My life was never marked by any special or bright moments. Everything in it was like everyone else's – gray and ordinary. And, let's be honest, I wasn't really trying to change that. I was content with what I had.
Well, either that, or I just thought so. Because if I had looked into my own future… I would've realized how wrong I was. My whole life turned upside down in a single moment. And afterward, like a snowball, incredible events filled my life one after another. Was it worth it? Would I want to change anything? Did I do the right thing? Would I have acted differently if given the chance? I don't know. But one thing I know for sure. I regret nothing.
***
It was a perfectly ordinary day. Well, maybe not entirely ordinary, because it was on this very day that, passing by the library I'd walked past hundreds, if not thousands, of times before, I inexplicably decided to step inside. I wasn't a fan of the smell of real books and all that – quite the opposite, I preferred the convenience of reading on my phone, which was always at hand. But this time, something just… came over me. Something inside simply pulled me in.
After exchanging perfunctory greetings with the librarian and declining help in finding a book, I, not knowing what exactly I was looking for, walked along the rows of bookshelves. It's worth noting that I was a lover of reading. Although my reading list was mainly filled with various light novels rather than golden classics, reading was still reading, no matter what you read. So, my strange impulse to enter the library was even stranger than one might initially think.
I wandered for a long time. About thirty minutes. Something just wouldn't let me give up and leave. A feeling on the edge of my consciousness that any moment now, just a little more, and I'd find what I was looking for. And I did.
My attention was drawn to a single black-covered book, standing out from all the others. It looked somehow… too luxurious. Too perfect. And at the same time, too alien.
— The History of Death… – I mumbled to myself, examining the book that had found its way into my hands. Without moving from the shelf, I began to flip through this work. Throughout my reading, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had read something similar somewhere before…
The story told of a demon who had entered another world. Along his path, he encountered new acquaintances, battles, friendship… and betrayal. Lots and lots of betrayal and disappointment. Sometimes I even wondered how one could be so incredibly foolish and naive…
The end of his journey was quite tragic. Or rather, it wasn't quite the end. His journey in the world he was summoned to was finished, but it wasn't the end.
But just as I was about to turn the page…
— Huh? – i saw only a blank sheet. And behind it, another, and another, and another. Roughly half the book was simply blank.
But just as I was about to express my disappointment, events suddenly took a completely absurd turn. The blank pages suddenly began to emit black mist, which I initially mistook for smoke. But a book in my hands couldn't just spontaneously burst into flames, right?
I reflexively dropped the book. Only, that worked like throwing an old dusty mattress off a roof onto the ground. The mist simply exploded in thick clouds the moment the book hit the shelf. And the last thing I managed to see was utter darkness.
…
It was… incredible.
The scene that unfolded before my eyes simply took my breath away. It took it away so completely that I didn't even think about the unreality of what was happening.
The world was dying. That was the only thought that came to mind.
Crimson tones covered everything as far as the eye could see. To the very horizon. Ruins, burning remnants of houses, explosions… But that wasn't the main thing. The world was literally crumbling.
The sky cracked, revealing an endless blackness. The horizon seemed to tear apart. Space itself burned with bright flames that mercilessly devoured absolutely everything, piece by piece. And this entire scene was complemented by strange demon-like creatures flying through the sky and screams echoing here and there.
— So… we succeeded? – a voice to my left echoed. Enthralled by the scene before me, I hadn't even noticed the presence of several other… beings next to me.
— I don't know, Your Majesty.
— But we definitely managed to summon someone.
The two speakers were… demons. Real, honest-to-goodness demons, like those described in typical books about magic, dragons, and elves. The horned kind, with wings, black eyes, and pale skin.
— Do you understand us, human?
— Though, what 'human' are you now, anyway…
— Yes… – i answered automatically. And then the meaning of what one of the demons had said hit me, and I abruptly reached up to my head… Only to discover the same brutal pair of horns there that my interlocutors had.
There was no panic. What was happening still felt surreal. And even if it was all real… So what? Right now, all I could do was silently accept what was unfolding.
— Well… – the being in front of me, the one dressed most… majestically? Anyway, one of the demons thoughtfully examined me. His gaze lingered particularly on my right hand. – it seems we truly succeeded. What a shame it's already too late…
My gaze also shifted towards my hand and… discovered an impressively sized… scythe. A damn war scythe. Memories of the book I had just read sharply pricked my consciousness.
At the end of that book, the world died. The demon failed his task and couldn't save it. He despaired, became disillusioned with everything, and lost. Such was the end of that story.
— We apologize for tearing you away from your world. – the majestic demon bowed.
— Your Majesty! – the second demon, who was apparently a servant, did not appreciate such a gesture from his king. It was not fitting for demon kings to bow to some otherworldly plebians.
— Don't interfere, Marcus.
— We might have broken this youth's life due to foolish curiosity.
— Broken my life? – i was still a bit out of it, and even the book I'd read hadn't shed much light.
— Yes. – The king nodded. – We lost, and so our world is dying. The victor gets everything, the loser gets nothing. Your summoning was a long-standing experiment of our people, but we never used its results. And now, when all is lost, we decided to test what we had worked on for so many years.
— I still don't understand how this is connected to my broken life. You can't send me back?
— Or will I perish with your world?
Strange. All of this was damn strange. For some reason, the thought of my own death… caused absolutely no reaction in me.
— No, you won't die with us. – but you'll hardly ever be able to return to your own world either. – To be honest, we ourselves don't know what will happen to you now. – You've become part of a massive force, drawn into its game because of us. Because of our selfish curiosity. – Again, I apologize for that. – The demon bowed again. Seeing a constantly bowing demon was… strange again.
— I see… So what now? – that was all I could ultimately say.
— We have lost, but we are not defeated. – The demon king's eyes filled with resolve. – If our world is destined to perish, then we will take as many enemy lives with us as we can. – This is not your battle, so I will not ask for your help. – And so… – The king, whose name I still didn't know, waved his hand. – …you no longer need to be here. – and pushed me with a force I couldn't resist.
Falling backward, I caught a glimpse of a red glow behind me. Just as I had time to think that, despite all the pompous speeches, they just wanted to get rid of me, the king spoke again. And, it might have been my imagination, but I could make out deep sorrow and weariness in his eyes. And along with them, some kind of… relief.
— I hope that at least you can live your life without regrets. – I wish you good luck, guest from another world.
And then, again, there was darkness. The rift, once I was fully inside it, immediately collapsed, leaving me in utter darkness. I didn't even notice when consciousness left me.
…
— Holy crap…
Once again, I was jolted awake. This time, far from as comfortable as I would have liked. I felt as if I'd been flung onto a cold stone floor, landing on my butt.
— O-o-oh, please, brave Heroes! – i beg of you, save this world!
And then I heard it. Besides me, there were four others. Each of them, in turn, grumbled about what was happening. And then they even started demanding things from the people who had summoned us.
Wait, summoned? Something tells me this has gone on too long for a dream or a hallucination. First that strange book, then the first summoning and the subsequent flurry of events, now another summoning… And all of this reminded me of something. Like the plot of a light novel I'd once read.
— Hold on, shouldn't there only be four Heroes? – someone from the crowd asked.
I looked around again. Four young guys. And each of them had some kind of weird thing on their hand…
Sword, Spear, Bow, Shield. I replayed that thought in my head. Sword, Spear, Bow, Shield…
— Oh my pasta god… – i involuntarily blurted out. – I landed in a damn light novel…
— Hmm… – The very man who had asked us to help their world looked at me thoughtfully. – In any case, the more Heroes, the higher our chances of survival. – Please, Heroes, come with us to the king. He will listen to your wishes and answer your questions.
And so it was settled. I just switched to autopilot mode and silently followed the crowd while my brain was busy processing what was happening. I had landed in a light novel. One of those typical stories about a protagonist transported to another world with magic and all that entails. Well, I wouldn't say entirely typical, but quite close to it.
The Rising of the Shield Hero… How long ago did I read that light novel? Long enough to forget many details, but not enough to forget the main plot. And it wasn't exactly making me happy.
The world was ending. And if I was right, I had just recently witnessed the very end of a world that had already lost in a clash of worlds. I don't know how I ended up in this "game" twice, but that wasn't important now. What was important was that I knew how it could all end. And I really didn't like that ending. But the prospect of risking my life and dancing to the tune of an idiotic king… was highly questionable.
— I am the king of this country, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII. Brave ones, raise your heads!
The king looked like… a typical king. Old, gray-haired, with an arrogant gaze and a crown on his head. Nothing unusual, except for his unreasonably inflated ego. After all, matriarchy reigns in Melromarc, meaning all power is concentrated in the queen's hands. The fact that she wasn't currently present gave Aultcray some freedom of action and illusory power, which would crumble the moment the country's true ruler returned.
Subsequently, our summoned quintet had to listen to a long and extremely dramatic story, which all boiled down to the fact that we simply had to help the poor and unfortunate inhabitants of this world. In short – this world is threatened by Waves of monsters. Once in a while, at intervals measured by magical hourglasses, Waves come to the world. A hole opens in space, from which hordes of monsters start pouring out. And with each new Wave, the strength and number of these monsters only increase. And this will continue until the world simply perishes. Something like that.
Basically, only the summoned Heroes can oppose these Waves. From my own memories, I know that Heroes have no limits in their development and generally evolve much faster than ordinary people. The only catch is that the current summoning, if I recall correctly, is "defective." I still remember those moments from the light novel where poor, unfortunate Naofumi almost single-handedly repelled the Waves, while the other three were useless to an almost complete degree. That's why I felt even more disappointed when I heard the next words from these pseudo-heroes.
— Your problem is clear. – but who gave you the right to summon us to dirty our hands for free?
— What an incredibly convenient story.
— …Indeed, it can only be called selfishness. If this world is destined to soon become ruins, then so be it. – it doesn't concern us in the slightest.
Yes, they were right, but… They were just trying to inflate their value. And an unreasonably high value at that, in no way corresponding to their actual strength. They hadn't even understood anything yet, but were already trying to bite off as big a piece as possible. And that… was irritating.
But the king, of course, simply couldn't offend what the inhabitants of Melromarc considered almost gods in human form – the three heroes, even having founded a corresponding church: the Church of the Three Heroes. Which meant Aultcray, of course, promised mountains of gold to the saviors of their world.
— Now, Heroes, state your names!
Once the gold promises were done, it was time for introductions. Everything was as I remembered.
The Sword Hero – Ren Amaki. The Spear Hero – Motoyasu Kitamura. The Bow Hero – Itsuki Kawasumi. The Shield Hero – Naofumi Iwatani.
But when it was my turn…
— Hmm… will you not state your name, esteemed Hero? And, please, satisfy our curiosity. – The prophecy spoke of only four heroes, so your appearance is somewhat… puzzling to us. – The king stared intently at me. – So, noble Hero… what is your name, and what Legendary Weapon do you wield?
And I… pondered. And there was plenty to ponder.
[???
Specialty: Demonic Hero (Reaper) Level 1
Equipment: Demonic Scythe (Legendary Demonic Weapon), Parallel World Clothing
Skills: Life Absorption
Magic: none]
And… I had no name.
My former name never pleased me, which the system, it seems, understood. I'm not even talking about the fact that my weapon isn't holy at all, and I, as it turns out, am not a Hero… Well, not entirely a Hero.
— Nott. My name is Nott. And I am… – I glanced at the scythe in my right hand. – …the Scythe Hero.
And why not? I didn't even lie, just omitted a few details. And yes, it was very original. "Nott," unlike the "nothing," already sounded quite like a name, albeit a strange one.
— Nott? – The Spear Hero was surprised. – What a strange name. You are not from Japan? Or are you just hiding your name?
— Yeah, it does sound suspicious. – The Bow Hero joined in.
— I'm indeed not from Japan. – i decided to clarify a bit. – As for the second question… Does it even matter? – but not as much as my companions in misfortune would have liked.
— Well then… – The king clapped his hands, interrupting the argument that had barely begun. – You must all be tired, so I have already arranged for servants to escort you to your rooms. – I advise you to rest well, and tomorrow we will proceed with forming your teams.
And so it was decided. I already knew this, but the king also informed us that we wouldn't be able to level up together. Legendary Weapons simply block each other, preventing their owners from gaining experience in close proximity to one another. A strange quirk, and whether it would even work on me was an interesting question, but all of this truly would be better to think about in the morning, with a clear head.
That's how this incredibly strange day, full of unbelievable events, ended. And my story was only just beginning to unfold at that moment.