Reviews:
Grimlock987: Refer to Addendum 1-01.
danielcarswelldog365: Refer to Addendum 1-01.
SomeCallMeDrunk: Oh yeah, that would have been really fun to write... oh well, what's done is done. Yeah, letting Malty live always confused me. Like yeah, she's an easy villain to use but letting her live makes absolutely zero sense for the heroes considering everything she's done. I get the Queen has an emotional attachment considering the whole being her daughter thing, but seriously, how much is too much? A line HAS to be drawn somewhere.
RedBurningDragon: Yeah Malty is a seriously messed up person, like holy crap. The BioPlant didn't seem to have any restrictions on just how much it could grow, so who's to say it wouldn't completely overtake the entire country if not the world if given enough time.
D3lph0xL0v3r: Yeah, same dude. Makes so little sense other than a slight tie of familial bond. Seriously.
drmcgraw186: Yeah, a lot of people told me about the difference between the LN and WN. That's another tidbit of post season 1 anime knowledge I know now. Raphtalia deserves more credit, she really is the anchor tying everything together.
Guest:What?
Guest: Malty deserves to die in so many more fics. She is truly an awful person.
Guest: I mean, there's other cool things about the fics, but yeah, Malty dying is pretty dope too.
Guest: She didn't melt like the other witch though.
Look what Jesus did: That's what I gathered. There's seriously no other reason for her to live. Naofumi has killed people before so why is her exectuon where he draws the line in canon?
SentinalSlice: Dammit, I knew I forgot something. My bad, imma go fix those soon.
caldernoeric758: All will be answered in the future :)
flensingrain: Refer to Addendum 1-01.
husainamm: Oh, ok.
HanzBojo: Discount Kirito is my favorite insult, because Kirito is already a bland character, haha.
Guest: Does that happen in canon...? I had no idea anything like that happened... oh boy. Also Rino pog.
Han Daewi: Humanity should unite against the Gacha Gods.
Azure Star Dragon: You fool! You've given me incredible character development for free! I will take it and pass it off as my own and there's nothing you can do to stop it! But for real, I didn't consider that, but that is a great idea and I know exactly where to take it.
A Shield's Stand
Chapter 22: Finally, Some Goddamn Character Growth
Addendum 1-01
I saw it again and again in the reviews, so I think its important I put it here, this story will follow the Light Novel canon, not the Web Novel.
Medea won't mess anything up with Malty's death, don't worry too much about that.
Motoyasu was living the best life he could. Any man would be if they were in his situation. Being attended by dozens of amazingly beautiful and voluptuous women looking to gain favor with him or just plain have sex with him is amazing, all while he's being revered as a hero to all who knew him.
Currently, he was lounging on a couch fit for the king of the world, one of his party members feeding him grapes from the vine while another fans him off and a third one rubs his feet. He felt like he was in heaven and honestly, he kind of deserves it for all the good he's done since he was summoned as a hero. He is the one fighting and repelling the waves basically by himself, so he deserves some rest every now and then. Sure, Ren and Itsuki tried, but really, they just couldn't compare to the hero he was.
Motoyasu released a satisfied sigh and four girls immediately clamored over one another to get closer to him, "Do you need anything Sir Motoyasu?" They spoke in unison.
Motoyasu lightly chuckled at their eagerness to please him, he loved being cared for, "No, no, I think I have everything I'll ever need right here." The girls awww'd in disappointment, giving him adorable pouts that he simply couldn't resist, "Alright, alright, I guess I did want to polish my spear and armor for the next time I fight. Can't be a hero in dirty armor, afterall!"
"So true!/Such an honorable hero!/Let me polish your weapon and armor Sir Motoyasu!/No, no! Me, me!" They called out over each other again.
Motoyasu laughed again, these girls were just too cute! "I don't mind who does it, as long as you all promise me not to fight about it, ok?" The girls nodded, "While you all do that, I think it's about time I spoiled my party members some more. They do love my cooking and I don't want them to go hungry after all."
His party members cheered in elation, throwing their bodies onto their hero and latching onto him with a powerful and loving hug, "Sir Motoyasu, thank you, thank you! We love your cooking! Nothing else compares to it!" The other girls glared at his party members with hatred and envy, they wanted the spear hero's cooking, dammit!
"Oi! Motoyasu!" A familiar voice called out to him. Turning to look at the doorway, Motoyasu saw Ren leaning against the doorframe in his typical edgy fashion. Honestly, Motoyasu thought Ren's act was a little much, but he didn't want to be mean about it. So he would let Ren do as he pleased, even if it wasn't how a hero should act, in Motoyasu's professional opinion.
"Yeah Ren? Do you need something?" Motoyasu asked, momentarily distracted from his girls. If it was hero business then he would have to put lunch on hold for now, even if it killed him to do so.
Ren pulled himself off the doorway, standing straighter than he was before, "The Queen wants the heroes to meet. Something about sharing some information? I don't really know why she wants us to do that considering all of us know everything there is to know about the weapons but whatever."
Ren's thoughts were fair. There really wasn't much of a point towards talking about things, since they all knew about the weapon's functions and power up methods… but if it got him closer to the Queen's admiration and bed, then he might as well follow her order. He offered an apology to the girls hugging him, who reluctantly let him go with tears in their eyes. Joining up with Ren, the two walked towards the Queen's meeting room, passing through the familiar halls of the castle and looking outside the window as they passed. Really, this place was just so much better than Japan in every way possible. The gorgeous landscapes, the kind and boisterous towns, the beautiful locals, and the clear red skies were all perfect. Japan had nothing on this place. He really wished he didn't have to go back when he finished this.
...this hallway was really long, but eventually they met up with Itsuki, the justice driven bowman waiting for them outside the conference room.
"Yo! Nice seeing you again, Itsuki!" Motoyasu called as the three met up.
"Same to you, Motoyasu!" Itsuki responded, "Nice work on the last wave, I really thought we were toast against that boss but then you show and it's like the boss doesn't stand a chance!"
Was it really that dramatic? "C'mon, Itsuki! It was nothing! Plus, there was no way I could do anything to it without my party members supporting me!" While beautiful women had no place on the front lines, he was all for those same beautiful women supporting him safely from the back of the battlefield.
Ren raised a brow, "Yeah Itsuki, its Motoyasu we're talking about. Of course he would win, and he's being humble about it like he always is."
Motoyasu blushed and elbowed Ren in embarrassment. "I'm not that good, guys, really!"
Ren and Itsuki just shared a laugh before they all entered the conference room. There wasn't really anything too special about the room, it was just a rather plain table in the center and some supporting pillars in the corners of the room. It was actually a little weird how plain it was. But Motoyasu would hold his reservations, it wasn't his castle afterall…
'Holy crap, what if I get a castle eventually?!' Motoyasu thought with unrivalled excitement. He clenched a fist over his heart and looked off into the distance, 'One day…'
Pulling himself from his thoughts, Motoyasu took his seat, waiting for the others to do so as well… but they never did. "Uhhh, guys? Shouldn't we sit down while we wait for the Queen to show… up…?" Motoyasu turned around only to see Ren and Itsuki had vanished. Motoyasu jumped from his seat and summoned his spear to his side, mentally apologizing to the girls he undoubtedly scared while they were polishing it like they promised.
He levelled his spear at the door of the conference room, waiting for any enemy to show its face only for a blinding pain to erupt from his back. It was utter agony but it wasn't unfamiliar. He's been stabbed once before after all. Twice, if you count each knife as its own stab. Motoyasu collapsed to the floor, his body growing unresponsive. With a blink he found himself in the conference room chair, his back still in horrible agony and his body still unresponsive.
A familiar face appeared beside him, Myne popped her face into his view before dancing eloquently to the other side of the table and taking a seat herself, her familiar sweet smile plastered on.
Motoyasu grunted in pain, "Myne, you gotta get out of here! There's an attacker somewhere and they got me! Find Ren and Itsuki, tell them I need backup, while I hold them off!"
"Why would I do that?" Myne asked sweetly, her smile replaced with genuine confusion, "It wouldn't be a proper betrayal if I went and got you help, would it?"
Motoyasu's heart froze, "W-what? Betrayal? Myne… what the hell are you talking about? Ugh, nevermind that, you need to get out of here and to safety!"
Myne just stared at him, not a muscle even twitching before suddenly erupting into booming laughter. "I can't just leave you here and let you live, silly! I need to cover my tracks afterall! No proper Queen would leave such a massive weakness in their support. Getting rid of my favorite accomplice and puppet is the last thing I need to do!"
What? What the hell was she talking about? "Accomplice?" Motoyasu asked in pain, "I don't understa-"
"Wow, you really are stupid, 'Spear Hero'," Malty finger quoted Spear Hero in a mocking voice. "Do you really not remember the time where we-"
The scene around him changed without warning. Instead of being inside the conference room with Malty talking like she was insane, Motoyasu was standing beside a group of knights, looking impatiently at them as several of them stood in a circle preparing a magic spell. Looking towards the sky showed giant rips in the sky. Surrounding him were some armored zombies and hornets, weaker monsters he hadn't seen since… the first wave.
He tried so hard to move, but his body refused to respond, watching idly as the knights launched a massive fireball spell in arc towards Lute, all while he watched in boredom. The fireball exploded over the town into dozens more, covering the town in fire and rubble. Untold destruction and damage caused because he just stood by without a care in the world. But… it was ok because this was all a game. Those weren't actual people he just endangered… right?
The knights laughed at the results before lazily walking towards the town to finish off any stragglers while he huffed and walked off towards where the boss was sure to be, leaving the burning town behind him.
He flashed back into the conference room, Myne still talking her head off to him, "Honestly, I had no idea someone could be that cold bloo-"
"What the hell was that?!" Motoyasu cut off Myne, gasping for air as sweat dripped down his face.
Myne just tilted her head at the hero, smiling her sickeningly smug smile at him, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sir Motoyasu, but maybe you're feeling a little guilty over everything you did."
"I… I have nothing to feel guilty about…" Motoyasu whispered, but to who is unknown.
Myne's smug smile grew wider, "Oh, what about that time when-"
With another blink, Motoyasu was thrust into another scene. He was inside his personal bedroom inside the castle, the familiar red comforter and drapes clueing him in immediately. But why was he brought here? A light knock on the door sounded out, Motoyasu's body forcefully turning to look at it without his input.
"Come in!" Motoyasu's voice called to the mystery knocker. The door opened and into the room stepped Motoyasu's youngest party member, a small girl named Rino, who absolutely trumped everyone else in his party on the adorable scale. She acted like the perfect little sister and Motoyasu really enjoyed being able to dote on her from time to time. Rino shuffled in nervously, her hands wringing together unsurely, she poked her head out the door quickly before popping back in and closing it softly.
"What's up Rino? What can Big Bro Motoyasu do for you?" Motoyasu hummed as he gave the young girl all his attention.
"W-well, i-its… umm… I need help, Sir Motoyasu, I'm really scared," Rino uttered out.
This instantly set off alarm bells in Motoyasu's head. A young girl being scared? Unacceptable. "What's wrong, Rino? Did someone mess with you at all?"
Rino shook her head, calming Motoyasu a bit, "Myne said something terrifying, and I'm scared of what she'll do to me."
Motoyasu raised his brow, "Maybe she didn't mean it? What did she say to you?"
"S-she said she didn't like how you were doting on me and said she w-would enslave me if I didn't leave," Rino's body was shuddering, her fear and tension palpable.
Motoyasu deflated, all his stress melting away. "Oh, so Myne was telling a joke and you thought it was real? Yeah, I get that. Sometimes I don't understand her sense of humor either. But don't worry, she won't do anything to you, I'm sure of it." He said in the calmest voice he could.
"W-what?! No, Sir Motoyasu, she wasn't joking! Please, Sir Motoyasu, you have to believe me!" Rino pleaded.
Motoyasu patted her shoulder, "Listen Rino, I know Myne, and I know she would never do anything like that, so just have a little faith in me, ok?" He gave her a close-eyed comforting smile, unable to see her expression morph into unfiltered horror. "Now, I gotta go meet up with the King so we can talk before the party. I'll see you later, Rino!"
He exited, leaving Rino behind inside the room. Later that day, Myne told him Rino left the party to go back to her family. Motoyasu never saw her again.
Motoyasu gasped, eyes darting around fearfully as he was forcefully brought back to the damned conference room.
"-I mean seriously, who the hell misses a sign that huge? There isn't any way you seriously didn't believe her, right?" She stares as Motoyasu's horror stricken face before bursting in eardrum shattering laughter, "Oh my god! You really are an idiot!"
"M-myne, where did Rino go?" Motoyasu dreadfully asked.
Malty had to gather herself for a bit before she could actually answer, "I sold her off as a slave, obviously. You should have heard her as she begged for mercy," she chuckled to herself.
"No!" Motoyasu shouted, "I don't believe you! You wouldn't do that!"
"Oh?" Malty smirked, "Then what about when we-"
Motoyasu slammed his eyes shut, refusing to open them to whatever the next place he was whisked to. Unfortunately for him, he had no choice. His eyes were forced open, finding himself just outside of Castle Town, the sounds of fighting coming from inside the capitol. Beside him was the Pope and Myne, both of them watching the growing chaos with smiles. An attendant walked up to them, a beautifully crafted weapon presented to the Pope. The man took it with a toothy smile, testing its weight a few times before aiming it towards Castle Town.
"As a servant of God himself, I order thee. Bathe my enemies in the light of God, let them see the power he wields and the strength of our devotion to him. Slay the Devil inside and free all his worshippers from his curse. Purge his influence from this sinful world, let the light of the holy cleanse them all. Judgement!"
A small sparkle of light flew off from the tip of the weapon at incredible speeds, quickly becoming nothing more than a speck of light shining dully above the capitol. Suddenly it shone with a brightness that rivalled the sun itself and a simply massive beam rocketed down towards and onto the entire capitol, making Motoyasu panic.
He turned to the Pope and Malty and quickly asked, "Wait, I thought that was only supposed to target Naofumi! What the hell are you doing?!"
Malty was quick to shoot down his doubts and assure the Spear Hero, "Don't worry Sir Motoyasu, that beam will only hurt anyone who has done truly deplorable things. People like… slavers or… rapists." She shuddered at the word, Motoyasu's body quickly wrapping its arms around her to soothe her fears.
"I trust you, Myne."
Another blink and he was inside the walls of Castle Town, his spear locked in a power struggle against Elina Poli, the now deceased member of Naofumi's party. Finding he finally had some control over his body, he screamed in fear.
"What?! I thought you died! You had a hole through your chest! What the hell is going on?!" He screamed with tears and sweat cascading down his face.
Elina's visage suddenly grew in size and strength, Motoyasu quickly losing the power struggle as the now supersized woman gripped his body in both her hands. Elina brought him to her face, blood beginning to leak from her armor and trickles escaping from her mouth as she look at him with crazed eyes.
"Remember Lerno, Spear Hero?" Elina's body screamed at him, drowning out everything around him, "You killed them all! Every single one and we cleaned up your mess! You're nothing but scum!" Her hands gripped her, crushing the Spear Hero in her ever increasing strength. "You dance on the graves of the people you've killed!"
"Please, stop!" Motoyasu begged whatever deity was listening to his pleas.
"You disgust me."
The pressure on his body grew exponentially, Motoyasu closing his eyes to try and escape the agonizing pain that he felt. Suddenly it was gone, Motoyasu blinking his eyes open in confusion and fear. He wasn't in the capitol being crushed by Elina's dominating grip anymore. Now he was in a dark forest, Motoyasu scurried to his feet in fear, his panicked breath filling the empty forest with noise.
He darted his body around, trying to find whatever being would torture him next. Then a snap sounded behind him, Motoyasu turned to face the source. Standing behind him was Lerno's villagers, all of them horrifically disfigured, their faces stretched out or contorted in terrifying grins, some of their bodies covered in plants or rotting. Their voices rang out:
"You killed us"
"Traitor"
"Failure of a Hero"
"Doom bringer"
"Murderer"
"Why?"
"False Hero"
"Brute"
"Villain"
Motoyasu collapsed, trying to scurry away pitifully but Lerno's Lord threw its hands onto his shoulder, his disfigured face drawing closer to Motoyasu's own.
"She's supposed to be in your party, Spear Hero. Where's my daughter?"
Motoyasu blinked, finding himself back in the fucking conference room. Malty drew closer to him as he desperately tried to crawl back, his body unwilling to comply. "You did all these things with me by your side."
"No, no! I didn't want to!"
"Then at the end of the day, you threw even me away."
"I didn't know! I didn't! I swear!"
Malty's face began to blacken, bruises forming along her face and her nose snapping violently to the side. Blood appeared along her neck before her body dropped, her head continuing to float closer to him. Their foreheads touched, Malty's blood covering his body.
"You really are a monster"
Motoyasu vaulted himself from his bed, a scream erupting from his body that would have destroyed anyone's vocal chords had he not had his heroic resistances/healing abilities. He scrambled out from under the sheets on the floor, his body covered in cold sweat as he hyperventilated on the floor. His skin was pale, his hair sticking uncomfortably sticking to his glossening head.
The door crashed open, Ren and Itsuki brandishing their weapons and he could hear some commotion further down the hallway, probably more people showing up.
"Motoyasu, what's wrong?" Ren asked as he surveyed the room.
Motoyasu forced himself to calm down, steadying his breathing. He was being ridiculous, who gets so worked up about virtual people in a game? That's what this all was. A game. A game where he didn't kill hundreds of people in repeated awful decisions and misplaced trust.
Motoyasu shakily climbed to his feet, walking unsteadily over to Ren and Itsuki, as well as most of Naofumi's, all of whom were dressed in slightly revealing sleepwear. "It's nothing, just a really bad dream." He tried to assure them.
"Really? A dream?" Rifana snarked from her spot, "You didn't scream that bad even when Naofumi was wailing on you in our first fight."
The group looked back at Motoyasu, questioning glances directed towards him, "No really, just a bad dream, I promise." He doesn't think any of them believed him.
Walking through town, Motoyasu leaned heavily on the Legendary Spear that gave him his designation as hero. His hair was a mess, his skin was still pale, and honestly? He was struggling to calm himself down. That dream messed him up really bad. Passing through the main street, the people levelled heated glares at him, no doubt knowing him as the worst hero by far based on the trial that was broadcast to them all by the recording orb. As if he didn't need another reminder of everything that happened.
One lovely lady even spit on him as she passed him.
"Wow, they even programmed the feeling of spit into this game," Motoyasu shakily muttered as he rubbed it off. His breathing picked up, bordering on hysterical. He hobbled over to a random stall, slamming his hands down on the stall counter and looking at the owner with a direct and unfocused stare. "Hey, can I ask you a favor?"
The shopkeeper, understandable a little unnerved by the manic looking hero, nodded his head.
"I want you to repeat exactly what I say, alright? Word for word." Again, the shopkeeper nodded hesitantly, "Pokemon Generation three was the best one because it featured Breloom."
The shopkeeper narrowed their eyes in confusion before repeating everything back, word for word. Without any warning Motoyasu burst into a breathless wheezing laugh, small giggles sprinkled throughout. He waltzed off from the stall, staggering down the street giggling manically to himself. "No developer would waste their time coding for any response. He's real. This world is real."
He felt horrifically sick, the edges of his vision beginning to blur. Everything was moving to fast, he felt like he was stuck in the middle of a raging river, unable to escape from its ruthless flow. He threw his hand over his mouth, darting off into the closest alleyway and vomiting all the food he hasn't eaten in the last two days onto the floor of the alleyway.
"I killed all those people."
He gripped his head tightly with his hands, rocking back and forth inside the alleyway. It was all real. Everything he's done in this world was real. Every horrible thing he's done.
"Well, it's strange seeing the Holy Spear Hero by himself in a dirty alleyway. You seem to be having a tough time there." Motoyasu turned his head to the voice, a short pudgy man in a black top hat and shiny glasses stood at the head of the alley. "Perhaps I could be of assistance," he said with a wide toothy smile.
"You…" Motoyasu said, recognition shining in his eyes, "You're the slave trader Naofumi and his party told me about."
The slave trader nodded, his smile growing just a bit wider, "It's nice to know my name is starting to get around thanks to my favorite client."
Motoyasu surged up from his spot on the dirty floor, throwing his hands on the shoulders of the slave trader and bringing his face as close to the trader as possible, his unstable smile burying into the other shorter man, "I'll buy every child slave you have."
"Alright," the Queen clapped her hands together as she took a deep breath, burying her emotions for another day, "I need you four to go and gather the heroes." The maids she commanded bowed their heads before leaving to fulfill their task. The heroes are key when combating the waves, so creating a general plan for their future actions to capitalize on their duties and training is imperative to their growth. It would also be beneficial to begin healing the heroes of their mental scars as well. The last months have been trying for them all.
Of the four, the Sword Hero seemed to be the least affected by his journey, so there was very little work to be done in that regard. Though this is likely due to the Shield Hero's presence in his experience as well as his favorable position by being revered by the Three Heroes Faith.
The Bow Hero has expressed very deeply held self-hatred for his previous actions and that does have a chance to impede his growth as a hero, though once again, the Shield Hero's involvement with the wayward hero has kickstarted the young boy on his recovery, both with the people and himself.
The Spear Hero and the Shield Hero, however? Their mental states were entirely unknown at the moment. The Spear Hero had been lied to by every person he held close in this world while being manipulated towards hurting others on a frequent basis. As far as her shadows could tell, the man seemed to genuinely want to help people, but he has shown some incredibly selfish desires that put others in clear and obvious harm, the most obvious example being his hatred towards the Shield Hero and his pursuit of executing him, so the man's mental state could be anywhere on the scale.
The Shield Hero fared no better, having been betrayed by the entire country, bar a few, and he has recently experienced an incredibly close and personal death in his family. Her shadows' reports of the man's progression through his journey told her of his growth from a naive and optimistic man who wanted to help all he came across to a cautious but still overly caring person. Never at any point in the reports did he display any wishes for another person's death, so his actions at the… execution of the traitor were much of a surprise to all present.
A frantic knock on the door brought her from her thoughts, the door opened and one of the maids she just sent to fetch the heroes burst through looking panicked. This naturally set off some alarms in the Queen's mind.
"What's wrong? Why aren't the heroes with you?" The Queen demanded to know.
The maid stammered under the gaze of the Queen, "The Shield Hero has gone missing!"
A search party was organized within minutes, the other three heroes, their party members, and a squad of knights were to head out to search for the Shield Hero, who had apparently not been seen by any of the castle staff since the execution more than a day prior. The Shield Hero's party, the Bow Hero, and the Sword Hero left together alongside the group of knights and Melty to search the town while the Spear Hero claimed he would search on his own, but Ren wasn't entirely sure that was what he would do. The earlier scream in the morning and his dishevelled attire didn't give the best impression of his promise.
But none of them fought with him, focusing more on the fact that Naofumi had just disappeared on them with no explanation. So they took to the town, asking around for any info on Naofumi's location.
"Any news?" Ren asked in a bit of a panic, he searched a good portion of the east wing, asking the townsfolk if they had seen anything, but he failed to get any good answer.
"No…" Raphtalia responded, worry clearly laced in her voice as she played with her tail in her hands, "No one had seen him anywhere." The rest of their group responded similarly, none of them having any luck on discovering the Shield Hero's whereabouts.
Melty paced back and forth, "If no one saw him today, then he had to have left during night when the streets were quiet, and if no one has seen him today, then he might have left the city entirely."
One of the knights stepped in, "We always have knights posted on the castle walls at all times, we can ask some of the guards if they saw the Shield Hero."
Ren sighed out, "Please do. We need to find Naofumi as soon as possible." The knight saluted and ran off, the other knights following closely behind and leaving the rest waiting for an answer.
Most of them were focused solely on finding Naofumi, but Rifana and Silver specifically have been hit harshly by his disappearance. Rifana managed to calm down enough from her previous enraged state, the shock of potentially losing Naofumi giving her the willpower needed to collect her thoughts. Silver, however, lost her chipper attitude, tears almost always shining in her eyes as she hugged her shield plush tightly to her chest.
"I just don't understand! Why would he just leave like that?" Raphtalia asked.
Itsuki placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "People tend to react in a bunch of strange ways whenever they lose someone they care about. It might not make much sense to us, but to Naofumi, it might be what he needs to come to terms with it."
"Everyone handles grief in their own way," Ren added.
Suddenly the knight came rushing back, saluting once more before offering his report to the gathered adventurers. "Two guards reported that the Shield Hero left through the front gates in the middle of the night despite them trying to advise against it. He seemed to have been incredibly uncooperative and displayed very aggressive behavior. They also noted that his shield was alight with flames."
Itsuki's grip on Raphtalia's shoulder tightened considerably, "What?! It was on fire?!" He said with panic.
The knight took a step back but responded, "Y-yes, Sir Itsuki."
"Oh this is bad…" He muttered as he began to chew on the tips of his fingers. Naturally, such an ominous and open ended sentence drew out some worried responses from the rest of the group.
"What's wrong? Is the shield hurting him?" Rifana demanded answers, jabbing her finger into Itsuki's chest harshly.
"Well… it isn't hurting him, not physically at least," the group gave a small breath of relief at that, "but it sounds like Naofumi unlocked a curse series shield."
"But isn't that what made you go insane?" Ren needed more information, right now damn it.
Itsuki flinched at the reminder, "Yes, the curse series weapons influence how you act, how you think. At least, that's what my bow did to me. It might be different for Naofumi since he has the Shield, but that's unlikely." He shook his head, "The point is, we need to get to Naofumi before he does too much damage or hurts anyone!"
"Right!" They all cheered.
"You!" Raphtalia shouted at the knight, making him jump to attention, "Did the guards say which direction he went?"
"He went towards the nearby woodlands in front of Castle Town! The guards failed to see any more once he went deeper into the foliage, ma'am!"
"Then that's where we're headed," Ren took command, hopping atop the now transformed Riza, "Captain, tell your troops to head towards Lute, we have no way of knowing where he went, but if he's truly dangerous then we need to send aid to any potentially damaged villages. We'll investigate the woodland to see if we can find a trail."
The knight saluted before darting off again. Their group didn't wait either, charging off atop their transformed mounts or using their own blistering speed.
"If what Itsuki says is true, then we need to stop Naofumi before he does something he'll regret. If he hurts anyone who doesn't deserve it, he'll never forgive himself."
All he could see was red. The edges of his vision faded out into black, and all that was in front of him was a town that felt familiar but he just couldn't place. The fact he couldn't remember annoyed him to no end so he would find out for himself dammit.
Trudging out from the woodlands, he made his way to the town, the edges of daylight beginning to illuminate the town in a sea of vibrant glowing colors. A few people were milling about, but Naofumi couldn't make out any of their faces with his piss poor vision. One of them apparently sighted him and called others over, the few who were awake heading over to meet him. He didn't know who these people were, they were just blurry figures and he hated it.
And now they were panicking. Why.
He couldn't even understand what they were saying, it was all muffled to the point of whispering but it was so so loud. It assaulted his ears making him clap his hands over his ears to drown out the noise. God damn it, why wouldn't they just. Shut. Up.
"Shut up!" Naofumi screamed as he waved his Wrath Shield in front of him, sending small bursts of black boiling flame towards the group. The people cried out in panic backpedaling from the enraged hero, but none of them fled. Their incomprehensible chatter started up again, more panicked and fear stricken than previously but still annoying as all hell. "Leave me be, dammit!" He shouted again as he aimed his burning shield at the people gathered before him. They seemed to get his threat as they charged back toward the town, narrowly avoiding being turned to complete ash by a blazing stream of black flames. "Too hot…" Naofumi mumbled to himself. He turned right, catching sight of a mine on the side of the nearby mountain, "Mines are cold…" he said as he began to shuffle towards the man made cave.
The woodlands heading the capital city contained the site of a massacre. Mushes, Balloons, Usapils, and plenty of the woodland's bugs were violently torn to pieces and scattered throughout the forest. Many of them were partially dissolved, half or more of their body just… disappearing, no trace of their other remains to be found anywhere. None of the Legendary weapons really had the ability to just erase things from reality, so that pointed in a different direction.
Ren turned to the demi human family of the Shield Hero, "Rifana, Raphtalia, is Wireframe capable of doing damage like this?"
"No, Wireframe has never been able to do anything like this." Raphtalia answered, "The most Wireframe can do in terms of damage is fusing enemies with its surroundings and even then it's more of a trap than outright damage."
"It had to be his other stand," Rifana cut in.
"Other stand?" Ren and Raphtalia questioned. Couldn't each user only have one?
"In the fight with that religious piece of scum, Wireframe broke apart into a different stand entirely, exactly when his Shield burst into flames." It had been quite terrifying to watch, in all honesty. Seeing Naofumi's stand, which she has come to learn is a vital and integral part of oneself, completely shatter into pieces is a sight she doubts she'll forget for years to come.
'Maybe different stands correspond with different forms of the Legendary weapons? No, then each new form would provide a new stand.' Ren theorized to himself as he resumed the search, 'It must be unique to the curse series. Naofumi unlocking a new stand and the black scorch marks we keep seeing everywhere are lending a lot of credence to Itsuki's theory.' And wasn't that a hell of a worry to have, 'Dammit Naofumi, you better be alright when we find you.'
Brushing past some torched twigs, Ren came upon a trail of ash, dissolved monsters, and smaller fires heading in one direction for as far as Ren could see, which given the sudden clearing of trees and foliage from the cursed flames, was pretty damn far.
"He went this way!" Ren called to the rest. The knights would stay behind to handle the fires, while the rest charged ahead.
The mines provided some relief to the hero as he made his way deeper into them. The flames of his shield were an excellent light source, despite their color suggesting otherwise and the stand that hovered beside him was one Naofumi was just as engulfed in anger as he was. A sudden noise from beside him sounded and within half a second, Fahrenheit was at the source, throwing a powerful blow in its direction blindly and furiously.
Fahrenheit's fist cratered into the wall of the mine, cracks webbing from the impact as smaller chunks of the ceiling began to rain down from above. Fahrenheit retracted its fist, the fractured wall crumbling as it was pulled out. All that power for just a single rock. Well at least there weren't monsters down here to annoy him like in the forest earlier. Those damn things were annoying.
Naofumi continued his aimless wander, eventually coming to the end of the mine. This proved to be no problem for Naofumi, however, as Fahrenheit slashed its claws into the stone, the material sublimating into gas as the jagged claws ran through it like water. The stand levelled claw after claw into the wall, quickly creating a tunnel for its user to walk through with ease. The light of the torches and crystals were abandoned quickly, the tunnel going deeper and deeper into the stone. Naofumi continued his forward path for a while, unable to tell just how long had passed, until one final claw slash revealed a glowing beam of light. Naofumi scowled, a couple more slashes and he climbed out of the hole he made to the other side of the mountain.
"So you too have fallen to the allure of the cursed power? It's a shame. I had faith that you of all the heroes would hold strong against the temptation." A voice sounded from his right. Of course, to Naofumi all it sounded like was incomprehensible mumbles.
Whirling around, Naofumi saw a smaller figure, gray hair sitting atop her head and a pair of white wings fluttering on her back. "Leave me alone!" He roared, a pillar of flame shooting from the shield and blasting the figure.
A hand gripped the back of his head and slammed it to the floor, he struggled against it but the figure's grip and strength was simply too much for him to resist. "I've disciplined one hero, and I can discipline another."
Naofumi growled in rage, "Get the hell off me!" Fahrenheit emerged from his body, lashing into the blurry figure with its strongest punch. The punch connected, digging into the figure's cheek and snapping their head to the left. Their grip loosened just enough for Naofumi to throw them off him. Their wings fluttered gaining control of their path and stopping themselves in the air.
"Tch." The figure scoffed, "What interesting magic, I've never seen anything like it. Though it won't make much of a difference."
Emerging from the woodlands, the path they followed led them all to Lute, the idea of a human massacre flashing through their minds. They charged ahead, breathing a sigh of relief as they caught sight of unharmed villagers going about their day.
"Have any of you seen the Shield Hero?" Raphtalia asked the first group of people they reached. Ren took note of the fact that they gave them some distance.
One woman off to the side answered hesitantly, "U-umm, well… The Shield Hero came out from the woods like you all did much earlier today. Some of us tried to greet him but it was like he couldn't understand us at all. Then we noticed his shield was on fire and we tried to put it out." She began to wring her hands nervously, pulling her cuff down to reveal some lighter burns around her forearms. "He got really angry, like a wild beast and shot off a pillar of fire at us. He didn't hit any of us, thank the heroes, but we got some very harsh burns. I'm lucky I was in the back of the group so I only got mild burns, the ones closer than I weren't so lucky."
The group looked between one another, nervous sweat beginning to drip down their temples. This was seeming worse off as they found each clue. At least he hadn't killed anyone.
"Do you know where he went after? We're trying to reach him and make him see reason again," Itsuki prodded for more information.
The group of villagers all pointed towards the mine, heated steam emerging from the entrance in a seemingly never ending stream.
"Oh that can't be good," Riza plainly spoke.
"Daddy!" Silver cried as she transformed and charged ahead.
"Silver wait!" Raphtalia tried to stop the girl, but she was already gone. "Dammit!" Raphalia and Rifana ran after the girl.
Ren hopped atop Riza again, levelling a look towards Itsuki, "Itsuki, you and Melty will stay here and help the town with their curse burns."
Itsuki shot up in surprise, "You know about the curse burns?"
"Yeah, you gave me some yourself." Ren said with a scowl. He didn't know what Naofumi saw in him, but if Naofumi thought he could do good, then he would trust his brother. Didn't mean he had to like him though.
Itsuki flinched, "I'm… I'm sor-"
"Save it," Ren glared before heading out.
Melty stood there, unsure of how to help. Itsuki sighed, it would take a long time to regain the trust he lost. But if he wanted to be a real hero, he had to start somewhere. "Alright Melty, let's get to work." He said with false confidence.
"Right!"
The mine was immensely hot. Whatever steam Naofumi had been making made the entire trek feel like walking through an incredibly dry sauna, and what a hellish feeling it was. Luckily for them, it started to fade out as they got to the lower levels of the mine, where they found a single person sized hole in the wall that went incredibly deep into the mountain. Given what they'd seen of this unknown stand, making a hole like this wasn't unlikely. So they trudged forward entering the hole and walking through it in its entirety.
Eventually they spotted light at the end of the tunnel, as well as some enormous sounding crashes and booms. The group sped up, quickly emerging from the hole and coming out to the middle of a torn up battlefield. An airborne green blur sped past them, crashing into a tree behind them and snapping it in two.
Turning their heads to follow the object, they found him. Naofumi was right there, lying on the ground.
"Nao-!" They tried to call out, but another familiar voice cut them off.
"Your resilience to damage and your strange magic are proving to be incredibly annoying, but you cannot defeat me. Cease your resistance," Fitoria, Queen of the Filolials, called out as she flew over his unmoving body.
It had been an incredibly annoying fight. She outclassed him in every stat, even including defense, but that strange magic made it so any blow had the potential to be devastating, even with her incredible stat spread. Anything within a three meter radius of the cursed hero had the potential to spontaneously combust into liquid, randomly form into a powerful shield, or just completely disappear from her vision entirely. Such magic would be devastating if she was affected.
So it turned into a game of cat and mouse, the hero trying to catch her and retaliating with powerful blows when she deemed it was entirely safe, which more often than not, it wasn't. She scoffed, this was proving to be more of a hassle than necessary.
The hero's body shifted from its spot on the ground, redrawing her attention. He raised his head, those same damned red circles still glowing fiercely on his skin. "I'll fucking kill you!" He roared as several pockets of air around him turned completely solid, falling to the ground with a heavy thump, and the tree he crashed into turned into some mess of a liquid.
She dodged his clumsy swing and the burst of flame that fired afterward. Fitoria's instincts warned her to retreat immediately, an order that was proven correct as the ground she was standing on vanished to thin air.
The two glared at one another. "Naofumi! You need to calm down!" A voice drew their attention, standing at the same whole the cursed Shield Hero had emerged from, alongside the Shield Hero's party, though they were missing the larger woman they were with before, and a transforming dragon woman. That woman would be a problem for later.
"Have you come to collect your hero?" Fitoria idly questioned, her monotone voice drawling on.
"Don't ignore me!" Naofumi cried out as he rushed again. Fitoria jumped up out of range before descending quickly with a brutal axe kick.
"Dammit Naofumi! Listen to us!" Riza shouted at the raging hero only for no effect to be had as the Shield Hero continued his slugfest with the Queen of the Filolials.
"Dammit!" Rifana wanted to go in and stop Naofumi herself, but Naofumi's stand was out of her league. Its blows looked significantly stronger than anything Wireframe has ever shown and its ability to turn any matter into any phase would be more than enough to kill her with just a tap. And if he wouldn't listen to them, then what the hell could they do?
Raphtalia spared a glance down, realizing that Silver wasn't with the group anymore. "What the-? Silver don't!"
The silver haired and winged girl didn't care about the potential danger. All she knew was her Daddy was hurting really bad, and she would be there for him through all of it. Silver saw her opening, jumping towards the enraged shielder when he wasn't looking and delivering a crippling right hook to the man's face before burying her small body into his with a fierce hug.
Naofumi seethed with rage, looking down at the small figure that clung to him. Fahrenheit prepared its arm, ready to remove this thing from existence only for the figure to stare Naofumi down in the eyes, Silver's teary eyes breaking through his blurry vision.
"Silver?" Naofumi whispered. He collapsed to his knees, wrapping his arms around the girl. To his side, the black flames came to an end and Fahrenheit faded away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worried."
"Well you did, 'Fumi!" Another blur tackled the kneeling man as Rifana crushed the two into a tighter hug. "When we realized you disappeared without even telling us, you scared the shit out of me! Jerk!"
"Naofumi," Raphalia spoke softly as she knelt down, "We all miss her, you can talk to us if you need to. We'll always be there for you."
'Elina said the exact same thing,' Naofumi thought bitterly.
"Alright." Naofumi nodded plainly. The scowl on his face faded, but the tired look in his eyes remained ever present.
Naofumi Iwatani
Class: Shield Hero
Level 50
Legendary Shield,「Wireframe」
Bizarre Otherworldly Clothing
ATK: 61
DEF: 442
MATK: 52
MDEF: 346
DEX: 135
AGI: 193
Stand Arrow Charge: 87%
Raphtalia
Class: Demi-Human Knight
Level 47
Magic Iron Sword
Swordswoman's Dress
ATK: 173
DEF: 104
MATK: 154
MDEF: 58
DEX: 108
AGI: 203
Rifana
Class: Demi-Human Rampager
Level 46
Steel Dagger,「I've Been A Fool」
Short Furred Covering
ATK: 211
DEF: 97
MATK: 64
MDEF: 58
DEX: 210
AGI: 258
Silver
Class: Adult Filolial Queen
Level 47
Steel Wings
ATK: 200
DEF: 247
MATK: 202
MDEF: 295
DEX: 93
AGI: 196
Notes:
Yup, a chapter dedicated towards Motoyasu and Naofumi, two opposite ends of handling the same event. The weapon information and all that jazz will come next chapter, but I wanted to both clear up any remaining confusion with Naofumi's second stand, Fahrenheit, and also finally make Motoyasu into a fully fleshed out character instead of a meathead puppet who everyone can hate.
Also, fair notice: there won't be a chapter next week, I have midterms and I NEED to study. These classes have been kicking my ass and I wanna do well ;-;
Take care everyone :)
- RandomA99