Hello, and welcome back to The Rise of Primis. The reason I decided to upload it so quickly is due to the traffic this has been getting. More plans on how the update schedule will be at the end of the chapter.
Obviously, I don't own Rising of the Shield Hero, or Call of Duty.
Dempsey's eyes opened shortly after the flash went away. His head hurt, and his vision was blurred.
"Hello? Anybody?" He called out. Nothing. As his vision restored itself, he noted he was in some kind of small shack. He could see light through cracks in the door, but not much. His hand hit a metal shaft, and he looked at it.
It had a brass shaft, with a head in the shape of a crescent. A trigger was located on the bottom of the staff, with a crank located on the side. A group of metal pieces facing away from the staff were located on the opposite end of the head. Inside of the crescent, and connected to the shaft of the staff, was a purple crystal.
"This, this can't be happening. Why is it back in the staff? I thought Richtofen removed the crystals," Dempsey muttered to himself. He looked at the design again. "Wait, this isn't the staff I used in the Great War. It's the copy from France! But it's back in its base form," Dempsey commented, noting the lack of blades on the staff head.
A loud scream cut off Dempsey from his thoughts. He shot up, and looked at the door to the shack. Gripping the staff tightly, he kicked the door open. The first thing he noticed was the sky. It was a swirl of colors, with the backdrop being red. There looked to be multiple portals, which looked to be causing a lot of things to come from it.
Looking forward, the American noticed he was in some kind of village. The buildings reminded him of something out of the Medieval era. Most of the buildings were on fire, but they still stood tall. However, what caught Dempsey's eye was the source of the scream he heard earlier. It looked to be a kid, with long, black hair. They were on the ground, while a figure in armor raised a sword, aimed to strike the child.
Raising his staff, Dempsey pulled the trigger. A bolt of purple lightning came from the head of the staff and striked the armored figure on the side. It convulsed with electricity, as Dempsey ran towards it. It stopped shaking, and changed its focus to the staff wielder.
As the American looked at the figure, he felt a sense of familiarity. It had rotted skin, but what striked Dempsey the most was its eyes. Or lack thereof. In place of it, was two hollowed out holes, with red lights taking its place.
"Alright, freakbag! Bring it!" He called out, swinging his staff. It striked the armored zombie in the head. He followed up with a second strike to the arm, knocking it off. He swung one more time, with this hit sending the head flying.
As Dempsey watched the headless corpse fall over, he noted that there were a lot of undead. At least twenty. He looked back to the child. It was a young girl, with dark brown eyes. She was wearing a brown dress. Luckily, she seemed unharmed. What caught his eye the most was the black cat-like ears on his head.
He shrugged it off. 'If I ended up in another dimension, then I guess it's no surprise the locals look different. Hell, there's apparently a place where everyone only has one arm. I should focus on these freaks,' He thought, before looking at the kid again. She looked scared, yet a glimmer of hope shined in her eyes.
"Hey, kid," Dempsey said, catching the girl off guard. "Look, do you know of a safe place to hide?" He asked her. She nodded her head, indicating a yes. "Alright. I need you to be brave," he said, kneeling down to her level, "Do you think you can lead other people to it? I have to go and find a way to stop this before it gets worse," he asked. He hated the idea of sending a kid into a warzone, but it was his only shot of getting civies out of the battlefield.
"I-I can try," she answered sheepishly.
"Thanks. I'm counting on you," he told her, before standing and turning to enter the deeper part of the town.
"W-wait," she called out. "Wh-who are you?" She asked. He turned around.
"I'm 'Tank' Dempsey, these freaks worst nightmare!" He told her, before sprinting into the town, staff at the ready.
There were a lot more than twenty.
Dempsey had managed to get most of the attention off of the civilians. Currently, he was leading the horde he had on his tail through the village, firing his Lightning Staff whenever he could. From what he could tell, they could survive one shot from it, but two would be enough to put them down. When it wouldn't fire, he would work the crank to "reload" the weapon.
"God, why can't they just give up?" He asked himself. Rounding a corner, Dempsey saw an extremely large three headed dog with dark fur eating a pile of corpses. They were near a cliffside, so he had no choice but to go to the monster.
It turned to face Dempsey, red eyes glowed when it saw him. Tightening his grip on the staff, Dempsey charged, firing it as he approached. It went to pounce on Dempsey, but he rolled under it.
'This thing's taking a lot more punishment than the other freakbags. Maybe it's the head honcho,' the soldier thought, as he focused his fire on the Cerberus. It howled, as it moved to bite Dempsey's head off.
Luckily, he blocked the bite from the middle head with his staff. The other two heads moved to attack the American, but he let go of the staff and jumped back. Quickly thinking, he threw a quick punch aimed at the dog's right head. He expected it to not do much, and only serve as a way to distract it, so he could get his weapon back.
However, that wasn't the case. A loud bang came out when he striked the dog, sending it back about fifteen feet. It dropped the staff. As Dempsey looked back at his fist, he noticed a white glowing aura coming from it. Refocusing on the fight, and regaining his staff, Dempsey saw the horde of roughly twenty five zombies move closer. He almost forgot about them. He quickly put the staff on his back
Delivering a quick punch to the jaw, he sent a zombie flying. He quickly striked them, each punch able to deal significant damage to the undead. The American kept an eye on the Cerberus, avoiding it when it tried to go for the kill. As he cleared out the horde, he felt his fist ache.
'l worry about it later. I should be able to put that dog down like a… well, like a dog now. The horde looks to be backing off, now. As long as I keep an eye out, I should be fine,' Dempsey thought, taking out his staff and firing a lighting blast at the hound.
Dempsey quickly fired off more bolts, focusing his fire on the middle head. As the beast roared and moved to take down the American. He sidestepped, before pulling the trigger to shoot the staff. Nothing. He worked the crank, but it didn't fix the issue.
"Out of ammo?" He asked, before getting knocked to the ground by the dog. It moved to take a bite from Dempsey, but the soldier punched it away. He let the staff fall to the ground.
The Devil Dogs rushed each other. As the two were about to collide, the American delivered a haymaker, knocking the dog back. He quickly followed up, delivering a right hook to the middle head. He heard a bone crack, as he switched to the left head. Ducking from a bite, he punched it in the throat, dealing an incredible amount of damage to the hound.
Keeping with the momentum, he slammed his fist into the left head. Seeing as how it was out of commission, due to a broken neck, Dempsey switched from the left head to the right. It moved to bite him, in a desperate attempt to shake off its attacker. He dodged the bite aimed for his head, but it caught him in the left hand.
"Goddammit! Let go, Fido!" Dempsey yelled, prying the mouth open and allowing his hand to slip free. He punched the Cerberus away, before looking at his hand. It was still attached, thankfully, but using it wouldn't be smart. Luckily, it was his off hand, so he should be able to put the dog down. It looked to still be recovering from the fight.
Delivering a powerful strike to the chin, he sent the dog into the air. When it landed, he ran to it and kicked the head, keeping it from moving or attacking. He stomped the neck of the remaining head, not stopping until he heard its windpipe collapse.
As he watched the life leave it, the American saw the red sky recede into itself, bringing back the light blue of midday. He collapsed onto the ground, his muscles screaming for him to take a break. It's been a long time since the Marine has felt this tired. Hearing footsteps, he quickly shot up and turned to it. He saw the young girl, followed by about 8 people, varying in age groups and levels of wounds. They were dressed in regular clothes, relative to the Medieval time era he found himself in, but each of them had an animalistic trait to them.
"Young knight, you saved our village. How can we ever repay our debt to you?" One of the villagers told him, stepping forward. He was an older man, with grayed hair and a beard. He was wearing ripped robes, with a hood over his head. He must be the elder of this village.
Dempsey thought. He could ask for money, women, or supplies and leave. He looked around. Their home was in shambles. The dead laid on the dirt. They didn't look to be good friends with hard work. They wouldn't last for much longer.
He sighed, catching the elder's attention. "I can't take what you have left in good faith," Dempsey admitted.
"Why thank you, brave kni-"
"But that doesn't mean I don't want anything." the survivors looked to the veteran with shock. "Don't worry, I want something small. All I want is to stay here for free and to help with the reconstruction," he finished.
The survivors looked, with a mix of shock, hope, and confusion. Why was this human wanting to help for free? Was he planning something? Or was he doing this out of the kindness of his heart?
"O-of course. That can easily be arranged," The elder said, just as shocked as his villagers. "What would you have us do first?"
"The first thing is to set up a defensive perimeter. As far as we know, the horde isn't gone. I'll look around, see if I can find anyone else or more monsters," the American informed the survivors.
"I understand. What is your name, Sir Knight?" The village elder asked.
"Dempsey. Just call me Dempsey," he told them, before grabbing his staff and taking off.
Dempsey wiped the sweat from his brow. He swept through the village twice, taking out any monsters he found. His staff was still without any charge, so he had to use his fists. Unfortunately, he only found about 4 more survivors. Everyone else was already dead. He still took the bodies out of the wreckage of the former homes and onto the street. They needed to be buried tomorrow.
As he returned to the villagers, who managed to make a small barricade, they looked at him with a sorrowful look.
"I couldn't find much. From what I could tell, however, the large stone building is in good shape. It might be best if we all stay there," Dempsey informed them, as the newly found survivors joined their families.
As he watched them hug each other, tears of happiness roll down their eyes, he noticed the girl from earlier. She was with her family, the resemblance was striking, but she looked sad.
"Hey, kid. Good job," He said, walking over to her.
"You saved our little Rachel. Thank you, Sir Tank," the mother said. He looked at her in surprise, mainly because he didn't expect to hear his nickname. He then remembered what he told the girl. She must have thought it was his first name.
"Dempsey is fine. But it's not a problem," he told them, giving a smile.
"M-mister Dempsey, sir?" Rachel spoke up, "M-my friend, w-was she in the village?" She asked, her eyes welling up.
"Can I get a description?" He asked, with a look of concern.
"W-well, she's about my age, with brown hair and red eyes," Rachel said, looking down. Dempsey smiled.
"Good news, she wasn't in the village," he told her. She looked at him in confusion.
"H-how is that good news?" Rachel asked, looking confused.
"That means she could've escaped out of the village," she looked back up, hope in her eyes. "After we get everyone to the building, I'll look around for any more survivors on the outskirts of the village. I might be able to find her," he said. She looked up, her eyes watered with tears of joy.
"T-thank you!" She said, clutching him in a tight hug. Dempsey looked to her two parents, who looked surprised by her action. They then joined, hugging Rachel. Dempsey, who was stuck in the middle of this, sighed.
As they broke apart, he escorted the villagers to the structure, avoiding the dead bodies where he could. The structure was a three story building. It had a main atrium, with the second and third floors having a group of small two bed bedrooms. The first floor had a kitchen and some tables. There was also a fireplace on one of the ends of the atrium. It might have been some kind of inn.
Before he left, the village elder stopped him.
"Sir Dempsey, where do you plan on going?" He asked, scared.
"I'm going to search the outskirts of the town. There might be others who made it. I should be back a bit after nightfall," he informed the elder.
"I understand. How is your hand? I saw you holding it after the Wave ended," he asked. Dempsey removed his glove, glancing at his hand. It was mostly healed, and it began to scar.
"It's fine. Thanks for the concern, however," he responded. The elder nodded, before leaving him to explore.
The first place Dempsey checked was the shack he woke up in. Looking around, he found that there were barrels of crops, that looked to be only 25% filled up. He also found a thick, brown, leather jacket, with a large strap wrapped around it.
"My jacket made it. And so did the rest of my-" Dempsey stopped when he saw the state of the rest of the clothes. His old shirt and pants were torn, to the extent there was no point in wearing it. "Well, I guess I can keep the jacket," Dempsey said. Feeling in the pockets, he found his old service knife, just as sharp as ever. He left the two items from his past on a nearby barrel.
He walked out, looking to where he could begin. He regained his strength, so he decided to start from the western side of the nearby woods.
He was almost done with his search.
Dempsey managed to find about 8 other people who ran and hid from the 'Wave', as the elder called it. None of them matched the description of the girl Rachel mentioned, however.
He finally arrived at a small beach near the village. He might be able to find footprints that lead to someone. As his boots hit the soft sand, he noticed there was no sign of anyone there. Dempsey considered cutting his losses and heading back.
His ears heard something. It sounded akin to a cough. The American moved closer to the source. As he moved around a rock, he saw her.
The young girl was drenched. She must've crawled out of the ocean recently. She was also very cold, if the constant shivering was any hint. Looking past those, he saw her hair was a long, light brown, alongside a pair of brown ears and a tail, which reminded Dempsey of a racoon. She was wearing a white dress that was soaked. He reached out a hand, to see if she was responsive, or even conscious.
She quickly jumped back the moment Dempsey's hand touched her. Her eyes were wide, almost feral-like. They were also a red color.
"Woah, woah. Easy now," Dempsey said, raising his hands to show he wouldn't attack. He knelt down, looking her in the eyes. "Don't worry, I'm here to help. Come on back, the Wave is over," he told her.
"B-but, M-Mom an-and Da-Dad," she said, her eyes watering. He remembered the dead, specifically the ones the Cerberus was eating when he confronted it. They looked similar to her, or what's left of them, anyways.
"I," he sighed, "I'm sorry, kid," he told her, shaking his head. Her eyes were about to burst. He raised a hand, to put on her shoulder to comfort her, but she wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself to him. When she did so, she let the dam burst.
Dempsey, surprised at first, wrapped his arms around her, patting her back to help.
"Just let it all out, kid. There's no shame in it," he told her, as he continued to hold her. After roughly 5 minutes, the well dried up. The kid moved to pull herself away, and Dempsey let her go. She had tears still on her face, with snot coming from her nose. "Hey, kid. What's your name?" Dempsey asked.
"R-Raphtalia," she answered, looking down.
"Raphtalia," Dempsey said, testing how the name rolled off the tongue. "I think I'll just call you kid," he said, getting a look of confusion and surprise from her. "I'm kidding. So, Raphtalia." He gave her a soft smile. "I'm Dempsey," he told her. She looked down.
"Mr. Dempsey, why?" She asked.
"I don't know. I'm sorry. For now, let's take you back to the village. You can get dried off," he told her, standing up. She looked hesitant. "Your friends are worried sick. At least show them you're okay," he told her. She went to stand up, but her legs gave out. Dempsey caught her before she fell, though.
As they walked back to the village, he assisted her in walking, until she finally got to where she could walk on her own. Afterwards, instead of heading for the inn, the two went to the shack. It was already past nightfall, so he needed to be quick.
"Wait outside, I'll be back in a minute," Dempsey told her, as she looked scared. "Don't worry, it'll be fine," he reassured her. She still looked terrified. He nodded to himself.
He took his staff off of his back, before handing it to the raccoon girl. "This staff has immense power. It has the power to save the world. It'll protect you, just as it has protected me," he told her. She gripped it, before looking back. She had a more confident look. Dempsey could still tell she was scared, but she looked to be able to fight it. "Now give me a minute," he said, before moving into the shack.
He walked to where he stored his knife and jacket, before grabbing both. He looked over the room, not noticing anything different, before returning to Raphtalia. She looked confused as to his new items. He placed the knife on his hip, before unfolding his jacket.
"It's my old jacket. It's gotten me through some tough times, but you need it more than me," he told her. He threw it over her, so it was resting over her shoulders. "It's a bit big on you, but you'll grow into it," he told her, smiling.
"Why?" She asked. She was confused as to the reason behind his actions.
"You're cold. It'll help dry you off and keep you warm. Plus it suits you," he said. She gave the staff back, as they walked into the stone inn.
From what he could tell, the other survivors were already asleep. A few of them were eating from a bowl, it looked like vegetable soup. The fireplace was lit, and was where the food was being served. Dempsey was given one bowl by the elder, who made sure he was alright.
"I'm fine. It was just a lot more ground than I expected to cover," Dempsey reassured.
"I was only making sure. The last thing we need is for our only defender to die," the old man said. He turned, noticing Raphtalia, who was hiding behind Dempsey. "Ah, young Raphtalia. It is good to see that you survived."
"Th-thank you, Elder Lyons," she responded. He nodded in response. He handed her a bowl of soup as well.
"Sir Dempsey, may I ask what you plan to have us do tomorrow?" Elder Lyons asked.
He moved closer, to keep Raphtalia, who remained by his side, from hearing. "We need to bury the dead. The fires ran out of fuel, so they won't be a problem. Also, I need to know how much food we have right now, and if we have any farmers who can begin to replant their crops. After the dead are buried, we can fully focus on rebuilding," he explained. The elder nodded.
"I will explain it to the rest of the survivors in the morning. Go on and get some rest. You deserve it," Elder Lyons told the American, who nodded goodbye.
Raphtalia followed close to Dempsey, who didn't mind. She lost her parents, and she probably thought she was going to die out there. Maybe she sees him as a symbol of hope. He shook his head. He didn't need to be staying here forever. For all he knew, the others were dead. He was worried, obviously.
A tug on his tunic pulled him out of his thoughts. "Mr. Dempsey, are you alright?" Raphtalia asked.
He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm worried. My friends are on their own, fighting for their lives as far as I know. I hope they're alright," he told her.
"Well, Mr. Dempsey, what are your friends like?" She asked, as they sat near the fire.
"There's Nikolai. He's like a bear. Strong, ferocious, and brave. But, he's still going through some of his issues. He lost someone important to him," he told her, remembering what Nikolai told his 1.0 counterpart. "He would probably be better at this whole task. He's good with working."
"He sounds nice. I think he's okay," Raphtalia said, surprising Dempsey.
"He's not the only one. There's Takeo, but I call him Tak. He's an honorable soldier. Back where he's from, he's one of the last samurais, an extremely brave and noble group of warriors. But, that all changed when he found out the man he swore his honor was for, his Emperor, had betrayed him. He was never the same since. The only ones he seeks honor for, is his ancestors," Dempsey explained, as they ate, "and us."
"Woah, he must be a good friend," Raphtalia said, as soup dripped from her spoon and fell onto her dress. Using a nearby towel, Dempsey helped clean some of it off.
"And then there's Richtofen. That crazy doc made us jump through so many hoops. He was always the mastermind behind everything. He told us where to go, and what to do, but I went along with it. When we reached the end of our journey, he told us it was to save our eternal souls. He went out of his way to ensure not only would our souls survive, but also us," he explained.
"Wait, you don't have a soul?" Raphtalia asked.
"I do. It's just not with me. It's somewhere else. Safe. Richtofen said this. I believed he thought he was alone. I never realized he believed this. 'When I died, I felt nothing. When Dempsey died, I felt something. When Takeo died, I knew I had to try to save them.'"
Raphtalia looked at him, both in awe and in confusion. "He said you died. But if you died, then how come you're here?" She asked.
Dempsey sighed. He kinda forgot about that part. "To collect our souls, we had to go to a different world. Richtofen picked up an artifact, a type of key that can contain and persevere one's soul. But, it can only be done after the moment of death. He explained that before he moved to kill the alternative me. I stopped him. 'If someone's gotta take him out to save the universe, then it should be me who does it.' That's what I told him. Instead of not listening, he trusted me enough to allow me to do it, and even let me say goodbye. He always had a plan, even when we had to fight a war that we weren't prepared for. He made it up as he went along, but he still pulled us through. Before coming here, he told us that he was looking for a device that would finally allow us to live a normal life. But, everything changed after I picked up that book," his eyes widened. "Raphtalia, do you know of some people called the 'Four Cardinal Heroes'?" Dempsey asked.
"Y-yeah. There's the sword hero, the bow hero, the spear hero, and the shield hero," she responded. She was still wrapping her head around the whole 'multiple worlds' thing Dempsey was talking about.
"Holy," he simply said. "That explains it. The Wave, the elemental staffs, the four heroes," a light bulb went off in his head. "The heroes! They haven't been summoned yet! Maybe they are gonna be summoned soon," Dempsey said, his mind racing.
"Uh, Mr. Dempsey, what do you mean?" She asked, slightly scared.
"Before we arrived in this place, we read a book that talked about the Four Cardinal Heroes. It also mentioned four heroes who wield an elemental staff that are brought here before the four regular heroes, if the world is in true peril," Dempsey explained. "After we collected our souls, and after the unprepared war, which we called the Second Great War, we were sent to the past. There, we fought in the First Great War. That's where we got our armor. We each wielded a staff, with an elemental crystal in it. After winning the war, and before we were brought here, Richtofen took the crystals out of the staffs, just in case we needed them. After we were sent here, I had this replica staff. It isn't as strong, but I have a feeling it can be stronger," Dempsey said.
"So, your friends must be alright. Or at least here," she looked down, "so you're going to go look for them."
"Yeah. I will," Dempsey responded, "after I'm done helping you guys recover," he finished. Raphtalia looked back in shock. "I couldn't live with myself if I just left you guys like this. So, I'll stick around. When everything's able to work without me needing to be here, I'll try to find them. If they haven't found us first," he explained to her. She looked back down.
"So, I'll never see you again," she said, a tear falling down her face. Dempsey wiped it up.
"I never said that," he said, catching her by surprise, "I could use someone to help me out on the road. Tomorrow, I might have to go hunting, so I can take you to help you learn how it's done, if you want. Then, when I leave, you can come with me."
"R-really?" Raphtalia asked, completely stunned. "B-but I'm just a kid," she said. Dempsey, in response to this, laughed.
"I told my recruiter the same thing. And I'll tell you what he told me. 'Maybe you are. But you've got potential. I can see it in your eyes.' And I really do see it," he stayed silent, as Raphtalia processed what Dempsey said. "I'll let you think abo-"
"Yes," she responded. "I want to go hunting with you tomorrow." It was now Dempsey's turn to be shocked. He replaced the surprise with a smile.
"Alright. Let's get some rest. Tomorrow's the dawn of a new day. Let's make a better tomorrow," he said, raising his bowl of soup. She raised hers, making them hit together. The two laughed, as they tried to drink down the soup.
'That's the first time I've seen her laugh, let alone smile. Maybe this will be a better tomorrow,' Dempsey thought, smiling.
Thank you for reading. I plan on updating the story at the earliest, biweekly. At worst, it will be monthly. However, the next chapter should be uploaded on the 28th. See you guys next time.