14 Chapter 14: Outside

Zelphyr had spent approximately 6 hours for the next few days with Naberal Gamma in the 6th Floor Amphitheatre. He had done some serious testing, especially since he had an intelligent helper with him this time. The reason he had chosen Naberal was due to their similarities in styles.

Zelphyrs classes allowed him to play as a Magic Caster or a Physical Front Liner, whilst Naberal also possessed similar traits although to a lesser degree.

Due to his consistent testing, he had found the areas where he needed to improve as well as the difference in dynamics compared to Yggdrasil.

As Yggdrasil was a game, it mean't that Zelphyrs movement and strategy was limited to whatever was programmed into the game. This mean't that Zelphyr now had to get used to thinking in terms of reality. For example, Zelphyr was limited to attacking in a preset fashion, such as shooting fireballs at his opponents for damage. Yet in this New World, he could launch them at the ground and create dust explosions for cover as well as disturb the opponents footing. This new level of combat was something that Zelphyr had to learn so that he was no longer bound by the limitations of the game.

As a reward for helping him, Zelphyr had decided he would publicly reward her for her service in the Throne Hall at the next mass meeting he declared.

Currently, Zelphyr was observing the movements of the disguised Slane Theocracy using the 'Mirror of Remote Viewing'. Albedo stood next to him, silently watching him as he pensively stared at the screen.

As he expected, he felt no qualms as he watched them raid the villages, nor did he feel any sick satisfaction over it. Instead, it felt like he was watching a documentary or something of that nature.

"They will be hitting the next village within the day. We should get ready"

Albedo tilted her head and questioned Zelphyr.

"Lord Zelphyr?"

He changed his gaze from the screen to the reports of the topography around Nazarick and the changes Mare had already made.

"We shall be attending their little festival Albedo, do you not wish to come?"

Albedo put her head in front of her chest and looked up at Zelphyr with passionate eyes.

"Lord Zelphyr! My body and heart is yours to command, I will follow you to the ends of the world!"

Zelphyr nodded, already used to her obsessive behaviour.

"Even if that was to save humans?"

Albedos eyebrows creased, an expression of disgust slipped onto her usually smiling face.

"Should My Lord wish to do so, although I see no reason to actually care for such insignificant creatures"

Zelphyr chuckled before reaching out and brushing a strand of hair out of the way of her face. Even that action garnered a passionate response from Albedo as she squirmed slightly and looked at Zelphyr with a heated expression.

"I intend to use the next village as a foothold in this new world. Therefore, we will be saving them when they are at their breaking point."

Albedos expression turned serious as she latched onto a specific word her Lord had spoken.

"Now then, let us go and prepare our equipment. They should not be too strong, but do not get careless"

Zelphyr left the office room, heading towards his own private chambers. Incidentally, Albedo followed behind him with her usual motherly smile. After he had gotten the preliminary defenses operational, Zelphyr had taken Albedo to one of the spare rooms on the 9th floor and designated that her abode. Their rooms were close, however it was still a minute walk between each of their rooms.

'I would have rather shared a room with Lord Zelphyr...'

Albedo thought to herself, she was happy for her Lords consideration, but she couldn't help wanting something else.

Zelphyr had spent the rest of the day doing an inventory check of the items he personally had. It had taken the entire day to go through everything as he had thousands of different items, when he was done, Zelphyr nodded with a satisfied smile.

"At least I do not have to be frugal if I am in a sticky situation."

Adorning his armour, Zelphyr walked towards the door. The armour in question was a set of Divine Class armour that he had put a lot of effort into obtaining and improving. While it was not his best armour, it was enough for now, as well as being the least intimidating armour. As their next job was helping a weak village, it would not be a good idea if he ended up striking fear into the hearts of the survivors as they may not be so willing to cooperate in the future. Additionally, Zelphyr had unequipped his 'Harbinger of Corruption' for a 'Divine Class' weapon he had sunk days into. It's name was 'Truths Guidance', a Saber with a bright, silvery, blue blade that curled upwards at the end. A large amount of time and resources had been spent on creating this weapon as Zelphyr felt that relying on his World Champion weapon would only weaken him.

However, the real reason he chose this was so that he did not accidentally kill someone with the 'Harbinger of Corruptions' negative energy.

Glancing in the mirror, he saw a man stood in full light armour, the white and black coloured armour reflected the lights above him off of it's pristine surface. The helmet covering his head looked very similar to a falcon, whilst the overall build of the armour was slim and hugged tightly to his body. This armour was able to be worn even if he switched style since it was no heavily armoured, although he will be slightly slower than if he wore Magical Caster robes and equipment.

"Thank you Horus and the Egyptians for this magnificent idea"

Zelphyr muttered to himself as he nodded in satisfaction at his appearance.

"Message"

Zelphyr activated the magic 'Message' and connected to Albedo.

"Albedo, are you ready?"

A hot sigh invaded into Zelphyrs ears as he waited for Albedo to answer.

"Nnn Lord Zelphyr, I am always ready"

Her voice sounded slightly heated, alas Zelphyr did not want to hit a hornets nest just yet.

"Good, meet me in the Throne Room in ten minutes"

Without waiting for an answer, he cut the communication before he got even more tempted by Albedo.

'Honestly... it's midday'

Shaking his head, Zelphyr teleported using his ring and swiftly arrived in the Throne Room. Much to his surprise, he found that Albedo was already waiting in her fully armoured form.

"Thank you for getting here swiftly Albedo, do you remember our objective?"

Albedo stood with her back straight and hand on her axe.

"Yes Lord. We are to remove the pests attacking the village whilst keeping the gruesome sights to a minimum. But Lord Zelphyr, does this insignificant village warrant the Supreme Ruler himself to defend?"

Zelphyr nodded, his voice stern as he spoke.

"I know you dislike Humans, that is your choice, however Humans are a rare case of a weak race that can dominate a world. As they have numbers and short life spans, it means they tend to develop fast, they can be very valuable in the future"

Albedo stiffly nodded and swallowed her complaints. She realised that what her Lord said was true, however the idea of protecting them was something she felt was beneath them.

"Good, now then, let's see their current condition"

Setting up the 'Mirror of Remote Viewing', Zelphyr started to watch the scene of a normal village. The atmosphere seemed serene and monotonous, however as he looked towards the distance, he saw a large dust cloud approaching the village.

"It is almost time, Albedo, your task is to clear out those on the immediate outer edge of the village. I will handle those inside the village. Leave those that are hanging around a couple of miles back, I have a plan for them. Finally, do not speak to anyone"

Although he knew Albedo would not initiate a conversation with a villager or enemy, he still felt it was necessary to make that precaution. After all, despite her high intelligence, Albedo would often lose her cool when she felt offended or annoyed. In those lapse of judgements, she may make a mistake and reveal crucial information.

All in all, it was slightly overkill, but exposing themselves now would only bring negatives.

"Very well Lord Zelphyr, but I do not like the idea of leaving you without a guard"

Zelphyr shook his head slightly and smiled at Albedo with a caring expression.

"I am thankful for your worry Albedo, but I am not compromising on this. Sebas will be observing alongside Shalltear using another 'Mirror of Remote Viewing' just in case we are in need of assistance, I feel that they will likely be keeping an eye on my safety"

The worry in Albedos demeanour softened slightly, following Zelphyr words.

"Oh, it seems they have started."

Zelphyr watched as the armed men charged into the town. His heart remained stable as he saw the violence take place.

"Lets go"

Casting 'Gate', Zelphyr stepped through the ominous portal, followed by a hurried Albedo.

After stepping through the portal, Zelphyr was met by a woodland scenery. As a precaution, he had set his destination slightly away from the village, in case someone escaped and reported his entrance to others.

"The operation starts now Albedo, I am sure you will complete this mission with ease"

Saying that, he kicked off of the ground and bolted towards the village. Clouds of dust appeared in his wake as he sprinted across the plains.

Arriving within seconds, Zelphyr noticed that the invaders had only just made it halfway into the village.

He slowed down into a normal jog, his light armour shining in the bright sun.

Screams of fear and agony sounded out as the village atmosphere turned tense.

"This smell... is it the smell of death?"

Zelphyr sniffed as a pungent odour assaulted his senses. It was not a pleasant smell, however it seemed that Zelphyrs new body was not repulsed by it, likely due to his low karma value.

Following the smell, Zelphyr quickly approached what seemed to be a war zone. Blood covered the ground while bodies were unceremoniously laid in it.

Seeing this, Zelphyr gripped his blade and hastened his steps. His destination was a house of a notable member of the village.

Quickly making his way there, he heard screams of a what seemed to be a teenage girl.

"Father!"

Zelphyr dashed towards the voice, arriving in front of a scene. An aged man was grappling with an invader, whilst an aged woman was struggling against another. Slightly further away, two girls were struggling to stand as they watched on.

Without hesitation, Zelphyr rushed at the soldier restraining the woman, piercing the man in his abdomen. The soldier quickly lost strength and collapsed, whilst the aged woman fell due to losing the support of the soldier.

Everyones eyes went wide as they saw a strange man in armour rescue the woman. The aged man pushed against the soldier, using the opportunity to escape his grip. Instead of retreating, the aged man swung at the soldier with his fist balled.

Alas, his opponent was a trained soldier. Grabbing his blade, the soldier stabbed the man in the stomach before his fist could connect. All of this happening within the time that Zelphyr took to check the condition of the woman.

"Father!!!!"

A heart wrenching scream escaped the mouth of the eldest girl. Pure despair coloured her face.

'Seriously... he should have just stayed still like the girls'

Zelphyr thought in annoyance, this situation would delay his sweeping.

"Fuck off!"

Zelphyr swung his saber at the remaining soldier, separating the head of the man from his body.

Looking out towards the village, he noticed that the amount of invaders had drastically dropped, likely due to Albedo.

'I will reward her when we return'

"Father!"

"Dear!"

Three voices sounded out simultaneously, grabbing the attention of Zelphyr once more.

Reaching into his item box, Zelphyr pulled out a 'High Healing Potion'.

"Move"

His tone was commanding, causing the three women surrounding the dying man to back off instinctively. Taking this chance, Zelphyr bent down to the man and uncapped the bottle. Unceremoniously pouring the contents into the mans mouth, Zelphyr felt the stares of the women watching his actions like hawks.

"Take him into the house and hide. Do not leave the house under any circumstances"

Saying this, Zelphyr left to hunt down more invaders.

By the time the last invader was dead, a sombre atmosphere had descended upon the village. Zelphyr and Albedo had met up in the center of the village, alongside the residents who had survived the massacre. Overall, roughly 65% of the village residents had survived the attack, although it was still a large amount dead.

It was true that Zelphyr and Albedo could have easily killed them faster had they wished too, however that would have caused large problems later on. After all, humans are untrusting creatures, capable of plotting and deceiving. That is one of the reasons why they can contend against races with superior strength. Thus, Zelphyr did not want the villagers growing untrusting towards him later on and claiming the attack was staged.

"You did well Albedo, you should start thinking of a reward for when we return"

Albedos armour physically shook when she heard the words of praise.

"It was my duty Lord Zelphyr, however I shall think deeply"

As they were talking, an old couple approached them. Zelphyr already guessed the identity of the old man.

"Strong warriors! We are grateful of your assistance"

His voice was positive, however a deep rooted sadness dwelled in his eyes.

"It is not a problem, we are just saddened at the fact that we arrived too late"

The old man shook his head lightly with a sad smile.

"No, had you two not turned up, our village would be no more. Our village thanks you"

Zelphyr nodded his head, before speaking.

"My name is Zelphyr, this is my partner Albedo"

Albedos breath turned slightly rougher at the word 'partner'. Luckily, only Zelphyr could hear.

"Pardon my rudeness, I am the Village Chief Ald"

"It is fine, Village Chief. If I may ask, what are you going to do next?"

He questioned the Village Chief who took up a pensive expression. It was clear that he felt torn between their next steps.

"May I suggest something?"

The Village Chief nodded for Zelphyr to continue.

"I suggest gathering the bodies into two piles. You can use the armour and weapons from the invaders for money by selling them. As for the villagers... I feel they need a proper burial"

Thinking over Zelphyrs idea, the Village Chief spoke.

"You don't mind giving us the armour and weapons? Are they not yours?"

Following this, it was decided that the Village will take ownership of any items that Zelphyr did not want, thus Zelphyr inspected the corpses and eventually only took the money they had.

Hours had passed by the time the villagers had buried their loved ones. In the center of the village, a pile of dead corpses stood tall. These were the invaders and the Villagers had decided that they wished to put their brethren to rest before even sparing the attackers a moment of thought.

Consequently, Zelphyr offered to guard the pile in case any of the corpses reanimated. This worked out well for him since he was curious as to how the corpses reanimated and whether it would happen this quick. Unfortunately, nothing eventful happened, allowing the villagers to burn the bodies without worry.

As the villagers were assigning each other roles for the restoration, Zelphyr and Albedo noticed another cloud of dust.

Albedo immediately assumed a battle stance ready to attack at any moment, while Zelphyr just watched on with interest.

A while after, Zelphyrs expectations were answered as he saw a muscular man with a chiselled body leading the small force of men.

"At ease Albedo, these are allied humans to these villagers"

Following Zelphyrs comment, Albedo loosened her grip on her battle axe, nevertheless her body was slightly tensed, allowing her to react at a moments notice.

Walking to the edge of the village, Zelphyr, Albedo and the Village Chief went to meet the new group of visitors.

Nervousness was evident on the Village Chiefs face as he kept glancing between Zelphyr and the incoming group.

Finally, the groups met. The atmosphere turned tense as the man on the horse slowly dismounted. He radiated a rough aura which was shared by the rest of the people behind him.

"My name is Gazef Stronoff, the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom"

After saying his piece, he turned his gaze to the relieved old man.

"I am the Chief of this Village, Ald. It is an honour to meet you Sir"

His tone was respectful and full of relief after knowing the identity of Gazef.

After nodding to the Village Chiefs introduction, Gazef turned his gaze toward Zelphyr. His gaze was much sharper as he seemed to inspect his body. It was clear to Gazef that at the very least, Zelphyr was very wealthy, which was very out of place in such a remote village.

"My name is Zelphyr, this is my partner Albedo. I take it you were following those attackers?"

Gazefs gaze sharpened even more. That was enough confirmation for everyone.

"It seems I was right, follow us."

Saying that, Zelphyr and Albedo left for the center of the village.

Gazef gave his men a few commands before following them with the Village Chief. On the way, the Village Chief explained the situation as well as the role of Zelphyr and Albedo. The previous suspicion Gazef felt, blew away with the wind as he heard that they were the village saviours.

Scanning the devastation and the pained faces of the villagers, Gazef bowed his head toward the Village Chief and apologised to him. It was clear that he felt horrible for not arriving in time.