Author's Note: Welcome back everyone. Once again, not much to write here so uh, yeah, welcome. I apologize that this chapter took so long, but it's finally here.

Without further adieu, chapter 14!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero or any of its characters, only my own.

"Dialogue."

"Writing."

Thoughts.

September 10, 2020

"Today, the Wave is scheduled to occur. No matter how many preparations we take, it may never be enough. My fireteam has accepted the fact that there will be casualties, both injured and dead. I am proud of them, for no matter how childish they act at times, they are some of the best people I could have the honor of working with. We have about five hours to go, so we are getting our final preparations set. Hopefully Erhard completed the project now. He is truly a skilled blacksmith, but only luck will tell if the project was a success."

- Private First Class Wisniewski

"Hey Leo, are you finished with that entry yet? We have to hurry if we want to go visit Erhard and get some lunch before the clock runs out." Raphtalia informed the man as she walked up behind him.

With a smile, Leo put away his journal before turning around and quickly kissing Raphtalia. "Of course, I just finished. If everyone else is ready, then let's get going. No time to waste." Getting up, Leo swung his pack over his shoulder while Raphtalia clipped her sword to her belt. Without another word, the two stepped out the door and into the sunlight.

Rifana and Filo stood just outside the inn, the former telling the latter a story from her childhood as they waited. When the door opened and Leo and Raphtalia came through, Rifana gave them a simple smirk and nod, both of which reciprocated.

"Alright, here's the deal. We have just over five hours to finish preparing before everything goes sideways. So for our first stop, Erhard. We need to see if he completed Project K. Afterwards, we'll get some lunch and then head out to train for the last hour or so. If Project K is done, then we will spend as much time as possible training with it. Any questions?" The others couldn't complain about the plan. It was solid, scheduled, and ready. Seeing as no hands went up or voices spoken, Leo went on. "Alright, let's get a move on."

The trip to Erhards was, as always, not a long one considering the distance between his shop and the inn. On the way there, Leo and his party passed by rows of knights and empty vendors. With a sigh, Leo could only hope that the knights actually did their job this time. Within a few minutes, the group was at the blacksmith, everyone mentally preparing themselves for the upcoming Wave. Even Filo remained silent.

Entering the store, Leo saw Erhard behind the counter. The bald man didn't even need to ask why the soldier was here. Smiling, Leo spoke to the taller man. "So, is it ready?" He simply asked. When Erhard gave a nod, Leo placed a small bag of gold coins on the counter. Once Erhard counted the money, he smiled, nodded, and went towards the back room. Moments later, the man came out with a contraption that would outshine almost anything in the way of technology on the planet.

Picking up the device, Leo took the time to look over the combination of wood and metal. Bringing it up, he cocked a piece of metal backwards before letting it go, allowing the metal to slide forward with a click. "I must say, I'm very impressed old man. I honestly didn't think that you would be able to make it in such a short time, if at all."

Erhard rubbed his head with a scoff. "Well look at who you're talking to kid, of course I could do it… with the help of those notes." He muttered. "Anyway, would you mind telling me what it is that I built anyway? You know how I feel about secrets." Erhard inquired.

Leo's smile got wider at the question. "Of course of course. This, Erhard, is a Kalashnikov Automatic Rifle, or as many people call it, an AK - 47. What you have built is one of the most reliable weapons of my time." Leo informed as his eyes traveled back and forth between Erhard and the rifle. "Erhard, I cannot stress this enough more than I already have. Thank you. The amount of help you've given me, well, I simply have no idea how to repay you." Leo said as he holstered the rifle for the time being.

Putting a hand on Leo's shoulder, Erhard's face held a smirk, his eyes full of resolve and gratitude. "You don't have to repay me anything kid, well except for money of course, but otherwise, you surviving this Wave is payment enough."

Leo chuckled at Erhard's response. Taking a step back, Leo suddenly stood at attention, Raphtalia and Rifana quickly following his actions. Simultaneously, the trio snapped a crisp, two fingered salute to the blacksmith who simply gave a mock one in return. With that, Leo thanked Erhard one last time before stepping out into the street once more.

"Ok, now that our Kalashnikov is built, let's go get some lunch. We have," Leo stopped to check his HUD, "four hours and forty seven minutes. So let's take forty five or less to eat, then we can head out to the fields, sound good?"

"Yep!/Yes sir./Yeah." All three of his companions said at once. Satisfied, they went off to get something to eat. Heading back to the nearby restaurant that they ate at the previous day, the group had ordered a standard lunch. Around an hour later, mostly due to Filo eating four plates of food, the group finally managed to pay and leave so as to make their way out to the fields.

Exiting the cart, Raphtalia and Rifana went off to train with each other while Leo checked over their new rifle. Taking out one of the few rifle rounds that he had, Leo had his shield absorb it which unlocked his ability to create 7.62x39mm bullets. Noting how the larger rounds required only a few extra resources that he used to create his 9mm bullets, Leo went to work. Taking about an hour to craft, Leo eventually had enough to fill the three magazines that Erhard supplied him with.

With a smirk, Leo loaded a single round into a magazine before locking into place in the Kalashnikov. Cocking the bolt back, Leo set the gun in a set of sticks to hold it in place for a test fire. Tying a piece of string around the trigger of the rifle, Leo had the weapon aimed at a nearby tree. Taking a few steps back, Leo pulled the string, the trigger following the newfound force applied to it.

To Leo's amazement, the rifle fired, the bullet case ejected, and a small part of the tree fragmented when the bullet hit it. The loud sound caused both nearby demi - humans to wince, the noise of the AK louder than that of the Glock. Shaking off the effect of the sound, Rifana and Raphtalia immediately ended their training and began walking over towards where Leo had set up his little test-run.

"Leo, do you mind telling us what it is exactly that you're doing?" Rifana asked him as she holstered her tomahawk and crossed her arms.

Leo rubbed the last of the dirt that was kicked onto the barrel as he answered. "Oh you know, just making sure that the Kalash is in working order for you to use." At that, he held the gun out towards Rifana for her to take.

The female held a questionable look on her face as she slowly took the rifle from Leo's hands. "W- wait, you mean that I get to use it?!" She exclaimed. When Leo nodded, she immediately brought him in a bone crushing hug. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed. After having practiced with Raphtalia's pistol, Rifana always wanted a gun of her own but never expressed it, having more important matters to deal with. Now that she finally got her secret wish, she was more than ready to learn on how to properly wield it.

"Ok ok, calm down now. Let's go ahead and give your new rifle a go, shall we?" Leo said as he brought Rifana over to a nearby tree. "Alright, go ahead and copy my stance." Once her eyes were on him, Leo took a stance with an imaginary weapon. Putting a foot back, he leaned slightly forward with his knees barely bent. Once she held the pose, he provided minor fixes such as how much she was leaning, the angle of her foot in its position, and the location of the stock of the Kalash. Taking hold of the stock, Leo slowly shifted its position closer towards her neck and further into her shoulder. "Alright, that looks good enough. Now go ahead and aim down the sights and, just like we taught you with the pistol, slowly pull the trigger back. Keep in mind, this weapon will have a lot more recoil than a pistol, but it's capable of doing over four times the damage." After stepping behind Rifana, Leo gave her the all clear.

Slowly squeezing the trigger, Rifana's rifle landed its mark: A small log standing on a tree stump. When the larger caliber round hit the target, the wood shattered into a million pieces as the metal of the bullet fragmented on impact, sending the piece of wood flying backwards around a foot or so.

"Hold fire!" Leo exclaimed. At this, Rifana took her finger off the trigger and lowered the weapon as he went over to inspect the log. Upon seeing it split in half with its center in splinters, he nodded to himself before setting up another target, this time farther out. Jogging back to his original position, Leo once more sounded the all clear once he was behind the shooter. Rifana did the exact same thing she had done before with the same effect. This process continued a few more times, as it was less of a test for Rifana as it was the rifle itself. Once Leo confirmed that the weasel had managed to hit a target that was over a hundred meters away, he went ahead and did something new. Instead of setting up one target, he now set up multiple throughout the field.

Returning to Rifana, he gave her her task. "Alright, here's what you're going to do. Your objective is to take out all the remaining targets in the quickest, most efficient manner you can. The catch however, is that you must destroy them from this position. Once you complete this task, then we can advance your training." Rifana simply gave the man a smirk and nod before he stepped behind her. Crossing his arms, he simply watched as she methodically executed each log of wood with deadly accuracy.

To say Leo was surprised would be the understatement of the century. No, he was amazed to high hell. "Holy shit! Rifana, are you a prodigy or something? Not even the best marksman is capable enough to pull that kind of shooting off on their first few runs!" Leo exclaimed. Even Raphtalia's eyes were wide in shock as Rifana completed the firing exercise with ease. Rifana simply shrugged with a slightly arrogant but also confident grin.

Shaking his head clear, Leo quickly got back on track. "Alright, now that you've proven yourself capable with your Kalashnikov while standing still, let's try it while on the move, shall we? What's going to happen is that we will do what you did prior with the logs, however, this time you must fire while on the move, sprinting to the next marked target."

Rifana was filled with resolve to not only complete the next part of her training with full success, but to also make Leo and Raphtalia proud. As Leo went about setting up the logs and marking them with handkerchiefs, Rifana began practicing her stance once more so as to perfect it. Over at the carriage on the other hand, Filo was watching the whole process while eating some pre-made food, so all in all, she was quite busy.

Once all the logs were set up, Leo returned for a third time. Once he was behind Rifana, he gave her her orders. "All right, your objective is to eliminate all hostiles. Be advised, they have civilians, so watch your fire and everyone should be ok."

Both Raphtalia and Rifana were surprised at this, but it was to be expected. Since the Wave was so close, they had to be ready in case somebody got trapped in between a group of enemies. "Eagle four, move move move!" Came the shout. The moment she was given the green light, all of her training kicked in as she made her way forward.

Moving about the forest was barely an issue, the occasional upturned tree root getting in the way, but besides that, Rifana had only one thing in mind: Search, Destroy, Protect. Passing by a tree, she saw two logs with red markers. Slowing her pace, she took aim and fired twice, both hitting their targets. Moving back to her original speed, she passed a log marked in green. Were it not for the bright green indication, she would have shot it. What she did shoot however was the red log behind it.

This process went on for another half hour, each shot eliminating each target with extreme precision. Rifana silently berated herself when she accidentally shot a green log though, and she knew that Leo was marking her progress. By the time the weasel completed the training exercise and returned to her starting position, Leo noted how the group only had an hour left before the Wave began.

"Seems like you have everything down for the time being Rifana. We don't have a whole lot of time left before the Wave hits, so let's head back to the capitol and rendezvous with Ake and his party." Making their way to the carriage, the group made the short journal back to castle town. Closing in on Erhard's shop as the meeting place, Leo's party waited for Ake and his team to arrive.

Approximately ten minutes later, Ake's group finally got to them. "Sorry it took us so long Sir Shield Hero, we were just getting a few more health potions from the apothecary." Ake informed Leo. Taking a good look at the group, Leo and his companions noticed how Ake's party's armor seemed to glow with magical enhancements, their swords obviously having been upgraded too. The mages they had seemed to have gained better staffs and high quality magical enhancing jewelry.

Leo shrugged and waved Ake off. "Don't sweat it kid, you were simply getting as ready as you could. And I see that you put the money I supplied you to good use. Other than that, good luck and be safe." Leo told them with a calm voice.

After some casual conversation between the two parties, Erhard came outside with a multitude of crates. Setting them down, Leo saw that they were filled with swords, axes, maces, shields, and other assortments of equipment. "Here's some extra stuff for you in the case that you need some backup weapons for yourselves or anyone you come across. And don't worry about prices, it's on the house." Erhard informed the Shield Hero and his party. Raphtalia immediately began thanking Erhard while Leo had Rifana help him load the crates into the cart. With ten minutes left, every second was precious.

Once everything was loaded up, the cart was full of weapons, potions, and other goods that would help out during the Wave. "That's the last of it. Thanks again Erhard, your contribution will definitely help out." After a quick handshake, Leo accepted a sudden invite from Ake to join his party. Once the request was confirmed, Leo checked the clock a final time.

00:00:07

00:00:06

00:00:05

00:00:04

00:00:03

00:00:02

00:00:01

00:00:00

With the familiar golden light surrounding the large group once more, Leo, Ake, and everyone else was teleported to the desolate hellscape that was the Third Wave.

"Go go go! Move up!" Leo shouted as he blocked another strike with his ballistic shield. A large number of orcs, lizardmen, goblins, and other fantasy creatures lay dead around the combined parties, while even more stood in front of them. Pushing forward into the crowd, Raphtalia and Rifana were at the front, slicing at everything that came their way. Ake's party killed any stragglers that either survived the trio or managed to avoid them. Filo was taking out larger groups of the hostiles for the time being.

Once the crowd of monsters surrounded was surrounded, Leo had everyone who held a weapon completely obliterate all the remaining foes. Limbs, heads, bodies, everything that could be damaged was by the sheer amount of swords, magic, and Rifana's tomahawk.

"Finally, another village cleared." Raphtalia huffed.

As everyone took a moment to catch their breath, Leo checked his HUD for the current time. "We've been going at this for over three hours. What's taking the others so long?"

Raphtalia put a hand on his shoulder after holstering her sword. "I'm sure that they're doing their best Leo. This Wave has proven to be more difficult by far." Turning to the group of knights that came with them, she addressed them. "Ake, stay here and keep the forces here busy. We're going to go try and help the other heroes." Ake didn't even get to respond before Leo's party was off.

Filo ran as fast as she could with the weight of her three friends riding her. The Hussar Wings Leo gave her blew heavily in the speed, appearing like battering rams from anyone in front of them. Breaking through the treeline, the group continued on. That is, until a large wooden ship flew nearby, a tentacle - like creature extending from its base.

"Woah." Was all Leo could say at the sight. As they continued to observe the ship, large explosions seemed to hit it, but no structural damage seemed apparent. Tracing the location of the explosion's origins, they soon found Itsuki and one of the archers from his party shooting at it.

"Leo! Thank God you're here." Itsuki said upon the soldiers arrival.

"Likewise. We've managed to clear out a few of the surrounding villages, but it's been hours. Do you have any idea where the others are?"

Pointing towards the old floating ship, Itsuki told him everything he knew. "They're up there. I've been shooting at that figurehead for over an hour and a half now to try and bring the Soul Eater boss out. Eventually, Ren suggested that we go on the ship and try to bring him out that way. Motoyasu and his party went with him, but that was over an hour ago." With a sigh, Itsuki lowered his bow for a moment. "Honestly Leo, I have no idea how we're actually going to defeat the boss. Nothing seems to be working, and I'm kind of worried for Ren and Motoyasu."

Thinking for a moment, Leo quickly remounted Filo, Raphtalia and Rifana right behind him. "We'll go up and check on them, see if they need help. At this point, if nothing else, we can stall for time. Filo, let's go support the others. Fly!" Not wasting anymore time, Filo took to the skies as she flew all three of them up to the pirate ship.

Landing on the mast of the floating wooden structure, Fireteam Eagle spectated the whole ordeal. Ren and his party seemed to be locked in a fight with some sort of skeleton captain, while Motoyasu was fighting a tentacle. Watching Ren's fight, Leo saw that the Sword hero had managed to kill the captain, but before he could think on it further, the captain respawned. What the hell? How are we supposed to defeat the Wave if one of the mini boss' respawn?

"Motoyasu, help me out over here dammit! The Soul Eater won't spawn unless we kill the captain!" Ren shouted from across the ship.

Gritting his teeth, Motoyasu replied in a slightly angry tone. "What are you talking about? The Soul Eater will only spawn once we take out the kraken!"

This back and forth between the two led to the heroes' parties to begin arguing, Ren appearing to not have as good of a relationship with Motoyasu when compared to Itsuki and Leo, more than likely due to the trial and how much Leo has done so far to help clean his mistakes. Before the argument could continue any further however, Rifana zip-lined down a rope using her tomahawk while Leo and Raphtalia slid down the sails, Filo right behind them as she simply flew to the deck of the ship.

"Quit bickering you two. Now's not the time nor place for this! We need to work together if we want to save everyone and end the Wave!" Leo exclaimed as he dropped him. Motoyasu clenched his spear in a tighter grip while Ren appeared to back down.

Ren was the first to give in. "I- We- Yeah, you're right. We've been trying for nearly two hours to get the boss to spawn with no luck. What do you think we should do?"

Before Leo could provide any suggestions or thoughts on the current situation, Motoyasu spoke up once more. "You're really trusting this lowlife criminal? Hey Leo, how about you head off and go help some village or something. We don't want you here." Motoyasu insulted the soldier. Leo was unaffected by the simplicity of Motoyasu's taunt as he rolled his eyes.

Malty took a step forward, her posture screaming arrogance. "Yeah, we don't want such an incompetent hero who can't fight b-" Malty was interrupted as Rifana brandished her tomahawk and pointed it at the red - haired princess. The princess gritted her teeth at the unspoken threat.

"Incompetent? Look at who you're speaking to, princess. Actually, no, talking to you is like talking to a brick wall: A complete waste of my time." Leo said before turning back to the teenage hero. "Ren, have you noticed anything that could help us get the boss to spawn?"

The Sword Hero quickly began rubbing his chin in an attempt to think. "No, not really. We've mainly been -" Stopping for a moment, Ren raised his sword and blocked an attack by the skeleton captain.

In the midst of thinking, Leo heard Rifana point something out. "Leo, look! The shadow is fluctuating!" Indeed, with one good look, the shadow was moving differently than the host. "Raphtalia, try casting some of your light magic!"

Taking a stance, she began the incantation. "Ok, cover me! As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and illuminate my position. Burst flash!" With a burst of light, a bright illumination encompassed the area exposing faces within the shadows. Instantaneously, Raphtalia and Rifana launched themselves at the kraken shadow and stabbed their weapons into the floor. Ren did the same with the skeleton, parrying his attack before burying his blade into the ship.

With both shadows hit, streams of purple energy flew upwards into the sky, surrounding the three heroes and their parties. As the streams shot towards each other Itsuki and his party finally managed to get aboard the ship. "Leo! I don't know what you did, but thank God you did it!" Itsuki exclaimed.

They did not have long to celebrate however as smoke covered the area that their new opponent would spawn in.

Dimensional Soul Eater

"You wanted the boss?! You got the boss! Everyone, hit it with everything you got, spare nothing! Go go go!" Leo shouted as he waved his arm towards the Soul Eater. At the order, the adventurers and heroes got over their stupor and attacked. Motoyasu used lighting abilities while Ren and Itsuki used some form of thunder attack. Filo shot wind magic at it and Raphtalia and Rifana utilized light magic. The other spell casters used other types of magic against the Soul Eater. Under the combined arms of over nine people casting attack magic, the Soul Eater lost over a fifth of its health. Shit. Even with everyone's attacks, we don't have enough to beat it quickly!

In response to the large magic attack, the Soul Eater began charging a large green ball within its mouth. "Everyone, behind me! NOW!" Leo exclaimed as he raised his ballistic shield. Mostly everyone followed without question, save for a slightly hesitant Motoyasu and Malty. They quickly followed however as the energy grew bigger.

Launching the orb of energy, Leo forced himself to hold against the stronger attack to the point where Rifana and Raphtalia had to hold him up lest he fall from the force of the explosion. As the dust cleared, everyone was unscathed except for a few minor wounds.

"Hit it again! Everything you got!" Leo exclaimed as he held his shield. The others didn't need to be told twice as the bombardment of magic, arrows, and melee weapons hit the boss a second time.

Rifana and Raphtalia shot forward in unison as they brandished their weapons. Stabbing deep into the skin of the enemy, their blades did not do much damage to the boss itself, but rather, led to a bleed effect. Jumping back as the Soul Eater swung its tail, the two demi - humans rolled upon landing so as to keep their momentum. Pulling back behind friendly lines, Leo raised his shield once more to ricochet the attack meant for his companions.

"Rifana, Kalashnikov! Open fire, aim for the eyes!" The female did as she was told, taking hold of her AK - 47. As the bullets began to fly, the other heroes simply stood in shock at the display of weaponry.

Motoyasu shook out of his stupor the quickest as he gripped his spear. "You have a fucking machine gun?! Where the hell did you get that?! You must've cheated, you must have! I knew you were a cheater Leo!" The blonde hero accused. The last of Leo's brain cells that could tolerate Motoyasu died right then and there. Ignoring the man, Leo continued to provide cover to Rifana whenever the Soul Eater attempted to strike.

"Ren, come on! Cheater or not, we have to help them!" Itsuki shouted to his friend as he readied his bow.

"I hear you. Motoyasu, come on, we have to help." The collected teen then said to the others. The Spear Hero gritted his teeth and was about to retort. That is, until he saw Raphtalia staring in his direction as she popped her fingerless glove covered knuckles.

"Fine, come on then! Let's show this bastard what we're made of!" Motoyasu exclaimed, a newfound vigor in killing the beast rising within him. With a 'yeah!' and raised fists, the others began to engage in melee combat with the creature causing Rifana to stop shooting.

"Raphtalia, Rifana, Filo, get in there! Assist them in finally killing that thing! Remember your training! CHARGE!" As he ran at the beast, his companions followed right behind him. Swinging his ballistic shield, he smashed it against the Soul Eater's face which caused it to stumble. Guess Spartan Bash works on this thing too. Good. Let's see what it's made of.

The heroes and Leo's companions danced gracefully around the Soul Eater, slowly wearing it down with every stab, slash, and thrust. As the fight went on, Leo saw that the boss' health was just below half. It's only because we did those heavy magic attacks, and I doubt anyone has much mana reserve for another large hit.

In the midst of his thoughts, Leo heard a crash against the side of the ship. Looking over, he saw Rifana collapsed against the wall. Quickly going over and checking on her, he found that she was perfectly fine save for being unconscious. Dammit! I got lost in my thoughts and I didn't protect her! Breathing deeply through his nose, Leo closed his eyes as he felt himself become slightly angry, not at the monster they were fighting, but at himself. I swore to protect them, and yet I just failed at protecting her. This thing needs to die, now.

Closing his eyes, Leo felt something familiar wash over him. Guilt? Pride? Honor? No, none of those things. All he felt was worry. Worry that he would not be able to protect his friends. As the feeling continued to flow, a new message popped up on his HUD.

Ballistic Shield

Change Shield

Pipe Shield

Change Shield

Thunder Run

Opening his eyes, a white glow dimly surrounded the 21 year old soldier. With a warcry, Leo charged as fast as he could at the boss monster before bashing it with his shield as hard as physically possible. The attack and effect left the Soul Eater stunned in a longer state than usual. Calling for his shield prison skill, the stunned enemy was caged in an airtight ball of shields and chains.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel good, doesn't it?!" Leo shouted at the Soul Eater. After a moment, Leo commanded his shield to change, causing the airtight ball to fill up with toxic gas from his Breath of Death shield. Everyone else stood in shock at what was happening to the Soul Eater, even Rifana who had woken up. "Under the power of the blazing strike, your screams will be drowned by the sound of thunder. Your body will suffer as it is ripped and torn to shreds. I call upon Thunder Run!"

As the spell was finished, a dark cloud covered the sky, blocking any sight of the portals of the Wave. Suddenly, all was still.

…

"10 - 4, visual on contact. Firing for effect."

Sounds louder than anything this world could muster grew as it neared the ship. Breaking through the dark clouds, a lone green F - 16 jet flew directly towards the trapped Soul Eater. Everyone aboard the ship watched the display of power as the jet shot the ball of metal, ripping the Soul Eater within to shreds. A second went by before they finally heard the sound of the gun, a deep brrrt sound erupting from the fighter. As it passed over the ship, the jet flew back into the clouds and disappeared, the clouds dissipating soon after to reveal the blood red sky of the Wave.

As the seconds ticked by, everyone, including Leo's party members simply stood in awe, amazed and terrified at the display of destructive power that Leo had just utilized. Motoyasu was the first to break the silence.

"So that's what you got from cheating huh? Some overpowered skill that helps you fight?" The man accused once more. Before he could go into a rant about Leo "cheating," Rifana and Raphtalia grabbed Motoyasu's shoulders in an intense grip before walking up next to him and flashing large grins, their grips continuously increasing in strength.

"Say what you want Motoyasu, but cheating or not, there's no way we would've killed that thing in time to end the Wave." Itsuki said to the blonde in pain.

As everyone cheered for their supposed victory against the Wave, Leo and Raphtalia shared a victory kiss before being interrupted by Filo who pulled them into a hug. As Leo hugged both of them, Rifana quickly joined the group in their hugging experience. Their 'hurrahs' and cheers did not last forever, as everyone felt their heart beat a deep, dark, solid thump. Arising from the middle of the ship, another Soul Eater appeared before the group of sixteen, taking them all by surprise. Before anyone could make a move against the second boss however, golden blades shot down from the sky, piercing the new Soul Eater and killing it in a single strike.

"If I must say, that was quite disappointing."

Descending upon the ship was a pale woman in a traditional Japanese Kimono of sorts wielding fans. "If these weaklings actually cause you trouble, then are you truly the heroes this world needs?"

As the woman stepped forward, everyone tensed up. Whoever this is, she must be incredibly powerful to kill a Soul Eater in one hit. Gotta stay ready. Raising his shield so as to block his body, Leo held up a fist signaling for his companions to hold their positions. "Out of the four of you, only one has the potential to be called a hero." The woman said as she looked towards Leo. "And what might your name be?" Leo remained silent as he peered through the glass window of his shield. "Not going to tell me? How rude. In any case, then I shall introduce myself first. I am Glass, and from now on, you can consider me your enemy." Her voice held arrogance that even surpassed Motoyasu.

Leo continued to remain silent at Glass as he observed her motions through the small glass window. Covering the right side of his body, he slowly motioned towards his thigh. Raphtalia picked up on the message and slowly took her pistol off safety. Rifana took hold of her tomahawk, ready for the rehearsed attack.

"You still won't speak? No matter, the only battle worthy enough to even be called that is between us. So, let us begin."

Shit.

Author's Note: And that concludes the first episode of the wave. Next up, the fight between Glass and our Soldier hero! What will Raphtalia and Rifana do during the fight? Well, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you guys. Anyway, stay safe. Bye!