Fans were rejoicing when it was announced that Overlord is back after four long years for another season of political intrigue. With humans getting crushed by the overpowered denizens of Nazarick, and the sly Demiurge exclaiming “Sasuga Ainz-Sama!” at every little thing the titular Overlord does, Isekai enthusiasts could not wait for the new season to drop. But they are also cautious, currently whipped up into a frenzy over the possibility of a certain Floor Guardian’s plans for betrayal.
Eagle-eyed fans back in the 3rd season of the anime noticed something. In one of the earlier episodes Albedo, who is the hopelessly in love succubus and number one fan of Ainz Ooal Gown, was seen caressing the personal flag of his previous identity, Momonga. This was while the original flag of the guild (the one he took his new name from) was left abandoned in a corner of her room.
This sent fans into a feverous discussion over whether this was simply Albedo’s yandere-esque love for Momonga taken to the extreme that she would sully the flag of the Great Tomb, or perhaps a hint of future treachery.
Now, betrayal by a sworn ally? That’s just part of the Isekai package! I mean, how else would you spice up a story of politics and tactical advances without a little traitorous fiend thrown in the mix. However, for it to be someone as beloved as Albedo? That’s just a rough comeuppance. But let’s discuss!
What’s The Deal With Albedo?
Though it’s unknown whether this will be showcased in the anime at the time of this writing, we might already have an idea about where Albedo’s true loyalties lie. Long-time readers of the light novel series that the popular series is based upon brought up an additional scene that occurred within the books following the failed invasion of Nazarick by various Worker groups, which was an ingenious plan enacted by the Overlord himself. I mean, Sasuga Ainz-Sama indeed.
To cut to the chase, the Worker group Foresight came face to face with Ainz. To save themselves, they claimed that they were sent by a guildmate of Ainz. Of course, this made the Lich King himself hope that he had finally come close to meeting one of his dear friends, leading him to let his guard down until Foresight tripped up. Following these events, Albedo approached Ainz to create a group that would serve as his eyes and ears in this New World to gather information on and filter out incorrect reports of the other Supreme Beings.
Now while on the surface this isn’t anything to be suspicious of, certain details start to make this whole thing a bit more insidious.
How Is Albedo Suspicious?
Albedo has been acting pretty sus if you know what I mean. She urged Ainz not to reveal the existence of this covert gathering to any of the other Floor Guardians, citing that other Guardians may act for the worse were they to come into contact with their creators and that only she alone among them would still be loyal to him out of love.
Now, it’s a bit odd as to why she would bar the other Guardians from finding out about this considering they have always been subservient to Supreme Beings such as Ainz, especially since they tend to highly value him as being the only one of his guild to remain behind when the MMO YGGDRASIL shut down leading to the events of the series.
A possible explanation as such is that she might be planning on harming the Supreme Beings and inhibiting Ainz’s search for them to lessen the possibility of his authority being harmed should another of equal stature show up. Though the former is more apparent when we see the second outlying fact.
How Does Rubedo Play Into All Of This?
The group so far consists of Albedo herself, Pandora’s Actor (who was Ainz’s creation to initially guarding the treasure vaults of the Tomb) and this is the biggest one, Rubedo.
Now, Rubedo has been something of an enigma in the series for the longest time, spoken of in hushed tones and with some amount of fear given that she is commonly referred to as the Strongest Entity in Nazarick. Now, for a group whose primary purpose is to seek out information, it doesn’t make any sense to get someone renowned for their strength, unless said information is gathered from a whole lot of killing. Her inclusion seems to once again hint toward inflicting harm and possibly killing the other member of the guild should they appear.
While all of this has yet to be confirmed and is mostly fan speculation, it’s a good idea to keep an eye or two out for the bone-crazy succubus this season.
