Eve of War

The Dragon Queen stood outside Zelphyrs carriage, completely stunned by the sight before her.

The sight in question being a domineering figure dismounting from the carriage, Zelphyr had adorned his armour.

'With this armour, the Gatekeeper of the Underworld' on, the theocracy should be smacking their observation equipment like an old Television.'

Smirking at the thought of a static TV being smacked by an old man, Zelphyr looked around and finally noticed Draudillon stood before him.

"How kind of you, thank you for greeting me outside my carriage"

Zelphyr smirked at the gaping face of Draudillon before she quickly readjusted herself.

"You seem to have changed, I have to admit, your armour is much more imposing than I thought"

The feelings of awe bubbling inside Draudillon could not be hidden from Zelphyr, sparking a sense of pride.

"Thank you for the compliment, I worked quite hard to attain it."

Flashbacks of Zelphyrs tireless nights grinding by himself, talking to Cinder like a mad man.

'I spent a lot of data crystals on all of my armour and some insanely rare items were used, it better be impressive otherwise I may as well go and sit in a hole.'

The armour Zelphyr currently wore the 'Gatekeeper of the Underworld' armour set that he had farmed for. Much like before, this set took deep inspiration from the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon, Anubis to be exact - one of the Gods of Death.

Its helmet took on the shape of a Jackal with a black hood draped atop it. The trims of the armour were a deep blue. The armour hugged to Zelphyrs natural body shape, allowing for flexible movement. Both its boots and gauntlets had sharp edges, similar to claws.

'This armour is a lot better for solo battle than most of my others, its effects are made to be a one man army.'

In terms of abilities, it had three.

Ability 1: Deaths Haze - Complete Perception Clouding - Those not deemed allies who gaze upon the armour, are unable to discern specific details about the user or their equipment. Their gaze only perceives a thick mist in the vague form of a human.

Ability 2: Gatekeepers Duty - Increased stacking strength when performing the Gatekeepers duty - separating souls from their mortal bodies. Stackable up to 10x.

Special Ability: Underworlds Judgement - Damage taken will be reflected into the users next attack as additional damage. This ability has a 2 minute cooldown.

"Now then, Narberal is helping unload the supplies, shall we head to the command tent?"

Zelphyr spoke to the gobsmacked Draudillon.

Breaking from her stupor, Draudillon nodded before walking alongside Zelphyr, her gaze often drifting upon his figure.

'That armour looks quite fancy, I suppose a dragon would have impressive armaments.'

The armoured soldiers look on with wonder as Zelphyr strode through the encampment, each one stopping their task to watch his every step.

'Stand strong Zelphyr, they are looking at you because of your armour. This is not that type of club'

Zelphyrs inner thoughts battled against each other. He had gotten used to the denizens of Nazarick staring at him, laying upon thick praise as he passes, however to have thousands of grizzly men staring at him with the eyes of a predator- it was quite worrying.

Burying those delusions in the pit they crawled out of, Zelphyr spoke to the queen beside him.

"It seems the camp morale is fairly high, especially considering the issues you have had over the past few months, do you know the cause Queen Draudillon?"

Draudillon nodded with a satisfied smile at Zelphyrs analysis.

"Indeed Lord Zelphyr, the armies of the Dragon Kingdom are all well-trained warriors, warriors who are determined to protect their families from these invaders. Well that and I have promised a much higher reward for those that prove their valour on this day"

The pride from the start of her statement quickly fizzled out as she spoke of the real reason for the increased morale.

Letting out a chuckle at Draudillon, Zelphyr let a small smile sit upon his lips.

"Good, that is very good. Not only are these men protecting their homeland, they will be rewarded sufficiently. You see Queen Draudillon, mankind is fragile, their instinctive fear is a force so strong that it can override even the deepest of loves. Yet, having the promise of something they desire, is a compelling enough thought that it would stabilise even the deepest of fears. Psychology is quite interesting is it not?"

Queen Draudillon let out a light sigh before retorting.

"That's quite the cynical comment, though I cannot deny it completely Lord Zelphyr"

As their conversation came to an end, they finally arrived before a large tent, its doorway was guarded by two of the Dragon Kingdoms Royal Knights, both stood at attention.

Noticing the twos arrival, the two Royal Knights swiftly grabbed the hems of the curtain doors and opened it.

Without hesitation, Zelphyr and Draudillon entered the tent, to be met with a selection of armour men stood around a table, with a large map and coloured chess pieces placed upon it.

"You may rise"

Queen Draudillon spoke as she stood around the table, with Zelphyr standing beside her.

His expression was relaxed, a complete contrast with those of the meeting, whose forehead lined with sweat.

"Now then, shall we start?"

With a light hearted voice, Zelphyr spoke to the fellow attendees, his face completely concealed by the Jackal helmet.

'While it's probably bad etiquette to wear your helmet to a war meeting, I am not running any risks'

The men around his shot a sharp glare his way before focusing their gaze on their Queen.

As for Draudillon, a headache started to grow as she tried to ignore Zelphyr as best she could.

'He has the power to kill me... No the power to challenge this whole army, yet I can't help but shrug whenever he annoys me...'

This behaviour had already been noticed by Zelphyr and Narberal, in fact, the majority of Zelphyrs journey had been spent calming down the murderous intent oozing from Narberals every pore. 

"As Lord Zelphyr has said, let us begin. This meeting will decide the fate of our Kingdom today!"

Everyones gaze turned stern as the Queens words resonated in their hearts. Some of the men's gulps could be heard from outside the tent.

Back at Nazarick, observation of their own was taking place. One of Nazaricks largest meetings rooms was currently housing a plethora of the strongest members of Nazarick. Every floor guardian, except Victim and Gargantua, as well as Pandora's Actor were currently sat on the sofas as large holographic displays hovered above the table.

"Lord Zelphyr seems to be at the command tent. Those inferior beings are lucky to be graced by his boundless wisdom before their war."

Demiurge spoke as he spoke to his fellow Guardians.

"Indeed, it is quite odd that Lord Zelphyr personally went for such a small war, is the Dragon Kingdom such an important ally?"

Shalltear spoke as her eyes were glued to her Lords reverent figure.

"I do not claim to know the depth of the Supreme Ones thinking, but I have a feeling that the Dragon Kingdom is not what Lord Zelphyr wants, it's something else."

Demiurge replied, pushing his glasses further onto his face.

Hearing demiurges statement, Albedo spoke up.

"I agree Demiurge, Lord Zelphyr seems to be looking for something else out of this, though it saddens me to say that I cannot foretell what."

Her statement was one of sadness at her inability to read her lord.

"Well, let us wait and see, Shalltear be ready to open aa gate at any moment."

Albedo spoke once more.

The conversation fell flat at the Floor Guardians watched the entourage of humans discuss their war plans, with their Lord seeming to listen more than participate.

"Lord. Zelphyrs. Armour. Is. Most. Impressive."

Cocytus spoke as he assessed the armour his Lord was wearing.

"I believe that is an armour set that Lord Zelphyr made himself, I remember Lord Ulbert talking about it with Lord Momonga. Apparently a catastrophic event caused Lord Zelphyr to spend three full weeks settling, with the ultimate reward being a very rare material."

Demiurge spoke of his creator as he remembered the fragments of conversation he had once overheard.

The surrounding Floor Guardians all gasped with awe.

"Lord Zelphyr apparently named it the Gatekeeper of the Underworld, its effects are apparently of the Legendary Class"

The gasps of awe deepened as Demiurge continued.

"Truly Lord Zelphyr has unmatched strength! He's so cool!"

Aura proclaimed, her voice full of pride.

"I want to be like Lord Zelphyr..."

Mare murmured as he gripped his staff, his cheeks slightly red with eyes full of admiration at the figure of Lord Zelphyr.

The Floor Guardians all nodded as the scenery on the viewing mirrors finally changed.

The war was beginning.

The plains in front of them stretched out far with the forest surrounding them, closing them in, like a rat in a trap.

Yet the morale of the Dragon Kingdoms soldiers remained high. Their weapons were raised high as war chants spread through the ranks.

Four figures stood amongst the ranks of the soldiers, stood atop a raised platform were Duke Armatt, Queen Draudillon Oriculus, Lord Zelphyr and the maid Narberal.

The four resonated an aura of authority as they looked out upon the plains.

Their gazes focused on the small figures lined up opposite them.

Though the distance was great between them, the bloodlust of the Beastman Countries army, could be felt from their position.

"My, that is quite a lot of animals over there"

Zelphyr peered at the enemies, using the spell 'Hawk Eye'.

'I see Tigers, Lions, Dog-like ones too, all of them are carnivorous huh?'

"Animals you say? I suppose that is one way to call them."

Duke Armatt spoke with a hint of sarcasm. His hatred for the enemy was clear.

"Now, now Duke Armatt, animals are dangerous indeed, but it is those races that has greater intelligence that are most dangerous. They are nothing more than wild animals."

Duke Armatt winced at Zelphyrs dismissive attitude, but chose to remain silent. From what he had seen about Zelphyr, they likely were no more than animals too.

"Lord Zelphyr, we are thankful for the weaponry aid you have provided, I have not seen our soldiers look so excited before. Truly like children with new toys."

Queen Draudillon spoke with a thankful tone as she looked upon her subjects armaments.

"Think nothing of it, Mithril weapons are nothing. Besides, I always make good on my promises, every single one."

As he spoke, Zelphyrs aura spilled out from him, his draconic presence sending shivers down the surrounding humans spines. 

Contrary to them, Narberal looked upon her lord with eyes of awe.

Swiftly withdrawing his aura, Zelphyr mentally berated himself as he looked onto the horizon.

'You fool, what good is it to leave your 'Allies' on the verge of fainting, theatrics aside, I should remember that those of this world are truly weak - I suppose since I have been planning for 'them', I have forgotten the power level of the average denizen of this world'

Recovering from the unexpected shock, the Beastmen armies stirred.

Horns began to blow as the sound of drum beats echoed across the plains.

'Drums? That is so cool, right, new task added to the checklist. Ah I can imagine it now, the armies of Nazarick marching to the beat of a drum, decimating the fools that do not listen'

His body shook slightly as his fantasies grew wild.

"Lord Zelphyr, they are coming"

Narberal spoke up, breaking Zelphyr from his daydreams.

"Insignificant beings... interrupting my time..."

Zelphyrs eyes narrowed.

"Queen Draudillon, make the call. Now."

Zelphyr commanded, his voice forcing Draudillons entire body to want to prostrate herself.

Supressing the feeling of submission within her blood, Draudillon Oriculus raised her blade and let her voice echo.

"My men! Today is the day! We end our years of suffering, and free our country! March forth my soldiers, protect our country!"

With her words, the war cries of the human soldiers drowned out the drums of the enemies before the ground began to shake from their marching.

"Narberal, Nazarick is watching. We must put on a good show no?"

Narberal smiled at her Lords words.

Hearing the two, Draudillon wanted to speak before it happened.

The world moved.