The Heroes had been missing for days, having vanished right after the last meeting with the king.

Supposedly Naofumi the Shield Hero had kidnapped Princess Melty and had bolted, but not much news had been surfacing about that.

Rishia was more focused on her own broken party. She needed to help Itsuki, and to do that, she needed to find him.

Itsuki didn't have any emotions when he had left. He had just…left. And since he was used to being a hidden hero, finding him was hard.

Rishia was the only member of Itsuki's party who still wanted to help him and be with him, especially after the day he had saved her. She had pretty much dedicated her life to him now, and she wasn't letting him be alone so easily. What she was shocked to find was that Itsuki hadn't left to continue hero work.

Itsuki had turned himself into a mental hospital because he was that close to killing himself after losing everything. He even had to choose a demihuman village mental hospital so he could escape the king's sight.

Rishia had been lucky to have heard where Itsuki had ended up, and she went to find him and get him back in action. She went up to the front counter. "I'm…here to see Itsuki Kawasumi."

The person at the front counter didn't seem to care much, gesturing in a direction Itsuki was assumed to be at.

Rishia bowed her head in thanks before going to find Itsuki. She didn't take long, stepping into the fenced-off back garden area.

Itsuki was singing softly to himself. He actually had a really good and flexible voice.

Rishia blinked in surprise when she heard him. She had never heard him sing before and had no idea he had been this talented in music. She listened for a bit before clearing her throat. "Itsuki?"

Itsuki jumped and turned to her, a blush forming on his face for a bit before he glared at her. "What is it!? Did you come to mock me like the rest!?"

Rishia shook her head quickly. "N-no! I came to say I want to still be in your party!"

Itsuki went silent for a bit. "There's no more party, Rishia. I'm replaced. I'm spending the rest of my life as a normal citizen now."

"But what about your justice-?" Rishia asked.

"What justice!?" Itsuki asked quickly. He then went silent. "Sorry, you don't deserve that. It's just…my time here has given me time to think. I have done nothing right. I released an evil plant that almost ended so many lives. I killed a dragon which spread a plague to hundreds. I toppled so many nobles and left their cities to rot because I thought I was doing the right thing. I even protected Malty because I thought protecting the princess was the right thing. Everything I have done though…I did for my sense of justice. That's not real justice. No one has the right to define justice. I've learned that in my time thinking alone."

Rishia went up to him and hugged his arm. "You saved me at least… You'll always be my hero…"

"Well your hero is retired." Itsuki shook her off his arm. "I'm done. The other heroes are so much stronger than me anyway. It…hurts knowing I am the weakest."

Bow of Pride Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: Strength Up

Special Equip Effect: Pride Shot (Skill), Justice Shot (Skill), Binding Arrow Flare (Skill), Bull of Polaris (Skill)

Combo: Binding Arrow - Binding Arrow Flare - Bull of Polaris

Itsuki saw the new bow pop up. He didn't even check the stats or try switching to it. He was just done.

Rishia watched him in silence. "Then if you're not a hero anymore, I will still stay with you."

Itsuki blinked in surprise. "For what reason?"

"Because even if you don't support or love yourself…I'll do those both for you!" Rishia said with a determined look. "You'll always be a hero to me, so I'll be here until you decide to be a hero again!"

Itsuki still looked shocked. "Why-? Why go through so much for me-? I treated you poorly! Like a slave!"

"Because even if you did wrong, you still tried. Just like a real hero. Sure you made mistakes, but…saving me wasn't one of them. I want to show you that." Rishia was normally so shy, but she felt so empowered talking to Itsuki alone like this. In her boldness, she may have gone too far. She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Itsuki blushed softly from the kiss, and for the first time he saw at least one thing in the world remained for him. He still had the belief of one girl, and…that was a good enough start. He pulled off his belt, the belt turning into the Legendary Bow. "You've convinced me. Let's go. This time though…I won't let the other heroes carry me again. I will find a way to catch up."

Rishia brightened up immediately before giving him a hug. "Itsuki!"

Itsuki blushed even brighter than he was already. "Don't push the moment."

"…Itsuki, could you sing one more song before we go? Your voice is…beautiful," Rishia requested.

Itsuki sighed softly. "Ok, here's a song from my world."

Things had been hectic since that meeting at the castle.

Naofumi was finally allowed to rest since he had passed off Melty to Motoyasu.

Raphtalia was keeping watch currently. She really needed Naofumi to get his rest, because she was worried he would trigger the Shield of Sloth if he collapsed from exhaustion again.

Things had been hard.

Carbon had been going after Melty as per the will of Malty, and it turned out Carbon was absurdly intelligent to the point of making incredibly good plans out of Malty's ramblings. Adding Carbon's absurd power difference, and avoiding him was the only option.

Since it was the first night of the handoff, Motoyasu and Naofumi still had their parties together.

Motoyasu was focused on speaking with Melty and Kitamura who had decided to join them.

Kitamura turned out to be really useful in fighting Carbon, as while Kitamura couldn't take Carbon's attacks very well, he did have a lot of spears that could throw Carbon off.

Calling Orion to help with Carbon had been considered from the first day, but everyone doubted the surrounding area would survive a battle between Carbon and Orion.

"-and that is all the reasons why your sister is a bitch and will keep the name Bitch forever," Kitamura told Melty.

"That…was a very detailed story…" Melty commented.

"Well, I have vivid memory of what I hate."

Motoyasu looked at Kitamura. "So you got tricked in your world huh?"

"Yeah…until time stuff happened and I got a restart. I was lucky for a while. It seemed every hero's death would cause things to loop back to the beginning, but…then it just didn't happen again. All of my world's heroes died, and I hopped over here in the last Wave to see if I could defend another world," Kitamura explained. "And to see my beloved Filo again."

"I don't think she will ever be into you, Kitamura. This one at least," Motoyasu told him.

"Well…my love isn't as important as this world. It's for the best I don't get distracted," Kitamura replied.

"…you're a good man, Kitamura," Melty told him with a smile.

"No. A good man wouldn't have needed a restart to find his faults. I am a bad man with a coating of good man to cover the bad." Kitamura threw more wood into the campfire.

Buddy came over and gave them all a thoughtful look. "Master Motoyasu, I will be returning to the castle. There…is something I must do."

Motoyasu gave Buddy a confused look. "What is it?"

"I just…I need to talk to someone. I've been thinking about this for a while." Buddy bowed his head as if to apologize. "If you need me, just message me with your spear, and I will use Clyde's Wave Generator to come over as quickly as possible."

Motoyasu still looked confused, but he trusted Buddy. "Ok."

Buddy did a polite bow before running off.

Naofumi woke up after a good amount of rest. "We have something to take care of tonight. Specifically tonight."

"Well…this is sudden," Motoyasu muttered. "I'm down to a party of just Akame."

"I'll fill in the missing spot the best I can," Kitamura assured him.

"And I can cast magic in the place of Lord Hats if need be," Melty added. She liked regarding Buddy formally. She assumed the bear truly would be a powerful leader someday.

"Well, ok then. Let's hear it," Motoyasu said.

Naofumi pulled out a map of the area. "Let's get some revenge for Ren. We are definitely at level for this now. Remember how a mentioned a noble almost whipped him to death? Tonight we end him."

Raphtalia looked worried, knowing exactly where Naofumi was talking about.

"If we handle everything well enough, we'll get a shortcut that should throw Carbon off of our tails too," Naofumi added, remembering when Fitoria was supposed to pick him up. He had planned everything out to make everything much smoother than last time.

If the cards were played right, they could save the lives of innocent demihumans and get to the border even earlier than expected. If they could manage to get there before the pope, they could hopefully avoid fighting him directly.

Sneak-attacking the pope would make for an easy kill.

"Then what is the plan?" Motoyasu asked.

"We're criminals. We play the part and assassinate him," Naofumi said.

"Isn't…that a bit much, Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

"Originally I would have said yes, but I have an idea of how to make things smoother." Naofumi looked over everyone. "Now for the plan. If we do this right, things won't be…too eventful."

Carbon and Malty were in pursuit of Naofumi and Motoyasu with Melty being their main target. A big problem was that Carbon wasn't aiming to kill.

Malty was a bit annoyed with her new choice of hero already. Sure, she knew he was more powerful than the rest, but she was wondering why she couldn't order him to kill. She just decided to ask flat out. "Why won't you kill the Shield Hero?"

"Because I actually can't. There are reasons, my goddess." Carbon turned to explain to her. "If I kill a hero, Melromarc's reputation will go down, and because of my relation to you, you won't be able to assume the throne even after Melty has passed. Second, this body is rebelling."

"Your body is…rebelling?" Malty gave him an annoyed look. "And what does that mean?"

"I am the armor, not the man in it. The man is my host. He was the Vassal Hero of the Body where I came from, which made him a perfect host for armor. The problem is that his annoying sense of justice can restrict me." Carbon flexed his hands. "Still though, a hero focused purely on his body means I can do things armor normally can't. I am still happy with my choice."

Malty gave him a twisted smile. "And it's handsome too. I wouldn't mind letting you use that body on me again tonight. And repeatedly after that." She had been fucking Carbon every chance she got like the slut she is. Of course, she had more reasons than her own lust.

Carbon was powerful because he always had on all seven Curse Series at the same time, so fueling his related sins made him even more powerful.

The more powerful Carbon was, the less work Malty had to do.

If all she needed to do was fuck the hottest man she had ever seen in order to keep in power, she certainly had no complaints.

Carbon narrowed his eyes when he saw an explosion from a nearby village. "That must be the Shield Hero. I will apprehend him this time. Stay here, my goddess." He jumped up, his armor glowing as he flew off in that direction.

Naofumi had planned for Carbon to see them working however, so he had a very simple backup. He had called for some help.

Clyde bashed Carbon away with his forge hammer. "An armored enemy is totally what I needed!" The demigod of the forge seemed giddy to get some action. At least he was until he truly caught sight of his enemy. "Carbon-?"

Carbon pulled out an HP potion and drank it through his helmet. "Father… How unfortunate for us to meet here. I haven't seen you since you took me off. Beat any other gods to death yet?" He put on a twisted smile that showed through the slits in the mouthplate of his helmet.

Clyde shook his head as he switched to a different forge hammer. "I can't say I have."

"Did you tell them about all that you've done then?"

Clyde frowned as he went silent for a few moments. "There is a time and place for everything. I guess I'll explain you after I kick your ass."

"How bold, but…" Carbon folded back his helmet to show his face. "You'll be the one who is begging for mercy."

Clyde recognized the face immediately. "Abir-!?" He was suddenly punched back.

"You're not the only demigod in the universe, Clyde! How nice of you to hand yourself to me! Once I kill you, I'll use your hammer to remove my limits! I will be greater than you ever imagined! A true godslayer like you made me to be!" Carbon pointed his palm and Clyde before unleashing dark magic. He normally couldn't kill thanks to his body rebelling, but Clyde was an exception for some reason.

Angel rolled in and caught the dark magic, putting it into her backpack.

"The guardian angel… Just as beautiful as ever…" Carbon started unleashing dark, cursed attacks everywhere. "Sorry, but I have to bury you too!"

Angel caught all she could in order to protect Clyde.

Clyde stepped around her and pointed his hammer at Carbon. "Air Strike Impact!"

Carbon stumbled back as he was hit with powerful wind magic in his gut.

Angel then unleashed Carbon's magic back at him.

"We're not going to win this…" Clyde swapped to his Comms Hammer. "Naofumi! I'm being lit up here! How much more time do you need!?"

"We're about done! Just a little longer!" Naofumi told him quickly.

"Any longer, and I'll need Orion!"

"No! We need to keep improving! If we keep calling for him, we'll never be our own heroes!" Motoyasu said quickly.

"Well-said, but I don't want to die yet!" Clyde snapped in annoyance.

Angel was knocked back by Carbon, crashing through a number of trees.

Clyde winced. He knew Angel was a defensive hero, so she was probably ok. Still, he knew that had to hurt. "Fine then…" He raised his hammer. "I have done every form of wrong experiment! I have created forces unknown to this or any other world! I invoke the power of my sins! New Seven Deadly Sins Hammer!" His hammer turned twisted, being a cursed hammer.

Carbon got closer, but he hesitated when he saw Clyde's hammer. "My sins of old against your sins of the new age. Let's see how this goes."

The two then clashed with everything they had, shaking the area with their attacks.

Naofumi had indeed completed the raid on the manor without much of a problem, but now he watched from a distance as Clyde and Carbon fought. "…I have made a terrible mistake. I thought this would have been easy for him."

"Don't blame yourself. There's a lot we still don't know," Motoyasu told him reassuringly. "We both know what needs to be done though. Let's get out of here with the time he is buying us. If we just stay, he won't be able to teleport to safety."

They knew Clyde had his own Waves he could teleport through, so they could feel better about him having an escape route at least.

Kitamura narrowed his eyes at the fight. "I'm going to help. You all go on without me."

"Are you sure?" Naofumi asked firmly. "They are far beyond your power."

Kitamura shrugged before smiling confidently. "I have a teleport spear. I'll dip to Cal Mira if things get bad. For now though, he needs help."

Naofumi nodded and gave Kitamura a pat on the back. "See you soon then. We can…talk more about you then."

Kitamura nodded. "I can't wait to tell you so many stories, father!"

"…right…" Naofumi visibly winced at being called a father.

Kitamura gave a cheeky wave before turning to run off. "See you soon, Filo!"

Filo blinked obliviously. "Ok, weird spear guy who looks like Motoyasu!" She waved as he ran off.

"Now's our chance. We need to get to the border." Naofumi turned to Raphtalia. "Are you ok?" He needed to be sure. After all, he had just raided the place she had been kept as a slave at.

Raphtalia nodded. "I'm doing better than ever, Naofumi… This horrible place has been ended."

Right when they needed a ride, that was when Fitoria showed up right as Naofumi expected.

Itsuki and Rishia were now in pursuit of the border as well, though mainly because Itsuki had recommended Rishia reset her class up at a Dragon Hourglass.

"I'm sorry again… If you weren't with me, you could have gotten the proper class up the first time, and you also could go to Melromarc's Dragon Hourglass without any problems," Itsuki apologized. He looked deeply pained as he thought about all he had done to her. "I was just too arrogant to accept another projectile user on my team…"

"It's ok, Itsuki… I know you're trying hard to get things right again. At least you realized Myne is awful to be around…" Rishia shuddered as she thought about how much more Myne had done to her than Itsuki.

Itsuki pulled out his map. "…goddamn, I wish I could read…"

Rishia looked over his shoulder. "We're in bandit territory now. It's a good shortcut to the border, but we need to be careful." She pointed in the right direction. "The canyon there would box us of. Do…you think we could go around it?"

"It would take another day, but I am happy to do things safely." Itsuki handed Rishia the map since he trusted her more with it than he trusted himself. "Lead the way."

Rishia blinked, not used to Itsuki trusting anyone but himself. "Um…yeah."

"Is something wrong?" Itsuki raised an eyebrow.

"No… You're just…so much nicer. It gives me a warm feeling."

Itsuki shrugged simply, gesturing for her to lead the way.

The two continued on their journey, killing monsters and upgrading Itsuki's bow as they went.

Things started to get dark though, and Itsuki could have sworn he heard explosions and the sound of a forge hammer hitting metal.

Itsuki turned in the direction of the sound and indeed saw explosions. "…is that the village you thought about us spending the night in?"

Rishia nodded awkwardly. "On the way to it anyway…"

"I think we're camping in the woods," Itsuki told her.

"Yeah… I don't even want to know what is causing that…" Rishia agreed.

Itsuki looked around until he saw a large, stone overhang. "We can camp under there. Should give us a roof over our heads at-" He didn't get to finish.

"Oi! What do we have here?" A man looked down at them from on top of the overhang. "Some pencil-neck archer with such a beaut of a woman?" He was wearing a brown cloak over what looked to be old knight wear. He had crimson hair tipped with black, and his eyes were a distinct ice blue. He definitely fit the rogue bandit type. He also had distinct demihuman features, namely fox ears and a fox tail.

Itsuki pointed his bow at the man. "We don't want a fight!"

"I don't either, but that girl could be valuable merchandise!" The man grinned evilly. He had to be in his late thirties or early forties, and he definitely looked experienced. His tail swayed like he was hunting prey, which he technically was.

Rishia pulled out her sword. She wasn't good with a sword, but her current class up was set for her to use sword-based attacks.

The man gestured for his group to surround the area, and the other bandits all looked heavily experienced like their boss.

The man himself jumped down from the rock, his cloak billowing in a dramatic fashion. "I'll take her myself then!"

Itsuki unleashed an arrow. He knew he couldn't miss, and he didn't think the man had any weapons to block with.

The man flicked out a throwing knife from his sleeve and threw it at the arrow, sniping it out of the air.

"You shot it down-!?" Itsuki asked with a stunned look.

The man laughed arrogantly. "Of course I did! Fire any slower, and I'd be able to sleep while I did it!"

Rishia rushed at the man from the side, trying to catch him off guard.

The man quickly kicked her away, focusing energy through his foot in a way that softened the blow and focused purely on launching her away. "I don't wanna break the merch, ok? You can sit down, little lady!"

Rishia stared wide-eyed at the man for some reason. She saw something Itsuki hadn't.

Itsuki unleashed a barrage arrow. "Try blocking this then!"

The man did a hyper-speed spin, throwing a storm of knives at the arrow barrage and knocking them all down.

Itsuki immediately fired again. "Lightning Shot!"

The man threw another knife. "Conduction Knife!" He made his knife absorb all of the electricity before it impacted the arrow, creating a powerful explosion. "Come on now! You're doing pathetic! Your aim is all you have going for you!"

Itsuki grit his teeth angrily before switching to the Pride Bow for the first time, cursed winds spiraling around him. He had to protect Rishia, because he knew she still believed in him. He grunted from resisting the cursed bow's power, but he was able to quickly start firing again. He fired arrow after arrow, only getting more frustrated as his arrows kept being sniped down. He then found an opening, firing a binding arrow into it.

The man blinked as he was teathered. "Huh. So you're really going for this then? Try me."

"Binding Arrow Flare!" Itsuki made the binding catch on fire before using all of his SP. "The foolish criminal will feel with their whole body in pain as it is consumed by flame. Release a cry full of painful agony that will echo in this metal prison! Bull of Polaris!" He summoned the strongest attack he could muster.

The man smirked as he suddenly broke free from the binding. "Playtime is over!" He summoned a different knife. "Projectile of Rage!" He glowed with black flames, his hair turning black as his tail split into nine tails. He then threw the cursed knife at the Bull of Polaris right as it formed, shattering it in one shot. He sped at Itsuki without any delay while he flipped another knife out of his sleeve, aiming for Itsuki's neck.

Itsuki didn't have time to stop it. He winced, his eyes closing tight as he awaited the finishing blow.

It didn't come.

Itsuki opened his eyes slowly to see the knife inches from his neck.

The man laughed giddily as he put his knife away, his dark energy fading and his nine tails changing back into one tail. His serious expression changed into the expression that someone's weird, giddy uncle would have. He then gave Itsuki a pat on the shoulder. "The Curse Series is powerful, but you need to make it count! Don't go for the torture device move immediately. See what you can do with its other forms of attack, and always see what will work on your enemy."

Itsuki gave the man a confused look. "Wha-?"

"You can't tell? I was testing ya!" The man pounded his fist against his own chest. "The name's Antonio Slogluiganoff Jr. the Third, but everyone calls me Anti. I run a mercenary group nearby."

"So…you kill for living?" Itsuki asked.

"Kinda? I take any job as long as it pays well. My squad had rules. We only kill the bad in the world." Anti looked back at Rishia. "Your girlfriend here caught onto me when she got a close look at my knife."

"Sh-she's not-!" Itsuki protested quickly.

Anti flicked out his knife again, showing it had a familiar gem in it. "I'm the Vassal Hero of the Projectile."

Itsuki looked at the weapon in surprise. "So…why did you test me now?"

"Honestly because I wanted to take a crack at a Legendary Weapon!" Anti turned around, gesturing for his group to return back to where they came from. "You two come with me. I'll get you two some grub and a place to stay the night, as thanks for letting me fight a legend!" He then started giddily walking off.

Rishia came over to Itsuki. "I saw with how he moved… He didn't mean any real harm. He was always watching our technique instead of our attacks themselves."

"What a strange, old man…" Itsuki commented before going to follow Anti. "And I feel like this is a reference to something…"

Fitoria watched everyone settling down, though she kept glaring at Akame. She would have attacked Akame by now, but she knew that would disappoint Orion.

Clyde had managed to get himself and Kitamura out of the fight with Carbon thankfully, but now that meant it was explaining time.

"What the hell is Carbon? Like what the hell gives him that kind of power?" Naofumi asked firmly.

"…well, Carbon is my first creation. I made a Legendary Weapon before I even had my forge hammer. I made it through pure mad science," Clyde explained. "I stole four Legendary Weapons from another world, unlocked their Curse Series, and melted them together into armor. Then I used that armor to kill the god of the forge. That is how I got my forge hammer."

"So…it's four Legendary Weapons in one?" Melty asked worriedly.

"Yes…and constantly using all Curse Series, so that is also multiplied by four." Clyde groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "I was angry and determined… I made all new science just to make it work."

"So Carbon is the armor…? Who's wearing it?" Motoyasu asked between bites of Naofumi's cooking.

"Abir. One of the most powerful Legendary Heroes in the multiverse. He was so powerful that he scared the Waves away from his world. His weapon was fused into his heart, making him the Legendary Hero of the Body. It was said that one punch from him could shatter a Wave and bring back the sky. If Carbon has control of him, that is a total of five Legendary Weapons and one godslayer." Clyde pointed at himself. "What's worse is that Carbon is based off of my mind as well. He's the emotions I left behind when I forced the armor off with my forge hammer. He could very easily have the same abilities I do when it comes to creating things like Wave Generators."

"So how do we force the armor off? That would add one powerful ally to our side," Kitamura pointed out. He got a number of stares, most having just been thinking of how to kill him.

"That is a good point…" Naofumi commented as he thought about it.

"…if we could knock him out, I guess I could remove Carbon by force, but…that's easier said than done. You all need a lot of levels before then," Clyde told them.

"Then for now, we need to work fast. Our next major battle is coming up," Naofumi said worriedly. "We're ending a pope tomorrow."

The king was pacing his throne room, panicking because his daughter had been supposedly kidnapped by the awful Shield Hero. He had no idea what to do about this, and he was contemplating going out himself to handle this.

"You do know Naofumi isn't putting your daughter in trouble, right? If anything, she is having a dandy-old time!" Buddy said as he came in.

The king glared at Buddy. "How did you get in?"

"I took out your guards. A swift chop to the pressure point, and they were taking a nice nap!" Buddy leaned on his Vassal Cane. "I came to talk, your highness Aultcray."

The king continued glaring at him. "I guess I am at your mercy."

"Not really. I've heard the stories of your past self. If you're still the same man, you could wipe me out of this plane of reality," Buddy said modestly. "I want to talk about what is best for this kingdom."

"So removing the Shield Hero?" The king asked.

"No. Embracing him. He means no harm, your highness." Buddy put on a serious look. "You're the king. You have a responsibility to the Heroes. You're supposed to guide them, mentor them. You decide the path they take, and right now they hate you. You have taken this in completely the wrong direction, but I believe we can fix that."

"I can't lose my family again! The Shield Hero must fall!" The king roared angrily.

"The path you take to avoid your future is sometimes the path right to it. The Shield has been protecting your daughter. I can prove that." Buddy pulled out the recorded footage that had been altered to make it look like Naofumi had kidnapped Melty. "And I will take the time to. Because tomorrow, I sense we will need you."

The king narrowed his eyes. "…then show me. Prove me wrong."

*crawls in*

I'm back! Anyway, I should say where I have been. This chapter was finished immediately after the last one, but I was only able to post it recently. First there was college finals, then there was holidays, then there was the start of the next semester...

I should say that this story will be going on hiatus now. It's not because I can't write it anymore or something like that. It is because I finally have what I need to write it better. I have a large number of the Shield Hero light novels to read now, so I will be taking a break until I read a number of them.

Now for chapter notes! Itsuki is finally in play! It took quite some time! Sixteen chapters! He had been taken in by someone who can get him properly shaped up! Hopefully anyway.

We now know just what Carbon is and what a threat he actually is. I made him with the intention of making an enemy that makes Malty a threat even without a hero by her side.

Also the king is in play, but what side will he actually choose to take? With the battle against the pope coming up, the king needs to pick a side to be on.

Now for another announcement. While I am taking a hiatus from this story, I am not stopping my writing. I am actually over on Fictionpress right now! I just posted the first chapter of an original story that has been influenced by how I write this story. I hope to see you all over there! I am Outlaw Team on Fictionpress as well, so you can't miss me!