AN

Hello everyone, I'm back. If you've seen this account before and wonder where I've been, say so and I might post a separate thing for explaining that on my account. Sadly, 'Guardians of The Hunt' and 'The Rose Of Tamriel' won't be coming back, at least not without popular demand.

I'll explain why if I make that separate thingy.

Despite that though, I do have a story for you. It's this one, the one you're on. This chapter will be a... testing of the waters as they say. If ya'll like this, I'll keep posting it, and I promise to actually have a posting schedule if I do end up continuing.

This story was an idea sparked by my friend, Logan Midnight, who has a story of his own going on this website. It's 'The Nightstalker's Bow', you should check it out.

Without further ado, I present 'The Old Wolf's Sword'; a Destiny, Rising of The Shield Hero crossover.

Chapter 1

An Exotic Blade Dulled

"When those who claim to be all powerful lust for more, know that they are truly weak and afraid of the one domino you will need to push to send them tumbling to the certain end they were to face eventually with but a knock of the wind." - Salazar Stone

(? - ?)

The light cracking of bone, a soft yet morbid clacking of chitin. These were the first things Salazar heard when he woke up, his vision hazy and blinded by the deafening blackness around him. He could still feel his armor pressing down on his form comfortably.

His helm was crafted in the shape of a wolf's head, ears poking up and all, snarling at the unseen enemy hiding in the dark. The helm itself was made of a dark, black bone, webbed with cracks that glowed an eerie neon blue that pulsed ominously. The snarling maw of the helmet always remained open, otherworldly black and white flames roaring inside with a heat that made wearing the helmet questionable.

Salazar's chest piece was an almost solid piece of black, cracked and scratched bone glowing from its crevices with neon blue energy. The piece of armor was obviously worn from battle after battle, war after war, all of which were survived by this piece. Starting from the chest down, the armor split into eight rib-like pieces laid over and attached to a dark red, almost flesh like undersuit. Carved into the chest of the plate was a tree that went up and around two snarling wolves with open maws. The carvings were holes that revealed even more otherworldly black and white flames. Finally, the man had two old, black leather belts fastened around his waist carrying various pouches and knives, one knife being larger than the other and made of pure black bone.

Next, Salazar's arms were covered in two, full and almost matching gauntlets. His wrists to his elbows had large, black bones plates that had cracks and scratches as everything else in his set did. His right gauntlet hand a snarling wolf head carved into it with eerie black and white flames flickering behind it while the left gauntlet had a small shield in the shape of a wolf's head attached to it, the snout pointing towards his hand. The man's upper arms were covered in several, interlocking yet large black and cracked vertebrae, as if they came from a large creature. His hands were covered in wicked looking gloves, the back of the hand and fingers covered in black bone. The bones covering his fingers came into the shape of sharp claws that could easily rip into any flesh or metal, each part of the gauntlets matching the other. The man's shoulders however were both protected by different shaped chunks of black bone.

His left shoulder was protected by a sharp, triangular piece of bone that not only had a sharp edge but also stopped in a wicked point going up. His right shoulder was protected by a more curved piece of bone that was only half a disk, the other half bent to attach itself to the rest of his arm. Whatever parts of his arm were not covered in bone was covered in a dark, dark red fabric.

The same went for Salazar's leggings, the parts not covered in bone being a dark, dark red fabric that acted as rough leather almost. His upper legs had this material, the inner thigh area being a bit lighter but still dark. The outer area of his upper legs had plates of bone that matched the plates on his arms. His lower legs however were almost purely covered in bone. The bone on his left leg pointed up into a sharp spike above his knee while his right leg did not follow this pattern. The plates of bone on his lower legs were completely solid, yet cracked and scratched with glowing energy.

His boots were thick on the bottom and purely bone and steel. The boots should have been heavy due to the materials used to make it, but they were light as feathers to the man who wore them.

Finally, Salazar wore an old, torn cloak over his back. The cloak was dark red and reached his ankles where pieces were ripped away by time and other things. The center of the cloak, just where his back would be, held a faded black inginia, the same one that was carved into his chestplate. The neck of the cloak, what attached it to the armor, was a solid piece of cracked and scratched black bone that pulsed with energy. The piece shot up a light but ever noticeable black and white flame all along the curve of the neck. The hood of the cloak was red like the main cloak with a thin, sharp bone acting as an almost mohawk that hooked over the front edge while two holes in the hood allowed for the ears of his helmet to stick through.

'Spector…?' The old wolf mumbled in his head, not completely back to his senses and his eyes adjusting to the dark. 'Are you there…?'

'Oh thank the Traveler!' A female voice suddenly exclaimed from within his head, getting the Hunter to flinch, which also made him notice the bindings holding his arms and legs against the wall. 'I thought you were gone. I wasn't detecting any brain activity for a good while there.'

'Do you know what's going on?' He asked her, struggling as much as he could against the bindings, which was very little with his fatigue. He felt his Ghost droop at that question.

'Well… I have good news and I have bad news.' She said, her voice strained as she tried to figure out how to say it. 'The good news, Aksis's final stand didn't kill you.'

'That is good news.' Salazar responded telepathically as the memory of the fight came flooding back.

NOOO!

He shook his head with a pained expression before sighing.

'And the bad news Spector?' The Hunter then asked through their link, getting a moment of hesitation.

'We're… we're in the Hellmouth Salazar.'

The Guardian's reaction was immediate.

His eyes suddenly went wide and he pulled at his restraints vigorously. Due to his weakness though, they didn't budge. His breathing became rapid, as much he tried to control it, and his head started flying through thoughts at a million miles an hour.

THE LIGHT!

CREATURE!

YOUR WILL WILL BE MINE!

'Salazar!'

The Hunter snapped out of it when his Ghost shouted through their commlink. His breathing started to slow back down, though his heart was still beating fast.

'You're right, you're right.' He returned after a moment as he scanned the room with his now adjusted vision. 'This is no time to panic.'

Around him, he saw only a few docile Thrall feeding on the ground around him in the otherwise large, empty Hive chamber. There were a few tall stones arranged in a circle around him though, and he knew enough about the Hive to know that a ritual was to be performed here. Whether it had already happened or had yet to was another story.

'Can you remove the restraints?'

'Not without coming out, and I don't exactly have you to protect me at the moment.' Spector answered with a somber tone. Salazar let a curse slip out, which was a bad move on his part.

As soon as it slipped out, no matter if it was quiet, a lone Thrall caught it and turned its attention to him. The Hive fodder then seemed to almost smile before it released a screech. The sound alerted the rest of the Hive and caused a chain reaction as every member in the chamber echoed the first, the noise soon getting loud enough for a mighty roar to sound outside of the chamber.

The Thrall went quiet at that, and Salazar stared on with wide eyes.

'I'm detecting a strong signal heading this way.' Spector told him through their link. 'It's a Deathsinger if the readings are correct…'

'Whatever you do, do not leave my head Spector, even if I die.' The Hunter told her, his internal tone deadly serious. 'And whatever they do to me, only heal enough so that I don't die immediately. I don't want them picking up your Light.'

'But-'

'Please...' Salazar interrupted her, his tone almost begging now. 'I don't want to lose you.'

The Ghost said nothing in response, but he could feel her nod. At that, he sighed and cracked his neck, sensing as Deathsinger himself as it got closer.

And sure enough, it only took a few more moments for the mighty Wizard to float through the door. She (if Hive even had genders) was escorted by two large Hive Knights. Despite the fact that the Hunter was in no condition to do anything, the Knights still stalked up to Salazar with the Deathsinger.

At least they respected him.

The Deathstalker didn't make a sound as she hovered over to him, slowly getting within an inch of his face. Salazar tried to lean back, but his head softly tapped against the wall behind him and he was forced to endure the ugly close up of the glistening, drooling teeth of the Hive. She hissed after a moment and brought one of her long, sharp claws up to drag along the bone that made up his helmet.

She dragged it gently across his helmet's eye, snout, and chin before stopping at his neck. The bodysuit that covered his neck wouldn't protect him there, and she seemed to know that as she let out a small whistling noise, as if she was giggling.

Instead of striking there though, the Deathsinger brought her claw back and stabbed into an exposed piece of his shoulder. Salazar hissed in pain as the claw went all the way through, exiting his armor on the other side, but he held back the urge to scream.

She didn't like that.

With an annoyed screech, she drew back again and stabbed into his other shoulder. With no reaction once again, she stabbed into his arms again and again and again until blood was freely flowing down his armor. His Ghost closed the wounds as they were forgotten, but she didn't remove the blood.

The Deathsinger let out a furious screech at his lack of reaction of screams of pain. The screech was so loud that his ears threatened to burst and the Knights behind her flinched in fear. If the Hive could have a facial expression, hers would be furious.

Still, Salazar lifted his head up the best he could and looked her in the eyes through his helmet. She was here to torture him it seemed, not kill him.

"So…" His voice rasped out quietly, though she stopped and stared at him, hearing him clearing.

"Was it Crota's death or Oryx's that made you this mad?"

He knew it was a dumb thing to say in his current situation, but he wanted to stick it too her either way. If he was going to die, he was at least going to get the last laugh.

The growl followed by a shriek of rage told him he had gotten it.

For the next several hours, or minutes he didn't know, the Deathsinger clawed into the Guardian with a fury matched only by the gods he had slain before. She tore into every part of him his armor didn't fully cover, and she would have gotten under the armor if the Hive could take it off of him.

Crimson blood covered every surface, including the Deathsinger and himself. Chunks of flesh were tore away in a brutal blood show as the pieces of bodysuit she could access were tore away, save for his neck. All the while, he just let himself hang there and never let her have the satisfaction of a scream. Spector wouldn't be able to return flesh without drawing suspicion, so she didn't.

She only watched silently as Salazar was ripped up. Blood dripped from every point on his armor, freely pooling below his feet. It was only his will alone that kept him from passing out or letting out even one scream of unrelenting pain.

No one dared to keep time, even though Spector fully could. She just closed her metaphorical eyes and tried to let it pass.

So when the Deathsinger finally stopped, seemingly panting in exhaustion, the Ghost almost felt relief. Salazar was too out of it to feel much of anything, but he did watch with lidded eyes as the Hive Wizard glared death at him. He gave her a lopsided smirk from under his helmet.

Seemingly fed up with it all, the Deathsinger turned around and started to hover away. With her back turned, Spector started to repair the flesh and pieces of suit that were ripped away, though that did nothing to help his pain. They both watched as the Deathsinger gave a small cackle and touched one of the standing stones around Salazar.

As she now drifted away with her knights in tow, the standing stones all started to hum with a slight tone. Salazar could hear it and he did his best to look around as his Ghost repaired the damage.

The stones started releasing a green smoke that hung to the ground and Salazar felt his breath hitch as a soft, cackling chant started around him. The voices came from every direction, layered over each other, and he started to feel a power grip him tightly.

'What is this?' He thought in a panic, his head turning as fast as it could in various directions. 'What's this ritual? Eris never told me about the chant I'm hearing.'

Spector was at a loss for words too, having repaired the damaged and removed the blood, yet not knowing anything that matched what they were seeing.

'I… I don't know Salazar.' She admitted, getting a silence from the both of them.

"... Hey Spector?" He asked, finally talking out loud in a quiet, tired voice.

'Yes?' The Ghost answered, remaining in his head.

"... Thank you for choosing me." He said with his head hung low, a sad smile on his face as the chanting grew louder. "It was a good run."

'... Yeah.' Spector responded with a somber tone. 'It was.'

Closing his eyes with a fragment of a nod, Salazar decided to accept his fate.

Then, the green mist parted as they were suddenly engulfed by a bright white light.

The light carried him up and released him from his bindings, filling him and Spector with confusion. Then, with a hard 'thump', Salazar landed up his back, the white light fading around him as suddenly as it had come.

The Hunter groaned in pain for the first time in what felt like eternity as the pain finally settled in his bones. His eyes were clamped shut to keep in the pain, yet he could feel Spector scrambling around in his mind, trying to figure out what just happened.

They were both oblivious to the murmuring of three people to his sides. However, they weren't so oblivious to the man who exclaimed in the front of the room.

"The Heroes!" A man exclaimed, getting Salazar's eyes to snap open. "The summoning was a success!"

Ignoring his pain, Salazar shot up and raised the sword that had been in his right hand since he had fallen to the ground. The point of the blade stopped less than a millimeter from the man's throat, and the priest, if his robes were any indication, froze in fear.

Looking briefly at the sword, he saw that it had an ornate golden and ivory handle plus crossguard. The blade itself was like a knight's blade, yet it was slightly curved inwards. The blade was black with steel and golden highlights. Along with that, there was a strange gem socketed into the crossguard of the sword; a gem that was a fusion of onyx and quartz, forming a yin-yang swirled pattern.

Behind him, Salazar the surprised voices of several young men. He resisted the urge to look behind him, though he did pay attention as on of them, the man to his right, started to step up slowly.

"Easy there dude, no one wants to get hurt here." The man started, his voice trying to give the impression of a calm state of being. Salazar could tell he was nervous, he could feel that everyone was with the weight in the air.

"Where… am I." The Hunter demanded, though his voice gave away the obvious pain he was in. It gave it away so well in fact that everyone did a double take. It wasn't surprising though, his voice was aching and almost raspy.

"We don't know." The man to his right started again, taking cautious steps towards him until he was visible on Salazar's right.

The young man was about as tall as he was, about 6'0. His long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and his vibrant red eyes gave him a trusting look, if only because Salazar had seen similar eyes before in an ally. He wore an open red jacket with a stark white undershirt along with a pair of tan slacks kept up with a black belt and a pair of black tennis shoes to boot.

The man had both of his hands up, revealing the fact that he wasn't armed.

"I'm Kitamura Motoyasu." Motoyasu continued, staying just a meter away from the Hunter with the Guardian's full attention. "I don't know where we are, and I doubt the other two over there," He gestured to behind the Hunter, "know either. I'm sure if you lower the weapon, these guys will be able to explain everything."

Salazar was hesitant, but he got the feeling this kid was right in some aspect. Plus, he felt too weak to do anything at the moment. He knew Spector was trying to do everything she could from the safety of his head to figure out what was going on, which is why she hadn't commented yet, but he also knew the Ghost would alert him of any danger.

So, while the Hunter didn't take the sword down, he did give his arm a noticeable slack. Motoyasu took that as a sign and gently grabbed his arm, lowering it until it fell to Salazar's side.

Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief at that, Salazar could feel it. Motoyasu seemed especially relieved by his success, letting a grin grace his face.

Before they could celebrate though, the Hunter suddenly collapsed to his knees. Motoyasu grabbed him by the waist before he could make a sharp impact and set him gently on the ground, but his face gained a look of horror as his hand came back covered in Salazar's blood. It seemed that it wasn't completely cleaned from his armor.

The next bit was a complete blurr to Salazar, to the point where he couldn't even tell if his Ghost was talking to him.

Although he wasn't bleeding anymore, the Hunter was in incredible pain. The pain, as it finally fully sank in, made everything into a haze. He thought heard Motoyasu and the two other young men freak out and demand help for the Guardian, but he passed out before he could tell if anyone listened.

(? - Salazar Stone - That Night)

For the second time that day, Salazar slowly forced his eyes open only to be met with a hazy vision. Unlike the last time though, the haze cleared much faster and gave him an actual look of the room around him.

He was in another large room, but this one was far friendlier looking. The floor was a nice wood grain and the walls reminded him of an old cabin he had once found in the cosmodrome. There was a balcony entrance to his left, but it was covered by a white curtain.

Groaning as he sat up, the Hunter idly noticed his new sword laying in a chair to the left of his bed. He also noticed that he was in one of the many beds that lined the walls of the room, though they were all evenly spaced. The sheets were under him, likely because they couldn't be put over his armor easily.

"Easy there dude." A voice to his right started softly, getting the Hunter to look over and see Motoyasu sitting in a chair to his right. "Doctor said you weren't actually injured that much, but you did need a metric crap-ton of magic to dull whatever pain you were in."

"Kitamura?" Salazar asked as he slowly finished sitting up, his head in his hand.

"Motoyasu is actually my first name." The young man cleared up with an easy-going grin. He leaned on the shaft of what seemed to be a spear even though he was sitting. The spear was like the sword; an ornate gold and ivory shaft with a black, steel, and gold blade. The gem was socketed into the center of the spear head though, and it was a bright red.

"Motoyasu then." The Hunter corrected with a polite, still pained tone. "It may seem strange to ask right away, but… have you figured out where we are?" He then asked, getting a chuckle from the spear wielder.

"I have." He assured Salazar with a nod. "But we can talk about that once we've gotten you to our rooms. The doctor wanted me to take you there and get you something to eat, to help you regain your strength." Motoyasu then explained, getting a slow nod from the Hunter.

While Salazar's first instinct was to find out more about the man before trusting what he said, Motoyasu was all the Hunter had at the moment in terms of a known friendly. He would have to skip a step or two here, just this once.

'Make sure to record everything Spector.' The Guardian told his Ghost through their link. 'And I'm glad you're okay.'

'A high would have been nice first,' Spector responded teasingly, 'But I'm glad you're okay too.'

"That sounds good." The Hunter nodded and kicked his legs off of the bed carefully. He then tried to stand up, only to almost fall as his knees wobbled under him. Motoyasu caught him though and hooked an arm under his to support the Hunter.

"Big bro Motoyasu's got you, don't worry." The spear wielder assured him with a grin, getting a snort for the Hunter as he grabbed his sword.

"Sorry to break it to ya, but you seem a bit young to be my big brother Yasu." Salazar joked with a grin of his own, though it was hidden under his armor.

"I'm 21 though." Motoyasu returned with a confused tilt of his head as they exited the med bay. The hallways were empty as they started to travel through them. In response, the Hunter held out his free hand.

"Hi 21, I'm 53."

Motoyasu stopped when he heard that, giving a slight look of shock. He then chuckled, continuing as he supported the Guardian.

"That would make you older, I will admit." The spear wielder admitted with his chuckle. "Still doesn't explain the armor you've got though. You cosplay at your age?"

"No, this stuff is real." The Hunter assured with a shake of his head. "Even made most of it myself."

"That's the coolest thing I've ever heard." Motoyasu told him with a genuine smile. By now, Salazar had shaken his arm off, so they walked a bit of a slower pace to keep with the Hunter.

"So, how'd you get here Yasu?" Salazar then asked, changing the subject. "Or will we cover that with the rest too. Motoyasu gave him a dismissing wave.

"I already told them." He started before he scratched his neck in embarrassment. "I, uh, got into an argument with my two girlfriends when they found out the other existed. One of them charged me with a knife and next thing I know, I was here."

Salazar nodded. "So you died."

"Pretty much, yeah." Motoysau nodded. "Itsuki got hit by a truck, and we think Noafumi had a stroke too. How about you?" He then asked, a curious look on his face. "I mean, must have been pretty bad if you were still in pain. None of us were."

"Hmm." Salazar hummed in thought.

'Did I actually die?' He thought to himself. 'It didn't seem like death.'

'Your guess is as good as mine Sal.' Spector responded with a confused tone. 'I wasn't able to keep track of your vitals while the white light had us.'

"Let's just say that an old enemy got a hold of me and that they love their torture." The Hunter told his spear wielding companion. "It wasn't exactly pretty."

"Ouch." Was all Motoyasu responded with, actively wincing at the thought. Salazar just nodded at that.

After that, they walked in just a bit of silence, save for the uneven thumping of the Hunter's boots against the ground. The silence seemed to make Motoyasu a bit uncomfortable, but the spear wielder didn't know exactly what to say at that moment. Salazar tried to fill in the gap as he saw that.

"I want to ask you something before you'll tell me about our situation." He started, getting Motoyasu to turn his head in curiosity. "Are we… stuck here by any chance? Like, is there a way I could go back right now if I chose to?"

To the Hunter's dismay, the Spear wielder shook his head.

"Not for a long time, if we can at all." Motoyasu told him before tilting his head. "Why?"

"... I have a daughter back home." The Guardian answered after a few moments, his head hung just a bit low. "I have a lot of of people to protect too, but she's the main one I care about with all of this."

"A-ah." Motoyasu didn't exactly know how to reply to that, but he would look bad if he didn't try. "Well, I'm sure you'll see her again. I mean, we don't have to stay here forever."

Salazar nodded.

"And if they want us to, I'll find my own way back." The Hunter then said as he raised his head again, a smile on under his helmet. "I'll even drag you kids with me."

"I'm probably going to stay here actually." Motoyasu said with a grin, surprising the Guardian. "I like this world already."

After taking a moment to process that, Salazar just shrugged with a grin.

"Whatever floats your boat Yasu."

Motoyasu laughed a bit before shaking his head and stopping, placing his hand against a door.

"We're here." He started with a nod before turning to the Hunter, lowering a voice just a bit. "Just so you know, these guys are kinda weird."

"My kinda crowd." Salazar responded with an equally lowered voice. Motoyasu just chuckled before turning back and swinging open the door. As soon as he did, the other two people in the room looked over to them with curious expressions.

First, there was a young man, no older than 16, sitting at a table off to the side. He had kept blonde hair and a pair of light green eyes. His eyes just happened to match his green uniform. The uniform itself reminded Salazar of school uniforms he'd seen around the city in the richer districts. Hi slacks were the same color while his dress shoes were a soft black and his undershirt was a button-up white dress shirt. At his side, leaning against his chair, was a white and ivory bow. Where the two halves of the weapon met was a brilliant amber surrounded by a gold base.

Next to him, standing this time, was another man, though he looked to be about 20 or so. He had messy black hair and emerald green eyes that matched his partly open green hoodie. Under that was a white t-shirt that went along with his blue jeans and his bleack tennis shoes. There was a silver kite shield secured to his right arm with a dazzling emerald socketed into the center of it.

Other than that, the room had a bed off to the side, a couch, and a balcony entrance that was currently covered by a white curtain. The table near the others had a bowl of fruit on it.

"So our other companion arrives at last." The bow wielder was the first to speak, a polite smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you are feeling better."

Salazar nodded with a chuckle as he made his way over to the couch, plopping down on it as soon as he reached it and laying down, laying sword on the ground and not too far from his reach.

"Better is a relative term my young friend, but I guess I don't feel like dying anymore." The Hunter responded with a smirk. The shielder raised an eyebrow, Motoyasu sitting criss-cross on the bed with his spear leaned over his shoulder.

"You sure you should be moving man?" The shielder asked. "There was a lot of blood on you."

"Doctor said he'll be fine." Motoyasu responded for him with a smirk. "And besides, he seems fine now. Although, they never did get under that armor to check." He then pointed out.

"Then why don't you take off your helmet at least to get some fresh air." The bow wielder suggested. "We could introduce ourselves as well."

Salazar thought for a moment before shrugging. What was the worst that could happen? These people seemed friendly enough, and he was a good enough judge of character.

"Alright," The Hunter agreed before pointing at the two clad in green, "But you two have to introduce yourselves first. I already know Yasu."

"Fair enough." The shielder sighed with an easy grin as he ran his hand through his hair. "I'm Iwatani Naofumi and I'm a college student."

"And I'm Kawasumi Itsuki, a highschool student." The bow wielder continued with a polite nod.

"If it's like Yasu, then that would mean Naofumi and Itsuki, right?"

"Right-o dude." Motoyasu confirmed for them from his place on the bed. Salazar nodded at that before he reached up and pulled off his hood.

Reaching for his helmet and clicking the seals off, the Hunter was easily able to pull the headgear off and set it on the floor next to the couch he laid on. Shaking his messy, short and steel grey hair a bit, he caught the other heroes' looks of surprise. Along with the grey hair, they also noticed his dull silver eyes and the two lupine ears that sat on his head.

They twitched lightly at the stares.

"As for me Salazar, Stone being my last name." The Hunter introduced himself, getting their attention off of his extra ears. "I'm a Guardian, Hunter class."

"Guardian?" Naofumi asked, confusing the Hunter slightly. He then decided to forget about it for the moment.

"I'll explain later." The Guardian told him. "Can you guys tell me what's going on first, Yasu told me you guys met with the king."

Itsuki nodded at that and Naofumi leaned against the wall, getting comfortable it seemed.

From there, the three of them told him what the king, Aultcry Melromarc XXXII, had told them. Apparently, there were these 'Waves of Calamity' or something like that that were supposed to mean the end of the world. Except, that is, until the four Cardinal Heroes were summoned from different worlds to fight back the waves. That was them apparently.

They also mentioned that they had already figured out they were from different versions of Japan. The 'Guardian' question made sense knowing that.

They were told that they were all to form seprate parties because of the weapons messing with each other when in close proximity. That didn't make too much sense, but he'd investigate the matter later. The four heroes were supposed to set out the very next day to make up for lost time, so he'd have the time.

"And that's about the gist of it." Naofumi said as he finished, smirking. "It all sounds like a bad novel, I know."

"I told you, it's exactly like a game I play." Motoyasu pointed out with his own grin.

"As well as one that I used to play by a different name." Itsuki added with a nod. "There might have been a version in your world too Salazar."

"Yeah, you said you had a daughetr right?" Motoysau jumped in, snapping his fingers at an idea. "Did she play a game that looked like this?"

The Hunter just shook his head.

"She was a bookworm fellas." The Guardian pointed out before gaining a proud smirk. "It why she's such a great Warlock now."

"Warlock?" Naofumi asked with a surprised look. "As in the magic kind?"

Salazar made an 'iffy' motion with his hand when the other two also gained curious looks.

"Kind of." He explained. "She could wield the Light like me, but she had a much more fine-tune control over it. Warlock is just another class of Guardian really, the smart guys."

"What exactly is a Guardian?" Noafumi crossed his arms as he asked. "You said you're one. Are they a group of warriors?"

"Oh, it's a lot more than that." The Hunter started as he dragged his finger through the air lazily, drawing the class symbols with a black and white flame, the others looking at the floating flames with surprise. "The Guardians are a large group made of three main classes that oversee humanity's last line of defense against the Darkness."

"We keep the peace, fight on the frontlines of our broken worlds, push our enemies back, and I am in charge of the strongest of us below the Vanguard." Salazar continued before he gained a sour look on his face. "Or, at least, I was until I was dragged here."

"So you were not only a warrior, but one of the best if I hear you right?" Motoyasu asked rhetorically with a surprised look before smiling brightly. "Man, you're going to have one hell of a head start on us. I bet you're a high level too."

Salazar raised an eyebrow as he saw the other two nod.

"Level?" He asked. "You mean my Light Level or my Guardian Rank?"

"I not sure what those are, but our Legendary Weapons keep track of our level and stats in this world." Itsuki explained as he held up his bow. "Stats explain how strong we are in a certain feild, like attack or defense, and our level should determine how strong we are overall."

"If you focus on the icon in your lower right vision, it should tell you all that stuff." Motoyasu explained further. The Hunter looked there sceptically before finding it, surprising himself and his Ghost.

'I never noticed that.' Spector muttered as the screen was brought up. The screen was black and translucent, but he could still read the white text on it just fine. All the stats on it were fairly high, his lowest being around 5,000 in what seemed to be mana and another related stat.

Thankfully, there was something familiar to the old wolf. Up on the top left were several labeled numbers, three to be exact. The lower two were 50 and 1,100, his Guardian rank and his Light level respectively. Above that, marked as his level for this world, which must have been calculated from his other levels, was the number 275.

Apparently, the others saw those numbers, because they all looked incredibly surprised.

"Wow, did they raise the level cap!?" Motoysau exclaimed in surprise before letting out a surprised laugh. "I expected you to be high already from what you told us, but jeez."

"I agree with Motoyasu." Itsuki spoke up. "And what is that 1,100 number?"

"Your Light Level?" Naofumi guessed before the others Salazar could answer. The old wolf grinned and nodded.

"Right on the first try Naofumi." The Hunter started, dismissing his floating flames with a wave. "Light Level is the way we Guardians figured calculated how strong our gear was." He then explained. "Every piece of gear, weapon or armor, is assigned a number based on how strong it is. Then all the numbers are averaged and you get your Light Level. The 50 you see there is my rank as a Guardian. It is a representation of a Guardian's skill, allowing certain ranks on higher tier and more dangerous ops. 50 is the max."

"So you got to do everything, even at your age?' Motoyasu asked with a hint of scepticism. Salazar just grinned at him as he bit into an apple he grabbed from the table.

"Trust me kid, once I'm up and around, the world won't know what hit it."

"Speaking of up and around though, you guys should get some rest." The Hunter then told them, waving his hand around aimlessly. "If we really are going to start grand adventures tomorrow, we should all really get some rest. Oh, and I call this room. The couch specifically." He added afterwards, patting the couch he laid on.

Motoyasu sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"He's right, we'll need energy for our first day of grinding." The spear wielder agreed with a nod. "Someone's going to have to stay with Sal though in case his pain spikes up tonight, doctor ordered it."

"I'll do it." Naofumi was the first to volunteer, raising his hand slightly before Salazar could say he didn't need to be watched. "I'm a light sleeper anyways."

Motyasu nodded at that and got up to leave the room, as did Itsuki. They said their goodbyes, Itsuki being the first one out with Motoyasu following soon after. Once the door closed, the Hunter turned to the shielder and grinned.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" He simply asked, getting an embarrassed laugh from Naofumi as he scratched the back of his head.

"Am I that easy to see through?" Salazar just nodded, getting another laugh. "Well, the others already gave their opinion, but since you're actually a warrior where you're from… is the shield any good?" The shielder then asked as he sat on the bed. Salazar gave a look of light surprise.

"Nervous about your weapon?" He asked, getting a nod in response. "What did the others tell you?" The Hunter then asked.

"They said that the shielder was useless in the games this was like." Naofumi admitted, getting a slight nod from the Guardian.

"Well, cast out those thoughts kid, cause I'm going to clear your mind on the matter." Salazar started as he sat up a bit, getting Naofumi to lean forward slightly with a curious expression.

"I've already mentioned two classes of Guardians. Warlocks are our scholars and Hunters like me are the scouts and assassins." The Hunter explained as he twirled his hand slightly. "There's a third class of us though, the Titans. They, my dear shielder, are the wall of the Humanity. If you had any doubts if the shield was good, then think about this. A Titan friend of mine was infamous for clearing entire enemy strongholds with nothing but his shield."

"And we're not talking about a small building of lightly armed guys here. We're talking about a several floored complex with probably a thousand troops, the layer of the House of Kings."

"So, you're saying that, where you're from, shielders were incredibly powerful?" Noafumi asked with a look of slight awe. Salazar nodded at that, getting a smile from the shielder.

"That's right kid." The old wolf said with a grin before gesturing to the bed. "Now, get some sleep. Big day for all of us tomorrow."

Naofumi rolled his eyes at that, but his smile remained.

"Alright old man." The shielder joked before cutting the lights for them. "Just follow your own advice and get some shut eye."

Salazar chuckled before sinking into the couch, a grin on his face. Naofumi followed his example, getting into bed and shutting his eyes.

Unlike the Hunter, he fell asleep pretty much right away.

Once the old wolf was sure he was out, he let out a low sigh and let a frown slip on to his face.

'Well, this isn't good at all.' He thought as he stared into the ceiling.

'You can say that again.' Spector agreed through their link. 'I'm not getting any hits on any Melromarc in my systems, if this kingdom is named after the royal family that is.'

'We're most likely in some other reality Spector, I wouldn't put it past the Hive to do that to get rid of me. The white light that took us makes me confused though.'

'The ritual could have been made to find and piggyback off of other rituals from different realities.' The Ghost offered. 'It would take a lot of energy though.'

'Which explains why we were in the Hellmouth.' Salazar connected with a pursed lip. 'Damnit, no wonder they wanted to torture me first. They wanted to do something to me before they never saw me again.'

'No information, no allies, another world and I'm weakened considerably, this is not looking like it'll turn out good.' He continued.

'Not to mention the fact that this place looks ancient.' Spector added. 'I've only picked up one signal. Nothing suggests that there's tech in this world. I'd expect the world here to be intact but heavily pre-Golden Age.'

'That signal will be our first stop tomorrow.' Salazar decided with a nod. 'Hopefully, the king was telling the truth about going back when the Waves have been dealt with. I'll be giving a certain Deathsinger one hell of a welcome back party.'

'We'll make it back Sal.' The Ghost assured. 'We always do.'

'Now, you need to rest as well.' She then told him. 'There are no injuries on your person, but you've got Darkness rooted into your bones thanks to that Deathsinger. It'll take a few days for me to get rid of, so expect to be weak for a while.'

Salazar nodded before closing his eyes slowly. He idly dropped his left hand down to his new sword, a force of habit.

'Oh, and your gear is safe.' Spector told him after a second. 'I still have it, along with… Logan's Ghost.'

The old wolf nodded again, this time more grimly.

(Melromarc Throne Room - Morning)

Wincing just a little bit, Salazar stood in line with the other three heroes, his helmet covering his face once more and his new sword sheathed at his waist. He was in between Naofumi and Itsuki, to his right and left respectively, and Motoyasu was just beyond the shielder.

The Hunter casted his gaze around, eyeing the many nobles that had come to watch them that morning. Lots of them were staring at him, muttering questions about his strange armor between themselves. One such noble was the one sitting in front of them one a raised platform.

He was important obviously. He was also old, maybe around 60, and his eyes were a deep purple that sharply contrasted his stark white beard and hair. He wore purple robes that were lined with gold and white furs. Amethyst could be seen on some of the gold bits, and he had a purple cloak lined with white fur hanging around his neck. Also around his neck was a gold necklace with several Xs patterned into it, most likely with rubies based off of the way they glimmered. His fingers were covered in gold and amethyst rings. Finally, on his head was a circular golden crown with at least four amethyst pieces on it, one for each quarter of the crown.

The dude was a king if Salazar had ever seen one.

Off to the side of the king was a line of about ten people, all in various states of armor. One was a heavily armored man with a sword while the other four sword wielders were all in light armor, two guys and two girls. Along with them were three rogue looking people, two guys and one girl, and two women carrying a staff each.

Wizards probably, which made this world just so much weirder.

"Welcome back heroes!" The king started loudly, apparently deciding to start the meeting. "I'm glad to see you are all present today, and I hope that you are feeling well now Sword Hero."

"Just call me Salazar." The Hunter told him with a nod.

"Very well." The king nodded in return to his answer. "I trust the other heroes have brought you up to speed with our situation, so I will not waste time."

"You four will set out on an adventure to save our kingdom starting today." Aultcry's voice boomed out louder, as to draw all the attention to him. "As promised, the best of the best have been gathered to help you on your journeys from this day forward. They came from the far corners of our kingdom, and they are masters of their craft. So, without delay, I implore you to form your parties!"

Taking that as a cue, the adventurers on stage started marching down towards the heroes, surprising them. Salazar especially rasied an eyebrow at that.

'Wouldn't it make more sense for us to choose the people we have to work with?'

'I guess the king doesn't see it that way.' Spector replied as they watched the adventurers form behind them. 'Maybe they think it would be better if the adventurers chose the hero they liked best, positive attitude and all that.'

'Maybe.'

It didn't take long dor them to choose. Itsuki got the heavy knight, one male sword fighters, a male rogue. Salazar himself got the other male sword fighter, the other male rogue and a female sword fighter. Motoyasu got the rest of the ladies, which included two mages, a sword fighter and a rogue. Naofumi got…

The old wolf's eyes narrowed when he realized not a soul was standing behind the shielder. He wasn't the oldy one that noticed that too, as series of shocked whispers passed through the crowd.

"Hey king!" Noafumi suddenly exclaimed, distress lacing his tone and stance.

"I admit, this was not something I was expecting." Aultcry said in response as he stroked his beard. There was a hidden edge to his voice though, one that made Salazar instictively slide his hand to his sword's hilt.

One of the king's council them ran up to him, whispering into his ear. The Hunter strained his hearing to catch it, but he wasn't able to in his current state of repair. Instead, Motoyasu spoke up as he himself watched the councilman whisper to the king, curious.

"Did something happen?" The spear wielder asked, getting the councilman to step away from the king, the king nodding at Motoyasu's question.

"It appears that a rumor has spread throughout town," Aultcry explained, resting his head in his hand, "A rumor that the Shield Hero is ignorant to most things in this world."

The nobles gasped and the heroes just looked shocked, save for Salazar. His own hand was still on his hilt and his gaze was one of suspicion.

"What does that even mean?" Naofumi asked, obviously confused.

"Legend says that the Heroes are always summoned with deep knowledge about this world," The King explained for him in response, his tone and posture suggesting that that was common knowledge. "And apparently everyone seems to think that this is knowledge the Shield Hero doesn't possess."

'Was there anyone watching us last night Spector?' The Hunter asked his Ghost through their link. He could feel her shrug, if a Ghost could even do that.

'I wasn't checking.' The Ghost told him. 'I was more focused on healing you and analyzing the conversation.'

"Well, Naofumi can't just go alone." Salazar spoke up, raising his voice so everyone could hear him. "Someone will need to accompany the Shield Hero."

'If no one volenteers to join, them something is up behind the scenes here.' The old wolf commented to his Ghost. She just nodded within his head as the Hunter looked around.

For a long few moments, no one stepped up, getting the Shield Hero to look more and more nervous. Just as Salazar was about to voice his suspicions though, someone decided to volunteer.

"I'll join the Sheild Hero!"

Resisting the urge to sigh as his suspicion were casted away, Salazar's hand dropped from his hilt and he looked towards Motoyasu's group, where the voice had come from.

It was a woman, obviously if it came from the spear wielder's group. She had fiery red hair and emerald green eyes that she paired with a bright, disarming smile. She was clad in a simple set of well kept leather armor, minus the helm, and a polished iron short sword. She must have been another noble.

Not surprising.

"You sure?" Motoyasu asked the girl, sounding just a tad bit jealous. The red head nodded with a yes and walked over to Naofumi, the man looking more than relieved. Salazar heard her introduce herself as Myne Sophia as he turned away, no longer worried about something happening in the background.

The king nodded at her switch and raised his voice to speak.

"Will anyone else join the Shield Hero?" When no one answered, Aultcry simply sighed. "It can't be helped. The Shield Hero will have to recruit party members himself. In compensation, he will be given higher payment than the rest of the heroes."

As if that was a signal, four nobles suddenly appeared, walking towards each hero with a small bag that jangled slightly. As the old wolf accepted his, the King explained.

"Each one of you will be given a war chest every month, to help you combat the Waves." He told them as Salazar pocketed his into a pouch on his belt, his Ghost taking it as he did. "Use this money to buy equipment and recruit party members. Today, each hero will get 600 silver coins, and the Shield Hero will be get 800 silver coins."

"Now, if there are no further questions, I urge you brave heroes to set forth and train." Aultcry then started, standing up with his arms raised. "May your journeys give you the strength needed to save us!"

The nobles around them cheered and the four heroes took it as a sign that it was time to leave. Salazar himself rounded out the pack while he tried his best to hide his pained walk, his party following him closely as he did.

All the while, the old wolf couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something.