Deity

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Deities or Gods (神) are a class of entities that exist in the Overlord series.

Background

YGGDRASIL

In YGGDRASIL, gods were common existences encountered by players. Some existed in the game as special event bosses, enticing players to engage them in a battle for rewards.^[2]

Additionally, in the game culture of YGGDRASIL, some players were praised as "god[s]" though it was usually referred to their awesome looking gear or if others idolized them or even a mixture of the two.

New World

In the New World, gods are held as existences that were a pinnacle of divine power. They were seen as a standard in which mortals could never reach.

Entire religions have been forged based on their beings, like humans who are creatures that rely on faith in gods as a pillar of moral strength in their everyday lives. The religion the surrounding countries believe in are called the Four Elemental Gods. Each of the Gods represents a particular element which are Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. Nonetheless, there were respective Gods that created and governed the New World. While there were minor gods ranking below them that had a small influence within the surrounding regions. Additional deities like the Gods of Life and Death are exclusively worshiped by people of the Slane Theocracy.

From how the story goes, in the beginning, there was light and darkness, and from them, the Four Elemental Gods were born afterward. The Theocracy viewed the Gods of Life and Death more respectfully than the Four Elemental Gods as they are considered to be the most powerful deities who are above all. However, this way of thinking by the Theocracy was not shared by the surrounding human countries as it had a very bad affinity to the religion of the Four Elemental Gods. According to the Theocracy, the highest strength of the Six Great Gods starts from the God of Death > God of Life > Four Elemental Gods.

Deities also have minor gods as their own subordinates to lead by its example.^[3]

Moreover, several existences like players from YGGDRASIL have made their way into the New World and reach the position of godhood. They create a positive sphere of influence upon the New World, committing acts of good that later gain everlasting recognition to the natives who form a unique faction around them. The people will begin to idolize them as gods, spreading their lord's names through parts of the world in the form of written scriptures about them religiously. With that all said and done, the players eventually became deified by inhabitants as the ages pass be it in the past or present. A number of these people include the Six Great Gods, the Buddha, and even Ainz Ooal Gown. The Theocracy have reverence towards the Six Great Gods who saved humanity from complete extinction.

However, while some may have become glorified as a deity, it does not speak of the divine being's alignment or even the likelihood of having any worshipers at all. For instance, Evil Deities like the Demon God of Insects and Divanack are treated as a sinister force committing to evil deeds. Evil Deities are a notable example of being hellbent in causing destruction throughout the continent two centuries ago. They would usually end up being targeted by people of the Thirteen Heroes who put an end to their reign and terror. In other words, it is made clear that not all deities are as omnipotent as people may see it due to the fact that they can actually be killed by mortals. According to Evileye, they are acknowledged to be a deity due to possessing the kind of otherworldly power which cannot be found in the New World.

The god, Jashin for instance, had a cult of evil followers from Zurrernorn who were willing to carry out such actions on its behalf through conducting sacrificial rituals. At the same time, a god-like it can be similarly represented under the same idol of worship such as Ainz or Surshana, but with its own respective collection of followers that idolized it differently from the rest.

The belief of a series of gods can also serve to unite various races, but also nations in a common denominator. The Na Bel from the central region of the New World is an excellent example of this. Or even Tsungoga who's faith is indigenous to the elves of the Elf Country.^[4]

On the other hand, gods have the power to create top-class magic items known as artifacts which cannot be made by the likes of humans.^[5]

Faith-based Magic Connection

Deities in YGGDRASIL and the New World play a pivotal role in faith-based magics. Clerics and priests who recite prayers to their patron divinity would be able to cast divine magic. They call upon the gods to either control, repel, and destroy beings like demons, undead, and angels.^[6]

The existence of divine magic casters is perceived by many New Worlders as proof of the existence of the gods' powers.^[7] Many priests of the temples in the New World take these blessings as proof that their gods exist. However, Ainz Ooal Gown dismisses their notions to have any validity to it, believing that their so-called gods were merely great men who had been deified. However, Roberdyck Goltron doubts the undead's explanation since if the Four Great Gods were mere mortals, it doesn't explain how affiliated priests are able to use resurrection spells and raise the dead.

This in mind, Ainz speculates that the gods in the New World are perhaps super-dimensional beings — which are generously term gods for apparent purposes — that exist originally as colorless entities. Simply put, they are chunks of power that priests draw power from. Because Ainz finds himself to exist in a world with magical laws, he does not dismiss the possibility of gods. Using this knowledge the Supreme Being performed an experiment with a captured cleric, altering his mind to see whether changing his belief in a god would allow him to still cast divine magic. The results left the man unable to speak properly, and so far it is unknown if Ainz gained any insight on the confirmation of gods.^[8]

Known Deities

YGGDRASIL Deities

• Buddha
• Cainabel
• Shub-Niggurath

New World Deities

• Ainz Ooal Gown
• Alah Alaf
• Bei Niala
• Clear Light Dragon
• Devourer of the Nine Worlds
• Divanack
• Jashin
• Kikotenshin Nekonyan
• Kyuko
• Lu Kinis
• Mare Bello Fiore
• Sea Dragon
• Surshana
• Tsungoga

Other Deities

• Bishamonten

Known Pantheons

• Ainz Ooal Gown (Guild)
• Evil Deities
• Na Bel
• Nine Goddesses
• Seven Lucky Gods
• Six Great Gods

Trivia

• In the Web Novel, as part of his experiment in confirming the existence of gods, Ainz Ooal Gown desires to ascend to the status of a deity within the New World.^[9]
• In the Web Novel, all currency in the New World is marked with the mark of the God of Trade.^[10]
• Before meeting Ainz Ooal Gown, Fluder Paradyne's faith lied in the god that rules and presides over magic.
• The 41 guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown are regarded as gods by their NPC creations.^[11]
• In Overlord Volume 14, Ainz mentions a quote to King Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself from the Disticha Catonis II, referencing the Goddess of Luck. Zanac mistakenly misunderstood it to be some deity that Ainz adhered to.^[12]
• In Mass for the Dead, Evileye believed that the worldwide appearances of the Cracks to be possibly the work of a god.^[13]
• In the game, it's mentioned that in a very far off country, possessing a Japanese themed culture, humans there worship foxes as guardian deities.^[14]
• In Overlord: The Undead Oh!, the gods of Scandinavia are mentioned by Tabula Smaragdina, like Thor and Loki.^[15]
• In Mass for the Dead, crossover deity characters like Aqua are categorized as heteromorphs while characters such as Ristarte, Adenela and Valkyrie are classified as spirits.^[16][17]
• Yamaiko was referred to as the "Gacha God" due to her luck at winning impossible gachas and even a shrine was built for her by her comrades as a prank.^[18]
• A few inhabitants of the Field of Flowers on the 6th Floor have come to believe that Mare Bello Fiore was a god. Though this was due to witnessing the cash shop summoned Woodland Dragons serving the dark elf and also seeing him call down a storm and raise the nutritional value of the land. Since seeing his miracles, a belief in him by the plant-type monsters has been solid to the current day.^[19]
• In Overlord IV, Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead is mentioned on the Book of the Dead.^[20]
• In the Slane Theocracy there is a rumored guardian deity of the nation, who is also Antilene Heran Fouche's master.^[21]
• A God of Creation was mentioned in Mass for the dead, who the denizens of E-Rantel paid homage to after a successful harvest at the Harvest Festival.^[22] Later when a Halloween Festival was hosted in place of the Harvest Festival, gods were given thanks for the bountiful harvest, though this time as a form of respect and not religiously.^[23]
• Búri the first god in Norse mythology is referenced on the Bath Salt Set.^[24]
• In Mass for the Dead, Enhela revealed that he is an adherent of the Devourer of the Nine Worlds.^[25]
• According to Whitebrim, he believes that God must like insects since they compromise 60% of all living things on Earth.^[26]
• For New Year's, Lupusregina Beta wore a Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, costume complete with the Nyoi Bo.^[27]
• Later on in the Mass for the Dead game, Renner, sought to implement a frozen effigy of Momonga in order to replace the ancestor worship of the lizardmen with him being worshipped as a god.^[28]
• In Blue Planet's planetarium presentation in the Amphitheater, he made references to characters from Greek mythology such as the twelve zodiacs, Hermes, Hercules, Zeus, Hera, Gaia, and Artemis.^[29]

References