It's time to Cross Off something...another chapter it seems!
How are you all doing? I hope you are doing good. I am, so I hope you are too. Thank you all for following and favoriting this story. Let's get to them reviews.
Guest 1: Let's see if Myne even gets the chance to cheat.
killuaap: Is this a choking Sasuke meme? If so, well played. Well played.
Pinkdog16: Oh ho ho, perhaps. That is definitely a possibility now that he doesn't necessarily need to use his legs now. Sweet! I see. I want to be surprised, but I'm not. Yasu is an idiot.
OechsnerC: Wait no longer! Let's see.
Guest 2: It definitely has benefits. As long as the fictional bad guy is competent then it is. It gives them the chance to make a smart ass come back.
Guest 3: Well I didn't intend Raphtalia to be emotional support constantly like in the original. Yuudai only took her in for the reason of saving a sickly little girl. It just so happens he wants her to survive and travel with him.
Chapter 11: Declaration To The Palace
"Listen up everyone!" The king says in a booming voice. "As a force of good fortune, the Spear Hero has challenged the criminal Shield Hero! These two will fight it out and only one will win by being pinned or the opponent admits defeat." The king smirks. "I believe it's obvious who will win."
Yuudai smiles at the king mockingly. "I didn't know you had faith in me. It warms my heart that you believe doesn't exist." Yuudai states sarcastically. The king's smirk fades quickly turning into a frown.
"Begin!" The king orders as everyone in the palace starts watch the fight.
Yuudai changes his shield into the Sword Shield surprising Motoyasu. "I'll let you attack first, Yasu. After all, it's only fair." Yuudai says unable to stop smiling.
Motoyasu grits his teeth glaring at him. "Don't you dare mock me!" He roars running at him. Motoyasu jabs his spear at Yuudai. "Chaos Stab!"
His spear splits into many different ones closing in on the Shield Hero. The teen doesn't bother to use his ring's power though. This doesn't require such. Yuudai maneuvers around the spears cutting across his chest with his blade.
Yuudai jumps back a way landing on his feet as his chest starts to bleed. The pain registers in Motoyasu causing his eyes to widen. The crowd cries out in rage, but Yuudai just ignores them. The point is to teach him a lesson. Not to entertain a childish kingdom.
"What was that? I told you to attack me, not bore me." Yuudai taunts yawning.
Motoyasu grits his teeth again. "You even mock me by not doing your best…"
"If I did my best, you'd already be dead." Yuudai retorts boredly. He pulls out of his pocket a shiny stone rock. "Would you look at this. Real entertainment."
Yasu growls looking at the object. "You think a stupid stone is more entertaining?!" He exclaims.
Yuudai tosses it up and down a few times. "Try to actually get me involved now."
Yuudai walks towards him slowly. Yasu jabs his spear again, but Yuudai smacks it away with his shield. Leaving him wide open, the Shield Hero elbows him in the nose. Yasu reals back in pain feeling his nose start bleeding. It's a fact that his nose is broken.
"I overestimated you...how did I do that?" Yuudai asks himself curiously. The Shield hero tosses the rock over his shoulder dismissively.
Yasu raises his spear allowing electricity to flow all the way to the tip of the blade. "Electricity Spear!" He yells the name bringing down his spear.
Yuudai shoots forward doing something nobody ever thought he would do. Yasu's eyes widen in pain coughing up blood. He looks down to find Yuudai's sword deep in his chest. The entire crowd is caught in a silence. Unable to say anything.
Yuudai pulls out his blade standing back. Yasu drops his spear falling to his knees. He looks up to the Shield Hero only to see his foot kicking him onto his back. The standing hero walks over to him standing over Yasu.
"That was for trying to ruin my life multiple times." Yuudai states plainly. He grits his teeth looking around to all the surrounding people. "This is the dumbass hero you are putting your trust in!?" Yuudai questions yelling. "Someone that assumes the worst in people without asking the accused?"
"Silence, criminal!" The king orders angrily.
Yuudai sets a glare on the king. "How about you shut the hell up?" He retorts flipping him off. "I'm the one doing the dirty work a hero isn't seen doing to save you all! Not to fancy up your unrealistic fantasies!"
"Calm yourself, Shield Hero." Ren tells him walking onto the field.
"Don't make yourself an enemy, Ren. You're the only one that I can even stand." Yuudai says to him. Ren doesn't show it, but is surprised he remembers his name. Seeing as making an enemy of himself isn't smart, he steps back into the crowd. "You wanted four heroes, but you only got three normal people with fancy titles and one that actually knows his way around the battlefield!"
His instincts tell him to move, so he moves to the side avoiding a fist made of wind. It crashes into the wall creating spider web cracks on it. Yuudai looks to its source already knowing who it was. It came from Myne.
"So someone wants in on this duel?" Yuudai asks rhetorically.
"Touch her and I'll make you enemy of the kingdom!" The king yells angrily.
"Talk to me like that again and I'll inflict her pain on you instead." Yuudai tells him without turning around. "For your information, that isn't a threat. It's a promise."
The king shuts his mouth not willing to risk his life. Not even for his own daughter. The Shield Hero starts his walk for Myne striking fear in her almost instantly. She runs through the crowd into the celebration room stopping to look behind her.
Her breathing stops as Yuudai grabs her by the throat. Yuudai glares at her finding fear screaming in her eyes. Her dark soul is shivering from even being the target of his anger.
"Did you think I would let you get away with this for so long?" Yuudai asks knowing everyone is still watching him. "My distaste for you has peaked. Now here is your reward for getting so far."
Yuudai lets go of her throat punching her in the gut. She bends over holding her gut in pain. He then uppercuts her connecting his fist and her nose. Myne is airborne for a second only to be sent flying backwards by another punch from Yuudai.
She crashes into a wall indenting herself into the wall. Her body gets stuck in the wall unable to fall. The royal girl is a stranger to pain so it's no surprise she is now unconscious. Yuudai walks back onto the field watching Yasu stand up shakily.
"You think you're being brave by getting back up?" Yuudai asks standing face to face with him. "If I was the criminal you believe me to be then tell me one thing. Why do you think I didn't use my Shadow Shield to murder you already?" Yasu thinks back to his dark shield remembering its godly powers. "Stay down now. I can only enjoy hurting another human so much before being disgusted by myself."
"Get out of my damn castle before I send every guard in this kingdom after you." The king orders angrily.
Yuudai pushes Yasu on his back again walking away. "Don't you dare bleed out yet. I don't need anymore stress on my mind." He tells the Spear Hero.
"However, the slave girl shall stay here." The king states smirking. That was Yuudai's snapping point.
Yuudai runs over and jumps to the balcony. The king tries to move backwards, but the hero is too fast for him. He grabs the king by his beard throwing him onto the garden field. The king gets up looking around angrily.
Yuudai jumps back to the ground glaring at the king. "Call over your magicians and guards to watch them die or stay quiet while I show you what happens to a king that gets too close to a familiar's breaking point."
"Guards!" The king yells.
Many curses and magic spells fly at him, but they all miss. As a matter of fact, as the dust clears, his blade on the shield is bloody and his hair is streaked blue. The king's eyes widen looking around to his magicians. They are all...armless. They all are missing the entire arms.
"They can't attack me if they can't use their magic." Yuudai states. He stares at the speechless crowd. "Your king has forced me to resort to methods that force others to suffer rather than die. It is because he has threatened my friend."
Raphtalia, meanwhile, is staring at all the events in horror. She knew he'd protect her with his life, but everything he has done has been horrifying. To think he'd go this far to protect her from everyone. She doesn't move though. Her legs won't let her.
"Now having an entire kingdom coming for my throat will be annoying so here is a deal." Yuudai says walking closer to the king. "Keep your people away from me and I won't cut your limbs off one by one."
The king grits his teeth, but he knows the hero is serious. He stabbed the Spear Hero for crying out loud! The teen even assaulted his daughter whom is still unconscious.
"Fine. I won't promise that there will be those that wish to kill you for your treason, however." The king replies.
"I'm fine with that." Yuudai states changing his shield back to normal. He pulls his fist back and punch the king's nose eliciting a cracking noise. The king falls on his back now bleeding from his nose. "Let that be a forever reminder. To never again mess with the Shield Hero and anyone in my company."
With that, he starts to walk out of the palace. Raphtalia runs after him quickly. She's not afraid of everyone there, but it isn't comfortable there. Or anywhere at the moment. She feels like Yuudai finally made his opinion of the king and his allies very clear.
Raphtalia catches up to Yuudai in the streets with his power off. He turns to her looking serious. "Raphtalia...I want your opinion on something."
Seeing him this serious, she pushes aside his recent massacre from her mind. "W-what is it, Yuudai?"
"Do you want me to have your slave seal removed?" Yuudai asks shocking his friend. "All it has done is cause trouble and I know that you don't exactly enjoy when I lash out at them for it."
She keeps staring at him speechless. After everything that just went down, this is his question? The girl steels herself for her answer.
"If...if it's fine with you. However, let's wait until tomorrow for our money we are due for." She replies hoping to let him rest. It's a big decision after all.
Yuudai's straight face quickly turns into a smirk "You see, my friend, before I started to eat, I decided to use the restroom."
Raphtalia tilts her head wondering what that has to do with money. "I remember that, but what does that have to do with anything?" Her mind then realizes what he really was off doing. "You didn't…"
He unzips his bag showing her four large sacks of silver. "I figured something would happen and decided to take everyone's silver. This is actually over eleven thousand silver in all." He tells her.
Her jaw is slack in shock. He stole all that money! All without being noticed! His skills scare and relieve her so much at times.
"Let's rest, quickly visit the armory, get your seal removed then leave this place." Yuudai lists off looking around. "Pretty sure if I stay around here everyone will be out for my head."
"But they can't hurt you." Raphtalia says quietly still trying to comprehend everything.
"It doesn't mean they can't give me headaches." Yuudai says sighing. "Besides, I don't like the idea of harming innocent people. No more than I already have."
Raphtalia nods understandingly. It seems he doesn't enjoy hurting people all the time. It's only for the necessity of survival.
The two continue to walk away. "So where are we staying?" Raphtalia asks causing him to stop dead in his tracks.
"That...is a good question." Yuudai replies trying to quickly think of somewhere. "Let's stay at an inn, I guess. I have the money for it."
"I'd hope you do." Raphtalia says thinking of all he has stolen.
"Let's get to stepping then. We have a big day tomorrow." Yuudai states walking again.
End
That's done! The first volume has been finished. And no, I don't plan on doing the side stories of the first volume.
I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to finish it here. I want to leave the rest for another chapter. Hope it's a good choice.
What did you think of the fight with Motoyasu? I think I went easy on him, but stabbing him gave him the message intended for him. Same with Myne. Though she has more than likely hasn't learned her lesson. Oh well, more fun for us.
Heads up, I am putting chapters for this story up on another site too. Not going to stop uploading here, but I'm going to see if others that don't visit this site like it as well. Anyway, without much else to say, thanks for reading, favoriting, following, reviewing and have a great day/night/morning!
