New World XXIV

In one of the posh inns in the capital of the Re-Estize kingdom, 5 women were seated around a table. The inn was relatively empty because of the early hours of the day.

"So, this is the situation. The guild master has personally asked for our assistance. Because it is an official quest, the reward is also pretty good. So, what do you guys say?"

The young woman with blonde hair spoke while drinking from a mug. Her name was Lakyus, the leader of the Blue Roses, one of the Adamantite-ranked adventurers team of the Kingdom.

"Huh, I say we take it, could be fun." The muscular woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes spoke. Her name was Gagaran. She had her iconic red armor on.

Lakyu then looked toward the girl with a small stature, a weird mask, and a red cloak. Due to her short stature, she looked like a 12-year-old, but in reality, she was a vampire. Her name was Evileye, the magic caster of the team.

"I don't know about this one. What should we do if we encounter some powerful monster?" She asked a question while looking at Lakyus.

"We will just retreat and convey our findings to the guild master," Lakyus replied in a neutral tone.

"Huh, as if I believe you. Judging from your past decisions, you would fight it. But anyway, seeing that the majority agrees to do it, I have no qualms." 

Evileye knew about Lakyus' personality. In the original series, when Momonga was about to attack the capital, she resisted to stay in the capital and resist the forces of the Sorcerer Kingdom. She told her teammates to leave her be.

But in the end, Evileye was able to charm her after weakening her significantly. After that, all the members teleported away from the capital.

In short, she had a naive personality and didn't know when to give up. 

"Very well, get ready, everyone. We will leave in half an hour." Lakyus stood up from her seat while speaking.

"You guys go on ahead, I will be waiting for you here." Evileye spoke.

"Sure!"

Gagaran spoke while going toward her room. When everyone on her team left the inn, Evileye let out a short sigh.

'I just hope that there is no monster like those.' This thought made her tremble. Because she was a vampire, she had been alive for a long time.

She was also a member of the Thirteen Heroes and helped them subjugate the Evil Deities. Because she was one of the members, she knew about the stampede caused by one of the Evil Deities.

And her suspicions were that there might be someone with comparable power to cause another phenomenon like the stampede from the past.

'If my suspicion turned out to be true, then humanity is fucked. Only the God Kins or the Dragon Lords might be able to stop it.'

She clenched her fists while thinking about it.

'Maybe I should contact her.'

She thought about contacting another member of the Thirteen Heroes and a former member of the Blue Roses, Rigrit Bers Caurau.

'No, I should wait and see for myself before contacting her.'

Thinking this, she relaxed her hands and closed her eyes. She began to reminisce about her adventures with the Thirteen Heroes.

~Flashback~

Five people were traversing through the Greate Forest of Tob.

"Are you sure we're going the right way," questioned a man clad in golden armor, who trailed behind the group. His name was Seraphius- a Player from Yggdrasil. However, this fact was not known by his comrades.

He stood tall, with silver-streaked midnight hair and piercing sapphire eyes.

"Yeah, I am pretty sure we are going the right way," answered a dwarf with a long brown beard and muscular muscles. His name was Thrain, also known as the Magic Craftsman.

~Evileye's POV~

It had been nearly a year since we started traveling. At the moment, we were traveling toward the South to meet with someone who might help us fight against the Evil Deities. 

It had been 7 months already since they started to wage war on human kingdoms. And with their level of strength, it might not be long before they destroy every human kingdom.

Around three months ago, a massive stampede of monsters wreaked havoc on towns near the forest. Fortunately, we managed to handle the situation, as no monster matched the power of Rigrit or me. However, that day, I witnessed something truly unusual.

Our newest member, Seraphius, displayed an extraordinary ability to rapidly increase his power. During the stampede, I observed his strength grow as he dispatched monsters effortlessly.

"Given his potential, he may soon surpass even Rigrit." 

I pondered. It was an astonishing ability that had also caught Rigrit's attention. Initially, I considered it a talent, but after discussing it with Rigrit, doubts crept in.

According to her, there were secrets of this world that I was not privy to. According to her, he wasn't human or not a complete human. When I asked her to explain it, she told me to wait until we met a certain being.

And the being we were traveling to meet was the same being she was referring to.

'If he is not a human, then what is he?'

Because I was a vampire, I could smell the scent of a normal human from him.

'Guess I have to wait till I meet that being. He might also have information about why my country was turned into a country of undead overnight.'

~Sigh~

I let out a cold sigh while remembering that night when everyone I knew was turned into a mindless undead, and I was the only intelligent undead. I tried to find its culprit but to no avail.

'However, I am thankful to Rigrit, who took me in. Without her, I don't know what I would do.'

"I think we should set up a camp for the night. It's already late," Rigril spoke while stopping.

"I agree," Thrain spoke while placing his luggage down.

"Very well, I'll start setting up the ward around the camp then," Spoke a female with a lithe physique, green hair, and eyes. Her name was Alariel, and she was the heiress of the Royal Family of the High Elves.

She moved to the side and started chanting her spells. Even though I consider myself an accomplished mage, there are still things I need to learn, like the ward magic Alariel had created.

'Yes, I need to keep the legacy of my mother alive.'

Just like myself, my mother- Annie Fasris Invern- was also a mage capable of casting 5th-tier spells. This was only public knowledge, but I knew she was able to cast 2 spells of the 6th tier.

~Sigh~

'Whenever I think about her, I feel a sharp pain in my undead heart.'

Shaking my head, I moved toward the center of the place where we decided to set up camp.

"*Create Common Items: Fire Wood.*"

A magic circle manifested on the ground, and a second later, a small piece of firewood manifested on it.

I used a 5th-tier spell that allowed me to create common items. It was a relatively high-tier spell; I learned it while I was in the fallen kingdom of Inveria, trying to find a way to convert the undead back to the living.

During my search, I came across the grimoire my mother wrote; there were some spells personally created by her. This was one of those spells.

"You have been sighing a lot, is everything alright?" Rigrit questioned while approaching me.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about my parents."

I answered while dispelling the spell and walked toward a small boulder. Rigrit followed me and stood beside me.

"Well, there's still hope. The being we are meeting soon might have a way to help you and your parents."

She spoke while trying to comfort me. Out of all my comrades, Rigrit was the only one who knew me the best.

"Nothing in this world comes for free, and I don't know what he might ask me in return for his help." I replied in a dejected tone.

"Don't try to sound so gloomy; as long as there's life, there's hope. Never forget that." She spoke in a sagely manner, or at least she tried to.

"Moving on from that, how long till we reach our destination. We've been traveling for 2 weeks straight now."

She placed her hand beneath her chin and hummed for a second before answering.

"We are at the edge of the forest, so I think it might take us 2-3 days more to reach it."

"Right."

"Hey, Landfall, can you go and gather something to cook."

"Sure!"

"Evi-Evil-Evileye!"

~Flashback ends~

I opened my eyes and saw the members of my current team trying to wake me up. Even though I was a vampire who didn't need sleep, sometimes, when reminiscing about past memories, I tend to phase out.

"Stop it, I am already awake!" I shouted while jumping away from them.

"Shorty finally woke up, huh? Hahaha!"

Gagaran laughed while moving toward the entrance of the inn.

"Let's go; we don't have much time."

Lakyus spoke while ushering me toward the entrance of the inn.

"Sure." 

I replied and also moved toward it. It took us a few minutes to reach the entrance of the capital. Once outside, we began traveling toward the general direction of the Great Forest of Tob.

Commonly, we would've taken the road that led to the other towns, but because our destination was the forest, we went off the road toward it.

"Hey, shorty, do you have any idea why the monsters are acting this way?" Gagaran asked Evileye. Lakyus had already briefed them about the details she had received from Corwin, the guild master.

"I can't say with certainty, but I do have a sneaking suspicion that might explain their odd behavior."

"Oh yeah, what is it?"

"An emergence of a powerful monster might explain this. However, I am not sure about this. Till now, the balance of the forest was kept by the Wise King of the forest, The Demon Snake of the West, and the Giant of the East. These three might have formed an alliance. However, it is unlikely." I replied while walking toward the forest in the distance.

"It does sound unrealistic. Monsters are not meant to team up like that." Lakyus also added her wisdom.

"I agree with you, evil boss." Tia, one of the assassins on the team, spoke. She had a slender figure with fair skin, coral eyes, and blond hair that was tied in a ponytail with a blue string.

"Yeah, it does sound unlikely, but there is a slim chance that this might be the case. This will explain the emergence of monsters of the A++ Class in the horde."

To Be Continued...

A/N: Because this is a non-canon fanfic, I am taking the liberty to introduce all these characters, who will have some sort of influence as the story progresses. 

This includes crafting the backstory of the Thirteen Heroes and other aspects of the narrative that have not been explored in the official Overlord LN. 

Essentially, I aim to fill in gaps and expand upon elements that have not been covered in the official canon storyline. And also, many aspects will be taken from the WN of Overlord.

So, if you guys have any ideas, please let me know.