In the center of a town stood two figures, one human and the other a demi-human. Around them were knights wearing iron armor, rotting corpses, and giant dead insects; the knights walked around the battlefield stabbing the corpses ensuring the corpses were dead.
"Mr. Naofumi, look." The raccoon woman pointed towards the sky. The glowing red cracks that covered it stopped sending monsters and began to fade away.
"Raphtalia! Pay attention! Just because the wave is ending doesn't mean the remaining enemies are gone!" Naofumi glared at Raphtalia as he yelled.
"Yes, of course!" His words proved true as twenty armored zombies shambled toward them.
Unlike Raphtalia, Naofumi was not a denizen of this world but rather was transported here as the Shield Hero, one of four Legendary Heroes. The heroes were icons of worship for the people of this world. However, this worship was not universal throughout the entire world as the shield hero held a stigma in Melromarc, and only the other three heroes were worshipped. Along with a plot that framed him as a rapist, he was quickly hated throughout Melromarc.
After a half hour, the remaining zombies and insects were either eliminated or wandered away from the town. From a nearby forest path, over a dozen adventurers slowly sauntered to the town.
"Ha! That boss wasn't even difficult." "If it keeps going like this, the next wave will be no problem." Though the entire party indulged, most of the boasting came from the three leading the group. Each one of them held a unique weapon: a spear, bow, and sword. These three were the other legendary heroes.
Naofumi glared at the approaching party, but they completely ignored him. A soldier, seeming to be the leader of the knights, walked in front of the party. "Very good work heroes, thanks to you…" The soldier was cut off by a boom from the sky.
"What is that?!" "Is it another wave?!" Panic began to spread throughout the nearby villagers, as they just spent the last few hours dealing with hordes of insects and zombies.
Another crack then pierced through the sky, but unlike the previous ones, there was only one, and it had a dark purple hue. Red lightning seemed to dance around the crack, creating an electric buzzing.
"Ha ha ha!" A laugh cut through the panic. "If it's like the last one, we'll have this done in no time." "It may look different, but it's just a beginner wave." "There is only one rift, it must be weaker than the last one." The boasts and confidence of the leading heroes quickly raised morale throughout the group, with one exception.
'Why is there another one!? Why must there always be another problem I have to face!? Why do they get praise when I'm the one putting my life on the line!? WHY!?' Rage filled Naofumi's head as the soldiers cheered for the other heroes.
The tear in the sky closed suddenly, but not before spitting out a single figure. The figure sped towards the ground and crashed not far from the group.
"Let's go!" The three heroes rushed forward toward the impact zone with their parties behind them.
"..." Raphtailia looked at Naofumi expectantly.
"Come on, we have to get there before they take all of the materials for themselves." Raphtalia smiled. "Right!"
Following behind the three heroes, they were running towards a crater that was nearly five meters deep. Naofumi, after catching up to the other heroes, looked in the crater and saw a skeleton wearing dark purple robes looking at its hands. Noticing their approach, it looked up to the gathered forces and gave a polite bow.
"Greetings." The group, not expecting the creature to bow to them, nonetheless speaking to them, were frozen in place.
"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown."
Author Note:
Hello, this is my first story so please forgive any mistakes I make along the way. This story idea has been rolling around in my head for a few months now and I finally decided to write it. I hope you enjoy it.