Nazarick Revitalization Plan -Mock Battle-

Nazarick Revitalization Plan -Mock Battle- (ナザリック再生計画-擬戦-) is a game event in Mass for the Dead that was released on September 25, 2019 to October 4, 2019.

Background
Momonga concerned about the status of the progress of the Nazarick Revitalization Plan wonders if the Great Tomb of Nazarick could survive another Crack. In order to dispel his worries, Momonga gathered all the Guardians and declared the implementation of defense training to prepare for the Cracks.

Before the first site of the Crack in Nazarick, where the ruined Throne of Kings laid, Momonga and Demiurge continued to consult with one another on the issue. After procuring permission to use two Doppelgängers from Momonga, the Floor Guardian summarized the situation. Currently, there are several locations in the dungeon that are now regularly spitting out Chaos Beasts. The only floors not affected by the Crack phenomena are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Floors. Usually, the dungeon would be invaded from the outside on the surface of Nazarick. Entry within the tomb is blocked due to the mechanism that prevents transfers, outside of specified locations. However, the threat they are now facing appeared in the middle to the lower floors ignoring the transportation safeguards. While there is no proof so far Demiurge believes that the Cracks on the 6th and 10th Floor are connected as they are similar in size and shape. This is only speculation as they have too little information but the possibility exists that some enemy exists and is deliberating attacking the dungeon.

So far after establishing the current security system since the Cracks' appearances, Nazarick has been functioning without any major damage. The report is something to celebrate though Momonga worries what would happen if a new Crack were to appear in the dungeon. He asks the Defensive Combat Leader if the current system that Nazarick possesses will be enough to deal with the situation. Demiurge is unsure and cannot say, leading Momonga to be dissatisfied and that potential threats must be addressed. However, the question is raised on how to prepare for something akin to an earthquake or what could be akin to a natural phenomena. The idea for implementing a "disaster drill" comes to Momonga. Demiurge hearing this suggests that while the current system may not be capable of coping with possible emergency situations and they cannot implement a perfect system, they can at least train individuals to be flexible and be able to judge and respond to emergencies. Momonga thinking training would be lukewarm believes that actual combat experience will be necessary for their agents to react to threats better. Demiurge assures his master that he has an idea.

Battle
During a meeting at the Round Table Room, Momonga presents his proposal for a new type of training program against possible threats. The site of the training will take place in the Fake Nazarick constructed by Aura Bella Fiora. The said tomb resembles Nazarick in exact appearance and was originally planned to act as a decoy but now will serve as their new training ground. For the training participants, all the Floor Guardians will be participating and defend the Fake Nazarick from intruders. While they are undergoing this training session, Demiurge has arranged for Pandora's Actor to coordinate with Sebas Tian and the Pleiades and handle the emergency defense system. This measure will only be temporary, and Momonga warns that if there is an emergency or attack on Nazarick the training will be suspended and an immediate return to the dungeon will be enacted.

For the rules of the mock battle, Momonga explains that there will be six of them in the field of the Fake Nazarick. Their main objective will be to protect a doll of him that will be placed in the replica of the Throne Room. As for the invading force attacking the Fake Nazarick, Momonga declares that he will be their enemy, much to their shock. His undead summons will attack them from their various floors, via hidden escape routes only known to himself. It will be the job of the Floor Guardians to combat these threats on multiple areas and prevail. He urges them to take this training seriously as if they fail, it will all be meaningless if Nazarick comes under attack by a real foe. The damage they will receive will be real but not lethal, each of them will be given gold coins that will represent their lives and HP. If they are removed it will categorize them as "dead". Albedo recommends giving the Momonga doll the same status with the gold coins to which he agrees. The time of the mock battle will be allotted to around half a day. After Momonga finishes he then departs the Round Table Room, the Floor Guardians speak amongst themselves and swear to fight with pride and loyalty.

One day before the defense training, the Floor Guardians gather again to consider the operation. Usually the Great Tomb of Nazarick would be protected by its anti-teleporting system, and invaders would have to invade from the surface and work their way down, floor by floor. However, this training will simulate a situation where "threats" can appear anywhere in the dungeon. To create an effective defense, the group decide to spread themselves to the first, middle and lowest floors. Two Guardians for each of the three floors will stand guard for intruders along with any summons. With that, it is declared that Demiurge and Albedo will take charge of the 10th Floor while the others will assume their positions as planned.

On the day of training, Shalltear and Cocytus patrol the 1st to 3rd Floors of the Fake Nazarick. On the 6th Floor Aura and Mare stand guard in the replica floor. Likewise Demiurge and Albedo are at their post on the 10th Floor awaiting for an attack. Demiurge then suddenly receives a message from his summon that undead are invading from the 1st Floor. Upon hearing the report, Shalltear and Cocytus rush to the scene and the two confront the undead horde. Demiurge and Albedo are confused by the simplistic attack as they were expecting a more unforeseen response from Momonga. Demiurge thinks that perhaps Momonga is testing them and perhaps gauging their response time. Just to check Demiurge tries to contact the 6th Floor but is unable to. He determines that it's the work of some kind of magic item and that the floor is perhaps already under attacked. For their next step Albedo believes that they should go there and assist, however it leaves them with a conundrum: if they do so they will leave the 10th Floor vulnerable but if they don't their allies will lose.

Back on the 6th Floor of Fake Nazarick, Aura and Mare are contending with troops of Skeleton Warriors that launched a surprise attack on them. Now surrounded by countless undead Aura tries to fight them off, but seeing their disadvantage, decides to make an opening in the army. Aura and her wolf summons manage to make a hole in the enemy ranks. She orders Mare to ride one of her wolf summons and to get help from Albedo and Demiurge. Mare though unwilling to abandon his sibling reluctantly agrees. Aura is then left alone standing her ground with her wolves against the invaders.

Mare travels to the transfer gate to the 7th Floor, until he bumps into Albedo and Demiurge who have arrived to render assistance. Mare is shocked that the two would leave the 10th Floor unguarded, however the two deemed that their main objective was to protect the Momonga doll which they took with them. Right now they believe launching a surprise attack on the undead army while risky will be a critical blow to the enemy. Not only that, the two other Floor Guardians on the surface are also on their way to the 6th Floor. Shalltear hearing Demiurge's call to aid, ordered her subordinates to hold off the undead at the surface while she and Cocytus travel to the 6th Floor.

Momonga who has been observing the battle at the real Nazarick is glad that things are progressing as he expected. He had hoped that Demiurge and Albedo would abandon their posts to reinforce the 6th Floor, anticipating their strategy to take the doll with them to not only defend the tomb but also protect it. Believing that he will need to prepare the next steps of the NPCs' development he gives a command to his undead.

Still fighting the hordes of undead, Aura is given reprieve when some of the skeletons are thinned out by the timely arrival of Albedo, Demiurge, Mare, Cocytus and Shalltear. All the Floor Guardians gathered on the 6th Floor then demonstrate their strength and challenge the undead troops. Together with their skills and abilities they cut down swathes of the skeletons.

Their victories are short-lived as the group soon find themselves being attacked from behind by even more undead led by a Corpse Collector and a Jack the Ripper. Cocytus and Shalltear are soon cut off by the other by this new group of undead. The other seeing their comrades in trouble also find themselves surrounded by more undead. Albedo realizes that these undead are coming from the lower levels of the dungeon. Demiurge believes that it may require all their forces from both the lower levels and surface to sweep away the invaders. However they may not last.

The Floor Guardians try to hold out as long as they can. Aura begins to notice that Albedo is weakening, asking if she is alright. Albedo admits that she is nearing her limit. Both her and Demiurge decide to head to the front-line to buy Aura and Mare some time for the defense and hopefully divert Momonga's attention. Their plan works and Momonga is confused on their tactic, wondering why they would choose a suicidal move. Nevertheless he decides to commit his forces to overwhelm them.

The two Floor Guardians are exhausted and are brought down one by one at the front. Aura and Mare unable to help them can only protect the doll in their possession. Momonga seeing that Albedo and Demiurge have fallen, expects it to be his win. However his summons report something strange on the two weakened Guardians, in that they don't have any gold coins on them. Soon another Demiurge and Albedo, in her Hermes Trismegistus, make their appearance on the battlefield. Now that the undead have clustered where they want them, the two lead an army of summons against them.

An hour prior to this, it's revealed that Demiurge and Albedo had been discussing what action to take after communication with the 6th Floor was cut off. They suspect that Momonga's strategy is to goad them to abandon the 10th Floor and move to assist their allies on the 6th Floor. It would mean that they would most likely be walking right into a trap and get ambushed. They consider calling Shalltera and Cocytus to aid them to retake the 6th Floor, but the two believe that it is also part of Momonga's plan to gather all the Floor Guardians in one concentrated area and eliminate them in one swoop. In a desperate situation, Demiurge conceives of an idea to use summons in their place, particularly Doppelgängers. They could use the summons to have them disguise themselves as them. Granted the shape-shifters will not be strong enough like the originals, but it will direct Momonga's attention and allow them to launch a counterattack and locate the commander of the army. For the Momonga doll, Albedo has an idea what to do about it.

In the present Demiurge and Albedo cut through the swathe of undead. The other Floor Guardians are shocked at their peers back seemingly unscathed. When the two explained that the ones they had seen were imposters, they lead all the Floor Guardians to the front line striking their enemies with strong attacks.

Meanwhile Momonga is in disbelief because of the strategy used by Demiurge. He finds it ironic that the Doppelgängers that Demiurge had requested prior to the mock battle would be used against him this way. He is intrigued and proud that the NPC turned the battle back in their favor.

On 6th Floor of the Fake Nazarick, the battle between the Floor Guardians and the undead invaders is tenuous. Demiurge states that in order to use this momentum of the battle they would have to locate the commander of the army. The Floor Guardians led by Aura break through the army to take care of the undead commander who as it happens is hiding in the forest. The commander is revealed to be an elder lich created by Momonga and assigned for this mock battle. Since he is a creation of Momonga the Floor Guardians give their utmost respect. The former, however, humbly asks if they can continue as before to expedite the mock battle. All parties agree to fight to their fullest and clash.

The defeat of the lich commander is the end result of the battle. Forfeiting all his reward coins he is out of the fight and retires, though he warns the victors that even though he is no longer the commander of the undead, they will continue fighting. The Guardians thank the undead for his participation before heading back to wipe out the remaining undead on the 6th Floor.

The Floor Guardians then venture to the replica Amphitheater, where they dispatch the last remaining undead, a Nazarick Elder Guarder and Nazarick Master Guarder. The structure is empty of all activity however they stay on their guards until Momonga makes his appearance. There he congratulates them on their success in defeating his army. While the Guardians are pleased with their master's praise, Albedo readies for battle as she suspects that their training is not over. Momonga verifies that she is correct, for there is still enough time for one last battle, against him and his undead that he summons.

The Floor Guardians are hesitant to raise a weapon against Momonga even during this training course. Momonga assures them that all will be forgiven and that this is a mock battle, as he is equipped with gold coins that the NPCs must remove from his body to achieve victory. This is also training for him, and he declares his pride at being the strongest power in Nazarick. This bravado awes the NPCs, though it hides some insecurities such as the uncertainty of the Chaos Beasts, possible existing players, and other unknowns. His speech does motivate the Floor Guardains to fully commit themselves to the battle.

Momonga is adeptly battling all six Floor Guardians. He first attacks Mare with [Hell Flame] but the attack is blocked by Albedo. To avoid being caught by range magic, Momonga casts [Shark Cyclone]. The whirlwind heads straight to Albedo, but the Overseer Guardian uses [Walls of Jericho] to defend herself. Momonga decides to end the battle and unleashes his full magic.

All six Floor Guardians have been defeated. Though they are seemingly the losers of the battle, Momonga expresses his pride in them for lasting this long. He moves to claim their gold coins as the victor. When he picks up the Momonga doll, he finds that there is no coin. Demiurge is also confused and asks what happened to the coin in the doll. Albedo explains that the doll is actually a copy she made by herself to replace the actual doll Momonga had given them. For the real item, it is actually on Albedo's person. Momonga find this really to be an ingenious plan and as they talk on their strategy, a voice announces that the scheduled time for the mock battle had passed.

Aftermath
A few days after the defense training, Momonga and Demiurge are seen in the replica Throne Room. Ever since the defense training, the two have complied a new defense system proposal to implement for the dungeon. Momonga confides in Demiurge that the mock battle was a success, even if the last part of the battle was unexpected. The demon, however, believes that Momonga is merely jesting. He believes that Momonga knew that the doll was actually a fake and that he deliberately allowed the time to pass in order to give the victory over to the Floor Guardians as a way to raise their self-esteem and confidence. Momonga knowing this to be Demiurge's over thinking his actions allows him to keep that impression of him and helps maintain the lie of his so-called wisdom. Plans are drawn to enforce the new defense system and to investigate the conditions under which Cracks appear. All in all the Great Tomb of Nazarick would proceed to regain its former glory under the Narazick Revitalization Plan.