A/N: (Note/Disclaimer) All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners. Such as Neopeople for Dungeon Fighter Online(Also known as Dungeon & Fighter) and Aneko Yusga for The Rising Of The Shield Hero
Note 2:
("Human/Speech")
("Thoughts")
(Attacks/Weapon names)
(Other/Foreign/ Speech & Text/Book/Scroll)
(Actions/POV)
(Titles/Flashback/Time/Dates/Place)
(Narration & Everything else)
('Demonic Speech')
("Demonic Thoughts")
Hero And Fighter Chapter 16
Castle Town: ?'s Castle
6/1/0000: 1930
Third Person: Omni
"Not just her, I made sure to ask Itsuki as well. Raphtalia is a slave isn't she?" Motoyasu asked with an angered look on his face. Naofumi felt like facepalming at the admission that Itsuki had decided to share that information… though it was not like it is a secret.
"Yes, she is… and why would that matter to you in particular?" Naofumi said with a raised brow… He kinda felt strange now that he was on this side of the conversation. It was surprising how the thought of how abhorrent owning a slave disappeared when interacting with his own slaves.
"It is not right to enslave others!" Motoyasu stated.
"Not like I had much choice to get companions…" Naofumi said with a sigh.
"So fight me!" Naofumi got annoyed at the unhearing ears of the spearman, he kept his eyes away from Myne as much as possible to not have irrational anger boiling.
"And what happens when either of us wins?" Naofumi kept calm the entire time, annoyed at Itsuki for getting him into this mess.
"If I win, you release Raphtalia." Motoyasu pointed his spear at the other hero.
"First off, you are discriminating against Senka, who is also a slave, second off, did you ask her if she wanted to be released? And finally, what would I get from winning?" Naofumi asked with a tired tone. He already had enough of this. Senka just waves with a bland expression on her face when she was mentioned.
"You have two slaves?" Motoyasu asked, his tone outraged as if having two slaves was worse off than having a single slave. If you really thought about it, you were a slave to the king, his loyal hunting hound at the moment.
"On another note… have you figured out that this is not a game? People do not respawn… So why did you not help the village who's loved ones are gone now?" Despite trying to keep the anger down, Naofumi couldn't help but show it when he spoke, the thing on his thoughts already coming forth from his mouth.
"What are you talking about? Are you trying to redirect the conversation and make me forget our duel?!" Naofumi almost facepalmed, it seemed that he still did not believe it, the status magic the heroes have was getting quite annoying when trying to convince the others that they would not revive.
"Sure, whatever you say. Just don't say anything to me when the people start blaming you for their problems… to be so far away from the populous is to be inhuman yourself…" Naofumi stated wisdom crafted by thousands of years of experience.
"To think he would stoop so low to using a slave…" Despite how calm Ren is usually, he was still angered by the revelation that the Shield is using a slave. Great, he had been expecting a plot from the start. Naofumi just decided to leave.
"A hero, using a demi-human as a slave? You truly are a rotten one. I order you to take the duel!" The king spoke as a guard blocked Naofumi's path. It seems that he is not caught up in the conversation.
"Not you too you idiot… First off, from your eyes, I can tell you take great delight in the Patron of Demi-Humans having a Demi-Human slave." The crowd almost gasped at the accusation. Senka was discreetly giving him words to use.
"Second off, you really shouldn't be commanding someone who you yourself asked for help, it is honestly disgusting when I am not even a citizen of this country. Don't even have the legal document for it at the moment." Naofumi's tone was as cold as the antarctic in the dead of winter but his words burned like the Sahara at high noon.
"Third off, did you forget that I know that the queen holds the power? Just because you are king does not mean you hold any power over me, regent or no." The king almost looked like he swallowed a lemon, he had indeed forgotten about that information despite the false trial.
'And finally, the queen heard of my situation and dispatched agents to get me a slave to work with… especially when you have imprisoned a potential party member under false pretenses, who I might add, is a noble herself." Naofumi almost balked at the last set of works from Senka, he did not know of the last arrangements at all but he was able to read it without any showcase of his surprise.
"You, who meddle in the affairs of the people in a negative manner. Hold a religious position when needing to be neutral, and putting a single race in your crosshairs due to the supposed actions of a few. Are no wise king, no you have been reduced to a pile of trash on that throne of yours that others think is a pile of gold." Naofumi pointed directly at the man who helped place a thorn in his heart. The nobles all gasped.
"And you know what, since I am the challenged, I get to set the dual's rules," Naofumi stated, he was putting on an impromptu show for the nobles, who very well had slaves of their own.
"First, the duel will happen tomorrow evening. No killing, maiming or calling in allies to help. Senka will be observing anything on your side, but it is more of a handicap on me than anything, your party just sits and watches you fight. They do not do the work that is required to save the world… much less themselves." Naofumi states all the regulations as well as the frank opinion about his companions. The girls all felt that he could see through everything.
"All spears and shields that have been unlocked within our specific legendary weapons are allowed. No abilities that will destroy the venue. As for my rewards when I win, having your party members actually woman up and stop hiding behind you. And considering that I have been doing a very good job as a therapist, they can come to schedule an appointment with me to talk about their worries. If I lose, depending on whether or not Raphtalia or Senka want to become free, I will free them."
"A win is decided by knock out of an individual, or a restraint lasting for at least 10 seconds." Naofumi finished off the rest of the terms.
"These are my terms and conditions, accept them, or just move on," Naofumi stated with a cold tone, his emotional exhaustion was catching up to him very quickly. Especially when he is holding his anger in.
"Fine, I accept." Motoyasu took a few moments to actually think on the terms, every one of them was fair. Naofumi just nodded before going to the inn for the night, tomorrow he would have to use the copy ability extensively.
_(RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO)_
Erhard's Smithy
6/2/0000: 1500
"So this is for the fight you are in later today?" The smith asked while placing a set of shields onto the counter, various ones created by Naofumi's designs as a gift before they left for the dragon hourglass.
"I wanted to try their weapon copy function, but I must ask, how much in total?" Naofumi looked at the various strange shields on the counter. He would no be like them and would actually pay.
"Weapon copy huh… wait, that was what those kids were doing?" the smith was outraged by the blatant theft that happened. Naofumi just shrugged.
"Alright, since you told me, gave me the weapon designs, and are only going to copy it and not just take the entire thing, 100 silvers in total." It was probably only the labor cost that was given to Naofumi, so he just paid it in full.
"Oh yeah, the Pharmacist and Witch want to see you later." The smith said as Naofumi picked up each shield and copied it. Naofumi already knew about the Pharmacist, in fact, they have been doing quite a few deals.
"Alright then, thanks for everything boss," Naofumi said while walking out the door with the rest of the party, no longer doubting him when he has all those new shields to use.
"Well then, what was this about another party member?" Naofumi asked while looking directly at Senka, though Melina was trying to whistle innocently… and failing horribly.
"I only knew about this recently when I was talking to some nobles around the banquet. Melina would know better." Immediately pushing the blame onto Melina, Senka retreated from the gaze of her master.
"Alright, then Melina… care to explain?" Naofumi turned his attention to the only nonslave member of his party, a quirked brow and a calm tone was used to enhance the effect.
"Well I found… well a Knight… you know Ellen…?" There was only one interdimensional Knight, well many different splinters in many different dimensions.
"So her shards even reached here…" Naofumi said with an interested expression.
"Eclair Seaetto, daughter of the right-hand knight of the queen. Was imprisoned under unknown charges… but only after the queen has left for the conference between nations. As of currently, she has been in her cell mumbling to herself." Senka stated while standing in front of him. All he could do is palm his face even more conspiracies are on the king's head.
_(DUNGEON FIGHTER ONLINE)_
Castle Town: ?'s Castle: Dungeons
Eclair just sat in her cell, whenever she slept she just dreamed of a woman with the same shade of hair. Everything she woke from those dreams she heard a more distinct voice every time till it was now, listening to a young woman's voice much like her own.
"I know I have to get out of here…" Her one-sided mumbles had stopped any of the guards from trying to do anything unsavory. Her body felt uncomfortable, but mainly her left arm, it was as if she was missing something on there. The feeling became more apparent every moment the voice in her head spoke.
"I know, by the grace of Michael." She mumbled out, talking to someone no one else could see. In fact, spending a few weeks inside the cell really didn't make her any messier, she looked the same as after she cleaned herself.
Castle Town: ?'s Castle: Arena: Naofumi's Prep Room
6/2/0000: 1650
The room was darkened, probably made for the side that had no chance. Naofumi only saw practice swords abound, almost as if they tried to taunt him. He closed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the shield, sitting on a bench that was built into the back of the room.
The sounds of the announcer were muffled, barely discernible to Naofumi as the doors slowly opened. He silently stood up and walked forward into the darkened hall, a way to frame him like a villain.
"The duel will take place in front of the Pope and King and is thus legitimate." The man announced, the king and his aides in the main box. A seemingly kind old man sat with several of his own guards inside the opposite box.
"Remember that folk tale of the unstoppable spear and the immoveable shield?" Motoyasu asked for some banter between them. Naofumi just looked annoyed, he already knew what he is trying to say.
"Naofumi, be a man and admit defeat!" He spun his spear with a flourish to get ready, though Naofumi felt actual adventures who used spears were facepalming at the unskilled use of it.
"Shield Of Blessings II." Naofumi stated matter of factly, the shield looking much the same besides the suddenly glowing sigil of light floating above the face. It is his strongest shield at the moment… at least the one he had access to. The church members almost balked at the shield.
"Ready…" The arbiter spoke for the audience and dueling pair. Naofumi just closed his eyes, letting his senses expand. Motoyasu changed his spear as well as he crouched low.
"Begin!" Motoyasu quickly started charging at the hero in green, somehow fitting their gem's colors. Naofumi's eyes snapped open at the statement, he adjusted his stance, lying in wait for the charging spearman.
"Naofumi has won," Melina spoke up while sitting beside the other half of the heroes, a skilled spear user herself, she could already predict the loss of the hero in red. The other two looked surprised at her analysis. Senka just kept looking at the audience, specifically the Spear's party.
Naofumi blocked both blows without even flinching, directing the momentum away on the second strike, making Motoyasu overextend. Naofumi silently switched to his Rope Shield and used the signature ability to wrap around the spear man's right arm.
"Fight me fairly!" The other young man yelled while trying to recover, but Naofumi's hold on him kept the other hero out of balance. Naofumi started counting loudly, reminding the audience about the timer condition he set.
Naofumi made sure to keep an eye behind him, waiting for the attack that would come soon, he knew the betrayer would try to do something despite the rules set.
"This is fair you dumb ass, I have other skills and need to fight smartly," Naofumi said with a sigh, easily binding the other arm as Motoyasu tried to punch him with it. With being the muscle head that he is, Motoyasu tried to kick the man, letting Naofumi get a three-point hold.
"Air Strike Shield. Really, you wanted an instant loss like that? Didn't think that I was paying attention to the battlefield like a good fighter?" Naofumi said while blocking the sudden attack from Myne. The transparent green shield blocked the wind's force, just leaving a gentle breeze for Naofumi's hair to sway in.
"Senka, if you would…" Naofumi stated, but Senka was already rounding up Motoyasu's party, though it was far rougher treatment for Myne. Her impassive face as she bound their wrists with metal wires.
"I recommend you don't struggle, the wires will just cut you up if you try," Senka stated for everyone to hear, her uncaring voice and appearance as she walked down into the arena. Some of the higher church members looked shocked at her appearance.
"The third rule I set into place as the challenged, no help from our party members. It was supposed to be a one on one duel. Your side has broken that rule and it is an automatic win for me." Naofumi stated to Motoyasu's stunned expression.
"On that note, I am untying you, don't cause any trouble… it just looks pitiful if you do," Naofumi states, trying to keep his anger controlled, while in battle it was like a cold blade, ready to cut into Motoyasu, right now it was trying to turn into a wildfire… ready to burn anything if something were to happen.
"Alright then, let's discuss my winning rewards," Naofumi said while standing in front of the sitting group, though Myne's hands were still bound, she was the one who tried to influence the match with her magic after all. Senka stood beside him, her daggers glinting in the firelight.
"First up is something that you probably haven't noticed, your party is weak Motoyasu, they will not be able to help in waves if you do everything for yourself. They are in the mindset that they don't have to do work in order to stand by your side… not knowing that they will end up dying if they don't get strong."
"I know you want them to stay out of danger… and if I could help it I would do the same for my own party… But you have to remember, to spend any time near you is hazardous. They are too caught up in the idea to ride on your coattails… and to be clear, this is meant to be a wake-up call to you three as well."
"Your weakness and ignorance killed 3 people during the wave alone… without this intervention, you will go on to have much more blood on your hands. In your hands as the Hero and his party members are the lives of the people, your loved ones, strangers, kings, queens, popes, cultists, and in the end, your very own lives as comrades."
Itsuki and Ren sat up straighter, Naofumi was also addressing them as well, Itsuki was already beating herself upon the fact others died because she was unable to defeat the chimera fast enough. Though it did make both Naofumi and herself stronger.
"I am not talking about just the Waves Of Calamity, no I am talking about little missions between them to grow stronger. A single bout of carelessness could kill 10 people… higher as the situation escalates. To you, this might be a game, but to them, it is not Motoyasu. And to us heroes, if it is not real life then it is at least on hardcore mode… we only have one life."
Naofumi left the voiced Ren as he looked over at the sword user. The two heroes who still thought this world was a game were pondering on his words. The natives all looked confused at his statement about the world being a game or something. Naofumi felt his anger bubble up more when he took a glance at the leaders and Myne.
"I need you to wake up, get stronger, and be ready to fight… For it is not just Motoyasu you are fighting with, no it is us other heroes and the parties with them." Naofumi stated while staring directly into the three original members of Motoyasu's party. With a bit of showmanship, he moved his body to gesture to the two leaders.
"When we first came to this world, we were united, ready to fight the threat that looms over our head. But look at us now, divided due to our weapons, prejudice, and the people in power that do not wish for this world to live past another day." Naofumi clapped his hands together for emphasis, trying to keep the flair up to a minimum.
"Awake from your schemes and machinations for a better life, live in this moment right now, and survive another day. That is all I have to say. Become strong, I expect you to be alive and standing beside us at the end of it all." Naofumi looked at the three girls with something that they had never felt before. Sure they felt expectation before, but it never felt this warm.
"If you need any help to get there, or an ear to voice your doubts. A counselor to speak advice, I am here, ready to talk. And to you our audience, are you willing to fight alongside others? That is the question I leave you tonight." Naofumi swished his cloak as he moved to leave, stunning everyone in the arena with his word, so much so that Myne never noticed she was free until he left with his party.
Word Count: ~3200 Words
Date Completed: 12/24/2020
Note: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, a vast derail of the duel between shield and spear. Might go back on Hiatus…
Comment Cove:
FFN:
calderoneric758: You can't go wrong there wait who is in Desmond harem again I forgot and lastly what about yukari or ran and better yet oku aka the living nuclear hell raven
Response: From my other fic, A Retired Officer's Shop In The Eastern Wonderland, and no one from Touhou will ever be in Naofumi's harem in this fic.
AO3:
(On chapter 7)
havefeith: No offense, but all your notes are artificially padding the word count here on AO3. There is an actual notes section for each chapter both for before the chapter starts, and after it ends, as well as a general end note that will be attached to every chapter. If at all possible, please use them in future, even if it takes slightly longer. I was honestly expecting chapters longer than 2.5-ish thousand words, since AO3 lists this story as being about 46k words for 15 chapters, which works out to 3k words per chapter, including the notes and review answers. As for answers on AO3, you can just reply to the answer directly on the site, no need to add it into the story notes. Doing so just pads the word count artificially. It might be fine on FFN, since that site is still running the same framework they were running when I started on the site in 2008-ish. They've only barely updated everything for as long as they've run the site. And it's been running since '90-something, apparently.
Response: A majority of the time, I have to worry about suddenly being called to work, as I help my parents at the family restaurant, so I usually just copy and paste stuff in so that I am available to help. I have posted the average word count in the summary to avoid further confusion when that happens. As for replies in stories… It is also for the people who might have the same questions in FFN, so I post like this to avoid repeating. I will try to use the notes option from now on though… but I am forgetful.
(Later addition when I was going to post.) Turns out there is a character limit to notes… So into the actual chapter it goes if the ending part does not fit.
(On Chapter 8)
havefeith: Okay, a few corrections before I properly move on to reading the next chapter, 1) when speaking about the Goddess of the Sun in Shintoism, her name is Amaterasu, not whatever you wrote out. Sorry if that sounded a bit rude, it was unintentional. 2) just try to keep this in mind, there's no "I" between the H and T in "Raphtalia". That's the confirmed English name for the little Tanuki girl that later turned into a cute beauty. Yeah, you heard that right, in my eyes there's different types of beauty when it comes to women. There's true beauty, sexy beauty, and cute beauty. Of course, in my opinion, motherly looking (or mature looking, I suppose) women fall under true beauty. They have nothing to hide.
Sorry for the rambling, my brain has currently come off its meds. Or rather, my ADHD pills have worn off, and what's coming out is only barely filtered, but still stream of consciousness.
Response: Yeah… those spelling mistakes do get the better of me a majority of the time… I am just habitually doing Raphitalia due to the pronunciation in my head doing so, but I have been making an effort for Raphtalia to be used in later chapters.
(On Chapter 12)
havefeith: Huh. No notes this time. Surprising.
Response: For notes, unless there is something that I did to mess up horribly in the previous chapter or am announcing a lack of chapters due to a game event, it is only a few words long.
Robbie2413: In response to your response: Yeah that happens.
On Naofumi's terms sounds fun!
My review: Well overall your chapter is pretty good. I can only imagine how the duel can go now.
I actually had to look up 1 word this chapter because I had no clue what it was and that word is "gohei" and what it is, is the stick with basically square diagonal ribbon on both sides
~~~/|\~~~
~~/~|~\~~
~/~~|~~\~
Looks like this but with squares horizontally making up the ribbon, ignore the "~" was the only way to get it to show up as I wanted. So yeah reaction was what the heck is a gohei and then oh that's what it is.
So did no one but Naofumi's party notice Melina's Teana form?
Response: Yay, new words. And way back when they shared a room, heck even before that, Melina explained her transformation to them off screen. The knights and heroes on the other hand… not so much. Not the most perceptive bunch.