Humanity's Hero

Gazef had just woken up, it was early in the morning, around five or six in the morning, the reason? His dreams, or to be accurate, his meetings with The Guardian of souls, it's been three days, and every time he fell asleep he would talk with the guardian to know more about the world.

Flashback.....

Gazef was laying on the floor, he suddenly opened his eyes and he saw it once more, the river of souls, the same wooden boat, and The Guardian.

Gazef walked up to the massive giant and kneeled, "Gazelf, welcome back, you've been coming here more and more." The guardian turned around and stopped rowing, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your return."

"I thank you for welcoming me back, sir", Gazef said while looking at the giant, "I have returned to thank you. Thanks to your words and wisdom, I was able to master the special technique."

"You've mastered Acrobatics, I expected as much", the guardian said as he walked to sit down at a desk on the small boat. "And there's no need for your gratitude, the knowledge for the technique could have been easily acquired in the human world", the Guardian stated.

(Author's note: Acrobatics: a skill that grants the user flexibility and agility like no other, unlike a unique skill this one can be learned but only by following its specific required actions. Once learned it will allow the user to perceive things in slow motion while having an incredibly fast reflex, it will also provide the user with immense control over their body. meaning that they can order the body to act differently in a plot of a second.)

Gazef quickly got up, "That may be, but where would I could I have found such a skill. Also if anyone knew about such a skill i highly doubt that they would use it for good, much less teach it to someone else. That's why I thank you, you willingly gave me the ability to know of this skill and I am grateful for that."

"I see, so that's why", the guardian looked at Gazef and nodded, "Gazef, I have a request, would you mind listening to what I have to say?"

Gazef nodded, "Understood, I'll listen to your request."

"I want this world to be saved... I may be a creature with incredible wisdom and power... but I can only have that power here. I am as weak as a leaf in the living world", Gazef realized that this might be due to the natural laws of the order.

The Order, what he heard from the Guardian, was a set of laws that could never be broken even if you had powers like a deity. One law stated that certain creatures weren't allowed to interact with one another, an example would be the gods that the humans who worshipped them weren't allowed to interact with them unless it was for a certain spell buff or a special skill on the day of birth.

"I want you to help Ainz Ooal Gown, become his subordinate and save the continent", Gazef stood there stiff, The Guardian had just asked him one of the most difficult. The Guardian turned his head, even though he had no face, Gazef could tell he was looking at him, "I understand... You've pledged your loyalty to the king."

Gazef nodded, "Yes, I swore my loyalty to him, he gave me so much and I'm am deeply grateful for all those opportunities."

"I can tell your words are truthful", The guardian then turned to look at the riverside, "But your loyalty won't be enough." Gazef wondered what he was referring to, "King Ramposa is a good king, but he's beyond his time. Your nation is corrupt to the core, the nobles, the soldiers, merchants, they are all being controlled by the Eight Fingers."

Gazef swallowed his saliva, he heard many rumors about the Eight Fingers, how they kidnapped women and children to sell to disgusting nobles. How they developed addictive drugs that would kill a person slowly and how they would sell it to the enemy nations.

"You swore your loyalty to the king, but does that mean you'll allow his kingdom to fall just to save him", The Guardian pointed at him, "What would he desire? Would he die to save his nation or would he rather survive to watch it all crumble away, the road you're following will cause the events of the former, then what would be the point of having your loyalty if everything he had was lost?"

Gazef then realized that what the guardian was saying was true, all he ever did was nod and agree when they told him to. He would never try to implement his opinion or suggest something to his king, he would see the horrors of the world and remain silent, he was basically standing there letting the crime happen.

"You finally understand... just watching and not doing anything doesn't mean your sins are any lesser than the one who commits the act", The guardian manifested a journal from out of thin air. He opened the journal and manifested a quiver with ink, he started writing something on the inside of the journal, "if you truly want to show your loyalty to your king... if you truly want to help, take this. Remember, there are two paths, one, where the nation prospers and king Pamposa lives happily until he dies. And the second... where Re-Estize is lost, your king dies from his loss and the death of Gazef Stronoff."

Gazef stared full of shock at The Guardian, he would die? And Re-Estize would be destroyed? The Guardian snapped his fingers and suddenly an astral projection of a rope appeared around Gazef's neck, Gazef stared in shock at the rope. "You have two paths, two choices, will you finally act?", The Guardian asked while holding the massive journal above Gazef.

Flashback end...

Gazef looked beside him, and there it was, the journal that The Guardian had given him. The journal was actually a magical item that could adjust to the user's size, so when he received it in the astral world, it shrunk down.

Gazef touched the book, he wondered if this was true, that his actions could eventually lead the whole nation to its destruction. He sighed, "changing my future, huh, sounds like a kids fairy-tale."

Gazef opened the window allowing the early morning sun to shine its sunlight inside his room. He went to the bed once more and opened the journal, there he saw a drawing of an armor set. The drawing was truly made by a master artist, the drawing was very detailed and it made the picture look very realistic. He turned to read the second page, "The Armor of the anti-hero, Sarayuja."

It was beautiful full body armor, it had complete chainmail and cape. The headgear was a full face covering helmet and it had two axes as weapons.

Gazef turned the page and he got the description of the armor's weapons, "Vosultra, the axe of tremors."

He looked at the corner and saw a few written words, "A gift, in order to face the evils of the world, you'll need a weapon and armor just as strong. Please find them as soon as possible." The note continued, "This is a chant, it will take you to where these items are located, please prepare before going, there will be monsters in this location."

"I see, he knew today i had free time", Gazef stood up and walked to equip his armor and clothes. He made sure to prepare some traveling food and water as well as some potions and medical herbs. Once he was ready, he picked up the journal and breathed in deeply, once he exhaled, he was ready, "Ergo virtus in spatio inflectunt Guardianum, Teleportation!"

Instantly a massive beam of white light enveloped him and his body seemed to disappear like sand. The light started shrinking and the room was empty as if no one was ever there in the first place.

Meanwhile...

Filius removed his hand from the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, he was in utter surprise, the staff was incredible.

"How did it go my son?", Ainz asked.

Ainz, Filius, and Albedo were all in the room together, this room was the same room where the Mirror of Remote Viewing was located in. Ainz and Fuilius were in this room to continue with their plan of recruiting the kingdom's head knight.

Filius's plan, he would find Gazef's home using the Mirror of Remote Viewing, then using his combination magic and the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown he'd trick his mind while he was asleep. He'd amplify his magic with the staff and then used illusion and psychological magic to create a mental space in his mind, he also made an avatar protection himself, The Guardian.

He'd use that illusion to slowly convince Gazef to aid them, in turn, he'd believe he'd be able to save The king, the kingdom, and every one of its citizens. In order to make Gazef believe that The Guardian was a protector, he'd hand him real evidence of crooked nobles and merchants. He'd also give Gazef the opportunity to take down some of those groups, small pieces of evidence as well as some info of where he could get back up from Nazarick.

Filius chuckled and turned to his father, "Everything is going according to plan." Filius walked towards his father and kneeled while handing the staff, "Mr. Gazef, has taken the bait, he will follow through with the plan. There are three ways he will take, and a fourth is a probability. One, he decided to meet our contact, the backup servants we have in ReEstize. Two, he decided to go for the armor and weapons, at the waterfalls Mare created. And the third, he starts investigating the clues and evidence of the hitting spots we marked and later tries to apprehend the criminals. Lastly, and the most unlikely, he would tell this information to his king and probably jeopardize everything."

"That's a 75% chance of failure, how are we sure that your mission won't fail", Ainz thought that he sounded so cool and smart as he said that.

"It's actually a ten percent chance, and I also have some shadows watching over him. By him, I mean King Ramposa", Filius stated.

"Hm", Ainz started pondering something. Behind him, Albedo started massaging his shoulders, she made sure not to make any sudden or heavy movements in order to not distract her beloved. Ainz noticed Albedo trying to comfort him, he decided to hold her hand.

Albedo started blushing, her cheeks became flushed red, [Oh my god!! I wish Shalltear could see this, she'd die of jealousy.]

Ainz nodded, "Perfect, I commend you Filius, your plan seems flawless. I'm proud, my son."

Filius felt incredible, his father was complimenting him, this was a great day for him. Albedo was also feeling happy, she loved watching Ainz being proud and majestic, but watching him being a kind father moved her. Her motherly side started thinking about how he would act with their future children.

"Father?", Filius asked.

"Yes?". Ainz asked while signaling Albedo to stop her actions.

"How is the subjugation of the lizardman tribes? Does un-, I mean... does Cocytus have everything under control?", Filius asked, he wanted to know the status of his uncle's mission.

"I see, you are wondering how his mission is going", Ainz pondered if he should tell him everything, but he also knew that Filius and Cocytus were close due to their training sessions. Ainz thought about a bit more and finally decided to tell him about the test he gave Cocytus, "It's not a regular mission, his objective is to subjugate the Lizardmen, but it's also a test."

"A test?", Filius asked.

"Yes, it's a test to see how he will accomplish his goal, this test will determine whether he will be smart enough to use all the resources he has so he can beat the Lizardmen. Or will he follow my orders blindly, I also want to know if he could learn anything from this battle", Ainz stated.

"I see", Filius nodded, "This mission is actually a test to determine whether Cocytus will learn new tactics and if he will be cautious with his actions", Filius quickly connected the dots and abbreviated it. "So that would mean that I shouldn't speak with him until the mission is done, am I right?", Filius asked.

"You may speak with him, but please let him complete the mission on his own, I know you are very smart, but I want to see if he will be able to figure this out on his own", Ainz stated.

Filius nodded understanding and obey his father's request, "Understood, then if you both will excuse me, I will take my leave."

"Understood, you may leave Filius", after Ainz said that Filius bowed and exited the room.

"So what is next Albedo?", Ainz asked.

"Nothing my lord, all your activities have finished", Albedo said while standing to the side like a perfect secretary.

"I see, no, actually we do have something we must do", Ainz stated with a serious tone.

"Hm? What will that be?", Albedo asked, she tried remembering if she missed something that day.

"Albedo, s-stand beside me, I'll show you", Ainz ordered.

Albedo quickly obeyed and stood beside him, Ainz then quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her in. Albedo squealed in shock and fell on top of him, Albedo started blushing like crazy.

Ainz had decided to get a bit more aggressive, it was a decision he decided to take when he realized he didn't need to follow any of the norms from back in Japan.

"Lord, what are you doing? I'm not ready, I still need to change and showe-", Albedo was suddenly cut off. The reason was that Ainz moved in and kissed her, Albedo was in so much shock, but she didn't back away, instead she wrapped her hands around his head and embraced Ainz.

Ainz was so nervous, that he didn't know if he did right in forcing a kiss from her, but it all changed when he felt Albedo wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in.

They continued to kiss each other in the empty room, or so they thought they were alone.

On the other side of the door, Filius was using his fazing eyesight to see through the door, he was happy that his father had accepted Albedo. He hoped that maybe soon he'd have siblings, Filius canceled his magic and left so that they could continue their romantic moment.