BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO

CHAPTER 10: THE DEVIL OF THE SHIELD

About line breaks, I didn't place them not because I was lazy, but because I think this is cool, people trying to figure out who said this particular line and all. Some are left confused for a while and only at the end of the passage, do you find the answer! This isn't a tactic used in literature, I guess. Sorry for all the inconvenience you went through.

That aside, this chapter is a continuation of Chapter 9 – Second Wave of the Catastrophe Arc.

I have read some chapters of light novel so I wrote this one from a first-person perspective.

My life has been nothing but surprises, since I got my hands on this particular device, called the Omnimatrix, created by the most intelligent of the three (if more, it's five) galaxies and known as the most powerful device in the universe.

My life has nothing but surprises presented by the world.

Is it a gift or a curse? I don't know but I cherish them. I mean surprises. Surprises have made my childhood cool and my existence juicy.

People often say to me that I have the trait of running into trouble everywhere I go.

I got an opportunity to travel to another universe.

And did run into troubles here, again.

I can't blame this trait on whatever curse it is and it makes my life juicier, anyway, so I don't mind anymore.

So what could be weirder if I were a crystal man, that is, a humanoid creature with anatomy fully made up of bluish-green crystals?

"DIAMONDHEAD!"

Has always been a habit to shout names as battle cries.

My eye level is now higher than my human form. I've been used to this body long before and so I don't feel stiff anymore.

The whole body is made up of nearly indestructible crystals and therefore my durability is extremely high.

This form looks muscular, too, but most of my alien forms are physically stronger than an average human, anyway. This form has a rock fist so a punch from this guy can potentially break a few ribs. I have to hold back, with humans.

While I am running together with Aria and Rex, I feel a glare on my back, possibly from the 'honored Commander' of the Knights. I couldn't care less about him, too busy looking for the survivors in the village.

The environment around us is dark. The sky is red and there are nothing but blue spiral portals in the sky. Most homes of villagers of Lurolona are partially destroyed, no, I'm just relieved that people are saved, their houses can be rebuilt later.

The villagers aren't rich, I am well aware of that. Guess I have to sell some crystals.

Suddenly, the red sky is lit up a little when several fireballs appear in the sky.

"Oh, crap!" Rex exclaims taking the goggles off and widening his eyes to see the "meteor shower."

Whoever did it must have planned for massive destruct–

Uh, wait, it's the Knights. Mages of the Army? Whatever… I glare at the knight commander and quickly calculate in my mind.

"Rex, Aria, see if anyone is still around. I will handle the meteor shower."

"That is what you call it? Oh–" Rex starts but I have already flown off into the sky.

"HEATBLAST!"

"– well, anyway."

"Rex, go left. I will go the right way. Let's split up!"

Aria suggests and runs off by herself into the village without another word.

Rex also has to run but he can't use his "builds" because the knights are around.

"Alrighty! Let's do it!"

I inhale first and then exhale a sea of fire breath from my mouth, the flames overwhelming the fireballs. And subsequently, I inhale as hard as the fire breath to absorb all the fire into my body. The fireballs aren't too strong, well by themselves, but can destroy the buildings and trees with burning. The fire never is a thing people should trust by appearance, oh, they eat the things and grow bigger. I remember Filo from that.

Then I fly around and inhale again. There is another batch of fireballs still in the sky. I breathe out a sea of flames that eats away all the fireballs and then I absorb them all in before flying down to my party, mentally commanding the Omnitrix to transform me into another species.

"BIG CHILL! Did I miss any of them? Just in case."

This voice is what people call "Freaky." Like a Phantom. The moth-man sure gives off a "phantom" appeal, huh?

Rex is carrying a kid in his arms but the kid seems to be unharmed.

"No, it's perfect! Luckily, the buildings weren't hit."

I sigh internally as I stare at the buildings for a moment. These all houses still accommodate people? I just hope the repair will be smooth.

"OK, Rex, I'm meeting Aria."

"Alright, leader."

Intangibility is an extremely useful skill in combat and moving around. I can just pass through the buildings, casually, and I reach the destination a little faster. Dunno what this snowflake shield can do though. Recently as Arctiguana, I threw a similar shield as a projectile or boomerang to shatter ice sculptures. I don't know if this one works the same way.

"Hey, Aria, are you OK?"

"I'm… OK."

I prefer when she isn't addressing me Sir Ben or my knight blah blah, they make me cringe though I never opened up as I didn't want people around to feel uneasy. When she is serious, she is serious. I have seen… er… multiple sides of Aria Brambila so this isn't much.

"Ben, it's a Chimera!"

She notifies me pointing into the distance. I turn around and see a Chimera monster with heads of animals, are animals common in this world, by the way? As far as I can identify, there is a lion head, a goat head, and a crocodile head that emerged from the trunk. Oh, there is a snakehead on the long green tail, too. This guy is not called Chimera for nothing.

"I got this one!"

I shoot myself in the direction of the monster and activate intangibility and phase through its body effectively freezing every organ of the monster.

Whoa, isn't it a little cruel? Scary.

The meat of Chimera is secured for good, now. For Filo.

Shortly after the Chimera is down, the sky turns back to normal as the red light disco and blue portals disappear.

Seriously, how does this kind of thing happen? It's not a bit normal for me to see the suddenly red sky and portals dropping monsters out of nowhere. Perhaps… Magic? Mana overload? I doubt mana overload will "accidentally" conjure the monsters. Something's off.

I read about the waves of calamity many times but when I see it with my eyes, it's unbelievable. I suspect the dragon hourglass has something to do with the case, like it's causing the catastrophes to break out.

After reverting into my human form, I wander among the debris and standing buildings. I hope my next actions won't affect the national currency.

I breathe a sigh of relief. Whatever, next things next. The mission is a success.

Then the King hosts an after-party for 'heroes' and everyone in my team can attend. I quickly remove Rex not to draw unnecessary attention from the royalty or whatever. I don't think Lurolona Village isn't legal yet. So I won't take any risks.

"Good luck, Ben."

"Yep, you too."

For some reason, he wished me good luck and left.

I asked Aria to confirm whether she wanted to join the party or not. She has revealed her identity to the Knight Commander but that is another story. The news of Idol Rabier being defeated hasn't reached Aultcray's ears yet… if my theory is right.

"Are you sure? I don't even go to the party after all that rampage. You revealed your identity but I also did the same, no less… I threatened him but I doubt it will work. Whatever will be, will be."

Aria nods and answers.

"I'm sure."

I don't know why she is that consistent about attending a party.

"Special Thanks for our Heroes who defend the people of Melromarc!"

The King cheers up the crowd with a toast, well, alcohol isn't my interest, to begin with. But I changed into normal attire just before coming here. Now I blend into the crowd and scout wandering my eyes all over the place. My eyes catch Motoyasu and Itsuki with their party members. And Ren, he looks pretty lonely, or probably this is his personality. I am not really familiar with this "loner" thing from novels, sorry, Ren.

I don't know why Aria comes to this party. If people know her family is working together with "the Devil of the Shield" I see no advantage coming up. Probably all downsides. Declaring war to the Royalty isn't good in any way I perceive.

So as a precaution, I removed her from my party temporarily.

There are several tables in this hall with quite a crowd. I don't know if this is the party for 'hero' wannabes or nobility anymore. I am guessing 80 percent of the attendees are nobles. The food on the tables looks fantastic, but I'm not tasting it. It's not like this meal will be as good as Mr. Chris' homemade snacks and dishes.

The King is on a higher stage. I don't think he will see us from that spot. But I noticed his smile after one of the advisors approached him and whispered into his ear. I am busy figuring out why Aris wants to come to this party. Food? Drinks? Snacks? No, Mr. Chris and his apprentices are much better at making food or drinks.

The King smiles, satisfied as if something were just accomplished. No, maybe it was actually accomplished. I look around to observe any changes in the crowd.

Now the wave is over and I should fulfill Rex's request as well. This is the best time to do so.

Eclair Seaetto, the daughter of Lord Seaetto who was the master of Rex, disappeared months ago. Rex has no idea where she is. The last thing that the extent of the information he can get was that she defended the Lurolona Village so it's a high chance other nobles enslaved or the royal guards arrested her since then.

Rex was worried about her but I couldn't really help it. Melromarc is one of the biggest countries on the continent. But I narrowed the possibilities down.

Human slavery is illegal as well as human supremacy is practically influential so any noble family would ever want to enslave her. So someone imprisoning her is possible.

Since I heard about Seaetto's death and the other nobles robbing his lands, I have been worried about others finding out the Brambila family is supporting me. So I want to make things quick here and travel outside the country. I have some bordering nations in mind, like Shieldfreeden. Humans mistreat demi-humans cruelly so I just hope they would welcome someone from Melromarc.

I guess consulting the Queen won't hurt?

That aside, my conclusion is to find the Eclair lady in the prisons in the castle town. I am not good with laws, though I had some universal legal issues about recreating the whole universe and called to the court.

I have to finish this request before I leave the country.

I am snapped back to reality by the stamping footsteps of a familiar man. He has a spear in his hand, coming straight to me. His lips seem to be readied to shoot out some insults or whatever. I am just frightened for a second by the fact that he actually found me who is blending in the crowd and intently hiding.

He takes a glove off his hand and throws it down onto the floor with a challenging glare as if his eyes were gonna blast rays anytime soon.

"Duel me."

If I gained 1000 Exp for every time he challenged me, I could get promoted to level 57.

But the duel is pointless.

The surrounding crowd is backing away to make some space for us, with curious eyes.

"Any benefits for me from the duel? I defeated you once and got nothing. Sorry, uninterested."

I respond coldly and turn away from him to conserve energy. But I wonder how this guy can be this energetic about another fight after slaying multiple batches of monsters just a while ago. Perhaps he had only to use one third of his powers since he was together with other heroes, or he killed too many and went insane. I am not concerned with either theories.

"You won because I held back. And I was caught off-guard."

"Is that so? Then why are you challenging me again? You won, sh… Aria, let's go."

"You BAST–"

It would be good if the Shield had functions like muting the unnecessary sounds.

Aria gets out of the crowd and we walk to the exit silently.

The guards nearby stop us, holding up their weapons to prevent us from exiting.

"Why are you leaving, the Shield Devil and his companion? Perhaps, do you not want the rewards?"

Annoyingly enough, I see His Majesty standing up from his throne.

"No, thanks."

I don't want to speak much to the King. I grab the weapons of the guards that are getting in my way and freeze them before shattering them to make way for us.

I don't turn to see the surprised faces of the guards.

"Isn't it a violent manner, Devil?" His Majesty talks too much, probably trying to provoke me.

We both quietly walk away from the guards.

This time, I hear a swing and a jump and a growl. I quickly sidestep pulling Aria with me.

And see Motoyasu land into the place with his spear digging a hole in the floor.

Just how persistent is he? Oh, should I use the carrot and the stick method? Or a huge masochist? I don't swing that way, no, I don't.

"You–!"

"No swearing, there are ladies in this room." I stop him…. It is effective. Sorry, ladies.

He takes some breaths after hearing the word "ladies." Whoa, it works, hah! I don't know if I can use the same method to cool down Kevin. He loves his car but never punched me for destroying his baby, as far as I remember.

"I said, duel me," he insists.

He is standing just before the crowd. Freezing and shattering him isn't a great idea.

But I can punch him in the guts so… well…

"Dude, why are you so persistent about dueling me?"

"You defeated me. You humiliated me. This is nothing but on top of all, you abused Myne and ran away. Is there anything wrong with wanting to avenge a victim?"

He holds up his weapon to pressure me but he fails.

"No,..."

"So–"

"... but it's wrong when a victim isn't a victim," I say coldly but don't have any high hopes about convincing the truth or anything. It will just make Motoyasu's scowl more distinct.

Aria, you wanted to attend the party just to get me to go through this.

I let out a sigh and walk back to a spot to pick up the glove.

"Here, OK, I accept the challenge. Never ever bug me about duels or challenges blah blah after this. OK? This is my demand for the duel."

Motoyasu smiles and holds up his spear.

"I accept."

So the duel happens.

A scared duel. I would like to avoid it normally but if he accepts my demand and steps back from getting in my way again and again, this is a small price to pay. It's not like I lose anything so–

"Hey, what are you doing?"

I shout at the royal guards who are tying up Aria with multiple ropes. Aria isn't struggling but I can't rest my mind.

But I am relieved that they don't know who she actually is.

"We have to ensure she can't help you."

The King answers wearing a smile on his face.

"It's OK, sir Ben." Aria assures me with her small voice.

I nod in response but uneasiness takes place in my chest. But better I don't interfere with it.

But why are they gagging her? It's gross but I decided to not say anything. They would probably think she can exhale ice breaths or something.

Now I am on the stage, taking the spotlight as a main antagonist before the protagonist with the spear comes out.

I have to fight it fair and square.

I can't just abuse my alien powers and humiliate him in front of the nobles and the King. It'd be so bad and people would find out more about my abilities. And I have no intention to do so and I know the outcome wouldn't be any better that way.

A moment later, Motoyasu comes out. Whoa, the second princess sticks around, for some reason she is in the duel area… but in a blind spot. I don't really care about that. But I have to admit I am not used to moving around or reflex in this armor. I regret changing into this one, well, it was gonna be found out anyway.

Not to brag about myself but I have experience with hand-to-hand combat and learned street fighting skills from my alien instincts. For reference, I have undergone through Plumber Academy's Basic Training, as a human, so it's no problem dueling only using a shield.

But don't get me wrong, just because I can dodge a laser beam, it doesn't mean I am faster than lightspeed. I act on instincts and experience and I read opponents' movements, muscles and gears or maybe energy concentration in their cannon. My brain would unconsciously predict the direction of the beam and I would barely dodge it. A spear… and a shield. Without the supernatural powers of the legendary weapons, it may be a bad matchup. But I am confident.

After TWO encounters with Motoyasu, I remember some of his moves. I have alien shields which can counter almost all of Motoyasu's spear skills. Like Chromashield. I am not sorry for the lame name. Chromashield can take energy attacks – by the way, the magic power here is significantly lower than Gwen's magic – and its durability rocks. Uh, sure might it be overkill, I'm even sorry for him.

Wait, the judge is the King?! I hope the results won't be biased.

"The duel will take place in the presence of the King Melromarc, and the Pope, and it is thus legitimate and official."

Oh, the Pope is here. Whoa, he's there! I look around and find him at once. Or rather it was me who didn't notice him sitting on a fancy chair, with a smile. His smile is… creepy, I mean, it feels like a forced smile. His eyes are shut tight as a sequel to the smile. As I have seen right through him, I know his smile isn't genuine. But he'd likely act innocent for whatever plan he had arranged.

"Sir Motoyasu, Best of Luck!"

The voice gets my attention. Malty girl is cheering for Motoyasu.

(A/N: Let me re-use the dialogs from the original material, with slight changes.)

Motoyasu faces me, though he is at least 10 meters away. His lips look like he's gonna talk some heroic or villainous speech. "Ben Tennyson, I will defeat you," I have heard similar words like a hundred times.

"Do you know the fork tale about the irresistible spear and the immovable shield?"

What is this guy talking about? Japanese Tales?

"Er…" I pretend to think for a moment, "No." Then strike the question down.

Motoyasu responds by swinging his spear and then readies it in a position to thrust into me…

"Ben Tennyson… I will defeat you!"

I notice his spear has changed shapes. I don't know which spear he changed, however, but it has three heads with the biggest in the middle. The spearhead is black with yellow linings.

For my part, I look into the shield list quickly and activate a shield.

Putting my trust in the shield…

Arburian Impact! Counting on you, Cannonbolt!

I enter the ready stance as he charges in, his spear being thrusted into my shield which bounces the weapon off. The near-indestructible armor piece does work as a decent shield.

Arburian Pelarota… A species that has gone extinct in my homeworld. Cannonbolt is one of the last generation survivors of this proud species and always carries the DNA's legacy. Also after Diamondhead and Chromastone, this alien form stands third in most durable ones, if Waybig doesn't count.

"What! What the heck is that shield?"

I smirk at his frightened expression and again enter the stance.

"Impressed, are we? This shield is called Arburian Shield, it carries the legacy of the Arabian monsters." I lie. I like to bluff non-sense, especially with this guy. Sorry, Arburia.

Just before he charges towards me again, I quickly change my alien shield into a snowflake one. It's curious that Arctiguana and Big Chill share the same shield.

I noticed the new features of this shield.

I throw the white snowflake made of ice and snow towards the charging Motoyasu. The shield collides with him and instantly freezes him starting from the place where it first contacted his torso.

"What the heck is wrong with your shields? I have never seen such monsters."

Alright, Ben, think of some decent lie. Make up a story real fast!

"Er… it's not your fault. These shields are called outlander shields, having the ability of creatures from another world."

I don't know how my story would convince him, well, save it for later.

"You are underestimating me, huh! Now taste Air Strike Javelin!"

I've already tasted that one. Now… what about… a conductor?

Conductoid Shield!

I shout internally in my mind. Although I have been shouting Alien names for one-third of my life, I cringe shouting attack moves. Or in this case, it's a shield change.

My shield changes into a black plate with silver linings and two black tendrils with copper-color plugs at the tips.

The tendrils launch themselves into the air and then create an energy-absorbent barrier by changing the condition of gases around the tips. The semi-invisible barrier absorbs all the energy from Air Strike Javelin decomposing it into nothing in no time.

Then the tendrils rise again in a moment to shoot yellow beams of energy towards the Motoyasu who dodges all the multiple beams and safely lands on the floor with a heroic pose.

"Seems like you have an ace up in the sleeve, huh?" He provokes.

I smirk changing the shield back to the original small shield.

"How about more original ones, SHIELD PRISON!"

It reminds me of Cannonbolt's sphere form.

The grey enclosed hollow sphere made of some kind of material I don't know which chains all over the rounded surface appears in Motoyasu's place, temporarily imprisoning him.

The King and his followers may be probably jaw-dropped or something.

Without warning, two beams of fire appear and shoot in the direction of me and the sphere ball. Acting to my instincts, I quickly dodge the beam but the sphere is destroyed at the contact.

Oh… thanks to myself. What if it hit me? Shattered into pieces?

I look around to see where they came from. It's… Malty. As rotten as she is, I never expected this kind of move in a 'sacred duel.' But… I sorta understand. During the first duel, she couldn't help because of Aria's interference and Motoyasu miserably lost… she must be feeling guilty for something she shouldn't.

I lose my cool for a second as I appear in front of her, freaking her out of her shells and pulling my fist back.

Somehow I have activated the ID Mask and transformed myself into Fasttrack in a split second.

"Oh, I was just gonna punch whoever shot that beam… Is that you, Malty S Melromarc?"

She is really outstanding in changing her expression. After a second of surprise, she quickly turns a smug look.

"Any proof, Mr. Tennyson?"

"Just like that time, huh? Even if I had, it would do nothing."

I vanish on her in a blur, turning my shield into an Unbreakable Diamond Shield, and then crash into Motoyasu with all might.

Oh I didn't intend to transform but… it isn't cheating right? OK, please let me make up by fighting with a small shield for the rest of the duel.

I glance at Motoyasu who is lying on the ground. He lets out an uneasy groan so I hypothesize that the hit must have been painful.

Fasttrack's Speed and Agility plus Diamondhead's Shield Durability and hardness. It was a little overkill.

"Sir Motoyasu."

Malty runs across the field and comes to brace Motoyasu in her arms, who is barely conscious after being crushed by a diamond racing car running at a speed of 300 m/s. I feel bad for the dude but the King ruins the mood.

"As expected of the Shield Devil, he overwhelmed our beloved spear hero and defeated him! It's no surprise!"

Save your propaganda for the election campaign, old man. The pope… looks like his expression never changed but I can sense disgust and disappointment in his eyes.

"You are too violent, you know?"

Should I turn into Rath and go on a rampage? No, I turned into him twice at the trial and he embarrassed me for good. Rule number one - never transform into Rath before a crowd, unless you wanna be a laughing stock after it.

"He got what's coming to him."

I say coldly before walking to where Aria is bound.

"Sorry for getting you to wait, Aria."

The guards don't undo the ties. I am kinda pissed off but for the time being, I have to put up with it. I grab the ropes and tear them apart while ensuring she isn't hurt. Finally, I removed the gag in her mouth.

"See, being in my party will only make yourself suffer and hurt. The King and his followers and the Church of the Three Heroes hate me for no reason."

I speak out with a voice everyone around can hear, as I pat her hair weakly.

"So what?" she whispers, hugging me tight in her arms. "Are you gonna carry all the pain by yourself?"

I laugh dryly. After a dramatic show, we walk to the exit.

The whole stadium is silent. Well, there were some quiet chatters.

Holy– it was embarrassing! Like Hell! Alright I, forget it, Benjamin.

"Hold on," the King isn't finished?

I tilt my head to see the King, not with a pleased expression.

"You need to be rewarded for your accomplishment in the wave. We have got information on how you did a great job saving the villagers."

I stare at Aultcray and the nobles surrounding him and then at the Pope and the Church believers.

No, the King isn't that kind of person, at least to me, regardless of whether I did great or not. It smells like something… It smells fishy.

I look at Aria in concern, and she returns a nod in agreement at our eye contact.

The King's tensed face is now replaced with a smirk.

"Ben Tennyson, the Hero of the Shield, …"

Hey, he never called me like that! Perhaps….

"... was seen transforming into monsters which are the enemies of humanity!"

Finally, I find the Knight Commander at the edge of my view, who is glaring at me with a scowl.

The King motions at the Pope who is handed a scroll.

He looks at the scroll and stands up from his fancy chair.

"From now on, Ben Tennyson, the Hero of the Shield is announced to be the enemy of the Church of Three Heroes…."

It's kinda weird his smile never disappears. Hey, what… is… happening…

"Ben Tennyson, the Devil of the Shield, has a special ability to turn into otherworldly monsters we have never seen before. He used the power of the aforementioned monsters to duel the hero of the spear."

I can't help but narrow my eyes at certain individuals full of doubt and insecurities. But I warned them… It was gonna be found out soon or then, anyway. But… this move is… curious. Why, I can't help it. Even superheroes stand and listen to villainous speech and the ideals of villains before kicking their butts.

"The Enemy of the Church, the Devil of the Shield, surrender yourself to the royalty. Your deeds intended to deceive people have now come to an end, of the truths of the world!"

I am caught off-guard again. Why did I stand all time to listen to their sh– whatever? I turn around and see Aria is restrained again.

Despite knowing how powerful I am, they are approaching me! The guards are trying to restrain me too.

"The little lady he is with must be either hypnotized or a dark witch! Arrest her too!"

The King orders and there is quite a chaos around.

"You know, it's hilarious. You know how powerful I am, no, at least you know to an extent. And now you announce me a criminal before all this crowd and try to arrest me. It's not a wise move."

I figured it out. Despite dubbing me as "the Devil", whoever planned this thing must know my personality and nature, and... he decided to turn the table by taking advantage of my morals.

They are probably thinking… With this plan, I couldn't probably go on a rampage and at the same time, all the nobles here would be deceived by the "Church" which many of them believe in. This plan can take a debate against Brainstorm. But not as wise a plan as it seems.

"What do you say, the Devil?"

The King demands with a scowl on his face. I chuckle as I see the other three heroes, one is still unconscious on the floor, the bow one is mumbling something and the sword guy seems to be silently analyzing the situation.

"You tried to take advantage of my morals, aren't you? It's not like you can show proof I can transform into monsters or whatever like that. But making the Pope declare me as an enemy of the Church is… your idea? His Highness?"

The King frowns at me.

"We have to defend our people from your idealistic delusions like freeing the slaves. So we have to arrest you before your stupid ideals spread like wildfire."

I look back at Aria. Her mouth is already gagged again. I am not furious about setting me up, but I can't stand seeing my people… hurt.

"If you arrest me…"

I look back at the King in his eyes.

"... can you promise me you won't do anything to my… followers? Yes, I hypnotized them. They have… nothing to do with my… plans or whatever."

I am not expecting a yes. If he says no, I'm gonna give a decent lesson by sending him to Siltvelt without clothes. He deserves it as a human supremacist. If I were to take Rifana or Raphtalia as my party member,... I would have had more problems.

"I understand, now you admit, Shield Devil."

He is a human supremacist after all. Devil worshipper or whoever… as long as it is a fellow human being… I am not sure but let's see to the very end.

I walk to Aria who has been tied up again, and whisper into her ears.

"Release Idol Rabier, he will ensure your safety."

She widens her eyes but I am not there anymore.

I hope the King just hates me, not the Shield Worshippers.

This is the act.

I have to ensure their safety until I came in contact with the Queen, again.

After all, I won't always be present around them.

More like I can't.

Partner, what should I do?

Looking down at the metal cuffs that bind my limbs, I slowly close my eyes and search for advice.

"Hmph." He appears in an Azmuth's usual fashion. My vision is all dark but his holographic body glows green.

"I will be frank here, your move was unwise, totally."

He narrows his eyes. "There are a whole list of ways to protect Brambila Family or whoever you want to. But what you did is not a decent one in the list. It's poor to my taste."

He frankly comments.

"But tell me about your other motives. I know you wanted to be announced as a Devil or enemy of the nation or whatsoever… for the sole reason of rescuing a potential criminal?"

So you were eavesdropping? I ask him.

"No, not really. I just happened to hear it. To save a criminal, you have to be a criminal. What's with this logic? I will not put blame on you even if you explode this whole place, but no, not here. This is not the castle. You can go explode the castle. Actually, I am pissed off, too."

The green alien sounds energetic and adrenergic.

"Oh, but I came to a conclusion about the case you said."

"Move your ass, the devil."

A knight pulls the chains that are attached to the cuffs and so I have to move as he directs.

Forget it.

What conclusion?

"It's a high chance she will be detained in a secret room or something. Some castles have built-in prison chambers."

You mean…

"A place where no one would think of. No one means you guys, from different worlds and different cultures. Guess, how many of your four would think there is someone detained in a castle?"

This is unreasonable. I mean, no one gets summoned to save her, anyway.

"Maybe, shield hero does."

The movements came to a stop so I opened my eyes.

So, I have to believe in my Partner, yes?

There is a cart in front of me and many guards surround me, most of them readying their weapons to ensure I can't escape.

"No, not me. Actually, it's you."

Me?

A laugh is heard.

"Hahah, how do you think I get to this conclusion anyway? It's you who narrowed down the possible alternatives and I just did the work left. That's a tiny bit. Don't thank me."

The knights push me up into the cart before the dragon-horse begins to move.

So, what do I have to do now?

"Act like a weakling in the restraints. Plans later. Now, if you excuse me,..."

The holographic figure vanishes.

I look away from the knights and stare off into the village I defended.

Uhhhhhh! Screw it! What's next now?

I close my eyes again to concentrate and look into the shield list.

From today, I become the Devil of the Shield, officially.

CHAPTER (10) ENDS.

Since I made a major change, like from 3rd person to 1st person, I need some reviews about it.

After Chapter 10, next chapters in line need some more time so I can't probably update daily from now on. But I will try to update once in 2 or 3 days.

Thanks for reading.

Christopher Paradox Chronos (Now in the body of Benjamin Kirby Tennyson)