The Replacement of the Sword Hero

Chapter Thirteen: The Wave

Naofumi was nowhere to be seen. Multiple scenarios ran through my head. Was Naofumi dead? In the spin off series he had been assassinated by agents of the kingdom several times, but I couldn't think of anything I had done that might have caused that to happen... Wait. I never told him to stay in Melromarc. If the Shield Hero were to try to leave the kingdom with emissaries from Siltvelt, he would surely be assassinated... Or, alternatively, he could still be alive, but because he had left the country, he would no longer be in the catchment for the wave, so he wouldn't have been brought here. Schrodinger's Hero... Is he alive or is he dead? But if what Ren said was true and I am the reason for the sudden arrival of the wave, then surely Naofumi must still be alive otherwise it would have come even earlier... Right? Things had already deviated too much from the light novels, but at least the wave still appeared to be taking place in Riyute.

My first impression of the wave was that the light novels didn't do enough to convey the terror. It was one thing to read about a crack in the sky and another thing entirely to stand underneath a blood red sky, gazing up at the sheer scale of the fractures spreading across it. And out of those fractures poured monsters that we were supposed to fight.
"Oh Mr. Motoyasu." Cried Bitch, running up to him and clinging on to his arm. It was such a shame that she had to follow him across the border. None of his other party members had been within the catchment for the wave, so they had not been teleported with him. I quickly double checked my party members. Eclair was catching her breath and stretching. Fohl was staring up at the wave with a look of awe and Atla was patting the top of his head.

"Stay back Myne, I'll take care of this." Declared Motoyasu, brandishing his spear.
"Everyone, follow me!" Shouted Itsuki, kicking off and running towards the cracks. His party members immediately chased after him.
"Eclair, do you remember what I told you?"
"Yes, defend the village." She replied.
"Good, Fohl and Atla, you two go with her and protect the people. It should be safer for Atla there as well." I instructed.
Fohl and Eclair nodded and left. I brought out the Lich King Sword.

Lich King Sword C: ability unlocked:
equip bonus: skill: "Summon Undead"
equip effect: reaper, undead control
mastery level: 10
status enchantment: summoned monster level + 25

After reaffirming the abilities, I followed the other heroes into battle. The monsters pouring out of the cracks looked like a mixture of locusts and hornets, with a horde of zombies roaming around on the ground for good measure.
"We'll take on the boss monster, you guys deal with the trash mobs!" Shouted Itsuki, giving directions to his party members. The one dressed in fancy armour fired some kind of ball of silver light into the air, it looked like a magical flare, illuminating the surrounding area as well as signalling the heroes' location. The insects buzzing around in the sky swarmed to the light source and the zombies began to approach us. It was a good thing, too, because some of the locals had been caught by surprise when the wave struck and were barely fending off the hordes.

Using undead control, an effect I can only use when the Lich King Sword is equipped, I turned the most threatening zombies away from the villagers and had them attack their own comrades, turning the front line of the zombie horde into a melee. Then I sent out an air strike slash to wipe out a cloud of locusts which were still harrying the defending villagers. They cheered as the monsters fell out of the sky. Then Eclair, who had rallied some of the local adventurers, rushed out to escort the stragglers back behind a defensive line. I glanced in their direction and saw an overturned wagon used as a barricade between two houses. Fohl stood on top of it, disintegrating hornets and locusts with a flurry of kicks and punches. The slower moving zombies and other monsters hadn't yet reached them as they were held back by the zombies under my control. There was a limit to how many I could influence at once, though. My SP was draining rapidly, but seeing as the villagers were safe now, I decided to release the effect. The stagnant horde surged forward.