The Strongest Shield

by oblivon2991

The legend! A walking disaster! The "Strongest" Man on Earth! Many titles he gained. Many times he "saved" Earth. His heroics, all a lie? Or all true? Not as it matters. Thrown into an entirely different environment, a new world, he will prove his worth. Hilarity and misunderstanding ensue when he appears! The King engine starts: 'Dub! Dub' "Man, I quit being a hero..."

7. King of the Banquette!

Written by Oblivon2991

Proofread: The usual drunken gang of misfits and TranscendedPotato

Thank you for reading my fanfiction and for giving me a chance.

My mother tongue isn't English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.

I don't own One Punch Man anime/manga/webcomic, it belongs to ONE.

I don't own The Rising of the Shield Hero (Japanese: 盾の勇者の成り上がり, Hepburn: Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari), it is written by Aneko Yusagi.

If you have anything to add or have questions, or remark, please review, or send a PM.

Thank you!

Now let's start the story!

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Chapter 7: King of the Banquet!

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At the heart of the Heroes Association's new base, there were several people gathered around a long table.

A man with grey hair and a bulbous nose stood at the head of the table, with a male and female employee behind him. They were wearing business suits, and the three of them carried a serious expression on their faces.

In one of the seats was a young boy, looking around, waiting for the discussion to start with an innocent expression, unwrapping a rather large lollipop, licking it.

Compared to the three serious-looking employees, the kid looked out of place. One would say that he didn't seem like he belonged in the first place. If one didn't know who he was, one would think he was some kid that their parent brought along with them to work because they were too cheap to hire babysitters.

But in truth, the four of them were possibly the most normal-looking people in the room!

Compared to the three employees and the kid, this futuristic-looking, barely lit meeting room was filled with weird figures one would only find in fantasy or Sci-Fi settings — All of them sitting on their respective seats around the table.

There was a man so fat, one of his size normally wouldn't be able to move — stuffing his face with burgers ceaselessly.

A cyclopean cyborg, with armor plating reminiscent of plate armor commonly worn by knights in the Medieval era.

A middle-aged samurai with a red cloak that had an atom symbol on the back draped over his open black haori, beneath it was a traditional loosely-fitting white robe tied with a white sash and two haori himos.

There was also a person wearing a full-body dog suit, a blank and uninterested expression on his face.

A man with skin so pale, he looked like a zombie — with piercing crimson eyes, wearing a stylish trench coat that gave him the aura of a private investigator.

A dark-skinned man who was so buff he would win any bodybuilder competition was seated nearby.

There was a robot that had three red circles on its visage, and even a wise old master that people would usually only see in martial arts media — waiting for this discussion to start.

Other members of the group could be listed, but the same conclusion could be drawn from them. They were all incredibly weird! Yet, they were the best that the Heroes Association could offer!

They were the creme de la creme! The S-Class! The absolute strongest members of Hero Society!

Only one thing was amiss — or rather, three things were.

As usual, the seat of Blast — the number one hero of the association — was empty. But the other S-Class heroes were already used to his lack of appearance during such meetings, so much so that they didn't even mention it anymore. In fact, it would be stranger if he DID show up. Some members of the S-Class don't even know his appearance, that was how little Blast showed up.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Asked Metal Bat.

With his pompadour-styled hair and sharp eyes that emphasized his hot temper, he completely fitted the stereotypical image of a high-school delinquent. "I promised Zenko I would attend her school's talent show. If I end up late…" His fingers resting on his unbreakable metal bat, the unsaid threat clearly laid out.

"Demon Cyborg still hasn't arrived." Heroes Association's employee with a bulbous nose said, standing at the head of the table. "This meeting is for all members of the S-class. We can't start the meeting without everyone."

"Hmph! Why do we even need everyone? I should be more than enough to deal with whatever this is." The number two S-class hero, Tatsumaki, the Tornado of Terror said.

"Until he arrives, can we get some short briefs of what we were called for?" Superalloy Darkshine asked. Even in this dim light, the amount of oil and tanner on him made his muscles extra pronounced and shiny.

"Well, I suppose we can. As you know-"

"Sorry for being late. We were delayed by a monster." The sliding metal doors opened in the next moment, interrupting the man standing at the head of the table, revealing the member they were waiting for.

Genos — also known as Demon Cyborg was partially covered in oddly colored blood, no doubt from a monster unlucky enough to come across an S-Class Hero.

"I see. Wait, 'we'?" Sitch, the Minister Officer of Justice raised his brow, glancing at the bald guy by Genos' side from his seat at the other end of the table.

This hero wore an oddly cheap-looking outfit and carried a dismissively plain face — if it even was a face and not a mask — stood by the side of the Demon Cyborg. A person he found strangely familiar, yet, he just couldn't recall where he had seen him.

"Ah, wait, it's that fellow that was also with him at the last meeting, before the alien invasion that destroyed City A." Sitch thought. "It must be Demon Cyborg's apprentice."

"He's also the person that was with him at the hot spring when we thought Zombieman got murdered by someone..."

"I invited Saitama-sensei too. We might need his help, like last time…"

"I see. Though this is a confidential meeting only for the S-class, if you can vouch for this man, Demon Cyborg, I'll allow him to stay."

"Naturally. Saitama-sensei is the most trustworthy person I know."

"In that case, it's not a problem." Agreed Sitch with a nod, before realizing that he heard something strange. "Sensei? This man is a mentor for Demon Cyborg?"

"No, not this time!" Tatsumaki said suddenly, standing up. "You interfered with the operation last time by boarding the alien ship without permission, the last thing we need is you interfering again this time! You're just a B-Class hero, you shouldn't even be here, you baldy! Egghead! Octopus! Avocado! Lightbulb!-" And the small esper went on with her various insults — almost all aimed at Saitama's appearance. She had built quite a vocabulary on insulting the plain-looking guy.

"Hey, Genos… why is she so noisy?" The caped Hero nudged Genos with his elbow under the storm of insults — unamused by the various strings of insults the short girl threw at him.

"I don't know, Sensei. She doesn't seem to like you…"

"DON'T IGNORE ME WHILE I'M SPEAKING!" Tatsumaki fumed, grabbing the closest item and smashing it against Saitama's bald head — not even bothering to use telekinesis to do so.

'SMACK!'

Of course, aside from simply bouncing off from the smooth surface and proceeding to ricochet against the metal wall, it did no damage — an expected result to all who knew Saitama's monstrous strength.

"Ok." Was his only reaction. A flat answer paired with a similarly disinterested, flat face.

"Grr... I told you before, leave!" Tatsumaki pointed at Saitama, giving him her harshest look. "You've already interfered with our operation last time, and now you even invade a strictly confidential meeting… AGAIN! Disgraceful! Know your place!"

"It was Saitama-sensei that-" Genos tried to cut off Tatsumaki and defend his master, but she was faster.

"No one asked you, tin-can! Radiator! Stove! Immersion heater!-" And thus Tatsumaki switched her target of insults to the blond cyborg. Aside from her immense psychic power, her ability to come up with insults on the fly was definitely S-Class.

"Sigh…" Saitama sighed, tired. Instead of paying further heed to the noisy sassy lost child, the Hero for Fun looked around, then leisurely walked towards Child Emperor.

"Sensei?" Genos asked, wondering what his master was doing.

"Can I have one?" Saitama asked Child Emperor.

"Umm… sure?" The young genius was surprised, though he handed one of his smaller lollipops to Saitama, who continued making his way around the table, to where Tatsumaki was.

"What do you think you're doing-!?" Tatsumaki tried to look big, but it only made her smaller when Saitama approached her, looking down on her with a shady yet blank expression.

"W-What do you want?" The girl readied herself — though she was sure this bald egghead couldn't hurt her in a million years, something told her to be careful if she was going to face this person.

"…" The B-class just stared at her without a word, glaring her down with that expressionless, uncharacteristic, unblinking face.

What Saitama did next was utterly unexpected!

"What are you- mmph-!" Unwrapping the lollipop, Saitama pushed it through her lips and into her mouth.

"Shh… wait outside. The adults are speaking. I'll take you to the reception desk later."

The B-class Hero simply grabbed the number two Hero's hand, then pushed her out from the room before she could even recover from her flabbergasted state and process what happened.

"Sensei!?" Genos gaped, already prepared for the worst. Remembering what happened to him last time, he'd rather not enrage Tatsumaki. Though his master was the strongest person he'd ever met, he was still worried for him, after embarrassing the strongest esper.

"..Is he serious?"

"Oh ho! How daring…~" Chuckled Puri-Puri Prisoner. "What a bold move... Too bad he doesn't seem quite my type..."

"...PFTTTT-!" The samurai struggled to hold it in. Though he wasn't one to tease Tatsumaki over her appearance — he was better than that — he did imagine it for himself. AND THIS PERSON JUST WENT AHEAD WITH IT! "If he survives this, I'll make him a fourth apprentice! I like his guts!"

Everyone gaped. Everyone was frozen in sheer shock! Tatsumaki was explosive when it came to her age and appearance, and this nameless Hero just made a mockery about it! Both of them, in fact, with one simple act!

"Hmm…" Even Bang hummed, knowing where all of this would lead. Though he knew Saitama's power was greater than even his, Tatsumaki was not one to be trifled with.

"…" Wordlessly, Saitama pulled out his seat, sitting down. "Can I get some tea?"

And he asked for some tea after all of this!? Didn't he know what kind of danger he was in!?

'KTHOOM!'

As expected, the reinforced alloy doors and even the walls were torn out and destroyed! As the dust settled, Tatsumaki floated into the room, lollipop still in her mouth, surrounded by an intense green aura. Her expression was one of strange calm, though the vein on her forehead showed otherwise.

"...I won't kill you. I'm a Hero. I won't kill you. I'm a Hero. I won't kill you..." Tatsumaki chanted this mantra to herself, attempting to rein in her anger. No matter how much this person pissed her off, she wouldn't kill him. It's not what a hero would do, after all.

...But she could sure as hell teach him a lesson he'd never forget.

"...Let me tell you something, Baldy. You've pissed me off to such a high degree, you managed to break the Tatsumaki's Anger record by a slim margin, coming close to when I discovered the fanart some people made of me online. Congratulations, you did something I didn't think was possible. Now, here's something you should know..."

Tatsumaki remained silent for a moment, lowering her head with a darkened expression before snapping with bulging eyes filled with red veins.

"I! AM! 28! YEARS! OLD! 28, I TELL YOU! 28! ARGHHHH! I'M CLOSE TO MY THIRTIES ALREADY, AND PEOPLE STILL TREAT ME LIKE A CHILD! I KNOW I LOOK LIKE ONE, BUT MY PROFILE SAYS MY AGE, DOESN'T IT?!"

"Hey!" Saitama turned towards the raging esper. "You shouldn't go around destroying stuff! It's expensive, you know? And if you're 28, shouldn't you know better than to destroy things willy nilly?"

"That's it! Last time, you were lucky! Not this time! I'll teach you to have some respect!" Tornado raised her hand, and immense psychic energies started to gather around her. The girl was prepared to assault this bald, uninteresting, and forgettable character.

She knows that she wasn't exactly the most patient hero, but enough was enough! Something told her that it was unfair to do this, but this person was going to be a lesson to why you don't treat her like a child! Kill — or at least seriously injure — one to warn a thousand!

"Tatsumaki!" Bang raised his voice, even standing up with his hands behind his back. "Rather than destroying things and throwing a tantrum, why not show us that you're more mature? Surely, you're better than this. Show this man you're not the child he thinks you are. As far as he can tell, you're acting exactly like a child he mistook you for."

"..." The strongest esper's eyes widened before squinting them, considering the words of the wise master.

"Even so…!"

"You throwing a tantrum right now is only proving his point. Aside from your real age, what differentiates you from a child if you act like one?"

"…" Lowering her head, clenching her fist, and clicking her tongue, the raging psychic energies she collected dispersed.

"Tch… Whatever!" In the end, she floated back to her seat, still fuming at her loss.

"You're lucky again, baldy," Tatsumaki said. "But know this... Three strikes and you're out." Tatsumaki threatened, and it would've been a lot more intimidating, if not for the lollipop that was still in her mouth.

"Thank you, Silver Fang…" Sitch nodded, adjusting his tie nervously, wiping his sweat. "Now, shall we start our meeting?"

No one said a word, as only the slight buzzing of drones — machines that were restoring the wall segment that Tatsumaki annihilated a moment ago — were present.

"So, why have you called us here?" Tanktop Master asked, bringing the topic back to the meeting.

"As you've already known, criminal and monster activity has recently skyrocketed. Not even mentioning the numerous natural disasters that have been happening all around the world."

"You mean those earthquakes…?" Asked Tanktop Master with his usual half-interested expression.

"Yes, among many other things. They're spreading all around the globe, even at locations that are known to be free of earthquakes."

Sitch motioned to his assistant, who pushed a few buttons on her tablet, a hologram appearing on the table and displaying the globe, as well as the necessary information. The same image also appeared on the heroes' interface too.

"What's the source?" Zombiman inquired. "All I concluded from my own investigations prior to this is that they aren't natural."

Such random quakes couldn't be natural occurrences. After his own investigations, the man found out that they even appeared in places with no recorded tectonic activity whatsoever. They weren't actually earthquakes, more like tremors.

"According to our knowledge, the first such tremor occurred in M-City. More precisely, the first quake's epicenter was the place where King was last seen — Occurring a few days after his disappearance."

The location where King was last seen was marked on the globe, displaying the video of his disappearance, and the data they collected.

"Huh, reminds me of an Isekai scenario…" Saitama muttered as he sipped his tea, earning a few raised brows from the people within earshot.

"Any sign of Kingy? Maybe if we find him, he could give us an answer to these strange occurrences~" Puri-Puri Prisoner said. "I hope he's alright. It is hard to find such a strong, and above all handsome guy~!" The bulky prisoner batted his eyelids, sending shivers down almost every male hero's spine.

"Maybe he's just training…" Superalloy Darkshine suggested, drawing everyone's attention. "What? Even we don't know what Mr. King is capable of! Maybe that light was just one of his new abilities, and he hid to further train them? Or did he disappear to draw out his enemies, so he could eliminate them in one fell swoop? At least, that seems possible…" The overly muscled man scratched his shaven head, feeling rather awkward. Thinking about it, some of those suggestions didn't seem likely.

"That's… certainly a possibility." Agreed Sitch.

No one had ever witnessed King during his fights — as he usually ended his battles faster than anyone could witness them. That, or the battles were usually too dangerous to even get close to.

According to many witnesses that were there for smaller threats like Demon-level threats and below, there were even many cases where the monster simply committed suicide before the man even lifted a finger — an understandable thought. No one wanted to face The Strongest Man On Earth on combat — that would be a one-way ticket to hell, and even then, hell would seem like the better option compared to going against King.

On top of this, no one fully knew what kind of abilities he had. No one knew how strong he was, exactly. That man was a mystery even for the organization he so graciously helped out, and even more so for his coworkers. No one ever worked with King in a fight. Either he passed it onto you for you to grow stronger, or the threat was too great, where you'd only be a hindrance to him. Fellow S-Class heroes would always arrive too late, as the monster would be long dead by the time they got there.

It was common knowledge — King was like a natural disaster. If you're going to face him, you either avoid him entirely, or you lose everything.

"Unfortunately, we've failed to locate him, even until now. We weren't able to contact him in any way, either."

With the exception of Watchdog Man, Saitama — and a few others — the heroes in the room were caught off guard, their eyes wide in surprise and dread.

"How is that possible?"

"What about the tremors? Is it possible that it was King who created them, or the monster that he's hunting? They first appeared at the place where he disappeared, maybe the two things are connected." Genos suggested.

"Well, about that... could you explain to them what you and Metal Knight found, Child Emperor?" Sitch looked at the young boy.

Following his example, the other Heroes did the same, patiently waiting for the boy's explanation.

"Well… Let me say something first. We aren't actually sure what it is…" The young genius scratched his face with an awkward expression, biting his lollipop.

"Something neither Metal Knight nor you are certain about? Now isn't that something!" Atomic Samurai said with an expression of intrigue.

"Atomic Samurai, it's not that easy! We're trying our best! But…" The boy hesitated, clenching his fists.

"But?" Zombieman shot a pensive look at the boy, already expecting the worst-case scenario.

"Well... The signals are coming from all around the globe, yes, and they're all chaotic and unpredictable! What's stranger is that most of them don't even originate from underground, neither are they related to tectonic movement at all..."

Just as he feared. They were dealing with a complete unknown.

"Then what's the cause? What's the source?"

"According to our data, the epicenters of the tremors are purely random. Sometimes, they're positioned underground, sometimes slightly above-ground, and sometimes they're even above in the stratosphere. We even detected one of these anomalies in the exosphere. If we had to compare it to something, it's that they're like gravitational fields similar to a singularity, warping both space and time around their appearance." Explained Metal Knight unemotionally. "The tremors are caused by extreme fluctuations in the epicenters, causing a shift in the gravitational fields."

The slim robot he controlled projected what he was talking about through another hologram on the table.

"Some kind of psychic ability, then?" Questioned Sitch. "Tatsumaki, could you sense psychic energy from them?"

"...I'll put it this way, I wouldn't get near them if I could." That was the only thing the curly-haired girl added. Though she didn't say it aloud, a part of her actually feared even getting near to them. Needless to say, she forbade her sister from even trying, and very clearly said to avoid them at all costs.

"!"

If even Tatsumaki was cautious in approaching them, then the situation was rather serious. Tatsumaki was a prideful woman, unwilling to admit defeat to anything. If these 'singularities' were able to make Tatsumaki admit caution around them, then...

"Yes... The energy signatures these anomalies emit are similar, yet slightly different from the energy emitted by psychic abilities." Child Emperor explained, pushing a few buttons on his controller. Immediately, the data they gathered was displayed in a 3D chart above the table.

"It's a shame, but even after a month, we can't precisely determine what's causing them. The data we receive when we're trying to make measurements is just too chaotic to hazard a proper guess, much less form a hypothesis around. Not to mention, some of the energy outputs of these anomalies are simply immeasurable!"

"Huh, it's like magic…" muttered Saitama, earning an odd look from everyone around the table.

"Excuse me, Mister, but magic simply doesn't exist." Tried to reason the young genius. "Magic is just unexplained science, and there's an explanation to everything that happens."

"I just said it was 'like' magic. I never said it was." Saitama ignored the kid while rolling his eyes.

Still, no matter how he looked at it, the way King disappeared was too cliche to be anything other than magic, and the usual Isekai trope that many anime and light novels had was not too dissimilar to how King disappeared.

...Then again, some of those Isekai stories did end with the MC getting ridiculously OP...

Saitama smiled, upon thinking that King might've gotten a super power-up. If that was the case, then he'd be as strong as people thought he was. But more importantly...

King might end up being strong enough to make him fight seriously.

But he'd better nip that expectation in the bud. Any time he got excited to fight something or someone, it always ended with one punch — Or two, if they were lucky. Only a select few could actually tank his normal punches, like that Bor... Bar... Beer... Ah, whatever. The alien leader was one such threat that didn't immediately go down in a single hit, which was nice.

"Anyway, in conclusion, we don't know what we're dealing with, neither do we know where King disappeared to a month ago." Concluded Sitch while hiding his mouth behind his folded fingers.

"Until now, we've managed to make the public believe King is still with us — biding his time before striking. But seeing the growing monster and criminal presence in M-City and all around the globe, this illusion can crumble at any time. We need to act fast and find him, or we'll face a disaster."

Groups heralding the apocalypse were an everyday sight in this world thanks to the constant threat of mysterious beings — not even mentioning about all kinds of natural catastrophes that were occurring daily.

But after these unexplainable tremors started and King's mysterious disappearance, their numbers basically more than doubled — almost tripled in just a month! Though they knew that King was the main reason for one of the lowest crime rates and appearances of mysterious beings in M-City... to think his very presence was what held almost the entirety of M-City's public order was a frightening prospect!

"What should we do then?"

"I'm already taking a detour to help out M-City. I can hardly do more than that…" Said so Zombiman, lighting a cigarette and puffing out some smoke.

"The efforts to quell unrest in M-City are underway. You don't have to worry about that. What we need to focus on is finding King and suppressing the mysterious beings that show up in M-City due to King's absence. Without this-"

"This-!?" Suddenly, Tatsumaki stood up, her eyes sharp, her expression dark as even the lollipop fell out from her mouth.

"Eh? What happened? Tornado, What did you sense-"

"WARNING! UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED! WARNING! UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED!"

The Heroes Association HQ's artificial intelligence announced.

"An anomaly has started to form near this building, according to my sensors…" Announced Bofoi in his cold robotic voice.

Controlling his drones from afar while hiding in his secure bunker, he was usually unconcerned with the outside world. Yet, the surrounding heroes could sense some change in his voice. Was it excitement? Fear? It was hard to tell.

"...The use of the emergency measures I installed is advised."

They didn't need to be told twice. Almost immediately after the anomaly formed, the entire building started to tremble and shake. The emergency sirens sounded an alarm, and the automatic systems secured the whole building and the surrounding region of what used to be A-City.

The new Headquarters of the Hero Association was designed and built by Metal Knight and his drones. It was made to be resilient — even impenetrable!

Even if the epicenter of a Magnitude 7 earthquake was directly below them, they wouldn't feel a thing! Yet now... the entire building shook and groaned violently, shuddering under the sheer pressure!

"Tch! How annoying!"

"Tatsumaki, what are you planning?!" Sitch grabbed the fixed table, trying not to fall down. He had to admit, he was nervous about what was about to happen.

"Don't interfere!" She said sternly.

Psychic energy started to gather around the esper, making her float and painting her outline in green. Then-

'BANG!'

As if though she was shot out of a cannon, she penetrated the internal and outer walls of the complex, forming a drill of mental power to make her way outside.

"She's doing it again…" Saitama muttered disinterestedly, brushing down the debris from his costume. "Is she an exhibitionist or something? Why can't she cover up with something better?"

"Do you think she'll manage?" Asked Darkshine, worried for his fellow hero.

"I hope so… if it really is a tear in space, I can't cut that." Muttered Atomic Samurai, putting back the grass that fell out from his mouth. He wouldn't claim to have true mastery over the blade — like King — but he was still skilled in it. But cutting space... that was in the realm of gods.

Meanwhile, the small esper reached the outside of the building in a few seconds, leaving a small but long gaping hole on the side of the building — a hole which the nearby drones started to patch up immediately.

"So it's like that… I see." The distortion near the building was almost invisible, but using her senses boosted with her power, she felt as time and space churned and convoluted — Almost like a cramping stomach that was about to tear itself apart.

"Tch! How should I handle this…?" Fighting monsters and vaporizing them with her abilities? Floating, throwing things, and bending energy? All of this and much more posed no problem with her psychic powers. But how the hell should she handle an anomaly like this? This wasn't the first time she encountered them — that being a few weeks ago on a shopping trip — but this was the first time she was this close to one.

"This is why I avoided them in the first place when I first encountered them. The energy they're emitting is intense!"

She was The World's Strongest Esper, the Rank 2 S-Class Hero... but even she felt a chill up her spine when she got near them.

Nonetheless, either she did something about it, or it would ruin the Heroes Association Headquarters and endanger many innocent lives. It was her responsibility as a hero to keep them safe, that it was time to fulfill those responsibilities.

"Well then... let's try this!" Raising her arms, the green glow around her body intensified.

A layered barrier system immediately surrounded the anomaly, absorbing the physical tremors and psychic energy from it, converting and dispersing it harmlessly to the surroundings.

"Grrrrr!"

Sheer psychic might clashed against the anomaly that formed!

Tatsumaki, despite being The World's Strongest Esper, felt the energy rattle her bones even through her barrier, as that thing shook the walls of her layered barrier while it slowly dissipated.

Veins popped on her forehead from the sheer effort trying to contain and disperse the thing! Just how much energy was in this thing?!

"I'm The World's Strongest Esper, and there's no way I'm losing to some stupid anomaly, you hear?!" She increased the pressure on the anomaly, putting her frustration and rage at work, converting it into psychic energy! Just like that, the anomaly started to shrink as it lost more energy than it could produce. Slowly but surely, the singularity-like anomaly dissipated like a black hole emitting Hawking radiation.

"Gah! How annoying." As the anomaly finally dispersed, only then did the number two Hero lower her hands, massaging her sore shoulders with ESP. "I definitely don't want to do that again."

[Tatsumaki! Tatsumaki! Can you hear me?] Sitch's voice spoke through her communicator.

"Yeah, I solved the issue." Said Tatsumaki dismissively. "Not like you were any help…" Of course, she muted the microphone. She did ask for them to not interfere, and they didn't interfere.

Well, whatever. If people could stop meddling with fights they couldn't win nor do anything about, her work would also be much easier.

[Great work as always, Tatsumaki!]

"I'm going to patrol, so don't bother me."

With that, she ended the call.

Tatsumaki had no idea what these things were — Or who created them.

If King was behind this, he should really stop messing around. M-City was nearly falling apart! If it was someone else, then they needed to find that person and stop them!

She was only sure about one thing: She really, REALLY wanted them gone! For espers like her, these things were quite annoying to be around — though they were most likely deadly. It was an annoyance to her, but she was Tatsumaki. It might even be fatal for other espers that weren't her.

Scene Change: A day later: Melromarc:

"Sigh…" King disliked public gatherings — parties even more so.

For an Otaku like him, it was an alien environment that he would almost never find himself in. Yet there he was, in a bustling banquet that took place in the palace's ballroom.

"Why am I even here?" He mentally questioned himself the same question time and time again, just to remember; It was because of Raphtalia's insistence he was in this uncomfortable position.

"Lord King! Please, accept the invitation! You managed to defeat the wave single-handedly, you deserve to celebrate with your fellow heroes, as well!" Her words echoed in his mind constantly. "Even if you don't want to abandon your duties as a hero, celebrating after the wave isn't too much to ask, right?"

After the wave had ended and the sky returned to normal, King — with Raphtalia following behind him had retreated for the day as fast they could — mostly due to King's insistence.

He just had enough!

That whole day was crap! He didn't even know how the hell he survived the whole event — not to mention; he was still a fair bit confused on how they were able to deal with the wave in the first place!

The only thing he remembered was teleporting near the crack in the sky, rolling around in a ball while trying his best not to puke his guts out, trying to survive those huge insects and undead that poured out of the tear in the sky; and of course, running away from that three-headed monstrosity!

Everything else was like a blur to him. Not to say he couldn't remember anything, it was just that it all happened so fast he had trouble registering that it even happened!

After the wave, King only wanted to take a bath and wash off all the blood and gore from himself, then rent some rooms in an inn and sleep out the rest of the nightmare he found himself in. Nothing else!

On top of that, despite most — if not all of the contents of his stomach emptying during his 'bizarre rolling adventure', he wasn't even hungry. He just couldn't eat from all the nauseating events that happened that day. And thus, after bathing and buying a healthy meal for Raphtalia, the two retreated to their respective rooms.

Of course, on the next day, those annoying knights showed up, demanding their participation in the celebration held that night. The only thing he could notice was different was the apparent fear on their faces. It looked like he was building up a reputation, like in his old world. Though he always hated that monsters would come for him and fans would crowd over him with his title as an S-Class hero, it at least had its benefits. He had jack diddly over here. Well, after being accused of rape, he got nothing from the crown. That was to be expected after such a horrendous accusation — if only the whole 'trial' wasn't a joke.

"How they even found us is still a mystery, though…" According to his memories, he told no one where he and Raphtalia would sleep that night. They always moved to different inns every few days. Yet, as the sun rose, the knights showed up, saying his appearance was expected in the coming celebration.

"Like ones of those RPGs where the quest giver or the courier would pop up near you whether you want to or not! EVEN DURING A FREAKING BOSS FIGHT IN ANOTHER DIMENSION!" King thought after remembering that one game where a courier had popped up during the final boss fight in a separate dimension, and it was about a stupid side quest he didn't bother caring about. It shaved off precious seconds from his speedrun attempt.

Of course, he wanted to say that they weren't going. He didn't exactly have the best rapport with the other heroes and the king of this place. But as usual, the kid was faster. She was starting to grow more headstrong and stubborn... much too fast!

"Not even a few months in and she turned from a meek little girl to a bossy young lady!" And it was as if with her body, her mind grew equally as fast. It was like she developed the proper mind for the same kind of body she had — which seemed like complete nonsense to him. Raphtalia still had elements of childishness — she was still ten years old, after all. It was obvious she was trying to appear grown-up in front of him, but either she was a natural actor, or this was her original personality — coming back to her after being freed from slavery. Chances were it was the latter.

"Lord King! Lord King!"

"Hmm?" He turned to Raphtalia, approaching him with a plate filled with all kinds of different delicacies.

King had to admit, they looked quite appetizing, especially since he didn't eat anything save for some dried jerky and fruits for almost two days — first during the day of the wave, then the day after, before they were invited to this annoying event. The jerky was the only thing light enough for his stomach to handle, and the fruits took care of the essential nutrients he needed to function.

But right now, he had somehow managed to overcome his first great challenge to enjoying the banquet — he was starting to get hungry. Well, everything was starting to settle down, so him getting peckish was a given. With the energy that he expended during the wave and how empty his stomach had been relative to its usual intake, something with a bit more 'oomph' could be stomached.

"Hmm, thanks." He grabbed a tasty-looking sushi roll and tasted it carefully. At first, it was only a small bite, then stuffing down some more after he confirmed that it was nothing too spicy.

"I ate some similar-looking rolls before. They actually filled it with wasabi!" Of course, he never bought those kinds of sushi ever again since then. Ever since, he'd rather taste the food carefully without stuffing it down.

"Lord King, please, don't be so modest! Eat to your heart's content!" Raphtalia smiled, offering the entire plate to him. Not that it was anything special — there were other plates of food she could grab from the tables.

"You should also eat some food too, you know…"

"Hm? I've had my fill already, Lord King! You should be the one eating up!"

"That may be true, but you're still growing. You need more nutrients." King pointed at her stomach, making the girl blush.

"D-do you want me to get fat?!" The girl stuttered, her face red, covering her stomach with one of her arms.

"I... didn't say that." King raised his brow slightly.

Why did she think that? Were girls usually like that? Probably. He never had a normal relationship before — nor did he interact with the opposite sex very often. He simply didn't have enough experience to tell what they would think.

"I only know that in dating sims, the girl usually becomes embarrassed when you talk about her weight." It often came with the comical scene of them smacking you in the face and refusing to talk to you for a while, reducing your relationship meter.

"I only meant that you need to recover your strength. You'll be needing it for the next wave."

"O-oh, I see..." Raphtalia said sheepishly, before regaining her composure. "You're always so considerate, Lord King." The raccoon girl snickered happily as she placed her curled fist under her mouth — making her look quite cute, some might say. "But don't worry, we're safe here. We overcame the wave thanks to you. It should be time for celebration, no?"

"Is that so…?"

"Yes, thanks to you, many innocent people were saved. Without you, a lot of the villagers would be dead by now."

"You overestimate me. I did nothing much…" And he wasn't kidding! He really didn't! He just stumbled and rolled down a hill, crushed a few through sheer dumb luck, then ran away from the monsters like he usually did! He barely even helped those soldiers that did their best to fight off the undead. What was so great about that!? If anything, the most he could claim credit to was rallying the troops with some well-thought-out words... yeah, no. He stole it from a manga like he usually did.

"It is starting to be like back home… why does everyone misunderstand everything that happens to me?" It was a curse, there was no other explanation. Other than that, maybe some omnipotent beings from a realm of existence above theirs just wanted to play around with him... at this rate, even that crap sounded feasible.

If he thought about it, maybe all the misfortune happening with him and monsters, as well as the misunderstandings started when Saitama saved his life; around two years ago — when he received the scar over his eye. Actually, maybe the two things were connected…

"As always, you're too modest, my Lord. But don't worry, I will always serve as your sword."

Raphtalia continued eating the food she had, and King also started to eat some of the food on the plate Raphtalia handed him, scanning the sizable room.

It seemed people were keeping their distance from him and Raphtalia — with the exception of a few men who tried flirting with her, who immediately backed off when they found out that she was a companion of the Shield Hero — or as it was to them — the Shield Devil.

"Well, not like it's a problem. I was never good at conversing with other people…" Well, Saitama was an exception. But he was a good friend that didn't think much of the titles he was given, just treating him like — well, a friend.

He even heard some people whispering about 'The Shield Devil' and other similar things were passed around the room.

"Did you hear how brutally the Shield Hero killed that monster?"

"No way…!"

"Even monsters don't deserve such an end! He really is the most brutal hero!"

"Sigh…" Just what was it that made them so biased against him? Was it because of his appearance? Was it because of the constant misfortune following him around? His tone? His menacing-looking armor?

"Damn that blacksmith! Why did he have to make it that way!? I look like an evil warlord! Far from the 'heroic' look the other heroes have, I look like their arch-nemesis!" King couldn't help but complain. He already came to terms that some parts of the armor were what they were due to abandoning aesthetics for practicality, but when he asked why the armor was pitch black and spiky, the blacksmith had the gall to say;

"When I thought about what kind of armor would fit you, this design just came naturally. And I think it's my best work yet! A terrifying armor for a terrifying person!"

If he was allowed to, he'd punch him for that. Sadly, even with his increased stats, his piss-poor ATK would do nothing against a former adventurer like him.

Or perhaps the problem was with the people themselves? The false claims that he had raped his former partner? None of the above? Or all of them? King felt that he would never find the answer which fit best unless he could read their minds.

'Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!' The chattering suddenly stopped as the king knocked on the rim of his goblet with a spoon. Immediately, all attention was turned to him, save for King, who couldn't really bring himself to care about the senile old man.

"Heroes! Thanks to your valiant effort, we've earned a victory against the terrifying waves! It surprised me, but we barely suffered any damage compared to the last wave! Tonight, we feast! Enjoy yourselves to your heart's content! You heroes deserve it!"

With that, the people went back to their chatter, though continuing with a different topic- namely how well they did against the wave and how great they were for doing so. It just befuddled King that they did basically nothing — as far as he could tell during the waves, and here they were, patting themselves so hard on the back he was afraid they'd break it.

"Lord King, do you think we did what we could? I mean, if we arrived at the village sooner…" Raphtalia on the other hand, seemed down. Even her grip on her plate tightened.

"We did what we could. That's what matters." Honestly, what more did they expect from him? Save the whole world alone? Ridiculous!

"Though, in that stupid manga, they did make me do it… I mean… they literally made me toss a solar-system destroying bomb into a black hole in one of the chapters! From light-years away!" The whole manga was just a massive exaggeration of his already ridiculous 'feats'! If he had to compare it to something, it was just a badly written OP-OC fanfiction! It had nothing to do with him!

"I still wonder how it's one of the top 5 most popular manga at home… FOR ONE STRAIGHT FUCKING YEAR!"

"Yeah... maybe you're right. We did what we could! Even if we couldn't save everyone..."

"Even the strongest person can't be everywhere at the same time…" King patted her shoulder gently. "Just do your best. That's what matters."

Yeah, that's what he always told himself — what he always tried to do. That was what people always said in manga and movies. But if you asked him, he'd say he wasn't doing that at all. What would logically be the 'best action' would never be done, due to his extreme cowardice. It was always the third or even fourth-best option, but it was the safest.

If there was one thing he could be proud of, it was his amazing ability to survive.

"Hey, you!" A familiar voice made King turn his head to his left. It was that blond Spear Hero again.

"Hmm?"

"How can someone like you call yourself a hero!?"

"What's his problem now?" King seriously had no idea what Motoyasu's problem was. He just pops up and picks a fight. He's had enough of this idiot a long time ago!

"Is there a problem?" King said, annoyed. Making Motoyasu falter, he regained his composure and continued barrelling on.

"Problem? Problem!?" The blond playboy fumed in rage, a vein appearing on his forehead, his fists trembling as he clenched them. "I always knew you were a forceful brute… but I never thought you'd sink low enough to do this…!"

"Just get to the point." How was he to know what bothered him? This guy was just saying words for the sake of saying more words! Despite the ridiculous rumors circling around, he wasn't able to read minds! Which rumor did this bag of negative IQ falsely believe in this time?

"That girl in your party is a slave! Don't even try covering it! I know everything!" Motoyasu pointed at King, his spiteful gaze portraying his sheer fury.

"Huh?" What was this guy talking about? Was he a moron, or what? He already freed Raphtalia the second he bought her. How did he know she was a slave in the first place, anyway?

"Please, forgive me, Sir Hero, but Lord King…"

"Shh… you need not speak, poor girl, I'll free you from this tyrant's cruelty. Just a minute longer, and you'll be free." Like a Casanova, Motoyasu slid before Raphtalia in the next moment, placing his index to her lips sensually.

"First off, you-"

"Shut up, you brute! I don't care how powerful you are, I can't let this girl suffer in your captivity any longer! Release her, or prepare for the consequences!"

Did this person just live in his little world on his own or something? If he could just zip that mouth of his, King could get to resolve this misunderstanding.

"If I could just-"

"Fine, if you won't release her, I challenge you to a duel!"

...and the winner of King's 'biggest idiot I've ever had the displeasure of meeting with' award goes to...

"You can't be serious! You saw what he did with-"

"I am aware of the dangers, Itsuki." Motoyasu shrugged off the warning of his fellow hero. "But I can't just let this poor girl suffer captivity any longer! If you really want to help, join me in defeating this thug, he doesn't deserve to have the title of hero!"

"Idiot…" Ren muttered while shaking his head and crossing his arms, already seeing where this was going. The Bow and Sword Heroes were sure that it was going to end ugly for the Spear Hero.

"What did I hear?! The Shield Hero is keeping a slave!? Disgraceful! How can you even call yourself a hero!?" Aultcray bellowed in anger, even going so far as to stand up from his throne.

"This again? They don't even listen to what I have to say? What's with these people!?" Thought King, his frustration ever-growing. Did the people of this world only know mob justice? What happened to courts? What happened to fair trials? What happened to Innocent until Proven Guilty? He honestly felt bad for the denizens of this world, actually. If someone like that old man was allowed on the throne, he didn't have a good outlook on the other kingdoms in this world. Life was probably hell for those falsely accused in this world.

"Wait a moment, please! Lord King is- Hey, get your hands off me! Mmmph!" From the crowd, several men quickly placed a rag in Raphtalia's mouth, pulling her back.

"Oi. What are you doing with my companion?" King immediately glared at those people. The pressure emanating from King was enough to make them step back in fear and loosen their grip.

Under the Shield Devil, reputed to have slaughtered the chimera of the wave so brutally that death was a mercy to it, they were starting to rethink the life choices they made that lead to them putting their faces directly into a crocodile's mouth.

[ド Rumble! ド]

"Gurk?!"

"That sound again!?" The knights that held the girl were surprised, and for a moment let go of Raphtalia, and this moment was enough for the Shield Hero's sword to act and free herself.

'Smack! Smack! Smack! Crash!'

Raphtalia pulled out her sword, using the flat side of the blade to knock out her assaulters, backing away to King's side.

"She's fast…"

She had come a long way since before. She was going from a meek little girl to an ever-improving swordswoman. If only she could've retained that shy demeanor of hers... dealing with her now was quite a pain.

"Are you alright?"

"I am fine, Lord King. Your timing, as always, was impeccable! It gave me enough time to unsheathe my sword to free myself."

"…" King said nothing. He had no idea what the girl was talking about.

"I am glad I asked Erhard to show Raphtalia a few moves…"

That man had previously told them that he was an adventurer before becoming a blacksmith, and as King was not a great swordsman — in fact, he couldn't even touch the handle of a sword for very long before getting it repelled out of his hands — it was natural to ask for some advice from an experienced adventurer who had actually held a proper weapon before.

"Well, if you never ask, you never receive…"

"What are you doing?! We're trying to help you!" Motoyasu pleaded, trying to reason with the girl, grabbing her arm gently.

'Smack!'

Raphtalia immediately slapped Motoyasu on the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Of course, this left the playboy stunned and surprised.

"What-"

"And why didn't you let Lord King explain? I'm not a slave! In fact! Lord King was the one that saved me from slavery! He immediately paid for the removal of my slave mark the moment he bought me!"

"W-What!? But…" Motoyasu backed away, covering his still throbbing cheek. Immediately, the crowd gasped, hearing the truth. They were all confused as to what was happening.

"That cannot be true! Myne said…"

"Sigh… This again." King had enough already. In fact, it was starting to get stale, like an overused comedy routine that elicited more yawns than laughs at this point. "I told you, she has some problems, both physical and mental… Sleepwalking, insomnia, and schizophrenia are some of the things I can list down, and you believe her in that state? Really?"

"H-How dare you!?" A 'mummy' girl stepped forth, raging.

Myne's whole body was bandaged, her previously beautiful red hair had missing patches and it had lost its luster — and her skin was slightly green between the bandages, almost like it was rotting away.

"And you are…?" She looked familiar, and he did see this 'mummy' girl with Motoyasu after the battle ended. But at the time, King was more preoccupied with collecting the 'loot' from the chimera and leaving the area as fast as he could. But now that he was closer... "That voice… Myne? Is that you? What happened?"

King was surprised to see her in that state. Just what the hell happened to her? Hell, she looked worse for wear than when she was adventuring with him! Granted, it was only for a day, but still, what in the world did Motoyasu put her through?!

"Are you alright? What happened to you?"

"You damn well know what happened to me!" Raged the girl, her voice slightly raspy as the poison affected even her vocal cords. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

"What!?" Aultcray jumped up from his throne once again, eyes wide with horror, which quickly turned into fatherly concern. "Malty, is this true? Was this 'monster' who disfigured you, my dear daughter!?"

"Daughter?" What an absurd turn of events! Even he didn't expect this kind of outcome. Why did the princess of the country join his party? And next on the list — why the hell was she allowed to even join the party in the first place? Weren't royals supposed to be the most important people in sovereign countries? She should've had guards with her 24/7! In fact, the fact that she supposedly got 'raped' should've been the fault of her guards not doing their duty!

...Not that he DID rape her, but still! With all the evidence he provided the month before, he should've been in the clear! Anyone with properly functioning mental faculties would be able to come to this conclusion! Hell, the other two heroes aside from the Spear Idiot supported him — or at least gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"L-Lord King? Is this true?" Raphtalia glanced at her lord, awaiting some answers. She had hoped it was just a simple misunderstanding.

No! Her Lord wouldn't commit such heinous acts! He may look intimidating, but he was always kind and helpful, with a heart of gold — willing to sacrifice himself to save as many villagers as he could! This was definitely some grave misunderstanding!

"Of course not. You were with me the whole time, weren't you, Raphtalia? When would I have the time to do that?" Furthermore, why would he do it? Hurting an already disabled person? Only the lowest of the low would do that — not to mention, he didn't know how to make or handle poisons. The mushroom shield he had increased his alchemical ability, but the recipes they gave were only beneficial potions.

"How dare you!? Not only did you raped her, you even disfigured my daughter after she fought back! On top of that… attempting to evade judgment!? That's too far gone, even from you… you demon! You are no hero. You do not even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath! You're just a criminal! A brute! A poisonous snake! I've tolerated enough! Heroes! Please, dispose of him! Protect the country and her people from this devil!"

"Sigh…"

Well, this explained many things. Why the old king didn't bother with a trial, only going by Myne — or Malty's word. After all, she was his daughter! Even if the offender was a hero, her daughter accusing him of rape would pretty much fill his vision red with anger. Still, he was a king of a country. He should've had a clearer mind and judge things fairly. Speaking of; as he was her father, surely he knew about his daughter.

Maybe the sleepwalking was nothing, but maybe she only started hallucinating and having strange nightmares after she joined his party? Was the cause of that the massive balloon wave that basically ran over her? If so... this whole fiasco with the rape accusations leading to his terrible reputation was probably just caused by his bad luck.

"..." For a long time, there was no movement from anyone — as they simply looked at each other in confusion and uneasiness, hesitating to raise arms against this man, waiting for the first person to take action before following them.

"What are you waiting for?! Get him!" Roared Aultcray, fuming. "As your king, I command you!"

The guards started to close in hesitantly, still trying to keep their distance. But suddenly the 'terrible noise' — which according to the rumors, annihilated the wave with every beat — started to echo in the ballroom!

[ドドドドドドド Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! ドドドドドドド]

"So, you're ready to fight…? You're willing to even endanger innocents?" Motoyasu was visibly wary, sweating nervously, his spear pointed against King. The nobles pampered on hand and foot didn't notice it, but a few nearby soldiers and battle-worn members of the nobility noticed the slight trembling occurring all over the Spear Hero's body at this moment. This man was holding back, waiting for the moment the first strike would connect... before erupting.

"I'd rather avoid conflict if I could…" King's voice was cold and monotone, like his face mirroring his usual stoic nature. "But I will protect myself if necessary…" With that statement, his body seemed to grow tens of times larger, and when asked, some members attending the banquet would swear that they saw tens of thousands of wailing monsters trampled beneath the foot of the mighty being that was King.

Combined with the thunderous roar of the 'King Engine', it was enough to make even the most courageous — or blindly stupid person run in the opposite direction as fast as they could. The people in the hall slowly backed away, to avoid being annihilated by this 'man'. Though he had the status of a hero and said that he would rather avoid conflict... there was no helping the fear they felt. Even if a dragon was resting and merely laid eyes on a rabbit, the rabbit would want nothing more to be anywhere but where it was.

"Ren! Itsuki! Help me out!" Motoyasu looked at his fellow heroes, requesting their help. Yet, to his surprise, the Bow and Sword heroes didn't budge.

"What are you waiting for!? We can finally overcome him if we work together! Don't let your fear overcome you! The heroes will always win!"

'How brave!' — thought many of the nobles in the hall, never seeing a day of conflict in their life. 'How delusional...' — thought a few that could see the situation for what it was.

For King, it just sounded cheap and unoriginal, like it was stolen from a stereotypical fantasy book.

"I'm not suicidal…" Muttered Ren, even turning his gaze away.

"I'd rather not pick a fight unless it's necessary…" Sweated Itsuki, refusing to lend a helping hand. "And besides, the girl beside him said that she wasn't a slave. It's possible your companion is the one lying, or simply just wrong about it. Don't forget, she was wrong before..."

"L-Lord Motoyasu, I'm not, I swear!" For Myne, lying came as naturally as breathing, and everyone who knew her for some time knew about that.

"What is this!? Is there only one proper Hero willing to protect my daughter's chastity and honor?! Is the Hero Motoyasu the only one courageous enough to raise his weapon for the princess and the kingdom's defense?!"

Many would have laughed after hearing Aultcray talk about Malty's 'chastity'. Of course, they would've laughed, if not the intimidating presence of the Shield Hero, and the risk of the king punishing them for this grave offense. If anything, the king was known for blindly siding with his daughters all the time, with Malty taking full advantage of this.

"Fine, then! If the heroes will not help, then it's up to us to remove this threat! Guards, help Lord Motoyasu! Protect your country and king! End this monster once and for all!" Ordered Aultcray with a bellowing voice, fury radiating from his eyes. The very existence of the Shield Hero that raped his daughter was a complete affront to his very being!

"..." Just like Motoyasu, the armed guards were uneasy about raising their weapons against the rumored monster who annihilated the wave. The man who defied the king ever since he arrived in this world, and getting away scot-free!

"Lord King…!" Raphtalia unsheathed her sword, standing before King, ready for battle. She was uneasy, true, but she would not abandon her savior in this critical moment! If they were to die, they die together!

[ドドドドドドド RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! ドドドドドドド]

"So… you really want to fight?" Now, the expression of the Shield Hero was clearly expressing irritation. Just one step further... and he would unleash his supreme might.

If they fail to defend against him — and the rumors about this man were true, he was probably going to annihilate their whole country! Worse! Ending their families and friends with absolute, merciless brutality — everything that was dear to them! In front of that prospect... was surrendering to this man that much to ask?

"Sigh… how bothersome." King tilted his head, his neck cracking audibly.

This move, of course, came from his annoyance and sheer exhaustion rather than a 'preparation' for battle.

The fact everyone misunderstood his intentions and challenged him without any proper reason was tiresome.

Why!? Just once, why couldn't people listen to what he had to say? Why do they always over-exaggerate!? Why couldn't they just be normal!?

"Keep your guard up… he's preparing for an attack." Muttered the leader of the royal guards, raising his sword defensively.

For the people around them, the Shield Hero's annoyed visage was a grave warning! The message to any 'pesky flies' that dared to attack this 'giant'!

"If you fly too close to the sun, you'll end up burning yourself!'

Everyone around him had depicted King's stance and 'bored' expression that way!

"What are you waiting for!? Attack!" Ordered Aultcray once again, yet no one responded. No one was suicidal enough to sacrifice their lives to fight a being that would only defeat them in the most despairing way possible!

"Lord Motoyasu! Please, defeat him for me!" Malty urged the Hero of the Spear with her rasping voice, yet, when Motoyasu looked at the Shield Hero, he couldn't even muster up the courage to actually attack him!

"I-I…" Motoyasu uttered, remembering what happened at the church. Especially the Shield Hero's words before they parted ways.

"… Consider your next actions carefully…"

King's words echoed in his mind, making his previous determination to face King all but evaporate.

Had he seen through all of this? Had he planned out everything that has happened until now? Just what kind of monster was he to be able to predict the events that would occur so far!?

"Why are you people continuing this farce?"

"What!?" Aultcray eyes widened upon hearing King's words. A question that was seemingly aimed at him.

"How dare-"

"I've done nothing to your daughter from start to finish. She does not have any proof that I raped her, nor can she prove that I poisoned her. Yet, you don't bother listening to reason, just taking her word for it. It's starting to get annoying."

[ド Rumble! ド]

"Urk!" Aultcray backed down and fell back onto his throne. That penetrating gaze King sent his way was so piercing he felt a crushing presence looming over him. As if he was a dragon looking down on a rat, King's presence was crushing and overwhelming even the bystanders that were simply in the vicinity!

"It's obvious. She probably has some sort of mental problem, maybe from some kind of trauma. I'd offer to help her, but I'm not a professional in this matter. I'd advise for you to seek help for her before her mind degrades any further." King gave his truthful opinion. Though he wasn't a psychologist or anything of the sort, it didn't take one to tell she had a problem.

Though, if you asked him, Aultcray wasn't exactly in the best mental state, either. He seemed to be a smart person... though he was either getting on in years, or the stress of ruling a kingdom was getting to his head.

"How dare you!? I'm not crazy!"

"Well, a mentally ill person would never admit that they're mentally ill — that, or they wouldn't even think that they have a mental problem in the first place." King deadpanned, earning a slight chuckle from Raphtalia and some muffled laughter from the people that heard him. They then quickly silenced themselves once they realized they were still in the vicinity of King himself.

"Grrr... Papa, please, execute him!"

"Malty, I…" Aultcray was both furious and desperate to look for any help he could get! He couldn't allow this monster to attain victory! Not this time, nor any other time after this! One 'loss' was terrible enough for him to swallow!

"Heroes! If you can defeat him, I'll give you everything and anything you wish for! Treasures, titles, land, even the hand of my daughter!"

"R-Really!?" Motoyasu blinked, eyes wide open. To obtain so much by just winning a duel? Oh, wait. He had to face the Shield Hero — which was no different from committing suicide, especially if he was fighting him alone.

"On my honor as the king of Melromarc! All you want, all I can grant will be yours! Just remove this monster, in the name of justice!" Aultcray pointed at King, displaying utter hatred for the Shield Hero.

Sighing, King has had enough. What did he do to deserve this? Accused by the princess of the country that was mentally scarred by the attack he brought onto her by accident, and condemned by her father — who was blinded by both familial relations with the accused, and his own mental problems — either by age, or stress.

"Well, even so…"

"Lord Motoyasu, if you defeat him…" Malty whispered in his ear. Though Motoyasu turned slightly green, looking slightly nauseated.

But it didn't surprise anyone for anyone standing near Malty in this closed space. The princess had quite an odor from the cream the healers embalmed in her body to stop the rot. The poison that affected her was a special one that couldn't be removed by magic.

"I-I'll do it!" Motoyasu gulped, firmly grabbing his spear.

Maybe it was the rewards? What Malty whispered in his ear? Or even the willingness to end this 'grave threat' that threatened the whole kingdom that made the Hero of the Spear act? Whatever was the reason, Motoyasu gathered all his remaining courage, standing firm against this unbeatable opponent, and raised his spear.

"I-I challenge you!"

"Sigh…" King saw this coming from a mile away, though it didn't make the situation any better. "You are sure you want to do this?"

"Y-you heard me! Now stand your ground, and fight!" Motoyasu pointed his spear against King once again, filled with rage and determination — and fear. Mostly fear.

"The fool…"

"This obviously won't end well. Shouldn't we help?"

"He's digging his own grave at this point. Even if the three of us joined forces, I doubt we'd be able to last more than a minute against that monster. I would rather not get involved." And thus, Ren and Itsuki decided to stand on the sidelines, observing how Motoyasu was going to get out of this mess.

"As I've said before, I don't want to fight…" King said, exhaling.

"You coward! You don't dare to fight me — to face justice?!" Most of the words uttered by Motoyasu were just to hype himself up. He was more than willing to bet money that this monster was just toying with him. With how brutally and efficiently he dispatched the Chimera during the wave, this man reveled in battle, craved the brutality he could inflict!

"Hmph. Taunting me won't work." King simply shrugged the insult and taunt away. Of course, there was no way the taunt was gonna goad him into fighting him. After all, two-thirds of what he said was true. He was a massive coward, and he obviously didn't want to fight him. Motoyasu had a spear, and he had a shield. One was used for attacking, and the other was usually paired with a sword for maximum effectiveness. But due to some stroke of sheer idiocy, he didn't get a weapon and was instead stuck with a shield that was only good for bashing enemies to death. Don't even get him started on the range he had.

Thus it was simple… his answer was a big, fat, no.

"Come, Raphtalia. We're leaving."

"Yes, Lord King." The girl nodded without saying anything more, glaring at the Spear Hero.

Though she still didn't understand why her Lord didn't answer the challenge. Why did he allow the other Hero to insult him so easily?

Her lord could probably easily squash his opponent — she could tell, with how easily and quickly he took care of the Chimera. But it was his decision. Maybe he was right. There was no need for further conflict on the same side. The wave had taken enough lives already. Or was there an entirely different reason he had that she doesn't yet realize? She needed to think about this further.

"Stop right here, Shield! I gave you no permission to leave!" Roared Aultcray, even going as far as to stand up.

"Is that so…?" King turned towards Aultcray, his glare reinforcing the fear he had for him, but Aultcray beat it back.

"If you do not accept this duel, everyone in this country will hunt you down! You will have no place to hide in my walls. I'll make sure of that!"

"As if this is any different from what you've already ordered." His life was hard enough as is. Now, he had to deal with bounty hunters?

"This is just getting ridiculous…" This entire charade started to resemble a badly written story from a book.

"Don't be stupid! I doubt I can even defeat him in the first place!" While it was true that he leveled up greatly during the passing month.

He could even say that if he didn't have any stupid restrictions with a weapon and was allowed access to his skills, he could probably even take down a Demon-level threat back home!

After a quick comparison and calculation, he concluded, he had stats high enough to compare to some of the more ridiculous people in his world, yet his attacking power was barely half the supposed value.

"It was strange how things worked in this world…"

Getting back on track, though he was definitely getting stronger, this guy was a fellow Hero, with most likely more levels and skills than him! How was he going to fight against that!?

"I don't think I'm gonna die, especially with my durability... but still, I don't want to get hurt!" Not speaking, Motoyasu might have skills to right away ignore defense, he needs to look out for that.

"I believe in you, Lord King! Show him your true power!"

Her too!? This girl was going to be his death one day. Raphtalia put too much faith in him — like the people back in his world. If she were to come with him, she'd fit right in with the fan club.

"Silence, demi-human! You should be cheering for Lord Motoyasu! He's fighting your freedom!" Malty shouted, pointing at Raphtalia.

"As I've said before, Lord King freed me! He's the one that saved me from death and slavery. This whole thing about my slavery is just a misunderstanding! No matter what happens, I'll stand by my lord!"

"Tsk! Damn demi-human... Lord Motoyasu, it seems that the Shield Hero has brainwashed the poor girl, using some kind of mind control..."

"Don't worry. I'll free her…" Motoyasu nodded with a stern expression.

"...Are you even listening to yourself right now?" Mind control? Brainwashing? What the hell were they talking about!? The rumors were just getting worse and worse.

"I doubt my class could even do that…" Or better yet, he had never met a tank character in games or manga that was able to mind control others! That was more like a mage thing, and even then, a specific subgroup.

"Go on, Lord King. I know you can do it!" Raphtalia nodded, supporting King from the sidelines.

"Sigh… Fine. You asked for this." What could he do? Just walk away? Yeah, that might work. But what would the kid say? Actually, she might just go ahead and say something along the lines of 'You don't deserve to even fight him! Come back when you're strong enough!'. But what if that crazy king went forward with his threat? If that happened, he would probably have nowhere else to hide and would die sooner than he could find a way to get home. Then again, even if he won, this guy might just send assassins after him anyway.

"I'm already on his bad side... getting him to send assassins after me is the last thing I need." It just made King remember those stalker fans who always followed him around that wore weird ninja costumes. "I gave them an autograph after telling them to sod off… they were creepy as heck!"

Ever since then, he hadn't seen them around, which reinforced the fact that they were probably fans, happy to return after getting an autograph from their 'idol'.

"Wonder what happened to those guys…"

Except, assassins and bounty hunters wouldn't stalk him for his autograph, but to kill him and collect the bounty on his head!

"I really don't want that…" King inaudibly gulped. Even the thought made him tremble.

[ドドド Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! ドドド]

"So you're ready for a fight! Good..." Motoyasu took a stance as King made his slow advance.

Painfully slowly, King looked like he was carefully calculating each step. His expression unmoving, his piercing eyes never leaving Motoyasu and his spear for a moment.

"… Let's get this over with already." If he had to die, he would want to die painlessly, at least. Or should he just fall on his knees and beg? Yeah, they might beat him up, but at least he'd survive. Actually, no. They already thought of him as a 'devil' and a 'threat that needed to be purged'... if he surrendered, there was no way they were letting him off.

"I am sorry, Raphtalia. If only fate would bring you a more competent savior…"

At that moment, King stopped from what he judged was an appropriate distance. Silence descended on the whole ballroom. Neither one of them moved, waiting for the other to strike first.

[ドドド Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! ドドド]

"Look, if I could…"

Motoyasu didn't even wait for him to finish his sentence. He just charged at him, spear raised to pierce him.

With a practiced move, King raised his Shield to block the strike, yet, strangely, Motoyasu evaded before the hit could connect, as he started to sprint around him, rapidly zigzagging in a chaotic pattern.

"What is he doing… is this some kind of tactic?" King was surprised. He even lowered his guard, confused. Not to mention... Was it just him, or was he moving... slower than he expected? In fact, he was moving at a speed that... well, he could achieve himself.

For some reason, the Spear Hero always pulled back before he could actually land a hit on him while sprinting around him. He simply threw light jabs that always missed their mark — creating craters around the Shield Hero.

From time to time, he got close, raised his spear to stab again, then backing away. King simply stood still, confused by what Motoyasu was doing. The only move he did was raise his shield to block the jab, but Motoyasu backed off, just jabbing hits that landed always near him He could even say that if he didn't have any stupid restrictions with a weapon and was allowed access to his skills, he could probably even take down a Demon-level threat back home — nowhere on him!

Was this some kind of tactic? Was he trying to catch him off guard? It was extremely weird!

"Could it be… he's just warming up?" King couldn't tell what it really was. If anything, he had his theories. But, they were just that. He didn't know what was in Motoyasu's mind, nor what he was attempting to do. Still, warming up was a bit of a stretch. Those movements didn't seem like any kind of warm-ups he knew of.

The few times he attempted to exercise back in his original world, he once made a mistake by not warming up. This, of course, always left him extremely strained and nearly immobile for the rest of the day. The sad bit was that he couldn't do as much as ordinary people could. Well, this wasn't a surprise to him. He was always below average in athletics.

"Maybe I should try doing some…" He muttered, doing some basic stretches. After all, he didn't want to strain his muscles again. It was bad enough he didn't try doing so before the wave started. As expected, he was exhausted and could drop dead at any moment after the wave ended. Stretching while a duel was underway was just plain suicide, especially if it was a fight to the death, but even so... there was no way this guy would aim to kill, right?

"What is he doing?" Asked some members of the peanut gallery, confused upon seeing the erratic movements of the Spear Hero, and the relaxed Shield Hero, confident enough to stretch in the midst of battle.

'Stab!' 'Stab!' 'Stab!' 'Stab!' 'Stab!'

"Dammit! Stop!"

Motoyasu tried his best to land a hit on King, but The Strongest Man On Earth simply evaded them with his stretching! Or, better said, the Spear Hero always backed away before he could really connect a hit! Every time he thought he could connect a blow, the savage imagery of how the chimera ended in King's hands flashed in his mind, making him back away, to re-plan his attacks.

"What is this!? I can't find an opening!" Every time that 'monster' did those exercises, it was like he was mocking him. It looked like simple stretching, but after what he witnessed a few days ago, he couldn't be sure! He needed to be vigilant, otherwise, he'd end up like that wave boss!

'One slip and it's GAME OVER.' As the Shield Hero's words continued to ring in his ears, he needed to continue making scouting strikes and wait for the perfect opening to strike. Only then can he be sure of his victory.

"Lord Motoyasu! What are you doing!? Just stab him!" Cheered, or rather ordered Malty, becoming more and more impatient.

"Easier said than done…!" Grumbled the blonde playboy, biting his lower lip nervously as he tried to push his legendary weapon to the limit.

"Why doesn't he land a blow?" Itsuki blinked, confused. "But he has a clear target! King's just stretching, even. Motoyasu could just-!"

"Don't be stupid! One wrong move and he's dead! He's waiting for an opening, a chance to land a winning blow!" Explained Ren, his gaze analyzing King's every move. "That's why he didn't attack him directly with those light spears… that monster surely has some counter to them. He's just goading Motoyasu into attacking him so he can brutally counter."

"But he's just standing there and doing exercises…" Sweatdropped the Bow Hero, confused about what was happening.

"You're a fool if you just think that… look at him closely."

King's movements might have looked just like he was doing simple stretches, but the Sword Hero saw through his trick! From the way he moved, it was obvious that he saw through Motoyasu's every move! The way he positioned himself was perfect to avoid all of the previous blows with minimal effort — had they connected, and was prime to launch a devastating counterattack! Motoyasu was wise to retreat and test out his range, otherwise...

Not to mention, it was clear that he was enticing Motoyasu to attack him with how 'open' he seemed. It was too obvious!

Ever since witnessing King's monstrous strength and calculative nature for the first time, he was suspicious of everything this man had done — a suspicion that was only cemented multiple times since then.

"His stance is so full of openings…!"

"No… he has no openings!" Though this room was mostly filled with people who had never seen battle in their life, there were also knights, adventurers, and nobles that have seen their fair share of battles.

Through their experienced eyes, King's stance and movements were as though he was not concerned nor prepared for an attack, as if he wasn't even the one fighting. Yet, once they inspected him closely, they came to the conclusion: He had no openings! His every move was calculated and was intentionally incited to be attacked!

A perfect defense that guaranteed a perfect counter!

The moves of a battle-hardened veteran!

A master of combat!

"Phew... That's better." Finally, King stopped his exercise, circling his shoulders and arms a few times, opening and closing his palms — trying to stretch out any strain leftover from the brief exercise he was doing.

"Graaaah!" This was what he was waiting for! The opening in this monster's defense!

Motoyasu gave it his all! Almost blurring to the outside observers, he appeared behind King's blind spot, raising his spear to end this 'monster' once and for all! The Spear Hero finally mustered all his strength to strike him down! It was now or never!

"[Chaos…]!"

Though, before he could activate his strongest skill, and his spear could penetrate his opponent's nape, something happened! King slightly tilted his head — avoiding the trajectory of the blow by a hair's breadth. It was like he planned-!

"DAMIIIT!" Motoyasu panicked mid-air as King, with minimal movement, had completely dodged where his attack was going to land!

This was his plan! He intentionally left a wider 'gap' in his sea of false gaps, to show the illusion that he was letting his guard down to take the initiative since he wasn't reacting! How far did this man plan ahead?!

"Hmm?"

Time seemingly dilated for the young man as King started to turn in his direction reacting to his shout.

King's palm was still open, and due to Motoyasu's sudden change in action, the weapon's trajectory had also changed, sliding past the open palm. As it happened, the legendary weapon's handle lightly grazed the surface of his palm, which incited King's nerves to instinctively make a fist around the Legendary Spear's handle, closing down tightly!

"Wha-"

According to the rules applied to all Legendary Weapons, each Hero was only allowed to use the same kind of weapon as their Legendary Weapon. If they tried to use a different type of weapon — especially another Legendary Weapon — it would end up being quite unpleasant for them.

Like what happened with King when he tried to equip a sword in Erhard's shop, it would be repulsed by the Legendary Weapon itself, with great force!

"Gack!" The next few events occurred in such a brief period of time that most — if not all of the onlookers weren't able to even fathom what happened!

As the electricity originating from King's Legendary Shield jolted through his arm — combined with the repulsive effect of the Legendary Spear — Immediately, King's muscles convoluted and twitched, making his arm forcefully jerk forward and his grip lock around the spear for a second.

Motoyasu didn't even have a second to think when his eyes met with King's — upside down — as in the next moment, the two weapons' repulsive effect finally reached the point where King was forced to let go the spear, sending the Legendary Spear — with Motoyasu connected to it crashing to the ground with great force.

'Crash!' 'Bang!'

Immediately, Motoyasu was slammed into the ground with such speed and force, his entire body was embedded into the ground, forming an idiot-shaped hole in the ground, spear still in hand. Some of his limbs were in positions they weren't supposed to be in, which was a terrible sight for squeamish people.

This, of course, made him look like a modern art piece — a rather valuable piece in fact. Not many could claim to have the part of the floor where the legendary Spear Hero was completely embedded into after challenging the monster of the Shield Hero to a duel.

"!"

"Argh..." Of course, King didn't register anything that happened. Like some kind of electric shock coursing through his arm, he tried to shake off the aching and numb feeling from his limb.

He had a similar feeling when he tried to equip a sword in Erhard's shop. It was really unpleasant. Though if anything, it hurt a fair bit more.

"Weird…" he clenched his fist a few times before his attention turned to the 'modern art' that Motoyasu and his spear turned into.

"Eh? What happened?" King thought.

"How did he end up like that? I don't remember even touching him…"

"L-Lord Motoyasu…!"

The spectators were shell-shocked at what happened, unable to believe what they just saw. Many were filled with terror upon witnessing King's brutal victory. Though it wasn't a bloodbath or anything of the sort, the sheer brutality and ease at which King literally bodied Motoyasu into the floor with such force he was embedded into the stone floors was still shocking.

"He-He threw him to the ground like a ragdoll…!"

"...!" Itsuki and Ren paled. They rarely witnessed such brutality. They were no strangers to spilled blood — having to spill a lot of monster blood to level up and get materials, but this... this was brutal.

"Huh?" King blinked, turning around, still clueless about what happened. Then, he recognized something in the corner of his eye.

[Excluding their own Legendary Weapon, Heroes cannot equip any other weapon for combat purposes. Especially not other legendary weapons, you greedy prick! IS ONE LEGENDARY WEAPON NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU, YOU DAMN NEET?!]

"How insulting…" King muttered, seeing how even his own Legendary Weapon's supplementary system threw insults at him.

Though he had no idea why the system displays such a message. He didn't equip any other weapon — he wasn't able to, with how the Legendary Weapon treated other weapons he attempted to even hold.

True, he might have touched the spear accidentally, but according to the 'help' section, the effect only triggered if he intended to use other weapons. Like how he could hold a knife and fork, which was technically usable as a 'weapon' if one was desperate. Yet with that, he never had trouble with random shocks of lightning while he had dinner in this world. Only when he would attempt to use something as a weapon, or if he held something that was very clearly a weapon, then would he be shocked, like before. According to his memories, such an event didn't occur during this 'battle'.

Though he did recall how he ended up grabbing something during the duel, which prompted a shock from his shield. Looking at Motoyasu, then the spear in his hand, then the system message... King finally understood what happened. Chances were he accidentally took hold of Motoyasu's weapon, which was grounds to repel the weapon away from him. And with the repulsive force of TWO Legendary Weapons acting in tandem, the extra power was somehow transferred in the direction of the ground, which caused him to literally slam Motoyasu into the ground. The power behind it wasn't just the power of his stats, but the power of two Legendary Weapons repelling each other.

"What a sequence of events..." King thought, in disbelief that such a string of coincidences occurred.

'Gulp!'

While King was piecing together the sequence of events to form a complete picture of what happened, the spectators that had heard him saying: 'How insulting…' Had once more come to a rather ridiculous conclusion.

Before this monster in the shape of a man, they were but mere ants. And ants had no chance against a giant!

"Unacceptable! I will not allow it! I will not allow such disgrace to continue!" Malty had enough! She was humiliated multiple times! She was almost killed! She was even poisoned- by the dagger she attempted to use on King, no less!

She was the first princess of the nation! Yet, she was constantly humiliated by this man! Treated like a joke and laughed at! She would not allow this to go on anymore! She was going to eke out a win, no matter what! She would make this Shield Devil suffer, for whatever it took!

Silently, she prepared a spell, giving her all to overcharge it — aiming to kill! Then, as she aimed at King and was about to release her spell...

"Die, you monster…!"

"Lord King! Look out!" Raphtalia shouted, intending to warn King, as she recognized Malty raising her arm, her spell charging up, but it was too late! The spell was flying towards her Hero.

But at that moment, another miraculous coincidence occurred! King had raised his hand to scratch his head as he pondered how he managed to get out of that alive — his hand with his Legendary Shield on it.

The overcharged spell had landed squarely onto the shield he equipped, and in preparation for the fight, the shield that King had equipped... was a [Mirror Reflector Shield], which had a passive chance of reflecting the attack to the surroundings, negating all damage — true, very minimal chance. Almost less than a few percent...

And with King's immense luck... the passive chance of the attack being entirely reflected... was activated.

With an explosive force that seemed to treat Newton's Third Law like a mere suggestion, the attack was reflected off of King's [Mirror Reflector Shield], the spell fragmenting into smaller, less powerful shots which then exploded in other directions, leaving King entirely unharmed.

[ドドド Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! ドドド]

"What the heck!? That spell was aimed directly at me!" King's heart started to rumble loudly, recognizing that the spell had hit him, but was reflected by the passive ability of his shield.

"Argh!" Meanwhile, Aultcray shouted as one of the fragments of the spell had hit the wall near his throne, making him jump forth. The shockwave that came from behind him increased the range of his jump — massively.

'Crash!'

"Ahhhh!" The kinetic energy from the explosion and his meek attempt to jump forward was enough to throw him directly before King's legs, sliding directly before the Rank 7 S-Class Hero.

"Papa!" Malty shouted in fright, worrying what would happen to her father as he was currently in front of the monster of a man which was the Shield Hero. His guards were too far away to help him, and he was currently under his mercy.

"!" At this moment, King's attention and gaze had slid to Malty as he heard her shout. His glare and the still intensely rumbling King Engine made the girl's legs tremble, and gave in, collapsing on the ground. Immediately, a wet puddle started to gather under her, making the others near her further distance themselves from her.

"Are you alright?" Dismissing the mentally unstable girl, King asked concernedly as he returned his gaze to Aultcray, offering a helping hand.

[ドドド Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! ドドド]

He was still stressed by what happened, but he could at least offer a helping hand.

Making a good impression was important — at least if he wanted this senile old man to stop sputtering nonsense about him.

"Ugh... I suppose, but what-" Realization and terror had filled Aultcray as he looked up. King stared down at him, offering his hand — his hand with the accursed Shield on it. From his perspective, his aura had reached an entirely different level!

"Argh!" Immediately, he backed away. Like a scared beast fleeing backward, he raised his arm defensively. "S-Stay away from me! You monster!"

"Sigh… I was just offering a helping hand." King muttered. What did he do to deserve such treatment? He just wanted to help him out.

"Yeah, he definitely has some sort of mental problem. Maybe it's hereditary?" At that thought, King glanced back at Malty, who was currently stewing in a yellow puddle, some guards helping her up. "If that's so... I guess it wasn't my fault after all. Still, I feel bad for her."

Anyway… Who cast that spell? Better yet… who casts spells without aiming!? It hit him! If his shield wasn't there at the time... even he wasn't sure if his defense was high enough to handle something like that.

"Lord King, are you alright?" Raphtalia ran to her savior, checking on him thoroughly.

"I suppose so… The passive effect of the shield negated all damage," King answered passively. He felt nothing unusual, no injuries or the like. It was a good thing his shield's effect kicked in when it did! If it didn't, he might've been flung back, but at least he wouldn't be too damaged. If anything, the shield reflecting the spell was the best outcome there was — save for the spell never hitting him in the first place, but still.

"Phew! I was worried for a moment, but it seems that you had everything under control — as expected from my Lord." She glared at Malty who had barely gotten up, her expression blank and empty. The girl was most likely pale — or as pale as she could be with her unnatural skin coloration from the poison and her bandaging, muttering to herself hysterically.

"It can't be…! It can't be…! It can't be! T-that monster…! He knew what I was going to do! How did he know? It wasn't my fault, right? Right?"

In truth, Raphtalia wanted to punish that woman who so rudely interrupted her Lord's victory—not to mention trying to kill him with that dangerous-looking spell.

But justice was served thanks to her Lord's peerless calculation! Indeed, who else could predict so far ahead to even have her attempt to attack him in the palm of his hands? Not to mention, her Lord countered the action as if he had calculated the trajectory and outcome a thousand times over!

Hurting her own father was a lesson Raphtalia hoped Malty wouldn't forget any time soon.

"If you say so…" Glancing at the still-unconscious Motoyasu, King walked closer, pulling him out from the ground effortlessly. "Hey, are you alright?" he slapped Motoyasu gently, trying to wake him up.

"Ugh…"

Of course, he didn't answer. He was out cold, his face partly crushed, limbs dangling like spaghetty, groaning in pain. If not for the armor he was wearing, his body was probably in equally bad shape.

"Hmm… if there are any healers around, he needs some treatment." King pointed at the unconscious Spear Hero who fell back helpless as King released him.

Several of Motoyasu's companions ran to the unconscious Hero immediately, dragging him as far away from King as fast as they could, as if fearing that he would rescind his mercy and would finish off the Spear Hero.

"Well then… I've won?" King asked aloud. As there was no other challenger, nor was there any complaint from the senile old king, he assumed that he was currently in the clear.

"Indeed, Lord King, victory is yours. You have protected your honor and me once more."

"I see." Though in his mind, it was far from a victory. All that happened was a string of events that lead to his victory — that didn't have him actually fight at all.

"Well, I guess a win is a win, no matter how it came about..."

Even if it was a fluke of flukes — unlikely to ever happen again, the winner was always the last one standing. Just for once, his luck took a turn for the better, as the sequence of events lead to his victory — albeit one he would never pull on him again. Then again, he was probably not going to be challenged by him anytime soon — though with how his luck usually dictated — once Motoyasu was out and about, he was going to demand a rematch.

"Don't you think that was a bit too excessive?" Itsuki walked up to King, asking with a glare. "Not only did you leave Motoyasu in that state, you even endangered others by reflecting the spell instead of just blocking it!"

"Hmm…" King looked around, inspecting the surroundings. It seems as though no one was injured — a thing he was glad for. Though, the room was destroyed in a few places, a result of the spell that was reflected by his shield. Still, how was it his fault that the spell was reflected off his shield through its passive ability? Actually, where did that spell even come from, actually?

"My shield has a passive effect where it had a chance of reflecting attacks. I can't control when it activates. As for Moto... Motoya... Whatever. About the Spear Hero, well..." King glanced at the still out of cold Spear Hero.

"He was attacking me, and I simply defended myself. In a real fight, a single slip-up is a fatal mistake, turning the victor to the loser in a single moment."

"T-this isn't a real fight! It was-"

"A duel, which was authorized by the king. Is a duel not a fight, just under fair rules?" King said. "Furthermore, this guy certainly didn't plan on holding back. Was I supposed to hold back, so as to not injure him?"

"Y-you were-"

"Fighting him seriously. I respected his will to fight me, so I returned it by also facing him seriously. It is an insult to hold back against someone that is challenging you." King continued his explanation.

"Not to mention, he's a Hero, and so am I. Heroes need to be able to fight and win under any circumstances. If he was ambushed by monsters, would you expect for him to get the same treatment as a duel?"

"That's right..." "The Shield Hero's making sense..." "It's true. When we fought in wars past, we never cared about using unscrupulous means, so long as it meant we won the war." "If the Spear Hero can't win against the Shield Hero... it's just that the Spear Hero wasn't strong enough." "That's what duels are for, after all!"

"W-what are you saying?!" Itsuki said, mortified that the other nobles were actually agreeing with King! Didn't they see how terrible Motoyasu's condition was right now?! "T-this is still just a duel between fellow Heroes! With how injured he is right now, how do you expect for him to fight in the waves?!"

"He can be healed with magic. His wounds aren't serious enough to the point where not even magic can heal it." King countered. "Not to mention, we still have plenty of time until the next wave. He won't be hindered all that much by this."

"And when you mention a duel between fellow heroes, why didn't you say anything when they were the ones to first suggest the duel? I didn't want to fight him, at first. But now when I've won the duel, you complain about it? Tell me, then. If it was wrong of me to fight the Spear Hero, then is he, the one that suggested the duel first, the one at fault?"

"It's true..." "The Spear Hero was the one that suggested the duel, wasn't he?" "And he lost spectacularly... what a humiliation!" "I have to agree with the Shield Hero on this..." "Lord Motoyasu brought this upon himself!"

"T-that is..." Itsuki was speechless. The nobles were being swayed to King's side so quickly! Weren't they just as terrified when King brutally smashed Motoyasu into the ground?! How come they changed their tunes so quickly?!

"Enough. There's nothing more that needs to be said." King said, turning his back on Itsuki, leaving the small blond boy at a loss. This 'monster' wasn't just a brutal fighter — his ability to weave words to sway the people to his side was even more dangerous!

As King walked away, he mentally heaved a sigh of relief, seeing as the Bow Hero wasn't pursuing the matter any further.

"I just ripped most of that one straight from another manga, and some of it was just made up on the spot... Thank goodness he isn't pushing the subject..."

King then approached Aultcray, who was helped up by some other nobles and guards.

"Are you alright? You were flung from quite a distance."

Immediately, the nearby guards formed a wall before the king — trembling before King's imposing form.

"W-What more do you want!? Haven't you caused enough trouble!?" The expression Aultcray had made King remember the expressions of terror that monsters would offer him whenever he was nearby. The times he intimidated monsters into surrendering or just stalling them until another hero arrived, the monsters always had that same fearful expression.

"I just asked if you were alright. You flew quite far from your seat." King pointed at the empty, half-destroyed chair that Aultcray sat in previously, which was partially crushed by rubble.

"That was because of your damn witchcraft! You aimed that spell at me! You tried to kill me!"

"It was that woman, not Lord King!" Raphtalia pointed at Malty, glaring at her. "Like the coward she was, she tried to hit my Lord with that spell after he won the duel! If not for Lord King's peerless reflexes, he would've been hit by the spell instead!"

"It's true…" Ren stepped forward, lowering his head slightly. "Both I and Itsuki can attest to that."

"Ah, yeah. That girl was the one that cast the spell in the first place." Itsuki testified. "King's shield has a passive chance to reflect attacks entirely, which reflected the spell to the surroundings."

"While King's shield did indeed reflect the attack which damaged the surroundings, that girl was the one that shot the spell in the first place. And since even a split part of the spell had such firepower... she was probably aiming to incapacitate, or even kill him."

"Malty, you were the one that fired the spell?" Aultcray said, looking at his daughter with a mortified expression.

"I-I-"

"I see... while it was indeed your fault in interrupting the duel, I presume it was to take some revenge against the beast that raped you," Aultcray said, an understanding look on his face.

"Fine, then. You won this duel fair and square. But this doesn't absolve you of your crimes, Shield Hero!" Aultcray pointed at King.

"Sigh... How many times must I clarify this? I have done no such thing." King said. He was getting tired of this already.

"Tch! You liar! Malty would never-"

"Then it is useless for me to waste any more words." King shook his head, interrupting Aultcray.

"Wha-!? How dare-!"

"You've made up your mind. You'd believe your mentally unstable daughter who has no evidence to speak of, rather than me, backed by evidence. That's fine. It's ok. She's your daughter. I understand. But consider this… we're in the same boat. These waves are a danger to all of us. Not just to me, but you and your whole country — Maybe even your whole world. I don't know what the scale of the waves is but I can tell that they're a danger to everyone. Instead of fighting with each other, we should work together so that we can survive. So everything can get back to normal."

"Hmm…" Aultcray squinted his eyes with anger, but for once, he started to consider the truth behind King's words.

Maybe he was wrong. His country and the world were definitely more important than his hatred and personal grievance he nurtured for so long against the 'Shield Demon'. And come to think of it... there really wasn't any tangible evidence that Malty had to back her, other than her words.

"I, just like everyone else, just want to survive. To find a way to return to my home." Back to his comfortable apartment. To his comfortable bed, his games, and everything else he had back in his old world.

"When your people summoned me here, you took this from me. You tore me away from my world, tore me away from the place and people I cherish. Something that I'm still a little mad about…"

[ドRumble! ド]

His world was a monster-infested world where every corner could have world-ending threats lurking about. Even this world had fewer monsters to worry about, save for whenever the waves would hit. Even then, the strongest monster that there was in the wave wasn't anywhere near a Demon-level threat. Maybe they would get stronger as the waves went on, but even then, he was confident that the strongest monster here wouldn't even get close to the level of a Dragon-level threat.

His world was where his entire existence- the idea behind him was a complete lie, backed by corpses of monsters that were slain by other heroes, or by Saitama. Where his reputation would end the second a monster decides to attack him. Where he would fear that just maybe, just maybe the next day was when the lie came crumbling down.

Still, it was his home where he belonged!

It was his home where he could least enjoy his manga and video games and the basic modern necessities he lacked here! Where he could get air-conditioning, internet, electricity, and everything the modern city person needed! Their lifeblood! His lifeblood!

It was his home where he was born, grew up, spent his life, and where his friends were.

"Even if there are only a few I can really call friends… wonder how Genos and Saitama-bro are doing…"

Compared to that, in this world, he couldn't even find a decent flush toilet! Here? He had to do it in pots or outside behind the bush! There wasn't even electricity here! Granted, it was a medieval-like setting, where there weren't even steam engines.

"Not to mention, my only real companion is a ten-year-old demi-human who has the body of a woman…" This fact never did sit right with him. He knew in his mind that just a few weeks ago, she was a small adolescent child that was about the same age as Child Emperor. After those few weeks, her body developed to that of a teenager's. It was unreal.

Relying on a ten-year-old to fight in his stead made him feel guilt beyond anything else. He had never really taken care of kids before. What if he did it wrong and she became a messed-up adult? In fact, she was already showing signs that weren't supposed to be seen in ten-year-olds. It didn't matter how old she looked, deep down, she was still ten years old!

[ドドドRumble! Rumble! Rumbleドドド]

"Agh..." King's form was seemingly enlarged, and it became even more menacing as the King Engine started to rumble loudly, his expression darkened.

For most, this was the sign of the Shield Hero's willingness to do anything to get back to his world. Some thought that he would even go as far as to erase everyone and everything which stood in his way — Be it the wave or anyone that was foolish enough to attempt to stop him!

But for King, he was just anxious when he remembered how much he left behind when he was summoned here, and how much he missed his old life — even if that life was slowly killing him due to all the stress he experienced daily.

All the misunderstanding the people of his world had about him made things even worse! A misunderstanding… that was starting to infect even this new world!

"Lord King, please…!" Raphtalia stepped close, nudging King to calm down.

"...Sorry. I just want to get home."

"I-I understand…" Raphtalia nodded sympathetically. Though the fact that her Lord wanted to leave hurt her, she understood his feelings. She too missed her home and parents. Sadly, they couldn't come back...

Yet, according to the old man they met, it would be a while before he would be able to get home — her only hope, albeit a selfish one. And even if he did go back, he promised that if he could, he would take her with him! Take her to the world of metal and glass that he told her about that night! A world where people could fly in 'planes' and 'skyscrapers' that made mountains seem small!

"So, think about this. We are on the same side. We, especially now, shouldn't be fighting with each other, but work together, instead. If we don't, we are doomed to fail." King's gaze was unfaltering as he raised his chin, his gaze piercing Aultcray's eyes, testifying his honesty and his capability as a 'true' and 'charismatic' leader.

His unmoving stance and unwavering voice hit everyone at their core, making even those who opposed his mere existence reconsider their standing.

"That's all I wanted to say." All the glares the people aimed at him just gave him creeps, and he had nothing else to say. What else could he do anyway? His stomach was already in a terrible state since coming here, now, it became even worse!

More so since he feared that this crazy king might send assassins after him after what happened!

Yeah… it would be best to leave before any more trouble occurred. If only they had left earlier, this wouldn't have happened.

"Raphtalia, we're leaving." He really needed his stomach medicine.

"Yes, my Lord."

Turning around, King and Raphtalia started to leave. No one dared to stop them, challenge them, or get in their way. Not after the display King showed today, not after his speech!

In silence, the people just watched as the Shield Hero and his only companion leave, leaving the crowd without words.

That day, unknowingly, the 'Strongest Shield' had gained many unknown allies. Allies who unwittingly changed their minds upon hearing King's inspiring speech. People who reconsidered their standing after listening to the reasonable points of that man.

That night was the turning point for many people! A night where the Shield Hero proved his determination and made a promise: He would get home, whatever it takes! He would stop the waves, no matter if he received help or not!

---

A/N:

Well, that's it!

This is the first part of a double chapter (as usual, it get too long, and I cut it two XD)

The second part already typed, comes when proofreaders finished their valiant and hard work!

In the next chapter:

The queen's concerns!

The "King" of echo!

Until next time!

RnR!

Read and Review!

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