Commencing Second Cour of Chronicles of the Wayward Tome Hero.
(Still) Waiting for Season 2...
Finger Count: 4/10
Eye Count: 2/2
Arm Count: 1/2
Leg Count: 1/2
Sanity Meter: 40%
Death Counter: 36
Let's burn it all to the ground.
Epic 30: The Escape Part 2
"War is politics by another means."
Carl von Clausewitz
Switching POV: Naofumi
The massive stone-bodied [Spriggan] bellowed at Naofumi and the rest of his party, right before it stampeded towards them with primal zeal, stone bludgeon raised above its head.
Naofumi raised his [Damned Prisoner Shield], ready to take the blow-
... The [Spriggan]'s blow brought him down to his knees, too heavy to tank, too massive to buffer, and too hard to defend against.
Naofumi then takes this window of time to look at the [Spriggan]'s stats.
Name: [Stalwart Spriggan]
Level: 95
HP: 2,000/2,000
Note: [Stalwart]-Affix prevents this encounter from being [Stunned], [Confused], [Horror], [Slowed], and [Silenced].
"Oh great..." Naofumi grumbled out. "... The [Tyrant Dragon Shield] is all but useless here."
The [Spriggan] then punts Naofumi into the air, his body breaking through a house's wooden walls before making a hard landing into a bale of hay.
"... Ugh, this day blows." Naofumi grumbled out as he got back up to his feet.
He then hears another bellowing roar from the [Spriggan] outside the hamlet gates, followed up by cries coming from Filo and Raphtalia.
"Filo! Raphtalia!" Naofumi cried out as he ran out of the ruined cottage and back to the front.
The [Spriggan] continued its assault, swinging its stone club in heavy arcs of inertia, with so much as a graze from the club threatening to lop off a limb both by compound fracturing and amputation at the same time.
The stone club itself was a brutal weapon of itself, not because of its sheer size and weight, but because of its form. Too dull to be a blade, yet too sharp to be blunt, a crude contraption built to maim, this weapon, despite its primitive structure, was too inhumane to be called a weapon.
... It was nothing more than a slab of raw carbon, nothing else mattered as long as it was swung towards its enemy.
"GET DOWN!" Naofumi roared out as he spotted the [Spriggan] raise its club over Raphtalia. "[INTERCEPT]!"
Naofumi teleports himself where Raphtalia was at, absorbing the blow from the monster's massive mace, only to be knocked back alongside with Raphtalia, who was snacked right by his own flailed body, both of them getting impressive airtime before making a hard landing onto the dirt earth once more.
"Master..." Raphtalia heaved out. "... Are you okay?"
"Somehow..." Naofumi grunted out as he tried to get back up. "... HP's still in green, but it ain't doin' me any good as long as I get flung around like a chew toy."
Naofumi knew, that even with his absurdly high Defense and HP stats, neither does any well as long as he couldn't root himself to the ground against the impact's weight.
The monster's attacks themselves weren't doing any significant damage, but the fall damage from breaking through buildings and landing on the hard floor was doing more than enough damage to make the [Spriggan] a real concern.
How will he be able to defend his party if he kept getting flung off of his feet? Damage wasn't the real issue here. Knockback was.
Granted, the [Spriggan] itself wasn't particularly fast, but it's steady advance towards the hamlet's square was already proven to be impossible to even stop. Every step that the monster took, is step that refused to budge.
Too heavy to even move, too large to even stop, and too dangerous to be fought head on. Adding to the whole [Stalwart]-Affix that prevented from being affected by status aliments that hampers all mobility on top of all three former facts, the [Spriggan] was a literal tank.
"So how do I fight something that's bigger, heavier, and deadlier than me?" Naofumi asked. "Stone skin can barely be scratched, Melty is the only magic-user we have right now, and every time I take a hit, I get sent flying back, preventing me from keeping a firm grounding against it, preventing me from forming a solid defensive line..."
The captured bandit was still cackling madly, losing all dredges of whatever sanity he had left.
"... Hehehehe... Not even the infamous Devil of the Shield can stand a chance against the monster..." The bandit cackled out broken laughter as tears fell from his eyes. "... Honey, baby girl... I'll be there soon-"
The [Spriggan] simply stomps the bandit flat, splattering his giblets everywhere. After it scrapes the splattered corpse off of its foot against the grass before turning its attention towards Naofumi.
It begins to charge towards him, club raised over its head and ready to be swung down at a moment's notice.
"If I can't block it..."
Naofumi jumps out of the impact's way, the scattered dirt and pebbles peppering and drumming onto his shield and armor.
"... Then I'll keep dodging, buying enough time for Reinchott and the others to escape." Naofumi thought. "Even then, if that thing continues to run loose, more people are going to die. We have to stop it here, or else-"
He then sees the [Spriggan]'s club glow in a lime-green aura.
"... [Erupting Earth]."
"What-"
Right after the monster spoke in a voice reminiscent of a gravel being stepped on, the club strikes the earth, emitting a massive tremor that begun to spike up spires of stone towards Naofumi and his party.
"MOVE!"
All three of them leap out of the ground spikes's trail, the streak of erected earth ending after destroying an entire wall segment surrounding the village, along with several cottages and fields behind it.
"... Yeah, that thing's out to kill." Naofumi remarked. "Here it comes!"
The [Spriggan] then begins to drum the earth with its club, erecting several sharp spires of hardened earth around it, indiscriminately reshaping the flat terrain into akin to a back of a certain shelled dinosaur.
"EYARGH!" Filo cried out as she transformed into her [Filolial Queen] form and charges ahead towards the [Spriggan]. "[High Quick]!"
The [Filolial Queen] speeds up into a blur, suddenly appearing before the titan.
Filo rams her beak against the [Spriggan]'s stone skin, only for it to cause a measly one damage.
"... Uh oh." Filo squacked.
The [Spriggan] then grabs her by her head with its massive hand, lifting her up by her head, then slamming her back down onto the earth, leaving a visible crater around the impact of where her head landed.
"Filo!" Naofumi cried out as the [Spriggan] raised its large foot over her head, ready to bring it down with the intent of crushing her head underfoot. "[Intercept]!"
Naofumi teleports between Filo and the [Spriggan], [Forbidden Shield] raised up, and clashes against the [Spriggan]'s heavy footing as Raphtalia dragged Filo out of the way.
"Human... puny." The [Spriggan] sneered out in its gravely voice. "... Crush you... like an insect."
"Master!"
Raphtalia charges back in, slashing and hacking away at the titan's exposed tree root parts that acted as its muscles, but even as Naofumi saw her hacking away at the plant parts, the [Spriggan]'s fibers simply grew back instantaneously.
"... Twig."
The [Spriggan] sweeps aside the tanuki girl off of its body with its free hand, the girl getting out of the way of the sweep before landing on top of the [Spriggan]'s head.
"[First Light]!" Raphtalia casted as she shone a ball of bright light right in front of the [Spriggan]'s eyes, causing it to lose focus and lay off some pressure from Naofumi's shield, allowing him to break free from the [Spriggan]'s foot and run for it.
And in a twist of good and bad timing, the [Spriggan] begins stamping the earth with its feet upon noticing that Naofumi wasn't below its sole anymore, causing even more tremors with its temper tantrum, knocking down even more walls and brining down several cottages from the ensuing earthquake.
Naofumi's whole party tumbles to the ground from all the tremors from the [Spriggan]'s [Earthquake] attack, sans Raphtalia, who was keeping a firm grip on the titan's head even as the earth continued to shake.
"... So... annoying." The [Spriggan] remarked as it moved its hand next to its head, tensing back its index finger with its thumb. "Buzz off..."
Raphtalia was then flicked off of the [Spriggan]'s head, shattering her [Steel Longsword] and the bones in her right arm into pieces as she was flung towards the pile of fallen wooden walls and debris.
"RAPHTALIA!" Naofumi cried out as he ran towards the disturbed pile.
The tanuki-girl cries out in pain, grasping onto her arm, now completely flaccid and and limp as a hose trunk from the compounded fractures in her entire right arm.
"Master..." Raphtalia winced out in utter pain.
"Hang on, I'll get you back up." Naofumi stated. "[High Healing]!"
A wave of verdant light radiates over Raphtalia's arm, mending her fractures and soothing her pain.
"You alright?" Naofumi asked Raphtalia. "Can you still fight?"
"... My right arm feels really numb." Raphtalia remarked regretfully. "Even if I can pick up a weapon, my sword is completely destroyed, and I don't think the [Mana Blade] will do anything since the monster isn't using any magic at all..."
Filo meanwhile, was currently on top of the [Spriggan]'s head, drumming at it with her [Dwarven Gloves], only for the [Spriggan] to scoff at her attempts as an annoyance.
"... So puny." The [Spriggan] yawned out. "... Like a tick."
It then picks her off of its head by the hem of her dress like a tick, right before it flings her up into the air, winds its club back, and swings it towards her falling self like a one-man/titan battery mate.
"... [Gravel Hammer]."
"[Intercept]! And [Shield Prison]!"
Naofumi teleports in front of Filo encasing both of them into a chained sphere of shields, the club then strikes the encasement, forming a sizable dent in their encasement and knocking the two of them around like pinballs at the same time, sending them both careening through another log cabin akin to a steel comet ripping through the earth.
The [Shield Prison] dissipates, both Naofumi and Filo battered and bruised purple all over.
"You okay... Filo?" Naofumi grumbled out.
"I see stars everywhere..." Filo grumbled out discoherently.
"MASTER!" Naofumi cried out as he saw her run towards the two of them, still grasping onto her limp right arm.
"Still alive..." Naofumi grunted out as he got back up, ignoring the numerous splinters on his bare palms. "... We really need to stop that thing before it causes more damage."
"Ah!" Filo exclaimed as she pointed towards the gates, now breached by the [Spriggan]. "There it is!"
"What do we do!?" Raphtalia asked. "My sword can't even scratch through its stone skin or it's sinews! They heal up too quickly!"
"And the stone is too hard to be punched through!" Filo pouted out as she flailed her legs in a tantrum. "These gloves from Mr. Erhard are about to rip!"
It was too true, as their current weapons were inadequate to deal with the titan lumbering towards them.
"Wait..." Naofumi muttered out. "... Raphtalia, you notice something about the [Spriggan]?"
"Well, all I can see so far is that it's entirely made of stone and... plants." Raphtalia pointed out as she connected the dots together. "... Don't tell me!?"
"As soon as I give the signal, take Filo, and run like hell." Naofumi answered. "And no, we're not packing any herbicide or poison, and not to mention, it'll ground us to paste before we can start a fire, let alone setting it ablaze in the first place. Not to mention, the only mage we have happens to be an underleveled princess of a soon-to-be-wasted kingdom."
The tanuki-girl hesitates for a moment before slinging Filo over her shoulder.
"... Please come back alive, master." Raphtalia remarked as she took the flailing Filo over her shoulder and sprinted back towards the village square.
Now all that remained was Naofumi being stared down at the titanic [Spriggan], it's beady topaz eyes centered towards him.
"Just you and me, jumbo..." Naofumi remarked as he braced his shield. "... Now let's do this shit."
The menu interface in his eyes then begins to glow blood-red as he activates his [Wrath Shield 2]-
"ARRRRAGH!"
The sudden shock of pain courses through his whole body, as if a heavy torrent of water was crushing his whole body. The sensations of rage and resentment, the sinews in his muscles screaming in agony as this borderline inhumane and disgusting power overwhelmed him.
His whole soul was enveloped in the flames of hell itself, his body was being contorted and twisted in all directions as this unfamiliar sensation flowed throughout his body, and his mind was roaring and screeching in only the following words.
KILL. MAIM. BURN.
KILL, MAMM, BURN.
KILL! MAIM! BURN!
"What's going on!?" Naofumi roared through his [Cursed Series-Wrath]. "Why is this happening!?"
A voice then echoed in his mind.
"HE DID THIS! THIS IS FAULT THAT WE'RE IN THIS SHIT!" His own voice screeched out in his mind. "THIS IS ALL NAN'S DOING! THAT BASTARD ISN'T JOKING ABOUT BEING A VILLAIN! HE LED US TO THIS TRAP, RIGHT INTO THIS VILLAGE, WITH REINCHOTT AND THE VILLAGERS AS BAIT, AND WE FELL FOR IT LIKE IDIOTS!"
Naofumi then saw himself, covered in a red aura screaming murder, right before him in the void of his own mind.
"THAT BASTARD WILL BURN FOR THIS! THAT BASTARD WILL PAY FOR HIS BETRAYAL!" The Wrath!Naofumi roared at his face. "HE SET US UP, DOWN TO OUR EXECUTION! HE CODDLED US SO WE CAN BE PLAYED FOR FOOLS!"
The Wrath!Naofumi then suddenly morphs into a flaming visage of Nan.
"You, fucking, simpleton." Wrath!Nan mocked at his face. "A mere puppet, right to the very end."
The burning and smoldering feeling in his chest begins to swell and singe inside of Naofumi.
"Do play your role to the very end." Wrath!Nan remarked as he bopped Naofumi's nose with his finger. "I need you to live, after all. After that, I'll dispose of you at my leisure. The three stooges are barely a threat, but just being Shemp filming Evil Dead doesn't get you any further upward on the food chain. So do yourself a favor and do your best. It won't matter once I inevitably stomp you and your little bitches to the dirt."
A flash of Nan and his party standing atop of a flaming mountain of corpses erected before him.
The feeling of burning in his chest continued to intensify, the feeling of his own weakness failing him in the end.
Not because of a racist country, nor because of a spiteful old man with a throne glued onto his ass, nor is it because of that red-haired bitch of a princess.
... All of those paled, compared to Nan's lunacy. His mere thoughts permeating out of his mind sow chaos and discord everywhere he sets his foot on. His words were poison to everyone's souls, polluting everyone's being into utter madness. Nan's claim to his moniker as the "Demon King" was no exaggeration.
It was instead, his aspiration, to wreck havoc upon this world, to punish it for its injustice, and for his own self-gratification.
"URAGGHHHHHH!"
The flames took his being, and a vile power flowed throughout his body, Naofumi letting out the most throat-straining scream he'd let out in his entire life.
[Wrath Shield 3] Unlocked
[Blutschwur Märtyrer, Gottfried] and [Forsaken Tyrant's Prison Shield] Unlocked; Use [Tyrant Dragon Shield], [Damned Prisoner Shield], and [Wrath Shield 3] simultaneously to activate [Summon]
Naofumi emerges from the blood-red flames, his skin covered in scar-like runes, his [Barbarian Armor] now overlaid with sharpened spine-like black armor, and his [Forbidden Shield] has now morphed into the visage of a chained dragon's head, it's fanged rows of teeth snarling as it tried to break free from its shackles.
"... Hate... hate... HAATEE!" Naofumi snarled out. The pain of the [Wrath Shield] was dampened thanks to the built-in bonuses from his [-Fallen] promotion that mitigated the negative effects of his [Cursed Series], but in turn, the torrent of negative energy was double that of his previous usage of his [Curse Series], a moment of hesitation, threatening his soul to be lost to the darkness of his own hatred forever.
The [Spriggan] simply lets out a scoff, right before it begins to stamp the ground repeatedly, causing massive tremors all over, trying to knock Naofumi off of his current footing before it charged towards him with its club raised and its roar bellowing from its stoney teeth and molars.
"YOU THINK THE SAME SHIT WILL WORK TWICE!?"
His [Wrath Shield 3] then burns even brighter with its chthonian flames.
"[Summon]..." Naofumi chanted as he activated both his [Tyrant Dragon Shield], [Damned Prisoner Shield] and [Wrath Shield 3] at the same time. "... [Blutschwur Märtyrer, Gottfried]."
The shield then transforming into a bulwark resembling a chained gate, identified as the [Forsaken Tyrant's Prison Shield].
From between the jet-black chains over the gates, a dragon's head emerged from the gates holding it back, but from the unleashed dragon's maw, it forcibly opened itself to reveal a demonic armored knight emerging from the gagging dragon's throat, its dark armor covered to the brim with spikes like an iron maiden turned inside out, its hands begin more akin to a bramble of thorns that vaguely resembled quad-prodded mandibles rather than fully-articulated fingers, the gaps of its barbed armor armor plating dripping with freshly-boiled blood like a leaking barrel of wine, with special mention going to its helmet, a helmet in likeness to a visage of a wailing woman, its eyes, nose, and lips seeping with blood trailing down from its obsidian cheeks.
"WHO DARES!?" Gottfried roared out with a voice even deeper than the [Spriggan]'s, struggling to break free from both the dragon's maw and the gate imprisoning it. "WHO DARES TO UNLEASH THE INCARNATION OF SACRIFICE, THE FORSAKEN KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF THE IRON MAIDEN MARTYRS, AND THE ONE WHO FELL TO THE TYRANT DRAGON KING ITSELF!?"
The [Spriggan], even as it faced against this eldritch-looking black knight from his [Forsaken Tyrant's Prison Shield], continued its charge towards Naofumi's direction.
"IT'S YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S BROUGHT ME OUT TO THIS ACCURSED WORLD!" Gottfried roared out as it pointed its barbed finger towards the titan. "I'LL SMOTHER YOU TO YOUR LAST BREATH, CRETAN!"
The black knight simply lashes towards the [Spriggan], still attached to the dragon's head that it emerged from, thrashing and grappling with the masonry titan, dragging Naofumi along with it like a boy being walked by his overeager and outsized dog.
The [Spriggan] than notices Naofumi heading towards him, and attempts to grab him with its free hand.
"HELL NO!" Both Naofumi and Gottfried roared out in unison. "[SHIELD PRISON-HEDGEHOG]!"
Instead of the normal silver shields that composed the regular [Shield Prison], [Shield Prison-Hedgehog] instead covered Naofumi with jet-black colored bulwarks covered with flaming sword blades, piercing though the [Spriggan]'s stone hand like hot knife through butter, forcing the titan to retract its grip, and allowing Gottfried to take a few free hits into it, and rake its barbed claws into the titan's heels, causing it to buckle down to its knee.
Gottfried then continues to lay down more pressure unto the downed titan, digging its fingers into the [Spriggan]'s stone face, ripping it in half, only to reveal a face made of intertwined roots and bark, it's pair of topaz eyes glowing menacingly towards Gottfried, undeterred.
"NOW I SHALL TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME, BACK TO THE DAMNED OBLIVION!" Gottfried roared out at the [Spriggan]'s exposed face. "[BLUTBANK SABBAT]!"
The knight's armor spikes elongates into sword-like protrusions, right as it glomps onto the titan's face with its entire upper torso, piercing through its stone face and bark innards, and with a single pull, rips off the [Spriggan]'s entire head, causing it to fall onto its other knee, now completely helpless and unable to fight any further.
With a final strain, the black knight pulls the entirety of the titan's headless body along with its head, dragging it back into the [Forsaken Tyrant's Prison Shield], cramming the disproportionately large stone frame into the gates of the purgatorial void inside of Naofumi's [Forsaken Tyrant's Prison Shield].
Amidst the struggle however, Naofumi catches a glimpse of a lithe, green humanoid ejecting from the the stone body like some sort of mech suit pilot. But before Naofumi can order Gottfried to switch priorities, the black knight was already dragging the [Spriggan]'s stone body into the boiling pitch black, right before shutting the gates and chaining it down.
"Shit!" Naofumi cursed as he tried to pry open the gates on his shield with his bare hands, only for a message to show up on his HUD.
[Blutschwur Märtyrer, Gottfried] Cooldown Period: 5 Hours and 59 Minutes.
"FUCK!" Naofumi banged against the gates, right before it turned back into his regular jet-black colored [Forbidden Shield], and forcibly deactivating his [Cursed Series]. "GET BACK HERE-"
Naofumi suddenly goes limp, right before he falls flat onto his face in exhaustion from the strain of using his [Cursed Series] (and being dragged along by a psychotic black knight like a dog leash for the past minute).
Thankfully, it turns out that Nan was sort of correct about the [-Fallen] Class branch mitigating the [Cursed Series] penalties. He's only lost only one level where last time, he lost six.
"Get back... here..." Naofumi groaned out as he reached out towards the fleeing green humanoid.
But as he reached out, he then hears a stamping sound trembling on the ground that he was lying down on, followed up by his vision being obscured by a trail of dust, then followed up by a kiai-squack as he saw a giant bipedal bird trample down onto the humanoid.
"... Filo?" Naofumi groaned out.
"Come on master." He heard Raphtalia's voice as he was slowly picked off from the ground. "There we go..."
"Ugh... thanks." Naofumi grunted out. "... How the hell did you get here so quickly?"
"Filo." Raphtalia answered. "That and well, the whole ground suddenly stopped shaking kinda gave it away."
As Naofumi slowly straightened his vision, he saw that Filo was standing triumphantly on top of a fallen plant-boy, presumably, the true form of the [Spriggan].
"Heh heh." Filo giggled out proudly. "Master! I got him!"
"Nice work." Naofumi remarked. "Let's finish it off before it does anything-"
The [Spriggan] simply lets out a wicked smile as Naofumi and Raphtalia drew closer to it.
"The only ones that are finished..." The [Spriggan] cackled out. "... ARE ALL OF YOU!"
The [Spriggan]'s head then blooms into that of something akin to a green flower, at the center containing blood-red pollen.
"GET BACK-"
"[SPORE RAIN]!"
The [Spriggan], in its last act of defiance, explodes its own head into a red cloud of pollen, with Filo taking the full brunt of the blast of the plant's powder.
"FILO!" Naofumi cried out as he tried to shield himself and Raphtalia from the red spores scattered into the air.
As the cloud of spore dissipates, the silhouette of a little girl with a pair of bird wings on her back appears.
"Oh thank god, she's alright-"
The mere thought and hopes of their [Filolial Queen] being alright were quickly thrown out of the window when both Naofumi and Raphtalia saw Filo standing next to the headless corpse of the [Spriggan] with a blank expression that accentuated her now-completely bloodshot pair of widened eyes with shrunken irises that resembled pinpricks.
"... Filo?" Raphtalia worryingly called out.
The Filolial then lets out a loud and shrill screech before pouncing onto Raphtalia like a rabid animal, flailing and thrashing around and on her, foaming from the mouth, and bashing onto her head with her fists in an unhinged display of madness.
"FILO!" Naofumi cried out he tried to pull the now-crazed [Filolial Queen] off of Raphtalia. "WHAT'S GOING ON!? SNAP OUT OF IT!"
He then looked towards Filo's status, now with a [Berserk] aliment label on top of her HP bar.
Before he can mull on the revelation any further, Filo suddenly turns her rage towards Naofumi, now pulling him by his hair while she snarls and howls like a rabid animal.
"FILO!" Naofumi cried out as he tried to break free from her grasp. "ON MY ORDERS, CEASE YOUR TANTRUM!"
Filo's [Slave Brand] reacts with jolts of lightning shocking her, but Filo's [Berserk] aliment prevented her from feeling anything but her own frenzy, rendering her restraining brand completely useless.
"Naofumi!" He heard Melty's voice through Filo's gnawing and clawing on his head as he tried to rip her off of his face. "What's going on-"
"STAY BACK-"
It was too late, for in the next second, Filo's bare hands were now constricted around Melty's neck.
"F...ilo..." Melty distraughtly choked out. "Wh..at's going... on-"
"IT'S THE SPORES FROM THE [SPRIGGAN]!" Naofumi cried out as he and Raphtalia tried to break away Filo from Melty. "SHE'S NOT HERSELF RIGHT NOW!"
As the two tried to break the maddened Filo away from Melty, the princess's eyes begin to tear up.
"... Filo... please... wake up..." The princess sobbed out towards the bloodshot eyes of the feral [Filolial Queen] currently strangling her. "... It's me... Melty..."
As her eyes rolled back of her head, Melty then faints from the lack of air going through her body.
"... Melty?"
The two then successfully pull Filo off of Melty, all three of them tumbling and rolling back onto the dirt.
"You're alright..." Naofumi sighed out in relief. "Thank god..."
"Master?" Filo asked as she pointed towards the fainted princess. "What happened to her-"
Filo then starts screaming again, now clutching her head in pain.
"Filo!" Naofumi cried out as he embraced her in her panicked stated. "Stay with me! Stay with me-"
"MELTY!" Filo cried out hysterically. "I DIDN'T DO IT, BUT WHY ARE MY HANDS SHAKING!?"
Filo continued to flail in Naofumi's grasp.
"FILO! CALM DOWN-"
"LET ME GO!" Filo screeched out as she began to bawl out. "I HAVE TO GET AWAY FROM HER BEFORE I HURT HER AGAIN! MASTER! I'M BAD GIRL-"
In a sudden turn of events, Raphtalia slaps Filo right across her cheek.
"... OW!" Filo exclaimed out. "BIG SIS RAPHTALIA! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"
"Are you a bad girl, Filo?" Raphtalia asked bluntly.
"... I am-"
"No, you're not." Raphtalia cut off Filo. "It was an accident, nothing more."
Filo then began to cry into Naofumi chest, bawling and wailing in her lament.
"I-*hic* I saw myself *hic* hurting Melty..." Filo sobbed out into Naofumi's chest. "Master... *hic*... I'm bad girl... I don't *hic* deserve to *hic* pull your carriage..."
"No Filo..." Naofumi reassured softly. "It wasn't your fault. Just be careful next time, alright? Right now, we need to get to safety and make sure that the others are alright."
He then walks towards the downed Melty, still unconscious from Filo's previous strangulation. Naofumi presses his ear against the princess's chest.
"... Good, she's still breathing." Naofumi stated as he picked the princess up and put her on his back. "Come on Filo, let's go."
Filo nods tearfully as she took Raphtalia's hand for some sort of an unspoken emotion counsel for the traumatized little girl.
"Hopefully, the others got out in time..." Naofumi remarked to himself.
They eventually reach the village square, only to find that no one left the spot that they were standing on.
"What's going on?" Naofumi asked. "I thought you guys were getting out!"
"... About that, Mr. [Shield Hero]." Reinchott gulped out nervously. "You might want to take a look what happened."
The nobleman then leads him to an open hole at the center of the gathering, revealing a caved-in chasm.
"You see, this village was coincidently built atop of a mining vein, and managing to woo the king to build an 'escape hatch' in case the region gets invaded again, and usually, we would've made it out of the village..." Reinchott's words nervously trailed off. "... But upon the ground quaking one too many times, the whole route caved in, meaning that we're going to have to escape on foot."
"Goddammit." Naofumi bitterly remarked. "At least the coast is mostly clear... I think."
Reinchott then looks at the unconscious Melty piggybacking Naofumi.
"... What happened?" Reinchott asked. "The princess was going outside to see what was going on, so what happened?"
"... Filo went crazy after she breathed into some red spores spouted out by a [Spriggan]." Naofumi answered. "I think that red shit in the air might be a hallucinogen, so be careful."
Naofumi then notices the nobleman's eyes widening upon hearing his testimony.
"... I'm sorry, Mr. [Shield Hero], but did you just say a [Spriggan]?" Reinchott asked in an alarmed tone.
"Almost got party wiped." Naofumi replied. "Why?"
The nobleman then firmly grasps onto Naofumi's shoulders with both of his hands while giving him a stern yet terrified look.
"Mr. [Shield Hero]..." Reinchott firmly stated. "... Those things went extinct 200 years ago, and now you're telling me that one of them just shown up to our gates!?"
"... According to one of the several bandits that happened to be ex-villagers, they several rampaging throughout Melromarc." Naofumi answered. "But before I can ask him any further, he got crushed underfoot and his remains got scraped against a boulder."
"... Judging by your expression, I can at least take it that you're not lying." Reinchott sighed out. "If what you say is true, then I can assume that nowhere is guaranteed safe... To think Melromarc was already perilous for demihumans... now everywhere is perilous for both races."
"... Why does that statement sound so... familiar?" Naofumi asked.
"Master, I feel really angry all of the sudden." Raphtalia remarked out of the blue.
Then Naofumi recalled the words of Wrath!Nan that appeared in his hallucinations.
"Do play your role to the very end. I need you to live, after all. After that, I'll dispose of you at my leisure. The three stooges are barely a threat, but just being Shemp filming Evil Dead doesn't get you any further upward on the food chain. So do yourself a favor and do your best. It won't matter once I inevitably stomp you and your little bitches to the dirt."
"... That son of a bitch." Nan muttered under his breath. "If he's behind this, I swear-"
"Pardon?" Reinchott asked.
"Nothing..." Naofumi sighed out. "Come on, we're not any safer anywhere than here, so might as well keep moving-"
"NOBODY MOVE!"
Behind them, a young human boy, malnourished and caked in dirt, heaving and panicking with his eyes both bloodshot and jaundiced, was holding a shiv against Keel's throat while pinning her arm behind her back.
"What's going on!?" Reinchott remarked.
"DON'T MOVE!" The boy bandit cried out as he pressed his knife against Keel's throat. "YOU MOVE, AND THIS DEVIL SPAWN DIES!"
A standoff occurs, a desperate boy turned bandit holds another child, a demihuman, but still, a fellow child regardless, as a hostage.
"DON'T ANY OF YOU FUCKING MOVE!" The boy cried out. "I WANT THE DEVIL OF THE SHIELD TO KILL HIMSELF IF HE WANTS THIS GIRL TO LIVE!"
"Calm down! Just drop the knife and-"
"MAKE ME!" The boy spat back as his shiv began to draw blood from Keel's nape. "THE DEVIL IS THE ONE WHO SENT THE MONSTERS TO MY HOME AND KILLED MY MOM AND DAD!"
Naofumi couldn't believe what he was seeing.
A human child, now reduced to complete squalor, taking another kid hostage, despite being clear that he'll gain nothing out of any bargain that he threatens Keel's life with, all in the name of simply spiting him and him only.
Nan's influence didn't simply start the fire as so much as he let it burn brighter by pouring gasoline onto it. He's burned away the veil of civility and has revealed the ugliness that lied beneath the facade called "civilization".
All former traces of a dignity of a human being, gone. All traces of sanity and reason, destroyed.
... In order to save Raphtalia's friend, he's going to have to murder a child. Nan has forced his whole party into flat-out murder.
He then sees Raphtalia's left hand slowly reaching for her [Kitchen Knife] sheathed behind her back, in a desperate attempt to save her long-lost friend.
Naofumi would normally protest for such rash course of action, but he himself was also completely short on any feasible options that doesn't end with someone getting maimed.
Switching POV: Keel
This was her worst and most terrifying moment. The dog-demihuman was now scared out of her mind of her life ending at the hands of a human child driven beyond the fringes of madness.
Her time at Rabier's domain was nothing short of hell, but here, it felt like she's well on her way to the actual hell in any moment.
She tried to scream for help, but no words came out. She tried to look towards her grown-up friend for help, but all she saw was an expression of hesitant dilemma, knowing full well that one wrong movement will result in her death.
She'd never thought that there were something more to fear other than Rabier's torture, but somehow, against all common sense, she was proven wrong.
She silently waited for her death, but amidst her inner silence, she remembered her savior's voice.
... Nan's voice.
"... Take responsibility. If one has a right to live, then fight for it if you must. Choose death over enslavement, liberation over suppression, the mad truth over the peaceful lie. Put this on your face, and let it take it from there."
... The mask that Nan gave it to her. The promise that she'd made to him.
Her survival, was now her responsibility.
The mad truth, was now that she's the only one left who can save herself.
She takes out a white mask with a yellow arch painted across the eyes and puts it onto her face, letting the latent energy of the mask course throughout her body...
"... So this is what freedom feels like."
Joy blossomed in her heart, as her body began ripping itself apart, and forming anew, shedding off all of her former weaknesses from her old body, starting by burning her face.
Switching POV: Raphtalia
The next five seconds that transpired before here can only be described as "utter bullshit".
The mask that Keel had hidden in her plainclothes was now on her face, but as the boy tried to slash his shiv across her throat, she grabs his wrist, breaks it in her grip, slams his whole body towards the ground...
... And then suddenly, her entire right arm swelled up into the size akin to the [Spriggan]'s own arm, right before she crushed the boy with her bare fist into red paste.
"IMMANA FLOSS MY TEETH WITH YOUR SPINE!" The mutated Keel roared out, now under a different moniker.
[Badass Psycho]
Keel-Facebasher Turn (Pro-Wrestling term puns, look it up).
This... madness was clearly Nan's handiwork.
"HEY RAPHTALIA! LOOK AT ME!" Keel happily remarked. "I'M SO FUCKING JACKED RIGHT NOW!"
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?" Raphtalia exclaimed. "WHO DID THIS TO YOU!?"
"Nan saved us! In turn, he taught us that our survival is our responsibility!" Keel happily remarked. "I'm no longer a kid anymore, Raphtalia! I can fight, just like you and the Shield Hero!"
... That madman didn't save them. He corrupted them, in mind, body, and soul.
"This is so wrong..." Raphtalia remarked in an aghast tone. "KEEL! TAKE OFF THAT MASK RIGHT NOW!"
"Why? So that I can go back to being weak again?"
Keel then shoves down Raphtalia back onto the dirt.
"Look Raphtalia, the past year of captivity as utter hell for me and the others, all because our cries for help were silenced in a land that doesn't care about us." Keel bluntly stated. "After the [Tome Fallen] saved our lives, you know what he did to us? He made us kill the same fat bastard that kept us like animals with our own two hands. It was then that I learned from him that in this cruel world, no one's out here to save us from the [Waves] or the kingdoms that refuse to band together in the name of a common good. Not the [Shield Hero], not the kingdom of Siltvelt or Shieldfreeden, and certainly as hell not you. It's everyone for themselves at this point, because if everyone's too busy to save everyone else, then screw those fuckers, I'm taking matters into my own hands."
"SO SIMPLY GOING MAD WITH POWER IS YOUR ONLY OPTION!?" Raphtalia remarked.
Keel then lets out a deranged and maddened laughter upon hearing her former friend's words.
"... Just when were you that STUPID, RAPHTALIA!?"
Keel's bloated fist then takes a swing towards her, sending her careening away from her upon the impact.
"Raphtalia!" She heard her master's voice. "Get behind me!"
The villagers then scattered away from the mutated Keel, now on the verge of going on a rampage.
"I wasn't saved by my best friend or her idol. So while we waited for help, several of my friends died captivity." Keel spitefully remarked as she pointed her finger from her bloated right arm. "... You left us to rot, Raphtalia, all because you wanted to play hero. WELL GUESS WHAT!? NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO SUFFER! SUFFER LIKE RIFANA DID, RAPHTALIA-"
Suddenly, a concentrated stream of arrows nailed onto her back akin to a pincushion.
"... Keel?" Raphtalia called out.
As the [Badass Psycho] fell to the ground, the white mask with the yellow arch falls off of Keel's face, revealing an azure-blue arch branded over her face, akin to how the arch on the mask streaked down both of her eyes.
"... Keel?"
Behind her bloated body, several figures, all clad in jade green and crimson, all of their faces obscured by a semi-translucent veils, and in their hands were a [Red Oak Compact Bow], nocked with another three arrows at the ready in case if they need to fire once more.
"... Keel-"
*THWACK*
A sharp heavy blunt strike hits the back of her head, forcing her consciousness to fade away to black.
Switching POV: Unknown Spectator
"Is the [Shield Hero], Naofumi Iwatani secure?"
"Yes sir, along with his entire party, the villagers, and two nobles. Aside from the mutated villager that the Yuyuan Archers had to put down, no one else was hurt. Speaking of which, what are we to do with them? Amongst them, there's a nobleman and from what the current intel gives us, the Crown Princess of Melromarc herself."
"... Hmm, to think keeping tabs on the Mirellia's [Shadow] reaped this much of benefit. As for the party members, the villagers, and our well-bred human compatriots, keep them alive. I'll need them all for leverage for our current... negotiations."
"Affirmative-"
"IF YOU LAY A SINGLE HAND ON THE PRINCESS, I SWEAR THAT I'LL-"
"Shut her up."
*THWACK*
"Thank you. Whoever did that, can I have your name?"
"Brother Syaoran from the Order of the White Oak. A level 95 [Monk]."
"Inform our esteemed brother in arms that's he's getting a small raise for his service, and of course, the rest of you will be owed handsomely, including the volunteer division from Siltvelt, of course."
"At once."
"Also, do tell that if the volunteer division does anything to our...guests, they will answer to me, personally. And not even the Three Houses or the Crown will come to save them, understood?"
"Yes sir, I'll spread the word at once."
"Do so, Captain Chen Gong. If I see so much as one single scar on any of them, I will do more than just strip them of their rank."
Switching POV: Genbu
"Urp... Methinks I drank too much."
The black-skinned [Gremlin] vomits into a ditch before wiping his mouth with his wrist.
Another night on top of the [Admantortise]'s shell, another night of sweep operations and drinking until his fermented kidney couldn't take no more booze.
"Urp..." Genbu then begins to vomit. "... I want to stop drinking, but the voices in my head are sayin' otherwise."
The last few nights were a trial for the [Gremlin]. Visions of a celestial woman, cackling at the sight of worlds exploding into balls of light, a mass of darkness collecting numerous souls screaming and falling into the void below.
Both of them, despite their contradicting symbolism and imagery, felt exactly the same. Just because there are different paths doesn't mean that the destination isn't any different. In fact, one might say that two separate paths can lead to the same location.
... In hindsight, there are several different paths that Nan could've gone down for a better world, he just simply went the path that involves the most death.
To be fair though, the idea of a "better world" is subjective. From their perspective, slavery and racism are the kinds of evil that must be eradicated off the face of this earth. But to those living in the kingdoms such as Melromarc and Siltvelt?
A fact of life at best, a source of prosperity at worst.
As he stumbled back towards where the majority of the party were concentrated at, he bumps into someone's leg.
"Oh, excuse me."
Genbu looks up, only to find that black-haired girl with the slightly-slanted eyes.
"... Ruo?" Genbu grumbled out half-drunk.
"Nah, it's Rio." Rio remarked. "Rio Murasame? [Sword Hero]'s ex-girlfriend, and why the hell do you smell like booze?"
"Oi, don't ya fucking judge til ya try it." Genbu retorted.
"Not in this lifetime."
The two grumble as they continue to head towards the same direction.
"... So, what's keep you up at night?" Rio asked.
"Aw shite, you noticed?"
"Your stink of alcohol is putrid than usual." Rio pointed out. "That, and for the past two nights, you came back to your bunk like my dad."
"Ah, fair enough."
The two then sit by a bonfire, occupied by several other [Lizardmen], [Hellhounds], and Yaelia, all of them roasting skewered humans and demihumans over the fire., taking occasional bites out of their seared meat impaled through sharpened and bored-down logs.
"... Hey little guy, is it bad if I say that I'm already used to this whole Vlad Dracula shit in front of me?" Rio asked, visibly sweating with nervousness.
"Eh, we been through worse." Genbu dispassionately pointed out. "Though you being whisked away here as a slave for demihumans from the start will do wonders."
"... Yep, I can't go back to being normal." Rio bemoaned. "I belong to a carnival of killers now."
"Eh, this whole damned world is a cavalcade of carnivals full of killers." Genbu pointed out. "We're just more badass than them, that's all."
Rio lets out a small chuckle as she poked the charred wood with a stick.
"Yeah... guess how that's how all civilization were first erected." Rio bitterly pointed out as she chucked the stick into the flames. "First we killed animals for food and fur, then we started to kill people for them threatening their respective ways of life, then we began killing for their resources, then for ideology and nationalism, and finally, all sentient life has reached the point of killing their fellow man for sport. I think society solely exists to control our naturally-destructive tendencies, but after being shown two different examples from both worlds, former I got shanked to death by some arsehole calling himself Death Gun, then almost suffered a fate worse than death here, I can safely conclude that society in general in doing a very shitty job keeping people under control."
"Tch. Not that we're any better, justified or not." Genbu pointed out. "Maybe that's why I've been drinking more than usual?"
"Well, you do you." Rio remarked. "I'm just gonna stare at the fire for a bit before I go to sleep. I swear, the sweep-up operations we've been doing around the turtle's back makes me feel like we're in a war zone."
"Face it, lassie. This whole damn world is a constant war zone." Genbu remarked. "The kiddo just woke em wolves up, that's all."
"They're not wolves, they're lemmings." Rio retorted. "They willingly walk towards their deaths every time they face us, and every time a single of them dies, ten more just fill up either our bellies or ditches as shit."
"Ya say that like it's a bad thing."
"It would be... if they weren't such assholes about it." Rio sighed out.
Suddenly, the [Lizardman] offers her a human leg.
"... Sorry." Rio raised her hands between her face and the meat. "I just had dinner."
"Always... room... for one... more-"
The [Lizardman] then vanishes right in front of her, along with the [Hellhounds] and the [Shiryu].
"... Genbu?" Rio asked.
"... The whole damn place has gone silent." Genbu remarked as he placed his hand on the pommel of his shortsword. "Every one of the boyo's [Summons]... They're gone."
From the distance, all of the party members gathered towards where the bonfire was at, just as unsure as the two.
"What's going on?" Byakko asked. "A minute ago, I was feeding the [Cerberus Hades], and the next moment, it vanished into thin air!"
"Same here for the [Lizardmen], [Hellhounds], and Yaelia." Genbu pointed out. "But somehow, not me."
"What, how are you still here?" Rino pointed out. "Aren't you one of bossman's [Summons]?"
"Not really." Genbu pointed out. "I joined him of my free will."
"So that means that the only the [Summons] are being forcibly recalled." Byakko remarked. "Explains why Alpha, Beta, and Chi are still around despite being [Summons]."
"Yeah, turns out we're registered as party members." Chi pointed out. "But that doesn't explain why the [Admantortise] didn't go up in smoke."
"... Perhaps there's a size limit to this phenomenon?" Theresa stated. "I mean, there's a weird feeling in the air, disrupting Nan's flow of mana throughout the whole area on Kaido's shell..."
Genbu then looks at Glass who's hanging her arm over L'Arc's shoulder.
"... What's with ya, lassie?" Genbu pointed out. "You look wasted, and not the alcoholic-kind."
"I was afraid of this eventually coming..." Glass groaned out in a strained voice. "But after hearing Theresa's statement, I think I can guess what this phenomenon is..."
"Well, spill it." Rio pointed out.
"... It's [Anti-Magic]." Glass heaved out. "And lots of it-"
"GUYS!"
From a distance, Garou, Fubuki, Seiryu, Suzaku come running towards the bonfire.
"What is it?" L'Arc asked.
"... We got lots of flying shit coming our way." Garou heaved out. "[Wyverns], a whole flock of em!"
"And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they're carrying people on their backs." Seiryu interjected. "By that, I mean all of them."
"Also, the [Summons] suddenly disappeared before our eyes." Fubuki stated. "Our numbers are cut in half, and at this rate, we'll be set upon our heads!"
A fireball streaks past their heads, and crashes onto one of the sheds, setting on fire.
From the shrubs, several [Wyverns], all dressed in armor, carrying armored pikemen on their backs, flew towards the whole party with their pikes pointed towards them.
"KILL THEM!" The mounted pikemen roared out. "DEATH TO THE DEMON KING-"
Suddenly, a loose door hits the lead pikeman in the head, knocking him off of the [Wyvern]'s back, causing the armored man to roll onto the dirt before falling off of the [Admantortise]'s shell towards his death.
Everyone, including the ones on the [Wyvern]'s backs, looks towards where the loose door came from.
From the fringes of the makeshift home base, was none other than Nan, his pegleg raised up, his right armpit cradling a crutch, and his other hand grabbing Malty by her hair.
"... Boyo, did ya just kick the door off its hinges with ya pegleg?" Genbu asked.
All they saw Nan do was simply take deep breath before bellowing out the most "done with your shit"-exclamation possible.
"THE FUCKING HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?"
Nan then draws his [Grimoire Heart], points it towards the pikemen, and shoots the armored [Wyvern] dead with a [Lava Spout], melting its plate armor into its skull, thrashing around its entire body, swinging its barbed tail around, hitting several pikemen off of their mounts, right before it falls dead.
Everyone just stares in silence right before they notice each other.
"KILL THEM!" Both side roared out in unison as the whole [Admantortise]'s shell went straight to hell.
... At least that was one way to work off the hangover. Such is the life of a [Gremlin].
"HEY! THE HECK'S GOING ON OUTSIDE!?"
"SHIT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! GRAB SOMETHING SHARP!"
"SOMEBODY KEEP MY BABY GIRL SAFE!"
... Scratch that, he's going to need another liver by the end of this long night.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: One shitstorm after another... The world of the Shield Hero is not a kind one, and my self-insert is stirring up the hornet's nest something fierce.
Villagers turning into Bandits and Psychos from Borderlands, high-level monsters roaming the lands, and a greater political scheme that involves the Shield Hero...
... Yeah, things are going to shit. But if there's any consolation, is the fact that I managed to put in one joke at the end of this Epic, absurd as it may be.
Times are though these days, and my sanity is being tested to its highest exertion. Wish you all the safe in these trying times, whether quarantined or protesting, remember to watch yourselves and your health.
... I wish that I could phrase that a bit better.
Current Party Members:
Name: [Great Scourge], Nan Hon-Jah
Class: [Tome Fallen]
Level: 80
Affinity: [All Eight Elements] & [Ten Primordial Sins]
Alignment: Chaotic Mad
Equipment: [Forbidden Tome, Grimm the Heretic], [Grimoire Heart], [Lemegeton], [Sibylline], [Necromancer's Robes], [Mire Boots], [Wight's Rune of Spite], [Silver Wolf's Maw], [Bandit's Silver Thumb], [Visage of Madness], [Mystic Geas: Puppeteer], [Portable Dragon's Hourglass], [Slayer's Rusted Plate Armor]
Legion: None
Attack: 95 (+195)
Defense: 92 (+40)
Agility: 90 (+35)
Luck: 85 (+45)
HP: 700 (+105)
MP: 820 (+305)
Name: Garou
Class: [Brawler]
Level: 84
Affinity: [Dark]
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Equipment: [Assassin's Leather Armor], [Nightshroud], [Blade Gauntlets], [Primal Claws], [Katars]
Attack: 107 (+50)
Defense: 75 (-20)
Agility: 115 (+65)
Luck: 61 (+20)
HP: 910 (+20)
MP: 360 (-100)
Name: Fubuki
Class: [Monk]
Level: 83
Affinity: [Ice]
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Equipment: [Twilight Gunstaff], [Darkbane Gauntlets], [Twilight Cloak], [Twilight Hunter's Hood], [Mana Medallion]
Legion: None
Attack: 94 (+45)
Defense: 67 (+30)
Agility: 104 (+25)
Luck: 96 (+20)
HP: 630 (-50)
MP: 1,020 (+100)
Name: Genbu
Class: ?
Level: ?
Affinity: None
Alignment: ?
Equipment: [Wayward Nomad's Garbs], [Silver Pocket Watch & Chain], [Silver Shortsword], [Silver Buckler], [Fafnir's Flametongue]
Attack: ?
Defense: ?
Agility: ?
Luck: 9,999
HP: ?
MP: ?
Name: Rino
Class: [Assassin]
Level: 75
Affinity: [Earth]
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Equipment: [Brave Compound Bow], [Spark Dagger], [Steel Throwing Knives x20], [Assassin's Cloak], [Shadow Mufflers], [Silent Step Sandals]
Legion: None
Attack: 82 (+80)
Defense: 50 (+10)
Agility: 108 (+120)
Luck: 97 (+90)
HP: 450 (+40)
MP: 400 (+40)
Name: Glass
Class: [Phantom Fan Saint]
Level: 93
Affinity: [Dark]
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Equipment: [Sacred Fans], [Kimono of Mourning], [Pristine Visage]
Legion: [Blood-Oath Zealots]
Attack: 108 (+50)
Defense: 87 (+70)
Agility: 129 (+50)
Luck: 59 (+100)
HP: 820 (+200)
MP: 890 (+250)
So what do you think of this Epic?
Just what kind of shit did Naofumi and his party walk into this time?
Just what plans does our stranger have for the Shield Hero?
And just how the hell did Nan kick a door off of its hinges with a fucking pegleg?
Does anything even make sense anymore (both in the fic and IRL)?
Please leave a comment or a review, for I'd like to know what the audience is thinking!