A/N: HybridTux123, the reason Seatto is still there is because it wasn't destroyed in the First Wave kudos to the efforts of Nazarick.
Actually, Suzuki's interference in the First Wave is going to lead to a bunch of changes in the plot thanks to the ripple effect that it generates. Many players will be forced to act faster than they would've otherwise- we'll see that as the story progresses.
Raoi, if I'm not wrong- he didn't lose levels because the spell literally wouldn't work. I also highly doubt the New Ainz Ooal Gown could fight the Pleiades- Evileye barely won against Entoma with her friends helping her, and she was weaker in that timeline anyway.
The Platinum Dragon Lord twitched his tail.
Being a Dragon Lord, he was extremely sensitive to when the world 'shook and shattered' so to speak. And his instincts were buzzing like crazy right now.
It all began with the deeds of his father, the Dragon Emperor himself.
Long ago, in this world, creatures known as the Dragon Lords reigned supreme over the entire continent. They had access to Wild Magic- a form of magic that was entirely separate in form and function from the Tier Magic widespread today. However, Wild Magic, while more powerful that Tier Magic, required the use of souls.
One day, his father, the Dragon Emperor, used his magic and caught glimpse of a world far beyond their own- a world that contained objects of untold power. A power that he wished to acquire for himself.
Using a great ritual which no one else could replicate, the Dragon Emperor used his magic to attempt to seize control of these objects.
There was unfortunately, a big side effect.
These objects, known as World Items, had powers of their own. When the Dragon Emperor made them real, they negated his own magic.
For you see, Wild Magic and World Items cancelled each other out- all that the Dragon Emperor could do was bring them to this world. However, once they were real, he could no longer do anything against them or those who possessed them.
And alongside these items came their wielders- entities that would later be known as "Players" to the Platinum Dragon Lord. Many 'waves' of them had arrived up till date.
One of the most noteworthy instances was six hundred years ago, where the Players who would be called the Six Great Gods later came, saved humanity from extinction, and established the nation of the Slane Theocracy which still stood today.
However, the ones he remembered the most came after them. The Eight Greed Kings.
One day, out of nowhere, a castle materialized in the sky above a large desert. And from that castle, descended armies upon armies which decimated the world. It was said that the Eight Kings conquered the world in an instant- an exaggeration to be sure, but given how long-lived the Dragon Lords were it might as well have been an instant.
With them came the end of the reign of the Dragon Lords- and while the Eight Greed Kings had been annihilated eventually, the Dragon Lords had dwindled so low in numbers that they did not carry the same influence as before.
The reason the Greed Kings fell was thanks to an alliance formed by him and the Slane Theocracy, who had reasons enough to hate them given the Eight Kings had slain Susharna, the last remaining of their gods.
Eventually, the Greed Kings succumbed to infighting.
But it was not over yet.
Two hundred years ago another set of Players arrived, and a horde of monsters descended upon the world known as the Evil Deities. They were defeated by the Thirteen Heroes, who counted the Platinum Dragon Lord as one of their members- well, in a way that is. Among the Thirteen Heroes were two Players, from whom he had learned most of his knowledge regarding Yggdrasil.
And now, recently, he had felt the world shake much like those other times. It appeared that yet another "wave" would arrive. But how would these new Players react? Would they help, or hinder him? Were they those whom he needed to be wary of?
For now, he would watch things unfold. If they were Players, they would expose themselves soon enough. Power such as theirs rarely remained hidden. When that happened, and only when he was sure the moment was right, would the Platinum Dragon Lord strike.
For that was his job.
To defend this world from invaders who came from Yggdrasil.
He was a silent protector.
A watchful guardian.
A dark kni-
His thoughts were interrupted as all of his sense screamed at him that something was going horribly wrong.
He turned his head to the suit of armor in the room- it was a suit that he could control remotely using his power. It had been in that guise that he had travelled alongside the Thirteen Heroes.
The armor rose and exited the guild base where he was resting. This guild base had belonged the the Eight Greed Kings once long ago, and he guarded over the relics inside so that they would never be misused.
His armor rose, and beheld that the sky had turned a shade of crimson red with cracks opening up as if it was made of shattered glass.
What was this?
In all of his years, he had never seen something like this before.
And that was not all. Monsters began to appear from the cracks in the sky, raining down above. If they got their hands on the powerful objects inside- perhaps even the guild weapon- then it would be a catastrophe.
The monsters were made of some strange form of energy- they appeared as tiny balls of static electricity which expanded occasionally and flickered to reveal the forms of humans, animals, and occasionally odd hybrids in between. They were much like the monsters known as Wraiths in that regard.
They made no attempt at trying to communicate- and simply attacked him.
His weapons flew and impaled dozens of them at once- thankfully they were not very strong. However, they did not stop and continued to rain down from the cracks in the sky.
Eventually, the residual sparks from many of these monsters coalesced together to take the form of a massive serpent. It hissed and turned its eyes towards his armor. The world seemed to turn quiet as it formed- and the monsters hid away, as if this were their leader.
Regardless of the fanfare around this new contestant, it didn't last long as a single blow from his hammer caused it to fizzle out completely.
Hardly a spectacle.
Once this was done, the sky's color began to change and the cracks appeared to go smaller, as if the world was mending itself together once again.
However, there was still a choice to be made. He didn't know how- perhaps it was just a feeling- but he felt that he could slip past those cracks in the sky to reach whatever had sent these creatures here.
What would happen to him then? Would he end up in Yggdrasil? Or somewhere else entirely?
As it was, he wanted to find out who had sent these creatures here. If this was a calculated attack to steal the treasures of the Eight Kings, then his foe was someone to be wary of. On the other hand, if this was a random attack, it would be good to put down the mastermind while they were still weak.
As it was, for now, victory was his and it would be a perfect time to strike.
Not only that, so long as he continued to use this suit of armor, his true body would not have to enter the fray.
Decisions, decisions.
With a sigh, he made his way up past those cracks and to the world beyond.
In a remote corner of Raphtalia's world, the sky turned red and the cracks which formed in it began pouring monsters down below.
As it was, though, this was out in the wilderness, where there was no one to fight these monsters.
That was not to say that this was a problem that could simply be neglected. The monsters would spawn until the Boss was killed, and would pour out until the eventually came in contact with the nearest civilization where they would wreak havoc there.
It was on this grassy plain that out of nowhere, a carriage appeared.
It was quite elegant, though some may call it 'girly' given its pink floral design. The door opened, and a woman stepped out.
She was about as tall as a teenager, and had silvery hair and was wearing a white and pink gown. Small wings erupted from her back- a decoration perhaps? Or a signal that she wasn't human.
Indeed, this woman was Fitoria, a Filolial, and not just any Filolia, but a Filolial Queen.
And she had arrived to take on this Wave of Calamity.
Beings made of energy began appearing around her, whom she struck down. Her blows were elegant and nearly effortless, quashing these strange foes with barely any strain from her side.
She merely had to do this until the Boss of revealed himself to her, and then-
Her head snapped as someone landed besides her. It was a warrior wearing a suit of armor that shone with a strange light- was it platinum? Or was it silver? Four weapons floated around him- a spear, a katana, a hammer, and a greatsword.
Regardless, something in her began to burn up the moment she saw this individual. She was very angry at it- and instinctively wanted to tear it limb from limb.
Imagine the most racist person you know who suddenly met a person of the race he hated- her anger was even more pronounced than that.
There was only one explanation for this kind of rage.
"Dragon," she muttered with gritted teeth.
The man in the armor spoke. "Who are you?"
"It's considered polite to introduce oneself first when asking another's name," Fitoria retorted back.
The figure paused. "I am Riku Aganeia."
Fitoria had never heard that name before.
As it was, it was no unprecedented for someone to arrive here out of seemingly nowhere. The Heroes would always be transported if a Wave of Calamity occurred if they had registered at the appropriate Dragon Hourglass. However, this man did not bear any of the Four Weapons. As it was, if he was a Cardinal Hero, he would not be able to use four weapons simultaneously like he was doing right now.
He could be a Vassal Hero, but Fitoria did not recognize the other weapons he held, so that idea was out too.
"Which Hero are you with?" she asked. "I don't see anyone else here?"
"You didn't answer the question," Riku replied.
She frowned. "I see no reason to answer the question of a petty dragon. Why don't you answer me first?" Then again, something was off about this 'man' so to say- he looked humanoid, but the aura he gave off was no doubt one of a dragon.
"The other heroes..." Riku murmured. To him, there was only one group that Fitoria could be referring to. It was possible to bards still sung of his deeds as a member of the Thirteen Heroes. But how had she deduced his nature as a dragon? Was it worth it to leak a small amount of information, hoping she might do so in turn? "You are correct in your assumption. I was one of the Thirteen Heroes. However, the others are not here with me now."
Thirteen? Fitoria knew of Four Cardinal Heroes, and Eight Vassal Heroes. That made twelve. Where'd this guy get the extra one from? Not to mention, Fitoria herself was one of the Eight Vassal Heroes, with her carriage being her weapon. Most of the people of this world didn't know about that and assumed there were only seven Vassal Heroes.
So, this man might've been with an unrelated group who gave themselves that moniker on their own. That, or he was outright lying to her.
She took a fighting stance. There was one way she knew how to get the truth out of him.
Before she could do anything however, the man's sword flew straight at her. It moved with a speed she had rarely if ever seen before, and she barely twisted around in time to avoid it as the hammer came for her.
She backed away several paces and grabbed onto the hilt of the hammer, but she found it torn away from her grip as it returned to Riku's side.
"Liberation Wind Prison!" Fitoria said. A gale of wind surrounded Riku from all sides- and normally would have torn him to shred had he tried to leave it even if he was wearing armor. However, his arms effortless cleaved through it.
"Haikuikku!" this spell infused magic into Fitoria's blows and also enhanced her stats. She used the increased agility to weave around him and land a blow with her fist on his chest plate.
Instead of being knocked back several miles as a normal knight would've been, Riku stood firm and Fitoria felt pain erupt along her fingers. She also rewarded for her efforts by getting a face full of the hammer.
She took several steps back, wiping away the blood trickling down her face from her broken nose. She raised an arm, concentrating her power over the wind in it before launching it at Riku.
The blow struck true, but Riku seemed unfazed. That strike could've cleaved the sea in half, but Riku did not even take a step back. Had he been undamaged by the blow- or did he simply endure it? She ducked under the katana which flew towards her, her fingers wrapping around the hilt with newfound resolve this time.
The katana jerked back towards its owner, but she held on tight. When it could not move back, it simply turned, the blade beginning to point downwards at her neck as she let go and rolled out of range.
An undignified thing for a queen to do, but she had to get some distance from those weapons.
As his weapons continued to fly at Fitoria, it became clear to her that it would be difficult to deal with him in this form. Most of her magical attacks seemed to do very little to this man- he seemed to have a very high magical resistance.
So, if magic was off the table, then, it was time for-
At a wave of her hand, her carriage appeared between the two of them, forming a temporary wall. Using this time, Fitoria transformed from being a young woman to the Filolial Queen. Riku blasted the carriage aside with his hammer, but the split second was all she needed.
She was now as large as a fortress, and had several cannons attached to her back. She fired one of them off at her target, but, the issue was that Riku was rather small compared to her and could weave through the canon fire. Her shots missed him, and landed far away, making huge craters in the earth. While no sentient beings were in the area, this would lead to her damaging the homes of several kinds of wildlife, so she couldn't continue with this line of offense.
With that option exhausted, she moved towards using her talons, which knocked the suit of armor back, though it seemed she still couldn't land a fatal blow.
A new issue now arose- while she was indeed stronger in this form, there was also the matter that she was much larger too. Compared to her, Riku appeared like a small insect flitting around an elephant.
The problem was that it seemed that in terms of strength, Riku was nearly her equal even in this form. This meant that, being smaller, he posed a much harder target for her to hit, while he could bombard her with his weapons.
The katana, the greatsword, and the lance buried into her skin, causing small wounds which she could heal with her own power for now, but she couldn't last for long like that. The hammer seemed to be the least lethal of this weapons while she used this form, as her thick feathers acted as a coat of armor to dampen the bludgeoning effect of its attacks.
However, this was all becoming quite annoying.
To add to everything, no matter how often she struck Riku, he gave no acknowledgement of being injured. No cries of pain- not even a slight flinch like any living creature might have. Was his warrior's resolve that strong?
How was there a dragon with such strength running around? The only other one she had ever fought with comparable power was the Dragon Emperor of this world- could this man be a descendant of that Dragon Emperor?
Riku raised an arm. "[World Splitting Barrier]!"
A wave of energy was released from him, and Fitoria could feel it enclosing them for miles around like a giant cage. However, while doing so, Riku had faltered ever so slightly.
Lowering her head, Fitoria found an opening. Rather than striking with her talons, she pivoted on them, generating a whirlwind of dirt around him and twisted around like a corkscrew. Riku must not have expected that kind of an attack, so he took the full brunt of the flow as Fitoria thrusted with her beak and ended up punching right through Riku's chest plate.
Surprisingly, no blood came out, and Riku still gave no indication that he was hurt. His armor still moved- though his heart should've been destroyed had he been a human as it ascended upwards, like a puppet being pulled off a stage.
With a flash of light, he was gone, and Fitoria shrunk back down to her human form to finish off the rest of the Wave of Calamity.
Because she had ended up being distracted, she hadn't noticed the boss who was effectively chilling out on the sidelines. Many of his minions had been slain by her movements in her giant form as collateral damage, but there was still the last job left to do.
With the main boss finished off, the sky turned back to normal, leaving the earth scarred from the aftermath of their battle.
Who was that man/dragon then? From what he said, and from where he vanished, it almost seemed as if... he was from another world.
Initially, Fitoria had been happy to see someone else fighting alongside her.
For you see, Fitoria had been raised by an earlier generation of Cardinal Heroes- by an earlier Shield Hero, that is to say. She had promised her earlier owner that she would help the world in fighting the Waves of Calamity, something she took to heart.
However, in this recent series of the Waves, she had noticed that the countries were fighting them all on their lonesome without the help of the Cardinal Heroes. The only exception seemed to be the country of Melromarc. Granted, in this stage, it was normal enough for her to attack the Waves in areas like this, but she hadn't seen anyone in any populated areas either.
She looked up to the sky. There was still not trace of him. She had been sure that any dragons as powerful as that thing were already dead- but she was clearly wrong.
She had not been badly hurt during the battle, but it was rare for her to face a foe that could rival her in power.
Of course, there was yet another matter before her- that of finding a successor to her line. If a new batch of Heroes had been summoned, it was likely that a Filolial Queen or King might be raised by one of them. She, of course, wished to test the person to be next in line to see if they were worthy first.
She had work to do.
Whatever barrier that man had erected was gone now, so she was unimpeded as she left the area.
The Platinum Dragon Lord, also known as Tsaindorcus Vaision, watched the remnants of his armor return to the guild base.
He had not expected to encounter a foe so powerful, and more alarmingly, he had not gotten any useful information out of his excursion. If anything, it seemed that he had leaked his own intelligence to the other party given they knew he was a dragon.
How had they known though? Could it be that that woman had been a Wild Magic user? He had not sensed any such power from her- so it was more likely that she was either a Player or an NPC based on her strength. She had not fled when he had cast a Wild Magic spell, though that might've simply been because she had been confident in her victory.
He also couldn't understand why she had attacked him like that- he had sensed an underlying hatred from her which he couldn't understand at all. They had just met- or was it that she was simply always like that? He hadn't even gotten her name.
The cracks in the sky had mended themselves, and now all was still with the world.
And yet, he couldn't very well sit idle now.
He attempted to use [World Teleportation] an hour later to return to that earlier battlefield, but found that it didn't work. This surprised him, given that if the enemy had teleportation-blocking magic, they should've used so earlier.
Of course, there was the matter of fact that such a spell still could not teleport one to inside of a guild base. It was a possibility that the cracks in the sky led to the inside of a guild base, but, Tsaindorcus had been able to teleport out of the place just fine, so that shouldn't have been an issue.
He had also never seen that area before despite all the places he had travelled to. Could he discover it yet again?
In the end, he could only presume that he did not have enough information to act on for now. He would have to seek out his old friends- though they likely did not think of him as such given his 'betrayal' from the time when they travelled together. Still, Rigrit would probably be amenable to working together, and might even know something that he did not.
Raphtalia blinked.
There was something wrong. Something definitely wrong.
The Shield Hero had been in front of her just a moment ago, but she turned around and saw that he wasn't there.
This would've normally not been an issue- she could've assumed that he had just teleported or something along those lines. However, it became clear that there was something far more sinister going on.
For you see, every single NPC associated with Nazarick at that moment noticed that Suzuki's name suddenly turned gray on their displays. They also found that they could no longer use the display's features either, such as the communication system.
Shalltear sent a [Message] to Suzuki only to see that it failed to reach him. She tried yet again. It felt as if a sensory organ was trying to grasp for something but found nothing.
And when she failed a second time, she screamed in horror.
It wasn't just her who was like that, every NPC began to feel a wave of dread wash over them.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Raphtalia heard a loud voice scream from behind her. She turned to see that woman, Albedo, though she was no longer wearing a warm smile on her face. She looked haggard and her eyes radiated murderous intent.
She didn't even notice Raphtalia at first, walking past the demi-human as she scoured the hallway, the last place Suzuki had been. She shouted at the rooftop- "Where did he go?"
Raphtalia gasped as she saw several spider-like monsters descend from the ceiling onto the floor. They had been invisible up till now, which was why she had missed them.
These were the Eight-Edge Assassins of the Great Tomb, tasked with guarding Momonga wherever he went. In addition, several Hanzos stepped out of the shadows.
Raphtalia hadn't known this, but they were always there with Suzuki wherever he went.
"P-Pardon," one of them said. "Momonga-sama was here just a moment ago- and after that he wasn't. We... don't know what happen-"
It got no further as Albedo raised her weapon and cleaved the monster in two, instantly killing it. "WORTHLESS FILTH! YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU HAD ONE JOB!"
She pushed the others aside and began busting open random doors, screaming her master's name and hoping that she would find him somewhere, anywhere.
But he was nowhere to be found.
As she came to this realization her eyes went to Raphtalia, who immediately felt her killing intent intensify. "You... what do you know about this?"
"N-Nothing!" Rapthalia said. She had always seen this woman smile gently at her, and to see her like that which was such a contrast from her usual self was not just jarring- but combined with the hatred she radiated Raphtalia felt she might almost choke on the oppressive aura alone.
Albedo didn't believe that answer. She couldn't believe that answer.
Her master- no, her true love was gone. No one from Nazarick would have done something like that, and this girl just happened to be in the area when it happened?
"Tell me the truth!" she said, glaring at the girl. "Or else I'll have Neuronist rip it right out of you!"
Raphtalia began to tear up. When faced with such opposition, there was nothing she could do, and she turned to run.
Of course, the Guardian Overseer was much faster than her.
"Where do you think you're going?" Albedo asked, grabbing onto her left arm.
"Please! I didn't do anything!" Raphtalia cried out.
Albedo began to apply pressure on it, twisting it so that Raphtalia almost felt as if it would be torn out of its socket. "No- please I didn't-"
"That is enough," a cold voice said, prompting Albedo to let go of Raphtalia.
"Who-" Albedo said, turning to see Sebas standing before her.
"Raphtalia-dono is an important guest of Momonga-sama," Sebas said. "As one of his guests, does it bode you well to strike at her like that?"
"Momonga-sama is gone!" Albedo cried out. "With no explanation- just this strange girl who was here with him when he vanished! How can you, as a servant of Nazarick, not be engulfed with rage at her?"
"I doubt that this little girl was responsible for his disappearance, even assuming that he did disappear," Sebas said. "As it is, could it not be that our Master left willingly?"
"What are you saying?" Albedo screeched. "That Momonga-sama, the one who stayed with us until the very end, unlike the other Supreme Beings, abandoned us all of a sudden?"
"No," Sebas said. "It is possible he had something urgent for which he left immediately? Regardless, let us face the facts here, Albedo. I doubt that a girl of Raphtalia's age and power could even scratch Momonga-sama, so she clearly is not the culprit here. We should not act rashly- what if Momonga-sama returned and saw that you had killed one of his honored guests?"
"Can we really believe she had nothing to do with it?" Albedo asked. "Her world has different levels and powers than ours, it's possible she found some power system that let her harm Momonga-sama!"
Sebas inhaled and turned to Raphtalia.
"I-I didn't do it!" she cried out.
"I know, but..." Sebas said. He put a hand on Raphtalia's forehead. "[Palm of the Puppeteer]!"
It was a mind control skill of his which only worked on monsters level 40 and below. He loathed to use something like this on a girl like Raphtalia, especially so since she was Momonga-sama's guest. Such an action could easily be seen as being an attack on someone, and he might very well be reprimanded for it later. Still, it was necessary for her safety.
Raphtalia's eyes glazed over.
"Raphtalia-dono, do you know where Momonga-sama is? Or were you responsible for his disappearance in any way?" he asked.
Raphtalia shook her head.
"There!" Sebas said. "I believe that proves her innocence better than anything else."
"Wait!" Albedo said. "She never calls him Momonga-sama, now then does she?"
Sebas sighed. "Raphtalia, do you know what happened to the man named Suzuki Satoru-sama, or the Shield Hero?"
Again, Raphtalia shook her head.
"Does she have multiple personalities? Was she possessed, or Charmed in a way?" Albedo raged on.
Raphtalia still emphatically answered 'no' to all of these questions.
Sebas then turned to Albedo. "If I remember correctly, when the Supreme Beings are slain they are reborn in the-"
"-Throne Room!" Albedo finished.
"If he is dead," Sebas said, earning himself a nasty glare from Albedo, "we can resurrect him there, or attempt a resurrection there. Either way, we should not let the Great Tomb dissolve into chaos in Momonga-sama's absence, and should gather the Floor Guardians in that room to try and solve this issue."
Albedo gritted her teeth. "Don't. Tell. Me. How. To. Do. My. Fucking. Job."
"Then I would appreciate if you would start doing it," Sebas said.
Albedo considered the merits of killing Sebas right then and there, thought better of it, and turned to leave. "I'll leave it to you then- inform them all to be in the Throne Room within the hour or to be killed as traitors!"
Albedo walked away, and it was only when she turned a corner that Sebas turned to Raphtalia. He let go of his skill, and she began shivering as his grip on her was released.
Immediately, she began bawling. It wasn't just because of what Albedo had accused her of- she rather liked the Shield Hero and was horrified at the prospect that something might've happened to him.
"Is... is he dead?" she asked.
Sebas scratched his chin. "I dearly hope not. Even so, we will attempt to bring him back- or to find him. We would scour every single corner of this earth until we found him again, don't you worry about it. For now though, I would advise that you stay somewhere else..." He then led her to a side corridor and to an unmarked room. It had no special designation or marking about it, as it was not a room that had been modified by the Supreme Beings. "They will not think to find you here, and I think it would be safer that you stay here for the time being rather than your usual room. Some of the other Floor Guardians... they may mean well, but they might also take their anger out on you." He gestured for her to go in. "Don't open the door, and I'll see to it that you get food and the like."
Raphtalia nodded and went inside.
Sebas sighed- and he felt despair cloak his heart. Despite his stoic front, there was the fact that this was quite literally one of the worst things that could've happened to them. He put on a brave face and had saved Raphtalia because that's what he was sure that Momonga-sama would've wanted, but...
He tried hard not to think of the worst possible scenario as he made his way to communicate Albedo's orders to everyone. There was still hope that Momonga-sama was out there somewhere.
A/N: And that's that for now! I hope you enjoyed Fitoria vs Platinum Dragon Lord, I had wanted to write about them for some time.
Also, I began to read the manga and have read up to chapter 82 on it, meaning I'm at the part after the whole Spirit Turtle and when they cross over to Glass's world. So I do know a bit more, but I still have trouble gauging Fitoria's power level so to speak. She could be rated as being anything between level 70-100 when it comes to Yggdrasil standards, though I've decided to mark her as being equivalent to one of the Dark Young, a level 90 monster for now. Granted, that's only with her abilities and all factored in, and when she fights against a dragon, that is to say.
I've also decided that spells from Raphtalia's world will be written in bold rather than square brackets just to distinguish between the two.