Overlord: The Demon Valkyrie Raid Boss

Chapter 1 - Solitude of The Strongest Player

Astaroth Heavensfall was known as Yggdrasil's greatest villain. Countless articles had been written about him and what he had done. His actions had been highlighted in the wiki for the game. And everyone hated him for it.

And Asta couldn't blame them.

He had obtained power as a by-product of what he had done and that was all people saw. And no matter how many times he had tried to explain that power hadn't been his intention, he had always been met by deaf ears.

Asta sat at his favourite spot in all of Yggdrasil. Atop one of the highest mountains he could see the entre land, and all the spectacle the devs had taken the time to create. The night sky was alit by several moons, a grand valley spanning out below with waterfalls flowing down its walls. The water and the moonlight made the valley glisten and sparkle. And the lack of enemies and NPCs in the area cast a serene silence.

Asta had found himself coming up here a lot to think since that had happened. But right now, he was only reminded about that, souring his mood.

Why had he bothered logging in?

When he had heard that the servers had been shutting down, he'd had mixed feelings. He had thought back to the times he had raided with his friends. They had made their own guild and though it hadn't been a big nor a strong one, they'd had a lot of fun.

At least until that happened...

Asta sighed.

Now that the game was shutting down, the reason he and his friends had drifted apart was no more. But he knew repairing his relationship with them would not be a simple one. Just because the game was about to shut down didn't mean the past was forgotten.

Asta stood and opened his friends list.

All of them were offline, not that he had expected any of them to come. He hadn't sent any mails and none of them spoke to him in real life anymore. None of them had even logged on in the last year.

Asta clutched his chest as if trying to feel for something.

"Greater Teleportation," he mumbled, his magic taking him instantly back to the guild.

Only ten minutes remained until the servers were shut down. If anyone was to log on, they'd come here...

"I sound like I'm trying to convince myself," he sighed again. But even so he looked around to make sure everything looked in place. He'd kept things together as best he could when everyone had left.

He had tried defending the guild against raiders, but he couldn't be on twenty-four seven and eventually the guild had been wiped clean of money. He could no longer afford to resurrect their NPC guardians, but at the very least it meant there was no point in being raided anymore.

He'd apologise to them...if they logged on...

The main guild room was most of it. They'd barely been able to afford living quarters and a hall. Every other piece of gold had gone to purchasing defences against other players which amounted to only a single room next to the hall. The table, the pictures and decorations, were all shoddy, the cheapest items that could be crafted, but Asta could still remember the fun they'd all had crafting and putting them together.

He pulled out a chair but felt too anxious to even sit.

Now that he thought about it, what should he dress like if someone logged on? His main class was human warrior, but he had really improved his magic since the others had left. Maybe they'd be surprised if they saw him wearing magic armour. He was only wearing normal clothing at the moment. He...