Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'll start putting little notes here at the top from this chapter forward.

Expect updates roughly once a week or two. This weekend was a holiday so I had some extra time to brainstorm ideas and write, so it won't be that way forever.

"Hello" - Words

'Hello' - Thoughts

Hello - Emphasis

Hello - Abilities/Magic spells

Leave a review if you like, and I'll do my best to have each chapter done before the end of the weekend.

Naofumi shot awake to the sound of his door being kicked off its hinges. "Iwatani Naofumi, you've been summoned to the royal courtroom! Resist and you will be shown no mercy!"

Several heavily armed and armored men burst into his room, unsheathing their weapons and pointing them in his direction. Barely getting an opportunity to look around, he was grabbed by the arms and dragged out of the room.

One thing he did notice however, was that both his pack and jerkin were missing.

He was soon thrown into the same throne room from yesterday, complete with the King on his throne, a large audience of royalty, and for some reason, the other Heroes.

Unlike before where they stood beside him, the other three Heroes stood below the steps of the throne, looking down upon him.

"Shield Hero, you have been charged with sexual assault against a party member. What say you in your defense?" The King bellowed, his anger easily noticeable in his tone.

Naofumi was stupefied. 'Sexual assault? What the hell!? When would I even have time for that?' He tried to move slightly closer to the King in an attempt to placate, but spears were shoved in his path while more were held at his back.

"I would never do such a thing! Where's your proof?" He yelled, exasperated. One of the guards who held him at spear point reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of purple panties, very provocative ones at that.

"These were found on the edge of the Shield Hero's bed. We have received testimony that they belong to his only companion, Myne." The guard said. Only now did Naofumi take a closer look at the audience and notice Mein cowering behind Motoyasu, the blond man's face a mixture of righteous anger and concern for the woman behind him.

"Wh- What!?" Speechless, he tried his best to find an explanation that would free him of guilt. As it was, the odds were stacked against him and he didn't even know why.

The King spoke in a more calm voice this time. "Would you mind explaining to us what happened once more?"

Mein responded in a terrified voice, quivering here and there. "The Shield Hero came into my room at night and knocked me down. He drunkenly pinned me to the bed and said 'the night is still young', tearing at my clothes." She stopped a moment to wipe a tear from her eye and control her emotions.

"I'm lucky that Motoyasu was at the same tavern. He was walking outside of my room and must have heard the commotion. When he threw open the door and saved me I felt more relieved than I ever had in my life."

Naofumi was confused. "None of that happened! I went to bed right after eating! I even refused to drink with you!" He yelled in frustration. "She's lying!"

"Enough!" The King yelled, silencing him. "Motoyasu, is this true? Did the Shield Hero assault this woman?" His only response was a nod from the tall, blond man.

"What!? You know she's lying to you right Motoy-" "Shut up! I can't believe you would do this to her!" Naofumi was stunned as he was interrupted by the man in question.

The Spear Hero continued. "I knew you were a brute but I never thought you would stoop to such a low level! Do you honestly believe they would forgive you for this just because you're one of the Heroes?"

"You're wrong! I don't think I'm anything special just for being a Hero! I didn't even ask for this!" the dark haired man yelled back indignantly. What nobody realized was that the Shield's gem was a dark red color.

"And that's my armor you're wearing! Where did you steal that from!?" He yelled. Motoyasu confidently replied, "What are you talking about? This was a gift from Mein after I saved her in the tavern." He didn't seem to care whether his story was true or not.

"Shield Hero, you have broken the most sacred rule in our kingdom. Normally, violence against a woman of any kind is punishable by death. However, because you are one of the Heroes, I am forced to allow you to live." The King spoke. "That doesn't mean you are welcome here any longer. Word travels fast in this country, and surely everyone will know what you have done!"

'They all want me to die for something I didn't even do? What kind of twisted system is this!?' Naofumi thought to himself. 'It isn't fair! Why is this happening to me?'

His gaze lingered on the King before coming to rest once more on the red haired woman.

Suddenly, she stuck her tongue out at him and pulled her lower eyelid down in a mocking fashion.

'She set me up! That bitch!' Naofumi raged in his mind. He knew he couldn't say anything out loud about it or it would make the situation worse for him. Plus, nobody would believe him.

The gem on the Shield glowed brighter, enough for multiple people to notice the sudden change.

Naofumi's hair began to sway, as a gentle breeze flowed through the throne room. How it entered, nobody knew.

The King pointed his finger at the man and gave his verdict. "You are hereby banished! You are to be stripped of your possessions and cast out into the world! Whether you live or die is irrelevant; the Three Heroes will be more than enough to save this world without you!"

The breeze in the room escalated into a heavy wind, which everyone was able to feel. Naofumi stared at the ground in front of him, his eyes shadowed by his long hair but his anger evident in his posture.

The gem glowed brighter, and the wind increased into a deafening gale. Oddly enough, it surrounded the Shield Hero, like a shield of its own. The force of the wind was enough to push away the guards who stood near him, and prevented them from getting close.

All of a sudden, the gem flashed a bright white before the gales surrounding Naofumi flew outward, shattering the stained glass windows of the throne room and knocking the nearby guards to the ground. The gem receded back to its dark red status.

Naofumi raised his head, stood, and yelled. "Fine! I don't need your stupid kingdom or your help! I'll find a way to become stronger than any of you, and when I do, you'll be the ones with your heads on a chopping block!" The audience was appalled. This criminal dared to threaten not only royalty, but the King no less?

"Leave immediately, and never return! You filthy Shield Demon!" At the King's outcry, the gem in the shield shined with a dark light before a shallow cut appeared on the King's cheek. He fingered the wound, pulling his hand away to reveal blood.

Naofumi didn't give him a chance to retort, instead opting to walk out of the throne room himself without saying a single word.

Ren and Itsuki stood watching the spectacle with widened eyes. The younger blond boy decided to speak up. "Was...was that really Naofumi? He seemed so different. So...powerful." He shivered slightly at the force of the attack that Naofumi produced.

Ren replied with a furrowed brow: his usual thinking face. "Indeed it was. To think he would become a criminal is despicable. However, the power he displayed was much higher than I would have ever expected from him. He was completely clueless only a day ago, how could he learn wind magic within a day?" Itsuki lowered his vision in thought.

"Was that what that all was? Magic? And did you see his Shield? It looked...different somehow."

Ren interjected, "And he even cut the King's cheek with it. I didn't sense a thing, but it had to be him. No other explanation is possible."

The two young men stayed silent in their thoughts for a moment before Itsuki spoke up once more. "Well I guess we had better get back to business. I'm sure there's plenty of trouble around and people that need a real Hero."

Ren merely nodded, returning to his companions and left the throne room.

The King still sat with his hand against his cheek, blood covering a small portion of his fingers. His face a twisted snarl of rage, he said "That damnable Shield Demon will pay for what he did to me! He thinks he can get away with this, but I'm going to make sure he lives in Hell for the rest of eternity!" He quickly stood from his throne and stormed out of the room, several of his aides following him to nurse his wound.

Mein still clung to the Spear Hero, now completely calm and no longer the terrified mess of a woman she was moments earlier. She blushed as she looked at her 'savior'.

"Master Motoyasu? We should get going as well. Wouldn't want to miss out on all the fun tonight." She said provocatively, rubbing her hand down the man's arm. He smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, beginning to walk away.

'I don't know why you turned out like this Naofumi, but if it's the last thing I do I will see you killed. I'm the protagonist here, and it looks like I've found my final boss.' The blond man thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Naofumi was quickly walking his way back to Lute village. He knew nowhere else to go for now, so he figured this would be his base of operations for the moment.

As he walked the streets, people whispered behind their hands and others pointed and stared. Some of the more outspoken villagers yelled derogatory names at him and some children even threw rocks, trying to fit in and impress their friends or family members.

They were all pointedly ignored by the Shield Hero, however. 'They're all idiots who just want to feel special by hating me.' It's easy to find camaraderie through a mutual feeling, and in this case, the entire town was connected in their hatred for the young man.

Walking into a slightly less populated area, Naofumi was suddenly grabbed by the collar and shoved against the wall forcefully. Locking eyes with Elhart, the blacksmith from the other day, he could see the hatred plain as day.

"How dare you do something like that? I should have known you were a piece of shit when you couldn't hold a weapon and said nothing about it afterward. I should have known you would take that anger out on that pretty girl you had with you!" He roared in his face. Naofumi merely glared back at the larger man with contempt.

"You too huh?" The calm, condescending voice of the Hero diffused most of the rage within the old blacksmith. It wasn't the voice of a criminal who did something wrong. Something didn't make sense.

"All these people think I did something so terrible, but they're just going to hate me no matter what I do now. There's no reason for me to say I'm innocent if they're going to blame me anyway." His voice was even colder than before.

The look in his eyes made the blacksmith lower his raised fist, which was poised to strike. "What will you do now?" he asked the Hero.

"I'm not sure. Anything I can, I guess. First off, I'll need a weapon." He ignored the jolt in his arm as he said that. The gem in the center of the Shield had never returned to its original color of green, and still held as a dark red.

Elhart looked at him strangely. "You couldn't even pick one up yesterday, and you want me to sell you a weapon you can't use?" He saw the determination in the younger man's eyes and relented. "Fine. It's against my personal morals to sell a weapon to someone who will probably hurt themselves with it, but you wouldn't listen to me if I tried to convince you otherwise."

Naofumi nodded, and followed the bigger man into the back of his shop. It is an organized mess of metal, ashes, burnt floor spots, and a couple unfinished weapons scattered around the room. Nearby, he could see the forge which was used to create the weapons that were sold.

"Are you sure about this kid?" Elhart turned to him after leading him to a table with a single, plain blade on it. "You know what happened last time. That Shield of yours doesn't seem to like it when you hold a sword."

Naofumi ignored the older man and reached out to grab the sword's handle. Immediately, a jolt ran up his arm and he did his best to ignore it. He still gripped the hilt, but the nerves in his arm continued to send pain to his brain.

Raising the blade off the table only intensified the pain, causing him to give in and release the weapon. It clattered to the ground with a loud clang.

"Damn thing still won't let me do it." Naofumi said, breathing heavily and holding his right arm in pain. 'There's got to be some kind of way around the restriction. Think Naofumi, think! You're a college student aren't you!' he thought frantically.

Suddenly an idea presented itself to him in the form of a scarred blacksmith named Elhart.

"Let me see if I can attach the sword to you without you touching it yourself. Maybe then you could at least take it with you. After that, you can figure it out on your own somehow." Elhart offered, burying the weapon into its sheath and handing a belt to the younger man.

Seeing the Hero's confused look, he continued. "Put this on. I'll strap the sword to the belt and see if something happens." Nodding, Naofumi attached the belt over his current clothing.

'I'll want to buy something a bit less conspicuous for clothes. That bitch and Motoyasu stole my only piece of actual armor, so I'll need to look for more eventually. I also don't want to stick out too much if possible.' Naofumi nodded internally, deciding to go with the plan he just made.

Elhart took the strap on the sheath and looped it through the belt before tightening it around the man's waist. Surprisingly, there was no reaction from the Shield and no shocks given to Naofumi.

"Old man, you may be a genius." Naofumi praised him for his improvising skills. However, when touched the sword with his hand the shock returned. Shaking his hand to dull the pain, he spoke. "Damn, still giving me trouble. I appreciate it. How much for the sword? I'll throw in a bit extra for the trouble..." he looked down. "...and for trusting me." He muttered the last part, but it was still heard by the blacksmith.

Elhart clasped his hand on the younger man's shoulder in a fatherly manner. "Kid, I've lived long enough to see a lot of things. I don't know whether you actually did what they say you did, but that look in your eye tells me everything I need to know. Oh, and consider the sword a loan for now. I don't even know if you'll be able to use that thing so there's no reason for me to charge you for it."

Naofumi looked up in surprise. This was the first person who truly trusted him since the incident in the throne room. "Well, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. I appreciate it old man. I'll be sure to pay you back someday." He said as he walked toward the back door to the alleys.

As he neared the exit, the bald blacksmith spoke once more. "Be safe out there. No telling who's gonna try to fuck with you." Naofumi didn't turn back, but acknowledged his warning with a wave of his hand as he left the establishment.

'Only one place left to go at this time of the evening.' Naofumi decided to head to the inn to rest, think some more, and get a meal while he's at it.

Walking into the tavern of the inn, he was met with glares by everyone including the shady people in the corners. Ignoring the looks and the whispers once again, Naofumi sat down in a corner by himself. A waiter came by and placed a mug of beer next to him along with a menu.

Naofumi looked at the mug and downed it all in one go, ignoring the voice in his head screaming not to but he was so angry he couldn't even taste it. He knew he was unstable and pissed, but who wouldn't be in his situation? He was dragged to a completely different world against his will, betrayed by the only person he thought he could trust even a little bit, and practically banished from the only place he remotely understood. The only saving grace was the fact that the blacksmith was a much kinder man than he seemed to be.

Waving over the waiter again, he ordered the same meal he had last time. 'The same thing I had when she was with me.' he thought angrily, his mouth twisted into a grimace at the mere idea of that bitch.

Upon receiving his food, he dug in with gusto. The stress of the day made him very hungry, and the simple act of chewing food took his mind away from all that had happened. After all, it's hard to be angry while eating delicious food.

But the taste didn't come.

He tried the next bite, thinking maybe he just got a bad piece. Same result: the food had absolutely no taste. He slowly ate the remainder of his meal in complete silence, trying his hardest to remember what it tasted like last time, but failing to conjure up the slightest memory of that moment.

It just tasted like mush. Flavorless, hard mush that he needed to survive. Nothing more, nothing less. It didn't taste bad per se, but sometimes tasting something bad is better than tasting absolutely nothing. If he had to compare it to anything, he would compare it to the military ration from the old wars his grandfather let him try once. It was almost a hundred years old, and a souvenir, but it apparently stayed fresh for an insane amount of time. Although, when it tasted like nothing, it wasn't hard to keep it as close to the original product as possible.

After finishing his meal and downing another few beers, Naofumi was heavily buzzed. Not quite drunk, but definitely buzzed. His conscience continued screaming at him within his mind, telling him why he made a mistake by drinking alcohol, especially so much in such a short time.

He purchased a room, shut the door and sat down in the only chair provided. Unclipping the belt from his waist, he accidentally brushed the sheath of the blade and a shock traveled up his arm.

"Alright," he muttered to himself, "let's see how this goes." He hesitantly grasped the hilt of the blade again and the expected happened. He nearly dropped the weapon since his arm was sending signals to release it due to the pain.

Instead, he gripped the handle tighter, gritting his teeth as he did so. The pain increased tenfold as he attempted to take the weapon out of the sheath, causing him to drop it to the floor, halfway released from its leather prison.

Slowly, the rage within Naofumi resurfaced. 'Why!? Why won't you let me do this!? I don't care what your last owner did, I need to use this to defend myself! I'm nobody's slave and I'm nobody's scapegoat!' He quickly reached down and grabbed the sword again, the shocks paralyzing his arm from pulling it any further out of the sheath.

Gritting his teeth, he yelled out in anger as the shocks continued to assault him. He no longer cared whether he disturbed anyone else. His presence alone did that for him.

He did this on and off for multiple hours, and by now it was well past sundown. If he had to guess based on how long the sun had disappeared, he assumed it was around midnight. The full moon was bright and shined through his only window where the sword lay, still halfway out of its container.

Mustering his strength once again, Naofumi grasped the sword's sheath. By now his arm had gone almost completely numb from its exposure to shocks. He was now able to almost completely ignore the shocks as long as he didn't try to pull the sword out, but every time he tried he would find his body frozen as if it refused to agree to his demands.

"Argh, this is so stupid! This damn Shield isn't the boss of me! What kind of legendary weapon makes its user so useless!? More importantly, what kind of demon would I be if I'm completely harmless!? I'd be one stupid fucking laughing stock of a demon that's for sure!" He roared in anger.

"I won't be weak! I won't become some helpless joke! I'll become strong, even if I have to endure this pain for the rest of my life to do it!" He roared as he tightened his grip one last time and pulled with all of his might, ignoring the searing pain in his muscles and tearing the blade from its scabbard with an audible 'shink'. His arm burned as if it was thrown into the sun, but he held onto the weapon through sheer willpower.

Suddenly the Shield's gem, which had previously been glowing a dark red, flashed bright white again, illuminating the room. Naofumi was forced to block his eyesight using his left arm, which still held the sword's handle. It was so bright that he couldn't see a thing.

He opened his eyes to a place he doubted he could have ever imagined in his dreams.

The Shield Hero noticed that he was still holding the sword, but now the shocks were no longer coursing through his arm. It felt...normal.

Looking at his surroundings, Naofumi noticed that he appeared to be floating in space. He could breathe normally, but he could see planets all around him. Hundreds if not thousands of multi-colored spheres were suspended in the nothingness, but beyond them he could see all the stars and different galaxies. Although they had to be unbelievably far away from him, Naofumi felt like he could see each and every one as clear as if it were several feet in front of him. His breath was taken away by the beautiful sight.

Out of nowhere, a voice echoed. "So. You have finally woken me, have you?" It was a deep, booming voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was as if the voice belonged to the universe itself.

"Who are you? And where the hell am I anyway?" Naofumi questioned. His anger was put on hold as he tried to comprehend his surroundings. Needless to say, any explanation he could have given would have fallen far short of what he really was witnessing. He eventually concluded that he must have fried his brain trying to defy a legendary weapon and that he was actually hallucinating.

A deep chuckle surrounded him. "No, you aren't dead or insane. Not yet anyway." Naofumi glared at nothing in particular at the joke. "You are within the Legendary Shield itself. This is the space between worlds and existences." The voice said.

"This," Naofumi could imagine the voice waving its non-existent hand to showcase all of creation, "is what is known as Limbo."

"Here is the place where every path converges. And where they separate." The Hero lifted an eyebrow at the contradiction and responded. "So why am I in this place? Are you the Shield trying to tell me how terrible of a person I am for trying to hold a sword?"

The chuckle became full blown laughter, which aggravated Naofumi. "Hahaha! No, I am not here to taunt you as the humans do. In fact, you intrigue me young one. It has been thousands of years since I had a wielder be this stubborn. Most would just accept that weapons were beyond their ability and resign themselves to their fate as protectors."

"But you," the voice seemed closer now, "You kept trying to pull that pathetic sword from its sheath for almost an entire night. It was hilarious to watch you get angry at an inanimate object." Naofumi glared at where he thought the voice came from.

"What happened to not taunting me?" the Hero said, still angry at the idea of a Shield of all things making fun of him. People he could handle, but a supposedly inanimate object? He had to draw the line somewhere.

The laughter continued. "Haha, sorry. I honestly couldn't help myself. Ah, but I failed to introduce myself."

Naofumi felt a gentle breeze, which soon became a raging windstorm. The winds circled around a space in front of him until they became a towering tornado that encompassed his entire vision in front of him. As the twister grew to an almost unimaginable size, it wrapped around itself until it took the form of an almost human figure.

The winds around the figure calmed until they swirled slowly around its body. It was still massive, but its upper body appeared human. Very large and imposing, but still human if it weren't for the fact that it was made of wind...in space.

Instead of legs, the winds simply swirled around the lower part its torso, keeping it suspended in place. Its head contained two completely yellow eyes that were hidden behind the winds. Looking closer, Naofumi could barely make out what appeared to be a crown atop its head. Or it was the creature's equivalent of hair. He couldn't tell for sure.

"I am Zephyrus, God of the West Winds and lord of demons." The voice came from the figure with pride and authority befitting a king. In fact, compared to King Melromarc, this creature put him to shame.

Confused by the introduction but awestruck by the incredible being in front of him, Naofumi found his voice. "How can you be both a God and a demon? That doesn't make any sense at all." He may not have been the religious type, but even he knew that demons and Gods opposed each other.

The imposing God crossed his arms. "A common question, or it would be if you weren't the second human to ever know I existed." The statement raised even more questions in Naofumi's mind, his anger completely dissipated at this point.

"Being a God is less a state of being and more of a title. Even you, with the right amount of power and determination, could become one." Fascinated by this discovery, Naofumi stayed silent to learn more. "However, I was born a demon of the winds. I have existed as a demon as long as I can remember, and although I am considered a God I identify as a demon first and foremost. Being a demon lord is based on birth. I was created to lead the storm demons."

The Shield Hero nodded his head in understanding. "I guess that makes sense. What did you drag me here for? I'm getting a little tired of being transported to other worlds against my will." Zephyrus laughed again.

"I want to know what makes you tick, human. Why would you go so far as to critically injure yourself just to hold a simple weapon? Is it righteousness you want? Vengeance against those who have wronged you? Or is it deeper than that; do you want to simply watch as your opponents cower before you?" The demonic God leaned down until his head was right in front of Naofumi. The Hero, despite being mere feet away from the winds that made up the demon's face, felt nothing from them and couldn't see through them. The glowing, yellow eyes locked with his own and he shivered slightly from the pressure they exuded.

He could feel the demon's power somehow though. It was as if his entire body knew that this creature could annihilate him without even lifting a finger.

Naofumi eventually found his voice, but spoke a bit quieter out of fear. "I want to be able to fight for myself. I don't want to rely on anyone in this world because nobody is going to help me if all I'm good for is defending." He broke the eye contact and looked toward his feet.

"Ever since I got pulled into this mess, I've been forced to rely on others. I had to rely on the other Heroes to understand how this world works. I had to rely on the King to provide me with information. And finally I had to rely on..." he trailed off, unable to continue for a moment.

"...her." He finished, his scowl returning.

"All I want is to be able to contribute to saving this world. If I have to rely on other people to make that happen, I'll just get stabbed in the back again and again and I'm tired of it! The only person I can really trust is that old blacksmith and I'm not even certain of that anymore!" He yelled, his rage resurfacing once more.

"How can I expect to go home if I die here?" He finally asked the big question that had plagued his mind.

Zephyrus listened intently, arms still crossed before he leaned backward and stood up straight. "So you want to go home hmm? To a world where you're just as much of an outcast as you are here?"

That bombshell of a question made Naofumi look back up in surprise, his mouth open with a retort but he found that he was unable to create a solid response. 'He's right.' the Hero thought. 'All my life I wanted to disappear into the world of my games and I finally got that chance. Just because it isn't how I expected it to be doesn't mean I didn't get my wish.'

Downtrodden, he shook his head. "No. I thought I wanted to go home, but really I hadn't thought about it much. I just wanted to accomplish the goal that bastard of a king gave me. I didn't even bother asking why, I just felt obligated to do it."

"It is part of being a Hero, after all. You feel compelled to save the world because it is everyone's expectation of you. Now, however, this world expects you to fail. Is that what you want to do? Do you want to lie down and wait for the end of the world, or do you want to do something about it?" The demon pointed a breezy finger at him.

"Will you be remembered as a failure? Or will you rise up and become the Shield Demon these people believe you to be?"

The ultimatum was placed in front of him, but Naofumi barely needed to think on his answer. Of course he didn't want to sit down and stay weak. Everyone thought he was a criminal and a demon, but he was powerless. If he could become stronger, people would respect him when he protected them from the Waves. People only treated him like trash because they didn't think he could contribute anything good to their world.

'I'll show them.' he thought. 'I'll show each and every one of them what a Shield Demon looks like!'

Looking down at the blade in his hand, Naofumi steeled his resolve. "I'm going to become stronger, no matter what. Those royal assholes can't keep me down forever, and these people will both respect and fear me before this is over! I refuse to lie down and accept failure! Even if I have to use my fists, I'll become the strongest Hero to ever exist!"

Zephyrus chuckled, crossing his arms again. "Hahaha, well said! For a human, you have remarkable resolve. Even after all that you have experienced, you still wish to fight for a doomed world. I commend your bravery but fighting with your fists, as you've seen, isn't very effective."

"The last Shield Hero to have awoken me did not have the same convictions. He experienced similar trauma as yourself, being branded both a murderer and a child molester within days of his summoning. They claimed he had raped a young woman and killed her entire family. It was a setup, just like yours. A greedy noblewoman wanted to crush him and reduce him to an outcast."

'Noblewoman? Is he talking about Mein?' Naofumi thought. She did give off a sort of royal aura, but it was well concealed under the cheerful exterior. Still, the thought that the story played out almost exactly the same annoyed him.

"She succeeded." the demon continued. "He was driven to insanity, and after going on a mass killing spree, he committed suicide. This pattern continued for hundreds of years, with Shield Heroes being falsely accused and losing their minds. After many occurances, I decided it was necessary to ban the Shield Hero from having access to a weapon. This prevented them from causing mayhem to anyone but themselves."

'Well that explains why I couldn't hold any weapons. Seems like a good enough reason for me.' Naofumi had originally assumed it was just how the world worked, which always seemed to be working against him. Despite the terrible circumstances leading up to the rule's creation, he was relieved to know he was wrong.

"However," Zephyrus interrupted his thoughts, "I sense something different about you. The anger is there, but there I can see the fire burning within you. You want to be strong, not just to prove to everyone that you can save the world, but to prove to yourself that you can be worth something."

He had hit the nail right on the head. Naofumi smiled softly, realizing that the demon God seemed to know his feelings better than he himself did.

"I will make an exception for you. You may have no idea how to wield a sword, but you will learn. Even if nobody else does, know that I believe you can truly save this world, human." Zephyrus finished.

"Why do you want me to save this world anyway? Aren't demons known for causing destruction and death?" Naofumi asked, perplexed. In response, the demon shook his head dejectedly.

"Not all demons are evil, Naofumi." Zephyrus said softly, his booming voice reduced to a whisper in the wind. "Some just get caught up in other people's messes."

Sensing that he had hit on a sensitive topic, Naofumi changed the subject. "So you'll let me use weapons? You won't shock me anymore?" The storm demon laughed.

"Haha, no I will not shock you for picking up weapons any longer. You have earned my respect through your determination and your willpower. Regardless of how amusing it was to watch you struggle, it does grow tiresome after a few hours."

Relieved, Naofumi hoped that he would never have to feel what electric shocks felt like ever again. He let out an audible sigh. "Thank God. Or thank demon lords, I don't even know anymore."

Zephyrus chuckled. "I cannot teach you to use a sword along with the Shield. You will need to learn it yourself or find a teacher to help you. There are countless styles to use with a sword and shield, but being a swordsman without proper training can be dangerous." Naofumi nodded in understanding. 'Where would I find a teacher for swordsmanship?' he thought.

A certain bald, huge blacksmith came to mind. For once, the Shield Hero felt something he hadn't felt in an entire day.

Hope.

Smiling slightly at the demon God, Naofumi made a plan to visit the old man the next day to ask for another favor, and pay him for the sword he could now use.

"Hey, Zephyrus?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. You're nothing like I expected you to be."

"Don't mention it kid. Or do. Be my guest, but nobody will suddenly believe that the Legendary Shield has a demonic God sealed inside of it." Zephyrus mused, shrugging his shoulders.

The Shield Hero looked up at his tenant once more. "Sealed? Does that mean the other Legendary Weapons have demons inside of them too?" he asked out of curiosity.

His only response was what sounded like a grunt and a mumbled, "something like that."

"We will not speak again for a very long time, as it takes incredible amounts of my power to bring you physically into Limbo. I essentially recreated every single bit of your existence from your cells to your memories and feelings in this space, which as you can imagine isn't easy. I'll do what I can to assist you, but if I find you falling into darkness you can bet your scrawny ass I'll be coming to kick it." The demon said in a serious tone. Naofumi gulped and nodded, not wanting to invoke the wrath of a demonic God.

Especially if said demon God was attached to his right arm for the foreseeable future.

The God raised his hands above his head and the winds intensified once more. They circled around Naofumi in a small circle beneath his feet. "Now go! Prove to me that you are the true Shield Hero!" Zephyrus boomed, as the winds lifted the Shield Hero off of his feet and he felt like he was floating.

The wind sped up and rose until it surrounded him completely, where he could no longer see his surroundings. The wind was deafening, but he could still make out Zephyrus' voice as he was teleported back to his own plane of existence.

Do not disappoint me, boy. I'll be watching.