)—|(\IV/)|—(


"If we don't check it out now, we might never get a chance to again!"

Raphtalia, Rifana and the other children looked at each other as Keel pointed to the skies with his wooden sword.

Her parents told her to return to the village if anything happened.

A crack in the sky, torn open so suddenly, bled out a crimson colour as it looked like something had fallen out—that certainly fitted the description, but Keel had been adamant about seeing what it was and no one reacted quickly enough to stop him.

He had already slipped away and ran deeper into the forest, forcing Raphtalia to chase after him as she told the other children to return to the village first. She couldn't let him go off by himself; Keel was always the type to get into trouble and Raphtalia had a feeling this wasn't something that they wanted to be involved with.

"Keel! Slow down!"

"How about you catch up!?" Keel kept running, even picking up his pace. "Didn't you beat me in our race to the fields today!?"

The skies were starting to darken as the sun quickly faded into a scarlet moon, swirls surrounding the bright abnormality. Her heart became restless at the mere sight through the trees.

Nevertheless, Raphtalia kept running after her friend, but noticed that Keel stopped in front of her. He probably wasn't dumb enough to leap off that ledge. She reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Keel! Stop it! We have to come back to the village!" she pleaded desperately. "Our parents might get worried that we aren't with the others!"

However, Keel had been frozen stiff, glancing down from the overhanging ledge.

"... W-What is that…?"

Raphtalia's curiosity claimed her attention as she stopped tugging and looked downwards with him, but she didn't know what exactly she was even looking at either.

Materializing from the skies above, the monster had been shaking as if it was preparing itself for a rampage. It had a black sheen to its coat and three heads, each moving with their own volition, but they were all snarling. As they scratched the ground with their claws and saliva drooled past their fangs, their eyes had all ignited simultaneously in a red light.

Their howls converged as one, ripping into the skies and shattering their ears.

They two children covered their ears, hearing the noise shrieking within.

Raphtalia glanced at Keel, seeing that his face was imbued with fear.

"Just what is that monster? I've never heard of any monster looking like that before!"

"Keel, we can't stay here! It's dangerous!"

"Y-Yeah… You're right!"

Raphtalia turned around, but she was met with a few men in armour. She assumed it was people coming to the area to deal with this monster until she took a closer look.

They dragged their feet closer to the two children as they raised their sword, chipped and dull. Their movements creaked as they came closer to them. Raphtalia widened her eyes when she noticed what had been underneath the helmets and breastplates.

Bones. No skin, just the skeleton of a person.

Keel immediately drew his wooden sword and stood in front of her.

"Stay back!" he shouted, legs shaking. "I'm warning you!"

"I-I don't think they can hear you, Keel!"

One of the skeletons stepped forward with a slash and Keel threw his sword to defend against it. As expected, the steel blade sliced through and he swerved onto the ground instead. He didn't hesitate though; Keel stood up and pushed the enemy over, causing it to fall over.

He grabbed the dull steel sword.

"Raphtalia, I'll break us through! Let's get out of here!"

She held her breath and made a quick glance backwards to see the dog monster. She thought if these skeletons were monsters too, then it was that dog that called them over, but her heart skipped a beat when she noticed that the dog had no longer been there.

'W-Where did it… go?'

"Raphtalia! C'mon!"

Thankfully, the skeletons were too slow for their nimble bodies. As Keel clumsily broke through their formation, Raphtalia stayed close behind as the bone monsters made an attempt to give chase to the living. Unfortunately for the creatures, they were up against two of the fastest runners among their group of friends and the distance between them started to widen.

"W-What's going on, Raphtalia!?" Keel squealed, letting his distress show. "What's with those monsters!?"

"I wouldn't know!" She ran behind her friend, just as terrified that they were close to dying. "That dog monster though…! It looked like it was coming from those cracks!"

Her mind immediately linked back to something she remembered the moment she said it out loud.

"W-Wait! Monsters coming from the skies!? The Records of the Holy Weapons!"

"That thing Rifana won't shut up about!?"

"I-I think Rifana called them the waves of destruction! If that's the case, then we have to get back to the village quickly!"

Keel's face started to twist in worry. "Father! Everyone! We have to warn them!"

Raphtalia started to think about her parents as well. They must have been back from the neighbouring village by now, but they must have been worried sick for her. She needed to get home as soon as possible, but it was likely that the monsters were already invading their village. She had prayed that in some miracle, everyone she'd known could be safe.

Rifana, her friends, her parents, her neighbours, and everyone she could think of...

—a large and dark figure suddenly leapt from the forest, flanking Keel and pushing him onto the ground.

She watched slowly as the monster swiped her friend away in front of her.

It dragged Keel against the dirt until it brought one of its heads closer to the child.

The three-headed dog monster returned and caused Raphtalia to freeze. However, it focused too much on her friend as it pressed its claws against Keel's chest. As blood trickled down his forehead, her friend started coughing up more blood while his breathing became hoarse. He tried to break free of the locked position, banging the dull sword against its leg, but there hadn't even been a scratch.

One of the heads opened its mouth to eat Keel's head off, but he acted instinctively, thrusting the sword inside vertically to stop it from closing its mouth. With his hands, he held the jaws, trying to stop it from using another head.

It was clear that he was struggling, but he took a deep breath and shouted outwards.

"Raphtalia, now! Run!" / ("Naofumi, now!")

Raphtalia's words escaped her.

"W-What…? What are you saying…?"

"Run to the village, Raphtalia!" Keel's hands were beginning to bleed as he accidentally held onto the fangs too tightly. A pain tore against his face. "Don't worry about me! I'm not going to be the reason why my friend gets killed here! Besides, it looks like this guy really wants me!"

"What about you!?"

"I-I'll catch up soon!" / ("He said that he'll catch up with us after he's done...")

Raphtalia's legs were shaking and her breaths became erratic. She knew that Keel was lying; there was no way that he would be able to overpower something that flung him down in a single second. It was too fast for him to escape it even if he managed to somehow break out.

Tears started to run down her face as her voice started to choke up.

She didn't want to leave him to die.

Raphtalia looked around for a small rock and picked it up. She was planning to draw its attention and give Keel a chance to escape together with her and live, but he noticed her attempt.

"... Hey, Raphtalia?" His voice had been quiet, solemn as he spoke. He didn't bother looking at her, instead glancing into the void within the dog's mouth. "Could you… Could you tell Rifana… that I've… kinda had a crush on her if I'm late? I… might not be a person like the great Shield Hero, but...."

She couldn't find the strength to let go, only finding the broken will to drop the rock at her feet.

She simply hated how stubborn Keel was sometimes.

"... Okay."

And with one word, Raphtalia ran back on course towards the village. She was sobbing silently as she tried not to think about what just happened, but whether she should grieve now or later—it was something she'll have to do eventually.

Raphtalia didn't look back. She was too ashamed to look back towards Keel as she pushed on.

(Naofumi didn't look back. He was too ashamed to look back towards Ren as he pushed on.)

Raphtalia could only hear howling as left the forest.

Raphtalia woke up in a cold sweat.

Breathless from reliving that nightmare, tears were starting to fall from her eyes as her chest felt heavy. She felt like screaming, but her voice couldn't find the chords. She didn't want to see that scene again—she already knew that she left Keel behind and she already knew that Keel didn't return to the village, only the three-headed dog did.

Her heart tore open every time she was reminded.

"It's okay, Raphtalia. I'm here."

She felt her small body being pulled to the side and held against her master's chest. He laid down with her, holding her head as the feeling returned to her body and her breathing started to normalize.

"Don't cry," he said quietly. "Everything's alright. I'm here."

Raphtalia felt the warm embrace of her master, trying to keep that warmth by digging herself closer to his chest. With his arms wrapped around, she definitely felt more composed, but that despair had still held onto her tightly.

It had been a few days since they escaped from the capital and the Sword Hero was left behind. As she kept thinking about that day, her nightmares started to return in full capacity.

One night, it would be seeing her mother and father's death and the other, leaving her friend behind to die. She was terrified of the next night if that was what held in store for her, but she glanced up to her master that tried to reassure her fears and rubbed her head to calm her down.

Even though his words were warm and even though he truly wanted to protect her—

"I'm here… I… won't leave you… behind..."

—Raphtalia noticed that Naofumi's eyes were empty and wondered who actually had been the one being comforted here.


)—|(\IV| Chapter 1-18 |IV/)|—(
)\( Burning Memories In The Darkness )/(


Naofumi and Raphtalia were able to arrive at a place called Riyute Village. They were stumbling along with the map and came across a village that stood between a forest and a mountain side.

He was glad that after days of walking aimlessly and fighting monsters, they were able to rest on a bed. It didn't sound like the residents knew that the Shield Hero was currently a criminal nor did they recognize him as the Shield Hero. It was a quiet town, so it was probably to be granted.

They were even able to enter a restaurant without anyone glaring at them for existing, but as Raphtalia happily ate, Naofumi couldn't feel any of his taste buds. Everything tasted the same, even the meals he made for Raphtalia over the last few days.

Everything tasted like nothing, but as long as he had food in his stomach, he would live.

Maybe that in itself was a curse. What use was a useless person that was alive anyways?

On the other hand, their level progress was going better than Naofumi could ever expect.

There was simply a temporary roadblock when it came to monsters that spilled blood. Raphtalia hadn't been too fond of killing anything with blood, something Naofumi believed came from the source of her night frights. He didn't want to be forced to be uncomfortable, so he decided to stick to plant and balloon monsters.

In terms of money, they were doing pretty decent.

With the loot that he didn't absorb or use for the enhancement system, Naofumi merely sold it to the vendors for whatever prices he could fetch it at. What they gave him felt a little low, but Naofumi couldn't care enough to bring it back to market value, whatever it might be.

However, the potions he offhandedly made sold higher than he expected. He intended to keep them for Raphtalia's usage, but hearing that they were on a medicine outage in the village, Naofumi felt like it was a good moment to sell them.

Could he have asked for a higher price?

Probably, but Naofumi just accepted the first price that the man listed him for.

However, the merchant called out to him before he left the store with Raphtalia.

"Hold it. You're an adventurer, right?"

Naofumi didn't answer, merely waiting at the door as his response.

"If you're looking for a guild hall here, you won't find one. Village is just a tad too small to even be considered. However, there's a mineshaft down in the north of the village. We're always looking to buy ores and minerals, especially now since it's tougher to get them." The merchant began to stack the sold potions behind the counter. "Ever since the wave hit, monster count has been increasing and it became dangerous for us villagers to even get close."

Naofumi almost forgot that guild halls existed.

"... I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh, and make sure you don't get too close to the edges nearby water. They break off easily, and I don't want to be accidentally sending someone for a plunge."

"... Got it."

Naofumi knew he didn't have much of a plan when it came to anything, but if the opportunity rose up, he might as well help out. That way, he'll be of use to somebody. Maybe.

His heart stung itself along those thoughts.

He opened up his map and tracked down where the mineshaft was.

It took them about thirty minutes to reach the entrance, but as it was implied, it was completely deserted and abandoned. Minecarts had been tipped over, tracks had been rusting without care, and the small buildings didn't seem like they were used in some time.

He'd forgotten how long ago the first wave had been, but it must have been a considerable amount of time. The locks on the buildings literally snapped when Naofumi tugged on it.

The windows were dirty, darkening the rooms, but Naofumi was simply looking for something he could use to gather and collect the ores. He was rather certain that a shield or a dagger wouldn't be able to do the job effectively.

He eventually came across a pile of old pickaxes. He held one up and practiced a swing to make sure it wouldn't snap like the rusted lock. It was surprisingly rather sturdy, so he took one for himself.

He felt his shield trying to absorb the tool just as it did with any other material. Since there were more, Naofumi gave it to the shield and he unlocked a new form.

[Pickaxe Shield]

Naofumi glossed over the rest, merely noticing the bonus which granted him mining efficiency.

There were a few more things that the shield felt like it wanted to absorb.

[Coal Shield]
[Rope Shield]
[Bucket Shield]
[Torch Shield]
[Rusty Nail Shield]

Naofumi couldn't bother to even remember what any of the attaching skills, stats, and enhancement potencies were.

He looked at the name, thought it was nice, and moved on to the next shield.

He handed Raphtalia a lantern found in the building and they entered the mineshaft with his [Pickaxe Shield] on one hand and his own lantern in the other. Naofumi thought it would have been nice if the system was nice enough to give him a light source as a shield, but he passed the thought quickly.

It was much darker than he expected and the air had been rather damp. If it weren't for the map Raphtalia found in the building, they probably would have gotten lost.

The deeper they went, the damper the air became, but when they walked into a clearing that had been reflecting off a high amount of light to the point where the lanterns were no longer needed, Naofumi quickly understood why.

There was an astounding scenery of an underground waterfall. The sparkles that the water sprinkled around its current had been mesmerizing, crystal clear of any impurities. The sound of crashing water implied that there was a lake where the water was falling to, but Naofumi didn't feel like looking over the edge to figure that out himself.

As Raphtalia was attracted to the natural beauty, Naofumi noticed the ores that they must have been looking for. Placing down his lantern and equipping his pickaxe, he went to work.

"Raphtalia, keep an eye out for monsters."

"Y-Yes, Master Naofumi."

As Naofumi heaved the tool to knock the ores out of their place, he felt something off about what he had said. They've been walking for more than a few minutes—not that Naofumi kept track of the time—but they haven't encountered any monsters, despite the shopkeeper saying that they were the reason people stopped coming here.

Raphtalia glanced around as the lookout, but noticed that there was a branching path from the clearing. What she also noticed were large footprints that made her uneasy since Raphtalia herself realized about the lack of monsters in the cavern.

Naofumi managed to piece together a few of the ores and absorbed one of them, unlocking a new shield as per usual.

[Light Metal Ore Shield]

What it did do—hell, if Naofumi knew. Despite it taking only a few seconds to check, Naofumi closed his menu and started to stuff the rest of the light metal ores into his inventory to sell to the shopkeeper. Since he was finished up, he stuffed the pickaxe into the inventory too.

With a heavy sigh and a considerable stack, Naofumi decided that they had enough despite not knowing what the actual market prices of these ores were.

"Okay, we're done here. Let's head out, Raphtalia." He walked over to the little girl, only to realize that she had been frozen in place. She had dropped her lantern as well. "Huh? Raphtalia?"

Her eyes were locked on to someplace and as Naofumi traced out her line of sight, he widened his eyes.

Watching them, there was a two-headed dog that was growling. Its blackened pelt had been stained with what Naofumi could only assume to be the blood of the other monsters as he took notice of how sharp its fangs and claws were. It made a deafening howl as it positioned itself to block the only way out.

"Crap, this is bad…" His voice was quiet, but urgent. "Raphtalia, we have to move!"

Raphtalia hadn't budged.

Her breaths started to become ragged and increased its erratic pace. Naofumi didn't understand, but whatever this monster was, Raphtalia was completely afraid in its presence—more so than the blood she had to face. It was like it was the mere existence that threw her down onto the ground.

She had only moved to crouch down and hold herself in fear; she let out a scream that rivalled the monster's howl.

"Noooooo!"

Like a gunshot at a race, her scream made the dog run forwards towards them and since Raphtalia showed no signs of moving, Naofumi had to step forwards to meet it.

Its head heavily collided with Naofumi's shield, as he struggled to hang on. He tried to push him out of the way, but Naofumi barely held his ground. He leaned into the shield and pushed it back, jumping away to gain distance, but the dog was far from finished.

It rebounded and ran its linear path again; Naofumi went and did the same trick, but the monster had already learned. It grabbed Naofumi's shield with an open jaw and locked itself, pushing forwards against him.

It threw Naofumi off guard, tossing him back and bashing its other head into his body.

He landed next to Raphtalia as she watched her master be taken down.

Despite this being the first monster in the cavern, his body was already hurting and his health bar was already diminishing. This two-headed monster had been on a different level compared to the balloons and plant monsters that they've been fighting.

He didn't know if it was the fall he took, but his legs were feeling weak. His chest had been feeling tight and his breathes were starting to become heavy. His arms started to shake as the strong opponent growled at them with their escapes cutted off and he felt like his mind was starting to lose it.

The dog dashed once more, but Naofumi couldn't run.

Instead, he knocked Raphtalia out of the way and got mowed down by the rushing attack.

His body instinctively reacted, pulling himself away from the monster and rolling away as it circled around back to him, but Naofumi had to consider the circumstances.

He was a useless shielder and Raphtalia was scared, unable to act. It was as simple as that.

It was impossible to win this fight, so they had to run.

Naofumi acted on a whim, seeing that Raphtalia had been nearby the ledge next to the waterfall, and took his chances. If they couldn't get any closer to the exits, then their only option was to escape deeper into the cavern.

He ran to pick up Raphtalia in his arms, held his breath and leapt off into the waterfall.

The dog slowed down near the cliff as Naofumi glanced back. He didn't know if the monster had given up on chasing them, but it watched the two carefully as they disappeared into the water and down into the underground lake below.


)—|(\IV/)|—(


Pulling himself and a young girl out of a current was much harder than he realized, especially when it was stronger than he expected.

Both Naofumi and Raphtalia were gasping for air and coughing roughly as he brought that to the lake's shore. He felt that ground was about to break off under his knees, but he dragged them closer inwards to be more safe. The shopkeeper wasn't lying about the whole edge business; it felt like one heavy step would break it off into the running water.

Their clothes were completely wet and Naofumi thought a cold might have been coming up on him, but that hadn't been the important thing here.

They've managed to lose the monster, but fall deeper into the cavern. It was a victory for them as long as they could find the exit without encountering the monster again, but considering how its probably been killing all the other monsters in the area, there was at least one less thing to worry about.

"N-Not again… Not that monster…" Raphtalia had been mumbling in a trance. "Please, don't hurt them…"

Despite her body being soaked, it wasn't difficult to see that she had been crying again.

There was probably a better place to do this, but Naofumi brought her closer to him. Her drenched and cold body stuck onto him as he brushed his hands through her hair.

If they were to find a way to escape, he needed Raphtalia to be moving; ironically, he himself was close to freezing up in the attacks, so perhaps he shouldn't act as a counsellor here.

"Raphtalia, we need to find a way out of these caverns. I know you might be scared, but we can't keep staying still." Naofumi glanced around the shore and noticed that there had been only one tunnel from this area. "We have to try and make it out—!"

Suddenly, a figure leapt down from above. Naofumi didn't realize that this area could be accessed by jumping down a few ledges.

Even his attempt was meaningless.

The dog monster ran to cut off the only way to escape, being the tunnel out of this clearing. Considering how there was only that one tunnel, it was clear that they were trapped.

"O-Oh… no…"

Once its red eyes caught Naofumi and Raphtalia on the other side of the room, it howled once again—Raphtalia shivered from the sound—and ran with their jaws opened and their fangs sharpened to mindlessly kill them as prey.

He released Raphtalia and started running with his [Pickaxe Shield] still active in his arm. Its head bashed against the surface once more, but the weight had felt heavier against him. It swung Naofumi's shield off to the side and lunged its other head to his shoulder. He brought it back to stop it before it could, but the other head acted quickly, lunging a second time at Naofumi's opposite shoulder and sunk its fangs inside.

The pain was terrible; blood spurted out as his joint felt like it wanted to crack.

His health had been slowly draining as the two opponents held each other in a standstill.

Naofumi couldn't move without the other head lunging for his other shoulder, but he had to move if he wanted to to break away from the bite. However, he knew the monster had him on lockdown as it did for itself.

'Was I going to die here…?'

Naofumi's vision started to get blurry.

'Huh… Dead before the wave even comes… It's a fitting demise…'

Naofumi's blood splattered against his arm and dripped onto the ground.

'I was useless to the bitter end… Sorry, Ren, Itsuki, Motoyasu...'

However, Naofumi glanced behind him, seeing that Raphtalia had been watching in horror.

The memory of when Naofumi first bought Raphtalia at the slave market flashed before his bleak eyes. She had been scared to come with him, but he wanted to take care of her and help her as a companion, not as a weapon. Even Itsuki's words rang in his mind as it felt like his final chapter was coming to its end.

It had been the promise that he made to Itsuki, the one that he didn't feel like was wholefully necessary. Itsuki said that since he was the Shield Hero, he should protect Raphtalia and Itsuki's words as he told him that he'll be expecting to see Raphtalia the next time they meet—it echoed in his head.

That feeling where he wanted to protect Raphtalia from everything.

His promise with Raphtalia herself as the flickering flames reflected in his eyes flashed before his eyes as his blood started staining the dog's teeth.

'I won't let any harm come your way.'

'The day that harm does somehow slip past, you can be certain I've already given my life away.'

"Raphtalia!" he bursted out, finding his strength inside of him for his first and final absolute order. Raphtalia shockingly gazed at his master. "I'm not going to break my promise. I may be useless, but I'd be complete trash if I couldn't keep my words true to a child. I want you to run and escape this cavern."

The slave had stiffened in those familiar words.

"I'll keep the monster busy here," Naofumi winced in pain. "You focus on running away. Maybe have a happy life now that you're free. You don't have to fight anymore for my sake."

The feeling against her legs was cold as Naofumi, despite his lifeless eyes, smiled warmly back at her.

"If I can help someone out by giving my life away, I'll be useful… That's probably the best thing I can do here…"

"M-Master Naofumi…" Her voice whimpered quietly. "B-But… I-I can't…"

"Please, Raphtali—GRAH!"

Naofumi was suddenly pushed down onto the ground, as he tried to keep the second head away from him, but laying down made things rather difficult. The weight increased dramatically and his arms were about to give away at any moment.

Even so, his soft voice transformed into a final scream.

"Raphtalia! Run! I'm begging you! Escape!"

And yet, she couldn't.

Her nightmare was replaying before her eyes.

With the image of the dog monster on top of Keel overlaying on top of Naofumi, her mind descended into a blank state. If she ran here, then just as Keel didn't return, the master that took care of her wouldn't return either.

She didn't want to leave him to die.

That bright smile that he had given to her the day that she was bought by him—she didn't want to let that disappear into another nightmare. The hope that was raised back up by the Shield Hero was about to be shattered back into pieces.

She drew her dagger, her arms shaking, and ran.

Her weapon sunk into one of the monster's hind legs, but it was a blind attack. It couldn't hit any of the vitals, even though the wound spurted out enough blood to make Raphtalia tremble.

The red eyes leered from Naofumi's shield to the child and growled angrily, as if an inconvenience had suddenly risen up. However, Naofumi was horrified and surprised that Raphtalia decided to attack the dog monster, but didn't want the monster to shift its focus over.

Since its attention became split and the weight lightened, Naofumi swung his shield over to the neck of the biting head and forced it to open up. He pushed himself out of the monster's range and pulled himself onto his feet, but it looked as if it stopped thinking about Naofumi, glaring at the one who stabbed it.

"N-No…!" Naofumi felt his chest burn. "Get away from her!"

It turned and pounced at the companion, but Naofumi recklessly rammed himself into the dog before it could come close, pushing it away off its feet and dropping himself beside Raphtalia.

Her tear-stained eyes crept closer to the injured hero.

"M-Master…! Master Naofumi…!" She was crying for both of them; they were the emotions that Naofumi couldn't find in the dire situation. "Please… Please don't die! I don't want you to die!"

Naofumi glanced at Raphtalia's solemn expressions.

Those were…

… the same frightened emotions that he had been wearing on his face as Ren bought him time to escape. That was the expression that wanted to stay by Ren's side and the pain he felt when he was pushed on ahead, forced to use his friend as a stepping stone.

Naofumi took a deep breath, realizing the irony.

He had been so accepting of dying because he was useless.

The innocence flames inside him reminded him of his feelings that wanted to stand by his friend's side once again and the promise they made on the day of their summoning to meet again at the waves of destruction.

… Naofumi slowly stood up.

"Thank you, Raphtalia." Naofumi nodded to the girl with a new resolve. "Can I… ask you to trust me? Can I ask you to be my sword?"

Useless or not, Naofumi held onto his desire to help—that feeling that felt like a distant memory was burning in his heart, fending off against the despair in his heart. He could still feel the chains, but he also felt his strength.

"I-I…" She held the dagger tightly. "I want to fight for you, Master Naofumi! You took care of me! You saved me! I-I don't want you to leave me!"

Even if he was useless, his life still held meaning.

To Ren, who wanted to see Naofumi grow—

To Itsuki, who wanted to help Naofumi out—

To Motoyasu, who wanted to trust him desperately—

—and to Raphtalia.

Even if he was useless, he still had promises to keep.

"I'm sorry, Raphtalia, that it took this long to realize."

Naofumi walked slowly, glaring at the recovering monster in their path.

He was the Shield Hero.

His promise was to protect.

"I can't take the easy way out anymore. Ren would hate me even more if I did."


)—|(\IV/)|—(
[Attention]
[Optional Music Track Unlocked]
(Bravely Default OST : "Conflict's Chime")
This OST is meant to be used as Naofumi's personal theme.


Naofumi made the first move, running at the monster. He swung his shield as the monster dashed forwards, clocking it in its right head, but it powered through and barged through the attack. Naofumi held onto the monster as they came closer to Raphtalia, but he tugged on one of the heads to change its trajectory.

He rolled out as the monster, as it swerved to a stop, grinding a few meters out. He could imagine the monster clicking its tongue.

It galloped back to Naofumi, ramming its head repeatedly as he struggled to block. He took steps backwards to give him breathing room, but he noticed that Raphtalia was off to the side, waiting for his word. He stepped down on his right foot and matched the weight, catching the monster still.

Raphtalia noted the chance and ran to thrust the dagger in the other hind leg, but this one had been more critical. The monster had howled responsively and tried to swing its head to knock her away, but Naofumi instinctively grabbed onto the head and he was brought along in the ride.

He caught Raphtalia off the ground before he slammed into her and they both flung off; Naofumi rolled and kept Raphtalia safe in his arms.

They were making progress, but Naofumi's shoulder started to hurt. He didn't know how much longer it was going to take and if his body was going to survive for that long.

However, as if Ren was helping him out, his voice rang in his head.

("Naofumi, you haven't been using any skills yet. Have you gotten anything that sounds remotely useful?")

He needed time to check them out, but he didn't know how to buy time.

The monster rushed into Naofumi as he grabbed Raphtalia and leapt out of the way. It had to slow down, stopping a distance past them before it turned on the dime and chased them down.

Naofumi narrowly evaded the rushing attack, rolling onto his feet and dropping Raphtalia on her own. It was almost treating itself like a bull and Naofumi was the matador. However, he remained vigilant along its attack patterns.

After all, he remembered Itsuki talking about how Ren typically fights.

He watches the enemy. He understands what it does. He acts on the opening.

Naofumi gazed behind him at the underground lake over his shoulder. A small plan started to formulate in his head to give himself that time.

'It's worth a shot.'

"Raphtalia, space yourself out away from me. I'm trying something."

"Y-Yes, Master!"

As she ran off to the side, the dog glanced at the running demi-human, but Naofumi wasn't going to let it consider changing targets.

"What are you looking at!?" Naofumi shouted as he ran forwards.

He drew his shield into the monster and slammed it hard against a head. He knew it wouldn't do any damage, but he was looking to hurt. He wanted to make sure that the monster's eyes were on him and on him, it was.

Its red eyes narrowed in the inconvenience Naofumi laid out, yanking his head into Naofumi's body and sending him into the air. He rolled over onto his feet a distance away, but it started running towards him again.

Naofumi made small backsteps, keeping in mind his position. The attacks narrowly missed consistently, but he kept moving at the same pace.

When he landed in the right place, he held his ground as the dog lashed out another rushing attack. In the last moments, Naofumi picked up his speed towards the monster and slid underneath the legs and let the monster take his place, right along the coast of the lake.

The monster immediately realized its mistake and clawed the ground. It managed to stop just before it fell in and it smiled as if it was mocking Naofumi for his unsuccessful attempt and turned around.

However, the monster was right where he wanted it to be as Naofumi took out the pickaxe out of his inventory. He knew the system wouldn't let him use the pickaxe as a weapon and as long as he doesn't think to use it as a weapon, he can hold it. Trying to use it to hurt the monster would result in his own shock, but that was never his intention.

That clawed attack to slow itself down against the ground left cracks around it.

Naofumi threw the pickaxe, not at the monster to hurt it, but at the ground before it.

The cracks grew larger.

The earth suddenly crumbled into the current as the water quickly flooded the new expansion and on it, the monster slipped off into the river. He watched the dog disappear into the depths as he started to doubt that he needed to check his skills in the first place, but Raphtalia had been the one to tell him otherwise.

"M-Master! Those dogs can swim, even in strong currents!"

"R-Really?! T-Then quickly…!"

He opened up his menu rapidly as he looked through the list of unlocked shields over the last few days. There was a lot more than he thought there was and looking through all of them would have been a terrible thing to do.

It was a damn good thing Naofumi was a fast reader.

In the next few seconds, a large figure leapt out of the water and gained a large aerial advantage. With a bellowing growl, it was starting to get pissed at the Shield Hero as it fell downwards into him.

Naofumi changed his shield to [Rope Shield].

He recalled how Ren used his skills and pointed his shield towards the incoming monster.

"[Rope Trap]!"

From the gemstone in the shield, a light flickered and it shot out a net made out of rope towards the monster. The monster was taken by surprise as Naofumi leapt out of its crashing and caught body.

The heads were struggling to escape.

"Raphtalia!"

His shout caused her to move inwards alongside Naofumi. Her dagger struck forwards into one of the heads as blood splattered all over her. She looked like she wanted to panic, but her grit kept her in, sinking it further in the screaming monster.

However, the other head flailed around and knocked Raphtalia away; Naofumi swept in to catch her before she hit the ground, but a problem suddenly arose when Naofumi noticed her empty hands.

Raphtalia's dagger was stuck inside the defeated head and there wasn't a spare they could resort to.

"Oh… That's not good…"

The dog ripped apart the net with its remaining head and claws, angrily looking at Raphtalia.

It didn't bother mourning for its other half; it ran directly at them with increased speed. Naofumi spontaneously threw Raphtalia off to the side as the monster collided with him and didn't stop.

It was as if it gained power; Naofumi couldn't plant his feet, but managed to roll out of the way. It was a rough landing, but the monster curved around and snarled, rushing back into Naofumi. He slammed his shield the single head, but felt the joints from his legs cracking. He persisted nevertheless and threw his shield outwards, staggering the monster slightly.

The dead head came into his view as he knew what he had to do.

He needed to loosen that dagger.

Naofumi reached out quickly, but the dog managed to recover quicker than he expected, slamming his head against Naofumi's side and sending him flying. He bounced a few times, but got back on his feet as the dog closed the gap once more.

It lunged its fangs at Naofumi's head, but Naofumi ducked and slammed the shield up its jaw. Naofumi kept his eyes on the dagger's position and tried to reach it again, but the claws struck at him before he could catch it. However, whether it may be his instincts kicking in or the adrenaline, Naofumi deftly dodged it, but the head fell back down onto Naofumi. He block the bite with his shield, but the strengthened power tugged him forwards.

The dog tossed Naofumi backwards into the air, stiffening Naofumi's body, but when he opened his eyes, the monster was running forwards and it leapt up towards him. It was trying to catch Naofumi airborne where there was nowhere to run, but Naofumi caught himself in time. It came closer, but Naofumi deflected the aerial attack and grabbed onto the monster's neck as both of them landed.

He swung himself onto the back of the monster, gaining a vantage, but the monster wasn't going let it be so easy. It started thrashing about, flailing its dead head around, in the attempt to kick off Naofumi, but still held on tightly. Though, it was making it difficult for Naofumi to reach while holding onto the remaining head. He kept reaching his arm out as far as he could, but he felt himself almost falling off countless times.

The dog really didn't want Naofumi to succeed, but he made one heave the moment the limp neck swung backwards in the erratic shaking—

—and he pulled it out.

"Raphtalia! Here!"

He threw the dagger a few meters away from where Raphtalia was trying to stand up. She immediately ran over once the blade stuck itself in the ground and readied herself.

The dog, sensing that Raphtalia armed herself again, shifted gears and made a straight line towards her. Her breath was taken away as she instinctively backed up in fear; her arms started to shake again, but Naofumi wasn't going to let his promise be broken.

He stomped on the monster's back, regardless if it felt it or not, and grabbed the neck with both of his hands. At the last second, he yanked the head backwards, causing the monster to rear on its hind legs.

The chest was exposed to Raphtalia.

"Do it now!"

Raphtalia held onto her dagger and pointed the blade at the target. She needed to face it with everything she had.

Her master was doing everything he could to protect her, so she needed to do the same.

Her body felt light as the blade brightened, pulling back into a thrusting position.

Her mind flashed back to the capital, when the adventurer was about to hurt her on their escape. Her mind remembered the beautiful lights that the Sword Hero brought as he flew over her to protect her and now, she wanted to use that strength to protect the person that cared for her.

As the light reached its apex, six blades surrounded her dagger as her body grew hotter.

She stepped forwards and thrusted with all her heart; the blades converging into one.

No words were spoken.

Just one lasting dream.

Just one shattering nightmare.

Just one single scream.

"HHHHHYYAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The dagger struck violently into the chest and it went as deep, destroying the heart dead-on. Naofumi felt the impact on the monster as immediately abandoned the ship, tossing himself aside into the ground.

He watched as Raphtalia launched the dog into the distant wall over the river, creating a small crater there. It slowly slid off and splashed into the water below; its lifeless body gradually sank to the bottom as the current carried it away.

Naofumi glanced back at the sweating Raphtalia as she was left standing still in the position that he hit the monster with, but he noticed her body were wavering.

He quickly ran to her side and caught her, yet her dagger dropped onto the ground.

She was unconscious.

Her face and clothes were covered in the monster's blood.

She felt so warm, yet so cold. She was shivering in her senseless state.

Naofumi brought her closer into his arms.

She was unconscious, but she was breathing.

[+ 340 EXP]
[(Raphtalia) +430 EXP]

And the monster was really dead.

'It was really hard… I want to pass out so badly, but...' The adrenaline wore off and all he could feel was the soreness in his muscles. His legs even gave away as he held Raphtalia in his arms, but he surprised himself. It looked like when the possibilities were stacked and his heart became resolute, he was much more proactive. Though, if he had never seen Ren fight before, he'd never believe that his body would move like that at all.

Nevertheless, Naofumi silently smiled through his welled-up tears at Raphtalia.

"Thank you… Raphtalia…"

The next time he faced Ren, he wondered if he could hold his head up high…

He wondered if he could help Ren out now…

Even with the evidence in front of him, he shuddered to answer.


)—|(\IV/)|—(


Author's Notes

Some clarifications, perhaps?

I changed the effects of [Rope Shield]. No, it doesn't have [Air Strike Shield] because I never actually understood the reasoning behind the attachment.

Yes, he'll get it soon. That's pretty much a staple ability that he'll need.

And no. He didn't get the [Two-Headed Black Dog Shield]. And he won't get it. I cucked Naofumi out of it by sending it down the river by the only way I knew how.

With that smooth transition, Raphtalia did use Ren's [Six-Bladed Thrust], but that was simply watching Ren perform the skill. It's one of those things where the character is in a last-ditch effort, adrenaline is running through their body, and they suddenly unlock a new ability. Yeah, okay. It's cliche, I know. Fucking sue me, cause I thought it was cool. (*pouts*)

Oh, and uh, I hope you noticed.

I made an attempt to have a faster pace this chapter.

I just can't help myself on fight scenes. I'll try and do better pacing for the next chapter cause thank goodness there aren't going to be any planned fights there.

On the bright side, the original draft was like 13k words. Compare that to this version that has about 8k words.

I have been trying to lighten the first few chapters with the new style. So far, I was able to cut Chapter 1-01 to 1-05 by half. A total of 40k words shrunk down into 20k. I'll see if this chapter and the next chapter is able to land nicely with you all, and if it does, I'll gradually work on stripping down the rest of the chapters, so that future readers won't have to slog through as some reviewers have mentioned.

(Keep with the constructive criticism! It really helps me out!)

Anyways, I understand that the two-headed dog fight is supposed to be more of an emotional fight, but I didn't feel like letting Raphtalia two-banging the boss would be fun. This way, I could show you how resourceful our Shield Hero can be when he's fighting with his heart on the line and have fun fooling around with the extended interactions.

Yeah, sure. That works.

Okay, that should be all for now.

Thanks for reading the chapter and my rambling.

...

... oh and keel is a guy, miss me with that reverse trap shtick, not like it'll matter anyways huehuehuehuehue