24 Re-Estize Kingdom

As Thoth slowly yet surely plunged the Slane Theocracy into the darkness, a different situation was unfurling in a not-so-far-away kingdom.

A man known as Gazef Stronof could be seen overlooking the city from its high walls, a show of the might Re-Estize held in its hands, yet all of this was just for show.

Indeed, the current situation is more fragile than a small porcelain teacup, and the lord knows those things are incredibly fragile, luckily he didn't need to deal with those noble things most of the time.

The prosperous capital stretched on before him, and children laughed as life continued, but all that joy only served to hide the screams of pain, the rumbling of starving beggars, and the nefarious laughs of the eight fingers.

Gazef knew these things all too well, the illegal organization was trading people like livestock, sharing drugs, and murdering innocents as well, he wished he could burn the horrible organization they built to the ground, but alas, he was too weak.

Unlike those two, Ainz Ooal Gown and Thoth if he recalled their names correctly, were truly powerful, he could tell that much from s simple glance, but their true limits remained a mystery, nonetheless, they were powerful enough to take on an elite unit from the Slane Theocracy, and he could only pray those fangs wont bite the Kingdom.

Gazef couldn't help but sigh in frustration, he informed the nobles and the king as he should, but none of them believed him, at least, not fully.

"Your memories must be fuzzy since you came so close to death."

Gazef didn't blame them, they lacked any reason to believe him, what he said was very far-fetched after all, but recently, he had heard news of a new adamantine ranked group, and one of their members seemed incredibly familiar from the description.

After all, how many children with white hair and eyes hold such immense power? The only thing that he wasn't sure about was the elf part, but Gazef couldn't recall the boy's ears from all that time ago anyway.

Anyway, the kingdom wasn't doing well, it was divided, the nobles were getting only more and more selfish while the commoners they were supposed to protect were suffering due to their inadequacy, and even the king and his faction couldn't do much to help without risking a civil war.

Goodness, what a mess.

"Sir Gazef!" An energetic and young voice could be heard, and Gazef immediately recognized it.

Climb, a young man with blond hair and blue eyes could be seen approaching Gazef.

Gazef turned away from the city and he allowed his arm to rest on the tower wall.

"I told you to speak normally to me if I recall correctly."

"Ah, of course!" Climb saluted, clearly the boy wasn't going to loosen up easily.

Gazef slightly shook his head, still, the personal knight of the princess was a person he could respect, Climb made it abundantly clear with word and action that he would do whatever it took to ensure a bright future for the princess, all while following each order with undying loyalty and never seeking compensation, only stating he was happy to help the woman who saved him.

Still, to a more mature man like Gazef, it was clear the boy loved the girl, and the other way around, it was a bit of much-needed positivity watching those two do their thing.

Gazef took notice of the sword on Climb's waist, "Say, are you up for a bit of practice?"

Climb immediately looked a bit surprised but also excited, this was a great opportunity to improve his skill, if he was more skilled, he could help his mistress more, which would allow him to spar with stronger opponents more, earn more recognition, and in turn help his mistress even more.

The young man's entire existence revolved around the princess, a respectable albeit concerning trait for his future, simps never have a good ending after all.

"I would be honored Sir Gazef!" Gazef nodded at the energetic response, and the two went to spar.

Gazef won with ease, but still, Climb did manage to force him into showing some of his martial arts, impressive for someone his age.

As the two men fought with their swords, another man could be seen outside the city wall, his disheveled appearance made him look like a homeless person while the dead look in his eyes made him depressing to look at.

His eye-catching dark blue hair lost its luster, though people who knew the man would recognize him as Brain Unglaus, the legendary warrior capable of fighting Gazef on equal terms.

The formerly arrogant and flamboyant legend had lost all things that were once important to him, his ego was reduced to atoms, and his previously shallow view was expanded with force, which has led the man to develop symptoms of depression and even a few very subtle signs of PTSD.

He waited his turn to enter the city, at least, with his new appearance, he had plenty of space around himself.

He scoffed as he remembered how attention-seeking he used to be, flirting with women while killing others, raiding caravans with his now-deceased partners in crime.

Maybe God was finally tired of his bullshit, it would be fair enough, maybe he left him alive so he could experience what it's like being so low in life, a weakling like him deserved no better.

He entered the city without issues, and he managed to save enough money to afford the entry fee, but now he didn't know what to do.

Or rather, he knew exactly what to do, he just didn't know where to start.

Now, what does a man do once he has reached rock bottom? Does he get revenge? Build himself up from scratch? Ha! No.

Brain Unglaus wandered from bar to bar, strip club to strip club, his primitive human mind desperate to escape from its current circumstances escaped into carnal pleasure and alcohol, but eventually, he didn't have more money to spend, and so, in the rain, he sat like a filthy animal, smelling of intense booze and sweat, he did make those strippers feel good if nothing else.

He suddenly heard a masculine voice he hadn't heard in a long time, his great rival, Gazef Stronoff could be seen looking down at him, the rain seemed to intensify as lighting rumbled in the distance.

"Brain Unglaus...?"

It had been a few hours since Gazef and Climb had finished their sparring lesson, Gazef immediately offered to train Climb, who accepted with elation.

Gazef then went around with the king for a while, protecting him from any threats that may lurk within the palace and giving the old man some companionship as he slogged through the day, he was eventually switched out by the Royal Guard, who protected the king while Gazef enjoyed his little free time and also served as the garrison for the royal palace.

Now, he was quickly walking through the streets, he had just finished running some simple errands and he was prepared to head home for the night, but he froze in his tracks as he noticed a familiar man sitting on his ass on the cold stone street, the hair poured over him, yet he simply seemed to sulk silently in depression.

Gazef approached without hesitation, after all, it couldn't be...

"Brain Unglaus...?" Gazef asked, surprised to see his guess be true, it truly was him.

The man looked like a mess, his eyes were dead inside and his hair was dirty, the smell of booze and sweat overpowered the smell of fresh air and rain around them.

"Gazef?" Brain seemed just as confused as Gazef, prompting Gazef to reach out a hand.

Brain was an exceptional fighter when they last met, with passion and a determined will to grow, how did someone with so much potential become like this? Gazef needed to investigate, something in his heart told him he had to, and he could help the man put himself together in the process.

"Come, we should speak somewhere more pleasant." Gazef hinted at his hand with his head, which was still reaching out to the man.

"...You don't need to tell me twice." Brain took Gazef's hand and pulled himself up, Gazef then led Brain to his home, which was a rather humble stone house not worthy of someone of Gazef's standing, but the man was humble enough to not care about such shallow things.

Gazef led his old rival inside, which was as humble as the outside, and led him to the kitchen, where Brain sat at a wooden table.

Gazef, knowing this would most likely be a painful story to tell, prepared the man a bit of alcohol he kept just in case of sudden visits.

Brain took the alcohol, throwing the man in front of him a grateful glance for his empathy, and he began to speak.

"I know you are curious how I ended up like this, but it is quite a long story."

"I have plenty of time for an old friend."

'Friend huh?' Brain Unglaus had never seen the man as a friend, more like an obstacle, an inconvenience in his path to remove and crush, an insult to his ego, and so on, yet now here he was, accepting alcohol from him and sharing his life story.

"Well, it all started when I decided to join a local group of bandits..."

As Gazef listened to Brain's story with patience, within the royal castle, a princess could be seen.

Her hair is like gold while her eyes are light blue, and her face, normally covered in an innocent smile, could now be seen with a grin so unhinged it would match Albedo's.

She is currently inside her room sitting on the side of her large comfortable bed, a maid is preparing some tea for her, but little does she know the danger she is in.

Princess Renner watched the door carefully, waiting for the maid to return, this would be her last day in this life.

She dared-the accursed bitch dared- to insult her dear Climb.

Her Climb.

No one could harm him, insult him, or even look at him wrong, oh she felt SO angry she couldn't kill that stupid woman more painfully and slowly, but this slow-acting poison she received in return for her future services would do.

Today, as her cute little puppy was going about doing his best for her, which made her incredibly happy, she received an offer she couldn't refuse. After all, a free ticket to immortality and spending forever with her adorable Climb? In return for her aid for all eternity? She had never heard of a better bargain.

She giggled, her laugh as creepy as her smile, her mind completely beyond what normal people would consider normal, but that's okay, only Climb mattered to her, she didn't care about anyone else.

She will do everything for her beloved, she will happily put on this act, she will happily kill that maid, and she will do so, so, SO much worse for him, as long as the two of them can stay together forever, nothing will stop her mind from finding a way-

The door suddenly opened and a maid could be seen holding a small plate with some biscuits and a tea cup filled with tea.

Princes Renner could be seen sitting on her bed, her smile was as sweet as a spoonful of sugar, and the maid quickly bowed slightly.

"Princess, I have brought your tea."

"Wonderful, please put it on the table over there." Renner pointed at a small table next to her bed, the maid did as ordered with great proficiency, she was very experienced after all.

Renner got up after the maid put the items on the table, she got between the maid and them and slipped some pills into the tea.

"I'm sorry about this... But I seem to no longer be thirsty, how about you drink the tea so it doesn't go to waste?" Renner said as she turned around and grabbed the teacup.

"Princess you are too kind, a lowly servant such as-" Renner held up her finger to silence the maid.

"No, don't be so mean to yourself. You are a valued woman, you should drink this so it doesn't go to waste." The woman still seemed hesitant, so Renner continued, "Royal order~"

The maid finally relented, "Very well Princess, you are too kind," She drank the tea.

It tasted excellent, as expected of tea meant for royalty.

The maid didn't taste the poison that now infected her insides and began the process of destroying her from the inside out slowly and painfully, she didn't notice the sickening smile Renner let slip for a second as the tea cup blocked her vision.

"Make sure to drink it all~," Renner said in a cute voice like she sincerely wished the maid the best, which she surely did, right?

The maid continued to drink until the cup was empty as the Princess demanded, not that she minded it, the day had been long and a nice cup of tea was a nice way to end it.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Renner said with a kind smile, her face like that of an innocent maiden who wished the best for everyone.

"Thank you for the tea, Princess." The maid bowed, genuinely grateful.

"It's okay~ Now, go get some rest." The maid left the room, taking the empty teacup with her.

Renner sat down on her bed and bit into the chocolate cookies the maid left behind, she giggled slightly knowing that bitch won't bother her puppy again.

The maid had a family, her income was used to keep her two older parents afloat while keeping her little daughter off of the streets, now that she died, they would all suffer, her parents starved to death three months later, and her daughter was sold into slavery, where she was used as a sex toy for far longer than she should ever have.

But none of that mattered, her Climb was all that mattered.

So what if some old geezers starved? They were already dead anyway.

So what if some brat was sold off as a sex toy? She wasn't gonna do anything important anyway, unlike her dear, cute, adorable little sweet...

She giggled deep into the night, until eventually, she went to bed, fulfilled by her action.

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