Turning Cogs

As far as his eyes could see, a long rectangular room expanded out in front of him. The dimly glowing purple flame torches on the wall illuminated the room at specific intervals. Lining the walls were large black crates with a small purple swirl on the front of each one.

'It's lucky that these 'Void Crates' still work, I must admit that was a bit of an oversight, I could have lost everything just because I put everything in one type of box'

Zelphyr thought to himself as he started to walk down the middle of the room, inspecting the signs next to each box.

This was Zelphyrs personal treasure room, a hidden room that not even Touch Me or Ulbert knew of, despite their close relations. The room holds everything Zelphyr had gained throughout the years as a player, from exclusive dungeon items to purchased items from the player black markets.

'It should be around here...'

Zelphyr searched around the hundreds of 'Void Crates' present. Each crate had near-infinite storage that was only limited by the game's hard-coded maximum, however, due to the game's physics and limitations vanishing, these boxes truly did have an infinite capacity.

"There it is! Now to have a look"

Zelphyr walked over to the crate and picked out the item he had been searching for.

A smirk grew upon his face as he looked at the small sign which read 'World Items'.

After leaving the 11th Floor and the hidden treasury, Zelphyr made his way to his personal office.

"Cixous, call for Lupusregina Beta and Sebas, I will be contacting Demiurge in the meantime, so tell them that there is no rush."

Zelphyr spoke as he walked through the opened door, that Cixous was holding open.

"Certainly Lord Zelphyr"

Cixous, a homunculi maid of Nazarick, responded with a perfect bow of her head before excusing herself.

Alone in the room, Zelphyr started to read the documents neatly laid upon the desk. Each document had exquisite handwriting and was neatly ordered in order of importance, with the most important being at the top.

"I truly do have very impressive subordinates, even Shalltear and Aura manage to produce reports on the level of an experienced secretary"

Zelphyr nodded his head in appreciation of his subordinate's skills. While some of the Guardians may not be especially smart, they are very well versed when it comes to administration, alongside having an above-average intelligence in comparison to humans.

"I best contact Demiurge before Lupusregina and Sebas get here, although I told them not to rush, I doubt they will take their time."

Without delay, Zelphyr activated the 'call' spell, connecting to Demiurge. It did not take more than a second before he could hear the sound of the spell connecting.

"Demiurge"

A formal, but cheery voice replied immediately after Zelphyr spoke.

"My Lord, I am here."

Zelphyr nodded after receiving an affirmative response, before deciding that he would get straight to the main topic.

"Demiurge, I will get straight to the point since I do not wish to disturb your work anymore than I already am."

"Lord Zelphyr, you are not disturbing any part of my work, all of my tasks are proceeding on schedule and will be ready to show results at their destined times."

Zelphyr smiled wyrly at his zealous subordinate subtle attempts at showing off.

"Impressive as always demiurge, I am thankful for your continued contributions to Nazarick."

"I am honoured by your words Lord!"

Carrying on, Zelphyr continued his conversation with Demiurge as he read through the latest intelligence report he had received from the operatives on-site.

"Demiurge, I would like you to get in touch with the teams in the capital cities of the human nations, their main objective, for the time being, will be to monitor the ruling classes' response to the upcoming war. Every detail."

A sound of understanding passed through the communication, reaching Zelphyr in response.

"I will see to it Lord Zelphyr, I assume you wish for secrecy to remain the top priority?"

"Of course, they must not reveal themselves or their affiliation. On that note, inform the teams in the Argland Council State to wait on standby, while only completing the minimum surveillance possible without any risk of detection. They are under no circumstances to try and infiltrate any deeper than they already have. There is a large chance of that country, in particular, making a move."

Demiurge spoke words of affirmation in an understanding tone.

'It seems he already has an idea of what is going on, as expected from a hyper-intelligent demon'

"That is all for today, I would like this to be put into effect immediately as the Relief Aid convoy will be leaving in 3 days' time. I have tasked Aureole Omega and Albedo with observing our passage and movements. I will inform them ahead of time when the war will be starting, I wish for all of the Guardians to watch. This was a compromise I made to Shalltear and Albedo."

Zelphyr spoke the final part in an exasperated tone, but he could not hide the amusement in his voice.

"I see, in that case, Lord Zelphyr, the Guardians will observe on standby, however, please permit my rudeness, should the situation become too dangerous, I will mobilize even if it means losing my life for insubordination. You are the last Supreme Being, the final Master for us to serve, without you, Nazarick would no longer serve a purpose, and neither would we."

Demiurge stated, his tone filled with a passionate conviction. It was apparent, even from his voice alone, that Demiurge was speaking from the soul.

Zelphyr assented to this statement, knowing it would be fruitless to try any sort of persuasion.

"My Lord, regarding the human nations, I received notice of some peculiar events in the Re-Estize Kingdom. A small group of humans have taken residence in the local cemetery in E-Rantel and seem to be conducting rituals."

Zelphyrs eyes lit up when he heard this report.

"The group seems to have some connection with the Slane Theocracy, rather, we can verify from our information channels that one of the members is a former member of the Special Operations unit from the Theocracy. Should we ignore them?"

'So it is Clementine and the ghoulish man huh?'

"This is good information Demiurge. Continue on with your current assignment, I will have Sebas alongside Entoma, go and secure them. They will be a good source of information."

Zelphyr smiled cruelly as he thought about the fates of the so called Undead Society members.

'I believe Clementine had some Martial Arts too, she will be a very good experiment subject.'

The call ended, leaving Zelphyr in silence once more. With his newly gained silence, he ordered his thoughts in preparation for Sebas and Lupusregina.

Minutes passed until a clear knocking was heard from the door.

"Lord Zelphyr, Lady Lupusregina Beta, and Sir Sebas Tian have arrived!"

The soft cheerful voice of Cixous sounded out as she announced Zelphyrs visitors.

"Come in"

A blunt reply, but anymore would have left them standing outside unnecessarily. The three entered with a sophisticated poise, befitting those belonging to the upper echelons of society.

"Thank you for coming Sebas and Lupusregina, and of course, thank you for fetching them Cixous."

"Lord Zelphyr, all of Nazarick will answer the moment you call"

Sebas spoke as he bowed his head.

"Yeah, we apologize that we took so long to come Lord Zelphyr."

Lupusregina continued as she observed her words, desperately trying to watch for any informal language.

"Lord! It is my duty to act as your hands and legs, please, order me as you wish! I am unworthy of your praise for fulfilling my duty!"

Cixous proclaimed after waiting for the two guests to finish.

"Now now, I appreciate all three of your loyalties. Lupusregina, you can talk normally, there is no need to hide your true selves in my presence. My comrades made you all, concealing it is tantamount to not respecting them. To me, you are all as precious as my own body."

His voice was soft and filled with nostalgia as he spoke. Despite his excitement over this new life and start, he still could not forget the thousands of hours he had spent grinding with his teammates, arguing and laughing.

The three gazed at Zelphyr with eyes full of admiration and gratitude.

"Now then, I have assignments for you both. Listen well. Lupusregina Beta, I would like you to take one of Shalltears gates to Carne Village, you will visit regularly, providing them with assistance rebuilding the village. I will have further instructions at a later date once the town is rebuilt. Just know I intend to test Enri Emmot. So for now, ensure her safety and blend into the village. Under no circumstances are you to initiate hostilities with the villagers and should an attack befall them, assist them from the shadows."

Zelphyr address Lupusregina, detailing her mission objectives so she knows exactly what to focus on.

A sour expression flashed across her face as Zelphyr finished speaking.

"Is there an issue?"

Zelphyr could already guess her issue but he still preferred to have Lupusregina speak her mind.

"Not at all Lord Zelphyr! I will obey any command you give! However, the idea of being amongst humans for so long sounds quite boring."

A wry smile encroached upon his face as he looked at Lupusregina, completely aware of her hidden sadistic streak.

"Lupusregina, I can assure you, the future of that village will not be boring. After all, the test I have planned, will be one that makes your hairs stand on their end."

He spoke with a smirking tone, suggesting he knew her heart completely.

Hearing this, Lupusreginas eyes widened before a fanatical expression replaced the bitter one.

'I must admit, I enjoy this dangerously playful side of Lupusregina Beta. Though, I need to take care to not become the subject of her pranks'

Turning his gaze away from Lupusregina Beta, Zelphyr addressed Sebas.

"Sebas, your mission is in E-Rantel, the fortress city closest to Carne Village. Currently, a small group of outlaws are plotting whilst hiding within the cemetery in the city. Your assignment is to take Entoma and forcefully secure this group of outlaws, bring them back to Nazarick alive. From our information networks, we can tell that they have something big planned for the city, if they have any witnesses or hostages, secure them as well. Our intervention must remain a secret."

Sebas nodded before replying.

"Very well Lord Zelphyr, I shall see it done."

His reply was abrupt causing Zelphyr to smile wryly.

'Sebas has quite positive Karmic level, normally I wouldn't give him such an underhanded mission, however the enemies this time are evil aligned. Besides, he looks the most human among the level 100 NPCs, infiltrating the city will be far easier.'

"While you secure them Sebas, I wish for you to test their combat prowess and provide me a detailed report on how their fighting techniques work. If I am correct, it should be different from what we are used to."

Sebas brought his hand to his chin.

"Certainly Lord Zelphyr, we shall meet your expectations."

Hearing the short reply, Zelphyr mentally shrugged.

"I am sure you will. There may be others observing them, if so, capture them as well."

Sebas nodded once more.

Sensing the two had understood his orders, Zelphyr smiled before saying one last thing.

"These are my orders, my faithful subordinates. You must remember one thing though, at no point are these objectives more important than your lives."

His face and tone was stern.

In response to this Lupusregina replied energetically, while Sebas bowed his head slightly with his usual stoic expression. Despite that, there was a deep admiration dwelling within his eyes.

Zelphyr took that moment to transport out of the room, his next destination being Albedo and Narberal Gamma, whom were preparing for his departure to the Dragon Kingdom once more.

Seeing their Supreme Leader leave, Lupusregina turned to Sebas with a wide smile.

"Lord Zelphyr is amazing Lord Sebas, he saw right through my feelings. It sort of feels like he chose me specifically for this role!"

Her words sounded feverish, however Sebas understood.

"Indeed, it is evident that Lord Zelphyr has great love for the members of Nazarick. We are truly blessed."

Lupusregina nodded her head strongly as her thoughts drifted off.

'I wonder if Lord Zelphyr would enjoy the show with me? He said that it will entertain me, perhaps I should ask him to enjoy it with me?'

Her thoughts lingered on the idea of the two watching helpless humans struggle until she realised the large hurdle before that.

'Surely Lady Albedo will allow that right?'

A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the 'Gatekeeper'.

Completely oblivious to Lupusreginas fantasies, Zelphyr arrived at the entrance of the Great Tomb. 

As the rays of sunshine pierced the shadows of the tomb, Zelphyr gazed upon the trail of carriages lined up along the pathway.

Each carriage was being carefully filled with large metallic crates, everyone being labelled meticulously.

'Albedo and Narberal seemed to have handled this perfectly. I will have to check on Cinders progress while we travel.'

Currently, the Caravan train was being stocked and prepared to head towards the Dragon Kingdom as the Great Tomb of Nazaricks first supply package.

Zelphyr intended to accompany the Caravan to ensure it reached its destination, as well as to get a personal update on the current war situation.

As he reached the front carriage, he noticed two familiar beauties with serious expressions, discussing something.

Completely on cue, Albedos expression warped into a bright smile as she ended her conversation and darted over to Lord Zelphyr.

'Even with my aura almost completely concealed, Albedo still reacts like a trained hunting dog...'

Despite his worried thoughts, Zelphyr found it rather charming.

'Oh right, I have to talk to her about my future encounters with ladies... I have a feeling I will not be leaving the bedroom until the Succubus is satisfied...'

The path of a Supreme Being was an arduous one.