Harbingers of Change

To travel once again was a refreshing change, even if it was likely her last. A year maybe was all that was left for her. Each day, it became harder and harder to resist the raging spirit inside her, one that had given her still youthful look and immense power. She still looked young from the outside, but within, the changes had already started. Her joints had grown stiffer and her body was getting weaker each day.

Shizue Izawa touched her mask absentmindedly. The white mask, with dark grey markings and a red dot in the spot where the tip of her nose touched it from inside, was the reason she had remained in control for so long. It was an artifact her friend and mentor gave her a long time ago. Its anti-magic enchant helped resist the spirit's attempts at taking control.

The spirit itself was a 'gift' from the one who had brought her to this world, saving her life in the process. Shizue could still hear the loud explosions, the screams, and remember the pain. A great war had been raging and the village she had lived in was the victim of the cruelty she didn't even understand at the time. How could she? What would a child know of the horrors of war?

Her wish to live to escape the horror had been granted to her in a twisted and cruel way. The strange voice talked inside her head and then, instead of being shielded by her mother's lifeless body, the young girl lay on a cold stone floor, overlooked by a tall, beautiful man with long, blonde hair. Her summoner had called her another failure, watching her with cold indifference.

Being dismissed like that had made her angry, and in defiance she had stretched out her hand and crawled towards him, despite the intense pain from all the burns she had suffered.

"Maybe you will be of some use." he had said.

Then the spirit appeared. A tall figure resembling a man made of pure flame. Its burning presence intensified her already unbearable pain. A whimpering scream was all she could respond with.

"Ifrit, her body is yours." the blonde man had said, and the flaming spirit collided with her.

Just like that, the pain was gone.

Snapping out of the memory, Shizue walked on towards the city gates in the distance. Seeing the walls of the Royal Capital intact, she smiled. The Kingdom of Blumund was still safe and prosperous.

There was a small line at the gate, but to her surprise, one of the guards motioned for her to come over. Was something wrong? Her masked appearance wasn't a problem before.

Shizue approached the guard, wary of potential problems. A man, maybe fifty years old, lifted his face guard and said with a smile while motioning for her to take the smaller side door, "A hero shouldn't be standing in line."

"Thank you." Shizue responded quietly.

They still remembered her in the Kingdom of Blumund. This was where she performed her last heroic feat before retiring. A dragon had appeared and laid waste to the small kingdom. Despite being a far cry compared to the divine true dragons, it was powerful enough to devastate the countryside and threaten the royal capital. The battle was won and the dragon killed, but Shizue had to spend too much of her energy, almost losing control over the spirit inside her.

There was no need to rush, as no one was waiting for her, letting Shizue take a slow walk. It was all just as she remembered it; there were well-maintained streets and houses, children running around and playing. Even street vendors were selling their wares from the carts without the worry of a sudden monster attack. The people going about their lives. Of course, the Kingdom of Blumund was not as developed as the Kingdom of Ingrassia, but even here the people didn't seem overly concerned about the dangers of the world. The rapid expansion of the Free Guild led by one of her former students had made life so much safer for the average human.

The local branch of the Free Guild was her next destination. To travel through the Forest of Jura without the latest input from the guild would be a foolish endeavor, even for someone like her. Especially considering that any attempt at using her power could be the catalyst for Ifrit taking over.

After more than a decade of being away, Shizue had to admit that the layout of the city wasn't as familiar anymore, but considering that the guild usually chose easy to find locations to set up shop in, she managed to find it quickly. It was located on the central street, in plain view for all to see.

With only a few curious stares, Shizu easily accessed the guild clerk and presented her membership card.

A man in his mid-twenties picked up her card, inspecting it for forgeries, then looked up at her, then at the card again.

"The Conqueror of Flames! It's a great honor to meet you in person. How can I help you today?"

"I would like to arrange a meeting with the guild master if it's possible."

Maybe it was untactful to use her status to circumvent the usual process of getting information, but the more time she wasted, the smaller the chances of getting back home and helping her students one last time became. For their sake, she had to hurry.

"One moment." The clerk said, disappearing through the door.

The chatter among the adventurers slowly rose in volume.

"That is the Conqueror of Flames."

"She is a legend."

"Is something big going on?"

"The guild master is not telling us anything, as usual."

"Didn't she retire?"

Once a short man with already graying hair walked down from the second floor, the reception room fell silent.

"Shizue Izawa, good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, Fuze. I hope I didn't distract you from anything important."

"Don't worry about it. There is always something going on. Come, let's talk in my office."

Fuze's office was just like the one you imagine a Free Guild guild master would have. It was filled with rather simplistic but well-made furniture, a few personal items that could be seen here and there, and there of course was a large sofa for guests. Fuze sat behind his table just as the secretary offered Shizue a cup of tea.

"I assume this isn't just a friendly visit to reminisce about the old times with me and my father?"

"No. I plan to travel southeast." Shizue said, partly lifting her mask and taking a sip. Her still youthful face was in stark contrast to her actual age. She still looked the same as back when Fuze was just a teenage boy going on his first adventures, and his father ran the guild.

"I see. There's not much I can tell you. No one really goes into Jura except for an occasional monster hunt on the outskirts of the forest. There shouldn't be any problems for you to travel through it. If anything, fewer monsters than usual have come out and attacked the outlying farms in the last few weeks."

"No one has investigated why this is the case?"

"You know how it is. If there are no problems, there isn't much of an incentive to poke around. What are you going to Jura for anyway?"

"There is someone I must find and ask questions about my past." Shizue said, taking the last sip of tea and putting the mask on again. Ifrit was, as usual, using the opportunity and pressing on her harder when the mask was off. "Thank you for the information. I probably should be on my way."

"Be careful and stop by on your way back."

"I will."

'I must find the strength to come back. I may be their last hope.'

It would take a few days to reach the border of the Kingdom of Blumund and enter the forest of Jura, and from then on any mistake could be her last one.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

With the elven twins and Shalltear having their creators back, Momonga had taken it upon himself to make sure he paid enough attention to the rest of the floor guardians. Albedo and Demiurge already were covered in that regard and interacted with him daily. Of course, the interaction was mostly professional, but he had noticed how happy even a little praise made them.

Demiurge, in particular, sought his approval concerning the plans the archdevil made. Some were a bit too much, even for Momonga's standards, and needed to be adjusted, but overall the archdemon was beyond excited when even one of the five plans he proposed was accepted as is.

Albedo was a bigger problem. There was a major step forward with her sitting down in his presence, but Momonga still had to talk with her about what happened moments after their arrival in this world. Delaying it would just cause more problems, and she seemed to hold a lot of resentment towards the other Supreme Beings, and most of it may have been his fault.

Pandora's Actor seemed to be thrilled with the duties that were entrusted to him, but Momonga felt they should do some activities as father and son. Alas, growing up without a father, he wasn't sure where to start and had avoided this responsibility as well.

Sebas was the easiest of them all. He was content with the position of Momonga's personal butler and would act as one when he inevitably had to interact with the world's political leaders.

Finally, there was Cocytus, who up until now had left the fifth floor only once to take part in the naming experiment. The main interaction Momonga had had with the insectoid was approving his request to train the new world's troops. As the embodiment of the word warrior, he was the perfect candidate to teach goblins the art of war.

There was a certain level of excitement in Momonga's heart, just enough to not be snuffed out by this emotion suppression. Rigurd had reported that the dojo was finished and the first candidates, including his son, were already gathered and awaited their teacher.

The Overlord teleported to the fifth floor just outside the Cocytus dwelling. The icy wind would chill to the bone anyone who didn't have a high frost resistance, but due to him being an undead, he was immune to the frost damage and not bothered by it.

The frost maidens guarding their lord's sanctuary stepped aside and kneeled before the ultimate ruler. Despite their icy crystalline nature, Momonga had to admit that they, as most of the women in Nazarick, were stunning beauties as well. With the exception of the purely monstrous denizens of Nazarick, most of the NPCs with more human looks were made traditionally beautiful. He, of course, now saw the charm of all the creatures under his rule, but his human side appreciated the three icy beauties as he walked past them.

"Rise and be at ease." he said before entering the Snowball Earth.

"LORD MOMONGA! IT IS AN HONOR TO MEET YOU IN PERSON AGAIN!" The giant insectoid exclaimed as he kneeled.

"Rise, Cocytus. I have come with good news. The dojo is finished and your first students wait for you."

Momonga could swear the insectoid's carapace made a chattering noise as Cocytus sprang up to his feet, evidently excited.

Not that Momonga believed training goblins would give a big strategic advantage to Tempest, but with Demiurge and Albedo constantly managing the new domain, even a minor task was good. As long as Cocytus was a part of the shaping of his beloved ruler's kingdom, he would be satisfied.

"I WILL NOT FAIL YOU, LORD MOMONGA."

"I know you won't." Momonga said, teleporting Cocytus and himself to the entrance of the dojo. The building looked just like the one you would find in the history books about Japan. With Nazarick's library having plenty of literature to take inspiration from, it was a simple task to recreate it. One of the dwarven brothers, Myrd, turned out to be a top-notch architect when given the opportunity.

'I should give them the additional healing potions as a reward for good work.'

"IT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE ONE LORD WARRIOR TAKEMIKAZUCHI OFTEN SPOKE ABOUT."

"I took the design from one of his books. Your students are already waiting for you inside."

"THANK YOU, LORD MOMONGA."

Momonga walked off with a chuckle. Another jackpot. Each day, |Dark Sage| became more of him and not just a skill. Thanks to drawing knowledge from Nazarick's library, he had gained a much better understanding of psychology and body language, which in turn made it that much easier to read the mood of his subordinates.

It was a necessity, and maybe an intrusive one, but there was no other way to know. None of them would complain about even the unfairest of circumstances.

"My lord, you should not walk around without an escort." Albedo said, appearing beside him.

"I can always entrust my safety to you and your watchful eyes."

This was an easy one as well, but ultimately, not that helpful. He would have to address the issue, eventually. Albedo's temporary worries seemed to melt away as her voice became a tone higher.

"Of course, my lord. I am your shield."

"Did you need anything?"

"No, not at the moment. I came to ensure your safety, my lord."

"I guess I could just enjoy your company then."

The progress with which they made the city astounded even him. Of course, the undead did the lion's share of work, but the thousands of goblins did their part as well.

The stone blocks under his feet were as smooth as the marble floors of Nazarick, each evened out and polished with extreme care. Even if the work was done in a misguided way to appease him, the results served everyone. What recently was just a bunch of dull creatures living in twig huts, now had the chance to enjoy the basis of civilization they themselves had helped to build.

A memory came back. One that was made daily. His lonely walk from home to work and back. The bleak sky, the hopeless people. No one besides him. Alone.

'I guess someone granted me my wish. Whoever it might be, thank you.'

There was this underlying sense that deep within, he already knew the answer but couldn't grasp it yet.

Edited by Edgy

Additional proofreading by placid_void