They sneaked towards a hidden base of the rebellion and the remaining Three Heroes Church. There, they saw Mald yelling at the escaped remnants.
"Wait, isn't that one of Itsuki's comrade?" said Ren, pointing at an armored person.
"I remember that malaka." said Marius.
"Looks like he's behind all this as well." said Naofumi.
"D-Does that mean Itsuki's here too?" said Rishia.
"We're not sure about that. Anyone got a plan of attack?"
"Not alot of security. We could just go in and attack." said Marius.
"Are you sure?" said Naofumi.
"We could let Aquila deal with their guards."
Everyone looked at Aquila, who was looking at his buldging muscles. Naofumi looked at Mald again and noticed he was carrying the Spirit Turtle sword on his hand.
"A Spirit Turtle Sword? Where did he get that from?" said Naofumi.
Mald turned round and on his back was the Spirit Turtle Shield that was made for Naofumi.
"Wait, that shield's mine!" said Naofumi.
"Should we go with my plan?" said Marius.
"Do it! But that guy is mine!"
"Aquila."
Aquila turned his head towards Marius.
"Take out the guards."
"Yes, centurion father!" Aquila ran from their hiding spot, transformed into his filolial formed then started attacking the guards.
"Hey!" Naofumi called out to Mald, "That shield was suppose to be mine!"
"You're getting worked up over a shield?" said Ren.
"Shut up!"
"The Devil of the Shield!" Mald took out his shield.
"Give that shield back!" said Naofumi.
"Never! I've purified this wicked item so I can wield it!"
"Oh, that does it!" Naofumi charged at Mald.
"Then you will face your punishment by my hands, Devil!" Mald swung his sword with his full might.
Naofumi blocked the attack, and before Mald could pulled his weapon back Naofumi grabbed the blade with his barehands.
"What is this?! You stopped it unarmed!"
Naofumi pulled the sword away from Mald's hand. Before the system could reject it, he threw the sword towards Ren and the Sword Hero caught it by reflex. But due to Ren's curse, the sword suddenly developed rust.
"I was going to use that sword to good use!" said Naofumi.
"Um... Sorry." said Ren
"Nevermind, just don't touch the shield."
"The Holy Sword! You destoyed it!" Mald slowly stepped away from the heroes.
He turned around and bumped into Aquila in his human form. Aquila grabbed Mald by the head and lifted him off the ground. He dropped the Spirit Turtle Shield and Naofumi retrieved it.
"That should teach you a lesson about stealing." said Naofumi.
"What do I do with this one?" said Aquila.
"Do what you want with him."
Aquila looked at Mald in confusion.
"Tie him up." Marius pulled a rope from his satchel then threw it at Aquila.
Aquila put Mald down on his chest and he started tying his hand. He then lifted Mald up before putting him on his feet.
"Masked Hero!" Mald snarled.
"Chaire." said Marius, before he covered Mald's mouth with a cloth.
Naofumi saw the Three Heroes Church remnants entered the base, "We got their base. Let's see what's inside and hopefully we can find the leader."
"Um... Naofumi." said Itsuki.
"This is about Itsuki again, isn't it?"
"Well, yes... If... If we found him... And if we have to fight him, could you leave him to me?"
"Do you plan on persuading him? I can't promise you dealing with him will be easy. If we do encounter him, I planned on detaining him."
"I know. I still want to try talking to him."
"You don't want him to end up like Spearman." said Marius.
"Marius's right. We don't know what kind of person he'll become if you try talking to him." said Naofumi.
"Then allow me to participate as well." said Ren, "I was offered a second chance, and I want to do the samething to Itsuki."
"Okay, I let you two do that. But if you two failed in doing so, then abandon that idea." said Naofumi.
Rishia and Ren agreed, and all of them entered the base with Mald in Aquila's hand.
After venturing deeper into the rebel's base, they a reached research lab with documents scattered around.
Naofumi picked up a document that catches his eyes, "They have a full document about my village." Naofumi began flipping through the pages, "They've been planning to sabotage my territory for a long time."
"There's a document about me here too." said Ren.
Looking around, Marius spotted a document with the Balck Prior symbol on it. He picked it up then started reading it.
"A group originated from another world where the Water Warriors reside. They were lead by a Water Warrior named Vortiger. He claimed to be under a legion called the Blackstone Legion, under the leadership of a female warlord called Apollyon. "
Their main forces consisted of mercenaries of human and demi-human race, but a larger forces of Water Warriors were at their disposal. They waited for the execution of the Masked Hero before they were deployed to take down the current government. Hopefully if they launched their mass assault, we could have a huge advantage when we launched our own plan."
Marius turned to the next page...
"The Black Prior's plan was a failure before they could initiate it. According to the reports, a large number of their forces were annihilated by a sudden filolial stampede. Vortiger was killed during the attack. We also lost contact with our agent, who was suppose to lure the Masked Hero to a trap. She was last seen giving the reports to the queen and The Order, before disappearing entirely. We've sent agent all around Melromarc to hunt her down. Due to this unforeseen events, we will proceed with another plan."
Marius closed the document and saw another document with the label 'Water Warriors'. He picked it up then started reading it.
"Water Warriors.
These are warriors that emerged from any body of water from all across the world. They all originated from the same world, which they described to be in constant war. According to them, the war they fought lasted for thousands of years.
There are four known nations of the Water Warriors, each with their own smaller factions that also were at war with each other.
The know nations are:
I. Knights.
II. Vikings.
III. Samurai.
IV. Wu Lin.
Due to their resemblance to the humans of our world, they could blend in perfectly in this world. Some of their culture are almost similar to different cultures in this world as well. New Water Warriors will always emerged in different parts of the world. It is usually the duty of The Order to search for this lost warriors before they could cause damage due to culture shock.
There are plans to bring in these warriors to our cause, and we have took an interest to the Black Prior that have been operating secretly in the shadows."
Looking around again, Marius found another document, this time it's about him.
"Estimated Level : Unknown.
Danger Level : Unknown [Some reported that it's similar to the Shield Hero].
Water Warrior Class
We were adviced to be cautious when dealing with the Masked Hero. His attack and defenses are both high, making straight forward attacks suicidal.
Report indicated that he has acquired a powerful artifact that was last seen during the time of the previous Four Legendary Heroes.
Countermeasures against the Masked Hero are required."
"You!" Marius approached Mald with the document in his hand. He forcefully removed the cloth from Mald's mouth, "Explain this!"
"We've been secretly documenting all of you this whole time." said Mald, "Looking for any weakness that we could use against you... And I know yours, Masked Hero. They said that you are going to be a father soon... There have been talks about using that against you-"
Marius backhanded Mald's face, "I will kill all of you if you do!". Marius drew his gladius to Mald's neck.
"While you were busy fighting, we sent an agent after your bird and your child... By now, they might be in our hands-" Mald's throat was cut open by Marius. He fell to side as blood flowed from his sliced neck.
"I must get to Filo! Aquila!"
"Yes, centurion father!"
Marius and Aquila quickly ran towards the exit.
Marius arrived at the village and were guarded heavily by the legions. He got off from Aquila and he ran towards the manor. Inside, there were slaves tended by Sadina that were recovering from the brainwashed inflicted by the rebels.
"Where's Filo!" said Marius.
"She's still in her room. Why?" said Sadina.
Marius hastened his pace towards Filo's room as his heart races from anxiety. He forced the door open and saw Filo still in her nest with the egg. And from other side of the room was Mercy leaning against the wall and Marius drew his gladius at her.
"Relax, I mean no harm." Mercy showed the dead agent on the floor with multiple stab wounds.
Sadina entered the room with her harpoon ready to attack Mercy but Marius stopped her.
"Why are you here?" said Marius.
"To help. I know about their plans. They were going to assassinate your fiance and took your child hostage, but I took care of it."
"But why?"
"Think of it as an apology for what I did to you last time."
"Right... Thank you."
"Is queen mother safe!" said Aquila.
"I'm safe, Aquila." said Filo.
"Aquila, joined the legions in their patrols." said Marius.
"Yes, centurion father." Aquila bumped his fist on his chest before leaving.
"Marius, don't tell him to go off like that." said Filo.
"Oh, Filo." Marius walked towards Filo then embraced her.
Mercy picked up the dead agent then walked to the door, "Know somewhere I can dispose of this?"
"Well... The shark do need to eat sometimes." said Sadina.
"Thank you." Mercy turned to look at Marius, "Hard to imagine the centurion acting like that."
"Oh? What's he really like?"
"Let see... Arrogant, cruel, power-hungry, will have you executed if you look at him funny."
"I heard that." said Marius.
"Good." Mercy left to dispose of the corpse.
Marius woke up in the morning. He had been sleeping with Filo in her nest last night. Marius kissed Filo's forehead before getting up then exited her room.
"Hey!" Naofumi called. "You left us all of the sudden last night!"
"You know why I left." said Marius.
"Yeah yeah, I know. By the looks of it, nothing bad happened."
"No."
"Those bastards will do anything to take us down."
"Did you get the Bowman?"
"He's in house arrest right now. A friend of yours asked me if she can stay here for awhile."
"Mercy?"
"So that's her name. Someone you knew?"
"Yes."
"Slept well last night?" said Mercy, who came out of nowhere.
"How did you?"
"Just a little trick I learnt from the Shadows."
"Listen, if you wanna stay here, atleast pay some rent money. I'm not running a shelter here." said Naofumi.
"I won't be staying here forever." Mercy toss a gold coin at Naofumi. "I'll leave when none of them are searching for me."
"Raphtalia already caught the Bitch. So I think you're safe to go."
"But can I still stay? Me and Marius have alot of catching up to do."
"Fine. Just don't Filo catch you with Marius the whole day. She gets jealous easily." Naofumi turned and left, leaving Marius and Mercy.
"So, what's been going on with your life?" said Mercy to Marius.
"So you joined the Shield Hero's party to pay his debt?" said Mercy.
"Correct."
"And in the process, you became his slave?"
"Yes."
"Sounds humiliating."
"It was, but not anymore. Now I have a family and a home to live with."
"And what happened to building an empire?"
"I no longer have such desire."
They looked around the village and saw the villagers working, demi-human children playing around, the slaves training on the training ground with Eclair and Ren, and the legions patrolling the region with Aquila.
"I can see why. So much different than back home."
"Indeed. Atleast here we have a moment of peace."
"Peace... Have you wonder if our old world ever achieved peace?"
"I highly doubt it."
Bitch struggled to get out of her bondage. She fears the horrible fate she'll endures when she reached the hands of the King of Faubley. Then, the carriage she was on suddenly stopped as Motoyasu and his filolials were under a sleeping spell.
The carriage was opened and a hand pulled her out to the ground. She looked up and saw Apollyon towering over her, and she cut Bitch's bondage.
"Thank you!" Bitch got up then hugged Apollyon's legs.
Apollyon kicked the princess away, "Brainwashing? Really?"
"How else should I do it? We don't have enough forces after Vortiger and his armies were killd by birds!"
"Maybe I should throw you back in and let the king treat you like a toy."
"Wait, no! Please, I'm sorry!"
"Then tell me why you failed?"
"I-It's that disgusting slave of Naofumi! She humiliated me!"
"She bested you in combat. Then your brainwashed army turned against you." Apollyon raised her hand, and two men came in with a woman in bondage who looked just like Bitch.
"I-Is that-"
"Face Transfomation magic worked wonders. Shame I have to kill the last of the practitioners."
The men carried the bondaged woman as she begged for her life and she was put inside the carriage.
"For now, we stay quite." Apollyon and her men left, with Bitch following them.
