AUTHOR'S NOTE: Icarus went outside out for a view, had a conversation with Demiurge, and meets up with Mare. Now, he is trying out the Mirror of Remote Viewing and sees a village being desecrated, what will he do?

CHAPTER 3

Icarus was siting in his private studies, with a hand on his forehead, staring at nothing. Sebas, ever the loyal butler, stood behind him, ready to assist at any time. Icarus returned his attention to the floating circular mirror in front of him. It showed a massive forest, and a village in the distance. As he struggled to find out how to control the mirror, he pushed out his hand, and the mirror reacted, causing him to release a cry of joy. Eventually, he figured out the basic controls. If he 'pushed' on the right, it would turn the view towards the left. If he wished to zoom in or see a broader view, he simply focused on only a certain area or only the edges. He could also see anywhere, as long as he imagined it, and the mirror immediately showed his the place of his imagination.

However, he was celebrating his success, his attention was grabbed when he saw a trail of smoke from the village in the distance. As he was zooming in, he saw houses on fire, and armored knights slaughtering the supposed villagers, who were attempting to flee from the chaos.

His emotions surged, and his aura followed suit.

"How disgusting."

He was in the forest, hovering over a trail, as he watched the carnage happening. Suddenly, a teenage girl, holding the hand of an even younger girl, they were attempting to flee from two knights, who were chasing them.

Seeing these 'soldiers' attacking innocents, his energy and emotions were unleashed, causing Sebas to shiver, and gulp in fear. Icarus, was in a bloodlust state, and his every instinct from being a Dragonoid told Sebas that he should flee, with all his might. Only his unwavering loyalty allowed him to barely stand his ground. Then he heard his master's growl.

"Sebas."

"Yes, my lord?"

"Inform Albedo that I will be heading to that village and tell her to join me fully equipped."

"Yes, my lord."

As Sebas ran off to inform the Guardian Overseer, Icarus barely managed to withdraw his rage and started planning.

"[Gate]"

A swirling black portal appeared, and he took one last glance at the village being displayed, just in time to see the previously fleeing girl fall, her back slashed open by one of the knights. Her body was protectively wrapped around the small girl. With no time to waste, Icarus imagined the spot in front of the girl and walked through the portal.

Carne...

Enri Emmot was scared.

It was supposed to be another ordinary day in their village of Carne. With a population of a little over one hundred, everyone knew each other as if they were family. As she went about her mundane daily chores, she wished for action and excitement. However, the heavens played a cruel joke on her as knights, wearing the equipment of The Baharuth Empire, stormed the settlement ad started slaughtering the populace. She saw her dad charge a knight, in a futile attempt to buy time for her to escape, only to have a blade thrust through his back. She grabbed her little sister Nemu, and ran towards the Great Forest of Tob as fast as her slender legs and Nemu could. As she ran, she remembered her prayer, and smiled bitterly, she would do anything right now to be able to collect water from the well, to converse with the jolly old farmer as she helped out in his fields. She couldn't outrun knights, and even if she could, her sister couldn't. The knights eventually caught up and slashed her fleeing figure, causing her to collapse, she resigned herself to death, she just wished that her sister would live. As she curled her body over Nemu's as a shield, she sent one last desperate prayer as tears welled up in her eyes that were tightly shut in pain.

"Please...s-someone...anyone..."

She prepared for the pain, only for it to never come.

Then she hear a loud explosion and the sound of metal hitting the ground. As she looked up in confusion, she thought she saw a god.

Icarus stared at the two knights who were steadily backing away. Beneath his helmet, his breath was heavy as he tried to control himself. When he stepped through, he had his fists clenched and raised, prepared for any surprise attack that might happen. But as he stepped through and saw that the pursuers were completely focused on the fallen girls, he had clearly sensed joy, a sadistic joy from preying on the weak and helpless. He pointed his free hand at one of the knights.

"[Implosion]"

An 8th tier spell, [Implosion] usually dealt critical damage, as well as slowing and poisoning the enemy. He felt that this was a good spell to test the world's capabilities. The knight started to scream, only for it to be cut off, as him body violently exploded inward and left only a pile of bloody equipment on the ground. The second knight noticed the sound and looked up, just in time to see the figure that would say the final words he would ever hear.

"[Cruel Contortion]"

A 4th tier spell that slowed enemies and did damage over time.

Except it didn't do damage over time, as the knight was dead the moment the spell hit him, his body twisted in unnatural shapes.

"So weak. A fourth tier spell can instantly kill them. Based on the fact that [Cruel Contortion] spell was particularly weak in terms of damage, I'm assuming that the third tier is the limit for normal people. It might even be the second tier."

His attention switched to the injured girl, and he reached into his inventory and held out his hand, in which a elegant bottle filled with red liquid rested.

As Enri looked up at her savior, a pale figure in a set of magnificent robes, a second figure came through the swirling portal. Whereas the first one was a man dressed in a sleek black robes adorned with gold, with a white, this one was an armored figure that was clearly feminine. The armor was black and purple, with a horned helmet, and the wearer wielded a massive black bardiche The male came forth and offered her a ornate glass vial, which was half full of a red liquid.

"Drink." he commanded.

Maybe it was the fear, or his face that seemed free of imperfections, but she obeyed without hesitation, downing the liquid in one gulp. The wound on her back disappeared, and she was handed two horns, which she was told would summon a number of loyal goblins if she ever was in trouble.

"Wait! Umm, what's your name?"

"Icarus." came the reply.

Albedo was curious as she asked her master " Lord Icarus, why did you save those girls, and even go so far as to give them protective items or tell them your holy name? I apologize for the questions, but my lowly self cannot fathom your actions."

"Albedo, I don't wish to simply massacre any and every being weaker then me, although I love fighting, but wantonly slaughtering innocents does not sit well with me as I also wish to see prosperity. When we arrive, you are to only observe, do you understand?"

"...Y-Yes, my lord." she said in amazement as she heard his words.

"Truly the strongest Supreme Being, all of his words are meaningful.

As they entered the ruined village, and neared the center square, they saw knights rounding up survivors into a group, while others stood around, ready to cut down any who resisted. And they slowed their pace to a casual walk.

"You there! Identify yourself!" screamed a sentry.

"S-Stay back! W-We are knights of the B-Baharuth Empire, do not interfere with our mission!" stuttered Captain Belius, a cowardly and spoiled noble who was the leader of these 'knights'.

"Oh?"

Icarus had thought them deserters, but it turned out they were supposedly following commands, which meant they had superiors. He would have to investigate who they served and mad a note to do research that later. Whatever, now that he was here, none of them would leave alive.

"Scum." was all he said, as he punched a soldier.

The man was blown away and slammed into a wall, his torso a mangled mess, before collapsing.

Taking advantage of their shock, he started massacring them. Punches were thrown, knights flew, and blood spray. Someone foolishly charged forward to stab their weapon into his back, only for the weapon to shatter into pieces against the seemingly weak fabric. The now weaponless man backed away in confusion, only to be headed by a casual neck chop. Their lost nearly a dozen of their number before they started reacting, with the remaining twenty or so attempting to set up some semblance of a formation. However, that just made it easier for Icarus to kill them, as their swords and armor did nothing to stop his attacks.

Londes Di Clamp watched in shock, as his fellow knights died from simple punches. Why were they being punished, they were following the commands of the gods, right? He tried to charge, but as soon as he took a step, he suddenly flew backwards, and the last sensation he ever felt was his body being pulverized by the force of crashing against stone.

Soon, Belius was the only one left, and he felt a warm liquid trickle down his trousers as he had relieved himself in his fear. He felt his legs leave the support of the ground and dangle feebly as he was lifted by the throat with an unbreakable grip.

"P-Please spare me! I'll give you money! T-Two hundred, no, five hundred gold pieces! Let me go! I-I'm a soldier of the Slane Theocracy, the saviors of humanity!"

"Oh shut the FUCK up." Icarus snarled as he backhanded him in rage.

His rage came from the fact that this man was clearly the leader, yet did nothing and begged for mercy by trying to bribe him. It was a simple physical backhand, nothing complicated, but Icarus was Level 100, and even then, he was an overbearing existence. All his weaknesses were covered for by a different form, and his powers overlapped, strengthening and complimenting each other. Thus, even though his vampire form wasn't particularly physically oriented, Belius was instantly killed. His head disappeared with the force of the slap, while blood and brain matter suddenly splattered onto the crumbling wall of a nearby house, or what was left of it.

"Damn it, I was planning on interrogating him for information, but I accidentally killed him."

"Um...Thank you for saving us! May I ask your name, good sir?" questioned a man who appeared to be the chief of this settlement.

"My name is Icarus, We are travelers from a faraway land, so We need information...badly."

Only after hearing the man's words, did the chief notice that he had a companion, a feminine warrior covered in armor that simply stood and watched. He assumed her to be his personal bodyguard or a powerful mercenary. He thought it strange, but it was better then asking for money, as they were not wealthy, so he thought nothing more of it as he invited the man into what was left of his house.

Somewhere between Carne and E-Rantel...

Fifty men rode on their horses.

The one at the lead,well, there was no better word to describe him than "fit." His muscles were prominent and he looked around thirty years old. His face was tan and wrinkled from long days black hair was neat and trimmed, and his dark eyes gave him the look of a warrior.

"Warrior Captain, we're almost at the first village on our route."

"Ah, yes." Gazef Stronoff addressed his Vice Captain.

But he did not see any villages.

He and his Warrior Troop had hustled all the way here from the Royal Capital, and he started feeling fatigue.

The King had ordered Gazef and his men to the frontier, as Imperial knights had been spotted at the border.

E-Rantel was closer, and it would be more efficient to send troops from there. However, Imperial knights were powerful, and the only people in the Kingdom which could match up to the Imperial knights in a one-on-one were Gazef and his troops. But they shouldn't, no, couldn't do this alone.

There were many other methods they could have used, they could have sent soldiers to buy time, or hire a few powerful adventurers.

Gazef, who knew the reason why, was angry.

"Those STUPID nobles! Squabbling and competing for power and authority, while the Kingdom weakens!"

"Warrior Captain, why only us? Couldn't we bring more men? We could also hire some adventurers from E-Rantel to additionally aid us."

"…Enough. There will be international issues if word gets out that Imperial knights were running loose on the Kingdom's territory."

"Warrior-Captain, I hope you can tell me the truth," the Vice Captain said with a grim smile.

"Was it those nobles?"

Gazef did not reply to those words, answering his question.

"Those damn nobles, treating human lives like pieces in their power struggles!

"…Not all nobles are like that."

"You're right, Warrior Captain. There are some nobles who think of the people, such as the Golden Princess. But they are a dwindling minority!"

"We're facing the threat of the Empire's expanding ambitions, a civil war now would be disastrous."

"Just leave this matter aside for—"

Gazef's voice cut off halfway, as his eyes looked forward, seeing thick smoke rose up from behind the small hill ahead of them.

The scene that greeted them was expected, but that didn't make it any better. Before them was an mass of blackened ground, the remains of a village. The corpses of both houses and people remained.

"Everyone, look for survivors! Move!"

The village had destroyed, the smell of blood and fire everywhere.

Gazef's face was calm, with no hint of any emotions on it. However, his eyes and clenched jaw clearly showed how he felt, and the Vice Captain acted in a similar manner.

Judging by the size, over a hundred villagers had lived here. Only six had survived, with everyone else dead, regardless of whether they were elderly, infants, or women.

"Vice-Captain, send some soldiers to escort the survivors over to E-Rantel. And I know you're going to say it's a big we can't just abandon them like this."

E-Rantel was directly ran by the King. Abandoning the survivors here would cause problems as the Noble Faction, which opposed the King, would definitely seize on that opportunity to make trouble for him.

"Warrior Captain! The timing of the attack is far too much of a coincidence! The only reason these six survived was because they knew we couldn't abandon them! They're bait for a trap to weaken us further!"

The survivors had not survived the knights. They were alive only because the enemy had not finished them off to trap Gazef. Gazef's strength would be divided as he would split off his men to protect the survivors.

"Warrior Captain, you are strong, and you could easily defeat a group knights by yourself. But the Empire still has that old man. And there's the chance that you might lose against the Empire's Four Knights as you are right now. Please, fall back. The loss of a few villages is incomparable to losing you!"

Gazef was aware of the Vice Captain's thoughts and opinions, painfully aware.

"...We were both born as commoners. Life in a village is difficult, it's like dancing with death. Have you ever wished that someone, such as the wealthy nobles with armies at their command or a powerful hero, would come save you?"

"…I have. But nobody ever came to were poor, and no one ever stepped in."

"Vice-Captain, let's save them. Let's show the villagers that heroes still exist."

Gazef's gaze met the Vice Captain's

"...Very well. I wish you best of luck, Warrior Captain."

Carne...

After talking with the chief, he learned plenty of valuable information. Their village, Carne, was surrounded by three kingdoms, the Baharuth Empire to the northeast, the Re-Estize Kingdom to the northwest, and the Slane Theocracy to the south.

"So the Empire and Re-Estize are separated by a mountain range, and third tier magic is already considered impressive. So I'm going to assume seventh or eighth tier magic is the limit of this world."

The sun was setting, turning the sky a warm orange. As he was lost in thought in the village square, Albedo came forth.

"Lord Icarus, there are around two dozen warriors on horseback heading here now. What shall we do?"

" Thank you, I'll deal with it, Albedo, you are to continue to observe. Mister Chief, gather the survivors and put them into a room, You will come with me."

As the group neared, Icarus got a better view of them.

The previous knights had breastplates that bore the sigils of the Baharuth Empire, and they were equipped in a uniform way. Whereas these men had nothing alike, they each had a unique assortment of gear. As the riders entered the square. they formed up neatly before Icarus and the Village Chief. A man stepped forward.

The leader's eyes rested on Albedo. He was wary, as Albedo simply stood silently. But he quickly returned his attention to the pale suited man in front of him.

"I am the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. As the king has ordered, I have been patrolling the frontier."

Icarus looked closely, and he saw that each of the soldiers had the same emblems on their chests, Based on the title that Gazef gave him, he assumed that this would be a special ops unit of the Re-Estize Kingdom, or at least an elite unit.

Gazef looked at the Chief and said, "You must be the Chief. Who are these people?"

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Icarus, me and my partner are travelers from a faraway land, and I saw this village was attacked by knights, so I had to intervene."

Gazef dismounted, and bowed deeply.

"I thank you for saving these people."

This action shocked Icarus, as from what he heard, human rights were nearly none existent in this world. The Re-Estize Kingdom had only just outlawed slavery.

" Could I bother you to sit down with me discuss the details. Furthermore, night is coming, and we would like to rest..."

But before the Chief could reply, one of the horsemen ran into the square, wheezing.

" A large amount of people have been sighted! They've completely surrounded us and they're quickly closing in!"

They were a black ops unit from the Slane Theocracy. Little was known about them other then they belonged to one of the Six Scriptures who answered directly to the Six Cardinals of the Slane Theocracy. They were the Sunlight Scripture. There were only around one hundred members, due to the strict recruitment standards. You needed to be able to cast third tier divine magic, along with being in excellent physical condition, with a strong will and deep faith.

Nigun Grid Luin, commander of the Sunlight Scripture, was delighted. Finally, this mission could be finished, Gazef Stronoff, the strongest warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom, would finally fall today. This mission was supposed to be given to the the Windflower Scripture, as his team specialized in killing demihumans as opposed to long-term covert missions. But they were tracking a Black Scripture member turned traitor, and the Black scripture, their strongest Scripture, was protecting an important asset. He didn't have any of the Kingdoms Five Treasures, he was outnumbered and outmatched. They had constantly missed opportunities as they wanted to have the prefect opportunity. Nigun patted his breast pocket in reassurance. Inside was a rare treasure that was given to him to ensure success. It was his secret trump card.

Nigun and his subordinates began casting spells, summoning angels.

"Start the operation."

Meanwhile, inside the village, Icarus was having a conversation with Gazef.

"Gazef, the Slane Theocracy must really hate you. Those knights from before were from the Theocracy, and you had been ordered to patrol the border, faraway from any help. Now a second group has conveniently appeared." chuckled Icarus.

"Yes. Judging from the angels and their movement, they are mostly likely a Scripture." replied Gazef.

"Scripture? What's that?"

"Hmm, oh yes, you're not from around here. The Slane Theocracy is a religious nation, ruled by the Six Cardinals and a Pontifex Maximus. They believe in human superiority and there are Six Scriptures, their elite special ops units."

Icarus already didn't like the Slane Theocracy, as he had heard the ramblings of that idiotic knight.

"Sir Icarus, please listen to my selfish request. If, and when I fall, please protect this village from the Scripture if they attack." begged Gazef, resigning himself to death. He was a commoner, and the fact that he was the strongest warrior, causing the stupid nobles to feel embarrassed, as if this commoner had the audacity to be better then his superiors. He loved this Kingdom, its people, and the King who acknowledged him. He was a realist, he realized that he was in a bad situation, and his odds of survival were slim. but Icarus's next words took him by surprise.

"That won't be possible, as I will the one be fighting them."

Then, without another word, Icarus and Albedo, who was still in the background, disappeared.

As Nigun as his subordinates closed in on the village, two figures materialized in front of them. A handsome pale man with hair that reflected the light of the moonlight, his black and gold robes were slim and sleek, his hands adorned with various rings. He was accompanied by a female bardiche-wielding warrior in dark armor.

"Who are you! Have you come to beg?" gloated Nigun, confident in their abilities.

Now he wasn't at fault for being arrogant, their Scripture was truly strong for this world, and few groups or beings could defeat them. However he had the bad luck of meeting Icarus, and his words were like throwing gasoline on a fire.

"My name is Icarus, and you will all die." was the only reply he received.

"Eh? Archangels, attack that foolish man!"

Two Archangels, shining winged knights wielding swords of fire with halos on their heads, charged forward to strike, stabbing at the man, only to have their swords stop. Then their heads were grabbed, slammed into the ground, and explode into a light shower of mana.

"A-All Archangel Flames, attack!"

"Archangel Flames? Weren't those from YGGDRASIL?!"

He had no time to think as he was swarmed.

"Tch! How annoying!"

"[Negative Burst]"

A wave of dark energy exploded out, with Icarus being the epicenter. All the Archangel Flames were incinerated the moment the spell hit them, stunning everyone in to silence.

"I-Impossible! Principality of Observation! Attack!" Nigun all but screamed.

The Principality was armored, like the Archangels, but it had four wings as opposed two. It also had robes covering its legs and wielded a mace and small circular shield. It looked yet cool It didn't look so cool after Icarus made short work of the robed angel using [Hell Flame]. He simply raised a finger, and a dark flame shot out, consuming the Principality, burning it to nothingness in moments This caused murmurs of shock and fear as the soldiers started shooting their respective spells at him.

"[Fireball]"

"[Blindness]"

"[Shockwave]"

"[Poison]"

Icarus noticed that they were all spells from YGGDRASIL and stood there, lost in thought, as spells bombarded him. He would have to figure out where they learned these spells. A member shrieked and shot a projectile towards Icarus from a launcher on his wrist. Icarus noticed this and grabbed the projectile, throwing it by by flicking his wrist. This simple action removed the head of the offender. Nigun was losing his mind, the figure was acting as if the spells weren't damaging him, and then he remembered the trump card he had. He grinned maniacally as he pulled out a shining crystal.

"You are truly strong, I have deemed you worthy to use my trump card, behold, the highest of angels!"

The Sunlight Scripture members cheered as they foolishly believed they were saved. Icarus's attention was piqued as he noticed the Sealing Crystal that Nigun held.

"Behold, Dominion Authority!"

An angel covered in countless wings descended, bathing the dim area in a bright white-blue light.

"Highest angel my ass! they're like frogs in a well thinking they see the whole world."

"Hmph, very well. Go on, show me the strength of your trump card." said Icarus with a grin, mocking them.

"You are truly foolish! This is seventh tier magic that humanity cannot compete against! You're acting calm but you will soon bow to the power that even killed a Demon God in the past!"

"It seems I overestimated them. I doubt they've ever even heard of eighth tier magic."

"Dominion Authority! Use [Holy Smite]!"

The angel broke its scepter, increasing its attack power a single time.

Icarus was bathed in bright radiance that flooded down from the sky. Seeing this, Nigun started cackling like a madman.

"HAHAHA! You overestimated yourself and now you are dead...Keok!" Nigun's rant was promptly cut off as he hear Icarus laugh.

"You don't even deserve to be a warm up. Your trump card hit me and i will admit i took damage, but that's only because I let you hit me. You were truly disappointing."

A shriek was heard, and attention was drawn to the dark warrior in the background as she released a nonsensical amount of bloodlust.

"How DARE you! Y-You insects! You dare harm the Supreme Being?! You dare harm the man I love?! I'll rip you all to shreds!"

"Stop Albedo, you were supposed to observe, its okay."

"B-but these lower lifeforms—"

"Albedo, I'm fine." reassured Icarus.

Nigun lost his mind as the two had a casual conversation.

"How are they still alive?! That was a seventh tier spell and he took it like it was nothing! It was even enhanced...just who the hell is he?!"

"H-How are you not dead?!"

"[Black Hole]" was the reply.

A small black sphere appeared, and the Dominion Authority was sucked in, never to be seen again. There was no loud noises, no big explosions, it was simply sucked up. The field returned to its original dark lighting.

"Wow, that was really difficult. Truly the 'highest' of the angels."

The sarcasm was tangible. Nigun has now lost his mind at the recent events.

"W-Who...WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! How can you casually defeat the highest angel in one blow!"

Nigun slumped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Icarus silently approached him and he knew that this was the end. Suddenly, cracks appeared in the sky, and vanished in an instant.

"Good grief...it would appear someone was using spying on you but because I was in the spell's effective range, my anti-scrying barrier was activated.

He was in despair as he realized the Slane Theocracy was spying on him.

"Whatever, playtime is now over."

Nigun was a bully, and a coward. As he frantically thought of ways to survive, he realized his only hope was to beg.

"Wait! W-We, no, I, I wish to make a deal with you! I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Ignoring the countless angry voices of his subordinates, Nigun rambled on:

"I will prepare enough money or material to please you! I have some authority in my country, so they will definitely pay any price to ransom me! Please spare me!"

Icarus simply shook his head in exasperation and said:

"Stop struggling and I'll make your death painless."

As he walked back, he raised his head and saw the beautiful sight of stars in the sky.

They silently walked back, and Albedo was squirming in her armor.

"Shit, Lord Icarus was so damn cool!"

While Albedo was fangirling, Icarus was lost in thought again.

"So these world is quite weak, no, I must remain vigilant for now. But at least I can check people's magical power without worrying about offending someone strong. I can simply use a high tier identification spell, and even if they find out, i can use memory alteration or just beat them up."

"Why did you save Gazef?"

Icarus was lost, and thought up an explanation that was both vague yet understandable.

"I wished to test this world, furthermore, they were an elite special ops force."

"Ah… as expected of Lord Icarus! So that's why you took the commander alive. Marvelous!"

Icarus felt proud when he heard Albedo praise him. But Albedo's voice changed to a worried tone.

"But was it necessary to take on the swords of the Archangels? Even if I knew you would be fine, who would want to see swords stab at the one that they love?"

Icarus stopped and looked at Albedo, and embraced her in his arms.

"W-What are you doing Lord Icarus?!"

" I'm sorry for making you worried."

He held the embrace for a few more moments before releasing, but for Albedo, they felt like an eternity. He continued towards the village, unaware that Albedo had one thought in her mind, and mechanically followed him.

"He hugged me. He hugged me. He hugged me." was playing on loop in her mind.

Once they reached the village, the villagers, led by Gazef, greeted them.

They lavished praise and thanks onto them, and Ainz saw Gazef among the villagers.

"What happened to the invaders?"

"Oh, I killed them all."

That was a lie. The commander was still alive. Gazef narrowed his eyes and the air between them grew tense.

In the end it was Gazef who broke the silence:

"Wonderful. Thank you for saving these people. I don't know to repay you, but if you ever come to the Royal Capital, I will welcome you with wide open arms."

"Very well. I thank you for your hospitality."

Gazef and Icarus both grinned at each other.

"Please seek me out if you ever visit the capital."

Icarus simply nodded, he wanted to hurry, as he had spent more time here than he had planned.

"Let's go home."

XXX

AUTHOR'S NOTE: No one likes the Slane Theocracy. Now that he has learned of this world's relative weakness, what will Icarus do? This took me a little bit longer to write as I constantly rewrote scenes and fixed grammatical mistakes. 7/17/20

-ASAI