The Devil and The Shield

by Kerghan-MB

A/U Crossover- Before the summoning of the Four Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc a secret summoning was conducted by the three Heroes Church to summon their own 'holy warrior' a powerful source of magic. Except that summoning brought with it a protector/friend/and lover to her side. At the same time Naofumi is stripped of Raphtalia by the King and forced into a fight he can't win. (MA)

8. The Waves

Chapter 8: The Waves

A/N: sorry for the delay but here's another chapter, I hope everyone is still enjoying it.

It was quieter than normal, perhaps it was a bit more awkward considering the wagon was filled with a royal princess, a thousand year old mage homunculus, and a Hero wielding a shield all being pulled by a massive Fiololali that would make the trip even more unique.

Except two identities were hidden from the separate parties. Elias sat alongside Naofumi in the front of the wagon, his magical face shielding everyone from his true visage, while Princess Melty did not feel it was important to tell anyone who she was directly other than a nobleman's daughter.

Melty no longer had her mother's letter and she couldn't exactly recall what her mother's instructions had been about a monster traveling with the Shield Hero. Melty wondered, 'Did she mean that the Filolaili was the monster?' But that was impossible. She loved Filo and she very much believed that her mother wouldn't call such a creature a monster either. That didn't make any sense.

Which only left… 'Elias…' The princess kept her eyes firmly looking right in the back of the mage. There wasn't anything outwardly threatening about the man in his appearance and demeanour. He was actually quite pleasant for an individual, a nice smile, accent, and other than that a handsome gentleman.

But…

The young princess had time to fully think about what had happened prior to this. There had been a monster following the Shield Hero or at least within its proximity, that might be more why her mother had been warning her about a monster in the Hero's party. 'I mean he might be a member but he could be actively following one.'

'I'm not sure what I can do from this position. I don't know if I can completely trust those here and then how can I start fixing all of the problems caused by my father and my sister.' Melty was just pushed into a corner. Her authority was limited and it wasn't like she could just start ordering this group around. The Hero wasn't bound to her command and his mage companion no more so.

It was troubling as she knew the history of the Shield Hero and what he had been accused of. While they were heinous accusations, Melty knew the source. Her own dear Sister Malty and given the word of the Shield Hero or her elder sibling… she'd take the Hero's word.

Plus the Shield Hero had Filo! FILO! She was so soft, fluffy, fun, and amazing there was hardly anything that the young princess could compare too. It was a ringing endorsement in her own mind.

"You seem to be pretty quiet Melty, everything okay?" Naofumi turned over his shoulder to look at her. He had noticed that she was looking at Elias pretty intensely. 'I wonder if she has the same hots for his fake form like the Bitch princess? Perhaps the Nobility all like guys like this for some reason.'

"S-Sorry Sir Shield Hero I was just lost in thought. I was mostly wondering what you were doing all the way out here?" Melty recovered herself, she had to be composed.

"We were actually making our way back to the Capitol when you found us. We just finished cleaning up the dragon's corpse in the mountains a few days ago." The Shield Hero was leaving out the non important details of that battle. Mostly considering he'd been paralyzed for awhile following it by Elias while he recovered his sanity.

The experience had been much more intense than the first time, but he had a fair degree more amount of quote "control" unquote because he had more of a memory of the incident. 'It felt more like a dream than an actual event but I still remember some of it. I remember hearing the dragon talking to him but also he could vividly remember the loss of control. How everything felt like in a dream but at the same time so empowering.' It wasn't until Elias locked him down that he had a chance to begin focusing and attempting to gain control over his own body once again.

Trying not to think about what had transpired while paralyzed Nafoumi had eventually regained complete control, however, he was unsure if he would be able to control himself if put into that form again. The cursed shield that he had gained from Elias had advanced further. Through his display he could see even more powers ready to be unlocked by his new thorn shield. It would be playing with fire to use it again, but if he had no choice it could always be a last resort.

Things fell into silence again, until Elias decided to interject. "Miss Melty."

"Yes sir Lindel?" Her purple eyes now looked at the mage who shifted slightly in his seat, his arm resting on the front of the wagon as he spoke to her.

"You seem to know a great deal about the happenings going on through this area. Perhaps you are familiar with what is going on with the three Hero's church and their new found Saint?" The mage ignored the slight glare he received from Naofumi. Whether he felt it was appropriate or not, Elias wanted to see if he could glean any information. "Surely as nobility you would know maybe a thing or two?"

Melty wasn't entirely sure what he was getting at, but she knew of how much her father and sister were using and perhaps being used by the church she had some information. But she wouldn't divulge much. "Although I've never met her personally, I have heard many great things about her."

"Really?" The mage leaned a little closer despite several feet separating them. "Would you be able to help my curiosity and tell me what you know and if possible… if you might be able to help for a small favor in helping you. Maybe even arrange for us to meet this holy Saint?"

'You're pushing it Elias.' Naofumi thought he was giving away a bit too much, too soon. But the mage didn't seem bothered.

"Well if that is what you would like for a reward I could certainly ask my father for that to be considered but I wouldn't be able to say with certainty that I can promise that you'd get it." The princess wasn't sure of the correlation but there were a lot of people wanting to meet the Saint considering… "Well I'm sure if you two are going to be fighting the waves of Catastrophe you might be able to see her.

"What?" Both Elias and Naofumi spoke, the Hero's head snapping back around completely.

"Well there's a rumor going around that the Holy Mother is going to be fighting the next wave of catastrophe herself. But that of course is just a rumor, no one from the church is saying that it's true but there are a lot of followers that believe that she will be making an appearance. If you are going to the capitol and then to the waves there is probably a chance you'd see her."

Both men looked at each other. "Sounds almost too good to be true." Naofumi said, being a bit skeptical. 'There's no way the church is just going to be out there. They'll use a decoy like before, this has to be an attempt to draw us out.' Thinking of it that way made much more sense. Like a hunter or fisherman, this was merely bait. They were toying with him in an effort to draw the both of them out.

Elias wasn't ready to turn down the chance. "If there is such a possibility we should take it." He wouldn't say it in front of their company so he could tell if it was Chise. Chise had a very distinct mana, one he knew better than any alive. Before his patience had been taken advantage of. He wasn't looking to have a repeat of the last time. He didn't enjoy the idea of being humiliated by those who had taken his beloved.

"Well I hope the two of you don't struggle while fighting the waves. The future of our country and many lives depend upon both of you."

"Don't worry we'll take care of the waves." Smiling, the Shield Hero reassured her that he was looking forward to it. He had gotten a fair bit stronger and it would be a good chance for him, Elias, and Filo to get a proper test of their strength.

Elias then had a small click pop into his head. Due to the chaos of what had occurred it had slipped his mind. But as he thought about the waves coming and an impending fight he had been holding onto something unique. "Oh Naofumi, forgive me but I have something that you might want to see. I had been holding it earlier, but since our guest arrived I hadn't thought of it until now."

"Huh?" Naofumi watched as Elias reached into his cloak and pulled out a large purple shard. It was the size of a person's palm. "I found this with the dragon considering your fascination with gems you might appreciate it."

[***]

"Is this fanfare really needed?" Chise sighed as she was currently being fitted with new clothing. Knowing that it was pointless with these people, she had to be dolled up for some reason or another. She was never one really for makeup or anything fashionable trying to just make it through the day.

So all of this bonus was making her more self conscious. They were applying makeup, blush, and highlights… the works to make her look the best. Not that they didn't try to make her look good most days but today was going overboard. She had her new clothes fixed with magic thread and were form fitting and perfect.

The baggy and often haphazard clothing that she wore with Elias was now just more than a fond memory.

There was one small surprise though, Raphtalia had been fixed up as well. She was sitting with segmented plate armor covering her torso, chest, ankles, and hands. The rest of her body was layered with chainmail and a leather doublet underneath.

She didn't seem to mind it either as she had a longsword resting beside her in its scabbard. Even the iconography of the church didn't seem to bother her either, perhaps she was just content being there and not being treated less than like so many other times. Yet she was calm, the raccoon girl just remained where she was not entirely smiling but not frowning either.

"Just a little longer Saint, we need to make sure you are protected with the finest armor before you go out and we can not afford to have you looking ragged." The blond seamstress who had been brought in to create a set of perfectly tailored clothes had been overly excited to be given an opportunity to show off her talents and make a beautiful set of clothes. Not that the church wasn't paying her a small fortune to make them but she was going to be putting forth her best effort. She had been working diligently constantly making magic thread and then going to work on Chise. Her focus had been on point for several hours as she pinned another section to the teen's back.

A layer of red across her chest, exposing a small part of her navel area. Her shoulders and arms covered in a layer of gold and white going down to her wrists were black stopped just before her palms. The same repeated with the pants she had been given as well, red around her thighs rolling into white around her knees then fading to black around her ankles.

"And... " The seamstress paused, taking a step back, "Perfect! I don't think I could do a better job!"

The three caretaker Nun's Adalee, Etricka, and Nuln were all in the room and didn't seem displeased with Chise's dress though Chise was certainly feeling more like some kind of mage from a video game more than ever before as she looked at her appearance in the mirror.

It was just so foreign…

But the world apparently needed her more and they marched her off from her dressing room and back into the center of the mountain temple. Chise remembered this place when she had brought her some weeks ago. Now after a regime of training she was being sent out into the world to do battle with monsters and stop the waves of catastrophe.

Lines and throngs of the faithful were gathered in mass along either side of the procession. Masses of people were eager to catch a glimpse of Chise, she wasn't given a great deal of time to spend with the worshippers while she had been here.

Her hair had grown longer falling between her shoulder blades of her back but her bangs were trimmed to neatly frame her face with braided locks of her hair hanging on either side of her face. Her red phoenix hair was a religious symbol.

However, as Chise made her way down with Raphtalia both of them felt the presence that had been cause for concern standing just at the end of the red carpet with his "Holy" smile on his face. The Pope was there standing in all of his radiance.

The faithful were not bothered, but Raphtalia kept herself from scowling in disgust and the Saint ignored the shiver running down her spine. He always unnerved her, the status, effects, and other afflictions that seemed to surround him was a disgusting feeling that crawled up and down her body whenever they met.

"Devout Followers of God!" The pope's voice quickly silenced any whispers and sounds from the faithful. "Today the work of so many, your sacrifices, and belief will be visible for all to see, the evil that has come to destroy our world shall be met by God's own beloved Saint. His will shall be made manifest and the waves of the catastrophe shall be scourged from his holy planet. The blessed sons and daughters shall revel in the greatness of our Saint and the wicked laid low for God has sought fit to offer another gift to his most holy of children."

Aghast of rumors amongst the faithful as the pope handed over a small staff, it looked harmless to the eye. "Please take it, it is yours." The pope offered it up to her, bowing his head like he was handing over a sacred relic.

Chise had no idea what it was and just forced a smile and reached out and when her fingers grasped it. A brilliant golden light shined from it, growing from several feet like a cane into a full sized staff. Her own breathing hitched as the staff was one she remembered in shape. 'Nevin…' The dragon that had offered up one of it's branches to become her magical focus after he died and became a tree.

The shape of a bird atop and eyes but instead of a fiery red it glowed a brilliant yellow. Her own mana was pouring into the staff and was taking strength from her- but not just her alone. Motes of mana began to rise up from those gathered.

All their hopes and prayers, the desires within each of them, and the voice within each of them willingly gave up their own energy in the form of mana. Thousands of lights rose upwards and went towards the staff which glowed brightly before becoming a full beacon of glowing light.

Chise felt so much power flowing through her it was incredible. 'I- I could do so much. WIth this much mana… no this much strength there surely couldn't be anything that could stop me!?' Yes. This would be it, with this weapon she could.

"Chise?" Raphtalia touched her shoulder. The moment of reverence and prayer passed over her but there was a glimmer in the face of her dear friend that concerned her. The way her eyes shined with power, the grip on the staff tightened and there showed a face that she hadn't seen before. They were all signals and alarm bells in the demi's mind. "Chise, are you okay?"

"Yea-Yeah I'm fine." The moment broken Chise just looked back at her friend who showed concern for her. Not sure what exactly had taken over her she just pushed it down as a whole new experience of this world. "Sorry for worrying you." She looked back towards the Pope who seemed unphased by all this, he was hard to read at all from his expression.

"Splendid, come faithful, let us see off our Holy Saint and let the wicked be purged by God's blessing. Come my flock sing the graces of our Lord!"

Raphtalia had to cup her ears alongside her head to avoid the ringing that followed when several thousand people began to sing and cheer in earnest. It was frustrating but no one was going to be taking away Chise. So she simply followed behind her, focusing on her presence alone

The raccoon girl hadn't wanted to speak up or seem out of place but she had never seen Chise look so… well nice or good. Sure she didn't look bad but she was glowing with all of the added aesthetics that she had put on. She took in a breath of air and took in the rich smell that was her friend's and friends alone. 'Everyone else believes they understand her? That because they worship her that they can be with Chise? Hah, none of them understand anything. She's amazing and so young but could the church see her for her greatness beyond the holy visage that they just thrust upon her? No, of course not. Chise is perfect and I should be the one to protect her. I am her sword and protector.'

Raphtalia kept her thoughts to herself of course, Chise was very self conscious and wouldn't like those thoughts of her from a friend in her eyes. It was why they trusted each other, because they got one another. Loading up together onto the carriage Raphtalia taking a seat beside the red haired teen as Adalee got in along with Etricka and some other attendants.

Many were going to be following her into battle even if she wasn't going to be in the front lines; her magical abilities were quite the scene to behold.

A scene recounted in their earlier training came back to The long Demi human in the carriage. 'Come on Chise you can do this, we've worked on it together you just have to put it all together I know you can just believe!' Raphtalia felt it, the entire room did as well. The data showing the spell. As source of thy power I order the, decipher the laws of the elements and unleash fiery ruin upon my foe!" A crack that sounded like a rock splitting rippled through the air as above the training floor. From above some twenty meters came a swirling black smoke it spun growing rapidly until the form the cloud a torrent of fire burst through it. The heat was a blazing white. It shot outwards before erupting like a volcano It seared the entire ground in a blinding and dazzling effect. The tower of fire continued for several more seconds before ending and when it was done the entire room held in their gasp.

The rock had melted almost five feet down, the parts that had not melted were now seared completely pitch black. It was exhilarating feeling much like when she had finished her staff and transformed into a phoenix. It didn't have the same accomplishment but still to see such power in her own hands. That was incredible.

Everyone in the room applauded, it was recognition and approval and even if it might be a little hollow Chise did take a moment to smile and enjoy it.

From that moment onwards Chise began to develop her magical talents. Commanding all of the major elements without much pause, though she still specialized in holy and nature magic this was still an impressive accomplishment. It was something she was truly proud of- despite the fact the man who had brought all of this to her wasn't there to enjoy it with her.

Back in the wagon Chise released a sigh holding the head of the staff. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the tops of her palms. 'Elias…'

"Do not worry Holy Mother we shall not abandon you." Adalee said believing their Saint was worried for what was to come. "But if you feel that you can't do it any longer we will step in for you." Her tone lowered slightly, sounding almost motherly. It caused Chise to look up at her, green radiant eyes surprised by the answer. "I know you do not wish to cause pain, God gave you your blessings and if mercy is one of them then we shall accept it and act in your stead."

It was almost a relief, "But didn't you want me to destroy the waves?" Wasn't that the point of all of this.

Adalee shook her head smiling. "No, we wished to prepare you, the Heroes were summoned to be the weapons of war, you are our shield- our protection against-"

"Shield?" Raphtalia looked a the nun, "There is a shield Hero and he does protect people." They were discounting Naofumi, always the disparaging Shield rhetoric.

"The shield Hero has fallen under the sway of darkness before, the others have not, it is why we trust our Saint to be a bulwark and from there the faithful can become an extension of that. An entire people united in their beliefs and will is stronger than any Hero. It is why the pope has entrusted such a powerful weapon to our Holy Mother. She can be the hand of God whether that is to strike down or protect. But I understand that you Demi Humans worship the Shield Hero, while I disagree with such a thought." Adalee's eyes looked towards Raphtalia with a 'I know' look. "But your devotion to our God's gift reaffirms that you will put your faith in the correct location when shown the way."

"Chise is much like Master Naofumi, if you had known him the way I do you would understand."

"I understand enough child, but let's not take our minds from what is to come. We must prepare our mind, body, and soul for what is to come."

[***]

"Damn, it looks like everything is kicking off even faster than I was expecting." Naofumi turned his head away and softly cursed. The sky was already darkening and beginning to rip apart with the evident signs of the waves were already spawning. He hadn't planned his time as well as he had previously thought. " They were only a couple hundred feet from the gate. "This is going to be your stop Melty, we have to get going to stop the waves."

"This will do, sir Shield Hero." Melty dismounted from the wagon standing off to the side of the road as Naofumi undid the bridle on Filo. "When you finish your journey please come to the castle. I will make sure that you are rewarded for your efforts and hospitality."

'Huh? The Castle, kind of a weird place to meet up.' "Sure we'll see you after." Leaving the wagon behind, Naofumi and Elias mounted up. But as they did the loud crash and sounds of battle began to fill the air as the group saw a large descending pirate ship from the sky carried aloft by magics and other hidden tentacle monstrosities.

"Alright let's go!"

"Hold on!" Filo Yelled as the group took off towards the obvious epicenter of the waves of catastrophe.

As they rushed forwards, hordes of undead and lines of monsters were already shambling around. "Elias, think you can thin them out and make our path clear straight to the ship?'

"That I can." WIth ease Elias righted himself into a standing position on Filo's back, his legs shifting and interweaved themselves within the feathers, causing no pain or discomfort to Filo who kept running forward. His arms raised forwards and began to focus, his eyes looking into the beyond and into the magic all around all of them.

Naofumi didn't ask questions and didn't look back but he certainly felt the effects as the magic transformed in front of him. Tree's began to move and bash the land around them, flowers, grass, vines, all reached up and grasped at their foes. 'It's like mother nature, except the blackened effects of Elias shows on every single thing. Not a single blade of grass, leaf, or flower is not covered in darkness.'

The land was being scarred but not permanently, at least he would not hope so.

"Master there are people up there!" Filo called out as she pointed one her wings towards the boat. The confirmation was complete as bolts of lightning and yelling followed afterwards. The other Heroes were already there.

"Seems like the party is already going on, can you get us up there Filo?" Her head turned back and nodded.

"You bet! Just hold on!" With a flap of her wings she launched herself into the air, her wind magic carrying her aloft without issue. The group neared the flying ship which still rang out with the sounds of battle but something else that made the Shield Hero's lip curl upwards.

"Stop getting in the way! We have to kill the captain to spawn the next phase of the boss."

"No, we have to kill the crew in order to bring the levithan down."

"You guys aren't doing enough damage to draw out the Soul Eater."

'Again… Again I find them doing nothing. Why are they arguing instead of working together?' He could hear the different voices yelling at one another. It made his blood boil and the heat inside of his veins only kept rising as they rose up and landed on the side of the ship.

All parties involved taking notice of the new arrival. High expectations in their eyes turned to shallow disappointment. "Oh great, it's Naofumi." The Spear Hero's snide voice didn't draw any condemnation from the other Heros. "Get lost, we don't need your help, especially not with how weak you are!" Motoyasu pivoted to the side, his body pulling off and doding the oncoming attack which slashed to his side as one of the skeleton crew attackers onboard the ship made an attempt to strike him. "Damnit stay, Down!" almost shouting through his clenched teeth as the Spear Hero stabbed the aggressor for one of many times.

"You're too weak to be of any use Naofumi just let us handle this." Ren, the sword Hero told him while tossing his chin in the direction of the side of the ship.

"You guys are all just standing around bickering and not solving a damn thing!" He didn't like what he heard when he was coming up to the ship and now that he was here instead of being greeted like an ally he was seen as a burden. 'They still think this is a big joke, like some far out fantasy world where there aren't tangible consequences.'

"Oh yeah and you think you can solve anything cheater!" Motoyasu got right into the face of Naofumi. The wound to his pride since their last fight had not healed and was carrying a grudge the size of a mountain on his shoulders because of it.

"Back off Moron!" Naofumi shoved him a foot out of his personal space.

"Oh so you want to go again Shield Loser, then come on I'm game!" Ren and Itsuki weren't about to resort to blows but they weren't looking to stop it either after all they still had to kill the boss and then summon the soul eater and end all of this.

Elias stood back watching the world moving in slow motion, the words and sounds echoing like he was in a large tunnel. 'This is humanity… pitiful.' They were all old enough to know 'right from wrong' or 'to do the right thing' as Chise had told him. She never objected to putting her own wants and needs above others.

The magus could feel his fists tightening and this heat coming through his veins. It was a long forgotten feeling, it was similar to when Cartaphelius… 'no, no I will not resort to that.' His form frightened Chise and he had ended up causing her anguish because of his loss of control that day and the days following it. Still…

'Why must it be so hard, why must I stand here looking over children while my Bride is kept from me. I ask my question to the skies above and to the world below… Why?'

Naofumi and Motoaysu felt it, hell the entire ship and those onboard felt it. Elias slammed his foot through the wood smashing and then rent upwards by the limb. "E-NOUGH!" His voice head thrown forwards and releasing a huge scream that was beyond anything a human should be capable of. "Pathetic! All of you! Screaming and whining like little children!"

He pushed forwards, raising up his arms. "You will not waste my time, You SHALL NOT STOP ME FROM MY GOALS WITH THIS PATHETIC DISPLAY!" A ring of blue light spun outwards from his feet. "Shadows Part from my body, become my thorns and spear the veil that stands between us!"

All of those gathered saw the huge black vines rise up from the mage's feet and shot forwards. The skeletons and undead captain all moved to defend but they were not the target. A dozen long tendrils punctured into the wooden floor spearing the creature's shadows.

The horde's of undead screeched with a harsh rasp as their body's crumpled to the floor. In less than a minute the mage had done what the Hero's could not. He saw the shade's living creatures of shadow but used mangled flesh as their avatars. As one capable of being shadow he could see the true weakness of the monsters in front of him. It was… what word would he place this as. Vexing? He couldn't place this sensation.

"Are you all now done?" Elias's head turned his attention back to the squabbling humans. His normal blue eyes were a light shade of red and the edges of his glamour magic could see small bumps and pressure against it. The skull beneath looking to push itself forward.

"Whoa…" Was all Ren said, perhaps a bit underestimating how impressive things actually were. He hadn't met Elias yet and already he was envious that someone like Naofumi had such a strong ally, someone both magically inclined and of high intellect to notice what was going on.

But there was one person that did notice this and they had their eye on him since the start. "Oh Sir Lindel, that was incredible!" Myne came over to the mage who had his arms crossed. "You were able to see through their spell and kill all of them, truly it was impressive." She touched the side of his arm with her hands while giving him the biggest smile she could.

[Meanwhile]

Chise saw the waves of catastrophe and now fully understood what they meant by a world ending event. Chise saw undead creatures from skeletons, zombies, and ghouls, winged horror's from bats to carrion. None of the slimes, dogs, and crazed rabbits that she had seen before. Nor did any of the creatures resemble anything like fae from her world.

There was no Oberon's Titania's, Aeroils, Dragon's of the aviary, or many of the fae that she had seen while staying in the faerie kingdom's hospital. They were more like the Fae that hunted her, black masses with teeth, erie eye tentacled monstrosities, or blackened beasts that wished to feed off her. It made her hands clench at her sides.

"Come my Saint strike the first blow. Let your Radiance be the signal for the faithful gathered to begin fighting." Adalee could see nearly a hundred men of the cloth ready to go. Sword and spear in hand they were ready, their faith being their most powerful weapon.

The young apprentice mage wasn't one who wanted to take life or cause harm when there was a chance to save people… but on a battlefield? Was that even possible? She shook her head, 'No I still have to do this, I have to do this for Elias he's still waiting for me. Everyone back home is still waiting for me!

Everyone watched almost in muted reverence as Chise raised up her staff and soon it filled with a powerful golden hue. It was like a lighthouse for those of the church seeing it as a beacon as it flashed colors. "As source of thy Power, I order thee send forth a wave of radiance, sear my foes and heal the innocent!" Her staff flared up even further before absorbing all of the mana Chise put into her spell and with a final flicker a wave of light spread outwards like a tidal wave it started small and spread outwards rolling down and over the ground becoming not just a foot but several and then several more, doubling from there and once again until it would touch the top of a single story house. The white and golden tidal wave impacted and Chise watched the numbers on her display go crazy. Hundreds of the monsters summoned by the waves were exorcised without issue and those that were ahead of her felt no pain without thinking her will pushed the spell forwards. Human's were left untouched along with animals that were just washed in it's radiant light. Pain, fear, and despair were gone and with it a surge of empowerment.

The faithful cried out as one and rushed forwards their numbers allowing them to cut down any foe that was able to stand even if they were crippled they were still not out of the fight.

Raphtalia felt empowered by it all and in that moment she could charge headlong into battle and cut down anyone who stood in her lady's path. But, her head turned towards Chise her hand holding onto the grip of her new sword. She would not leave her. Raphtalia could not do it, her heart would not allow the separation.

"Your Holiness?" One Pope's aides looked to their spiritual leader who stood well behind the group. His presence was just far enough away to not draw any other suspicion.

"Everything is just beautiful, God's gift is doing everything that we need of her." The Pope stood there, his hands folded over a small cane in front of him. "Her power is even more astounding than I had originally expected. Then add in the sheer allure of her presence… It is truly beautiful." He smiled while lightly nodding his head.

The pope could feel every action Chise made and the way the staff glowed and surged with her power. Her level and strength could easily match any of the Heroes now, he just had to aid her in leading the faithful on a crusade. "Have we made any contact with the other countries about the item I was looking for?"

His aid nodded, "Yes, holiness we have. It was expensive but the country promised that it was the relic we were looking for."

"That is most reassuring. Once it arrives, send it to the Holy Mother at once." The Pope's smile remained except the ever slightly curl of his lips at the edges. 'And then I will have my own Saint.'

[Back on the ship]

Elias's gaze turned towards her but did not look to welcome her and there was only a small amount of restraint that prevented him from grabbing her and throwing her off the boat. 'That is the third time she has sullied my clothes.'

Yet before he could respond for his space a ghastly roar came from up above.

"Looks like more trouble, master!" Filo said, pointing upwards with her large wing into the sky as a creature appeared up above. It had small arms but no other limbs, yet it was quite large, several times bigger than Filo and a large mouth filled with sharp teeth that could swallow multiple people whole in a single bite.

"It's the soul eater!" Itsuki remarked his hand grabbing the magical bow string. "Now we just have to strike it down and end this!" A flurry of arrows shot upwards but as they flew towards their target the behemoth opened his mouth and without warning began to drain away the magics of all those within its sight.

"What?" "My mana!?" "That's so cheap!" The three other heros said as Naofumi was able to resist the drain better than others due to his high constitution. His head swung to the side and saw Elias holding a hand over his face.

"Sir Lindel are you okay!?" Myne saw the mage cover his face with his gloves, his mask was beginning to fracture but barely being contained. Taking the mana from a mage was a very painful task and nothing but a delight for the being feeding upon it.

"Get down-!" Naofumi sprinted towards Elias and Myne as he saw the large creature move unbound by any sort of wings or propulsion and streaked towards the largest source of magical energy.

The mage saw it but could not avoid it, although he shoved the figure off of him before being bit down upon by the huge beast, it clamped on his body between his teeth and carried him up and over the side of the boat in a fluid move.

Elias roared in pain, his magical visage coming undone as the pair vanished over the side as even more of his mana was being stolen from him. It was so fast… so quick, there wasn't a spell…

"FILO Don't let it escape!" "Roger!" The avian bird slammed into the back of the large soul eater. The blow wasn't very damaging but did cause it pain.

That pain made it's mouth jar open and the Magus to slip freely and plummet towards the ground. There wasn't any hope of rescue as the soul eater went after another type of prey. Myne and Naofumi saw the figure cloaked in black slam into the forests below.

"Damn Damn! DAMMIT!" Naofumi shouted as he tore himself from the railing. He couldn't go and help him if he was even alive. He had to focus, Filo needed him right now. "Now air strike shield!" Popping up in front of the beast which slammed into the barrier causing it to crack. "Filo, use up your magic we can't have it drain anymore!"

"Sure!" Filo flipped itself from one side to another. "Fast Tornado!" Her wings caused the air around them to sweep into a rapid gust of magical wind that cut into the creature and knocked it backwards. "Hah you aren't so scary and i'm not as slow as that bone head!"

Filo taunted and began to kick at the exposed sides of the soul eater. Cutting into it with rapid attacks before launching further air spells into it.

The Heros could see damage being done but it was negligible damage. She was cutting the barest slivers off of its huge health pool.

"Damn that's so unfair it can just drain our mana like that." Motoyasu felt the after effects of losing a huge portion of his mana.

"We just were caught off guard." Itsuki said standing up though he was in the same situation as the other heros but didn't try and let it show.

"Let's just cut it down, the faster we end this the better." The sword Hero pushed himself up and off the ground with his blade.

They all looked as Naofumi's Filoliali was busy keeping the Soul eater pinned down at the moment while The Shield Hero struggled to find an answer to the problem they were having. 'We have to do something to bring its health down. I don't know what I can do directly to that but it is at least vulnerable to Filo and Wind magic.' Flicking through his screen there was just nothing popping up that would give him any kind of advantage. None of his usual abilities, shields, nothing was standing out for him. He'd have to do something- He looked at his shield, there was a power that he could use. Something that dominated an undead dragon but, 'No! I can't use it. If I lose control then that could be it for all of us.'

'Coward and a Fool!' A voice that was not forgotten. 'You have power and yet you are afraid to use it when you used it against me you reveled in it. I saw that anger in your eyes, the hatred pumping through your veins, and every inch of your body wishing to do me harm in that form.'

The dragon's voice, it was inside of his head just like before. This time however he could feel the dragon. 'Yes when you took that fragment of my body you used its power and my rage flowed through you. It is infuriating but even that pittance that exists inside of me is nothing compared to what I see inside of you. Unleash us, let your anger swallow your foes and crush them!'

'No I can't, I can't do that I will.'

'You will what? Remain weak, humiliated, made into nothing more smear across the dirt. You have power, you have anger, you have my dragon's curse and another powerful one that is much like my own. Stop hiding and let go! Give in and let the world see your power!'

His hands were trembling as he felt the rush of temptation, the dragon promised him power another cursed symbol appeared in his vision but as that one appeared a second one. The cursed power of Elias. The symbols crackled and connected, their words mixing into an unreadable mess.

'Amplify Curse: Special. Status effect Unknown, Unknown Unknown Unknown…' The words repeated over and over again. Naofumi's head snapped backwards and he screamed loud and hard as the dragon roared in triumph. But the dragon's cry was not alone; a secondary roar followed it and was heard by all, not just Naofumi.

"Burn…." His voice turned into a wicked grin. "BURN IT ALL!" Naofumi shouted, throwing his shield forwards. The massive white skull reappeared overtop but inside was a large red gem surrounded by orange markings of flame like an emblazoned design. "I Said BURN!" The bone rage shield sent out a gust of fire. Striking the unprotected soul beast from behind as Filo had moved out of the way in time.

It let loose a horrid scream of pain as Naofumi set it ablaze, the flames licking up and around the creature in a tornado of white hot fire.

The other Hero's saw armor begin to form over portions of Naofumi's body, thick black metal plates covering his hands and feet. The aesthetics of his armor were nothing like the gleeful grin spreading over the Hero's face.

"What the hell is wrong with you Naofumi?" Sir Motoyasu's face grimaced as he saw the expression on the other Hero's face was creepy if not worrying.

The princess Myne looked over the railing for Sir Lindel but he did not arrive. Looking towards the Shield Hero who had failed to do his job and protect him

Filo flipped out of her large avian form startling a few of the hero's as the blonde in a school girl outfit ran over towards the Shield Hero. He was currently burning the entire beast with his cursed rage shield. "Master! Master please, come back." This face and reaction was exactly what she had seen him go through before. She bit her bottom lip as she remembered how Elias had explained it to her.

'Naofumi has no control in this form. He is akin to a beast in battle striking down anything that he feels is a threat. He was able to see me as a non threat which makes me believe he understands who we are but mentally he doesn't act upon us because we are not his fixation. When rage overcomes human rationale they lose focus of who they are. Chise did the same thing once, she twisted nature and magic together in order to exact revenge upon the one who was trying to hurt her dear Ruth. They must learn how to control themselves and not give in to anger. But the problem is… Naofumi and Chise are still at their core Human. If they fall victim to this again they must remember themselves and this power to know it is to be controlled, never exploited.'

The young girl was able to reach through the flames, they tickled, but they did not hurt. "Master, please you need to come back."

Naofumi felt the jolt and pressure of the connection against his thigh. "What?" His voice losing the twisted glee and his grin no longer present yet his eyes were still red there was less of an intensity to them.

"You can't lose control, master, you have to be you. You don't do bad things like this, please master Naofumi."

The Shield Hero could see her, see the face of the girl touching him. It- It was

"DIE!" The Soul Eater, hell no one saw it coming as from below the ground surged a massive beast it was similar but also unlike anything from before. Misshapen wings sprouted from the creature's back inky body and serpent-like tail streaked upwards. The face was of wolfen bone and deep red eyes as it continued to roar.

Itsuki recognized it. The face and body shape were similar enough. "That's it!" Pointing at the form of Elias. "That's the devil that was summoned with the Saint, the one that attacked the town. It's here!"

"No way! That thing! That's insane!" Motoyasu felt fear strike him, he had never seen such a creature as it slammed straight into the Soul Eater. It's huge jaws opened up and claws hitting its side with tremendous force. Cutting into it and ripping out a huge chunk with it's huge jaws.

The sudden entrance helped snap Naofumi from his trance and the fire around the beast to dissipate as he found himself being held by Filo and the Magus in a blood rage frenzy.

Ripping and tearing of flesh continued as the monster Elias chewed and spit out large chunks of the beast, blood spraying out from its body and coating the homunculou's teeth in a deep crimson. The surprise attack had done a large amount of damage, almost a third of its health bar was gone as he just kept biting, clawing, and tearing into it without remorse.

WIth a horrified screech the Soul Eater phased into the ethereal plane briefly making Elias miss and giving it a second to spin and smash the beastial form down into the ship.

Elias vanished into the boat causing the entire top half to thrash about violently nearly throwing all parties off their feet. Naofumi looked to where Elias landed to the monster and then to Filo. "Sorry Filo, I didn't mean to worry you."

"Yay you're okay!" The small child shouted jumping up and into his arms. He held her as he turned back towards the Soul Eater; it was still clearly reeling from the last attack. However… "So you think you can tackle Pain? Fine. Shield Prison!"

The huge ball of metal plates and chains wrapped itself around the creature. It was containing the body of the creature which thrashed about inside of it's impromptu cell. "I will seal you within a prison of thorns and cast your body into a level of hell!" Naofumi shouted throwing up his cursed rage shield towards the creature. "I CAST THE IRON MAIDEN!" Immediately the sky crackled with thunder as chains shot forth from above grabbing the shield prison holding the soul eater within and pulling it upwards. WIth a tolling of a heavy church bell all of those watched as from the sky above a large iron column descended downwards a face atop this cylinder then opened and from there a hundreds of sharp pointed objects pointed inwards from the doors on the cylinder and within it.

Naofumi's shield prison held firm as it continued to be drawn upwards. The Iron Maiden remained open as the Shield Prison entered the attacks with none too tender mercy. The large doors closed, sucking it in even tighter until with a thunderous bang it slammed shut. The form inside impaled upon a thousand razor sharp points. With a final tolling of the bell the mouth of the Iron maiden closed and with it the iron frame faded away revealing nothing but the soul Eater which had nothing but black eyes and without even a whimper fell from above and down to the ground dead.

"Wow…" "No way…" Two of the Heros remarked with Ren saying nothing as the battle was over. 'Clearly we underestimated Naofumi's strength. But how can the Shield Hero use a crazy move like that. His purpose is defense not offense.'

But the remaining celebration was short lived as one large black hand pulled itself up from the deck of the ship. It caused the three other Heros to level their weapons towards Elias who broke himself free from the planks and onto the deck of the ship, his mouth and face still covered in blood and he was left panting from not only exertion but his energy almost being completely drained.

'Son of a bitch! Not now!' He threw up his shield in front of Elias blocking his visage from them, "Let it go, it's not a part of this."

"Naofumi, what are you even saying we can kill that creature right here and now!" Itsuki, being more familiar with it, made the first step forwards, his bow still drawn. "It attacked a village, it hurt people including my own party. We can't let it go regardless of your reasons for it."

"Surprise, surprise. The Devil of the Shield is siding with a literal Devil. How quaint and in character for you 'Hero'" Princess Myne's voice was filled with contempt. "It appears that you would rather help some hideous monster than aid your fellow heros with dispatching it."

"Yeah Seriously Naofumi why are you protecting it?" Ren asked, pointing his sword towards the Shield Hero's party.

"This is seriously messed up…" The Spear Hero said though his gaze was towards what was now in Naofumi's possession. An adorable little blonde girl. He didn't exactly know where she had come from during all the chaos but it was downright criminal for Naofumi to have her. "If you are really asking for this I'll gladly put you back in your place just, just put the little girl down I wouldn't want her to get hurt because of you."

Naofumi was being backed into a corner by them. Yet he couldn't betray Elias, his mouth opened up except he was interrupted.

"So you are the Heroes? I must admit I'm a little less than disappointed." A feminine voice spoke from the top deck of the Ship. Her appearance of a raven haired woman features pretty but her sharp purple eyes did not indicate any sort of welcoming presence. A sharp black kimono with gold and white accents around the waist and wrists covered everything on her body save small sandals on her toes. Her feet rested on the wooden ledge in front of the ship's wheel several flights of stairs up from where the rest were gathered.

The new arrival's eyes cast a glance again over all up to the bow where she saw something more than interesting. She cracked a grin. "A fae creature, no you are something in between aren't you?."

"What?" Naofumi and everyone else thought as they watched the massive beast rise up from the ground.

"Oh yes, I have seen something like that before but most interesting that it would be here." The woman raised up her hands revealing metallic hand fans, their colors matching her own outfit. One pointed towards Elias the other touched the edge closest towards the standing Mage. "Forgive me but you can not interfere." Her hand drew backwards and like a crack of lightning a huge purple bolt shot forwards impacting into Pilum Moralis with a burst of magic impaling him straight through the chest which caused him to stagger and grasp at his chest.

"Nooooo-!" Elias howled through intense pain. "You dare strike me! ME!? I AM PILUM MORALIS AND I WILL END YOU!" He charged forwards breaking through the Heros who had lost their cohesion and formation with their new arrival. One of his arms drew back with a massive fist and swung forwards. "DIE…" His voice spat as he punched straight into her she took the blow and skidded backwards several feet but was left mostly unphased.

"Hmm? Was that all, you are much weaker than I imagined." Despite the giant hand in her face which had her head only indented by his continuous strain she then shocked everyone. She batted him aside causing him to crash into the railings rocking the entire boat. "Now be a good dear and stay put. Her weapons fired two more large purple arrows pinning Elias into the ground with another howl of pain before returning her attention to the 'Heroes' "Well that's one real obstacle out of the way now how about I start by killing all of you? Oh and just so you know my name before you die… it's Glass"

"Yeah right, Meteor Spear!" "Meteor Shot!" "Meteor Slash" The weapon wielding heros made their charge, each one thrown straight towards the woman who called herself Glass. But her fragile name aside. With a flick of her hand she battered away.

Glass took her attack one step further and soon delivered another painful blow with her fans striking each of three heroes with her purple projectiles causing a huge amount of damage to each of them. This left only Naofumi and Filo remaining.

He set down his girl, letting her feet hit the ground before taking one step ahead of her. Never once taking his eyes off of her he let himself whisper to Filo. "Be ready to run… When I distract her, grab Elias and jump off the back of the ship. Got it?" He held up the shield in front of him to block his words being spoken but Glass didn't seem too interested in stopping him. "Move!" emphasizing the urgency of the situation as she hurriedly moved out of the way.

"Make your plans Shield Hero I will take you on in any way you wish." Swinging up her fans into an open fashion and preparing to do battle. "Come at me with everything you have."

"You want what I can bring?" He hoisted up the cursed skull shield. "Fine, let us see you Burn!" Focusing he brought forth the flames of rage and soon ignited all of Glass and the area in burning fire her form swallowed up by the fire.

"Pathetic." Glass with but a single swipe blew away the fire, "Is that really all you can do? You can do more can't you?" She was baiting him, wanting him to use his devastating attack that had killed his last opponent.

'Well it's not like the last attack did anything.' "Alright but you're the one who wanted it! Shield Prison!" Glass was quickly encased in the metal and chains. "Now I cast the Iron Maiden!" He shouted, hoisting his shield into the air and watched Glass fly up into the air into the now descending iron cage that floated downwards.

Just like before the Iron Maiden opened upwards it's spikes just as before as it's doors swung open and drew in the Shield Prison for glass. Naofumi's hand clenched tightly as the doors closed tight like a jaw and impaled his foe.

He waited for a moment and for a brief second almost gave himself hope. "I had hoped you would've done better." The Iron Maiden was cut in half and all that remained was Glass floating in the air. "How disappointing Shield Hero." She threw back her one arm and then aimed her fans towards Naofumi. "I believe it should be my turn."

"FILO!" His hand and shield were thrown upwards as Glass sent one of her projectiles towards him. The purple lance did not strike the shield but impaled through it. His defenses were penetrated and even worse Naofumi felt everything the armor on his hands cracked and broke away.

"Still standing? Well I wasn't really trying. Let's try Turtle Shell Cracker!" Glass fired another.

The Filolaili rushed forwards her body poofing into the large bird form she grabbed Elias who had blackened blood dripping from his mouth. "Grab on." He didn't fight with her as he just fell over top of her back. Saying nothing as she then leapt from the back of the ship Her head looked back as her master was struck again repeatedly by those heavy bolts like a ballista.

Each one impacted through his shield and broke off more segments of his armor. He saw as Filo jumped off and he grit his teeth before running and jumping off after her.

"What!?" Glass was shocked by the action, "Running!?" She threw a hand forward, her body flying like a projectile landing on the back edge where Naofumi, Filo, and Elias had just been before. Looking towards the ground the three of them were moving fast. Naofumi looked back towards her. "Hmpf. Disappointing." But before she could launch her strike the entire ship shook and the clouds in the sky crackled.

It signaled the end. The wave of catastrophe was over but… "Next Time Shield Hero. next time."

R&R