I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?), Light novel, manga and anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.
I do not own the Rising of the shield hero (Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari), Light novel, manga, and anime series created by Aneko Yusagi.
Aftermath Part 0ne
From his balcony high on the castle's outer wall, Aultcray Melromarc watched as his knights, his beloved daughter, and the three Cardinal Heroes made their way through the streets of the city below, commoners cheering and following behind them as they went.
His eyes left them and he looked into the distance to the guards carrying another corpse, yet another supposed messenger had arrived carrying orders from his beloved wife, liars all of them. The contents of these messages were simply too ridiculous to believe! She wanted him to… apologize to the devil of the shield, beg him for forgiveness, what kind of idiot did they take him for — whoever "They" were.
"Let them come," he thought. They would be all executed, as was his right as King. He sighed and looked at the man who had recently stopped next to him. Father Biscus T. Balmus Lord Cardinal and Pope of the Three Heroes Church.
While Old and looked more like a dried fruit. The man stood straight in his gold-inlaid white robes and displayed a kind of grandfatherly aura that would make anyone feel at ease around him.
"Are you well my Lord?" The Cardinal asked, a small kind smile curling on his face.
"As well as one can be with that Devil on the loose," He replied in pain and exhaustion, the memory of that woeful day coming back to him, his wheelchair serving as an ever-present reminder.
The Cardinal's expression hardened at the mention of the devil, no doubt remembering the heresy it spewed from its blighted mouth. "Indeed, a simple problem that has yet to be solved."
The king hummed at the man's words, the meaning behind them implying he already had a plan, and yet the church's lack of action against the devil meant that they either weren't ready or more than likely, lacked something… "Yet it is a problem that needs to be solved sooner, rather than later before it becomes too powerful for anyone to handle. Perhaps some additional soldiers could help you in that endeavor."
"You are right my Lord, but I believe that such a discussion should be left until after the wave ends, I do pray that Lord Motoyasu's plan bears fruit."
"As do I," He replied, allowing some hope to momentarily enter his soul. "How long until it starts?"
The man paused and turned his head to look at the sister standing calmly close by. She - after noticing the father's look - quickly approached and whispered into his ear.
A moment later the nun returned to her spot, his head turned back, and spoke. "Any minute my Lord, shall we wait and watch the final moments of the parade?"
His only reply was a simple nod before he wheeled his chair slightly closer to the low-cut railing to watch the Heroes with the full might of the city behind them, knights and soldiers all.
The cheering from the streets below rose another octave as they finally arrived at the Three Hero's Church and the large square stage that lay before it.
Today would be a good day.
…
A drop of sweat made its way across his brow as his mouth hung open in horror. Even from this distance, he felt the death that… that thing exuded. It towered over the small foresty hill that separated the flat grassy plain from the small village of Lute, its sheer presence causing the space around it to babble and bray.
With slight apprehension, he turned to the man next to him to gauge his reaction and found it similar to his own, one of horror and anger.
"Something's happening," The crippled king said, perhaps to no one in particular but it succeeded in forcing him to look back to the historical events taking place before him.
The pope watched in shock as the monumental being turned and spoke, uttering a sentence that - even from this distance - he could clearly make out, and what it said shattered every preconceived notion he had of how the world worked.
"Your will o'summoner?"
It was pure unadulterated insanity, this being… was summoned? How was that possible? He had studied every single piece of text, holy or otherwise in the hidden library and nothing had ever mentioned rituals capable of summoning a being of this… magnitude.
Its words echoed in his head once more, his mind drinking in every possible way those words could be construed and to his horror, they all came down to a single terrifying conclusion… The monstrosity before him was summoned by one person, simply impossible.
He had known the Shield he- Devil was powerful, more so than any other in known history but he could not believe that it was to this extent… The King was a fool, utterly so.
His plans would need to be adjusted, even so, the devil would die as God demanded!
…
She sensed it the moment it appeared, even several counties away its power echoed through the world, poisoning it, like that of a black spot in a world of white, disgusting, utterly foreign, and infectious.
Thus far she had been unconcerned with Melromarc and its… Issues, now what was going on there couldn't be ignored, not by her, not by the rest of the world, not anymore.
It would not take too long to get there, she had to go, as was her responsibility as Guardian of the world.
"You," she pointed to one of her followers lying among their friends. "Bring me my carriage."
Lute village
As he floated there high above the world below him he took note of just how much damage had been caused by the wave.
Trees had been uprooted, stripped of leaves, and broken. Houses - the ones he hadn't destroyed - had been damaged and were falling apart, walls and roofs collapsed as undead crashed through them, littering the village in refuse and rubble.
Above him was an ever-changing dark swirling ball of billions of locusts, waiting for another command, another target to consume, another being to desecrate; they would continue to wait.
Despite his initial hesitance - perhaps reluctance to use such a spell, he was happy with its results and yet at the same time disappointed, its use would do what he needed it to, as a side effect it had pushed his shield level to 55 and his Yggdrasil level to 106 at which point he'd practically stopped gaining XP.
It was something he had failed to notice in the moment as he rushed to avoid any unnecessary casualties from the tsunami that was the locust swarm, but now, here, looking at his stat screen he had received a debuff of frightening comprehension. Its name was simple, yet meant magnitudes in its meaning: Diminishing Returns.
Upon focusing on the small red icon in his HUD another wave of frustration flowed through him producing a long groaning sigh. The debuff was a product of his own greed, a simple punishment for preventing the other heroes from participating in the wave, or at least that is what he thought, as the cause wasn't listed.
For the next week and a half, he would receive a 90% detriment to his XP gain.
He closed the small notification and found that worry was misplaced as errors began to fill his view as his world item seemingly began to fight back against the debilitating debuff, forcing - and amusingly - the 251-hour timer to gradually tick down towards zero. The thought of a toddler fighting an adult suddenly came to mind, causing him to chuckle lightly.
While that happened he floated down to the cliff below where a very anxious-looking Raphtalia waited. Instead of landing next to her like she seemed to expect, he continued past her, pointing down to the group below.
With a dull clunk from his armor, he landed and made his way to the group of still paralyzed heroes and knights, all wearing in some form or another a determined expression, yet their eyes truly conveyed their emotion. Anger, hatred, fear, he could seem them all.
He stood before them, arms crossed and staring. The knights were of little concern as he looked at each of the hero's parties, noticing that they hadn't changed much from selection day.
Ren's party was especially surprising, not in the fact that he had gained new followers, but more in the sense that none of them had left yet, as the boy's treatment of them could be considered deplorable, almost as if they were NPC's to him.
Motoyasu's party was about as interesting as watching paint dry, all of them were of course girls, pretty, young, but so far uninteresting.
Itsuki's party was no better than Motoyasu's, acting more as a group of fanatical ego boosters, pushing him to a level of such self-pride that it may eventually come back to bite him sooner or later.
His thoughts faulted at that interesting observation, what if he himself had been transported as a teen with Nazarick, how far would he have gotten in the new world before his ego, fueled by his god-like power and teenage arrogance got the better of him? Would he have turned out like the Eight Greed Kings?
"No point in thinking about what could have been."
With a contemplative sigh he stopped just before the small crater and looked down, Motoyasu stared back, his eyes quivering in disbelief. "Oh? It seems you have fallen over, would you like a hand?" Ainz asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
After a moment further of staring down at the diminutive spear hero, he raised his arms and with a click of his armored fingers released them from his hold - with the exception of Malty who he was content to let wallow in her own filth if the smell was any indication.
Immediately, almost all of them fell backward, leaving Ren the only one standing. He wore a determined expression that seemed to falter with every moment as if trying to figure out the pros or cons of attacking him.
On a whim, he decided to encourage the boy. "What's wrong Ren? Don't tell me you suddenly lost your nerve?"
His words seemed to do the trick as whatever hesitation the young man felt faded discernibly from him and he yelled in challenge, charging the shield hero.
Ainz met the boy's {lightning thrust} with his shield up, defecting the strike out to the right, and counted with a light slap to his left cheek, ignoring the electricity sparking off his armor.
Still, the counter left the boy stumbling, then before Ainz could comment, Ren used the remaining momentum, rounding with a flimsy pirouette and striking with an overhead {Meteor Slash}.
Ainz caught the blade in the flat of his hand, noticing the strength increase from their last encounter. "That thrust and slash were passing at best, but most of all you lack a sense of awareness of your opponent's weaknesses. Untrained, undisciplined," He said, shaking his head lightly.
Ren looked at him as if he had gone mad, he was trying to seriously kill him… instead he was receiving advice. He shook his head, overcoming his momentary confusion, and exclaimed, yelling one of his sword skills. {Hundred Swords!}.
As ten opaque blue swords materialized behind Ren, Ainz let go and retreated a few steps, raising his shield and forming a barrier. As he did so he cast a silent [Triplet: Obsidian weapons].
Three gargantuan infinitely dark obsidian blades, five meters long, a meter wide, and several inches thick, pointed to a tip materialized behind his back, and flew forward to meet Rens's blades, forming into a thick strong shield.
Black met blue and blue shattered like a glass thrown at a wall. The obsidian blades split and advanced, stopping just before striking the sword hero but still pointing threateningly at his neck, stomach, and groin.
"Do you yield?" Ainz asked, just as the boy was about to nod, an arrow coated in blue energy struck his chest piece and broke helplessly against it.
Itsuki flanked further to his right and let loose another {Meteor Shot} at his helm, ending much the same as the first. Slowly he looked at the blond-haired boy as he floated closer and closer to one of the massive wave rustled oaks.
As Motoyasu began to move on his left, he flicked his arms right and left, two of the colossal swords flew out with spectacular, blind speed. Itsuki caught the edge of one of the swords with his bow before it could strike his neck and was forced into the tree, held a meter aloft, his mouth held closed by his own hand.
The other, at the same time, struck the spear hero, not with its sharp edge but with its massive flat spine, flattening him against a tree, much the same as the bow hero.
"Do you yield?" Ainz asked generally, not looking at any one of them specifically.
When he received a sign of compliance, a nod of the head, or a diminutive groan, he waved his hand dismissively, causing all three blades to disappear in wisps of white smoke "Good, we have a village to clean up."
"Why should we do anything you say?" One of the knights shouted, his eyes flicking between each of the three defeated, likely a lieutenant if the insignia he wore meant anything.
"Because, is it not your responsibility to help the people you are sworn to protect… if not something can be arranged," Ainz replied calmly, pointing up to the dark swirling cloud of locusts.
"Help the people…? Your damn monster ate them all!" The large knight closest to Itsuki shouted.
"I believe his name was Mald, right?" he thought, trying to remember what the Hanzos had told him.
"They we-
"They were evacuated before the wave, they're safe!" Raphtalia shouted defensively from a tree nearby.
"And who are you supposed to be, eh? Some slave that got caught up in the wave no doubt… well where is your master, slave?" Mald asked in a tone that didn't hide the fact that he couldn't care for the answer.
The answer he got was a simple, angry huff, then made her way over to the shield hero, looking utterly tiny compared to him.
Mald's next words hitched in his throat as Ainz lazily waved his hand in front of him. As everyone tensed at the action, a black, tall portal opened and an older man stepped out and began to look around inquisitively like that of a child. He spotted the other Heroes and their parties, acknowledged them with a polite nod, then looked up, spotting the black mass.
"Who is he supposed to be?" Motoyasu asked in a whisper, having finally composed himself enough.
"Sir shield hero, I hope that that is yours." The old man asked, continuing to look up.
"It is and will be of no threat to you or your people, in fact, the knights and heroes here have offered to assist you while you rebuild," he replied.
"Oh is that so?" The old man continued after turning to them. "Then you have my gratitude, great Heros. After what my people have been through this day, I'm afraid we need all the help we can get."
Everyone continued to remain silent before nodding as one. It was either helping rebuild the ruin of a village or being killed by the dark shadow literally looming over them.
The choice was an easy one.
…
He looked upon his village with grief and sorrow. Milly and Nathen's house had been completely decimated during the fight between those god-damned undead and the shield hero, the young couple cried watching as it happened, being unable to do anything about it.
Across from theirs were Oslo's and Patricia's. A wall had collapsed outward with a hole in the roof, littering the road with pottery and timber. Something big had fallen through it during the wave and decided that the door wasn't good enough.
Every house in some way looked the same, holes in walls, holes in roofs, holes in the ground, it hurt to look.
Dread replaced his sorrow as he approached the large hill near the center of the village, where the chapel used to sit. It was gone, collapsed into a pile of broken wooden rubble.
He felt devastated looking upon its ruin, why had God punished him so? Why would he let his own place of worship be destroyed? Had they not been loyal to him…?
"Are you alright, Elder?" The shield hero asked. While he distrusted the devil of the shield, he was the only hero to appear in his village's time of need, thankful even that he had chosen to create his fortress nearby.
"I'll live," He replied quietly, becoming rigid, then turned to the hero and the others who stood behind him, then left to look at his people, spotting his son, daughter, and nephew at the lead.
"Take a few people and a single party from the heroes who have so graciously chosen to help. Start rebuilding the barns and storage houses, store any supplies you can in the most intact house or at least one with an intact roof."
Michaile stepped forward, twenty or so people following him. "C'mon Sir Sword Hero we're going to the field barn. We'll start there," The young man said. He shook his head at the boy's bluntness but didn't otherwise reprimand him.
Sir Ren looked up at the swarm, briefly scrunched his face in annoyance, and then began to follow after his son, the hero's party followed in tow without protest.
Arrick and Lyra, his nephew and daughter stepped forward simultaneously, glared at each other then smiled, chuckling lightly. Despite his eagerness, Arrick waved the girl forward giving her first pick of the heroes… ever the predictive one, she chose Sir Motoyasu and walked in the direction of the large storage house near the center of the village, followed closely by his party and half of the Princess' honor guard, the remainder staying where they stood.
"Ha, I still got who I wanted!" Arrick exclaimed happily, only to flinch backward as the knight by Sir Itsuki shouted.
"We're not following you anywhere, you village hick!"
Silence reigned as everyone stared in shock, even the children who had been playing innocently nearby became quiet. The shield hero drew everyone's attention as he raised his hand pointing up to the cloud of black, then slowly moved his arm to the right until it pointed to one of the large iron oaks littered throughout the village.
As one the cloud moved to the oak at near lightning speed enveloping the tree in its entirety. A commotion of sound, like that of a thousand, moving saw blades cutting all at once echoed out into the air, then as quickly as it began, it stopped, a veritable mountain of sawdust sitting at the base of the tree's stump. Atop it was a small intricately carved statue of a wide-eyed curious faced child with long ears pointed down, wearing a thigh-length skirt, with a smooth shirt and vest, all the while clutching a staff to her chest.
Despite her beauty, the statue's implied threat was obvious… As one, the people turned back to look at the knight to find the color had drained from his face, and that of those around him.
Anticipation grew as eyes drifted to the bow hero, as he, like the others in his party, had been made a shade of white.
The bow hero's lips parted slightly and spoke in a low shaky voice. "L- lead the way."
"Ah, sure… The game probably got scared off during the wave, so we'll be back in an hour or so, pops."
Enroute to Lute village.
Thirty minutes post wave.
Shannon Daellas, a Melromarcian soldier of only six months, looked at the back of his commanding knight with apprehension. Not because he was scared of the man, no nothing like that, but because of where he was commanded to go.
As ordered by the king himself, every available soldier currently stationed in the city was to ride with as much haste as possible to Lute village; anyone who even remotely refused would be charged with treason, no matter if you were a veteran or a recruit.
He had personally watched a higher-ranked man voice his concerns of leaving the city undefended so close to the wave, he had quickly been taken away, more than likely to be put to the guillotine at some point later.
So it was that just over three thousand men rode to the small village of Lute to rescue a princess that was probably and most likely, already dead.
He could understand the feelings of the king, a father wanting to make sure his daughter was alive and safe, but after what he and every other man, woman, and child in the city witnessed, surely he had to see reason?
"Do you think they are safe?" A blond-haired boy asked, riding on the horse on his right.
"I don't know," Shannon said honestly.
Unlike himself who had been born in the lower districts of the capital, Ake had been born in Lute so this mission was personal for him. Shannon had done his best to comfort the boy - who was two years his junior - but there was only so much he could say and so many times it could be repeated before it all became meaningless talk.
In response to his words, Ake's face darkened and he slumped his body forward. "Well, at least you're honest…" he muttered.
'I was trying to be optimistic,' Shannon thought. "Who knows, they could all be alive and rebuilding as we speak," He said.
"After what we just witnessed, I'll believe anything is possible, but I doubt it," The fat fool riding on his left said. Aaeldin Baisik Coran, a no-good racist idiot that talked too much for his or anyone else's own good, most unfortunate of all he was the nephew of some high noble from the south, which was probably why held the position of sub-commander of his battalion.
If the rumor spreading through the legion was to be believed he had been the one to walk the shield hero to the throne room the day Princess Malty was… afflicted. Despite his annoying ability to boast about everything he had ever done, every woman he had ever plowed, he always seemed to shut up whenever anyone asked him about that day, so most of the men had caught on to the fact and ended up using it more of a tool to shut him up, then to actually find out what happened.
"Keep it to yourself, Coran!" Another older man said riding in front of them, his voice booming even over the thunderous sound of hundreds of falling hooves. "We're likely riding towards our doom, I for one would prefer the last words I hear not to be from your inept mouth,"
"Yes, Captain," Aaeldin grumbled, gritting his teeth.
Shannon shot a thankful look at the Captain's back and then turned his gaze back at Ake. He was staring out into the distance, at the tree line just beyond the grass plain.
"Sir!" Ake shouted at the top of his lungs. "There is someone-"
"Yes, I see them too, boy!" The Captain exclaimed. "Coran, take two men. I want to know who they are and where they came from."
She needed time to think alone, about Suzuki, about the wave, about the thing he summoned. She had seen him do some amazing things in their time together, flying and teleportation being the two that immediately came to mind, but she had never seen anything from him of such intensity and power that she had today…
Why that spell? Did he have more like it? Did he have even more powerful spells? Could he bring back her- "Ow!" She exclaimed, bumping forehead first into a tree and stumbling back onto her rear.
She touched a hand to her head, feeling, oddly enough, that it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. Pushing herself up off the ground, dusted off her skirt and rounded the tree that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She suddenly came face to face with the golden grassy plains she had become so familiar with and a veritable army of very angry-looking men.
She must have been spotted by someone as a moment later the entire cavalry came to a gradual stop, sending clouds of dust and dirt into the air.
"What's going on?" She thought then whispered to herself. "Should I tell Suzuki?"
Just as she reached for the item hanging around her lythe neck, a single row in the formation of men split and spat out a small party of three, who quickly approached her.
She quickly grabbed the necklace, closed her eyes in concentration, and sent a message. "Suzuki, there is an army on its way towards Lute, they just reached the forest near the plains."
"I see, try to stay hidden," He said.
"I… ah, too late," she replied. "There are three people coming to me, what should I do?"
She felt him sigh even from this distance. "Try to keep them busy, I'll be there in a moment," He replied, shutting off the spell from his end.
Opening her eyes she was met with a frustrated glare from a fat blonde-haired man in crested armor. Next was his black-haired companion who wore an annoyed look, and lastly the worried look from a hey-haired boy who looked much too young to even be there, then again she was ten so she couldn't really say much…
"You, Demi-human," The fat man began. "You have the honor of being addressed by the one and only sub-commander Aaeldin Baisik Coran, Lord of the esteemed Coran house, and only nephew of the great noble Idol Draeiden Rabier."
The moment she heard that wretched name, something broke inside her. Her short sword and shield were drawn, her tail stood straight and agitated, hatred on her face as she charged, jumped, and with one clean and brutal cut, lopped off the Noble's head!
Or at least that's what should have happened as before she could even grab her sword a massive black gauntleted hand wrapped itself around her shoulder, locking her in place and almost pushing her down with its strength.
"What are you doing?" Suzuki asked accusingly.
"I… he… he is-" whatever she had to say was cut off by her target's scream as he fled back to the safety of the formidable formation, leaving two very confused soldiers behind.
"Umu, he seemed familiar," Suzuki said, then looked at the two soldiers on horseback, stunned by his gaze. An awkward silence hung in the air as the soldiers stared back, their expressions unsure and confused.
"What are you here for?" Suzuki asked with a far darker tone than she expected, unsure of why he would use one.
The black-haired boy shuffled nervously and began to speak, pointing at her. "Uh… we were ordered to find out who she was and where she came from."
"I see, and the small legion behind you?"
"Mobilized by order of the King himself to rescue Princess Malty."
"I'm not sure what else I would have expected… certainly not to combat the wave," Suzuki said, chuckling lightly. "Inform your Captain that she is safe and to expect her shortly."
"Understood, Sir Suzuki." The black-haired boy replied and turned his horse to leave, then stopped as he looked back at the blonde boy. "Ake?"
The blonde boy "Ake" as she had just learned stayed silent as he looked into the forest with familiar dead eyes, that she knew all too well. "Lord Suzuki, what is the condition of the villagers?"
"All are alive and rebuilding, they were evacuated by myself when the wave began."
Ake's head spun so quickly that he almost fell off his horse. "All of them!?" He asked with excited, bright eyes, the light of hope flooding into them.
"Indeed, if your Captain wishes to inspect the village, he may bring a small detachment through with him. The gate will open shortly."
Without saying another word, Ake jerked his horse into a spin and shot off at full gallop towards the formation. His friend shook his head, sighed then after giving her a grateful nod, followed after Ake at a calm trot.
"I could have handled that, you know," she said sternly.
"I know more than anyone what you went through, but killing that man now would have caused more trouble than it was worth. You're young, ten, but at the same time, you're older than you look, more aware of what happens in the world… When I got you out of that cage I made you a promise. Do you remember what it was?"
"I do," She replied tentatively, unsure about what else to say or where he was going with this.
"Revenge on someone so despicable and hated is more than about simply killing them, no they ruined your life, systematically tearing away any hope you had of having a normal childhood from you. Killing such a man would be too easy no, we are going to ruin him, tear down his empire, and burn it right in front of him. Then, at the very end, when he is kneeling before you, the choice is up to you with what we do with him from there."
The dark tone he spoke with made it sound as if he had done this sort of thing before… "Have you…" she paused looking up at him worried, "done this before?"
He retracted his hand from her head, advanced past her, and opened a gate, pausing the moment before entering. "The world I originally came from was more desolate than this one, taking revenge on people - though I didn't take part in it - had become an art form."
Though she was all for killing the man that had tortured her, Keel, and Rifana for weeks on end, he wasn't the one that was necessarily responsible for ruining it, only a part of it. Those truly responsible for it were the knights who raided her village after the first wave, killing the men and selling everyone else into slavery. Anger, hate, and sadness suddenly rushed into her all at once as the memories of that day came back to her in waves.
A dark shadow grew on her face as she shot her arm out and latched onto Suzuki's, "Not just him. The knights too." She said darkly, not as a threat, but as a promise.
"We'll see."
…
When they walked through the gate they were both met at sword point, a group of very angry-looking knights surrounding them entirely. "What do you want, Devil?" The largest one holding a greatsword asked.
With the large sword still pointed at his chin Ainz calmly stepped aside and let the [Gate] close, silently he opened another with a wave of his hand. "It seems that the king has mobilized a small army to come and rescue her, this [Gate] leads to the front of the formation, you are free to go," he said with finality.
"Why? Isn't she a-
"Hostage?" Ainz finished. "No, she's no more a hostage here than she is able to get up out of that chair," The meaning of his words was not lost on them as around him the scowls of the knights deepened with the distinct sound of gritting teeth.
They did not move, nor turn to look at one another even as the grip on their swords tightened. Sighing, Ainz stepped before the gate and put an arm through it, waving for the men on the other side to come through.
A moment after he retracted his arm and stepped back, the head of a blond boy poked through, his face serious yet at the same time curious. "Sir," the boy said, locking eyes with the great-sword-wielding knight.
"A-Ake?" the knight asked in surprise, apparently knowing the boy.
"Yes sir, we've come to rescue Princess Malty by order of the King, Captain Parson of the wall regiment is waiting for her on the other side," Ake said.
"Captain Parson… I see." The knight trailed off as he nervously eyed the [Gate] and the boy. "How do I know this isn't some mind trick by the devil of the shield!"
Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time today, Ainz stepped forward again and lightly pushed the boy's head back through the gate and at the same time, with his other hand, reached out with unbelievable speed and grabbed hold of the knight's chest piece, then with a quick, strong movement threw the man through before any of his companions could react.
"What did you…?" One of the nights asked, unbelieving of what he just witnessed.
"I don't have the time to waste on needless bickering, you either go through the portal voluntarily or I throw you through."
Just as the aberrant light of dusk glossed the grand white walls of castle Melromarc a discussion between two kings was taking place. One was a king with an attitude of anger, confusion, and fear. The second king, unknown to the first, was calm and wholeheartedly smug.
"It was what you could call a minor deity, one that I had previously made a pact with." With the calm king's words, came an audible gasp of fear from those who surrounded the two, nobles, knights, and court attendees.
"You can not seriously suggest such a thing was necessary to defeat the wave, are you?" His adviser asked, standing beside the wheelchair that served as his throne.
"Ha!" The Devil exclaimed. "No, something like that was definitely overkill, it served another purpose I suspect you are already aware of."
This bastard was messing with him! After the forces sent out to retrieve his daughter had returned he had ordered them back out to retrieve the devil of the shield, which had been several hours ago. Their excuse for the wait… It didn't want to come, even then it had visited the slaver's tent before it bothered to show up. Now that it was here the only thing that left its damnable mouth was yet more lies!
"The political climate of Melromarc and her surrounding counties is a fragile one that seems to be teetering on a knife's edge. I wonder what would happen when they learn of what happened this last month, and how you treated one of the "Cardinal Heroes".
He felt his face become flush with rage as he began to yell. "You raped my daughter and they will see it as such, there is nothing you can do to prove otherwise!"
The tall armor-clad bastard before him had the gall to laugh as if he found the concept amusing, then abruptly stopped. "We both know there is any number of ways to find the truth, a slave crest would be one, the other would be the man she had plant the "evidence", but unfortunately he has been recently killed by the church."
The Pope didn't so much as flinch as another bout of gasps filled the throne room. "Do not believe his blasphemous words, for they corrupt and madden the mind!"
"A pleasure to meet you too, Lord Biscus," it said bowing slightly. "I do hope the search is going well, you will tell me if you need some assistance in finding it won't you."
The calm expression of the Pope broke and hardened in a way that he had not seen before, glaring daggers at the devil. What were they searching for that could cause such a reaction? "You will answer me Biscus, what does he speak of?"
"I am unsure my king, the mere ramblings of a madman that has no understanding of just who he speaks to with such inane words, I assure you."
"Yet your unrestrained reaction says otherwise, speak!" He ordered.
Without saying a word the Pope quietly approached him and leaned in so that only he could hear him whisper. "I'm afraid that information is not for the ears of our current company. Did we not agree to hold discussions at a later time?"
"Yes, I suppose we did… If I may ask your council, what would you have me do?" Aultcray whispered back, hiding his mouth with a hand.
"Move forward as you intended to, celebrate our victory over the wave, the people must see us unified in trying times such as these."
"What of the devil?"
"Something may yet be done, but we must wait until after we talk. Leave him and his pet be, for now, pay him for services rendered."
"You can't be serious, why?"
"I am. Despite our own hatred for the devil, it is the people we must appease, they see it as a symbol of hope to get through the waves unscathed; the false rumors spread too quickly for us to counter them suitably, and with your declaration of martial law it seems that they hate you more than it. Rewarding it will at the very least look like we wish to repair relations."
"A faint then," he said with finality, retracting his hand. Upon looking at the unholy creature he got that sudden sense that it was smiling underneath that helm, something about the dying glint of sunlight that reflected off of it.
Somehow, in some way, it had heard them talk, even from where it stood in the middle of the room, a distance of a little more than twelve meters away. Nonetheless, he would have to proceed and hope it would roll with it.
"A matter to be discussed later it seems," he announced to the court, then focused on his quarry, grunting in barely hidden disgust. "Sir shield hero, as well as Lords Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki - for your participation in the wave, the safe-keeping of my daughter, and the helping of those affected by the Wave of Calamity a chest of silvers for all four of you!"
The large oak door to his right opened without a sound and three well-dressed men walked out with a fourth following several steps behind wearing a frustrated, annoyed look. They each placed a chest before each of the heroes, and the three lords all but pounced on it, opening it with glee and little restraint, while the devil simply nudged it away with its foot, as if it found the reward disgusting or was a pile of filolial crap that it had accidentally stood in.
"Instead of this inadequate sum, I want the class-up ritual to be performed for my companion, free of charge," It gestured to the bushy brown-haired girl off to the side, amongst the crowd. The demi-human looked at himself with an unreadable face.
Merely the thought that this girl had reached level forty before any of the heroes angered him to no end. It asks for more power when he was trying his best to contain it, it did hear them talk now he was sure of it! Sighing internally, he looked at the Pope, in the end, the decision was his to make as it was his people that would be performing the ritual, no matter his own authority.
He received a barely perceivable nod, but a nod all the same. "He's still confident," Aultcray thought. "So be it, but don't blame me if this comes back to bite us later."
"If that is what you wish," He grumbled and waved at the man who carried the chest in, the annoyance on his face deepening. With reluctant movement, the man advanced on the chest, picked it up with a heft of effort, and walked back to the room he came from.
"Unfortunately, all class-up rituals are on hold until tomorrow, tonight we celebrate our victory!" he exclaimed to the cheer of the small crowd.
…
He sat outside on the high balcony that overlooked the castle town, the shield on his arm sounded a small chime as he brought it closer to his face, reading the skill tree that exploded out, noting the new shields. A total of twenty-two new skills made themselves known, popping off of the holographic interface for but a second and receding back, most of them were arbitrary stat boosts that numbered from +1 to +5, and others were skills that he would more than likely find a use for later, but it was the final series that interested him most.
It was quite possibly the most overpowered thing he'd seen yet from the shield, nothing had even come close… The {Abaddon Locust Shield} granted him the power to consume, not block, nothing so normal as that, but consume any attack, any power, and add its power to his own arsenal, add this with the extra +150 defense it gave; It was truly a powerful shield skill. The problem was, he probably would not be able to use it for years as the requirements under the description of the skill read in a deep crimson pulsating red. "Skill access denied, requirements are not met: reach level 350, unlock previous shields."
There was a sigh as he realized the true conditions with which this shield came with in the Yggdrasil skill line. He began to scroll up and up and up as tens upon hundreds of unknown ? marked shield flew past.
A gust of wind struck him as he turned away from the interface that only he could see, to the party within the large adjacent ballroom. The gloomy atmosphere that the party had begun with was gone, replaced by the drunken-fueled happiness of dancing, cheering, and quick-paced music.
Raphtalia was standing near the banquet table off to the right side of the room, eyeing the roast beef, pork, and filolial like that of a starved hawk. For some reason she was waiting for him, by now she had realized he wouldn't eat, right?
Two of his fingers met his helm where his temple would be and sent a [message] watching amusingly as she hopped on the spot, grabbed the piece of jewelry hanging on her neck, and closed her eyes.
"What?!" She asked frustratingly.
"You can eat if you want, you don't need to wait for me,"
"But," she paused, lingering in thought. "Suzuki, why don't I ever see you eat?"
"I don't need to," he replied.
"Don't you miss it?"
"Miss it?"
"You know, the texture, the taste, the fullness of a home-cooked meal made by your mother."
Her words broke something in him, a memory of a time long forgotten, locked in a vault that was buried under a mass of darkness sixty-five years deep.
A steaming dish of home-cooked lasagna made with real meat and cheese sitting on a small round white table made for two, no more than a meter across, beneath it, on the floor, laying unmoving, his mother, dead.
"No." He replied out loud and through the message link.
"But, how do you…?"
"Eat Raphtalia, I'm not sure what will happen tomorrow." He said, cutting the link.
As he looked back to the shield a commotion of oohs and ahhs sounded from the ballroom, he looked back, saw everyone had stopped and turned to stare at the large black wooden door that served as the entrance to the room. There, standing exactly in the center of the doorway was a small girl, no larger than a fourteen-year-old. She was immaculate in her beauty, had short white-silver hair with gold and blue highlights, three cowlicks sitting just above the hairline of her forehead, pointing up in an arch down.
Her rose-gold eyes peered around the room looking for something, focused on him, then advanced through the crowd as it parted for her, even the king had stood aside. A gust of wind blew past him, flew inside, and struck her, causing her rose-gold accented white dress to flutter and the small wings on her back to jostle.
When she was close enough to read a sudden sense of danger rocketed through him, bordering on fear. The feeling was not unwarranted for the bar that floated above her defining her level was a dark red with three pulsating question marks.
"The shield hero, Suzuki Satoru I presume," she said, more as a statement of fact rather than a question. Her voice was a young, almost monotone one, free of arrogance and full of wisdom.
"Diplomacy then," he thought. She made no move as he cast the first tier spell [Muting field], the curious people inside did not need to hear what was to be discussed. "It seems I am at a disadvantage, you seem to know who I am, but you are yet to introduce yourself."
"I am Fitoria, Queen of the Filolials and a guardian of this world," She said, seeming to pause to let the information sink in. "Are you the source of the being I sensed today?"
"Is that why you are here?" He asked, unsure of what to tell her.
"It is." She said, eyeing the item on his arm, "Did the shield consume part of that entity? I sense corruption wafting from it."
"Corruption?" he thought. "I suppose that a few bits and pieces did fall in during collection, but I don't see how that would "corrupt" it. Perhaps you are mistaken?"
Her features became firm as she stepped closer and spoke with a lecturing tone. "The being you summoned came from outside this reality, its existence supported by something more powerful than you currently are. The village stinks of it." She advanced another step, and froze, her features flaring into anger, then fear, then a sort of confused mix of the two. "How is this possible… a fragment more powerful than the original… no not possible… but they said it was a dragon… what is that thing inside your chest?"
[Time stop] the clear night sky faded to a dull gray as the world slowed to a stop, and to his surprise so did the little girl.
"Some guardian," he thought. "You don't even have time-stop countermeasures."
As he looked down on her the sudden realization that this was a crossroads, a turning point for an unsure future came to him, she was completely - or at least looked to be - at his mercy. He was unsure of what to do… his ultimate goal was to go home, he could try to kill her in the vane hope that it wouldn't come back to bite him later or try to build a mutual relationship with her which would more than likely require him to reveal himself and the item of her ire, the World class item in his chest, or she may just attack him anyway.
He wouldn't do either in this place, not with so many witnesses. [Mana sense] [Life essence] he incanted, and became slightly overwhelmed upon realizing just what he was looking at. This little girl, unassuming as she may have been, had a health pool on par with Ainz Ooal Gown's main tank Bukubukuchuguma and had a mana pool that made him jealous.
"I could fight her, possibly even win but I'd have to use everything I have, and that's to say nothing of her own abilities, of which I know nothing about…"
[Delay magic: Gate] he cast, he waited, and in the fraction of a second after the time spell ended a dark swirling portal appeared. "We should talk," Ainz said, gesturing to the portal. "Not where prying eyes can see, hopefully."
To his surprise, he received a small elegant nod before she turned and walked through it without any hesitation or form of protest.
…
The calm air of the silent moonlit night held the grass fields still as they stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move, hostile or not. "What are you waiting for?" They both seemed to ask one another, the unsaid question floating between them.
After what felt like minutes she finally grew frustrated enough to finally ask after one of her first curiosities. "You're not human are you?"
The question seemed to stun him slightly with its forwardness. "May I know how you came to that conclusion?" The shield hero asked.
"The uneasiness of just looking at you." She replied, her frown deepening, slightly.
"I see, my companion often gets a similar feeling from time to time, she tries to hide it but I do see it, I believe it's simply a byproduct of her more animalistic side, specifically the ability to sense danger. Demi-humans of my world have the same ability."
"Are you implying you're a danger to others?" She said, her body tensed as she became ready to react to anything.
"Only when I need to be," he replied without threat or malice. "I would gladly lay down my life to make the people I care for happy, would you not do the same for your own."
"I suppose." She replied, "But not at the cost of this world, it is too important to be weighed against a small few lives."
"I see." He said.
"You disagree?" She asked, noticing the small change in his stance.
"Highly, what is the point of living in the world when your loved ones aren't there to enjoy it with you." he continued. "I see no point in saving the world if I can't also save them."
That caused a small smile to tug at the corner of her lips. "It seems the shield chose someone interesting."
"Choose?" The hero asked in surprise, looking at the shield. "Is it sentient?"
"Not necessarily, it's more of a personality type, the shield chooses its wielders by their ability to inspire others to protect and wielder's willingness to protect others. Would you say you fit that description?"
He scoffed, "Perhaps a long time ago that may have been true when I fought a war doing that very thing, but that's no longer who I am."
It was her turn to feel surprised, baffled even. The shield would not have chosen someone that did not adhere to its personality and views, that could only mean that it believed it could change the wielder in some way and something had gone horribly wrong to prevent it… "Show me what you are." She demanded, staring intently.
"Some assurances from you first before I do? My race often causes hostilities to break out. You will not attack, maim or do anything otherwise to cause me harm, do you agree?"
"Whatever you want I agree, now show me!"
With a sigh, his body shimmered with a broken green glass effect, took a step back before his armor in its entirety disappeared, melting into motes of light that floated off to an unknown space, only to be replaced by a jet black academic gown that was bathed in dark, revealing a monster beneath the man.
Two soulfire crimson pinpricks of light started out from a pair of dark sockets surrounded by a bleach-white skull that was no longer human in shape. Beneath its inhuman skull, past its shoulders and down to its exposed abdomen and chest was the item she knew, felt was her quarry, a glowing pulsating red orb that radiated so much power she almost didn't care to ask what kind of undead he was, almost…
"Allow me to reintroduce myself," he said, bowing slightly in a polite, regal greeting. "I am Ainz Ooal Gown."
"You're undead. Clearly not a normal one with a body so perverted from the human form. Still, you should have been purified when you were summoned."
"Hm," he hummed. "For future reference, I am an Overlord."
("("("
Right so that's it for the moment I hope you enjoyed it! If anyone from the SH community is still around let me know how I did with Fitoria and make a review, I'll see you next time whenever that is.