Azure-Star-Dragon, you have given me a better idea thank you! This is a completely different approach compared to the first version of this chapter. I have put a lot of hours into writing this opening and I hope you are as pleased with the outcome as I am. This story is inspired by Thebobman6059's story Journey of the Shield Tanuki.

Chapter one - When a man plays God.

Within the legends of this land one stands above all else, the legend of the cardinal heroes. As ancient as the ground we walk on and as well-known as language itself, this story tells the tale of four heroes being summoned to our world to help fight the waves of calamity, a catastrophic event in which otherworldly abominations and eldritch horrors leak into the world and wreck-havoc upon our lands. These heroes will bring salvation to this land, bringing it back from the brink of destruction.

However, the is a lesser-known legend, for a lesser-known weapon. Known only to the highest-ranking of the Three Heroes Church, a fifth weapon was created alongside the four cardinal weapons to act as an anchor and gateway. It allowed each weapon to manifest a hero into the world in order to fight the aforementioned waves of calamity.

"Aultcray my King, is it wise to summon the Shield Demon along with the three Holies?" Asked an elderly figure wearing a white and gold Pope outfit. "Would it not cause worry or distrust amongst our populous?" Aultcray looked down upon the clergyman angrily. "Do you think that I don't know that!?" He put his hand on his forehead as he thought deeply. The Pope's mouth morphed into a gentle smile.

"Balmus listen. I know you mean well… However I absolutely cannot allow the Shield Demon to fall into the hand of a nation the likes of Siltvelt! Do you know what they could do with that power? It could lead to war. What kind of King would I be if I started a War because some filthy demi-humans got their hands on the ultimate defense!?" The King raged.

Despite the outburst the smile on Balmus' face never left, instead, it grew brighter. He chuckled lightly, "Then what if I told you I could seal off the Demon from ever entering this world?" Suddenly Aultcray stood up, he glared down at the Pope.

"Oh? And how would you do that? Last time I check the four cardinal Heroes are an inevitability. They will always end up being summoned. And you claim you could seal one-off?" Aultcray questioned.

The Pope stretched out his arms in both directions, "In the face of God? Inevitability is a non-factor. I could do it with the snap of my fingers so-to-speak."

He slowly walked up to the king, putting his hand on his shoulder. He whispered in his ear, "Wouldn't you like to seal away the very Demon that lead to the death of sweet little Lucia?"

Aultcray's eyes widened, "Who told you about her! I demand to know this instant." Wrath surged up his face.

Balmus frowned, "It matters not how I know. It just matters that I know. I am as omniscient as God himself. So I ask you, do you want to bring utter despair to your enemies? Like how after a long drive a swimmer comes up for air, his salvation; but something in the deep seas drags him back down into the murky depths below." Aultrcay furrowed his brow and curled his fist. He took a deep breath.

"...Very well Balmus. Do what is necessary to stop that Devil from entering the world. From harming the lives of any of my family members, from harming the lives of anyone in my country. Go! Keep that wretched being away from these lands!" Aultcray ordered. Balmus simply nodded, turned around, and walked through the large gold-encrusted oaken doors of the Melromarcian castle.

Balmus face elicited glee, 'Only a fool would seek revenge Aultcray. What happens to the Wisest King of Wisdom? No matter I shall banish any and all Demons from God's world permanently.'

Balmus walked out into the castle courtyard, vast flowers grew in its garden. The king's daughters used to enjoy spending time in this tranquil location. At the center of the garden was a statue of a woman. One of unimaginable beauty, afflicted with a hereditary disease she was born blind. Her bones weak and muscles weaker. Who was the woman sculpted into the garden in the castle you ask? It was Aultcray's little sister, Lucia Faubrey.

As Balmus got in his carriage, focused on the task at hand. As he stepped into the ebony carriage, he pointed forward and spoke to the driver, "Take me to the Church of the Three Heroes, my child. " As he passed through the streets of Melromarc his thoughts drifted to that of this country's people. So easy to manipulate, so cruel and corrupt.

He grinned, 'This country needs cleansing. It's rotten to its very core.' Soon he arrived upon the building belonging to the Church of the Three Heroes. A grand structure made from marble, from gold, from all the rich minerals found in this world. At the top of the church sat three spires on one a spear, another a bow, and the last a sword. Walking through the heavy doors he entered the church, his church.

The walls were made from pure white marble, its pillars shot into the high ceiling above. On the domed roof of the building were various depictions of the Spear, Sword, and Bow heroes and their heroics, another depiction was that of them slaying a fellow Hero The Shield hero. He walked towards the altar of the Hourglass of the dragon's era. A marvel of technology.

A large gold and ruby structure that ticked down the time till the next waves. One month had passed since the first wave. 'That wave destroyed the Seaetto district and its wretched lord of the land.' He thought.

Balmus snapped his fingers and a woman in a dark cloak and white mask appeared before him. "Prepare a ritual to take place beneath the church at once. It is an emergency!" he said, the woman nodded her head and disappeared as fast as she appeared. Balmus gripped onto the banister leading up to the hourglass, 'I must destroy all hope for those filthy demi-humans. What better way to start than to banish their "God".'

Balmus proceeded to head to his Popes quarters to retire for the day. 'Soon the Shield Demon will be unable to be summoned'. He moved to an altar in the middle of the room. There a stone container lay. With little effort, he moved the slab of stone covering it. Balmus pulled out a purely golden spear. It emanated a powerful aura. 'This will be the instrument of destruction used to keep the devil at bay.'

.

The next few days were filled with preparations for the ritual. Many zealots from across the country gathered secretly in the underground church. All congregated together to allow the Pope to seal away the devil permanently.

The ritual room was a large cobblestone structure. At the center of the room was a raised platform, above the platform was a giant crimson gem suspended by ethereal strings: The church calls it the amplifier. The room was dimly lit with lamps scattered across the area, many different symbols were drawn on the ground in an unknown powder.

Today was the day. The day to seal an Ancient Evil forever, using the faith of God's subjects 'I shall banish the Shield Demon from our lands forever'. Balamus' eyes shifted over the empty room, he heard footsteps approaching me. Balamus craned my neck to the sounds. A giant of a man wearing a suit of armor stood in front of me. "Mauld. What a wonderful surprise, how may I help you, my child?" He bowed before me as he spoke.

"My Lord, forgive my ignorance, but how do you plan on banishing the Shield Demon?"

'Such naivety.' The clergyman let out a small chuckle. "Despite the legends, the lesser of the legendary weapons have a limit to how strong it can get. It is different from the legendary weapons as they can grow seemingly infinitely. If it gains too much power it will destroy one aspect of its design, stopping it from locking all cardinal heroes from being summoned. This ability acts as a fail-safe should it get overwhelmed. It destroys the active form of the weapon. What we are doing here is overloading its "storage" limit. Thus severing its link to the shield. Crippling it from manifesting a "Hero"."

"But my Lord are we not sacrificing a part of our-" The Pope cut him off,

"Do you think that the power of the Devil is necessary to win a war with God" Mauld's eyes widened and a cold sweat ran down his face, his attitude quickly crumbled away under the Pope's words.

"N-no not at all sir! Please! Forgive my impertinence!" He begged

Balamus sighed, "Do show more faith in God, it would be a shame if you fell to the side of the Devil."

Mauld nodded his head and in a low voice said "Yes sir. To show my dedication to God I shall follow any instruction you may ask of me. Perhaps I shall accompany a Hero on their noble quest." The armor-clad man rose to his feet once more.

Afterward, the giant of a warrior stepped down from the elevated platform.

Balamus turned towards a high priest of the church, he nodded my head at him. He pulled a lever, suddenly the stone doors opened and a beautiful sight met my eyes. Thousands of followers of the church filled the room, each ready to offer up their lives to me.

Now this, this is the power of God. The power of idea, an indestructible thought used to stop a common enemy, The Shield "Hero".

When the room was filled, the zealots began to pray, offering their power to God, to me.

Balamus gripped the Golden Spear in my hand, a deep yellow glow emanated from the zealot's bodies: magic... or to be more specific the life force of those offering themselves to me. It sprung from the crowd's bodies towards the lesser weapon. It began to illuminate as a brilliant light flooded the dark chamber as he raised the artifact upwards. 'I never told the King how I would seal off the Demon did I? No matter, it is better he didn't know.'

The members of the church offer their power to the spear, the weapon began to glow vividly as more power flowed into it. A light ringing sound emanated from the weapon. Suddenly the tip of the spear erupted into a beam of light, it refracted into the gem above and rebounded into the spear.

This gem. The amplifier, as its name suggests boosts the effects of magic; in this case, it is used to sever the link between the Shield and the lesser weapon by overloading its 'capacity'. The spear morphed into a small Golden Shield. Crimson cracks formed along the sides of the Shield, then suddenly shattered.

The fragments soon reformed into the gold spear. A smile appeared on Balmus face, "The Devil who once terrorized this world, bringing plague and misery wherever he walked has been banished. God has struck him down and stopped him from infecting this world." The room was filled with sounds of dropping bodies, all the people who had taken part in offering their magic had dropped dead.

Satisfied with the result Balmus left through a small iron towards the back of the chamber. He moved through the dank and dark corridors, a golden boot suddenly stepped out from the darkness, blocking his path. "Oh?" Balmus said, a figure emerged from the shadows, it was a woman with ruby-colored hair and green eyes, she wore a rose-colored dress.

"Balmus. Do you know what you have done? What plans you have ruined?" She asked. Balmus' face hardened,

"Malty? Whatever do you mean?" He asked, she frowned.

"Don't be coy with me you know what you have just done. Sealing away the Shield Demon, was not something we agreed on." Malty raged.

Balmus walked past her, "Your petty plans mean nothing to a man of God. So please, refrain from doing something foolish." Malty scowled at Balmus as he brushed past her.

The Pope continued up the stairs until he reached the grand room of the hourglass. He could make out the sounds of the sand falling through it, counting down till the next wave: something was off... following his gut he looked over a balcony that overlooked the main hall of the church. The sounds of footsteps bounced off the architecture of the building, a group of nuns began to exit the church presumably to run errands of the church.

Balamus was about to overlook the sight but paused. 'Magic?' He felt some sort of aura radiate from one, in particular, the elderly man smirked, 'I'd suggest you get running. Fast." The Pope raised his hands in the air in an out stretched motion. Soon after footsteps followed by a gust of air blew past his face whatever it was a barely audible thump could be heard as it collided with the carpeted floor of the Church of the Three Heroes.

My name is Naofumi Iwatani I am a university student living in Tokyo. I spend my time visiting the local library to indulge in my otaku side. Since my brother got into fights at school, I had to reel him back in and as a result of that, my parents give me a free allowance for me to spend at the library.

I am currently heading towards the library in question. Hoping to find something new and interesting to read, though recently the books have to get a bit stale so let's hope there's something interesting and new to read.

Naofumi looked around the library for a book to read. Recently he has been running out of books that piqued his interest, and the ones that he hasn't read were being borrowed. The that wasn't being borrowed were mostly were stereotypical love stories, and others were too short to be enjoyed.

He is currently walking down an isle containing mostly fantasy books, things like Lord of The Rings. Some others were SI-FI books, he reached out his hand to a book at the top of the shelf. He misjudged the size of the book and a dozen fell onto his head. "Damn it!" He whispered, he rubbed the top of his head where the books had hit him as to ease the pain.

Looking at the books that fell onto the ground he began reading the blurbs of the books. 'What is this Sauce Art Online? A boy is put in a VRMMO and to escape he must cook one-hundred five-star meals, follow his journey….. Nah I'm good thanks.' He looked at another book on the floor, a large red leather book with gold-encrusted patterns running up and down it.

'No author, no blurb. Not even a publishing company? Is this even legal?' He questioned. Opening the book he began to read, 'Let's see here… Waves of calamity are bringing the world to the brink of destruction and so the world summons four legendary heroes to fight them off. Oh! It focused on four protagonists, the Sword hero, Spear hero, Bow hero, and Shield hero? A Shields is not a weapon though, it's more like protective armor than anything else. Seems like fairly standard stuff for a fantasy book though.'

He turned the page as he was intrigued by the different Heroes, however when he turned to the section about the Shield Hero it was… Empty? 'Okay, now I know something is up with this funky book. Who put this here? Was it one of those little shits running around outside? Sigh just when I thought I found an interesting story to read.'

"The time has arrived to summon the Legendary Heroes King Aultcray." Stated a man wearing navy blue robes and bronze patterns on the hood. Aultcray turned to face the wizard, nodding his head he replied "...Very well, when you are ready begin the ritual, summoner." The robed man nodded, Aultcray looked at the retreating figure of the servant.

Balmus turned to face the King, "My King why the long face? The Demon is sealed, would you're dear sister want you to look so nervous?." Aultcay gripped his rosary tightly, his face began sweating

'W-Why am I so nervous?! That Shield Demon is not arriving. So… So why do I feel this way?' He felt a hand touch his shoulder, the man looked up to see Balamus with his ever-present smile on his face, his eye's gazed upon Aultcray with a fake kindness,

"You shouldn't worry yourself my liege, everything has gone according to plan, the evils the devil would bring shall not be brought into this world." Balamus reassured.

Pushing the thoughts out of his head he looked around. Trying to distract himself from the feeling in his stomach, Balmus decided it was time to leave. "I will speak to you and the Heroes soon, my King. I must prepare the church for their arrival, after all." He left the nervous king in the great hall.

The Shield Spirit felt the connection between the Shield Hero and the world it's connected be severed. It immediately realized what had happened, someone used the lesser weapon and its connections to the four holy weapons to destroy a way to summon the Shield Hero.

'But how did they get their hands on the lesser weapon? It was hidden away years before the original heroes were even summoned?' It thought. Its metaphorical eyes shifted and around the empty plain of the Legendary Shield. 'I need a backup plan. I can't allow the world to fall to ruin because of the actions of a foolish human being attempting to play God.'

Its 'body' grew brighter as its frustration grew, the spirit needed a way if only a temporary way to summon the Shield. 'Transferring their body over is impossible due to the severed link.' It sat in deep thought for a moment.

After a few minutes of pulsing, a second floating orb appeared though it was smaller than the other spirit: certainly not as strong. They both flashed brightly, conversing with each other as they tried to come to an understanding, at first the second spirit seemed reluctant to assist the spirit but after a few more tries to get it to understand what has happened: it instantly agreed. The sorbs expanded increasing in light as the spirit of Shield began a summoning. The white plain around them dimmed slightly as it cast its spell.

The odd book's pages began to turn, they began to glow a blinding white. Naofumi put his hand over his eyes as the book increased in intensity. 'Aaargh! Jesus that's bright.' He lost his footing in where we was standing, caught off guard by the light he tripped over the books that lay across the floor, he braced himself, ready to collide with the floor. But it never came, Naofumi opened his eyes to see that the library's floor had shifted around his form.

Where you would expect to see the concrete, even dirt, and stone beneath the building was nothing, an all-consuming abyss of nothing. Naofumi's heart began to beat faster and faster until all he could hear was his own breath and heart. It was as if the sounds of the world were sucked from existence itself.

The world began to fall around him, books fell by him, and building debris fell past his face. The strange book however was nowhere to be seen

"Just what the hell is going oooonn!" Naofumi cried out as he fell into the seemingly infinite void below..

[Transference successful, Shield Hero is currently being summoned!]

Zeltoble, the city of the merchants and a city without law. Or at least very little law. The place is known for its Coliseum tournaments, a place with the rich and the poor, humans and demi-humans to come together to trade. To live together happily.

However, in the underground of this country's capital exists illegal tournaments where fighters fight until either the combatant submits or in more extreme and high stakes competitions to the death. That is not the worst of it however, many people buy slaves and force them to fight to make a profit.

In this twisted underground of brutality, there remains one soul. A soul so determined to complete an impossible task he would be willing to risk his life thousands of times over in order to save his dear sister. Afflicted by illness and in constant pain.

"Welcome to the final round of the Zeltoble tournament for division 9! This is a 1 vs 1 fight ladies and gentlemen! Hailing from Faubrey please welcome the inferno of Zeltbole, Cain Hart!" A woman wearing a frowning mask announced. A large iron gate opened on one side of the sandy fighting arena, it revealed a bearded man wearing a pin-striped crimson suit. In his hand he held a steampunk-looking firearm, in the other was a lit cigar.

The masked woman spoke again, "Next please welcome our next challenger! Some call him a mad man, others call him an inspiration, welcome Fohl!" Another Iron gate opened to reveal a twelve-year-old child, his long hair was black and white, similar colored tiger ears sat atop his head. They were thick and roundish, and his tail has impressive black and white stripes, his eyes were a deep blue. However, he wore only a blue tunic and light-colored trousers.

"Fight!"

Both looked at each other with hardened expressions, "I've heard about you, Fohl." Cain spoke, the boy's eyes narrowed

"Then you know why I am participating." he replied.

Cain nodded his head, "That I do. However I must warn you, I'm not just gonna let you win, boy." He put the cigar in his mouth.

Suddenly Cain pulled the trigger of his pistol, a piece of rock shot outwards towards Fohl. He dodged it easily and began to approach the figure, his walk turned into a sprint as he approached the man. "Aaargh!" He cocked his fist back and let out a right hook to Cain's face. "Ah!" he said in surprise as a fist made contact with his face, sending him flying back. Pulling out his gun he proceeded to fire a series of bullets towards Fohl, two missed and three grazed his arms.

Rushing forward Fohl attempted to strike Cain, realizing this Cain pulled caught Fohl's fist in his hand a proceeded to throw him backward. He followed that up by kicking the tiger demi-human in the stomach, saliva flew out of Fohl's mouth. "Uughh!" He cried.

'Not yet.' Fohl rolled backward into a crouching position and rushed Cain: Unleashing a flurry of punches. Cain retorted by spitting his cigar out his mouth into his face. Fohl closed his eyes only for a second, but that was all Cain needed to counterattack. He blasted Fohl in the stomach with a metal object. Smirking Cain backed up to admire his work. A black triangular object was lodged in Fohl's stomach.

However Fohl was surprised, 'There was no pain from the impact of the bullet?' his eyes shifted to the suited man.

"Surprised?" He asked, Fohl started moving towards him but was impeded by a sudden searing sensation from where the "bullet" was lodged.

"I wouldn't try moving if I were you, boy." Cain commented, he approached Fohl as he loaded another object into his pistol. "This metal was discovered on a volcano in Faubrey, on an animal called the Ignis lizard. As a defense mechanism, it launches its scales towards its target, after it hits any movement its assailant makes would cause the scale to heat up." Cain's grin widened "Do you know what that means?"

Fohl moved toward the man grunting in pain with each step he took. Cain wasn't going to allow any chances of loss, no matter how slim they were. He began to chant under his breath, "As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and blind my target, fast light!" Fohl closed his eyes as the ball of light manifested in front of him. He felt an impact at the back of his head, he was launched far backward by a quick punch by Cain. He gripped the ground with his hands, returning to a crouched position.

He opened his eyes and groaned from the pain. 'No. Not yet. You haven't won yet.'

Cain approached him, "My MP is extremely low I could only pull off one fast light a match. Congrats on you for making me use it."

Fohl's eyes never faltered staring at the man about to beat him. He smirked, 'That's right get a little closer.' Step Fohl scooped up a handful of sand and threw it at the man. Cain tried to avoid it however some got into his eye.

"That won't work son." He said as he fired his gun.

Crack

The Metal attached to Fohl's stomach shattered in all directions and tagged Cain on the way. 'Drat little, the kid threw off my aim' His clothes smoked as he moved, he hissed in pain. He pulled the trigger of his gun. Click yet nothing left the barrel. Cain shrugged, "Very well. I good old-fashioned fistfight it is then". He tossed the pistol to the side as he stare at the now standing Fohl.

Fohl began moving towards Cain, "You're approaching me eh? No wise boy." Cain taunted.

As he walked toward his opponent Fohl replied, "I can't beat your sorry ass to a pulp without getting closer."

Cain kicked at Fohl to which he responded by catching it with his hand. Fohl brought up his leg to Cain's leg. Crunch Cain cried out in pain as we felt his leg shatter, but then proceeded to kick Fohl with his other leg, catching him off guard and it connected with his face "Arh!".

"You broke my leg," Cain grunted, Fohl struggled to his feet and scoffed

"That's what happens when someone stops me from achieving my goal." Fohl declared. Cain looked at Fohl with content in his eyes.

Cain chuckled, "I like your attitude kid. Very well. I'm not looking to die today. I'll surrender"

The announcer reappeared, "Cain Hart has surrendered, Fohl has won the match!" She declared. The crowd cheered, well besides from those who lost their bets of course. The masked woman approached Fohl with a glass container with a clear elixir within it along with 100 silver coins.

"Your reward." She said dryly, Fohl bowed at the lady whispering, "Thank you." He turned on his heel and limped out of the arena.

After exiting the arena, a wagon with steel a steel cage attached to it rolled up in front of him. A man short man wearing a green ringmaster's outfit clicked his fingers a symbol on the boy's chest lit up shocking him with a high voltage of electricity, the boy hissed in pain. His legs almost buckled because of the pain, he nearly dropped the glass container.

"Get in my boy, I've got a buyer who's interested in you and your combat skills." The short man said. Fohl narrowed his eyes at him, "Tell him he can shove his offer up his ass. I'm not leaving without my sister."

The man grinned at him, "Oh, I like that attitude of yours. You know, if you weren't a slave you would be my ideal customer. That stare sends shivers down my spine!" Fohl ignored him as he climbed into the cage of the wagon.

"Just take me back to her would you…" He whispered. The short man's smile faltered for a moment, "Very well. It's not like you have a choice in the matter anyway." He hopped onto the front of the wagon and pulled on the reins of the filolial operating it.

Their journey through the streets of Zeltoble was depressing, to say the least. Fohl fidgeted in the cage nervously, "You know that eventually, I will have to sell you right? I can't keep refusing to sell you simply because of your sister you know. Eventually, you will be separated." The man said.

Fohl didn't reply, he was too focused on getting the medicine to his sister to start a conversation with the human trash in the front seat of the wagon. 'We have been here for 5 months. I've been fighting for 5 months. Though Atla has been suffering for a whole lot longer… However, I must not give up on her!' Fohl told himself.

It wasn't long until they pulled up upon a titanic tent in the middle of nowhere within the city. Fohl hastily got down out of the wagon, rushing down the uneven gravel path towards its tarpaulin entrance. The inside of the tent was a horrific sight, many cages contained many different creatures. Some housed filolials, others werewolves. However, most were filled with malnourished humans and demi-humans, worst of all a smell of death hung in the air. The tent was almost suffocating to be in.

As he moved through the tent many slaves reached out to him for help, it angered him to know that he was powerless to help them. He trekked through the isles of the suffering slaves making his way towards a cage in the corner.

The cage was large and rusted, it had a latch door on the front of it. It contained a couple of ragged blankets along with a small supply of food and different herbal remedies and first aid kits: barely enough for two children to survive. Out of sight in the far corner of the cage lay a girl covered from head to toe in bandages. Her features were the same as her brother; Black and white hair along with round tiger ears and a striped tail.

Fohl didn't need to glance at her to know that she was suffering. He hurriedly opened the latch on the cage and entered. "Atla! Atla I'm back with the medicine! I can treat you, you can feel better now!" Fohl exclaimed.

The girl slowly turned her head toward him smiled gently at her brother, "Welcome back brother. I hope you were not hurt too badly..." She rasped. Fohl quickly unscrewed the lid to the glass container and pressed it against her mouth

"Don't talk. Please save your strength." He advised. She drank it gingerly, nearly spitting it up because of its bitter taste. Soon after she drank the medicine she fell into unconsciousness.

A couple of minutes after administering the medicine Fohl broke out some herbal remedies and bandages, he began rubbing the plant into bandages. After spending some time applying the remedies to the bandages, he changed the old bandages to the new ones. Once he did so he considerately lifted her up and placed her on a blanket while putting the other one over her.

'Sleep well Atla.'

After watching over her for a couple of hours, he succumbed to his tiredness, drifting into a deep sleep. If the demi-child were awake for a moment longer he would have noticed a light flash of green emanating from under his sister's blanket.

[Shield Hero successfully summoned!]

Hope you enjoyed the cliff-hanger lol.

This is my first Chapter of the story so go easy on me will ya! If you can think of any changes that will improve this chapter let me know in private messaging!