Hello everyone, Elusith here.

I had this idea swimming about in my head about a much more logical and levelheaded Motoyasu in the Light Novel of Rising of the shield Hero. After much deliberation (and lotsa procrastination) I decided to get my lazy ass up and running to start with this fanfiction.

Warning to readers: I won't be bashing on the other heroes in this fiction, and there won't be op heroes like Naofumi's shield god mode at the later arcs of the Light Novel. Most of all, expect this story to be different from the original. This is your only warning XD.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of products in this story save the OCs.

Also, if you have any feedback or reviews, please do share them. They will make me write more quickly and produce improvements in the story.

"Where am I?" I yelled to the darkness. The world before me was blanketed in darkness, and I could see no further than the tip of my fingers. It was… desolate, empty…

"Where am I?" I yelled again. This cannot be happening. How did I end up here in the first place? How did I…

"Dead."

I could not see the source of the voice, but as though it was the key to my memories, the singular word unlocked a torrent of scenes. Images that I immediately wish I did not ask to see.

I could still feel the feeling of water rushing into my lungs. The experience of the crushing pressure around me, the strength fading from my limbs still ingrained firmly into my mind.

And above all, the brief but insanely painful sensation when I watched the electricity generator slam into the liquid body.

I was most definitely dead.

If so, then where is this place? I racked my brains for the answer. From religions like Christianity to Buddhism to Taoism and ancient mythology of the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Norse, there is nothing in my memory that matches a cold dark void of nothing in the afterlife.

I licked my suddenly dry lips, surprised that I was still able to do such a thing, and asked the question that was on my mind.

"What happens now?"

"Yes or no?"

"What?"

"Yes or no?"

I was incredibly baffled at the question. For one, there was no context. Furthermore, the fact that there was a chance that it was a possible cosmic entity offering me a question was definitely something worth considering.

"… Yes?" I offered cautiously. My curiosity was definitely increased when I suddenly saw another human being appear before me. He was a tall male and clad in some form of medieval armor. His head was bare and he wore his long hair in the form of a ponytail. However, what caught my attention were his eyes.

His face, while definitely good looking, had the emptiest eyes I had ever seen. Completely devoid of any emotion or life, those hollow orbs sent waves of chilling frost down my spine. This feeling was multiplied tenfold when a while tentacle suddenly materialized and wrapped itself around his head.

I watched closely, mostly because I could do nothing else but wait, as the appendage pulled a glowing orb out of said human's head. No sooner had the orb left the person than it shattered, the clear sound of glass breaking ringing out through the void.

The appendage then slithered towards me. I would have screamed, but fear had overtaken me. I would have ran, but my limbs were frozen in place. As such, I could only gaze on as the tentacle reached into my skull.

The sensation was not quite what I expected. Rather than feeling as though I was drained, I felt at peace, almost uplifting. It almost felt as though as I were ascending into a higher plane.

"Kitamura Motoyasu."

"Huh?" I replied, though rather weakly.

"Your new name, for forever."

I did not get the chance to register those words. For right after they were spoken, an orb of pulsing light filled my vision, and then, darkness was all I know.

"Motoyasu! Wake up already!"

Or so I thought. I bit back a curse as bright light filled my eyes and squinted upwards as I try to adjust my sight to the blinding light. However, before I could properly get my vision back, a slender hand suddenly caught me and shook me violently.

"Finally, Motoyasu! I need to hurry up and get dressed! Father's questioning the bastard shield right now!"

"Bastard shield?" I muttered confusedly. My vision was still blurry, but my mind was clear. However, I have only heard of the bastard sword, not a bastard shield… And why would anyone want to question a piece of object anyway?

"Hurry up already! We need your help now!"

"Who are you?"

That question was probably the wrong thing to ask, as the entire room fell silent almost immediately. The silence was deafening and I was deadly sure that this was merely the calm before the storm.

"Excuse me?" The voice, one that I clearly know to be female, asked. I could literally feel the disgust dripping down from it, and somehow I knew that I screwed up. Badly.

"You actually dared to forget my name?"

It appears that I have to be truthful to have any chance of getting out of this one. "Yes," I said, "so who are you?" My eyesight is getting clearer by the second. However, I was not too keen on getting it back, considering the situation that I was in.

"Lady Malty … may I?"

"What, you lowlife?" I am really beginning to dislike this girl already, whoever she was; her condescending attitude was really getting to me.

"I think he may have lost his memories."

"What?" Huh, she was slow on the upkeep too. "Prove it." Not to mention very cynical.

"Sir Motoyasu … do you remember any of us?"

"No."

Somehow, I had a feeling that that was the right answer.

Sometime later~

I really dislike that Malty girl. Princess of a kingdom or not, she radiates an atmosphere of a manipulative bitch. Like one from those crappy stereotypical secret agent movies. Really, her every movement screams out 'SCHEMER'.

The fact that I was apparently indebted to her does not help much. From what I could gather from her obviously exaggerated tale and Elena's, another who claimed to be in my party, account, I was supposed to be the Spear Hero, a national hero who was backed by the king. This was an incredibly frustrating situation, to say the least.

I tapped the spear in my hand as I pondered my situation. After I had been 'reborn', I obviously was stuck in this world for a supposed indefinite amount of time as this 'Kitamura Motoyasu'. I was one of four heroes and my duty was to protect this kingdom from threats. Furthermore, it appears that I have an ongoing rivalry with the Shield Hero, one of my counterparts and I was supposed to face him in a duel to the death sometime soon.

The last part was claimed by Malty; as a result, I decided to take it with a grain of salt. Furthermore, I was sure that in a matchup against him, I would be almost certain to lose to him. The combat experience between us was… far too much.

Gazing around the hospital ward, I tried to remember Malty's reasons about my admittance. If I recalled correctly, she had said that during one of those waves, a period of time when a huge load of monsters began to invade, I had my powers stolen by the Shield Hero who proceeded to use it to defeat the invasion by himself.

It was quite worrying, for were it be true, that means I have a powerful enemy around me. However, if it were to be false, that would mean that the princess of this country would try to use me as a pawn for whatever reason she hates the Shield Hero for.

I should probably try to make peace with this Naofumi Iwatani. Nevertheless, I still possess too little information about the situation. I need more, and from a reliable source. Preferably someone not acquainted with that conniving woman. I would want as little to do with her as possible.

I was shaken away from my thoughts by the sound of a gentle rapping on the door. Smoothing out my shirt out of habit, I stood and opened the wooden frame.

"Elena, what are you doing here?"

The brown haired female was supposedly one of my party members. Most of the time I saw her, she was so full of praises for the spoiled princess. However, this time, her eyes were laced with undisguised disgust, a symptom I found most disturbing and fascinating.

"Sir Motoyasu, Lady Malty and Alrind has moved on to the palace to pass on news about your condition to the King."

"And?" The information was clearly not something that would warrant the look in her eyes. Surely there must be more.

"And they are thinking about telling him that Malty and you are engaged."

Well… Crap.

Any reviews or feedbacks for improvement? Share them please!

Hope you enjoyed the story.

Regards,

Elusith.