I WAS The Rank–1 Hero

When our eyes met, Albert gazed at me with bloodshot eyes.

He raised his sword in the air, about to strike at me again, but I didn't move an inch.

"B-Brother, stop!" Anna clung to his hands. He froze, allowing his sword to halt.

"Brother, what are you thinking?!" She raised her voice.

Then her eyes turn to me.

"Z-Zane, you're bleeding." When Anna saw the amount of blood and flesh oozing from my half-open shoulder, her face twisted in terror.

Somehow, I feel like nothing ever happened to me. There was no pain or itching. It was… normal.

"I'm fine," I said, staring at her, giving her a polite smile.

But this smile of mine made the matter even worse.

"Wh-What are you?" Her eyes darted to my shoulder, her eyes widened, and her hands trembled as if she saw something unreal.

Why is she looking at me like this?

I didn't understand.

And her brother was the same, he hurriedly pulled Anna behind him, shielding her, and he pointed his sword at my throat.

"What the hell are you?"

Through his gaze falling over my shoulder, I looked at my wound.

Or… where my wound was supposed to be.

New flesh began to quiver out from my half-open shoulder, the once jagged veins rejoined to their complete form, the shattered bones reconstructed, and the skin regenerated to form a new layer.

Immortality.

"Ah, I completely forgot I have it." My voice was a chilling whisper, void of any warmth.

At this point, I can't hide my regeneration from them, but for some reason, it made me laugh.

"Ptftt… haahaa," I straightened my body completely.

"Don't come near." Albert pushed his sword at my throat, pinning me to the wall behind me.

Anna peeked from behind, her eyes darting from my face to my healed shoulder.

"B-Brother…" She tried to stop her brother, but a single glare from Albert silenced her.

Glaring at me with those puffy red eyes, Albert asked one last time.

"I'll ask you again… what the hell are you?"

"A human." I simply answered. "But, before that…"

Avoiding the unnecessary questions, I asked my own, "I want to know what happened to Elise that day."

His eyes widened after hearing the name. Gritting his teeth, a numbness formed on his restless expression.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Didn't I tell you?" I answered, still staring. "She is my sister. Could you please share everything you know about what happened that day?

The rage burned inside me.

Albert bit his lips and spoke.

"What's the point? What can you do now?"

"The thing you're hesitant about doing." I awkwardly grinned.

Of course, saying this would sound like I'm overconfident, with my literal Elemental being only ice.

I wasn't as powerful as my original self, but still, this body is blessed by the God of Death. And I'm confident that this body's level was at least equal to a double-digit ranker.

Seeing me unfazed, Albert lowered his blade.

"Do you think her death doesn't affect me?" He asked.

"I tried to avenge her after knowing the truth. But…" He regretfully closed his eyes. "...I-I told them, I even showed them proofs, but he backed them up."

Who is 'he'?

I listened to him as he slowly opened up, and the rage in his eyes was clear.

It was the same as mine.

But through his words, I deduced that Elise's death wasn't accidental. Something happened to her that day.

"Tell me everything you know."

A look of concern crossed his face as he gestured for me to his room.

"I've got all the evidence in my room, take a look yourself."

Stepping away, I followed him inside. Anna came last, and when she saw the condition of her brother's room, she gasped.

Various sheets of paper crunched on the floor, half-eaten dishes, and clothes were scattered all over.

Albert guided me toward one of the many rooms, directing me to the wall of that room.

An entire wall with photos of places, maps, and photos of people I have never seen before was pinned on it, connecting them with threads of yellow and red.

"What is that?" I asked, looking at the wall.

"The evidence." He answered.

Turning to me, he lowered his gaze to my left chest, where my Nova rank was written.

Surely it was different from my original timeline's rank.

"Rank 401," he shifted to my face, "your power surely doesn't reflect your strength..."

"Just this time, I'll turn a blind eye to that absurd regeneration or whatever you have shown me, but in return, promise me something."

I nodded my head. "Alright."

He looked at Anna.

"Don't pull Anna into this."

I nodded. "I won't."

Agreeing, Albert continued his words, plucking out three photos from the wall.

"These were the suspects." He handed me the photos.

"Suspects?"

I scanned through the three photos in my hand. They were the students of Nova, second year by their uniform, but there was something common in all three photos.

They were nobles. A high-class one at that.

Two blond-haired girls and one silver-haired guy.

My grip clenched at the photos.

"You don't mean…"

Albert nodded, his fists clenched, as he responded in a shaky voice.

"Elise was killed."

***

Five days in the past.

Location: Thorn Forest, restricted zone, near the Demon Continent's border.

…

"Tsk, who made this bitch our leader?" A blond-haired girl whispered with annoyance, casting a disdainful glance at the black-haired girl who was leading them through the forest.

"Shh, Cristine, lower your voice," another blonde girl walking next to Cristine tried to calm her down.

"But Rina, don't you feel frustrated following that bitch's every damn order?" Cristine said, hissing at Rina.

A sigh escaped Rina's lips.

She understood her friend's frustration.

They followed every order that a commoner like her dared to give them.

Unacceptable. It's beneath them.

They saw Elise, the high and mighty prodigy of the second-year Nova. And just by a single glance at her, their skin crawled.

"She was ranked at the very top, it's natural she was this mission's leader."

"But—"

"No buts," Rina tried to calm her friend down, telling her that this was not the time nor the place for them to talk about this matter.

The era has changed. Now, commoners were given equal rights.

Elsie halted, then turned around to both of the blondies and asked in a commanding tone.

"Where is Rowan?"

"How should I know?" Rina said, with a scowl.

There were four members assigned to a mission by Nova to investigate the Thorn Forest.

Although it was a group mission, each individual received credit for their performance in the contribution.

And right now, one of their group members, Rowan Hawke, was missing.

Elise glared at both of them.

"Did I now make my words clear, that all have to be in their assigned position while I clear out the path for us?"

Elise's glare was intense, it even made Cristine and Rina flinch.

But, as high-class nobles who were above Elise, they didn't let their discomfort show on their faces.

How could they?

Rowan has clearly instructed both of them not to agree to any of Elise's commands.

As they were talking, Rowan was on a different route. He wanted to finish this mission all on his own and get as many credit points as possible.

He asked Rina and Cristine to play along with Elise's command.

A commoner leading three nobles?

This didn't sit right with Rowan.

"Why would he listen to a commoner?" Cristine had had enough, a disgusted expression loomed over her face.

"What?" Elise narrowed her gaze.

"You heard us."

"O-Oi, Cristine." Rina tried to stop her, but Cristine was stubborn.

"Don't stop me now, Rina," Cristine glared at Rina, "you also despise her."

"H-Hey—"

Seeing them arguing like this, Elise let out an exhausted sigh.

"Sigh, this is not the time nor the place for this stupid discussion. We have a mission to complete."

"Heh," Cristine chuckled, a grin crept on her face, "It's pointless."

What does she mean by pointless?

Elise didn't understand a single thing she was spouting.

"What do you mean?" Elise asked.

Cristine crossed her arms.

"C-Cristine, don't." Rina tried to stop her friend.

'Something is up…' Elise's thoughts wavered.

Then, it clicked.

"Ah, don't tell me he went in a different direction!"

Elise panicked.

She was in charge of guiding her team to complete the mission, she knew that Rowan was not strong enough to finish it all by himself.

Elisie looked around the dense forest.

The entire region was dark.

Sure, she knew her teammates hated her, but she never expected that they would go this far.

Turning to Cristina, Elise calmly said.

"Call him now."

But Cristina didn't like her attitude.

"Don't order me, bitch." Turning her body to Rina, Cristina held her wrist. "Rina, let's go, we'll join Rowan as planned."

Rinna didn't question, simply nodding her head, she followed Criatina to the forest.

"Hey!" Elise called out to them, but their figure vanished into the dark.

Elise frowned.

But as she took a step to follow them, an intense Essence Aura surged through the vicinity.

"Wh—What?!" Her footing slipped.

'What is this power?!'

Before she tried to stand up, a chilling, feminine voice came from Elise's front.

"My, a human?"

From the dark came a figure nearly 10 feet tall. The first thing that caught Elise's attention was that pair of black, pointy wings on her back.

She looked almost human, with black hair and crimson eyes. But the thing that stood out was her skin.

Dark grey scales with a shade of white covered her entire body, from her neck down to her feet, leaving only her spotless face clear.

"Mhm," she smiled, looking at the pitiful state of a human on the ground. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Nyth Valeshade. And I serve my only lord, Asmodeus."

Elise's world shattered.

Her teeth chattered. She recognized her—no, she recognized this species.

"A Dragonite." She muttered.

"What's a human doing in my domain?" Nyth asked calmly, "Do you not know Lord Asmodeus doesn't like any pest wandering off his turf?"

What is she talking about?

Turf?

Weren't they all on the Human continent?

Did they wander in too far?

And more importantly, who is this Asmodeus?

"Wh-Who is… Asmodeus?" She whispered, her voice barely audible.

"...hm?" Nyth's gaze intensified. "You don't know the demon king's name?"

There were too many words she was hearing for the first time.

'Demon king? What is that?' Her thoughts raced, 'a being who ruled all demons?!'

Those exist.

But right now, humans have no prior knowledge about these entities.

"What's this?" Nyth turned her head to her left. "There's more besides you?"

A grin crept on her lips.

"N-No." Elise whispered.

She has to do something. She can't let her team fight this thing.

No matter how much they hate her, as a leader, she has to fulfill her duty.

'I can't let them face her!'

Mustering her strength, she took out a round crystal from it.

This crystal was called <Rune Stone>.

An artifact that was assigned to her for use in an emergency. This artifact will send the SOS signal to both the Nova and the Hero Association.

And right now it's an emergency.

Without further ado, she activated it.

Zing—!

The crystal shot up two beams of light into the sky at full speed before the lights turned direction and headed straight for their destination.

'They will be here within 15 minutes, until then…'

Taking out her double-edged sword, she pinned it on the ground for support and stood up.

"..."

Her hands quivered while she pointed it towards the Dragonite.

"Oh my, what a brave child."

Her wings flapped open.

"But, I don't fight children… what to do…?"

"Hmmm…"

She thought, looking at Elise's trembling figure.

"Ah, we can do this…"

She walked close to Elise's figure.

She nearly whispered in her ear.

"I will let you live if you tell me everything you know about Authority Holders."

"E-Eh?"