What Noufumi was expecting when Teleport whisked him away to Lerno Village's Aetheryte was a relatively calm village with nothing going on. What he and Ren saw was a village that was on high alert upon teleporting to the Aetheryte Square. Everyone looked tense and there was a lot more militia around. "What happened here?"

Ren looked around and noted how wary everyone looked. "Is this not how it normally is?"

"Naofumi-sama!" Everyone saw Glenn approaching them. The elder noted Ren and nodded. "Sir Sword Hero as well. I'm very glad to see you are alright."

"Glenn, what happened? I thought Lerno was a farming and trading village."

Glenn sighed. "The Church of Three Heroes happened. We heard from Chazon-sama that they had sent a force here to try and detain him. Sadly, they failed to buy our story that we didn't know the Spear Hero was a "fake" and attacked us anyway. Thanks to his forewarning and a mysterious woman's help, we were able to survive it but everyone is on edge now."

Raphtalia had a displeased look on her face. "They tried to wipe you out like they did to my village in the Seaetto Region. They'll stoop to every low they can think of if they thought they could get away with it."

"While the outermost parts of the village have been destroyed, we were able to force them to retreat." Glenn looked down the main road while shaking his head. "Though honestly, there are only two other reasons we were able to stand our ground.

"One is the fact that the host that attacked us wasn't as large as we thought, presumably because a good number detached to pursue Chazon-sama after they heard news of a noble's death in the mountains. The other… is thanks to the BioPlant Arena we had finished building."

Tersia folded her arms with a thoughtful posture. "I heard rumors of Lerno Village building some sort of arena. Didn't know anything else about it, though, since I've only heard from traders and the like."

That got Ren thinking for a moment. "Wouldn't arenas be places where you fight monsters in controlled environments?"

"Just as you say, Sir Sword Hero… forgive me, for I know not your name."

"Ren is fine."

Glenn nodded at that. "Like Ren-sama said, we built our arena to fight monsters in safer environments. It was started on Chazon-sama's suggestion and some time before the third wave was when we managed to finish it. Like the name implies, the primary monsters we fight in this arena are BioPlants, though it'll probably become something similar to Zeltoble's coliseum in the future."

"Daddy did say he managed to create seeds of different leveled BioPlants at one point." Obsidian pointed out. "Were you able to level up your militia thanks to Daddy's arena?"

"Indeed. Thanks to the cannons we installed inside the arena proper and other measures, it allows us more normal folk to kill them easier. Plus, we do have fail-safes in place should a party find themselves over their heads."

Wyndia put a hand on her chin. "Father always stated that the Cardinal Heroes were necessary for surviving the waves because we can't level up armies efficiently. That, and we'd ruin the world's ecosystems attempting to do so." She glances at Glenn. "Am I correct in assuming that the BioPlants give reasonable exp while not harming the environment?"

That got a smile out of the old man. "Correct. Thanks to the arena, we can level up our forces with ease. We even plan on opening it to adventurers and the like once things settle down."

"Pay a fee to fight the BioPlant at your level of choice. Succeed and you'll get rewards based on the difficulty." Ren nods in approval. "A good way to increase tourism to your village as you continue to expand the arena. It'll also help ensure your village has a fighting chance if it becomes the site of a wave."

"That could be so but I fear we've gotten off topic. I'm guessing you didn't come here just to have a chin-wag with me."

Melty had a determined glare. "We intend to head towards Castle Town with all due haste and retake it from the church from within. My mother, the Queen, entrusted us with this mission in case the Pope still resides there."

"Then do not let me keep you and yours, Princess Melty." Glenn motions at the main road he was looking down earlier. "That way is our eastern entrance and will set you on the path to the capital. If you wish for some provisions, say the word and we'll spare what we can."

"Papa, can we get more of the tasty red fruits?" Filo piped up excitedly. "Those are Filo's favorites!"

That got a sigh out of Naofumi. "Not right now. I promise we'll be back after our fight with our enemies is over and we have time." Filo whined a bit at that, but said nothing more.

Ren checked his status map, which he had access to ever since Chazon showed his own. "Once we leave the village, we'll head north-east and cut directly through the land. We might encounter more monster trouble once we leave the beaten path, but it's highly likely that we can ignore them."

"With how fast Filo and Obsidian can move, we'll simply outrun most of them. The ones fast enough to keep up with us, we can deal with quickly." Naofumi added.

"I'm plenty fast and so is Filo-chan!" Obsidian piped up excitedly. "Even with us carrying three people each, I'm sure we can get to our destination in no time!"

"Kuro-kun, you're excited to run this without a carriage?" Filo was learning more and more about her fellow monarch every day and it was fascinating to her.

"Yup! Must be my racing Filolial blood once again speaking to me!"

Raphtalia patted Obsidian on the head. "Save your excitement for when we're on the move, Obsidian-kun."

Not long after, two Filolial monarchs blew out of the eastern entrance to Lerno Village. The party of 8 grimaced at the damage present on the outskirts of the village, but no church knights seemed to be loitering around. As Ren suggested, they immediately left the road and started cutting through the rougher parts of Melromarc's prairies.

Monsters did try to jump them, including the Giant Snakes that Tersia expressed a hatred for, but up until they hit the first forest nothing could keep up with the two Filolials. However, there were some abnormally fast wolves in the forests they were cutting through. That forced Naofumi, Ren, Raphtalia, and Melty to cast spells and skills to keep them from running down the Filolials.

It eventually became clear that they wouldn't make it to Castle Town in one day. While Obsidian was able to make it to Ivyred Village within that time frame, he only had one passenger for the most part and could go all out with his speed. Here, he and Filo couldn't go as fast as possible without fear of getting their passengers thrown off.

By the time they stopped to make camp, they were relatively close. Naofumi pulled up his own status magic map and pondered their next move as Tersia and Melty started a fire. "The way I see it, it would be prudent to leave early in the morning tomorrow. While it could still be midday when we reach Castle Town, the way we're sneaking in won't be heavily guarded."

"Assuming the church doesn't know about the secret passageways the Queen told us about." Ren frowned at the thought. "As much of a secret they are to all but royalty, I wouldn't discount the possibility of the church finding them on their own."

Wyndia quickly nudged Ren with a stoic look. "Even if they were discovered, they wouldn't put much stock in guarding them heavily if they are low-traffic passages. There's also the fact that they probably don't have the spare knights and soldiers to guard many places besides key locations."

"That'll also depend on what the church considers a key location." Raphtalia thought back to the secret passageways the Queen told them. "The one we're most likely to take goes through the castle catacombs into the dungeons. The King was imprisoned and the church might think him a priority to guard."

"Doubtful" Tersia spoke up from her position by the now crackling fire. The blue-haired girl had a look of uncertainty. "No offence, Princess Melty, but if the church holds Melromarc's royalty in low esteem then they won't see him worth the constant vigil."

"If that's the case, then we could free Father as we move to retake the castle from within!" Melty piped up excitedly. Ever since she heard her Father was imprisoned, she wanted to rescue him.

"Sorry, but Trash isn't our objective here." Naofumi made sure to shoot that line of thought down as fast as possible. He was still pretty bitter towards the King. "If he's on the way out of the dungeons then be my guest, but we aren't dedicating time to saving him."

That got a pout from Melty. "I still want you to reconcile with him, Naofumi-sama!"

"Unless he acknowledges all of the harm he has attempted to force upon me, we'll never see eye to eye."

I have to wonder how Itsuki or I would have acted if we were in Naofumi's position. Ren shook his head before clearing his throat. "Infiltrating the castle is good and all, but how are we going to retake it with just the 8 of us? Go after the Pope or whoever is in charge?"

Naofumi quickly straightened his thoughts out. "It would be the quickest way to cause confusion amongst the church ranks and allow those who rebel against their teachings to rise up. However, something we haven't considered yet is a way to convince the entire population that the church's teachings are a lie."

Raphtalia contemplated for a moment as Filo and Obsidian started wrestling playfully in the background. "It would probably help to find proof of the church's lies, otherwise any victory we win in Castle Town would be rather hollow, even when Queen Mirellia returns."

"Then why don't we infiltrate the main church building again?" Tersia suggested with a grin.

Ren crossed his arms for a bit before nodding. "While I did spirit away some of their books we found last time we were down there, we can probably find more evidence against them there. Provided that they haven't gotten rid of their incriminating documents."

"Highly doubtful." Wyndia sat down beside Ren with a slight huff. "From my time as the Pope's slave, I recall that he's a very proud man who likes to keep as many records on his "holy crusades" as possible. Even if we did infiltrate the church vault once, I doubt he'd be so willing to destroy records of his achievements and the like so easily."

"Then who'll go down into the vault?" Melty knew best out of anyone that, without something to properly denounce her country's "state religion" like her Mother was working towards, there would be too many believers resisting the implementation of the Church of Four Heroes.

"Ren-sama, Tersia-chan, and I are already familiar with the layout of the vault and it's location. Once we've established our footing in the castle, the three of us can head there and begin compiling everything the church has been doing." Wyndia was able to hide it, but she was ecstatic at finally getting the chance to dismantle the religion that caused her and her ilk so much misery.

Naofumi pondered the plan before motioning towards the Filolials. "Take Obsidian with you as well. While I don't know if he can read, his speed and strength will serve you well should you meet resistance down in the vault." He turns and calls, "Obsidian, you hear that?"

"Loud and clear, Uncle Naofumi! I hope I'm of use to Uncle Ren's party!"

Ren frowned at that. "Now that we've gotten the more important items off the list, I must ask. How come Obsidian keeps calling me "Uncle"?"

"Well he sees Chazon-sama as his Father and, maybe because of your association with him by being a fellow Legendary Weapon user, thinks of you as Chazon-sama's younger brother?" That was the best explanation Raphtalia could come up with. "He's always called Naofumi-sama Uncle as well."

"You mean he sees the Four Cardinal Heroes as brothers?"

Naofumi suddenly let out a genuine laugh. "Considering how much Chazon acts like an older brother to you and Itsuki, it's not hard to see why."

"Meanwhile Chazon looks up to you, Naofumi. Wouldn't that make you the oldest brother of us?" Ren raised an eyebrow at the Shield Hero.

"Considering we're about the same age, we'd be more like fraternal twins… wait, why are we even discussing this?!" Everyone, including Ren, laughed as Naofumi grumbled. "ANYWAYS, let's eat some time before we sleep. We're waking up as early as possible to try and take advantage of sluggish church guards. Just as a last minute heads-up, if our infiltration fails somehow, we'll have to find some other way to enter the capital."

The sun was starting to climb back into the sky when the group of 8 finally saw Castle Town on approach. Naofumi thought of something as they got ever closer. "Raphtalia, can you use Hide Mirage to conceal all 8 of us?"

Raphtalia looks between Filo's passengers and Obsidian's passengers before nodding. "It would be a severe strain on my MP, but I can do it."

"Cast it on my signal. Even if we're using a secret passage to get in, I don't want to risk being spotted on approach."

Melty observed the walls of the fortifications before recognizing where they needed to go. "There should be one secret passage around this section of wall that leads underground. Some only lead into Castle Town, but this one will bring us right into Melromarc Castle proper if Mother was correct."

Tersia grinned. "We're almost there. Let's do this right the first time!"

As the filolials got ever closer, Raphtalia made sure to cast All Hide Mirage on everyone and held her concentration as much as possible. As soon as they reached where Melty pointed, Ren was able to find a hidden switch that opened the ground nearby.

Once the group was safely inside the tunnel, Raphtalia dropped her Hide Mirage with a sigh of relief. "Hopefully we don't have to worry about being detected for a while."

"We just need to be careful about where we're stepping. Even if it seems nobody is around, we should treat it like someone is." Ren eyed some of the water puddles in the tunnel warily.

"Talk about that later. We're approaching the end of the tunnel!" Naofumi hissed in a low voice. I suppose the catacombs are pretty expansive underneath Castle Town...

Melty fiddled with the nearby stones before one let her press it in, which revealed an exit. As soon as she went through, she somewhat recognized where they were. "This is in the deeper parts of the castle dungeon. Be careful: it's a maze designed to make sure escaped prisoners stay down here by making them lost."

"A maze-like dungeon. Great…" Ren was never a fan of the maze-like dungeons in Brave Star Online, even if one took the whole game aspect out of the equation. "Princess Melty, do you have an idea of where we are?"

That got a frown out of her as she shook her head. "I almost never visit the dungeons here. My Sister does so more frequently because of how much she likes imprisoning people for her own amusement."

Bitch really does have a lot to answer for. Whatever Queen Mirellia has planned to clear my name better humiliate her as much as possible. Trash's punishment is currently in the air. As much as I hate him, he is as much a victim in these circumstances as us heroes.

Tersia observed the stone around her before nodding in a direction. "Let's start by going that way. No sense in splitting up if we can't find each other again down here."

There were a few guards patrolling down in the dungeons, but Raphtalia was able to knock them out before they could spot the group. One guard noticed them but, upon seeing Princess Melty with them, pointed them in a direction and pretended that she never saw them. Melty had a small smile. "I guess not all of the guards down here are loyal to the church."

Wyndia thought back to all of the guards before and nodded. "Believers will have the church rosary on their person, usually hanging around their necks. Guards who don't might help guide us out of the dungeons into the castle proper."

Tersia nodded at Raphtalia. "Check to make sure you aren't KOing a friendly guard if we have the initiative going forward . Finding guards still loyal to the royal family will be key to getting out of here in a timely manner."

After getting directed another way by another friendly guard, Melty eventually recognized where they were. "I think I can guide us the rest of the way through to the castle proper. As long as we avoid-"

"Melty, is that you?!"

Melty gasped when she heard a familiar voice and rushed forward. "Father!"

Naofumi grimaced. I didn't think we actually would run into Trash like this. Unless he's imprisoned by the only exit.

"Princess Melty?" An unfamiliar female spoke up, coming from the same cell as Aultcray's voice.

Melty recognized the voice as well when she came to a stop in front of the cell. "Eclair-chan, You're here as well? I've been wondering why I haven't seen you in a while!"

"I suppose that would be the case since nobody knew. Not even his majesty knew I was here until he was brought in." Naofumi stopped in front of the cell and looked in. Alongside the now shabby-looking Aultcray, he saw a strawberry-blond female with piercing blue eyes. Eclair sighed. "That's besides the point. Why are you here? This castle has become too dangerous for you!"

"I'm here with the Shield and Sword Heroes to liberate Melromarc from the Church of Three Heroes! Mother told us about some secret passages that lead into the catacombs and… here we are." Melty explained as Ren unlocked the cell door using a set of keys one of the friendly guards gave them.

During that exchange, Naofumi and Aultcray were eyeing each other warily, their bad blood coming into effect. Naofumi noted, however, that the king's gaze no longer held the arrogance and disgust he was familiar with whenever they confronted each other in the throne room. Eventually, Aultcray sighed. "Go ahead and laugh at my state, Shield Hero."

"Hardly the time or the place, Trash." Naofumi would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't tempted to. However, something about Aultcray's current demeanor was throwing him off. Was he truly humbled by spending some time in this dank cell?

Aultcray shook his head at the name, but didn't comment on it. "If you're here for Pope Balmus… I'm afraid to say, we overheard that he had gone out to deal with Chazon-dono. As such, you're going to find it difficult to "reclaim" Castle Town unless you find and neutralize one of the key church figures left behind."

He's… being helpful too? I'd say hell froze over, but there might be more to him not being totally hateful towards me.

Wyndia nodded at that. "Then I suppose it would be best if we save the search for the linchpin until after we find evidence of the church's corruption. It would make regaining the citizen's approval a lot easier if we had solid proof."

"Should all of us just go then?" Raphtalia asked in an uncertain tone. "It wouldn't make much sense for half of us to run around the capital chasing someone who would be difficult to track down." Aultcray looked at her, but his eyes were filled with a mixture of sympathy and regret rather than hate or disgust.

Eclair motioned towards the exit of the dungeons. "Then you'd best get a move on. I'll protect his majesty from any harm while you complete your mission. There's something else the two of us must do."

Ren quickly withdrew one of the random-drop swords he had in his inventory and handed it to Eclair. "While it might not be the same class as your normal weapon, it'll suffice until you find one you're more comfortable with." He got a stern nod at that.

"Father, I promise I'll succeed! For everyone in Castle Town and for Melromarc!" Melty confidently said as the hero's party quickly left for the exit of the dungeons.

Aultcray nodded at Eclair, who nodded back at him. His conversations with her a day after he had been brought in were still fresh in his mind.

A few days ago...

"So you're telling me that there's a reason why my wife, the Queen, still tries to treat demi-humans with respect despite her knowing of my history with them?"

Aultcray had just learned from Eclair, his cellmate, that Mirellia knew about his bad blood with demi-humans and Siltvelt. That she knew he would try to take out his frustrations on the Shield Hero by proxy because Siltvelt revered him as their god. Because Eclair is one of Mirellia's personal elite guards, she was privy to a lot of the drama going on in the royal family.

She nodded as she shifted her sitting position. "Indeed. Consider this: why would demi-humans settle down in a country that hates them? Wouldn't they be better off living in Siltvelt or Shieldfreeden?"

"I figured that the demi-humans in the Reichnott and Seaetto territories were attempts at making Melromarc more accepting of them. Mirellia never explicitly told me why she let their filth infest these lands, so I figured that was the reason."

"Perhaps there were hints of that, but the truth is far more cruel." Eclair looked up at the cold, dark ceiling of the cell with a somber look. "After Melromarc's victory over Siltvelt and Tyran Ga Fayon's death, those who held power under his rule blamed certain species of their own kind in a bid to retain their influence. Raccoon, Tanuki, Weasel, and some others were blamed for the late king's "madness". Some of the nobility of those demi-human groups were promptly exiled to Melromarc."

She looks back down. "Additionally, not all of the demi-humans are from Siltvelt. Some had defected from the isolationist nation of Q'ten Lo and wound up settling in Melromarc."

"And my wife took them in under her direct protection…" Aultcray did hate demi-humans, but it astonished him that there was such rampant racism in Siltvelt. Not just against humans, but against certain demi-human species as well. The Q'ten Lo immigrants wound up getting caught in the crossfire of the whole thing. "Then… are you saying that the demi-humans who were exiled are just as much victims as-"

"As yourself, your majesty? I would say so. The loss of your sister is comparable to the suffering those families went through when they became political scapegoats. Especially when they were forced to bring their children or risk them becoming slaves."

A measure of guilt welled in Aultcray's heart. By showing the demi-humans under his wife's care the same hatred as those in Siltvelt, he proved he was no better than them. That he was just as much a monster. "But the village under Lord Seaetto- your father's care was destroyed in the first wave, right? Why are you talking to me about this?"

Eclair sighed as she closed her eyes. "That reason also ties into why I'm imprisoned here. After I heard that my father's village was attacked, I requested her majesty that I go and help them with the post-wave relief. When I arrived… I discovered that the knights there didn't allow anyone into the region. Not even the Queen's personal guard."

"Wait, what? I distinctly recall not sending any knights towards that region!"

"Your reaction just completely confirmed what I had overheard and suspected. The knights that were there were either knights of the Church of Three Heroes or the personal knights of corrupt nobles."

That got a grimace out of Aultcray before he sighed. "I guess there were survivors of the first wave and, because your father died in the wave proper, nothing was stopping anyone from attacking the region."

Processing the information he was given, he came to the conclusion that perhaps he had been far too hasty in his willingness to hate ALL demi-humans. Now that I think about my past more clearly, it has always been the Hakuko demi-humans who caused me pain and misery. Between my family in Faubrey getting slaughtered, the mad King of Siltvelt Tyran Ga Fayon, and Lucia's death, it has always been them. I suppose it was easier to hate all demi-humans rather than just focus on one group in particular.

Gods, I'm a fool...

"When I went to the capital, at a loss for what to do, I overheard that the Four Cardinal Heroes were being summoned here in Melromarc. Political dissent aside, I knew that you wouldn't go out of your way to supply the Shield Hero with adventurers, so I needed to volunteer to be his companion."

"It's not like I was preventing anyone from joining him either, though I wasn't surprised when nobody showed up for him. Before he raped my first daughter, I held some hope that the Shield Hero could prove me wrong about being only sympathetic towards demi-humans. That he could ally himself with humans as well." Aultcray growled at that before recomposing himself. "You claim to have volunteered to join him. Why did I not see you, then?"

"Ask your eldest daughter." Eclair was extremely blunt with that statement. Seeing the King's mix of bewilderment and anger, she continued, "The night before you brought all of the volunteers before the Four Cardinal Heroes, she suddenly had me arrested under charges of "treason against the throne for trying to ally with the Shield Hero" and had me taken away… not by royal guards, but by church knights."

"Are you implying that Malty is in league with the church?!" Aultcray was growing more livid by the second. "She would never-"

"Your eldest daughter is far too capricious. You might think that spoiling her would make her love you forever, but she's far more manipulative than that." Eclair leers at Aultcray. "You claim she wouldn't do such things, but that's only because you're all too willing to turn a blind eye to anything she does and she uses that."

"Are you saying that she made that rape accusation towards the Shield Hero KNOWING that I would be outraged at him?! I don't believe it!"

Eclair knew that she convinced the King to start seeing demi-humans in a more sympathetic light. Convincing him that Princess Malty was a conniving backstabber and someone who abused the rape-victim card would be impossible without evidence or more testimony.

As such, she decided to leave that subject alone for now. "Going back to our original topic, now do you see why her majesty allowed demi-humans to inhabit our country? And why your treatment of the Shield Hero was unjust?"

After calming down thanks to the topic change, Aultcray slowly nodded as he made more logical connections in his head. "Rape accusation aside… perhaps I really was being unfair to… Naofumi-dono and the demi-humans living in Melromarc. Chazon-dono as well by association…"

Present

"The castle has been infiltrated!"

Naofumi let out a disappointed tsk when, not long after exiting the dungeons, they were spotted by a pair of church guards. "Guess stealth is no longer an option."

The guard that shouted suddenly rushed towards the party, much to the disbelief of his partner. Ren swiftly knocked him out, causing the other to facepalm. "Why is the Church of Three Heroes full of idiots? I was already beginning to feel that my faith was wasted on them, but… really?"

Melty raised an eyebrow at that. "You're not going to try and fight us?"

"What would that accomplish, exactly? It would be me against a party of 8 people, including 2 Legendary Heroes and the Crown Princess of Melromarc."

That got a scoff of laughter out of Ren. "You definitely are one of the smartest church knights I've met and that's saying something. I suppose you don't need us to ask you to surrender and tell us what we want to know?"

"Why not?" The knight plucked the rosary off his neck and tossed it aside. "Honestly, I'm done with the church now. I only stayed with it until now because they were fast with taking over Castle Town and how much power they still had. If you are here to retake it, then there's no point in holding off abandoning my "faith" anymore."

Motioning towards the outside he continued, "The Pope isn't here, but he left behind a small group of knights that includes a wielder of an advanced Legendary Weapon Replica replica as caretakers. If you want to retake this city from the church, taking them out is a good first step."

"What about the documents found in the church's vault?" Wyndia asked, knowing that it would be prudent to know ahead of time.

"I was amongst the ranks of those who assisted the Pope in burning some documents, however I can assure you that not everything was destroyed. If you're going to the vault first, I'd recommend searching the back rooms before anything else. More important documents will be held there." The guard sighed. "My question is, what do you wish for me to do? I doubt you'll trust a "traitor" with anything."

Melty pondered for a bit. "While you might be punished for your affiliation with the church, I'll see if I can't convince the Queen to go easy on you and anyone else willing to cast aside their faith in the Church of Three Heroes. For now, stay out of trouble and sight."

"Thank you, Princess Melty. I'll head towards the barracks and inform my like-minded guards and knights of your decision. We'll try to make it easier for you to reclaim the castle when her majesty returns." The guard quickly vacates.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Naofumi knew at that moment that he relied too much on Chazon's judgement and Passive. I need to develop my own way of determining if people are trustworthy.

Tersia nodded. "Unless he's a VERY good actor, the most devout of believers won't haphazardly toss their rosary's away. We can worry about his allegiances later. Looks like we have a gold mine of information to discover in the church vault."

"Don't forget about the "caretakers" with the advanced replica he mentioned." Raphtalia reminded everyone. "However, unless we happen to find them on the way to the church, we should still stick together-"

She was cut off when a group of church knights suddenly rushed at them from the opposite direction the turncoat went. Ren grunted at the interruption. "Let's deal with this rabble, then we head towards the church."

During the tussle, a discovery was made that astonished everyone and made the church knights fearful. One of them had tried to slash Naofumi in the neck to put him down… only for the blade to bounce off his skin. "W-what manner of monster are you?!"

Naofumi grinned. Despite their enemies being higher leveled than they had any right to be, his defenses were still too solid for lowly mooks to get past. The additional Strengthening Methods were already showing results. "Please, you know full well who I am. Last I checked, it was you morons who decreed that I was a devil and never paid an ounce of attention to me before it was too late. So unless you want all of your efforts to be expended on futile attempts on my life, I suggest you surrender."

"We'll never surrender to the Shield Demon and the fake Sword Hero!" Knowing that they couldn't do anything to Naofumi, they turned their attention to the demi-humans who were with them.

Ren wasn't having any of it when one tried to blind-side Wyndia and promptly incapacitated him. "Cowards, the lot of you…" Wyndia took care of the female church knight in front of her and gave Ren an astonished look as he helped Tersia as well. She never expected Ren, a normally level-headed hero, to growl like that.

Raphtalia wasn't shy about using her Hide Mirage to its fullest potential now that she was rested. She kept using it and striking from spots the knights weren't expecting thanks to them not being able to see or hear her. It had the result of some knights wildly swinging their weapons around to try and dissuade her, only to get knocked out by Tersia, Filo, or Obsidian.

With that group taken care of, the party of 8 quickly left the Castle and made for the Church of Three Heroes. Not many church knights were out on the streets and a good number of people chose to look the other way when they saw the two heroes and the Second Princess. Thanks to very few interruptions, they were able to reach the plaza in front of the church easily.

"I should have figured it was you, Shield Hero."

Naofumi had to restrain his snarl as he looked at the speaker. "If it isn't Princess Bitch herself? Trying to get your younger sister killed wasn't good enough, you had to ally yourself with the church of idiots as well?"

Malty didn't let the nickname bother her- she was too high on the power trip she was riding lately. "It's only natural to ally yourself with the ones who acknowledge your true worth! Besides, you're one to talk, sneaking into enemy territory with no back-up." She suddenly sneered. "Or did you finally abandon your Spear Hero friend?"

Naofumi definitely felt his rage rising at that, but Ren spoke before him. "You really think we would just leave Chazon AND Itsuki alone if we thought they couldn't handle themselves? I already knew you were stupid, but this shows just how uninformed you are."

"You're the ones uninformed. Thanks to you abandoning your fellow heroes, all you did was delay your inevitable demise!" It was clear that Malty was on the cusp of laughing maniacally now. "Thanks to your OWN stupidity, you left the Spear and Bow Heroes to die by Pope Balmus' judgement, while you have nobody stopping me and mine from killing you!"

Tersia scoffed. She heard the rumors about Malty and she wasn't impressed. "She's really lost it. Is this what they call being "drunk on power" or something?"

"Most likely." Raphtalia leveled a glare at the red-headed step-child of a Princess. The one who caused Naofumi, her savior and the one she loves, to fall so far into his wrath. "She thinks she's able to defeat us with just her and her small band of normal church knights? I would say this is the "caretakers" left behind by the Pope, but this is hardly worth-"

"Perhaps the ratty Demi-human should learn when to shut her mouth." Malty briefly snarled before regaining her sadistic smile. "Certainly I can handle the likes of you just fine, but I prefer to stack the deck in my favor as much as I please."

Melty finally recovered from having to see her demonic sister again. "You speak highly of your entourage, Malty, but we've gone through bigger groups of your knights already. You won't be able to make a diff-"

"HATE…"

Everyone felt ice go down their spine when they heard that one word uttered in a raspy growl. Malty smirked at the sight. "I most certainly will, especially with my "special" knight with me!"

She stepped to the side and everyone saw a knight decked in white and gold heavy-plate armor from head to toe. Except most of the armor looked like it was stained with blood, both old and new. The knight was holding what looked like a very fancy golden spear with a blood-red jewel in its hilt and, from behind the bulky helmet, stared two feral eyes.

"Surely you folks remember Glone, right?" Malty giggles maliciously to herself. "He certainly remembers YOU!"

Naofumi adopted a baffled look. "That thing is Glone?!"

"Shield Hero... " The raspy words came from the Bloody Knight. "I remember… pain… humiliation… rage… UNFORGIVABLE!"

Tersia looked horrified. "THAT'S really a human?! What the hell happened to him?"

"Not a clue. Ever since he took up his "Advanced Replica Replica" spear, his mind slowly degraded." Malty shakes her head. "Not that it matters much to me. He obeys my orders even still and he's more than willing to unleash his wrath unto those who oppose me. Especially if they are called the Shield Hero!"

Soon, Melty… you'll be out of my hair... and nobody will be able to stop my ascension to Queen once Mother is dead!

"Ren, change of plans." Naofumi saw the look in Malty's eyes- a look he's far too familiar with. He knew it might be a bad idea, but he needed to change the script and FAST. "Instead of Obsidian, take Princess Melty with you to the vault."

"Wait why? Wouldn't it be easier to fight them as one big group?"

"I get the feeling that if Melty stays around, Bitch will target her amidst the chaos of the battle and try to kill her. If she isn't around, she'll keep her focus on me." Naofumi looks at Ren and his group. "Don't worry. My party members and Obsidian may not be classed up, but we are more than capable of holding our own."

Ren wanted to argue, but Wyndia quickly grabbed his shoulder and shook her head. "He's right, Ren-sama. Besides, we might get in each other's way if there's too many of us and too few of them. While I doubt we have as much need for evidence against the church now, thanks to… whatever that knight is, it will help keep any remaining documents from being destroyed by rogue church knights."

Melty on the other hand was indignant. "Naofumi-sama, I'll be perfectly fine! Even if Malty targets me, I can hold her off thanks to the training I did before coming out here. She will not find me easy!" That got a slight grunt out of Naofumi, but he wasn't about to argue any further right in front of their enemies.

Ren squeezed his eyes shut and quickly contemplated before nodding. "I hope you know what you're doing, Naofumi and Princess Melty. Just in case, keep Obsidian with you since I doubt the church has any forces we three would have to worry about. Good luck with that… thing."

To say Malty was ecstatic over her sister being stubborn enough to stay and fight would be under-selling it, which was compounded by her increased confidence. "Either you are very brave or very stupid for thinking you can take us on with only five of you. Once I've dealt with you all, my dear, sweet little sister is going beddy-bye… permanently."

"Pride comes before a fall, Bitch. We're more than capable of matching you!" With those words, both sides rush at each other.