Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! This time, I have a special chapter for you. Today, I bring you the FINAL chapter to our story! I was originally planning on splitting this up into two chapters, but decided that it would be better to go all out and turn this into one large chapter!

I want to take a second and say thank you all for the wonderful adventure that was this story. I have learned so much from this experience, and I truly hope you all enjoyed it to the very end. However, stay tuned until the end, as I have a very special surprise for you all…

Without further adieu, Chapter 23 - A New Era!

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

"Dialogue."

"Writing."
Thoughts.

The sun shone bright on a beautiful day in Cal Mira. It was especially tranquil in the market district as a light breeze blew through the streets providing the classic vacation vibe. To a small group of individuals, today could not be a more perfect day for the beach.

Leo and Raphtalia were currently in the middle of simply exploring what the market had to offer, the others nowhere in sight. Earlier that day, Leo had given each companion a handful of gold coins that they could use to buy whatever they needed for their planned trip. With their absence, Leo and Raphtalia took this opportunity to do their own activities and share the experience with each other.

To Leo, this was almost a personal utopia. He didn't have to worry about monsters, people scheming to kill him, or that annoying couple he met yesterday. No, right now was all about him and his girlfriend, and he would be damned if he didn't make the most out of it.

So far, they had gone out and bought Leo his own beach clothes which consisted of a simple brown pair of shorts, green shirt, sunglasses, and a cheap pair of black flip - flops. Raphtalia on the other hand was clad in the bikini set that Leo had bought the previous day, covered by a loose blue tank - top and shorts with an accompanying pair of sunglasses, as well as a similar pair of black flip - flops.

Raphtalia knew she couldn't hold back her excitement for the day, as was evident with the rapid back and forth motion of her tail, something Leo may or may not have "accidentally" brushed with his hand a few times. Of course, he denied the accusations with a playful smile, even breaking out into laughter when she had pouted at him. Alas, she couldn't stay mad at him, as when was the next time they would get an opportunity to just enjoy life?

That didn't mean she wouldn't get her revenge. No, it was all in due time.

"Hey, look at that." Leo suddenly said, bringing Raphtalia to look where he was pointing. On the other end of the street was a small food stand that was selling an assortment of different foods. When Raphtalia caught sight of the food, her stomach grumbled as if screaming at her to go get some. Leo laughed at Raphtalia's misfortune causing her to pout the hardest she had all day. Motioning with his head towards the stand, Leo asked, "Wanna grab a quick bite to eat before we meet up with the others?"

Raphtalia's pouting expression quickly changed to that of hunger and necessity. "Yeah, I'm staaaaarving." She said, dragging the word to its full extent.

Leo comically rolled his eyes at her antics with a smirk. "Alrighty then. Wait here while I go get in line. Anything in particular that you want?"

Raphtalia squinted at the menu, studying its every dish before eventually coming to a decision. "Uh, I'll take the fishburger with lettuce, Faubrey cheese, and tomato. And also a cookie." She quickly added.

Leo raised his eyebrows as if to question her choice but soon shrugged it off. Stepping away, he went to get into the short line and order their food.

Taking a seat on a nearby bench, Raphtalia patiently watched as Leo took another step forward in the food line. As a quick precaution, she reached for the back of her shorts to make sure her boot knife was still there. Confirming it was, she allowed herself to lazily sit back on the bench and continue her watch of those around her.

A few minutes later, Leo came back with two small bags in his hands. He handed one to her before taking his own seat on the bench. Even before opening the bag, Raphtalia could smell the unmistakable flavor of the freshly cooked fish. Greedily, she pulled out the burger, tore off the wrapping, and took a bite.

Her taste buds shot through the roof immediately. Whether it was hunger, the flavor, or a mix of both, she couldn't help but love the taste of the burger, especially the fish. When she swallowed her first bite, she hastily went for another, this one larger than the first.

Leo chuckled when he caught sight of her tearing into her burger without any cares in the world. Taking a bite of his own burger, it being similar to Raphtalia's except for the addition of this world's version of mayonnaise, Leo was struck with an equally satisfied reaction. The taste of the simple combination that made up the burger triumphed over any burger he had had back on Earth.

He was barely into his third bite when he saw Raphtalia rubbing her hands against each other, her burger having completely disappeared entirely. Holy crap, just how hungry was she? He kept his focus on her for a moment as she pulled a small cookie from her bag. However, he was barely able to contain his laughter as her eyes sparkled at the joy of getting a chocolate chip cookie.

Her face lit up with such an elated expression that Leo thought he broke her for a moment. It was when she quickly exclaimed "thank you" and gave him a lightning fast kiss that he knew she was simply overjoyed.

Taking a bite, she let her mind slip before unconsciously saying, "O my God, dis ish sho fuckin' delicish." When she took another bite, she let out a 'mmmmm' sound, proving that she indeed loved the small treat.

Leo rolled his eyes with a smile as he finished his burger. Putting his trash into the food bag, he checked his watch and saw that they still had about fifteen minutes before they had to meet with the others on the beach.

Fifteen minutes to kill with someone who loves to devour chocolate chip cookies. Who wouldn't want this life. Leo jokingly thought to himself as he wrapped an arm around Raphtalia.

Feeling his hand on her left shoulder, Raphtalia casually leaned against his own shoulder. Seemingly content with their current position, the two remained seated on the bench as Raphtalia ate her cookie with delight.

This did not last long however, as a voice quickly broke the peaceful silence that fell upon them.

"Leo, Raphtalia!" Rifana shouted as she walked to the sitting couple. "You guys all set for the beach?"

"Yeah, we got all our stuff a while ago." Raphtalia answered. "What about you? Ready for the water?"

Rifana nodded. "Yeah. Come on, I already met up with the others a few minutes ago, so now they're waiting for you guys at the beach. I drew the short straw and was sent to come find you."

Leo stood and stretched. "Alright, go ahead and tell 'em that we're coming. We'll be there shortly."

Rifana nodded and began to leave to tell the others. Leo and Raphtalia grabbed their bags and began the short walk to the beach. Today was going to be fun and exciting, Leo could feel it.

Leo waited by the group's belongings as they went to go get changed into the swimsuits they had bought that morning. Raphtalia, who had the opportunity to dress for the beach beforehand, was setting up a small net that Keel and Filo had managed to find that resembled something akin to a volleyball net.

Good thing Raphtalia still had her orange ball from nearly three months ago.

The first of the group to return was Eclair. She was dressed in a royal purple athletic bikini top and hipster bottom. The next two to arrive were Rifana, who donned a gray bandeau top and a pair of quite revealing boyshorts, and Filo, who was wearing a pink flounce top and skirted bottom.

When Keel came back, he was dressed in... a gold colored one piece?

Leo was about to start asking questions if it weren't for Rifana lifting her hand to stop him.

"Don't worry, I was also confused. Apparently," she said as she dragged out the last word, "Keel's female. I guess we couldn't really see it at first when she wore those loose clothes of hers, but when she took off her shirt, well, I'll just say I'm kind of impressed." She stated with a wink towards the younger demi - human.

Rifana's unexpected praise caused Keel to blush out of embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Leo opened his mouth expecting words to come out but found none. Instead, he confusingly stared at Keel for a moment. Eventually he just sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "You know what? I'm not even going to try to question it. You do you kid, I've seen way more awkward stuff back on my world."

Keel visibly relaxed at Leo's thoughts. Although she was still a bit embarrassed from Rifana's comment, she still smiled at Leo's thoughts on the matter.

"Moving on, Raphtalia's setting up that net that you two found." Leo said as he pointed at Keel and Filo. "So how about we play some volleyball? The rules are simple: Hit the ball over the net and if it hits the ground, that's a point. The opposing team's objective is to keep it off the ground so that the other team doesn't score a point. Whichever team has the highest score wins. Also, points only count if the ball hits the ground within the border of the playing area. If the ball hits outside the lines, the round ends with no points and the other team serving the ball." Leo quickly explained.

The others seemed fascinated at the game from Leo's world that they agreed almost instantly. "I'm down. I mean, how hard can it be to hit a ball over and net and slam it onto the ground? That sounds so easy!" Rifana playfully boasted as she flexed her muscles.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Oh trust me, you'll see." He casually but cryptically replied as they reached the now set up volleyball playing area.

"Oh, hey guys! I managed to get everything set up! You guys ready to- woah." Raphtalia said while waving, her orange ball tucked beneath her arm. "Keel, why are you wearing that?" She asked the young teenage tomboy.

"Surprise!" She said with a whimsical set of jazz hands. "I'm female." She answered with an unaffected smile.

Raphtalia was dumbfounded at this newly obtained information. "And you've been keeping that from us all this time?" She wondrously asked.

Keel rubbed her arm as she gave her older friend an awkward smile. "Well, you never asked." She retorted.

Raphtalia stood with a blank expression on her face to the point where Keel was worried she said something that may have angered the tanuki. However, relief quickly washed over her as Raphtalia burst into laughter.

"You know what? Fair." She said as she settled down. "Well then, with that out of the way, who's up for some volleyball?" She asked as she held the ball up with one hand. A joyful chorus of "yeah's" rang out. Taking position on one side of the net with Raphtalia and Eclair, Raphtalia was the first one to serve the ball.

As the ball flew through the air, Rifana charged forward while keeping her eye on where the ball was falling. As the ball fell closer to Earth, Rifana jumped and slammed the palm of her hand against it, sending it crashing to the ground back on Raphtalia's side. At least, it would have if Leo wasn't standing towards the front. Diving to the left, had just managed to clasp his hands together and hit the ball causing it to go towards Eclair who was standing nearby.

Her adrenaline kicked into high gear as she hit the ball over the net once more. As it sailed past Rifana, the demi - human ran backwards in an attempt to hit it again, though in her haste, she did not see Keel and Filo also going to hit the ball. The three teammates collided with each other and fell to the ground in a mess of limbs and sand while the orange ball hit the ground nearby.

Score: 1 - 0

Leo, Raphtalia, and Eclaie all watched as the opposing team got themselves untangled. After hearing them argue about who's fault it was that they lost, Raphtalia managed to diffuse the situation while Leo went and retrieved the ball.

Once the field was calm once more, the group continued to play multiple matches of the sport. Sometimes Rifana and her team would win, while other times it was Leo's. Over the course of just over an hour, the squad had played nearly 11 games of volleyball. Not only that, but within that hour, Eclair and Rifana had become the two domination forces, so to get into a team against both of them, while not impossible to win, was incredibly difficult.

Leo wasn't necessarily shocked at how quickly everyone managed to learn the in's and out's of the game. If anything, he was glad that not only had he taught everyone something new, but also the fact that they were bonding as friends over such a simple concept: having fun.

At this point, their game had caught the attention of many of the fellow beach go - ers, most of which encircled the playing field, mesmerized by the speedy motions the players took in their attempts to win. A few of the female adventurers however had their attention more so on Leo than the game. All in all, it was quite the spectacle.

The final point was scored when Keel slammed the ball over the net, the round object crashing into the ground with intense force. Those gathered around cheered for Keel's victory before slowly taking their leave and returning to their own business.

Deciding to move on to another activity, they left the ball over with the rest of their stuff. Rifana, Raphtalia, and even Keel all decided to have a race to the water. The loser would have to take first watch during their next adventure. Leo watched as they lined up side - by - side. After having him count to three, they took off as fast as their legs could carry them.

Raphtalia was clearly at the advantage, her speed being almost unmatched with the exception of Rifana who was only a few meters away. At the same time, Keel was surprisingly keeping up, only being maybe six meters behind the first two. In the end, it was obvious who was going to win as Raphtalia jumped into the crystal water of the ocean, Rifana joining her only a few seconds later, followed by Keel.

When the three friends surfaced, they all looked to and from one another before breaking out into hysterical laughter. In the midst of their distraction state, Leo jumped into the water barely even a meter from the trio, splashing them with water.

With their spirits high, everyone joked, laughed, and simply had the most fun they had had in months.

Raphtalia was currently seated on Leo's shoulders ready for the attack. A few meters away, Rifana was sitting on Eclair's shoulders in a similar position. When Keel lowered her arm and shouted go, the two combatants charged forward at each other. Once they were within distance, Raphtalia and Rifana clasped hands and tried to push each other off their respective partners.

As both teams remained in a stalemate, Keel and Filo cheered them both on as they continued to try and gain the upper hand.

Rifana grit her teeth as she used her greater strength and pushed harder against Raphtalia. Raphtalia may have been faster, but she was definitely stronger. Tensing her muscles, she attempted to pull Raphtalia off on the side rather than continue pushing in the failing deadlock.

The surprise change of tactics startled Raphtalia for a moment. While she did nearly fall, Leo managed to re - stabilize enough that allowed her to pull herself back up. Slamming against Rifana and Eclair once more, the two demi - humans were engaged in another pushing match.

"Back!" She shouted at Leo. Quickly deducing what her plan was, he pulled away from Eclair as fast as he could whilst clinging onto Raphtalia with the mere hope she didn't fall into the water.

The plan was a complete success as Rifana lost her balance and fell face first into the ocean, somehow dragging Eclair with her a little. Raphtalia celebrated their victory with Leo joining from below as he continued to parade her around.

Pushing Raphtalia up and off himself, Leo let Raphtalia fall into the water. While Eclair and Rifana were messing about with Keel in the water, they went back onto land and dried off to a certain degree, Raphtalia spending a bit more time with her completely soaked tail.

"If you had to rate today on a scale of one to ten, what would you give it?" Raphtalia asked as she turned her head to look at Leo.

After thinking about it for a moment, he answered. "A solid twelve."

Raphtalia rolled her eyes and lightly punched his shoulder. "Smartass." She jokingly insulted.

Leo broke into a light laughter, Raphtalia quickly joining in. Settling back down, they allowed the warm sun to hit them as they let out a relaxed sigh. A few minutes went by where they enjoyed each other's company as the noon sun kept them warm, but was immediately broken by the sound of Filo calling out to them, the others following close behind.

"Leo! Leo!" Rifana shouted, catching both of their attention. The tone of her voice indicated that whatever it was, it was serious. "Filo just found something big! Tell him Filo."

Leo turned to face the small filolial girl but was not ready for what she had to say. "I was swimming under the water and found an island master! It was glowing red so I went to check it out. I found a hole in the side of this large brick building and saw something that looked like that giant gold thingy back at that fancy building near the castle!"

Leo's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he put two and two together. "You mean an hourglass?" He asked, to which Filo nodded.

With Filo's confirmation, reality hit Leo hard: they had no idea when the next wave was actually going to hit. "Sorry everyone, but we're going to have to cancel the trip early. Get your stuff and head back to the hotel. We're going back to the mainland to check up on the next Wave."

The group sprang into action as they dried themselves off and packed their bags.

Leo could only hope his paranoia were justified.

Leo slammed his shield into the face of another monster, stunning it long enough for a bullet to fly into its skull. Over a hundred and fifty meters away, Keel shifted to her next target: A wolf - like monster that was trying to sneak up on Eclair.

The wanui demi - human had managed to shoot up in levels and age thanks to the intense grind to level up Leo had put everyone through over the past two days. With all their progress, Keel had managed to get to level 32 in what could be considered almost no time at all.

This was all due to the fact that the next Wave was approaching in only thirty nine hours.

When the group returned to the church with Leo's teleportation skill the previous day, they checked the hourglass for the next wave. To their horror, the next Wave was only fifty eight hours, less than three days, away. Immediately, they set off to alert the Queen. When Mirellia was informed of the looming deadline of destruction, as well as the hourglass at Cal Mira, she sent her advisors off for the complete mobilization of her military in preparation for a massive defense.

Not only that, but Mirellia had also told one of the advisors to have a ship ready for Leo and his companions to return to Cal Mira from the nearest port. Levels were necessary, and Cal Mira was the only place that could provide it in the short amount of time that was left.

After giving the Queen all the information they had, the group left the castle and went to check on Keel's weapon. When they entered and told Erhard about the Wave, it was almost as if he went into autopilot. No jokes. No witty sense of humor. Nothing. Just giving Keel her recently finished VSS Vintorez and the group some spare supplies before sending them on their way.

With the lack of overall time, they had to skip out on getting Keel a custom fitted uniform, deciding that she would just wear one of Rifana's or Raphtalia spare's once she was of size. By the afternoon of that day, the group had boarded the ship that Mirellia had ordered for them. On the way across the water, Leo would use his shield to craft a new, but similar looking, tomahawk for Rifana, a ulfberht sword for Raphtalia, and a kukri for Keel.

When they returned to Cal Mira, the group went straight to grinding, only stopping for meals, bathroom breaks, looting, or sleep. Within hours, Keel had managed to level up enough to reach adulthood. Since her body was more in line with Raphtalia's, she was given one of her spare uniforms which fit her surprisingly well. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.

Keel pulled the trigger sending the bullet silently screaming out of the barrel and, after less than a second, hitting the monster in the neck. With her final monster dead, Raphtalia turned around just in time to see the wolf monster get shot. After giving Keel a thumbs up, she went back to the fight, cutting right through a cluster of slimes.

Day in and day out, this would remain as the plan. When the final hours before the Wave were slowly ticking, the group returned to their room and would begin assorting loot, craft potions and pills, clean their weapons, and any other tasks of importance that would prove useful for the upcoming battle.

"Everyone, listen here."

Leo's voice caught everyone's attention, the demi - humans especially as they looked at him with unwavering eyes.

"In six hours we're gonna have one of the toughest fights of our lives, which means in four everyone will need to be awake and eating something because, well, let's face it, who knows how long this thing will last. Make sure you're stocked up on ammo and meds in case we get separated. Eclair, Filo, you two stay up for a moment. The rest of you, finish what you are doing and get some sleep." Leo calmly, but sternly, ordered.

The demi - humans nodded and did as they were told. Soon enough, they were washed up and ready to sleep, the trio collapsing onto their beds for some well needed rest.

With the room now completely silent, Leo addressed the strawberry knight first. "Eclair, how's your sword doing on durability?"

Eclair raised a quick eyebrow before inspecting her sword. When she took a detailed look at it, she could make out the scratches and small dents in her finely tuned weapon. "It's fine for the most part. A bit of quick maintenance and it should be ready to go." She replied.

Leo nodded and held out his hand, motioning for her sword. After she gave it to him, he put the sword to the gem of his shield causing the sword to disappear. This sent Eclair into a slight panic, but when it suddenly reappeared, she calmed down.

Taking the bladed weapon back from Leo, she saw that it was not only completely refurbished but also higher in level, exceeding that of her own by two. Looking back at Leo, she saw him motion his head to the beds. Understanding the silent action, she put her new sword into its sheath before going towards the restroom to do her own nightly routine.

Filo looked like she was about to say something, but Leo put a finger to his lips to ensure she would stay quiet. She nodded as she leaned forward with anticipation for whatever Leo was doing. Doing a similar process to her talons, they came out with a solid steel color and sharper than ever. Filo excitedly thanked Leo before hugging, of which he returned before releasing her so she could get into her filolial form and sleep.

Picking himself up off the ground, he went to the restroom and brushed his teeth before going over and settling into bed with Raphtalia.

An o' seven hundred wake up call. Great…

The group stood on the balcony of their hotel room and watched as a large armada of ships entered the waters of Cal Mira. With the Wave only fifteen minutes away, everyone stood with a baited breath as the clock slowly counted to zero.

As the minutes counted to thirteen, Leo turned to his squad and went over final preparations. "Remember, stay together. Do not blindly charge into the enemy, we don't know their strength nor how many there will be. Watch each other's backs and we'll get through this. Keep eachother safe." Leo emphasized.

"Yes sir! / I understand. / Ok!" The demi - humans, Eclair, and Filo shouted in reply.

With everything squared away, all they had to do now was wait.

As the clock ticked ever closer to zero, the tension within the group rose. There was no doubt they were worried about the outcome of the Wave, afraid even. But they were ready.

00:00:04

00:00:03

00:00:02

00:00:01

00:00:00

The sky turned its usual blood red a few seconds before the golden teleportation aura surrounded the group. When they arrived at their destination, rather than being met by grasslands and villages, they were met with the sounds of their boots hitting wood.

The Queen was stunned for a moment about Leo's teams' arrival on her ship. "Ah, Sir Leopold! Your timing could not have been better. We're flushing the monsters out of the water but my archers are getting overwhelmed! Have your party use those fancy guns of theirs and help them out!"

Mere seconds after Mirellia spoke, a large creature came sailing out of the water a few hundred meters away, taking everyone aback by its sheer size. To the sailors, it appeared to be something akin to a large whale that was over twice, if not three times as long as their ships!

Rifana would be the one to break the silence with the one thing that was running through everyone's minds. "Holy shit."

A large wave of water amassed as the oversized creature gracefully dove back into the water. "Get depth charges in the water! Keep that thing away from the ships!" A naval officer shouted to his subordinates. The crews acted in haste with a mixture of panic and training as they began pushing barrels over the side of the ships.

"Archers, focus on the small ones! We'll have to let the heroes deal with the big one!" Another officer commanded.

A few minutes into the battle, the whale re - emerged and shot a beam of green energy at one of the ships. In the ensuing explosion and destruction of the ship, a portion of the sailors and knights found themselves caught in the water and quickly consumed by the many smaller sea monsters.

A dark fate, but a quick one as well.

Back on the Queen's ship, Leo's party was assisting the archers while he coordinated with the other heroes about the whale.

"We have to find a way to kill or it'll slaughter us out here!" An adrenaline rushed Itsuki exclaimed.

"We have to find a way to draw it out of the water to attack it, and all we have are those barrels." Ren replied before looking expectantly at Leo. "Leo, you're the OP military guy here. Got anything in the shield of yours?"

Leo began to search through his menu of shields and abilities before giving an answer. "Give me a sec' to check. For the time being, just use everything you've got when it's out again."

Motoyasu rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Oh yeah, let's always go to Leo to solve our problems, great idea guys.*"

For once, Leo surprised himself by actually, albeit silently, agreeing with Motoyasu. "Just keep it busy." Leo replied with a serious tone.

When the whale re - surfaced, the three hopped into action attacking it with everything they had. When they were sure they had its attention, they focused their attacks on the gem.

The three heroes charged their meteor skills into a singular attack in the off chance they didn't hit the gem, they would at least hurt the monster.

To their credit, they did manage to hit the whale on the head and send it recoiling in pain back into the water. With their speedy success, they continued to watch for any signs of their target coming back to try and finish off the fleet.

It was in this tense moment of waiting that a heavy fog rolled over the water and almost completely encompassing the area.

[A/N: Play Sabaton - Bismarck for added effect]

As the mist settled, the blare of a horn gave way to a large steel ship over twice the size of the Queen's own. Everyone, save for Leo and to some extent the other heroes, were astounded by the sheer size of the ship.

The one feature that left everyone awestruck were the dual 130mm guns.

"A Skoryy class..." Leo muttered as watch his magical ship's AA guns open fire on the monsters falling from the tears in the sky.

The modern weaponry made short work of the creatures, stopping them before they could even think about getting into the water. However, the new firepower was about to be tested as the whale resurfaced once more.

The destroyers' powerful guns immediately understood the incredible danger posed by the new threat. The knights and sailors watched as the massive batteries rotated towards the whale's head.

The whale attacked first by shooting a beam of bright green energy at the steel hull. The resulting explosion rocked the ship and engulfed it in residue smoke, stopping onlookers from knowing the fate of their saving grace.

When nothing happened within the next few seconds, the whale seemed satisfied that it killed its opponent before locking onto another ship.

As the beam powered up, multiple bright lights and explosions ripped through the smoke before hitting the side of the whale. The sound of the deep horn echoed as the smoke cleared, the destroyer floating mightily as it began to sail around the large monster. Its naval guns opened fire once more, keeping the whale disoriented and hurt as it aimed its torpedo launchers at the enemy. Soon enough, two large underwater projectiles were making their way towards the large body of flesh as the guns continued to fire their salvoes.

Everyone cheered as the whale's health bar dropped, each hit doing more damage than the last. On one ship however, two individuals had worried expressions as they witnessed the full might of Leo's shield. From the stories their comrade had told them, they were becoming ever more doubtful they would succeed in their mission.

With a final salvo the whale collapsed back into the sea with a large hole on its head. Just as things were looking up, another opponent came down and landed gracefully on the deck of the Queen's ship.

The archers and mages aimed their weapons and magic at the unknown woman, unsure what she was going to do, let alone why she was here.

Leo and his party however knew exactly what they were up against. "Glass. What the hell are you doing here. Didn't learn your lesson the first time?" Leo aggressively asked as the party spread out along the ship and readied their weapons.

The companions that fought her before with Leo knew they were lucky last time. They came to the agreement that, were it not for Raphtalia's pistol, then they would have surely died. Now however, they had the advantage. Sure Glass was fast enough to block melee attacks, but would her speed protect her from assault rifles?

"My my, where was that temper last time dear Shield Hero?" She retorted tauntingly as she looked across at his new companions. "And it seems that you brought a few new friends along the way. Well, it's a good thing that I brought some too."

Within seconds, L'arc and Therese landed next to Glass with serious looks on their faces. Leo's face hardened as he glared at the now formed trio. "Huh, I knew something was off about you two." Leo said before equipping his ballistic shield and taking a defensive stance. "Alright then, if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get."

L'arc in turn held his scythe out in front of him while Therese began to recite a spell. "Look kid, it's nothing personal, I swear. We just have no othe-'' L'arc was interrupted and caught off guard when a bang went off and a bullet found itself blocked by Glass only a foot away from his face.

With that, all hell broke loose.

Raphtalia, Rifana, and Keel jumped behind cover before aiming at the trio and pulling their triggers. "Filo, get everyone off the ship! Eclair, on me! Everyone else keep up the pressure!" Leo barked as he raised his shield to block a strike from an oncoming scythe.

L'arc's weapon made contact but failed to pierce the invulnerable shield. As he pulled his weapon back and prepared for another swing, Eclair came running up from Leo's right and swung her swing upwards in L'arc's momentary lapse in defense. The scythe wielder managed to dodge the attack but found himself the target of a bullet in return.

The red - haired man yelped in agony as blood began to pour out of his arm. Before another injury could be dealt, Therese summoned a shield around L'arc allowing him to jump away from the fight. In his place, golden auras flew through the air like blades at blazing speeds. Unlike last time however, Leo managed to easily repel the attack.

"Now!" Leo shouted. Leo charged forward with Eclair right behind him. As they passed Rifana, she threw the knight her tomahawk which she caught with ease. As they got closer, Glass prepared a heavy attack combo with Therese. Distracted by their own chant, a stray bullet passed Therese's head. The shockwave that followed the projectile dazed the mage as she covered her ear and dell behind cover.

Left wide open, Eclair took this chance to jump above Leo and bring her sword and tomahawk down onto Glass who used both fans to block the duel wielder. Leo, who managed to close the gap, slammed his ballistic shield into her body and forced her against the wall with a heavy *SLAM.*

Seeing this, L'arc, who had been healed from his wound, jumped into action and began to swing at Leo with a fury of slashes. He managed to parry the first few attacks but quickly got overwhelmed by the sheer speed L'arc had picked up.

Rifana ran forward to try and get a clean shot onto L'arc's back in an attempt to knock him out of the fight, whether that be through injury or death. Unable to get a proper target through the blinding slashes that consumed the air, she shifted her focus on Glass who had managed to somewhat recover.

When she pulled the trigger, her gun made an empty *click* noise. Cursing under her breath, she swapped the empty magazine for a new one before cocking the bolt back and loading a fresh round. Just as she brought the rifle back up, a blue crystalized projectile sliced open a large gash on her arm causing her to drop the rifle. When it hit the floor, it ejected a round from the barrel and hit the attacker in the leg.

"FUUU - Uuuu - uuck!" Rifana cried out as she gripped her arm in pain. A mere second later, her ears picked up a noise that forced her to dive out of the way. Looking back, Glass had sliced the wood of where she had just been clean in half.

Realizing she had no time to stop and heal, she reached for her tomahawk only to find the spot empty. "Son of a - " she said aloud as she dodged yet another attack from the Japanese woman, the pain in her forearm shooting up the rest of her limb.

A primal warcry from behind Glass caught both sides' attention as Raphtalia began to attack relentlessly with her new sword. Taking this moment to her its fullest advantage, Rifana quickly drank a portion of a healing potion which fixed the wound on her arm. Dropping the glass bottle, she ran as fast as she could for her dropped firearm. Aiming down the sights, she put a few bullets down range and into her target's back, dropping her as she screamed in pain.

Now with some breathing room, both Raphtalia and Rifana looked around for Keel, Eclair, and Leo. They found the fighters breathing heavily at the ship's helm.

When L'arc looked back at the two demi - humans, he became witness to a sight that he never thought he would see: His friends bleeding out on the ground.

"I guess you win Leo. Our time here is up anyway, so until we meet again." The man said as he and his injured compatriots began floating into the air and disappeared.

Those final words left a bad taste in Leo's mouth.

And we'll be ready.

October 3, 2020

"It's beautiful outside today. The warm sun mixed with the coolness of the sea makes this place feel like a mediterranean dreamland. Raphtalia's people sure knew how to pick a good spot to call home. Progress so far on the reconstruction effort has yielded better than expected results; Melty and the Queen even dubbed me as this area's governor. I'm not much of a politician but I'll make it work. With my squad by my side (and the help of a few political advisors sent by Mirellia) I'm sure we'll be able to make this place flourish beyond its wildest dreams. "

- Private First Class Wisniewski

Leo closed his journal just in time for the flap of his tent to move from its static position as a person entered the tent.

"They're ready for you." Eclair simply informed.

Leo looked over his friend before letting out a sigh. "Alright, let's do this." Getting up from his chair, he followed Eclair out of the tent and towards the center of the half rebuilt village. Almost everyone they passed waved at them with glee, a gesture Leo made sure to return to as many of the new and old villagers as possible.

When they reached the town hall, they climbed the steps to the balcony that overlooked that many buildings that made up their new home. Raphtalia, Rifana, Keel, filo, and Van Reichnott were already there waiting for him. Down below, the current inhabitants had amassed into a large crowd that covered the entire central plaza.

Leo took a quick look at his squad before clearing his throat and standing tall. "Today, we become witness to the beginning of a new era for Lurolona. All of you are worthy of carrying the title of hero for your parts in the reconstruction of not only the village itself, but the lives that were broken by the first Wave and its subsequent effects."

Leo took a breath for continuing, his voice full of passion and conviction. "We will stand strong in the face of adversity, for no foe will tear down our will to fight! We will rebuild, we will grow, and We. Will. Fight!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as they began to chant for Lurolona. As their voices echoed throughout the valley, Keel handed Leo a large piece of cloth. Unwrapping it, the red and white colors of the Polish flag unveiled itself as did the white Eagle that sat atop a golden shield.

Once it was connected to the wires of the flagpole, Leo pulled the rope and lifted the flag high into the air, the large cloth object getting caught in the wind. The cheers only grew louder as the excitement and happiness of all the villagers grew by tenfold.

Raphtalia stepped up next to Leo and took his hand in hers. Only time would tell what new chapter came about in their lives, but one thing was for certain: They had their friends, but most importantly, they had each other.

One day all this will be over.

The war to end all wars will be won

by one side or the other.

The guns will rust. Grass will grow

and they'll be nothing left of any of this.

The land will heal itself, as everything does in the end.

We'll be long gone by then

but maybe not forgotten.

History only remembers one in a thousand of us

then the future will be filled with stories of who we were and what we did.

How we lived, how we fought, how we died.

When this is all over and the war is won

they will remember us.

But until that day comes, we will stand, we will look death in the eye

and we will fight!

Author's Note: Oh, you're still here? What's that? You want to know what the surprise is? Well ok…

Surprise! I'm in the process of creating a new fanfiction! I won't divulge much, but I will say that what I have learned while writing Leo's story has helped immensely with what's next...