Chapter 6: Fire Spirit Ifrit

~~~~~ Anos' POV ~~~~~

It has been two weeks since we returned from Dwargon and things have been very lively since then. All the goblins living nearby have gathered in my as I returned from my trip. They have all come here seeking protection.

Since Veldora has disappeared, the intelligent monsters have started fighting among themselves for supremacy and the weak races will be trampled in this fight. So, to avoid that fate, around 500 goblins have come to my village seeking protection.

But since this village obviously doesn't have this much capacity. I had sent Myrd with Ranga to scout for a good location to build our new village. After which all of us moved here and everyone is busy doing their jobs.

I had also named all five hundred goblins. After which I selected five goblin lords to manage the goblins and all five goblins lords work directly under Rigurd whom I have promoted to the position of Goblin King.

Currently, I am just walking in the village, the temporary houses have been built and currently, the layout for the country is being decided by Kaijin and his crew. I have also guided them in the places where they were stuck. In the center of this country, we are going to build a castle for myself. But, that will be in the ending. Currently, the normal houses are being built with the help of Myrd since he is talented in architecture.

Walking through the streets I was greeted by everyone when suddenly Rigurd came rushing towards me.

"Lord Anos! Lord Anos!" he shouted while running towards me.

"What's up Rigurd?" I asked.

"Sir! We received a message from Rigur and the security team. It seems they've discovered suspicious beings in the forest," Rigurd gave his report professionally.

'Suspicious huh? Well, what are they VotW?' I thought in my mind.

[There are four individuals. They have come from the Guild in the kingdom of Blumand to scout the current situation in the Great Forest of Jura.] VotW replied.

"So, what about them?" I asked not particularly interested in guild members.

"They are currently being chased by giant ants. Should we save them?" asked Rigurd.

'Well, since I have nothing better to do anyway. I might as well amuse myself with these people I thought to myself.

"Alright, I'll take care of them. Tell everyone to not interfere," I said at which Rigurd just nodded. I teleported near their group to see their conditions.

Leaving aside the fact that none of them were normal humans. A girl in the mask was fighting the ants while the rest three were cowering in fear. The masked girl successfully defeated all the ants except one who she was not attacking for some reason while the others were just looking at her in shock.

Before she could be wounded, I moved in front of her and just blocked the ant's attack with my finger and just flicked my finger to kill the giant ant, though because of the wind pressure all the ant corpses were blown away.

All four of the guild members just looked at me in shock. But I skillfully ignored them all.

"So, what are you guys? and what are you all doing here?" I asked while looking at them in confusion.

According to VotW, they come from a guild. Yet for simple scouting, this team is overkill. The masked girl is a strong spirit wielder, though she is not in sync with her spirit. The other girl is an elf with a lot of magicule, while the remaining men are skilled magicians.

So, with the help of VotW, I found out that the masked girl is a champion who goes by the name of 'The Conqueror of Flames' and has a greater fire elemental ifrit with her, though they are not in sync.

The other girl is actually an elf going by the name Elyun Grimwald. According to VotW, this girl is the cousin of the Emperor of Sarion. Meaning she is the daughter of a duke in the sorcerer dynasty Sarion.

The two men behind her are Elyun's bodyguards and are from 'magus' who is the Emperor's personal guards and the strongest military force in Sarion. The two are currently wearing a ring to conceal their powers, the same goes for Elyun Grimwald who is going by the alias 'Eren'. Lastly, the masked girl is hiding her powers with the use of a mask that interestingly has time energy surrounding it, almost as if the mask has been in a time loop. Well, let's leave that for now.

Of course, I was done thinking about all of this in less than a second which the group was taking to come out of their shock.

The blond guy in the group just sighed and sat down on the ground.

"What's wrong? are you hurt?" I asked why he sat down.

"um, should we call it mental fatigue?" the blonde man answered in a not-so-clear tone.

"We were chased by those giant ants for an entire three days you know," the other man in the group said after which the three except the masked girl started complaining about whatnot.

"Our luggage is gone" one of them complained.

"When we thought that we shook them off and tried to sleep, we got attacked again" the other griped.

"our equipment broke, we have no strength left, and our stomachs are flattened too" the last of the group whined.

These guys are not at all motivated to do their work. But why are they in the guild of Blumand in the first place when the elf girl is related to the royal family in Sarion? Well, it's none of my business.

"So, you guys want food? Come with me I'll feed you." I said and started walking towards the newly built village while they followed me with a surprised look.

Arriving in the village, I let them settle in a house and asked Rigurd to take good care of the guests. So, now I am visiting them with Rigurd. As we enter the house, the three idiots except the masked woman are eating like hungry pigs. So, I'll just ignore them.

"Hehm, Allow me to make introductions," Rigurd said while trying to gain their attention.

"This is our Master, Lord Anos!" Rigurd said while pointing his hands towards me.

The three idiots looked surprised and said together, "Master?"

"So, What's wrong?" I asked looking at the three.

"No, it's just that we never expected to see a bunch of goblins trying to build a village with a teenage human as their master," the blonde idiot explained while I just looked at Rigurd as if telling him to clear the misunderstanding.

"Well, you seem to have been mistaken, but our master is a Demon," Rigurd explained, at which point all four adventurers had a somewhat panicked expression.

"Relax, I won't harm any of you," I said while heaving a sigh. Explaining stuff is not my forte.

"So, why don't you all introduce yourselves. By the way, if it wasn't clear already I'm Anos Voldigoad," I said trying to divert their attention.

"Oh, I'm Eren," the blonde girl said.

"I'm Kaval," the blond guy introduced himself.

"I'm Gido," the brown-haired guy said.

"Shizu," the masked girl introduced herself.

"Well, then what are you guys here for?" I asked since I shouldn't know the reason for their travel.

"We're here at the request of the Guildmaster in the Kingdom of Blumund," the captain of their team-Kaval explained.

Kaval then told me all of their plans, as if he'd never learn to suspect anyone. The Guildmaster in Blumund, one of the nations bordering the Great Forest of Jura, asked them to investigate the area.

"I see," I said and nodded wisely.

Veldora's absence is having a great effect just as I expected.

"Well, you guys can stay here tonight and rest if you want. I'll excuse myself." I said and walked out of the tent.

With that solved, I got back to my work which is just chilling at the top of a mountain from where I can see the entire village. I just sat on the beach chair enjoying the scene while looking at the villagers passing their day in peace, it was dusk and the sun was setting.

Just as I was enjoying the scenery, I sensed Shizu came by to watch the view as well.

"What do you want?" I asked while still gazing at the sunset. Getting called out Shizu seems a bit surprised.

"Hey, Anos-San I wanted to ask you a question?" Shizu said while standing beside me.

"I don't mind answering your question if you tell me where you got that mask from?"

Hearing my question she seems a bit surprised, but nonetheless decided to answer.

"I got this mask from my teacher, why is it special?" she asked about it a bit perplexed.

"In layman's terms, I'd say that that mask surpasses time itself," I said while pointing at her mask.

"You know, I heard the same thing from a demon that I met a long time ago, If I remember correctly he called himself 'Kuro' or 'Black'," Shizu said while remembering her encounter with black.

"But anyway, what does surpassing time mean?" She asked

"Well, simply put it means that the mask is stuck in a time loop with its origin lost. That makes the mask very difficult to destroy," I said and it seems like she finally understood.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask why a named archdemon is trying to build a town in the middle of Jura?" She finally asked her original question.

"Fuma, I wanted to make my own peaceful nation and I was quite bored so I thought why not. Though I am not an archdemon," I replied.

"So, what are you?" She asked. Well, it was only natural for her to guess that a named demon will be an archdemon. Yare Yare, now I have to explain to her.

"Fuma. I am the progenitor of Demons." I answered though I doubt that she will believe it.

"What! You are the Black Primordial!?" she yelled. 'Shizu knew that demons would never lie about their origin and the person in front of her said that he is the progenitor of demons. The most logical conclusion would be Black Primordial since they are identified by their hair color', or so she thought.

"No! You could say I am something like the progenitor of the Seven Primordials," I clarified but this seems to make Shizu much more horrified. But seeing that he was such a laidback and calm demon that seem to love peace. She wasn't afraid of him.

"So, you are like the father of the Seven Primordials?" She asked. 'Demon Lord Leon had never mentioned that the Seven Primordials were created by someone.' But she still seems to believe me nonetheless.

"Enough about me tell me about yourself. You seem to come from Japan, don't you?" I asked nonchalantly.

"You know about Japan, Anos-San?" She asked with confusion.

"Oh, I can travel between the two worlds quite easily. Do you want to see Japan?" I asked as she looked at me and nodded vigorously.

So, I teleported both of us above Japan and would you look at that. The first thing I saw is Rimuru being displayed on the screen of a skyscraper. It seems that he is currently the Prime Minister. Shizu, however, seems to just be engrossed in the wonderful sight of a modern Japan with skyscrapers, metros, and above else, peaceful times without any war.

After our little tour, I teleported us back to the cliff that we were previously on and I sat back on the beach chair. After a minute of silence, Shizu started speaking.

"I lived in Japan during World War II, my town was burning, engulfed in flames. Bombs fell from the sky. My mother and I fled together, but then she was engulfed in the fire while I was summoned to this word. It was sixty years ago," She said after which she sighed. But before long she continued again.

"I was summoned by the Demon Lord Leon Cromwell. He was trying to summon someone specifically but failed. I was already half burned when he summoned me. He then let the Greater Spirit Ifrit possess me due to which I survived. Life was hard... I lost many people close to me. Because of this power... because of flames, I lost many people important to me, and so, I am still a little afraid to get close to people," she added and then sighed again. Life must have been rough for her. Well, my life was pretty rough as well.

"Fuma. If you stay like that, ifrit might take control you know?" I asked.

"I can still control it with the help of this mask," she said while putting on the mask.

"So, why are you in Jura?" I asked.

"I was headed for the Puppet Nation Justav where I last met Leon. I wanted to ask him how I was able to survive even when I was a child with vast amounts of energy that should have incinerated my body, but I survived. That is why I want to know how he did it," she answered.

"Fuma, I see that you want to save some summons, but you had the answer all along. When a spirit possessed your body the energy inside you was stabilized by it therefore you were able to survive," I answered like it was but a simple task.

"What really? So, I can save my students if they have spirits with them?" she asked excitedly.

"But, you won't live that long before Ifrit takes control of your body," I said.

"Hey, Anos-san, can I ask you to do me a favor?" She asked once she realized that she doesn't have that long to live.

"Why would I save your students? It has nothing to do with me," I just want to build a nation, not deal with some dying children.

"I am ready to give you this mask in exchange for your services, please save those students, they will die if no one helps them," Shizu said while crying. Well, it's not like I need that mask, but seeing her beg and cry in front of me won't leave a good taste in my mouth.

"Yare Yare, now I would have to save some children as well," I said while sighing which made Shizu really happy as she can now rest assured that her students won't die.

"Yeah, I don't need the mask, you can keep it," I said as she was trying to give me the mask.

After that, she explained about the students and where they live. She also told me about her two students that have grown up.

We chatted for some time until Kaijin came to discuss some of the layouts of the town. Just like that time flew by and came the next day.

Kaval, Gido, and Eren would be reporting back to the Guild Master while Shizu would be going to Justav in search of Leon as she wanted to meet him one last time.

I was currently here to see them off. I and the boys were waiting while the girls took their sweet time to come. But as they were departing, Shizu stopped in her tracks and started muttering something along the line of 'No, not now'.

"Alright guys, get away from her. I'll deal with it," I said to everyone in the vicinity while erecting a barrier around us to prevent damage to property. Everyone was already gathered around the barrier to see what was going on.

Just then, flames enveloped Shizu and ifrit took full control of her body while her mask fell to the ground.

"What do you want Ifrit?" I said while I was standing casually with my hands in my pocket.

I could already hear everyone discussing Shizu being the Conqueror of Flames- Shizue Izawa around fifty years ago, outside the barrier. Sound could pass through the barrier so I could listen outside and vice versa, so everyone was already listening to my conversation. Everyone was now listening intently.

Ifrit, however, instead of answering raised his hand and threw a ball of fire at me which I didn't even try to evade as it had no effect. Everyone outside seems surprised as well as ifrit himself. Nonetheless, he then summoned three fire salamanders who tried to attack me.

'Fuma, let's end these things with their affinity' I thought and fired <Grega> the weakest fire-type spell at the three of them and they were instantly incinerated without a trace. This once again shocked everyone including Ifrit who tried to attack me with magic called Flare Circle, but alas it didn't have any effect.

I was already bored of these pesky attacks so I asked once again, "What do you want?"

But once again he didn't answer me and I got bored. So instead I connected my link with Veldora. He might want some company?

{Yo, Veldora got a moment?} I asked through our mind link.

{Oh, Anos! what do you want? I'm a little busy here, you know.} He said in his almighty tone.

{I was wondering if you want some company? I have a Fire Spirit here. What do you think?} I asked getting straight to the point.

{Hmm. A fire spirit huh?... Kuhahahaha, very well Anos, send him here. I might as well play some board games with him. Kuhahahaha} Veldora answered.

Just like that I vanished for my current location and got behind Ifrit without anyone being able to react. After which I just pulled Ifrit from Shizu's body and sent him to the dimension where Veldora should currently be. But, all the villagers and adventurers saw was that I pulled the fire spirit from Shizu and it vanished in front of their eyes.

After the hole Ifrit incident, I asked Rigurd to take Shizu to a tent and let her rest while the other three adventurers also decided to wait for Shizu to get better before they leave. The other villagers just got back to their work while praising me.

Just like that, a week has passed. Due to the spirit being removed from her body, Shizu's vitality was steadily decreasing. I just stabilized her condition so she didn't die that week.

However, once she woke up, Rigurd informed me that she wanted to meet me and that is where I am currently going. As I entered her room, I saw that she already has a lot of white hair and her skin has started to wrinkle. I sat at a table beside her bed waiting for her to speak.

"Anos-san... Thank you, I nearly killed someone that I cared about again. With my own hands," she said in a soft voice.

"Hey Anos-san," she said and I just hummed in response.

"Would you mind listening to my story?" She asked.

"Fuma. Sure, let's hear it, but before that, I have a question," I said.

"Sure, I'll answer" she nodded her head weakly in affirmation.

"Don't you want to live? I can restore back your lifeforce if you wish. What d you say?" I asked because she reminds me a lot of Misha. Kind, considerate, and always thinking about others before herself.

"Heh, I thought Demons didn't do anything for free? Why the sudden change of heart?" She snickered while asking.

"Yare Yare, well I would say that your character has grown on me and that you remind me of a very dear friend. She also always thought about the goodwill of others before herself. She was kind and considerate. I always considered her as a sister," I answered while remembering Misha.

"So, what do you say? if you agree then you can save the students of your own accord without any regrets." I said.

"Your offer is very tempting but I am tired of living. I just want to rest now," she answered after a minute of thinking.

"Well, it was your choice. So, tell me your story," I asked.

She then went on to explain how she was summoned by Leon Cromwell and possessed by ifrit. She then served him for around ten years. After that, she was taken in by a hero who taught her about this world, magic, and all the knowledge that she needed. But, after some time the hero left her with the mask as a parting gift, it helped her resist ifrit's control and control ifrit's power to some extent.

She then went on to save as many people as she could with her powers and gained the title of the Conqueror of Flames. But as she kept aging, controlling Ifrit's power became much more difficult. So, she retired and took the position of a teacher and thought otherworlders.

Her first two students were named Yuuki Kagurazaka who is the current Grandmaster controlling all the Guilds in all the countries. While the other student Hinata Sakaguchi became a member of the Western Saints Church.

She then recently went to teach 5 summoned kids in the Freedom Academy namely, Kenya Misaki, Ryota Sekiguchi, Alice Rondo, Gale Gibson, and Chloe Aubert. These five students were what the world calls failed summons since they were not able to acquire any skills and had excessive energies stored in their bodies that would eventually incinerate them.

Shizu who found out about this remembered that she had the same problem when she was summoned and that Demon Lord Leon Cromwell was somehow able to save her from her impending doom. So, she decided to find Leon Cromwell and ask him about the procedure. On her way to Blumund, she encountered Kaval's group and decided to join them since both of them wanted to go to the Great Forest of Jura.

Her destination was the Puppet Nation Justav since that was the last place that she met Leon and the first place that she met the Hero who trained her. But all that was not needed now since I already told her that I would save her students.

"Hey, Anos-san, I have one last request. May I?" she asked in a low voice as she was losing her strength gradually.

"Sure" I answered not minding whatever she asked for.

"Please... Bury me on Earth," she said while holding back her tears. Well, it was understandable as she had more bad memories in this world than good, but well let's hear her reasoning.

"I dislike this world... Still I can't abhor it. Just like with Leon Cromwell," she said in a tired voice.

'She respects that demon lord but at the same time cannot forgive him for all the suffering he has caused her, Yare Yare, life can sometimes be so complicated.' I thought in my head with a sigh.

"So... That's why... I don't want to be absorbed by this world... This is... my last request," she as a few tears dripped from her eyes remembering all the hardships.

"Would you... bury me in Earth?" she asked me with such hopeful eyes that I possibly couldn't refuse.

"Fine," I said with a sigh. Yare Yare, my kindness knows no bounds.

She looked at me happily as tears poured out of her eyes and said.

"Thank you, and please... Take this mask... as a... memento."

That were the last words she said before dying with a smile on her face. She looked in peace.

Immortality

It is Both a Blessing

And a Curse

To Fell Everything

So Very Deeply.

Just as I was pondering this, I heard Rigurd's voice.

"Lord Anos, may I?" but seeing me not answering he just came in with Kaval's group behind him.

After that, I told them that Shizu had passed away. They cried and remembered their time spent with Shizu while Rigurd just stood in the corner of the room in silence.

"So, where are you going to bury her?" Kaval asked.

"She asked me to burry her from where she came from-Earth or simply the otherworld. I am telling you all this because you guys were her friend, but I don't want you guys saying to anyone that I can travel between worlds. Not even to Elmesia or Erald, you hear me Elyun Grimwald," I said while looking at her seriously.

Rigurd seems confused while the other three were shocked and on guard, then Eren asked.

"How... do you?" she asked me with a shocked expression.

"I have my ways, do we have a deal," I just answered her in a serious tone. When she remained silent for some time I added.

"Yare Yare, I don't mind if you tell them that I know about you guys. I just want you to avoid telling them about me being able to travel between the two worlds," I said with a sigh. After thinking about it for a while all of them agreed.

So, I took Shizu's corpse to one of the peaks of Mount Kita in Japan and buried her there with her sword.

Returning to my village. I offered Kaval's party some upgraded equipment that Kaijin and company had made to lift their uneasiness from me. It worked just like I expected. They were thrilled at receiving new equipment and even declared to make it their family heirlooms.

Just like that, they left the village to go back to the Kingdom of Blumund and report about their founding in the Great Forest of Jura.

~~~~~ Meanwhile (Veldora's POV) ~~~~~

Kuhahahaha, it has been a lot of fun these few months. Instead of just trying to come up with cool introductions for me all year round, I can now read these sacred texts and even watch them in action on the sacred screen. Now, I have learned to come up with much more awesome introductions than ever before, Kuhahahaha. Oh, how I wish my sisters would learn a thing or two from my sworn friend Anos.

But, it has been a little boring, doing all of this alone. I wanted to play some games from Earth but I don't have any partners. So, I the great storm Dragon Veldora-Sama challenged my own self. It was a tough game but in the end, I was able to defeat myself.

Just then I felt like I had been connected telepathically with someone. So, I waited for the other person to speak who dares to disturb my mighty self.

{Yo, Veldora got a moment?} I heard my sworn friend's voice from the other side. Well, guess I will forgive him for the intrusion.

{Oh, Anos! what do you want? I'm a little busy here, you know.} I said in my majestic voice.

{I was wondering if you want some company? I have a Fire Spirit here. What do you think?} he asked getting straight to the point.

{Hmm. A fire spirit huh?... Kuhahahaha, very well Anos, send him here. I might as well play some board games with him. Kuhahahaha} I answered excitedly. Since I would get a partner to play these games with me.

So, I arranged a Shogi set and also placed a manual opposite to me so that Ifrit can understand the rules. I first went for this game since I wanted Ifrit to know about my brilliance. Such a wonderful plan, Kuhahahaha.

Just then ifrit appeared in front of me with his back facing towards me so he didn't see me directly. He just stood there confused for a moment, even tried to use his flame, but to no avail. Just then, I made my awesome entrance.

"Give up, Ifrit."

Ifrit then turned towards me and saw two golden eyes shining with awe, as I was hidden behind the intense mist that I created intentionally to create an anime-like scene where the main boss is introduced with a lot of flare. Such wonderful introductions, Kuhahaha. Let's keep it up with the next line.

"You cannot break out of this place. You are no match for Anos. He is my sworn friend!"

Just then I started slowly dissipating the mist as I was about to say my name.

"I am the Storm Dragon, Veldora. It would be my pleasure to face you."

All this time I was in my true Dragon form as I wanted to make a flashy appearance. Kuhahahaha, this was killer, Ifrit is looking at me with such shock that I almost accidentally burst out laughing. Moving forward with the plan.

Then I went on to explain the rules of Shogi to Ifrit...

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Well, what can I say? I just got excited and kept on writing. Therefore the chapter became quite lengthy. The word count for this chapter is- 4750 words. I have outdone myself. Hope y'all enjoyed it. Yeah, I might not be able to upload for quite a while now, but I won't drop this fic.

Anyways, let me know what you all think.

Remember spread Love, not Hate.

With that Author-Kun is signing off.