The following day, a series of horse drawn carriages sat parked in the main courtyard of the castle. Dozens of people from across the kingdom had come to see the Four Cardinal Heroes as they selected their parties to help them prepare for the coming Waves.
The throne room was packed, various swordsmen, mages and healers were gathered before the king with various nobles along with his advisors lined the walls and balconies waiting for the arrival of the heroes.
At the end of the main room, the large double doors open and the heroes were escorted inside. "We have gathered brave warriors who will fight the Waves with you legendary heroes." said Aultcray, motioning to the gathered men and women before him. "Now our future champions! It's time to begin your journey!"
The warriors began to step forward-
"Wait!" One of the nobles called out, stopping the procession. "Where is the Shield Hero?"
Everyone looked at the heroes and indeed saw that the Shield Hero wasn't present with the Spear, Sword and Bow heroes.
"He's right, one is missing." replied another noble.
"Such disrespect!" added another.
The king looked to each of the other three heroes. "Where is the Shield Hero? Did he not hear the summons?"
"Ash wasn't in the room this morning." said Itsuki, looking around for the older man.
"Heh, probably chickened out and ran. Coward." Motoyasu chuckled while Ren remained stoic and silent.
Aultcray furrowed his brow, wondering how the missing hero had slipped away so quickly. "Then we must continue without him. Now then, it is time-"
The doors to the throne room opened again, again drawing the attention of everyone gathered. Several gasps being heard when the Shield Hero stepped inside. His outfit from the previous day was replaced with a black tactical uniform that had once been worn by Blackwatch soldiers back in NYZ minus the hood and gas mask.
There were other differences as well. The primary color being solid black with red trim along the arms and legs. On the extended shoulder-guard on the right side an imprint of the US flag sat above the sigil of the Marines. And lastly, the holy shield stood out on the right forearm, catching the light coming in through the many windows.
Ash had spent the previous night collecting information in anyform that he could. Sneaking into archives, libraries, anywhere throughout the city that could give him what he needed to understand more about the kingdom and the rest of the world he was now in. Maps, laws, economy, government, cultures, races, everything and anything that wouldn't leave him ignorant and in a rough spot.
One of the first things he learned about was in regards to demi-humans. Essentially regular people who were born with animal traits of all kinds. To say he was angry at some of the things he had learned would be an understatement.
Legalized slavery. Racism against almost the entirety of demi-humans. Blatant corruption of basic laws so the innocent species suffered while regular humans got away scott free. And that was only the tip of the iceberg.
He'd also managed to track down information on the Four Cardinal Heroes, well, three of them at least. It seemed anything to do with the Shield Hero was absent from most public information centers, save for a few brief mentionings.
Almost as if someone was trying to strike said hero from the records.
But he had managed to glean that the Shield Hero was considered a type of heretic by a religious group known as the Church of the Three Heroes because of his stance protecting the demi-humans. And several nobles across the kingdom seemed to fall in with the church's beliefs.
The Evolved had also discovered that each hero had their own kingdom that they fought for long ago, which begged the question why all of them had been summoned to only Melromarc? Ash had started coming to a suspicion that something wasn't right, and all of it led to corruption and political powers.
He continued his intel search until past dawn. Since he didn't need to sleep anymore thanks to his abilities as an Evolved he was able to do so without rest, and when he was finished he had already come up with a plan for what he was going to do.
It was obvious the king and his collective had it out for him, the conversation he'd overheard the night before being perfect proof of this. But if this world really was in trouble, it shouldn't be left in the hands of little punks who were only going to be praised for simply gracing everyone with their presence.
Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki had never seen war. Never seen death and destruction like he had. They were only in this for themselves and not for the people who were in danger. And he wasn't going to sit by while a bunch of greedy, self-entitled pricks benefited from the suffering of others.
They wanted a hero to save them? Then they were going to get one.
But they sure as hell weren't going to expect what he was going to be dishing out.
When the summons for the heroes was made, Ash was ready. Changing his original clothes for his own variant of Blackwatch's soldier armor. Honoring his roots as a US Marine while making a mockery of the former black-ops military.
He then proceeded to show up late for the gathering, refusing to show respect for a false king when it was the man's WIFE who had the real power. Power he was using for his own obvious gain while she was away from her home.
"Shield Hero. How nice of you to join us." Aultcray said with a hint of contempt in his voice.
The Evolved didn't say a word. Coming up to stand beside the other heroes and crossing his arms over his chest. The other three looked at him, waiting for an explanation, but he didn't even acknowledge them with a glance.
Clearing his throat, the king picked up where he left off. "Now then, it is time for our heroes to begin their journey!" The gathered warriors and mages stepped forward, picking which hero they were going to be traveling and training with.
The whole process took a few minutes, they had all made their choice. Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki each had four new people standing behind them…Ash however had no one at his back.
"Man, tough luck. Guess you're not really that popular, huh?" Motoyasu said smugly.
Ash didn't reply. His face devoid of emotion and eyes forward. Being greeted with silence, the spear hero grit his teeth and went to say something else, when one of the girls in his party stepped out of line.
She was a pretty thing. Long red hair and green eyes dressed in white with brown leather armor that accented her figure nicely. "If the Shield Hero has no one, then would it be okay if I joined him?"
Motoyasu looked stunned, "You serious?"
The girl nodded, "Yes. None of our Cardinal Heroes should fight alone."
Ash looked over his shoulder and fixed the girl with a hard look, pinning her in place and making her smile melt away. "Does the First Princess of Melromarc even know how to fight?"
His words caused a ripple effect of shock through everyone. "W-What? How-"
"I spent the entire night learning about this kingdom and its people." The Evolved interrupted the princess. "Malty M. Melromarc, First Princess of Melromarc and daughter to the former Vassal Staff Hero and the TRUE ruler of this nation, Queen Mirellia Melromarc."
King Aultcray gripped the arms of his throne and glared at the former Marine. "Watch your words Shield Hero.".
The Evolved raised an eyebrow, "For showing my respect to her majesty instead of her husband, who from what I can understand, is overreaching in what power he had been given while she's away?"
Standing, the king projected an aura of malevolence over the room that had several nobles shrinking back. "Are you implying something?" he nearly seethed through clenched teeth.
Ash smirked, knowing that he was getting under the man's skin. "Does her majesty know that you summoned all FOUR heroes to ONE nation, when they each had their own nation to defend in the past?"
The three other heroes blinked and turned toward Aultcray who looked as though he'd been caught in some deplorable act. "BASTARD!" Malty screamed, her facade of being sweet and kind long forgotten. "You will show my father the respect he deserves or-" The Evolved was in her face making her stumble back.
"Or what, Princess?" Ash said sharply. "Don't think for a second I didn't see right through you. I've had my fair share of entitled bitches trying to control me."
"You dare speak that way of our King and Princess?!" One of the knights bellowed before charging the Evolved with his spear aimed to run him through.
Ash easily dodged the strike, spun around and delivered a hard roundhouse kick to the man's chestplate. The impact warping the chest armor inward and sending the guard flying across the room until he hit the far wall hard enough to crack the stone.
"Your men lack discipline." The former Marine commented, lowering his leg and turning back to the king. "Let me save you and your congregation time. I don't give a damn what you think of me, your favoritism of the other three is noted, but I'm not going to sit back and allow the people out there to suffer. So let me be clear,"
He looked around the throne room, "I will do whatever it takes to stop the Waves and save as many lives as possible. ALL lives. So either stand with me, or get the fuck out of my way."
The Evolved turned and headed toward the exit. "Oh, and one last thing." he said without turning around. "I don't need a group of useless cannon fodder for a team either. I'd prefer people I can actually trust to watch my back." With that said, he left the throne room, leaving Aultcray and the other nobles seething with anger.
None more so than Malty Melromarc, whose personal plans had been effectively shot to hell in front of everyone.
X
After leaving the castle, Ash walked along one of the many busy streets. Garnering attention from several passersby given his unusual armor, but the Evolved was more concerned with the next steps he would be taking.
The next Wave would be coming in the next three weeks, four days according to his status screen. And even though his powers as an Evolved would be more than capable of handling anything they would soon be coming, he had learned that only the holy weapons of the Cardinal Heroes can end the Waves indefinitely.
With his shield being only Level 1 at the moment, he'd need to start strengthening it as much as possible in order to end the threat. And since this world was similar to that of an RPG game, the only way to do that would be to keep killing enemies until his holy weapon was ready.
Goal in mind, the former Marine took a runner's stance before taking off with the speed of a cheetah, kicking up dust and causing a small gust of wind in his wake which stunned the citizens around him. When he reached the end of the street, the Evolved condensed biomass to his legs before leaping high into the air. Reaching the apex of the powerful jump, he snapped his arms out and began to glide through the air, clearing the city and entering the wooded areas beyond.
Finding a safe landing area, Ash dropped from the sky and landed with a minor earthquake. Scaring several animals into their hiding places before standing up and looking around for anything hostile.
Eyes tinting red, the Evolved released a hunter-pulse. The echo coming back seconds later and letting him know that there was prey nearby. Gaze snapping left, a cluster of orange, yellow and red orbs with jack-o-lantern faces came rolling and hopping out of the nearby bushes.
The Bestiary he had looked into classified these things as "Balloons", and were considered one of the weakest monsters in the world.
Not exactly what he was looking for to get his shield's level up, but everyone had to start somewhere.
Raising his right hand, a flurry of red and black tendrils covered his arm, changing it into a long thin blade. Whether the Balloons registered the coming danger they didn't show it as they all growled and lunged at the Evolved.
Ash smirked before slashing his minor blade through the air, slicing clean through four of the creatures. Their rubber-like skin offered no protection against the wicked blade.
+4 EXP Flashed across his vision, letting him know that each creature was only worth 1 point of experience. But with the sheer number of them converging on his location, it wasn't a terrible thing.
Rolling his shoulders, he began hacking and slashing every Balloon that got within range. Within a minute, his shield leveled up. Then again after another three. By the time he reached Level 4 all of the Balloons were dead, their deflated remains scattered around the clearing.
Shifting his arm back to normal, Ash brought up his shield and absorbed all of the monsters' corpses into his inventory. The skill-tree for his weapon appeared with various branches attached to it, with each Balloon remnants it took in, the closer it came to unlocking a new shield variant based off the enemies he'd taken down.
Once things were cleaned up, the Evolved let out another hunter-pulse before taking off after more prey.
X
The sun had just started to set by the time Ash began making his way back to the city. His shield now at Level 8, halfway to Level 9, thanks to the abundant amount of enemy creatures in the surrounding forests and grassy fields.
And with the resources he had collected, he could start collecting an income as well. Not that he needed anything in terms of armor or weapons, but it would be a good thing to have at least some currency on him just in case.
In addition, he'd managed to unlock two different shield variations. One of which was unlocked when he was experimenting with the holy weapon's absorption ability. The 'Leaf Shield' was able to strengthen the quality and effects of any plants it came in contact with, so the Evolved walked away with a large collection of herbs that he could potentially sell to the local apothecary for a good price.
The Evolved had cut off a small piece of himself to be absorbed into the shield, but the holy item rejected the sample almost instantly. It seemed despite being able to use the shield and his Blacklight abilities, he couldn't fuse the two together. But it had been worth the attempt at least to know the limits.
"Come on! Get these animals moving!"
Ash snapped his head to the side when he heard a loud voice cut through the night. Narrowing his eyes he ran in the direction it came from until he came upon a dirt road. A horse drawn cart surrounded by a half dozen men wearing rough looking armor and weapons was heading in the direction of the kingdom.
In the back of the cart, several cages could be seen with various demi-humans enclosed in them. Dressed in rags looking sick and malnourished, eyes devoid of hope as they were forced to go along with their captors.
Eyes flashing red with his mounting anger, Ash was reminded of what Blackwatch had done to the people of New York in the name of Gentek's sick experiments. Caging innocent people like cattle for slaughter for their own sick ambitions.
Even though he learned about such practices in this world, seeing it right in front of him made the familiar urge to kill rear its head. There was no way in hell he was going to let this stand.
Sticking to the shadows to avoid detection, the Evolved moved ahead of the convoy before stepping out into the center of the road. Causing the slavers to stop.
"The fuck is this?" asked the one leading the group. "Hey! You're in our way! Get out of here if you know what's good for you!"
"I have a counter offer." Ash said coldly. "Release those people, and I'll let you walk away with your heads attached."
The men all laughed, "What 'people'? You mean these pathetic animals?" one of the slavers said, smacking his sword against one of the cages, making the two demi-humans inside flinch and scurry away from that side. "You don't know what you're up against, so you best get out of here before-"
Blood exploded through the air, the one that had been speaking stood wide-eyed before looking down to see a long tentacle of red and black flesh covered in shining metal spikes sticking out pierced through his chest. A sharp, hooked blade sticking out of his back dripping crimson onto the dirt beneath him.
Standing with his whipfist extended from his left arm, the Evolved turned his icy stare toward the other slavers. "This isn't a negotiation. Release those people." he lashed his arm, slicing the man clean in half before retracting it back to him. "Or you'll find yourselves worse off than your friend."
The lead slaver grit his teeth, "Kill this freak!" The others readied their weapons and charged.
Ash shook his head, shifting his arms into their claw forms and lunging forward. The razor sharp blades cleaved through flesh as easily as wet paper as he cut the first two down with one pass. Grabbing a sword in one of his transformed hands, he snapped the blade at the hilt before backhanding the wielder hard enough to send him crashing into a nearby tree.
Throwing the broken blade at another slaver that had been charging at him, the sharp metal spinning in the air like a deadly propeller as it took the man's head clean off.
The leader of the slavers stood frozen, sword shaking in his grip after seeing all his men killed in a matter of seconds. Ash set his sights on the last man standing and began to skulk toward him.
"S-Stay back you freak!" the slaver bellowed, trying to keep the fear from his voice and failing. The Evolved closed the distance quickly, slashing with his claws and taking the man's arm off at the elbow. The slaver didn't have the chance to scream before his neck was gripped in the former Marine's other hand.
"Where did you get the slaves?" Ash demanded.
"F-Fuck you! Don't you know? It's not illegal to sell these animals-GAH!" The man felt the grip on his throat tighten.
"I don't give a fuck about what people think should be legal. Now, tell me what I want to know. Or I'll TAKE what I want to know." said the Evolved.
The slaver smirked despite the pain and blood loss, "I ain't saying shit. Do your worst!" The grin he received from Ash made his blood run cold.
"If you insist." the former Marine. His other clawed hand came up and wrapped around the man's head. A second later, blood and gray matter exploded through the bladed fingers before the body was shrouded in red and black tissue and absorbed into the Evolved's body.
"How much we getting for these freaks again?" asked one of the slavers moving the cart.
"Enough for a few rounds, at least. Business is business." replied another.
"Shut it! Get these animals in their cages. Idol Rabier is paying us well enough to get them to Castle Town in a few days. So get a move on!" Ordered the leader.
Images of a castle-like structure appeared followed by a portly blonde man with a sadistic smirk holding a whip sitting on a throne. Then images of starved, beaten and sick demi-humans could be seen locked in cages.
Ash finished soaking in the man's memories with a growl rivaling an angry wolf.
Idol Rapier, a governor over his own territory in Melromarc. A sadistic bastard who gets sick pleasure out of torturing innocent demi-humans regardless of age. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to track the man down.
Whimpering brought the Evolved out of his musings and he saw the demi-humans in the cart looking at him with pure terror. After seeing the way he killed the men who were planning to sell them, they feared what he would have in store for them.
The former Marine approached the cart, the demi-humans scurried away in response…only to be shocked to see him cut the locks on the cages and open the doors. "Are you all well enough to move?" he asked softly, shifting his arms back to normal and trying to be as non-threatening as possible.
One of the demi-humans, a man with darker skin and a pair of wolf-ears on his head, swallowed. "Y-Yes. But they haven't given us any food or water in a few days."
Ash nodded before he knelt down and started going through the remains of the slaver's he'd killed. Finding several bags containing an array of copper, silver and a small amount of gold coins. "Give me an hour, I'll be right back." he said before taking off at a speed that had the captives blinking in awe.
A few minutes shy of an hour later, the Evolved returned to thankfully see the demi-humans still there. A couple of them had taken shoes, weapons and a few articles of clothing from the dead slavers. Several tensed at his sudden arrival, but that morphed to confusion as he set down a couple of large bags.
"There's enough food and water here to last you a few days. Is there anywhere you can go that is safe?" he asked.
"My village is a day's travel from here." said a skinny woman with a cat's tail. "These…men grabbed me on the side of the road just the other day when I was foraging in the woods." she hissed while kicking one of the bodies. "We should be able to accomodate refugees. But some of our group won't make the journey on foot."
Ash nodded, approaching the cart, he grabbed the cages and tossed them out. Startling the horse that was pulling it and surprising the former slaves at his strength. "Anyone know how to drive this thing?"
"I do." the first man he talked to said with his hand raised.
"Why are you helping us?" one of the other women asked as she was helping some of the younger demi-humans get something to eat and drink from the supplies given to them.
The Evolved sighed, "Just because you have animal features, doesn't mean you should be treated like them. The only real animals are the bastards that caged and tried to sell you, and I intend on going after the one behind it."
"But, the laws of this land-"
"Fuck those bullshit laws!" Ash shouted, quieting down when he saw that he had scared the former slaves. "Where I come from, ALL people are meant to be treated as equals. It doesn't matter who or what you are or how you look, it's the context of one's character that defines a person."
The small speech had left the demi-humans stunned, having never heard a human speak up for them in such a way. Then they took notice of the shield on his arm.
"You…You are the Shield Hero?" asked one of the former slaves.
Ash nodded, "I am." Once the cart was empty, he helped the weaker demi-humans up inside before loading the supplies in as well. "Do you think you can make the journey?"
"We should be fine. Provided that we don't run into bandits or slave hunters on the road." said the wolf demi-human who was now at the cart's reigns. "We cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us."
"Get yourselves to safety, that's all that matters. I'll be sure that something like this doesn't happen again." The former slaves gave their thanks as they cart that had been bringing them to be sold was now taking them somewhere safer.
Keeping an eye on them until they were out of sight, Ash turned his attention to a particular direction. The slaver's memories giving him all the directions he needed to go after the sick bastard that had been paying them.
Eyes glowing red in the dark, he shot off into the forest. Taking to the air and gliding toward the Rabier Territory.
X
In a dark, cold dungeon cell. A little girl no older than 10 sat curled up in the corner, dressed in rags and hugging her knees.
The raccoon ears utop her head twitched as she heard the screams of agony from somewhere else in the dungeon followed by the laughter of the one causing it. The girl curled tighter in on herself, coughing softly into her knees as the screaming continued.
All the while hoping that somehow, someway, she would be saved. That she would be free.
X
A/N: Lines have been drawn, and Ash is preparing to got to war with the sadist known as Idol Rabier. But the real question is, will the slave owner be ready for the hell that will soon be kicking down his front door?