Heroes of the Arks
ESKK: Well, here we go Chapter 32 sorry for any delays with it, but muse comes and goes as does my cowriter with RL. Anyway, enjoy and leave a review once you reach the end of the chapter.
(Start Melromarc Early Morning Shiro)
Shiro was asleep inside the wagon as they had travelled a good while when they got the message to come back from the queen. The message was sudden and since Tsubaki and Taiyo were away he suspected they might either be late or not show up at all. Besides after he located his wagon, they did need to get their class upgrades for Filo since she was unable to get her. So as the party arrived Raphtalia was the first to awaken Shiro from his slumber which was very much earned at this point.
"Shiro." Raphtalia began as Shiro began to stir from his slumber.
When Shiro opened his eyes, he saw Raphtalia smiling down on him as Shiro yawned a bit. Just then Filo came in as she was smiling at Shiro in her human form. "Hey we're here!" Filo called out as she looked to Shiro showing they were back at Melromarc now.
They in turn began to depart from the Wagon which was currently parked at the steps of the Church. As they climbed up the entrance had a few significant changes on it which Raphtalia took notice of as did Filo. "Wow look at that they changed it." Raphtalia said as she pointed up to the new crest on the Church. When they looked the Crest of the Three Heroes Church now had the shield on it now. "The crest has all four heroes on it now." Raphtalia said as she pointed to the crest.
"And look." Filo said as on either side of the steps were the Four Knights holding up the weapons associated with them making a path for those who entered.
"I guess the Knights are now part of the legend of the Cardinal Heroes." Raphtalia said as Filo was running around a bit as she looked over the statue of the White Knight holding up its shield. "This country will sure be different then it was before." Raphtalia said as Shiro smiled to this.
"Yeah, and we can finally get Filo her Class Upgrade we've been putting off for so long without having to use Jun's underhanded tactics now that we're not outcasts anymore." Shiro said with a smile on his face.
"We can thank the Queen for that when we see her." Raphtalia said until a new voice was heard.
"Damn straight." Taiyo said as he had his Spear resting against his shoulder as he sat on Takaya's back cross legged.
"Sir Taiyo." Raphtalia said as she saw Taiyo was here with Rino and Ryuko.
"Taiyo your back earlier than I expected." Shiro said as he looked to Taiyo knowing where he was. "How as Faubley?" Shiro asked as he looked to Taiyo who then got a scowl.
"I don't wanna talk about it right now." Taiyo said as he still remembered the Pig King and Takt. "Anyway, we came here to get Ryuko her class upgrade." Taiyo began as he got off Takaya to take Ryuko in for her class Upgrade. "And I'm pretty sure Tsubaki beat us here earlier." Taiyo added as he and Ryuko began to enter the church.
"Wait what about?" Shiro began only for Rino to shush Shiro as she wanted it to be a surprise for the others.
(Later inside the Church)
Once they were inside the group was met with the sight of the young Knight, Ake, as they had learned as he stood with his magic casting friend. "Ake haven't seen you since we left Melromarc." Taiyo greeted happy to see a familiar and friendly face.
"It's nice to see you again as well Shield Hero and Spear Hero long time no see." Ake said as Shiro smiled a bit.
"So how have you been, Ake?" Shiro asked curious as to what the young Knight had been doing since they had last met.
"Well, the Queen has entrusted the Dragon Hourglass to us." Ake said as Shiro smiled to this.
"So, you know why we're here right?" Shiro asked as he looked to Ake with curiosity.
"Yeap right this way." Ake said gesturing for the duo to follow him. "You had just missed the Bow and Sword Heroes not too long ago their Class Upgrades had gone off without much trouble." Ake said as he guided the group through the church.
"Damn." Taiyo sighed as he deflated a bit in a playful manner causing Ryuko to giggle in response to this.
(Later in the Dragon Hourglass room)
"We shall now begin the class upgrade ritual." Ake called out while both Ryuko and Filo stood ready for her class upgrade. Once they were ready to two placed their hands on the Dragon Hourglass and in turn the object began to glow a shining much like it did with Raphtalia when she got hers. For Shiro and Taiyo a screen appeared offering if they would like to allow their party members to decide the Class Upgrade which they both agreed to do so. Once that was done the rest was straight forward.
(Scene Break Motoyasu)
Motoyasu was outside in the field again as he was hurting and sore all over but clearly had been out and about ever since the trial. Malty was still under house arrest and in turn Motoyasu used the chance to retrace his steps as best he could. Some nights he had to be carted back to the castle by a Shadow when he passed out from exhaustion. It has become a reoccurring thing ever since his confrontation with Madoras and by the looks of it seem that Motoyasu was about ready to pass out again.
After he took out another monster with a worn-out spear, he took a moment to try and catch his breath. Motoyasu's level had taken a dramatic uptake since he started this nonstop training at least he liked to assume he did. But with all this nonstop training and the town hating him he was surprised to find himself in the royal infirmary after every time he passed out from exhaustion. Either someone up there really likes him or they want him to suffer before snuffing him out. He didn't care what happened to himself just as long as he saved Miyuki his survival was a luxury.
Of, course when Motoyasu tried to move again he stumbled and almost fell over if not for a Shadow appearing to grab him. She had been ordered to tail Motoyasu and needless to say she had seen him push himself to the brink with the hope of reuniting with Miyuki. He was stupid that much was obvious enough, but he was loyal to a fault. As the Shadow helped him stay on his feet it became clear he was now sleeping again causing her to roll her eyes a bit.
"Typical." she sighed and thus began to carry him back to the castle to rest. She swore they needed to start charging him for his improve stay at the castle.
(Scene Break Throne Room)
The Four Heroes stood before Mirellia with their parties as she hid her face behind her fan. The Shield and Spear heroes looked to the latest additions to the Bow and Sword heroes and clearly had questions on that. As they stood before the matriarch of Melromarc they had also noted that Aultcray was a no-show no doubt still in deep shit with Mirellia after everything that happened before her return.
But from what the Queen saw Filo and Raphtalia did not seem happy about it nor did Ryuko. "I'm sorry, was there a problem with your class upgrade?" Mirellia asked as she looked concerned over the glum faces.
"Kind of, thanks to you we managed to get the Class Upgrades for Filo and the others but..." Shiro trailed off until Taiyo cut in.
"The upgrade wouldn't give our party members the ones they were gunning for." Taiyo said as he scratched his head a bit as he remembered how upset Ryuko was about not getting her desired upgrade.
"Any explanations on why that is?" Jun asked as Kuro, Pete, and Demonicon stood behind her from largest to smallest.
"Well, I have been told that its possible for certain items to affect the class upgrade process." Mirellia offered and in turn Tsubaki put the pieces together.
"Maybe that's what happened to us." Tsubaki shrugged as it was the best theory they had at the moment.
"Maybe the cowlick Fitoria gave Filo, and the horn King gave Ryuko are the problems." Shiro offered as he flicked the cowlick on Filo causing her to cry out against it.
Of course, this caused Mirellia to go wide eyed at the revelation. "Fitoria, you meant the Filolial Queen?" She asked shocked by the words spoken.
"I wish you could have been there to see her mother, when she was with King the 16th Bahamut they looked indescribably beautiful and powerful." Melty said as she told her mother of her time with meeting the two rulers.
But Melty was soon cut off by her mother who grabbed her hand. "Melty." Mirellia said as she took hold of her daughter's hand. "Tell me more I want to know everything about her." Mirellia said as the four saw what was going on here as they talked about Fitoria.
"Well in her bird form Fitoria was as big as the two monsters we were fighting and some of her feathers were the color of the sky." Melty said as this brought more excitement from the Queen.
"Anything else?" Mirellia asked as clearly, she wanted to hear all of the details.
"She had feathers on her head that were kind of like a crown and she let me ride on top of her. It was a dream come true!" Melty called out as this caused Filo to pout a bit as Ryuko tilted her head to the side as the three new Filolials in the room looked with curiosity as the male of the trio had his thumb in his mouth.
Mirella gushed over this information as she smiled to it while the Heroes saw it was like mother like daughter here. "It sounds wonderful I'm jealous of you truly to ride the Filolial Queen." Mirellia said as Rino rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, all great unless you rode the Dragon Patriarch then you can gush." Rino said remembering riding on the back of Bahamut before.
Jun sighed to this as she rubbed her eyes in annoyance. "Like mother like daughter." Jun said as Taiyo then looked to the new additions.
"So, Jun Tsubaki mind explaining the new additions?" Shiro asked as he looked to the girls.
"Later." Tsubaki said knowing they needed a bit to explain what lead up to them.
Just then Mirellia realizing she had guests cleared her throat and fixed herself. "I'm sorry excuse me." Mirellia said as she looked to the group.
"So, what's the big emergency that you had to call us all from all over to come here so soon? Is something wrong?" Shiro asked as he looked to Mirellia with the desire for answers.
"Oh no I'm throwing a party tonight and I want all four of the Cardinal Heroes in attendance." Mirellia said as she looked to the group before her.
"Sorry but we need advance notice for that stuff." Jun said with a small scowl as the others were in agreement though not overtly.
"If I had told you all that was the reason none of you would have come." Mirellia said as Tsubaki had to agree there.
"She's not wrong." Tsubaki said as she looked over to Jun.
"But... in truth though the party is just an excuse to get you all here. There is something you need to know something all four of you will benefit from." Mirellia said and thus this got the groups attention on her. "It is the upmost importance." She added and thus they knew leaving was out of the question.
(Later)
"So now that we have a minute..." Taiyo began as he looked to the four new faces in their growing brood. "Who are the midgets?" Taiyo asked as he then got elbowed by Rino for his bluntness.
"Hi I'm Kuro!" Kuro introduced as he waved at the group.
"Wait what?" Shiro asked as he looked to the kid in question.
"It's true apparently Kuro is like Filo and Ryuko except he was a late bloomer." Jun explained as she remembered that story well. Then as if to prove her words Kuro transformed into his Phoenix form and flew over to Jun's waiting arm. Once he was on her arm Kuro then perched himself before moving to her shoulder which was all the proof they needed.
All eyes then went over to the three kids with Tsubaki as they all seemed quite close to her. "Well, if you must know on my part these three are Yuki, Sakura, and Kou." Tsubaki said as she introduced the trio of Filolials to her friends.
"Hello." Yuki said as she did a small bow of her legs as if she was a noble. Yuki was wearing a beige one-piece dress and long sleeve like gloves on both her arms which Shiro recognized as the Seamstress handiwork from Filo's own outfit. The dress was decorated with a waist belt, buttons, and a white trimming around her neck with a black ribbon attached with some type of Jewel. If Shiro was a betting man, the outfit was made from magical thread so to allow Yuki to transform with ease.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Sakura said as she smiled in a similar fashion to Filo. From what the group saw Sakura was dressed in a pea-green one-piece dress made by the same seamstress as Filo's outfit was that was decorated in pink heart patterns and a single dark green ribbon tied above her chest.
"Hi." Kou said as the only male of the trio as he was dressed in simple overalls made by the same Seamstress. Being a boy seemed to change her focus as boys tend to be rough at that age.
"They are my hunting pack." Tsubaki added as she put a hand on either Sakura and Kou's head causing the two to smile as Yuki closed her eyes and nodded with her arms crossed giving the air of a Tsunadere for the group. The three had daggers and bows with them both of which with the intent to hunt beasts in the field with Tsubaki.
"Anyway, Taiyo did you managed to learn anything from Faubley?" Jun asked as she looked over to Taiyo as she wanted answers on that front.
"Yeah, long story short Takt was a royal piece of." Taiyo began but was cut off by a maid that came to collect the heroes.
"Excuse me Heroes." The maid said cutting Taiyo off from making a swear known to the younger ears. "We're ready for you." The maid said as she got their attention.
Jun sighed and thus went to Taiyo on this one. "We'll talk about it during the meeting." Jun said and thus the four heroes began to follow after the maid to meet with the Queen in private.
(Later during the Party)
With music playing and everyone were enjoying themselves with the food and the music that was playing, with some chattering going on around the room, with one table that was big enough to house many parties at once, mainly the four heroes' parties with the extra open seats were meant for their leaders.
With Melty sitting down at the same table as them as she said to the group, "I was honestly didn't expect to see you again so soon, but I'm glad you are back Filo, Ryuko."
"Me too Mel," Filo said with a smile on her face with Ryuko was stuffing her mouth with some food as she nodded and went, "Hmm-Hm!"
"Ryuko, I thought I told you not to eat until your father comes back," Rino said as she scolded her adopted daughter a bit as she them pointed out to the other, "But they are eating, why can't I?"
Pointing over at Pete and Demonicon as they were eating their food as the bone head merc said, "Hey boss never said to wait for them to start eating."
"But it is rude to do so without our party leaders," Conan said as he wasn't going to eat until Tsubaki returns, with the triplets Filolial were sitting at their seat, Kou wanted to eat something, but his hand was smack away by Yuki as she said to him, "No."
"But I'm hungry," Kou said as he pouted a bit before sucking on his thumb again as he just wanted for his master to return so he can eat, then Filo suddenly said, "Hey I have an idea. Let us all go explore the castle later?"
"Sure," Melty said as she would be happy to hang with Filo and Ryuko again as the huge group were enjoying themselves with the food, Raphtalia was looking at Shiro's seat she was saving for him as she wondered how long they would be?
Suddenly stomachs were growling as Filo said, "Oh I'm hungry, what's taking master so long?"
"I'm sure they will be along soon to join us filo," Rino said to hopefully come her down a bit until their leaders come back as Sakura said from her eat, "How long is soon?"
"Well, Shiro did say that heh and the other had important business and said we should enjoy ourselves, so we can eat," Raphtalia said with Conan nodded as he said, "Lady Tsubaki did allow us to eat as well, so you three should eat as well."
"Very well," Yuki said as soon enough she turn to Kou and give him a nod and allow him to eat his food as he soon began to dig in with Filo said as she did the same, "Alright."
With everyone enjoying their time at the moment Melty look and saw her sister off in the distant who was going through a door that led into the kitchen of the castle and seemed a bit worry, and she wasn't the only one as Rishia was looking around for a bit until she saw Mald at the party too, no doubt he was there as a noble while he was wearing his adventuring gear for some reason.
Quickly turn away hoping that Mald would come over where she was at and do something not like he would If Conan had anything to say about it as he spotted the guy as well as he sense something off about he didn't like, but it was a good thing he was allow to carry his weapon even during the party and was prepared to take action if needed, he just hope that Tsubaki and the other would come and join them soon.
(With the four heroes)
Shiro, Taiyo, Jun and Tsubaki were sitting at a round table with the queen at the head of the table that where the four were looking towards with there being a set of doors behind her, but before they got down to business the other three heroes wanted to know what happen in Faubley with the Queen let them be before telling them the news she had for them.
With Taiyo was telling the group about what happen at Faubley with the king being describe as a human pig creature of how he looked and telling them everything about Takt down to last detail of him being a self-deluded psychopath killing of a lot of people, forcing women to join him in his ever growing harem while killing the family who refused him, as well as wanting to be the only hero in the world by killing others and taking their weapons, This troubling information had not only shock them but the Queen herself but she keep herself until the Heroes sorted themselves first. The fact they weren't even acknowledging the International Incident Taiyo may have just caused was further proof of just how shocked they were here.
"I can't believe it," Shiro said as he thought with the help of the Vassal heroes, they could take on the wave better. But to everyone disappointment to find out Takt was killing them to take their weapons leaving them by themselves now as Jun said, "I should have gone there and dealt with him myself."
Tsubaki knew what Jun was implying because unlike Taiyo who probably would have shy away from killing Jun did not share those concerns. "You may not, gotten close to him even if you did, but now we know about him, we can be on the lookout for him and the weapon he holds now," Tsubaki said as they have mark Takt as an enemy. But since he was the 'golden boy,' in Faubley they will no doubt find it hard to believe. Furthermore, there was no telling what he could do as Taiyo soon said, "But hey there was some good news, I was able to get the whip away from him and Rino became its new holder as it chose her."
"So, if that's true, and the Vessel weapon are similar to the cardinal weapons, the best thing we can do for now is reclaim all the other weapons he still holds and get them to some new users that are trustworthy in both sense of us and the weapons." Shiro said as Tsubaki also spoken up saying, "Not to mention keep an ear and eye out for any of the other vessel heroes that may still be around and hope they are on our side and maybe protect them too."
"Speaking of Vassal Heroes, how's that husband of yours doing?" Jun said as she looks to the Queen knowing her husband was the Vassal Staff Hero as the Queen said, "He is behaving mostly, but I do find him talking with other who are still loyal to him."
"Should we be worried about him possibly trying to reclaim his former position?" Shiro asked as he wanted to make sure it doesn't come to that, last thing he wanted to do is go Demon Knight on that former king trash's ass and accidentally kill people that wasn't his main target. Even with the control he gained during the fight with Madoras, it was hard to control the Demon Knights influences at times.
"Not to worry, he is under strict close watch, and if he were trying to reclaim his position as king he would be executed on the spot," The queen said with a bit of a heavy heart saying that as it seems she still loved the man despite all he has done as Taiyo said, "That's good to know. Anyways that's all I got to say."
"Alright then, so Tsubaki how's it going of taking back that kingdom from up north from Itsuki mess?" Shiro asked as he wanted to make sure things were going well as he helped Tsubaki out by giving her some of his super and monster seeds to her as Tsubaki said, "Ah, where do I even begin with that?"
(Back at the party)
With the four-party group enjoying themselves suddenly a wine bottle was place down at the table they were at pretty hard, right next to Raphtalia as she and the other saw it was Mald who had stumble upon them drunk no doubt due him looking drunk as he said, "Look at these filthy demi-humans and worthless peasants, no wonder why my wine tasted bad."
He then leaned down to glare at Raphtalia as Conan was edging torts his short swords. "I don't care if you are with the shield hero you demi's gotta know your place." Mald said as Pete did not like how Mald was talking. "Are you listening to me!?" He demanded by slamming his fist into the table causing it to shake. "That damn bow bitch completely underestimated and disregarded my strength like a moronic cunt fit for a man's bed." Mald yelled clearly drunk while Conan's ears perked up. "All four of our heroes have been usurped by opportunistic disgraces if Itsuki was here we'd would not have needed nay of the other heroes!" Mald called out before looking at the hero's parties.
"Why not tell those cowardly opportunists they need to give up their weapons and get lost! Because if he doesn't their going to end up hurt and without me that bitch won't have much in terms of comfort!" Mald called out talking smack about Tsubaki. "Got that!?" He yelled and thus Raphtalia, Conan, Demonicon, and Rino had enough of this.
"Who do you think is going to get hurt first?" Raphtalia began as she was clearly triggered.
"I wager it won't be any of the heroes." Conan said as he and Raphtalia stood up ready to draw their weapons.
"But if you want to give it a shot." Rino began and then cracked the Vassal Whip showing she was willing to defend Taiyo (her husband to be) and his honor. "I'll be more than happy to oblige." Rino said showing the Vassal Hero of the Whip was leading the charge.
"But if you can't then sit your drunk ass down bub." Demonicon said as he spun his Halberd ready for battle. "Otherwise, you're a man who died drunk." Demonicon added as he had a savage grin on his face.
"Oh no." Pete said as he realized what was about to happen.
But before anything else could be done a new arrival made himself known as there was a broken spear held in front of Mald. "I suggest you walk back to your table jerk." Motoyasu said while covered in bandages no doubt having escaped the infirmary once more. "Your drunk and not thinking straight so do us all a favor and sit back down." He added which caused Mald to snarl at Motoyasu.
"Oh, great your still here the first disgraced Spear Hero." Mald snarled as he failed to see how different Motoyasu was holding himself here.
Motoyasu then pushed Mald back and glared at him. "Last warning back off." Motoyasu repeated as clearly, he was tired and wanted to go back to sleep.
"Why you!?" Mald snarled and thus chaos hit the party.
(Second later in the Kitchen)
"What's all that noise?" A maid asked when the sound of crashing and fighting could be heard outside. One of them was investigating as the two others looked worried to her.
"People are fighting in the reception hall." The one investigating said as they then ran to try and calm down the situation leaving a fourth maid there.
The fourth maid was in fact Malty as she had more of her hair grown back that it can now be made into a small tail. As she stood there, she seemed to be holding a bottle of sorts that she was pouring into one of the pies laughing sadistically to herself. "Excuse me." Came the voice of Melty as the former first princess jumped in shock dropping the bottle she was holding. "Now who's pie, are you poisoning sister?" Melty asked as she smirked at her sister catching her red handed. "It's not yours is it." Melty said as Malty then turned to her younger sister and saw she was cornered here.
(Back with the Heroes)
"Well good to know the Northern Kingdom is doing better." Shiro said happy to hear about the kingdom. But he was more, happy to see those new seeds were getting the kingdom on the right track. "Now does anyone else have any updates to give?" Shiro asked as they basically covered just about everything, they could.
"No/I'm good/all done here." Jun, Taiyo, and Tsubaki all responded and thus it was time to get to the meeting.
"Alright then." Mirellia said and thus she started the meeting proper. "Now it is no secret that the 3 heroes church has caused a great deal of trouble for you and that's not even factoring Madoras masterful manipulations of events to suit his needs." Mirellia said as she then sighed to this. "But even without Madoras the Church of the Three Heroes would have acted regardless thus as leader of this country the fault of that is mine." Mirellia said and thus got to the major bits of this meeting. "But Melromarc and I would like to make up for that in any way we can." Mirellia said and thus Shiro asked the big question.
"Do we have any word on Madoras actions or even Yshrennia's movements?" Shiro asked and thus Mirellia sighed.
"At the moment Yshrennia had performed a massive blitz not long after they took the lands that Madoras orchestrated the coups of." Mirellia said as she explained to the heroes the situation. "After which their forces have moved from offensive to defensive holding the lines where they were at and as you may have heard Faubley attempted a counter offensive only to be met with a powerful weapon Madoras has in his arsenal." Mirellia said and thus Jun answered the question on what it was.
"The Wrath of God." Jun said knowing about the cannon the Magi made in the event of an attack by enemies upon their island headquarters.
"Yes, so long as Madoras has the Wrath of God, the Sun King, and his Dark Heroes any moves against him must be carefully measures hence why I had what shadows I could infiltrate and find out what they could." Mirellia said and thus she paused getting the group worried over what she had to reveal.
"What is it?" Tsubaki asked worried about what the Queen had learned.
"Of the 10 Shadows I sent out only 3 of them somehow managed to escape alive and only one of them arrived fast enough to be treated." Mirellia said and thus it was clear Madoras had a hand in it. "The other two died of the injuries sustained and the last one revealed startling information to us... Madoras has a Dragon Hourglass." Mirellia said and thus the Four Heroes were wide eyed at this revelation.
"Wait back up Madoras has an actual Dragon Hourglass of his own!?" Taiyo asked shocked over this revelation.
"So, this is a double edge sword that means Yshrennia is not immune to the Waves which is good, but it also means he can give his soldiers class upgrades to counter us." Jun said and thus Mirellia had some double-edged news of her own.
"Yes, and I fear with this in mind Madoras has sent out an envoy with stipulations for this war..." Mirellia said and thus presented the information to the Heroes via a parchment.
"By decree of Emperor Madoras Deus Yshrennia, the following realms shall be designated as Neutral grounds as such neither side may attack the other unless provoked." Jun read aloud and thus Mirellia sighed to this.
"The Nation Leaders have in turn accepted the terms he placed me included in that regard. But be it as such we may be able to use this to our advantage." Mirellia said and thus she got to the bigger news. "The Cal Mira Archipelago has also been designated as neutral grounds and as such I have learned that that it's activating." Mirellia said much to the groups shock and joy.
"So that means we'll get a huge boost in EXP while there." Tsubaki said as this was good for them.
"And if the Dark Heroes are going to be there, we can gather intel about them." Jun said and thus they knew this could not have happened at a better time.
"That's all well and good but." Shiro began until a knock was heard at the door.
"Excuse me." Came Melty's voice as Shiro wondered what she was doing here.
"Come in." Mirellia said and thus the door opened with Melty walking in. She then headed over to her mother and began to whisper into her mother's ear what she had just discovered. When Melty finished Mirellia sighed over what her youngest had just told her. "I see now it's a good thing we didn't go to the party after all." Mirellia said as she rubbed her head from a headache that was no doubt forming. "Malty was caught poisoning food heading to the Shield Hero's table." Mirellia revealed and thus the group all sighed in frustration over this.
"Why am I not surprised?" Taiyo voiced as no doubt they all knew she would try something even after being warned.
"Let me guess she tried to lie, and the crest confessed for her." Jun added and thus Melty nodded to Jun.
"Yes, I'm afraid so." Melty said and in turn the group knew Malty was a bad egg. "I've already had the Shadows informed and they are confiscating anything she managed to acquire thus far which I fear is not much and searching her room to ensure she isn't hiding any of it which I fear she is." Melty went on knowing full well Malty was not going to be happy about this in the slightest.
"Well in that case let's move on." Shiro said making a mental note to keep an eye out if Malty was nearby in case she tried something against him and his party.
"Yes, now while my daughter's foolishness had played a pivotal role in all of this it is salvageable." Mirellia spoke as she then closed her fan to speak to the Heroes. "We now have the opportunity to rectify it and make our trip to Cal Mira much more efficient." Mirellia said as she looked to the group.
"Excuse me." Shiro began which got everyone's attention on him.
"Of course, sorry Shiro continue from before." Jun said as she let Shiro speak.
"Of course, now then I can say we can all agree that when you guys all gained your weapons from those morons, we also got the stuff they gained thus far." Shiro said as Taiyo nodded to this.
"Yes, since you already know about the weapon copy system, we can skip that one." Jun said with a calm tone in her voice. "But that still does not give all we need to know about these weapons as well." Jun added and thus Tsubaki nodded to this.
"So, let's get started shall we." Tsubaki said and thus she got to something that has been bugging her for some time. "Now ever since I got my Bow Itsuki has put more value on his level and how rare the bows he copies are." Tsubaki said as she interlocked her fingers for this. "Beyond that he has hardly done much in terms of physical training or actively learning what his Bow can do." Tsubaki said and thus Jun nodded to this.
"I have a different problem, Ren seemed to believe weapon proficiency is the way to go." Jun spoke as she crossed her arms with her eyes closed. "When I got my Sword, I saw that all the swords that Ren mainly used had high proficiency stats on them." Jun said as it was clear she put a lot of thought into this. "From what I was able to ring out from him he doesn't even realize he can feed fodder to his sword to unlock more swords." Jun added and thus Taiyo heard this.
"Anything more to share, Jun?" Taiyo asked as Jun then sighed to this.
"Well apparently Shiro has been wasting time when it comes to crafting items." Jun said which made Shiro go wide eyed to this.
"Wait back up what?!" Shiro asked when he heard this from Jun.
"Apparently if you give the weapon the ingredients it will form the item you want for you." Jun said and thus Shiro's eye twitched when he heard this.
"Oh, come on first the weapon copy and now this!" Shiro yelled as he slammed his head into the table. "This whole time I could have just had it all!" He yelled and thus had his right hand balled into a fist. This whole. Fucking. Time!" Shiro complained punctuating each word with a slam of his fist on the table. It's like this world was just trying to make him work harder than he wanted to.
"Then you might not want to hear that apparently our weapons teleportation skill can transport us anywhere we have already been to." Tsubaki said and in turn Shiro was wide eyed and glared at Tsubaki for this one.
"Huh so in other words I don't have to walk my ass to Faubley next time I want to go there." Taiyo said and thus Shiro glared at Taiyo for that one.
"Not. Helping." Shiro said as he realized he would have already been in Faubley to meet the Queen if he had known about that ability.
"Well then I guess you guys don't want to hear how Motoyasu has been refining his weapons for better stats." Taiyo said as he sat there. "Found out about it before I left for Faubley, Motoyasu told me about it and after I checked it out and been using it ever since." Taiyo said and thus crossed his arms and tilted his head a bit. "Plus feeding monster fodder and using the copy ability had been a huge help as well." Taiyo said as Jun narrowed his eyes on him.
"You made a cheat sheet, didn't you?" Jun asked as she knew Taiyo well enough for this.
"Maybe..." Taiyo responded as he realized he was caught with that one. "You guys try keeping track of all that shit." Taiyo said as he wished these weapons had some way to organize the growing list he had.
"Actually, organizing was one of the first things I did." Tsubaki said much to everyone's shock here. "Long story short I had my bow organize my weapons in short list based on how useful the perks and abilities are and what situations they would be best used in." Tsubaki said showing that there was a reason she was a straight A Student.
"Makes sense I did something similar but not to the level you probably did." Jun said as the boys looked to each other and then back to their friends.
"I give up." Shiro said as he raised his hands to show he was at a lost on this.
"Anyway, we had to do a lot of work because those morons only focused on immediate perks as opposed to passive ones without reading through it all." Jun said as she sighed to this. "I was fortunate I was able to make up for it when the weapon transfer happened because it reset a lot of what Ren did for me to fix." Jun said and in turn this was good for them.
"Same I was about ready to go after Itsuki if I had to waste so much time fixing his mess that would have screwed me over." Tsubaki added while Taiyo nodded in agreement showing he also suffered for what Motoyasu did.
(Meanwhile back at the party)
The fight had gone down as Pete had to hold back Demonicon who was struggling to get out of the big guy's grip. Nearby Filo and Ryuko were eating at the table that was not overturned while Rino was fighting against a member of Itsuki's party. Conan was being held back by Motoyasu, Yuko, Sakura, and Kou while nearby as Aile moved Rishia to a safe location.
"I dare you to say that again!" Raphtalia yelled as she struggled to get out of the maid's grip.
"I'll say it a thousand times, the Shield's weak a loser a waste of space!" Mald called out as he was being held down by a pair of Nobles. "You think you can prove me wrong, come here then give it a shot!" Mald taunted as he was clearly too drunk to realize he was being held down by two random nobles.
"Conan, I understand what you and Raphtalia are feeling but don't pull a me and stoop to his level." Motoyasu said as Kuro was keeping Raphtalia back while also surprised at what Motoyasu of all people had said.
Quickly regaining himself Kuro continued on from where Motoyasu had left off. "Yeah, we need to be better than this." Kuro said as he used his strength to keep Raphtalia at bay.
"Alright." Conan said as he let out a calming breath which was enough for the Filolials to let him go.
"Don't worry I am perfectly calm." Raphtalia said to the maid who was holding her back. The maid then let Raphtalia go unaware that was a mistake on her part. "No calmly I'll dispose of this trash." Raphtalia said and thus the chaos went on for them.
With a sudden burst of strength Mald got free and with his sword raised went for Raphtalia and thus they all began to fight. Aile seeing the chaos was not going to be contained looked to Rishia and had a task for her. "Rishia go get the heroes we need a Knight to break this up!" Aile called out and thus Rishia nodded to this.
"Right!" Rishia called out and thus ran to get Shiro and the others to end this fight before it escalates any further.
"Pete let me go I'm gonna show them not to mess with me!" Demonicon said as he tried to get out of his larger friend's grip.
"No can't do that you're too angry." Pete said as he held Demonicon back from attacking.
"YOU WANNA SEE ANGRY!?" Demonicon yelled as he glared at his best friend for holding him back.
(Back at with Heroes Council)
"So, is there anything else we need to discuss?" Tsubaki said as Shiro then raised his hand.
"I got one... but you guys won't like it." Shiro said and thus all eyes fell to him. "Look we all got our weapons back and had done so under the assumption Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki would be sent back once we got our weapons back." Shiro said and thus the three heroes began to see where Shiro was going with this.
"No absolutely not!" Tsubaki said as she was against this.
"When I'm cold and dead in the ground I will." Jun said but Shiro tried to reason with them.
"Look none of us like it but their stuck here and it just seems cruel not to help them when they were just made pawns of someone else's game." Shiro tried to reason as he looked to his friends hoping to convince them to help the stooges out.
"After all the shit they've caused Shiro I'm surprised you'd even consider it let alone suggest it!" Tsubaki went off as it was clear the three false heroes were not a subject the girls wanted to talk about.
"If it's so cruel to leave them roaming how about we just mercy kill them and be done with it?" Jun asked and thus Shiro shot up against Jun on this.
"Jun!" Shiro yelled out until Taiyo spoke up.
"I agree with Shiro." Taiyo said as he sat there surprising the group. "Look we all thought they'd have been sent home by now but that didn't happen so probably they still have some role to play in all of this." Taiyo said as he then crossed his arms and sighed. "And as much as I hate having to clean up after them, I also believe in second chances." Taiyo said and thus looked to the group. "So, let's make it fair for everyone, I'll take Motoyasu, Jun can take Ren, and Tsubaki can take Itsuki so in case there is anything about our weapons they omitted we can find out on the spot." Taiyo said as he looked to the group.
"And how do you know they won't decide to just slit our throats in our sleep?" Jun asked with a raised brow to Taiyo.
"We don't but it's better than letting them roam and possibly cause more damage or worse be picked up by Madoras." Taiyo said and thus the group was in a stalemate here. "At the very least we can keep them around us long enough for them to get the needed EXP so they can survive on their own." Taiyo said and thus Jun then scowled but knew it was the best Taiyo had for a compromise.
"Fine but ONLY until they can survive on their own." Jun said and thus Tsubaki scowled to this.
"I'll take Itsuki, but I won't like it." Tsubaki said as she would rather not have Itsuki in her party at all, but that idiot won't survive for long in this world on his own.
"Then we are in agreement, I'll send my shadows to collect them, and they will meet you." Mirellia began until the door burst open and from it a panicked Rishia came in.
"We have a problem!" Rishia called out and thus the group all looked to Rishia and knew it was serious.
(Back at the Party)
The fight had continued as at some point Demonicon had gotten free of Pete's grip and was helping Rapthalia and Conan fight Mald. Clearly Mald was getting his ass kicked as the three ganged up on him. Conan then kicked Mald's feet from under him before Demonicon pushed Mald down. Raphtalia then moved in and got Mald restrained yet the chaos did not stop.
But as the battle went on a new voice was heard throughout the hall. "VERTO!" Came Shiro and thus not long after a flash of light the White Knight slammed its sword to the ground forcing the fighting to stop with a blast of force from the impact which blasted a few people back. "That's enough all of you!" Shiro called out as he glared down at all of them thankful there was enough room for him to transform. "Now that I have everyone's attention, I don't care who started this and I don't care why this started but I'm ending it." Shiro growled as he glared at everyone in the room. "Now everyone, go to your rooms, homes, or inns and STAY THERE UNTIL MORNING!" Shiro yelled and thus everyone got moving fast. Mald was dragged away while the party was abruptly ended by Shiro breaking up a fight.
Jun walked in as she then saw something on the ground. "Wait isn't that?" Jun asked and thus picked up Demonicons bone motif helmet and held the item. "If this is Demonicon's helmet then?" Jun asked and thus a hand came out and grabbed the helmet leaving a shocked Pete, Kuro, and Jun.
"Holy moly." Kuro said as he saw what Demonicon hid under his helm.
"Jeez Louise." Jun said as she saw what Demonicon had for a head as he put the helmet back on.
"Cool." Pete said as he put the helmet on and made sure it was secured.
"If ANY of you speak of this, I will make you regret it for life!" Demonicon yelled as he did not want ANYONE to see what he had under his helmet.
"Don't worry." Jun said as she began to head to her room. "I'll just save it and use it for ammo the next time I need it." Jun said and thus Demonicon went wide eyed when Jun said that.
Nearby Motoyasu got back up and stood there for a moment before taking his leave. Unaware that Taiyo saw him and felt pity for the guy trapped here with his sister on the opposing side.
(Later that night Shiro's room)
"Well at least one of us got some progress done." Shiro sighed as he sat on the bad facing away from Raphtalia.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't stand listening to that man insult you like that." Raphtalia said as Shiro could see what she meant.
"It's fine just remember to pick your battles wisely." Shiro said and thus noticed something off. "By the way where is Filo?" Shiro asked and thus Raphtalia smiled to this.
"She went with Ryuko to spend the night with Melty. Kuro, Yuko, Sakura, and Kou went with them, and Pete is keeping an eye on them." Raphtalia said to which Shiro smiled to this.
"I guess their having a slumber party." Shiro said as he felt bad for Kuro and Kou as the only boys in the party.
"Seems like they've already become close." Raphtalia said remembering how Filo reacted to Ryuko when the two had first met.
"They sure have." Shiro said as he agreed with Raphtalia on this. "Hey Raphtalia, how much coins do we have saved up?" Shiro asked as he looked to Raphtalia.
"Why do you ask?" Raphtalia asked as she looked to Shiro.
"We need to make a slight detour tomorrow." Shiro said knowing a ship was prepared to depart to Cal Mira with all the heroes and any adventures able to afford the journey.
(The next morning)
The Four heroes were outside the gate of the castle as standing before them were Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu. Tsubaki glared at Itsuki as she was clearly annoyed by having to babysit Itsuki after everything he had done thus far. Jun and Ren coldly looked at each other until Jun scoffed and turned away from him with her face showing her ire for this situation. Finally, Taiyo looked concerned as Motoyasu hardly looked at either Taiyo or Rino in the eye as even Ryuko saw something was up with Motoyasu.
"Let me make one thing clear Itsuki you screw up or try to screw me over and I'm dumping your ass first chance I get capiche?" Tsubaki warned as she glared at Itsuki who like a scolded child looked away.
"Yes ma'am." Itsuki said and despite not liking it he knew Tsubaki was the only way he can survived in the world after everyone turned on him when he lost the bow.
When Tsubaki was done it was thus Jun who was up next. "Ren don't get in my way, don't get in my party's way, and follow orders do that and we'll have a profitable partnership." Jun said as she glared at Ren.
"Alright." Ren said as it was clear he did not want to do this, but he needed the EXP if he wanted to survive in this world.
But before Taiyo could say anything Motoyasu had to ask. "Why?" Motoyasu asked suddenly as he wanted answers. "I'm not strong enough yet so why let me join?" Motoyasu asked as he looked over to Taiyo.
"Because... I believe in second chances, and I believe in my friends." Taiyo said and thus Motoyasu had to ask.
"So where do I fall in those categories?" Motoyasu asked and thus Taiyo smirked to him.
"Well, we shall see." Taiyo said and thus the Queen saw it was time to speak up.
"Well then with that settled the ship you are taking is docked in a harbor that is far from here, you should be on your way if you wish to catch it sir heroes." Mirellia said as she looked to the Heroes and their parties before her.
"Understood!" The four Heroes responded as they were ready to go.
"Good luck." The Queen added and thus they all smiled.
"Right!" The four said and thus they were off to Cal Mira.
But they barely went far before Melty called out to them. "Hey guys." Melty spoke as she got the groups attention on to her.
"What's up?" Taiyo asked as he looked over to the Heiress apparent. Melty was quiet for a moment until she swallowed her resolve and spoke. "You all better work hard out there so you can level up a whole bunch." Melty said and thus the group nodded to her and took their leave.
As they eventually got out of hearing ranger Mirellia began to speak. "And here I was thinking you would go with them." Mirellia said as she was curious as to why her daughter would not go with them.
Melty stopped waving for a moment to address her mother. "No, it's not my place." Melty began with a small sigh and smile. "Besides I have my own job to do." Melty said with a smile to which Mirellia smiled as well feeling pride in her youngest, oh why can't Malty be more like Melty in this regard.
(Later Erhards' Shop Shiro)
"Ok I've put this off long enough." Shiro said as he and his party were in Erhard's shop. The others had gone on ahead to head to the boat taking them to Cal Mira.
"Hey kid saw the trial and damn you guys really showed those stuck-up assholes." Erhard said as Shiro ignored him and went straight for the first shield that caught his eye. Shiro then grabbed the shield and held it while focusing on his statues screen which of course confused Erhard. "Uh what are you doing there?" Erhard asked as Shiro then saw copy ability activate and with it added the Shadowsteel Shield to his arsenal.
"HAH! It worked!" Shiro cheered as he held the new shield on his arm.
"What the?! It worked my ass you keep that up and you'll completely run me out of business." Erhard called out as he clearly did not like what Shiro just did.
"How in the world did you do that?" Raphtalia asked as she looked amazed by what Shiro did.
"That's amazing!" Filo added as she also saw what Shiro had just done.
"That is not amazing it's called forgery or theft!" Erhard yelled as he looked to the little girl in question no doubt feeling insulted as a blacksmith by what Shiro did.
"I'm sorry but I have to." Shiro said and thus he began his copy spree.
Shiro then grabbed another shield much to Erhard's utter horror. "Wait stop that one's expensive!" Erhard called out only for Raphtalia to grab another causing Erhard to gasp in a panic. "That one is really rare!" He cried out as Filo was then seen running by holding another shield. "Hey-hey you put that down!" Erhard scolded but alas it all fell too def ears.
"Try this!" Raphatalia called out as she ran to Shiro holding another shield for him to copy.
"I got one too!" Filo called out going after Shiro as well.
Erhard then reached his limit and thus had to belt one out. "FINE DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!" Erhard cried out no doubt Shiro would not hear the end of it later.
(Later)
Erhard was tapping his finger on the front counter clearly annoyed with what Shiro just did. "Are you happy now?" Erhard asked as even his voice showed his displeasure here.
"Yeap and don't worry I'll pay you back." Shiro said and thus Erhard sighed knowing Shiro will in fact do that.
"Yeah, sure I'll just put it all on your tab, so go make yourself a killing in Cal Mira." Erhard said and thus Shiro smiled to this.
"That's the plan." Shiro said and thus it was time to head out.
(Scene Break on the road)
Shiro was riding down the road in his wagon as he drove it this time. While holding Filo's reigns Shiro was multitasking by upgrading all his current shields for later use as well as any upgrades for the White Knight. When Shiro saw he could upgrade his Shields he got curious and then in turn learned he can also upgrade his Knight while he was at it. Finishing up the Soul Eater Shield Shiro smiled and at his handiwork and closed the screen. "Ok that should do it." Shiro said and thus put all his attention back on the road.
"Shiro." Raphtalia began as she got Shiro's attention on her. "Can we maybe take a little bit of a detour?" Raphtalia asked as she looked to Shiro who by her tone saw whatever this detour was it was of importance to Raphtalia.
"Sure." Shiro said and thus got ready to head where this detour would lead to.
(Scene Break Seatte Village ruins)
Shiro stood behind Raphtalia who was praying before a newly erected grave. Standing next to the kneeling Demihuman girl was Keel as Shiro stood a bit away from them with the lord Shiro and his friends had helped prior.
"You're home that's good Rifana." Raphtalia said as nearby Shiro saw all this with Filo.
"So... this is Raphtalia's village." Shiro said as he looked around and saw the ruined village. "Where you the ones who buried her?" Shiro asked as he looked to the blue haired noble.
"Yes, everyone in the village contributed." He said as Shiro nodded in understanding to this.
Meanwhile back with Raphtalia and Keel the former trio and current were before the grave until Keel spoke. "Hey Raphtalia." Keel said as Raphtalia looked and saw the look of determination on Keel's face. "Let's make sure the village goes back to how it used to be." Keel said as Shiro looked to the two and felt he could do more for them.
"There has to be others." Shiro said as he then turned around. "Others who survived and are scattered to the winds." Shiro said and thus began to walk through the village knowing full well with Madoras on the loose those survivors will find life a lot harder for themselves.
(Later)
Shiro made his way through the ruins and eventually came upon a large building and made a small gasp when he saw it. He looked upon it swearing he had seen it somewhere before as it stood tall and more or less was still intact. "I've seen that before." Shiro said and thus felt a pulse and looekd to see the White Knight's Ark pulsing on his arm. "Did you want me to see this?" Shiro asked looking and hoping Wizel had an answer for him. "But what can I do to help?" He asked and was of course met with silence from the White Knight.
Just then a new voice called out as it got Shiro's attention. "Hey!" Came the voice of a redhaired man in equally red armor which Shiro looked over. "Do you uh live around here?" He asked to which Shiro turned his head.
"No honestly I'm just passing on through." Shiro said as the man understood that much.
"Got you." He said before they directed their attention over to the ruined village. "A sad sight huh?" He began as Shiro saw the state the village was in. "The whole place is nothing but rubble." He went on as Shiro had to admit it was rubble but so long as the foundations survived it can be rebuilt. "Bet, it's the same where you're from, kiddo." The man said as Shiro sighed a bit.
"Not really... but so long as the foundations are strong, they can rebuild." Shiro said and thus the man nodded.
"Optimistic, aren't you, kiddo?" The man said and thus Shiro nodded to this.
"Yeah, and for the record I'm not a kiddo I'm in my 20's after all." Shiro said as he gave the man an annoyed look.
"Oh, sorry about that." The man apologizing not realizing he annoyed Shiro with that. "That's kind of my nickname for anyone who looks younger than me, don't let it bug you." The man said and thus Shiro shrugged to this.
"My best friend has his own thing I can survive." Shiro said as he knew Taiyo tends to call people out as he sees them.
"L'arc." Came a female voice as a blue haired woman approached. "We should be moving on." The woman said and the man now known as L'arc nodded to this.
"Right let's go we got work to do." L'arc said and thus he and his partner began to head off. "Seeya!" L'arc called out as he began to walk away with his lady friend.
(Later at the village gates)
The group were at the gate ready to head out as Keel was even there to see them off as he waved. Raphtalia stood there for a moment until she noticed something or someone. "Rifana?" Raphtalia whispered as standing there was Rifana smiling as she looked bruised and hurt but not from abuse but from harsh training. How Raphtalia knew this... she now looked to be the same age as Raphtalia herself. Behind Rifana was a massive form which had a long brown cape, torn and worn, yet giving it the look of a lone wandering warrior.
Shiro did not hear what Raphtalia had said as his mind was also elsewhere. "Ready to go?" Shiro asked looking over to Raphtalia as he was ready to head out.
With a small sigh Raphtalia turned away with a smile and followed after Shiro. "Yeah. I think I am ready." Raphtalia responded and thus followed after Shiro ready to head out. "I got to tell mom, dad, and Rifana that I'm ok." Raphtalia said as she followed after Shiro with Filo close by.
"That's good I'm sure their happy to hear that." Shiro said as he led the trio back to the Wagon so they can head off to the docks. That was the case at least until Raphtalia stopped with Filo as Raphtalia had a look of concern. "What's wrong?" Shiro asked as he looked to Raphtalia wondering why she stopped.
"Shiro... you won't leave me, will you?" Raphtalia asked with concern clearly not wanting Shiro to leave. "Because I can't even imagine living in a world without you by my side."
"Wait a second master are you going somewhere?" Filo asked as she was now worried over the same thing.
Shiro stood there for a moment before he finally spoke. "You don't need to worry I'm staying right here." Shiro said as he looked to the duo.
"You promise?" Filo asked as she looked to Shiro with hope for him staying.
"Of course, because I don't want to leave this world at Madoras' mercy." Shiro said and thus the two girls had smiles on their faces to this. "Can we go now?" Shiro asked as they had an important destination to get to.
With a smile on her face Raphtalia had her response. "Yes." Raphtalia said and was thus ready to head to Cal Mira. Shiro smiled for a moment as he was happy to see those two no longer worried. Shiro knew he could not leave this world with Madoras running around and he sure as hell could not leave until those two could find happiness in this world. With this in mind, he turned around and headed off with the two girls following behind him.
(Scene Break Docks)
The next day Shiro, Raphtalia, and Filo arrived at the docks as they saw a lone ship in port. "Is that the ship we're taking?" Raphtalia asked as she looked to the ship in question.
"Sure, looks like it." Shiro said as he saw the ship in question. He also saw lines of adventurers ready for the trip to Cal Mira to which Shiro smiled a bit to this. Shiro then saw his friends with their parties and the stooges.
Jun stood at the edge of the docks; arms crossed with Ren being talked to by Kuro. Pete was sat cross legged as Demonicon sat at the edge with his Halberd resting against his shoulder. Itsuki was being given a run down on how Tsubaki's party operates and what was expected of Itsuki during this. With Tsubaki Conan was a bit away giving Itsuki the sting eye in case he does something with Aile and Rishia talking about any subject that came to mind. Yuki watched Sakura and Kou run about as the two were acting like children at the moment to which Kuro then joined them. Finally, Taiyo was seen as he was talking about Cal Mira and what he hoped to do while not grinding as Rino was using a small handkerchief to wipe off a smudge on Ryuko's face which she clearly did not like. Once it was done, she ran over to the trio of Filolials and the single phoenix boy to join them in whatever game they were playing.
"So ready to go?" Shiro asked while smiling to his party.
"Yeap!" Filo called out and thus with a nod Raphtalia ran over to the others with Filo. Once they did Filo joined her fellow Filolials, Ryuko, and Kuro in their game. Shiro smiled and walked over as his cape fluttered a bit in response to this. Shiro was ready to head to Cal Mira and grind through the levels so he can get stronger to face the Yshrennian Empire lead by Madoras and his Dark Heroes.
(TBC)
ESKK: Well, here we are a brand-new chapter finished and done with. Now I know I said I would place this fic on Hiatus with my other Shield Hero fics but that was because I thought the new season would come out this month. Apparently, I was wrong so here you are. Now then please be sure to leave a review for this fic before leaving and once more as I always say ja-ne.
