thirteen Heroes was like that."

The leader of the Thirteen Heroes. According to legend, he was once nothing more than a common criminal.

He had been weaker than anyone, but through relentless effort, wielding his sword time and time again, he grew into a hero, one who possessed the ability to rise beyond any limit.

"He had a singular goal. I can't share all the details with you, but do you know the legend of the one who rules dragons and demons?"

"Please forgive me, Evileye-sama. I have never heard of him."

"That's natural, since even I only once stumbled upon it while researching books on the Six Great Gods."

Evileye took a moment to collect her words before she continued.

"There is no record of this being's name, race, age, or occupation. However, Srushana, the god of death, wrote that the world will inevitably face the arrival of the one who rules dragons and demons. When that occurs, the world will face destruction. That foolish leader of the thirteen heroes committed his life to gaining the strength to eliminate an unidentified entity, whose identity might remain a mystery."

Evileye's words hung heavy in the air.

"Of course, in addition to having a goal as absurd as that, he also had talent. It just hadn't bloomed in the beginning. That's different from you, Climb. His efforts were meaningful because there was talent underneath. You, on the other hand, lack that."

Climb flinched, but Evileye continued, relentless.

"I can't tell you to give up. But you need to understand that there's a limit to hard work. There are those who possess talent and those who lack it. And you, kid, are the latter. You need to come to terms with that."

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