Ben 10: Rising of the Shield Hero

by Chris Chronos

In a twist of fate, Ben Tennyson, the powerful Omnitrix wielder from Dimension 2041, has been summoned as the Devil of the Shield to a fantasy world beyond the boundaries multiverse. Follow his heroic tale as he battles to protect those around him and shape the destinies of all those he encounters. (Set after the events of the Omniverse episode - "New Dawn")

3. Chapter 3: CHEATER and HIS CHEAT CODES

BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO

CHAPTER 3: THE CHEATER AND HIS CHEAT CODES

WARNING - The story is being rewritten at the moment so there could be original versions in the later chapters.

This chapter is a rewritten version of Chapter 3.

Thanks for reading and writing reviews.

They are given the right to be angry with me if they want. I am floating here, with a cheeky smirk as I overlook the audience in the throne room of Melromarc. Guess what? This is probably one of the messiest problems I found myself in — one of them has me being summoned to the universal court for an unauthorized creation of the universe. Just how messed up can a problem be?

No, indeed, a problem is a problem because it is problematic and messed up.

Let's have a short story recap here.

In the throne room, you will find me who is floating mid-air like a magician – with a cocky smirk, and a furious king of the country, then his daughter who suits the nickname "the Bitch," a good-for-nothing bunch of armored guards, a crowd of nobles who are watching the trial with the eyes of disbelief and doubts… and finally, our favorite cardinal heroes – the spear, the sword, and the bow boys: all these people gathered in the throne room for a sacred trial… for a rape (?) crime committed by no one but me, or so they think.

The accusation is anything but true. And the proof was more than enough to punch the King ten times fold. And I've grown bold enough to stand tall proud in front of them without caring much. As the accused "shield devil," even I myself can feel how villainous I am.

"SILENCE!" The King yells out of anger, silencing the audience.

"Seems like Your Majesty likes to order around and stay superior to others, ha! While he isn't even the true ruler of the country…"

"Seems that the true nature of Your Majesty is… a person who has a superiority complex and likes to order around… isn't it true, Your Majesty?" I stuff my hands into my pockets as I wear an even cockier smile and look at the King. He shivers when I continue. "Say, are you even the true ruler of this country, Melromarc?"

Itsuki's eyes show a hint of disbelief. Motoyasu has got women his priority over the precious information I am leaking to the heroes. The heroes are naive as always – no, no, indeed it's the King who tricked the heroes and gained their trust.

"What do you mean?" Ren asks. He's the only one who will probably believe me. If I am not wrong in judging their personalities, out of the three heroes, Ren has the most aspiring potential.

My eyes wander in the hall and scan the nobles who know the truth.

"Halt your actions, Shield Devil!" King Aultcray shouts at me. "Stop tricking people into your–"

He's one heck of an annoying guy.

"What do you mean by tricking people, His Majesty?" I grasp onto my own patience to prevent myself from losing my sanity. "Say, who is the true ruler of Melromarc? Just because those three were naive enough to trust you doesn't mean I will also be tricked by your lies. There are nobles…" I point to the audience. " – who stay silent although they know everything. You are nothing but a fool… Your Majesty."

Losing my smile, I jump down on the floor. The guards surround me to capture me… but I assume the form of Diamondhead behind the ID Mask and afterward summon three greenish-blue crystal walls to protect myself from the attacks from all sides. So I throw surprises at the speechless guards, the heroes, and the nobles.

"Now, now, why you go silent, buddy? I may not seem it but… You see I can't let my fellow heroes be left in the dark."

I walk to Aultcray… summoning another bunch of crystals that materialize around his legs and prevent him from moving. Ignoring the King's fury and glare, I look into his eyes, regaining my villainous smirk.

"Why are you–"

"Listen here, my fellow heroes. This may seem out of hypocrisy but I'm gonna say it. As I said, I'm not gonna leave you in the dark." I turn around, standing next to the petrified king, and look at the heroes.

"The true ruler of this country… is the Queen, Mirellia Q. Melromarc."

Itsuki and Ren look shocked. "What!?" "The… Queen?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, I don't know her whereabouts. Anyway, it is the Queen, right?" I look at the nobles who force themselves to nod at me out of fear.

"So why did he…" Itsuki lowers his gaze, conflicting inside.

"And secondly… this country hates me. This person," I point to Aultcray. "He is also one of the haters. No doubt."

"You fiend–"

"Could you please shut up while I am stating the facts, Your Majesty? Anyway… there's the church. The religion of the majority of the population is called… the Church of the Three Heroes. Three… guess who's the one left out? The Shield. The symbol of the church includes a sword, a bow, and a spear. And no shield. Guess what? They antagonize the one who wields the cardinal shield."

I shoot a glance at the King, smirking. "Where did the term "Shield Devil" come from? Yeah, if you are thinking the whole religion and its followers hate me, you are correct."

The entire room goes silent with their own thoughts.

I can't care less about the hate directed at me. But I save people not because I love them. Because it's my responsibility to save people.

"Enough! Fiend, I did it… to… to save time for explanations!"

I roll my eyes as a chuckle escapes my mouth. "That's just an excuse to lie. Forget about it for the time being, will you? Let's just continue the trial. But…"

I turn in the direction of the nobles. "... Regarding the rape crime I supposed committed, I believe you have another piece of information to give us. I have enough evidence already, but I want to hear it more."

"Evidence? Cut your crap," Aultcray claims out of anger. "Your evidence is false!"

"Yeah, the King is in the right! Don't lie, you fiend!" Our beloved Malty agrees with Aultcray. Ha… let's connect some more dots, shall we?

Oops, the spear guy looks like he's gonna murder me the moment I let my guard down. His eyes are fiery with anger.

Seems that we'll have to resolve this first–

Motoyasu tightens the grip and charges at me. He thrusts his spear with all his might toward me… but I don't defend myself from his assault. I stand there unfazed… as the spear bounces off my body. Quite a surprise gift to the furious hero.

I narrow my eyes and lean forward, gripping onto the spear… then I look into his eyes with a nonchalant expression.

"Guess you are so bold. Sorry, but your "surprise" attack is useless."

Motoyasu slashes me again and again with anger in his attacks but they do not leave a single scratch on my body. It is like a magic show… if I weren't an entity made of diamond, it would have been a grotesque sight.

I don't stop him… but I am waiting for him to be tired. This way his anger will be loosened. The others look shocked and frightened… yet no one really tries to stop him.

They will probably think — perhaps that green jacket is enchanted… maybe it is a very durable armor.

Finally, he becomes exhausted. I grab the spearhead and push him away.

"Do you feel better now?"

The spear boy responds to my question with a scowl, then he drops to the floor. The guards drag him carefully toward the other heroes who have wide eyes, surprised.

"So what do you think, nobles?"

No one dares to open their mouth.

"PERHAPS THE SHIELD DEVIL HAS DARK MAGIC THAT CAN MAKE ILLUSIONS LIKE THAT! DON'T GET SWAYED BY HIS LIES, MY DEAR NOBLES."

"The Shield Devil must have some kind of dark magic that can create illusions like that! Don't sway your thoughts because of his obvious lies, my friends!" The King tries to convince them.

"YEAH, yeah. He is lying," says Malty who is nursing an exhausted Motoyasu.

"Trust me or not, I don't care." I declare with a smile. "If you guys support an idiot of the King, you will be no better idiots than him."

Uh, shit, what kinda husband did you find for yourself, Her Majesty?

"I don't care if you guys judge me unfairly. I don't care if your laws and senses are warped. I am a hero. Not a moron who will follow your laws. BECAUSE your laws are nothing but trashy if the person who is given the highest authority is trash."

"How dare you! You are not getting away after you've called His Majesty trash!" The Knight Commander draws his sword… but upon realization, he covers his mouth in shock. "Oops, my sincerest apologies, His Majesty. I didn't mean it."

"Screw it, I'm revealing what's really happening in this country to my fellow heroes." I declare and walk away from the throne toward Malty and the heroes.

"Guards! Get him!" The King orders. But no luck for them. I wave my hands and shoot projectiles at the floor, threatening them with the crystal blades that penetrated the floor.

"Back. Off." My words simply cause the guards to flinch and retreat… the Commander yells furiously at his disciples but I ignore him.

Hmm, seems that our spear boy recovered already. He gets up from the floor, gritting his teeth.

"You fiend," he weakly growls. "Why don't you just die?"

He charges toward me again and delivers slashes at me with his spear.

"WHY DON'T YOU DIE?! MALTY SUFFERED BECAUSE OF YOU AND WHY DON'T YOU DIE?! YOU THE ENEMY OF WOMEN!"

"Oh, I just got a new title."

He swings his weapon at me with what little energy he has. I proceed with my steps toward Malty and face her who is acting afraid of me. And I see through her. If possible, I just want to show them… how scary I am and make them step down from the court. Yet it's not possible. I want to find a peaceful resolution to this problem.

"Wh-what do you want?" Malty is indeed fazed.

"Hmm, heroes, it seems we have another shocking fact," I beam at her. "Malty, the victim here,... oh, should I call her… Malty Melromarc?"

"What do you mean?" Itsuki asks, pushing me away.

"Malty as known as Myne is the first princess of Melromarc, and the daughter of the King and the Queen, isn't it true, His Majesty?"

When I look back at Aultcray, he lets out a weak growl furiously and lowers his gaze.

Malty also can't deny the facts.

"Seems that our King hid many things from you, guys. Even then will you trust him? No, I don't ask you to not trust him. I want you guys to be more considerate and thoughtful. That's all."

Motoyasu pants heavily as he stands relying on his spear.

"You! You monster!"

"Rapist, Devil, Scum, Monster… oh, I've got many titles in a single day. And I guess I made some enemies–"

"YAH! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

He attacks me again – this guy just never gives up, huh.

"Why don't… you chill down?"

Cold mist escapes my mouth and freezes the spear, much to Motoyasu's surprise. He retracts his spear and backs off in fear.

"What kind of magic trick are you doing, Shield Devil?" the King says. The King clenches his fist… but he can't do anything.

And I know his helplessness. Kinda feel bad doing it, but I'm gonna take advantage of his incompetence.

"Perhaps. But is it important? I am the victim here. He attacked me and all I did was mere self-defense. Huh, nobles, what say you?"

"Silence! Halt your actions. You're nothing but a disgrace to heroes. My daughter of all people… you committed that crime upon my precious daughter."

"I believe I said I wouldn't follow your laws and orders. Yell all you want. I don't give a mind."

When I transform into Ampfibian behind the mask and read their minds, I realize the heroes are still unaware of slavery in the Kingdom… I don't care about them, but I have to watch over the citizens of this world – including demi-humans. Nothing but their ignorance angers me.

"Ahem, now are we gonna finish the trial before noon?"

I transform into Diamondhead again to release the King out of his binds.

"Get your butt out of here," he growls. "I don't care about the result of the trial anymore… I don't want to see your face."

"I take it as a tie, okay… ha. Perhaps we are friends from now on, Your Majesty."

I walk past the heroes toward the double door of the throne room.

"You! You shield scum!" Motoyasu yells. "Say your prayers and wish you don't cross paths with me. If I see you again, you are dead."

"Sounds threatening enough, the Spear Hero. Oh,... and I don't care. I will probably be busy with saving people."

"I don't think a rapist will save people. So I WILL KILL YOU HERE AND NOW SO THAT NOBODY SUFFERS BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Motoyasu tightens the grip again and runs at me.

"Oh say that to the King. He goes with the name Aultcray the Thirty Second." I sidestep to dodge his thrust. "He makes people suffer every now and then. Especially demi-humans."

I grab the spearhead and push Motoyasu away. "Do you even know how demi-humans are treated in this country?"

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Ren asks with an oblivious face.

"You know what a demi-human is, right?"

"Um… kind of," Itsuki mutters. "I think I have seen them in games. Elves, beastmen… and…"

"Yes. They are demi-humans. Discrimination and Slavery… Slavery is legalized. You can enslave demi-humans but not humans."

"Slaves… what a cruel thing…"

The King stands up and orders his guards. "Guards, drag him out of here, NOW!"

"You still want to seal the truth away from the heroes, huh…" I raise a brow at the knights who are moving toward me. "You three, remember, find the truth by yourself. Don't blindly trust anyone. My last message… uh, perhaps."

As the guards charge at me, I turn invisible and intangible… As much as the King doesn't want to see me, he also disappoints me — I am enough of that shit.

Now I am nowhere to see.

"Uh… that's it. What an… unfortunate event," muttered Itsuki.

Ren says nothing but he moves and leaves the hall. The King calls out to Ren but he doesn't respond. He just silently walks quickly, holding onto the sword tightly, alone.

Perhaps… Ren also holds onto doubts and thoughts. It's just a dilemma of an unseen struggle between truth and lies.

-(TRANSITION)-

After restoring my human form, I walk out of an alley in the town. People often stare at me for some reason, some smiles at me, and others chatter among themselves as soon as they notice my presence. Even young ladies give me a warm smile of their own.

I know something's off. Wait, was the thing back in the palace leaked to the public? I don't care if they love or hate me, but I do care if "fame" affects my private life.

I continue to proceed with my task to search for a shop where I can sell the Diamondhead crystals I just extracted a while ago. Suddenly, I'm greeted by a nudge on my shoulder. When I turn around and look at whoever touched me, it is a familiar bald man.

"It's just you, Erhard. Sorry… I've got something to think about."

"You finally call me by the name. You did well in the court, kid. You are not the wimp I took you to be… Haha, to be frank, what you did was truly impressive."

"I suppose I did a great job, yeah. But hey, how do you know that? I just left the castle."

"I'll tell you later," he pushes me toward his shop. "For now, please go inside the shop."

"Uh, but–"

And so I am kidnapped into the shop.

"Don't you think people were staring at me, kiddo?" He asks and folds his arms. His muscular arms and tall body somehow looks intimidating. But he is a friendly guy, regardless.

"Uh, yeah? I could feel their eyes, but…"

"That's how famous you became!" He pats my shoulders again.

"Excuse me?"

"You have proved yourself! Worthy of the legendary shield."

Hold on, what exactly happened?

"Huh, what are you talking about, Erhard? What happened? I don't get it. How did I prove–"

"Everything that happened in the palace this morning was broadcast live in the town. Perhaps the King wanted to embarrass you… but it backfired and you see, everyone in the town knows you are innocent and powerful. Some people even call you the true hero!"

I don't know if it would work to my advantage or not.

"Is that so? Uh, whatever happened, happened."

"Yes, I didn't think you are that powerful. What's that? Magic?"

Hmm, I still have to keep my powers secret. I look down at my shield and tap the core.

"Yep, something like that."

Silence takes over the room.

"Er… I have a question. Where can I sell these crystals?"

I take a bag of crystals out of my pocket. Erhard widens his eyes.

"Can I… see them?"

Shiny and Twinkling crystals are handed to the bald guy as he takes out the lens.

"Oh, this… is crazy. This kind of density and… looks like it's durable."

Erhard looks up at me… I shrug and tilt my head in response, meaning I don't know their origin. Indeed Diamondhead exerted an extra effort to create those crystals. So, they are more durable than normal Diamondhead substances.

"I will buy them."

"Er… excuse me?"

"I can forge them into nice armor and maybe decorations in weapons and shields. How many of these do you have?"

"Er… I have some… left at… the inn."

I can create as many as I want although it will deplete my strength.

"This is a perfect material. Where do you find them?"

"It is… a secret. Sorry. But if it's you, I will consider lowering the price."

Erhard smiles as he looks at the crystals one more time. "OK, deal!"

Is Erhard actually an angel? What a good man…

-(BREAK)-

After selling the crystals at a reasonable discount, I left his shop. I don't mind the price. Because technically I am earning money for nothing. Erhard looks delighted just to get his hands on materials of such high quality.

I decided to explore the forest for the rest of today. There still are several areas in the forest that I haven't been to. Walking in the forest is truly refreshing… the air is kind of tasty and smelly carrying a good aroma and oxygen produced by trees. A tired man can refresh himself right away in this kind of forest.

Ah, how nostalgic – this reminds me of camping in the forest when Grandpa Max, Gwen, and I used to go on summer road trips. How long has it been? Hmm, about 5-7 years ago.

A thought to hunt some monsters for dinner struck my mind. So I raise my left wrist and tap the faceplate. As usual, a holographic circle that lists the symbols of alien forms stored in the Omnitrix pops up.

"Alright, let's go with this!"

When I release the faceplate, it slides down to the side, allowing the core of the device to emerge. I smack the core down again to assume the form of the chosen alien.

As a result, I am engulfed in green light and undergo a metamorphosis. My genetic code is rewritten and my DNA is converted to a different kind, transforming the nature of my body and mind.

The light dies down and reveals a humanoid beast creature standing in my place. My body is at least 7 feet tall… I've got a long nozzle and furry grey skin. The legendary shield has transformed into a small shield, its exterior being covered by alien hide, and has a claw mark on the surface.

My appearance now overall looks like a werewolf.

"BILTZWOLFER!" I roar a cry at the sky and run into the forest on all four like a real beast.

I even feel like a dog. Thanks to Loboan's biology, I can run and do many things just fine — I move at a high speed as a quadrupedal and then jump to get on the branches of a tree.

"Oh, there is a monster!"

A lizard-like monster comes into view. I jump off the tree and hurl myself at the monster, readying my claws. The moment it turns around and sees me, it attempts to jump at me. But I am fast enough – my claws slash off its head at superhuman speed. Then I land safely on the ground.

"I've got dirty now…"

Another monster comes into view. This time, it is larger than me, round, orange, and… wait, isn't it a balloon monster?

It is floating above the ground… and possesses a size of 9 feet in diameter.

"Uh, anyway," I prepare my claws again. "I will just have to kill it."

The moment I leap into the air to jump on the monster, several little balloons also escape the mouth of the big monster — quite a nasty sight.

My targets changed. I slash the tiny ones with my claws first to make way toward the largest one.

"Shoot, disgusting…"

In the end, I couldn't land on the monster but on the ground.

My snout splits into four and powerful sonic waves are unleashed at the monster, destroying it into pieces in a short time. Finally, the remains of the monster fall to the ground like a lifeless piece of rag.

I walk toward the drops of the lizard and balloon monsters and let my shield absorb some of them… to gain a power-up or some experience points.

"Lizard shield… what is it supposed to do? And Orange Shield has leveled up again."

At the time, my keen senses pick up the smell of a presence in the area. It's a faint presence – the owner of the smell must be either hiding themselves or waiting to sneak an attack on someone. It is not a monster… wait, human?

"Who goes there?"

I notify that "person" that I know they are there.

A masked shadowy figure in a black robe, which covers its entire body jumps off a branch of a nearby tree.

"It's truly impressive to notice me, Sir Hero." A feminine voice comes from the figure.

Sir Hero? How does she know– she must have been tailing me all the time. Also, I have a shield on my right forearm.

"Not so impressive," I brush off my praise. "I am a wolf after all."

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic. I was wary of her, so I decided to not revert to my human form. If she thinks I am just a talking monster, fair enough. It's perfectly OK as far as it doesn't somehow reveal my identity.

"I'd want to confirm. You are the Shield Hero of the Four Legendardary Heroes, right?"

She takes a glance at my hand where the shield is attached.

"What if I am?"

But I'd have to be cautious of her. The legendary shield has a lot of haters, therefore she can be an assassin someone assigned to kill me. Her outfit is also suspicious.

When she takes a step closer to me, I have to hold back the urge to back away. She doesn't have any weapons in her hands. Damn…

"Rest assured, I am no enemy, I am your ally, I dare say."

I widen my green wolf eyes… but not in a welcoming way in response to her claim.

"Whoa, I didn't think I had one. Er, perhaps… my allies are only Erhard and… you?"

Afterward, silence takes over and I am just staring at her for some time. And I decided to give up. With a flash of green light, I cancel my transformation, restoring my human form.

"Alright, I am the hero of the shield. What do you want from me?"

"I am a servant who only answers to the Queen's orders, I dare say."

"The Queen?"

Hmm, now we are encountering an interesting lady. A woman who works for the Queen of Melromarc, huh… Right after my rampage in the capital, they would be no more exciting stuff than meeting someone who works for her.

I quickly scan the area to ensure no one is eavesdropping on us.

"Ahem," I clear my throat before continuing my speech. "How's Her Majesty doing?"

"Her Majesty is currently away to make peace with the neighboring countries. She cannot come back for a while, I dare say."

Damn, just what kind of person did you leave the responsibilities of your country to!? I mean, that failure of a King and the spoiled brat of a princess… I feel sorry for this country. I don't like to discuss politics but as far as the rights and the safety of the citizens of a country go, I am concerned.

"Just tell her that her country is messed up, and rotten from the core. Normally I wouldn't tell that. I didn't even show my anger in front of that idiot king and rotten princess… er, sorry."

The shadow woman slightly bows to me. "Don't worry, sir hero. Her Majesty orders me to ignore even if you talk ill of her."

"I-is that so?"

"Her Highness has been trying to change the mindsets of people and the system for many years, I dare say. But the Church, the center of the major religion of people, always gets in her way, so her plans didn't work out, I dare say."

Hmm, as I thought, the Church inflicted the country for too long – it will be too difficult and too much work to accomplish this grand mission.

"And… I don't still see the reason why she wants to be concerned with me."

Now I remember it, the Queen is one of the few people who respect the heroes of the legendary shield. While I don't know much about her, I can't just shout at the face of a Nation's Ruler to change her nation. I don't really have such kind of privilege.

"Her Majesty wants to meet with you."

How should I respond to her invitation? In fact, I don't really have time to do so–

"Can I say no? I have encountered several people with rotten and disgusting behaviors. I need to take a break from randomly meeting up with people. Sorry."

The woman just stares at me. I even feel like she is inflicting psychological attacks on me.

"Once you meet with Her Highness, your opinions will change, I dare say."

I stretch the back of his head and put some effort into thinking. She better not disappoint me.

"Alright, I will accept her kind invitation. But right now, she is outside the country, right? How are we gonna meet?"

The woman shakes her head as she brings out a crystal ball.

"I have a communication crystal ball that is connected to Her Highness' line. I will let you talk with her through this, I dare say."

Damn, the magical world has its own phones, I see. At the time, an intellectual idea struck my mind.

"Forget it," I reply with a confident smile. "I will meet up with her. But in my own way…"

"Excuse me?"

You know I'm powerful. But now it's time to show off.

"I will visit her in person. Just give me her whereabouts."

"Uh… I did see you fly once, yes."

I widen my eyes in surprise. Wait, how long has this woman been spying on me!?

"D-did you see?"

"I have seen you use your abilities several times beforehand. Rest assured, I am only loyal to Her Highness, I dare say."

I hope so… See, it wasn't that impressive for me to find her presence. I didn't notice her spying on me for a long time.

"Whatever… I hope you are right."

After she gave me a map, I quickly memorized it and transformed myself into an aerophibian.

(A/N: A reminder that Ben has a photographic memory.)

After a few moments, a red manta ray-like alien with pointed horns and a long tail flies out of the forest, off to the sky, and goes on its short trip to the border of the nation. The shield takes a shape of the right-wing, but is smaller and with a core in the middle.

"JETRAY! Owww!"

-(TRANSITION)-

In a fancy-looking tent, a well-dressed woman, wearing a crown on her head, is sitting on a chair behind a table with three or four piles of paper on its top. The woman covers her face with her palm and sighs, not wanting to look at the piles of work.

She wants to grunt how tiresome the job is. The culprit behind her overloaded work is her husband… That idiot of a husband did nothing but increased her workload. That man has the skill of being useless passively.

"Now you've gone and done it, Aultcray! I never thought you were that stupid!"

Outside of the tent, a red flying stingray flies over the tent, therefore, making a fuss around for the bodyguards and servants of the woman.

"I wonder what's happening outside."

Her question is answered when a humanoid red manta ray casually walks on 2 into the tent. Her eyes widen… as if she is looking at the nightmare of her life.

"Oh ho ho, relax, no harm."

A high-pitched voice from the monster startles her. What is that creature? A demi-human? Which part of him looks human? None. Perhaps… he must be a beastman, yes.

"Who are you?"

"You say you want to meet me and now I have arrived, Her Highness."

A green light blinds the woman's vision for some seconds. And then standing in the place of the stingray monster is… a brown-haired green-jacket shield hero — me, of course. Your favorite Benjamin Tennyson isn't abandoning the story anytime soon.

"Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Ben Tennyson, the Shield of the Four Cardinal Heroes."

The tension in her heart is released. She looks at me in awe, with her fear fading away.

"Oh, it's you, The Brave One. Sorry for my rude behavior. I am Mirellia Q Melromarc, the Queen of the country."

"Don't mind it, Your Majesty."

"Sorry again, I can't quite welcome you formally at the time. As you see, I am busy."

I steal a glance at the piles of work on her worktable and internally sigh. Damn, it is worse than I expected.

"It's okay." I gulp down my urge to blame her… upon seeing her workload.

After talking for some time, I handed the information to her, about what was happening in the capital. Indeed she admitted she had a glimpse of the situation and she wasn't happy about everything that her husband and daughter had done to me.

"I thought my husband was a fool and an extremist but my daughter is far worse. Hmm, that idiot of a father raised her as a spoiled brat, and… her personality became even more rotten than her father. I see," she facepalms out of disappointment. "Aultcray hates the demi-humans and the Shield Hero because of an incident that happened in the past. But Malty… I don't regret taking back her former position."

"Taking back what?"

Oh, now I remember seeing something like that while reading Malty's mind as Ampfibian.

Her Majesty behind the scene looks just like a mother who has been putting up with a bad husband and a rotten daughter. Perhaps she has, even more, conflicting problems than I do. On the other hand, I am a carefree and easygoing type who doesn't mind all the hate directed at me. The only problematic thing is the way I want to protect people. And I can't stand Aultcray and Malty for the same reason.

"Yeah,... I think… you need to give some time to the family, even if it's a little but…"

I look at her worktable again.

"... I don't think you have spare time… And your husband just creates more trouble for you. While I can't feel the same as you do, I have experienced my own share of anxiety, trust me."

It was actually a bluff. The worst thing I have ever faced is… the time I went through my rebellious phase and wanted to murder my best friend – Kevin.

"Sorry, I must be annoying you with my own problems," she apologizes to me.

"Uh, I don't mind, really."

She narrows her eyes and looks at me intently… I guess she is picking up something.

"I have a question for you, Sir Shield."

"I will answer if I can, Your Majesty."

"What's that thing… Er… that appeared in your place? It was like a transformation."

Of course, it is. Respect for she got it right on her first guess.

I roll my eyes, shortly examining the surroundings in silence.

"Are you sure I can trust you?" I ask her with a soft voice.

"I suppose so. But it is yours to decide."

This is one heck of a matter to ridicule me.

"I don't… know what to say," she continues. "While I can't support you for everything you want to do, I can guarantee you that a secret you share with me will be locked away and no one can ever find out."

"Good answer," I am determined. I am going to play this gamble. "It wasn't anyone else. It was me, myself. I can just transform into many bizarre creatures."

"You can transform… hmm, I heard about your absurd abilities from my spies. But how exactly?"

I was pretty sure I didn't wanna tell her about the Omnitrix. So I decided to set up a new story by myself.

"I can just transform… into werewolves, flying stingrays… or so. Haha, how ridiculous."

"Basically, monsters, right? That suits the title of Shield Devil," she giggles.

"Spare me weird nicknames. Uh… but yeah. These monsters are like humans and demi-humans. They have feelings and self-awareness."

And afterward, Queen Mirellia assigns me to fulfill her requests. It is like a part-time job where you have to work for a different boss, ha. Jokes aside, the Queen promised me some decent rewards for working for her.

After the talk, I flew back to the capital.

-(SKIP)-

Darkness embraces the capital by the time I arrive at the inn where I formerly stayed. Though I didn't leave any of my things here as I stuffed them into my shield inventory, I went to the inn for another purpose. To get some sleep.

The innkeeper and I are on good terms, and thanks to the King's live broadcast, I don't have dirt on my name. Thus, I can just fit myself into society fine. Well, there is a problem though – Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren. I want to avoid them as much as I can.

But I found their things around… and noticed they were already occupying the rooms. So I left the inn, determined to find another inn or just camp out in the forest like I did the previous night. I find camping enjoyable, indeed.

A hulky rocky creature about at least 12 feet tall floats above the ground and holds out his hands as he manipulates the gravitational force. From his hands, unseen forces are produced and heavy trunks of the tree rise into the air pushed up by gravity itself, somehow cheating the law of nature.

"Oh… this comes in handy," I murmured.

So I continue to pile up the tree trunks to build a suitable accommodation. With a flash of green light, I restore my human form.

The entrance of the "tent" is a wooden door. When I push the door, it opens.

My bed is made of leaves I collected in the forest. Some of them are already dried so as I drop myself onto the bed, some small noises escape. But it is really comfortable.

The sun has long set.

The Queen sure was a bossy person to me. Looking after her people, huh? She should have lended me a hand or two…

Oh, also she suggested I find a companion or two. Even having a party member is better than having none… or so she said. But my abilities are more than enough to save the world and protect its people. I will also have the responsibility to look after my teammates so they won't get hurt.

I mean, even judging for Malty, companions are dangerous for the likes of me.

I have already suffered the pain of losing everyone I know – thanks to the Omnitrix, I managed to restore them. But who says I can do it again? No guarantee.

The universe stopped existing and everyone was erased from existence. If I couldn't restore them, I would've been in despair and pain.

I am determined that I won't let anyone suffer like that again…

-BONUS SCENE-

At the Church, the Pope meets with his disciples… And Malty.

"Shield Devil… I thought he is just a wimp but he proved to be powerful… An overwhelming power at that."

Malty couldn't care less about Shield Devil, because all she wants is to eliminate her sister from existence and… the throne.

"What's for me, old man? That scum matter can wait, but shouldn't we accomplish our tasks before mother returns?"

"Yes, yes, yes. But you see, Shield Hero is a threat, no doubt. So we must plan to take both targets at the same time."

"Melty… she will regret it!"

The first Princess turns her back at the Pope, with a smirk. And the Pope commands his spies to observe the Devil.

I haven't seen him use his shield… even once. Something's wrong… I can… I can feel it from the deepest of my inside. But whatever… God is the true winner at the end of the day. No one can defy God, and no one shall get in God's ways.

The duo didn't notice the ghostly presence in the room. It silently left after spying on them.

END OF CHAPTER (3).

Thanks for reading and writing reviews.

Christopher Paradox Chronos.