Chapter 18: The Next Chapter
It has been almost a month since Nazarick had arrived in the new world and in that short amount of time they had done so much.
Ainz became an adamantite in the spur of 5 missions or quests. They protected a village and became its guardian and earned the trust of every villager there. They met the kingdom's head warrior and became friends with him. They uncovered that world-level items existed in this world and discovered who had them. They managed to acquire a potion maker and her apprentice. And lastly, they discovered how to create powerful new magic spells.
Filius, who was in his study sighed, "Even though it seems we have done so much compared to what we need to do, it's very little." Filius stood up and walked to the portrait he had behind his chair.
The portrait was a painting of Ainz who was seated on his throne and Filius who was standing beside him.
Filius felt warmth every time he saw the painting, to him it was a relic that needed to be protected and maintained for eternity. He had requested some of the demons to create the painting and ordered them to use the most important points they had, after that he went and studied enchantments and placed a hand on the painting. The portrait had an enchantment that kept it clean while not ruining the painting's gracefulness.
Filius nodded and returned to his desk, now that his determination had returned he needed to take the next step.
"My father wants the world yet these kingdoms are a nuisance. We need to conquer them, but we need to do it in a way that shows these humans that we can do anything", Filius was wondering what would be a good way.
Suddenly he got an idea, he pulled out a book from the desk cabinet and opened it to a page on it was the sketch of the Head Warrior Gazef Stronoff. Filius internally smiled, "He is ."
He turned to the maid by the door, "Entoma."
Entoma, she's one of the Pleiades and uses insects that are bowed to her as weapons. Entoma bowed, "Yes young master?"
Filius shook his head, "Do not call me that, remember what I ordered?"
"Yes, Young-... I mean Yes Filius", Entoma fixed her wording.
Filius smiled, he stood up and walked toward her. Entoma became nervous seeing her Young Master in front of her like this.
Filius slowly raised his hand this made Entoma close her eyes wondering if she was going to be scolded for calling him wrongly.
As she waited, nothing happened, instead of being hit she was being gently patted by Filius.
Entoma raised her head wondering what was going on.
"I understand that this might be difficult but please don't call me Young Master, you are my fiance and as my fiance, you don't need to show me such respect", Filius said as he crested her mask's cheek.
"But Filius-sama", she whispered, "How can I not show respect to the future heir. That would be disgraceful."
Filius slowly grabbed her hands, "Do not give me respect...instead give me love."
They stayed standing there holding hands in their own small world.
Finally, Entoma nodded, "Alright...I shall call you whatever you desire, Filius."
"Thank you Entoma", Filus smiled and let her hands go, he coughed to return the air back to normal, "now I have another order for you."
"Yes...dear, what do you need", Entoma said as she followed him.
He turned to the table to where the sketch of Gazef was, "Please notify me when my father returns to Nazarick. Also, ask him if he will see him."
Entoma bowed, "It shall be done."
Before Entoma left to await for Ainz, she called in another maid to attend Filius in her stead. Once the next maid arrived she left to follow Filius's order.
Filius had returned to his desk he looked at the sketch once more and smiled. He then put the book away and started formulating the plan he would show to his father.
Sometime later......
"Where am I?"
I couldn't see a thing in front of me.
"Hello!?"
As I placed my hands on the floor I noticed that the ground was covered in water. Or at least I thought it was water.
I stood up from the floor and tried looking around. I tried adjusting my eyes to the dark environment but I couldn't see anything.
Suddenly I heard a noise, it sounded like something was shifting the water.
"Hello!? Anyone there?"
".....Gaz-ef...."
I turned around...I wasn't alone here. I swallowed my saliva, It's been a while since I felt like this. Just recently this feeling reemerged, it was when I met him. A man strong enough to take down four entire squadrons, he was so powerful that even one of Theocracy's scripters didn't stand a chance.
When I met him, I could feel his power, and I feared it, I feared him.
"Please can you tell me where I am?", I spoke to the voice I heard
"The water..."
"The water?", I quickly bent over and touched the water. I didn't feel anything besides the water around me. [What am I supposed to look for?]
I then felt it, I stood still and left my hand in the water. I felt it, the water was flowing between and around my fingers. It seemed to be flowing forward, "I need to follow the water..."
I quickly start sprinting through the water following the stream. I then saw it, a small spec of white light flowing in front of me, the spec slowly approached me.
"Hey there..", I slowly lifted my hand for it to touch me. The light slowly landed on the top of my hand.
After a few seconds, the light suddenly flew up and hovered by my face. It then flew forwards in the direction the water was going.
"Wait!", after I called it the spec stopped and came back. After another second it started moving back and forth from me to the darkness that was in front of me.
"Do you want me to follow you?", when I said that the light flew in circles as if it was happy.
"Lead the way", The spec then started hovering away and I followed close by.
As it flew in a straight direction, I could feel how the water slowly seemed to be rising. It was either that or I was walking in deeper.
After taking a few more steps the water was finally around the height of my waist. [What the hell, why am I following this thing, it could be tricking me. But if so...then why do all of this?], just when I started having doubts about following the spec.
Splash!!!
I suddenly plummeted into the water, the area where I was stepping seemed to have run out, and hI had basically fallen into deeper water. I quickly got my composure and started swimming back up to the surface, when I looked at the surface I was surprised by the light I was seeing. Unlike before instead of darkness the world outside of the water seemed bright.
Just when he was about to reach the surface I felt something stopping me. When I looked down at my feet I saw something chilling. Holding me down was a rotten corpse, it seemed to be the figure of a young woman, her body was grey from decomposing and her skin seemed to be covered by black spots. It seemed as if this girl was beaten or abused before she was killed. It seemed like the other girls that the guards would often find in the kingdom, the women who were caught and sold in the underground brothel.
I was shocked by the dead body suddenly grabbing me, I instinctively tried shaking it off. But it was no use, the figure just latched on and didn't let go. Then I felt another hand grabbing me, as I turned behind me, I saw an old man latching on to me from behind.
I tried shaking them off, I punched the woman in the face and kicked her away. After that, I turned around and tried throwing the old man off of me.
Before I could do any more, both my legs and my arm were captured. Four more corpses came and held onto me. I couldn't move, and I started I was sinking.
I looked up I could see the outside but no matter what I did that distance was growing. What was going to happen to me? Would I die?
Suddenly just as I was about to give up a hand suddenly grabbed me and the other bodies. This hand was gigantic it was the size of an 8-foot tall man or probably bigger. It grabbed me along with the whole group of corpses and lifted me out of the water. On the way up to the surface, I noticed that the corpses started letting go and returned to the darkness of the water. I was the last thing there and finally, I reached the top.
As I reached the outside I started coughing, I didn't realize it until now but I was actually drowning it seemed. My vision was blurry and I coughed for air while on the floor. After a while, I noticed that I was on a wooden floor.
I pushed myself up into a sitting position. That's where I saw it, a giant, or he seemed like a giant. He was massive, way taller than an ogre if he compared the two. Unlike an ogre or orc, he was on the skinny side. He wore an old disheveled robe and had a hood covering his face.
Gazef was shocked when he saw the giant, he quickly stood up and looked around him, he was shaken by what he saw. Around him, he saw skeletons and spiky rock formations, the water that he had come out from was the scariest thing. Instead of just normal water like a river or lake this water was full of bodies, figures of dead people swimming in a black river.
"Where am I?", I asked
"The realm of the dead...", I turned around as the hooded giant said this.
"The realm...of the dead? Why am I here?", I asked.
"I was the one who brought you here", the giant said as he turned to look at me.
"Am I dead?", I asked.
"No, but I wouldn't say you are alive either", I was confused by that statement.
"What is that supposed to mean?", I asked.
"Do you understand what all living creatures have in common?", he asked me.
"A life? Probably a body?", I guessed.
"Close, all living creatures have one thing that makes them live, that is the soul", he turned to the river.
"It doesn't matter what it is, whether it's a monster or a god, an insect or the planet itself. All living things have a soul", he stated.
I chuckled, "Gods have souls, aren't they the ones who created it?"
"Don't patronize me Gazef", when he called me by my name I froze.
"Yes...I know you...I've watched you all your life... I watched when you were born as well as when you learned your swordsmanship under Vesture", the giant said as he continued to row the massive boat.
"How do you know me", I asked. I was still skeptical of him knowing everything about me but he claimed he brought me here I wouldn't like to get on his bad side.
"You should think out loud ill hear your doubts about me clearer", I froze.
"You can read my mind?", I asked.
"You humans take magic lightly... And yes, hearing your thoughts is simple", he said.
"Can you tell me why am I here and how do you know me?", he stopped rowing and turned to me.
"I've been born since the first day the soul was created as for the fact that I know you. Every soul is connected to me in a way, imagine each soul like a string, and all of them are connected to me. Even yours", he said while still rowing the boat
"Are you a god?", I asked.
"No...not by the standards you think...we have all sorts of powers, longevity, immortality but in special cases, we can die", he stated.
The giant turned to look at me but I couldn't see his face at all as if there was a void and no face, "I am the guardian of souls."
"What would you want with me?", I asked him.
"...I've brought you here to give you advise", he then looked up and waved at the air in front of him. Suddenly out of nowhere, smoke started appearing and circling in front of him, he then turned to me, "Please look into the smoke?"
I walked close to the smoke and leaned in, I was still unsure so I turned to look at the guardian, but just like before I couldn't tell what his intentions were.
As I stood in front of the smoke, the cloud of smoke slowly started getting new colors. Until it made an image, since most of the colors were dark I couldn't really tell what was going on.
"What am I looking at guardian?", I asked the giant.
"Keep watching..", just as I was about to say something, I saw it. In the smoke I saw a fat man, he was naked on a bed and he seemed to be punching something. I was wondering why I was watching a naked man punching his bed, but the smoke changed to view the man's face and I recognized him, "Staffan?"
Staffan Heivish, a shady type of man, the main reason I never liked him was that I heard a rumor of him being involved with the massive organization, The Eight Fingers. He is a very discourteous person, he is a fat man with no skill, but for some reason, he holds a position of power as a patrol officer.
Staffan smiled, "Hehehe, do you like that you tramp?"
I was surprised when I heard him speak, I never heard of this type of magic before, I then realized he was talking to someone. As if reading my mind, the smoke then turned to the thing he was talking to. When I saw it, I didn't realize it but my expression grew hostile, in the bed was a blonde woman, all around her body she had bruises and blood.
I clenched my fist, Staffan made a grotesque smile, "What? Can't scream for me anymore, it was such a turn-on."
Third: POV
After Staffan said that, he continued to do things that Gazef would have preferred to forget. Gazef didn't know but the guardian was watching carefully analyzing his expressions and movements. The guardian then waved his hand in the fog once more and the smoke returned back to its dark grey color.
Gazef wondered what the guardian was doing, before he could ask, the guardian pointed once more at the smoke. "Please keep watching", he said.
When Gazef turned to the smoke, "What the hell....what is this?"
Weekly Power Status
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