A Special Kind Of Magic
Chapter 3
Petra sat next to the sleeping form of Naofumi, his breathing steady as he laid in a large luxurious bed. Empty bottles of high quality potions rested on the nightstand beside him, his bloody robes having already been discarded. She had remained by his side, the only purpose she could think of was to keep watch over him.
*knock knock*
Somebody had arrived, perhaps a servant of the queen, a maid, or even an assassin. Petra stood up, standing closer to Naofumi just in case. "Come in."
A man in blue robes and a long flowing crimson cloak entered, giving a curious glance to the girl. "Hello, my name is Doctor Steven Strange."
This was the man the shield hero looked up to, the so-called Sorcerer Supreme. "Why did you come?"
"I was keeping an eye on Naofumi." Doctor Strange approached, picking up one of the empty bottles and examining it. "Potions, interesting."
"Is anyone else aware you're here?"
"No." The Sorcerer waved his hand over Naofumi, the flesh under the shield hero's skin began to glow as the man looked over him. "Not even a scar, though there are some minor cases of pleurisy throughout the affected area."
Placing his fingers over the young man's chest, a few glowing dots briefly appeared around the lungs. When he took his hands away, Naofumi returned to normal.
"Why didn't you arrive by a portal?" Petra asked, unsure about how she should handle another magical person who ignored security. Though if he was helping she wouldn't complain.
"I thought a more subtle entrance was more appropriate." Doctor Strange then noticed her bandage. Gently he held his hand out to her. "Was that injury recent?"
"..yes." She held her hand closer to her chest. It was more of a sentence than an injury, a reminder of her treachery.
"May I see?"
"I, prefer not."
"I don't." The man pulled a book from his jacket, leaving it on the nightstand beside Naofumi. "Yet if you're alright with a potential infection and losing your arm-"
Petra smacked her injured hand in front of him, glaring at his dripping sarcasm. His attitude was horrible, but she would rather not lose her arm. Doctor Strange gently lifted the bandages off, the girl hissing as it peeled away some of the scabbing.
Doctor Strange narrowed his eyes at the deep burns carved into her, a chaotic brand. "Can you make a fist?"
Her fingers twitched, closing but not fully coming in contact with her palm. Petra's breathing started to quicken, now realizing how much she had been crippled. She wasn't sure if it would heal, a slave brand didn't just fade away, it didn't heal, it was a part of her. Even if this wasn't technically a slave brand, it prevented her from exposing all the things she had done on behalf of the her queen.
No, not hers anymore. No purpose, no mission, just doing what she can out of habit.
"You're not the only one." Doctor Strange was hovering a green mandela the size of his palm over her injury. She quirked a brow at him, wondering what he was talking about.
"Your thoughts are leaking through this." He pointed at her injury. "It's tied to your mind, intent, heart, not your actual heart but more so your deepest desires, and it's bleeding everything out like a cut to your very being."
"A stab wound to my soul?"
"If you want to look at it like that yes." Doctor Strange glanced his eyes to meet hers. "There's also the one on the back of your neck I should look at."
What
She went to rub the back of her neck with her other fingers, but they stopped, hovering over the spot as her neck began to tingle. Was that...a slave crest there too?
Petra was hesitant in asking, but if this was the shield hero's master he might be able to do it. "Can you remo-"
PAIN
Doctor Strange let her pull herself away, watching as the girl tried to reach for the pain but was unable to touch it. "Alright, fixing this now."
With a snap of his wrist golden ropes with the light of the sun emanating from them shot out to restrain Petra. The girl struggled against the restraints, her muscles tightening as they fought the magical bindings. Old and new.
The Sorcerer Supreme threw the ropes over a beam on the ceiling, hoisting the spidergirl into the air. Now with her stuck in place, dangling in the air as she wiggled about, Doctor Strange held his hands with his first two fingers up and kept his ring finger and thumb connected. "You want me to help you?"
"Y-yes!" She seethed between her teeth, as her mind was racing in place over why there was an old crest on her.
He brought his hands to the side, the necklace resting on his chest opening to reveal a bright green stone glowing with power. Waving his left hand over his right arm, a green mandala appeared over his fingers. Doctor Strange twisted his hand in a counterclockwise motion. The burnt flesh started to fill out, returning to its normal color.
Once that was finished Doctor Strange crouched down to inspect her hand. "Good, barely a few hours difference."
Standing up straight he walked around to see the back of her neck, but saw nothing. He smirked at the sleeping Naofumi resting in the room. "Looks like your practice in the illusionary arts are growing stronger."
Pushing his free hand against the back of Petra's neck, the illusion vanished, returning Petra to her spiderlike self. There was a small purple symbol on the back of her neck, much older than her past brand.
"Well." Doctor strange dissipated his time manipulation magic, bringing a floating ring of golden markings around Petra's slave crest. "Let's see what exactly we're dealing with."
"Give me one good reason why you ignored my instruction against summoning the heroes." Queen Melromarc glared at her husband who was sitting with his head in his hands.
They were in a private room, a council like room with a large table in the center with chairs lining the sides. At the head of the table sat the queen, with two shadows beside armed with spears and a little girl with blue hair sitting to her immediate right. On the left side of the table were the three heroes, all with slight grimaces across their faces. To the right was her idiotic husband, and her eldest daughter who was scowling in the room with her arms folded.
"I was informed that the situation was more dire with the other nations." Her husband pitifully explained. "And that the heroes were needed as soon as possible."
"You know that there are only four heroes in the entire world! Summoning them all without warning is good enough reason for them all to go to war with us!"
"They wouldn't dare if we have the heroes!"
"That's right!" Motoyasu got up, smiling to the queen. "We can protect this country from anyone that-"
"YOU!" Queen Melromarc pointed her finger at the spear hero. "Attempted to murder the shield hero! Worshiped as a god by the single country with equal strength to our own!"
He flinched under her words. "I d-didn't mean to hurt him."
"What else did you expect when you threw a spear at him?" Ren said, rubbing his temple as he was processing everything. "He's also only level two, you're already at level six, and you used your strongest attack."
"He's right." The queen narrowed her eyes at the spear hero. "If there were no waves I would have you beheaded to try and make peace with Siltvelt."
Motoyasu gulped, running his hand over his neck. The bow hero held his hand up slowly, nervous with the woman whose presence demanded respect. With a nod from the queen he spoke.
"Isn't that a little harsh your majesty?"
"Tell me." She leaned forward, intertwining her fingers on the table. "What would you do, if you were told that an extremist cult was coming to slaughter your family? The manor next door saying that they will send your god to protect you? Only to find that they have kept all the gods of the land to themselves and nearly killed the one that would keep your family from harm?"
Itsuki sank into his seat, just now beginning to wrap his head around the dire circumstances the queen was dealing with. The queen leaned back, trying to relax herself. "We can only hope the shield hero forgives us."
"Y-you can't be serious!" The spear hero jumped to his feet, bewildered by what the queen just said. "He raped your daughter!"
"Y-yes!" Myne got up, starting to wail to the crowd. "H-he was drinking a lot t-that night, and came to my room s-soon after I retired. He said 'the night is still young, why don't we have some fun.' and t-then he-"
"Stop." The Queen ordered harshly. "Your false accusation is arguably the worst thing that this country has given him."
"She's our daughter!" The king roared. "Are you saying you trust a man you never met over-"
"I already have met him." The queen glared at Myne. "He visited me and informed me of everything that had happened in my absence. All during the time he 'raped' Malty."
The little girl beside the queen looked away, groaning at the terrible lie.
"T-that can't be true!" Myne plopped back into her chair. "H-he must have used that d-dark magic, o-or-"
"IT IS AS REAL AS MY ANGER!" The queen roared, Myne feeling her voice pushing against her face. "WHILE THE SPEAR HERO IS IMMUNE TO EXECUTION YOU ARE NOT!"
Myne began to sniffle, her eyes glistening with moisture.
"If the shield hero wishes for your head it will be given." The mother informed her daughter, looking away.
Now Myne was crying into her father's arms, the man looking at his wife with anger of his own.
"This isn't right!" Motoyasu started to stomp towards the queen, the shadows bringing their spears to face his. "A mother is supposed to protect their daughter!"
"And a Queen is supposed to protect her country." She informed him, not flinching at his tantrum. "Malty has committed a crime not just against one man, but against the world."
"Stand down." Ren got up, holding his hand on his hilt as he looked at Motoyasu. "The shield didn't drink, and he ignored all of Myne's advances. You really think he was focused on anything but his books?"
"He's got a point." Itsuki came up. "Plus, I want to see that book he was talking about."
"What book?" Ren asked.
"We can't trust that dark magician!" The king tried to argue.
"You!" The queen pointed at her husband. "Can no longer be trusted to run this kingdom in my absence!"
"W-what?" His face fell, staring at his wife with his jaw hanging.
The queen motioned her hand to the girl beside her. "Melty will be staying here to keep things from going out of hand. She is the only royal left that I can rely on to stay true to my word. I will have bi weekly updates from her, my shadows, and the shield hero himself."
Malty peered at her little sister with tear ridden eyes, gritting her teeth in fury.
"I need to get back." The queen said getting up. "Before we have to go through another war."
"What war?" Itsuki asked, making the older woman sigh.
"Perhaps you three would benefit from reading a book or two." The shadows held the door open for the queen as she left, giving one last glance to her youngest daughter.
"Please give the shield hero my apologies for letting our family ruin so much. And keep your father and sister under control."
"Yes mother." Melty gave a curtsy to the queen, as she was now left with the heroes and her family.
*pat* "Shield hero."
"Hrm."
*patpat* "Shield hero?"
Naofumi turned away from the noise, snuggling deeper into his bed.
….*patpatpatpatpatpatpatpat*
Of course the rapid slapping against his cheek was too hard to ignore. Flipping to his other side, Naofumi peeked through one eye to see who was disturbing his slumber.
Petra, in her demi-human form.
"Hello."
"Can't this wait till morning?" The shield hero grumbled. "Myne shouldn't be up ye-"
Myne, the guards, Petra kicking ass, the foreign object lodged in his side. Throwing the covers off himself he sat up, putting his hand on where the wound was supposed to be. Nothing, was that a dream? Looking around he was in a very fancy bedroom with a ridiculously large bed. Seriously, it was nine feet long both ways. He even thought a full was too big for one person.
Petra was leaning over him, sitting on her knees beside him on the bed. "Your master was just here?"
"Ugh, please tell me Wong didn't take back those books." Naofumi checked his inventory, seeing they were still there.
"No, it was Doctor Strange."
"WHAT?!" Naofumi rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with a thud. He sat up, turning to Petra with his head barely above the mattress. "What was he here for?! Ah shit I messed up didn't I? This was my first real task and-"
"He healed you, and me." Petra used her long spider legs on her back to lift herself up, moving off the bed silently.
Naofumi looked at his not stabbed area again, running his finger over the skin. "He is a doctor. Wait, what injuries did you have?"
"He also left you that book." Petra changed the subject, pointing to said book.
Naofumi turned around, reaching up and grabbing said book. No friggin way.
"The summarized works of Cagliostro's studies." He said in awe. As he opened the cover an envelop fell out. Carefully, he opened it and read the letter folded up inside it.
Naofumi,
You have shown great talent in understanding the deeper aspects of the mystic arts. I have confidence you'll figure out this new branch of magic in this world, and on your arm. Although you have neglected the second half of learning far too much.
Practice
Apply what you learn and I guarantee your understanding will deepen much further. A blacksmith doesn't craft a perfect sword the first try, no matter how long he reads the instructions.
Maybe next time you can apply those skills to prevent having your lung pierced.
Take care - Doctor Stephen Strange
"I can't believe it." Naofumi held the letter further up, his hand shaking as he continued to read the words.
Petra came over, ready to provide some comfort in case Naofumi needed-
"I HAVE DOCTOR STRANGE'S AUTOGRAPH!"
Yeah, guess he didn't.
*knock knock*
"Who is it?" Naofumi asked.
"It's Melty, second princess and heir to the throne. May I come in?"
"Su-" A light breeze brushed through the room through the window, the shield hero now realizing he was not wearing any pants. "Actually, give me one second. Petra."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me I was naked?"
"I assumed you were aware."
"Then why are you so calm!" Naofumi grabbed the blanket on the bed and threw it over his head, covering himself completely. A second later he dropped it, the young man now dressed in charcoal gray robes similar to his last ones. These though had emerald stitching and embroidered symbols along the edges.
"Ok, now you can come in."
Melty entered, seeing the shield hero alongside-"AH! SPIDER!"
"So, by bi weekly does your mom mean twice a week or every two weeks?" Naofumi asked, sitting cross legged on the bed. Petra sitting alongside him with her hands in her lap.
"Every two weeks, for her own sanity I believe." Melty sighed, glancing back to Petra. "Again, I'm sorry about my reaction. It was rude of me."
Petra didn't reply, just staring blankly at Melty.
"Don't worry." Naofumi waved it off. "That's her normal face."
He grabbed one of the potions unused next to him, putting it in the shield.
Royal Healing Shield Unlocked
"I see." Melty hesitantly nodded. "In any case, the other heroes have already left with their parties to continue training. My father is only permitted to handle castle finances, meetings, and general maintenance. Anything that revolves around the heroes is my responsibility."
"So he's a glorified secretary?" He put an empty glass bottle in next.
Bottle Shield Unlocked
Cool, this one would let him store liquids directly into his inventory without cross contamination unless he chose to do so.
"Essentially." Melty sighed, then bowed deeply to the shield hero. "Please, let us do whatever we can to make up for this tragedy to you."
"I mean, you already have." Naofumi shrugged, Melty's head snapping up to see how casual the hero was acting.
"B-but you were stabbed!"
"That did suck, but that wasn't even royalty's fault. Just an idiot with a spear. Trust me, no one is going to get that chance again." Naofumi got up, twisting his back as he popped his spine. Oooo that felt good.
"Alright, you ready Petra?" The shield hero grabbed his sling ring, but paused for a second. Curiously he brought it to the gem of his shield.
Portal Shield Unlocked
This shield was different, while it had the dark brass along the rim that was similar to the material of his magical tool. The green gem rested at the edge, closer to his upper arm. What should be making up the main shield, was instead showing the cabin in the woods. He read the stats, oh damn that was cool.
"Looks like I found my new favorite." Naofumi smiled simply holding his arm forward to cast a portal back to town. The orange spirals were near instant, much faster than his own casting time.
"Shield hero!" Metly called out before the two could think of going through. "Please, if you have any issues, come to me at once. I know I'm young but, my mother trusts me with her country."
Naofumi nodded while Petra's eyes twitched slightly. "For sure."
"Shield hero." The spider girl stopped him.
"Hm?"
"My disguise?"
"Ah, right."
Naofumi was expecting a lot of things to happen today, being generally busy, grabbing supplies for Petra, gaining levels, trying out his new shield in combat. What he didn't expect was such a violent greeting at his first destination.
"You bastard!" Erhart grabbed the nearest mace, ready to smack Naofumi with it. Acting much faster, and not wanting to go back to healing in bed. He conjured a mandala shield over his standard shield, ready to defend himself against-
*WHOMP*
Petra came forward, punching Erhart in the chest and sending him over his own counter. The man started to get up, winded by the attack but still ready to-
*Thwip*
Erhart was covered in webbings, binding his arms to his chest and sticking him to the wall.
"Holy shit!" Naofumi dissipated his magic shield, just wearing his normal one now. "Since when was I friends with Spider-Man's lost sister?!"
"Who?" Petra asked, standing over Erhart.
"I'll show you some news footage sometime, when we're not busy."
"HRM" Erhart struggled against the webbing, trying to free himself.
"Dude, chill, it's just us." The shield hero came up, looking over the counter.
"You raped that girl!"
"Oh, this thing. Hold on one moment." Naofumi changed his shield, a screen instead of the metal plate. "Watch this."
"Why would I-"
"This is Queen Mirellia Q Melromarc, my daughter Malty Melromarc otherwise known as Myne accused the shield hero of rape. This was found untrue, seeing as during the alleged time of the incident the shield hero was in my presence discussing developments of the country. Before an official trial was held my husband acted against the law by informing residents in an attempt to slander the shield hero's reputation." A video of the queen herself played on the shield. Erhart began to relax, closing his eyes as he released the anger.
"Sorry kid, around here we just don't take too kindly to rapists."
"I wouldn't either." Naofumi nodded to Petra, who began to tear away at Erhart's bindings.
"I assume you're here for your items?" The blacksmith asked.
"Yep!" Naofumi grinned excitedly. "Are they done?"
"They are, it helps when you pay half upfront." Erhart went to the back of his shop, coming back with two stacks of clothes. "I had to get these tailored by someone else first but I imbued them with all the necessary defense. I left enough room for you to do whatever you wanted to them."
He handed the sorcerer a dark green cloak with gray fur insulation on the inside. Two silver clasps rested near the collar, a chain running from each of the points. As Naofumi wrapped it around himself he noticed his defense stat increase exponentially.
"Now I made sure these work on percentages." Erhart explained and handed the other one to Petra. "It's more expensive than fixed stats but as your own stats increase these will grow in defense as well."
Petra tied the lace around her neck, giving a quick look her own flowing cloak. It was larger than Naofumi's, able to wrap around herself if needed while a hood rested on her shoulder. It was midnight black, but when the light hit it just right the fabric appeared to be bright crimson. Pulling her hood over her head, she saw her stealth increase by twenty percent.
"I'm going to find a way to make you levitate." Naofumi whispered to his cloak, treating it as if it was sentient. It wasn't, but one day he might make it so. Doctor Strange's cloak was just so damn cool.
"So, how do you like it?" Erhart asked, smirking at his work.
"I'm want more." Naofumi quickly said. "One just like this one to work with as a blank slate, and another one that's as good as you can make it."
"That, is going to be at least thirty gold total."
"I can pay upfront." Naofumi pulled out a sack of coins from his shield, tossing them to Erhart.
"W-where did you get all of this?"
"An apology gift from the first princess, well some of it anyways."
"She must be pretty generous." Erhart spoke in awe as he counted the money.
"She is, especially when she doesn't know it." The young man smirked.
"YOU STOLE FROM ROYALTY?!"
"No!" The shield hero then pulled a picture of the second princess on his recording shield. "It was her sister, but this was part of Myne's punishment by having most of her private savings given to me. They're not telling yet because they still want her to focus on being the spear hero's party member."
"Speaking of which." Petra got Naofumi's attention. "Are you going to invite me to your party?"
"Huh? I thought we were already one."
"You have to send an invitation."
"Well how do I-oh, that's how."
You wish to add Petra to your party?
"Well, as long as you're paying." Erhart made sure to hide the money in case someone with sticky hands came through. "Is there anything else you want me to make?"
"Hmm." Naofumi glanced around, seeing some of the shields. "Not for now, but I might pay half for all of the shields you have here?"
"Clearing my shield inventory isn't going to get you half off." Erhart explained.
"Oh no you won't lose a single shield." Walking up to a simple wooden shield with metal rivets around the side with a large one in the center, Naofumi held it.
Viking Shield Copied.
Huh, there were vikings in this world.
"Hey! What did you just do?!" Erhart came up, looking at the perfect replica of his shield on the hero's arm.
"Something that I'm going to pay half for. I copy every shield, I pay half of sale price. Deal?"
"You crafty little...Is that what those other three were doing?!" Erhart grabbed his bald head, thinking back to the other three heroes that were 'just browsing.'
"Shield hero." Petra came forward. "I just had an idea."
"What is it?"
Plucking a few strands of her hair, and making a small pile of silk in her other hand, she handed it forward. Naofumi gently accepted it, placing it in his shield.
Spiderling Shield Unlocked
Web Shield Unlocked
One granted him the ability to crawl on walls, the other to shoot webs to bind people. Holy shit he could be a Spider-Man with these shields. "Petra you are brilliant."
Wait, if he could copy shields…
In America, a dark skinned man was throwing a red white and blue shield at pads on the trees. It bounced between them, coming back into the hand of Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, the new Captain America. After taking a couple breathes to relax, he threw the shield out once again.
A portal opened up, a hand coming out to try and catch it. Tried.
"OUCH! That thing hurts!"
Sam ran forward, grabbing the shield on the ground. "Who the hell are you?"
"Just needed to touch it! We're good!" Naofumi gave him a thumbs up, while retreating his bruised hand. "Keep up the good work!"
Sam stared at the vanishing portal. He walked away, shield over his arm as he shook his head. "Damn wizards."
"This is the coolest thing ever." Naofumi giggled, holding the vibranium shield.
"What's so special about this shield?" Erhart came up, eyeing it with his spyglass. "Can't seem to get a proper stat reading on it."
"Here, hit it with your best weapon." Naofumi held the shield up.
Petra grabbed one of Erhart's high quality swords without question, swinging it towards the sorcerer. The black smith panicked, running up to save the poor lad's life.
"No wait!"
*CLANG*
The sword bounced off the shield, not even leaving a scratch.
"Ooh that sound always makes me tingle." The shield hero shivered, lowering the star spangled shield. "Yeah, this is going to be one of my main ones."
"How?" Erhart came up, running his hand over the shield.
"Patriotism is hard to break." Naofumi tossed the shield into the air, hearing the special sounds it made as it moved. "Plus it just so happens to be made of the strongest element in my universe, rivaling asgardian steel. Speaking of which, I should see if I can get some of that. Petra?"
"Hm?"
"You wanna magic axe that flies around and shoots lightning?"
"I'm better at hand to hand." The girl pulled her hood over her head, becoming much harder for the two men's eyes to see her.
"Fine, we'll find someone who wants to be our Thor. Or maybe we can make them an asgardian iron man suit! How cool would that be!"
"What's an iron man?"
"Depends on the context. You're either talking about one of the greatest Avengers ever or a marathon consisting of swimming, biking, and running in that order."
"I'm going to pretend any of that made sense." The blacksmith grabbed the sword out of Petra's grasp and put it back on the rack.
"I see how that sounds weird from another world's point of view." The shield hero grabbed another shield, copying it. "After this Petra, we'll go test out these shields and get a handle for how we're going to fight together. Sound good?"
"Sure."
Swinging the vibranium shield towards the 'haunted boars', Naofumi was disappointed it didn't just bounce off and come right back to him. Well, on the plus side it was a magic shield bound to him, so once it reappeared on his arm. Another plus side, it actually did damage whether it was slicing or blunt.
How something that absorbed kinetic energy still bounced or transferred it to other things he didn't ask. He wasn't a physicist from Wakanda.
Seeing there was a lack of monsters around, Naofumi switched to his sweetroll shield, the scent permeating the air around him. Growling came from the bushes, attracting just about all monsters in the area to him.
"Come on! It's super tasty!"
One of the boars squealed as it charged him, a web shooting down to latch onto it and lifting it into the air. The monster continued to squeal until it stopped, Naofumi's HUD showing he just gained experience from it.
Another boar charged forward, running right into a barely visible web that tightened around it. Naofumi came up, grunting as he slammed the edge of his shield into its skull. It cracked, the monster dying from the impact.
"That was a lot more gruesome."
"SQEEE!" Naofumi spun around as a haunted boar came running at him from behind, but as soon as he brought his shield up Petra descended from above. She stabbed it with two of her spider legs, the other two keeping her body in the air.
"You know, I don't think you really need to be stealthy. You're already really high leveled." It was true, he had no idea she was so high. Sixty two, and apparently already has a class upgrade from her time as a shadow for the queen.
"I specialize in stealth and agility." Petra pulled her legs out of the boar as Naofumi came to absorb it in his shield.
"Yeah but you still have some wicked strength and natural defense-hold that thought." The sorcerer started to cast a spell, purple symbols rolling over his arms as different segments of the forest glew with the same color. Boars that were waiting for their chance to strike all screamed as dark veins burst underneath them, taking them into the ground that sealed over. Once Naofumi was sure the area was clear he continued. "But if that's the case we're going to need someone with focus on offense. Hard to find someone now that the best working ones are in the other parties. Not to mention the false accusations, the bias against the shield, and my 'dark magic.'"
The spidergirl lowered her hood, her black hair draping down her shoulders. "I have an idea where to find someone willing to serve."
"Great!" Naofumi clapped his hands, his shield shifting to his portal one. "Where are they at?"
Petra looked at her feet, closing her eyes as she took a steady breath. "Take us to the center of the capital, I'll lead the way."
She pulled her hood over her head, retracting her spiderlegs to hide under her cloak.
"Do you want the disguise?"
"I'm not planning on being seen. You can follow my stealth magic yes?"
Naofumi hesitantly opened a portal, but still trusted his companion. She was acting, different. It was hard to put a finger on it but ever since he met her she seemed to like being out in the open with her human disguise. For what reason she wanted to remain hidden this time, he couldn't tell.
With a mere thought, he opened a portal with his shield. It was probably one of his best, able to conjure multiple portals at a time with simple mental directions. Seriously, he was going to find out how this thing ticked, but the priority of finding a way to remove it was at the bottom of his list.
Taking one step, Naofumi traveled miles instantly. Being as casual as he could he continued walking forward, closing the portal behind him once he felt Petra move through it. She was running over rooftops, waiting occasionally for him to catch up but she seemed in a hurry. Did she know this person?
After some very specific turns, Naofumi found himself standing outside some circus tents. Really dark ones with little foot traffic in the area. If this was a carnival this was the worst way to be seen, literally tucked away from the world. Ah hell he hoped Petra didn't take him to a brothel.
Entering through the front flap, his sense of smell was overwhelmed with piss. "Welcome!"
"AH!" The hero jumped at the sudden sight of the short man barely a foot in front of him. The guy looked like Danny Devito in a ringmaster attire with a mustache that screamed evil. "Sorry, didn't see you there."
"It is no problem at all shield hero." He bowed, that top hat somehow staying on his head. "May I ask what brings you here?"
Petra didn't come out, just watching from around the corner. Guess he's going to have to wing it. "I'm looking for someone to join my party, someone good at dealing damage. I was told I could find someone like that here."
That guy just grinned, really selling it on the whole evil persona. "Oh yes, I can certainly help you with that. You may call me Beloukas sir hero."
"Alrighty then Beloukas, show me where they're at."
"Oh ho, we have many who might interest you." The man turned around and walked further into the musky air.
"One moment." Naofumi stopped him, a few spirals of glowing yellow symbols on his arm. The thick auroma that permeated the tents dissipated, the sorcerer taking a deep breathe of the now clean air. "Much better."
'Why thank you!" Beloukas chuckled. "I knew I would like you. Since this is my business I'm already used to the small but this will help my customers stick around longer to browse my selections."
"And what exactly do you sell?" The hero asked just striking up conversation. So far he hadn't really seen much beyond a few empty cages, some vials on shelves, a few animal muzzles or collars. Please tell him that Petra didn't bring him here to buy a pet.
Beloukas did that grin he hated, pulling back another tent flap. "Slaves of course."
Naofumi stepped through, his heart breaking at what he saw. There were people in cages, some covered in fur, others really monstrous in appearance but still humanoid, and others were so frail as they laid on the metal floor of their imprisonment. These were demi-human slaves. He read about this but, it was way worse to actually know this was happening.
"I take it you have never seen a slave before." The man noticed Naofumi's downcast expression, the young man dragging his feet at his eyes were burning the image of each person in his mind.
"No, never."
"It can be upsetting for some." Beloukas came forward, patting his hand against Naofumi's back. "But I assure you, everything I do is legal."
"That's the issue, it is legal."
"Nevertheless, you were recommended to come here yes? Certainly there is something here you would like to have with you, perhaps give them a better purpose?"
Something he said, not someone.
Naofumi thinks he has an idea why Petra came here, someone who was a demi-human wanted him to see first hand what their kind were treated as. Things, not people. No wonder she always wanted to look human when she didn't need her spiderlegs.
*cough cough*
He stopped, gently raising a cloth that was covering a shorter cage. There was a little girl huddled in the back, hidden in the dark.
"I'm sorry you have to see this." The slaver came up next to him. "She was already sick when I purchased her, but she wasn't getting any better. No one wants to purchase something that will die a few days-"
"How much?" Naofumi said, surprising the little girl and the man.
He grinned, not as much as before but it was probably the slaver's business face. "Fifty silver, and then ten for the slave cre-"
"Not needed." Naofumi reached into his shield to grab the necessary coin.
"It is unfortunately." Beloukas informed him. "In order to transfer her ownership from me to you, a new slave crest is required. Unless you wish to spend another fifty to remove it altogether."
"So one gold?" Naofumi pulled out the coin, placing it in the man's hand. "There, now remove the crest."
"Hm, quite noble of you to attempt to save this poor girl's life." The slaver pretended to care, grinning behind Naofumi's back. "Are there any others you wish to see?"
"Later, I need to talk with someone first." Naofumi crouched down, looking at the shaky girl. She was too skinny, her greasy brown hair tangled and messy. Her short round ears were folded against her head as she held her bristly tail. Her gentle red eyes were scared, watching his hands and their movements.
"Of course. Let me just get the key-"
Naofumi held up his hand, a small mandala in front of his fingers. With a twist the lock was undone, the door opening.
"-My, I have never seen magic like that before."
"No one in this world has seen anything like it." Naofumi said in a threatening tone. Slowly, he reached his hand towards the little girl. He waited patiently for her to react, to be comfortable with him. Once she saw it wasn't going to hit her, she slowly crawled out of the cage. The slaver brought the three to a separate tent, where multiple vials and books were stored. Naofumi glanced around, seeing the ones the man had. "How much for the potions?"
"Ten for the salve crest ones, and fifty for the crest removal."
"I'll take one of each, bottled."
"Very well."
Trading the coin for the vials, Naofumi poured them in his shield.
Slaver's Shield Unlocked
Crest Breaking Shield Unlocked.
"Alright, now hold still." The slaver gently commanded the little girl dressed in a rag as he applied the crest breaking fluid on a towel. He wiped it against the purple marking on her chest, steam rising as the girl winced in pain.
"There, all done." Beloukas stood, his work now complete. "I'll be here all night for when you return."
The girl looked back and forth between her previous owner, and her new owner. Naofumi held his hand out to her. "Hi, my name is Naofumi. What's yours?"
"R-raph-*cough* Raphtalia, master."
The young man crouched down, meeting her eyes straight on. "I'm not your owner, and you're not a slave. Not anymore. We're going to get you cleaned up and then you can figure out what you want to do. Ok?"
"What, I want?"
"That's right." Naofumi nodded. "But first, let's see if we can get rid of that cold you got."
Switching to his Royal Healing Shield, he placed a hand on her head. A brief green light overcame her, the girl's scratchy breathing becoming smoother. She stared wide eyed at his shield, seeing the pretty glass that made up its current frame.
"A-are you the shield hero?"
"I am." Naofumi switched to his portal shield, opening a sparkling portal to the inside of his cabin. "Come on, let's give you a bath."
He gave one last look to where he saw Petra hiding. Giving a nod to where the portal was, he walked through and waited for her to follow. After a few tense twenty seconds, she finally came through to let him close the portal to that place.
Petra pulled her hood down while sneaking up behind Raphtalia. "Sleep." She chanted, the small girl dropping quickly.
Naofumi caught her, putting her on the futon. "You want to talk?"
"I just need you to have a portal open at the rear of the tent, to somewhere far from the capital." Petra told him, but didn't meet his eyes.
"You're going to free them?" Naofumi asked.
"Please?" She looked up to him, her lips quivering. "They need it, I..I needed it for so long and..I didn't realize that.."
The girl didn't continue, just trying to control her breathing as Naofumi stood there and waiting patiently. "Is this something you need to do alone?"
"No, but I want to." Petra held her own arms, turning her back to him so he couldn't see her face. "I, want to help them, because it's my choice."
"...ok." Naofumi opened a portal to a rooftop he remembered near the tents. "I'll have a portal open at where we found Raphtalia, but where do you want it to lead to?"
"I have a place in mind." She reached a spiderleg over to touch the portal shield, her memory granting the destination to the surface. "It's a nice place in Siltvelt country, they should be able to start over there."
Naofumi nodded, watching as Petra put her hood over her head and walked through. "I'll open it in five minutes, then one from Siltvelt to here in twenty. Does that work?"
"...Thank you." Petra jumped from the rooftop on the other side of the portal, going back to the slaver's area. The swirling orange gate closed, leaving the hero standing in the cabin.
Naofumi walked over, sitting next to Raphatlia on the futon. She was whimpering in her sleep, her hands shaky. The man sighed, now processing the fact that he just bought a child.
No execution, unless Naofumi gets mad enough to order it. Since it's still early on in the story the queen did catch her husband and daughter before they did too much harm. Yes, Naofumi has Captain America's shield. What else is the best shield from Marvel? Though he can't use it hardly as good as the hero himself. Will Raphtalia be apart of the gang? If so, what kind of equipment will Naofumi get her? Standard gear, or will he load up a little girl into war machine armor?
Amy grammar mistakes please point out and I will fix them ASAP.
Let me know how well you like it and if you want to see more.
rlotm:
Game magic always seems pretty strong, but hardly anything compared to the foundational forces of the multiverse.
RedBurningDragon:
The nature of the waves is different in my story.
Aclux:
Wow, I would never compare my work to poetry. Especially for this story. Though yes, Malty and the king will be basically scraping the bottom of the barrel for respect now. I don't know who Eclair is but I'll look into it. If it's involved in the long run then I'll write it in.
AnimeA55Kicker:
Most of it for sure, but some things will remain.
M.J. :
While I think we all would love to see that, they haven't committed as many crimes yet and were caught early on. The queen is willing to execute them if Naofumi asks, but she would prefer not to kill her family if she doesn't have to. Plus, there are some things that 'plot' does need them for.
