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")

23. Chapter 23: CAL MIRA 3

BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO

CHAPTER 23: CAL MIRA 3

Sorry, I wasn't talking about Ben Prime and Bad Ben. It was about Ben 2040 of Ben 10: ROSH story (who is heavily based on Ben Prime) and Bad Ben from Ben 10: OWDG (Yes, I warped his backstory though.)

When I started writing the chapters of Ben 10: ROSH, I wasn't really dedicated to character development, hence I forgot to give Ben 2040 some quirks and traits. When I began BOWDG, I really learned the lesson from creating Ben 2040 (I mean, he is someone with NO KILL RULE. Even Ben Prime has killed several villains at age 10.) so he became a less serious character.

I didn't really like depressed or gloomy Ben, honestly. But I love Nega Ben. He is cool. If he read my story, he would say "lame." Anyway, I had to use Bad Ben for his pure evil intentions. Therefore, I decided to give him a decent backstory (although I still haven't revealed it all to readers). I was dedicated to making his monologues, I really loved that. I am a fan of Hachiman Hikigaya, and the Bad Ben character is partially based on Hikigaya.

Sorry for the late update. Since season (1) of Ben 10: OWDG has finished (with 7 chapters and 80k words), I decided to finish Season (1) of Ben 10: ROSH before the Tate no Yuusha season (2) is released.

Also, if you are interested, please check out my Ben 10: The One Who Defies Gods which has now reached chapter 7 (covers 5 volumes of light novel, 1 season of anime.)

And yes, Rising of the Shield Hero season (2) is gonna be released this year and at least 3 official trailers have been released. Season (3) is also announced and will likely be released in late 2022 or early 2023. Check them out if you haven't seen the trailers.

The wave of catastrophe happened in Cal Mira.

I don't know where the wave will be triggered. And the only one who is registered to officially participate in the wave battle is me. I assign the three heroes to the evacuation and islander rescue works.

The wind begins to blow harder and harder… as if a storm is happening out in the ocean.

I stand on the shore, with my arms folded, looking away at the rumbling waves of the ocean.

"Melty!"

"Hmm?"

The stubborn princess wants to join my party. But I don't plan to take her to the battle.

Well, she is a different story from Filo.

Therefore, I decided to give her another assignment.

"Stay on the shore. And protect the island from Tsunamis."

"Huh? B-but…"

"Please… you have water magic, right? We will go out to the battlefield."

After a moment of silence, she finally gives me a nod… as we reach an understanding.

00: 00: 00: 05

"Everyone, ready!?"

"Ready!"

A circle appears at our foot, glowing brightly, and then the whole party is engulfed in the bright light.

"We are… FALLING!" I can hear Rex's excited screams.

We were summoned right above the ocean… and it's quite a height from the sea level at that.

I mentally command the Omnitrix to transform me into a Big Chill and then freeze a portion of water in the ocean, thus forming a small island surrounded by water – so that we can land.

Filo changes into her filolial form and captures the falling blue knight Aria… before safely landing on the small ice island.

"Ah, ah, it's cold," Aria groans.

"Sorry," I apologized.

The sky is now dark… with a large number of blue portals.

Rex is now suspended in the air via a Boogie Pack, looking away at something.

"Ben… you will want to see this."

"What is it?" I float towards him, unfolding the wings. "Holy…"

It is a sea monster the size of a whale, surrounded by a large number of aquatic minions that are swimming in the sea. And again, a swarm of flying monsters is also following the marine monster army.

"That guy must be the boss… and hey, there's a ship near the whale."

"What! It's dangerous!" I exclaim. I didn't think twice but started flying through the air towards where the ship was.

I witness a crowd of monsters fly off the ship.

"Full Moon Army!"

It was L'Arc.

He is swinging his giant scythe as he fights off the monsters. He seems to be having a good time.

Therese is behind him, casting a spell.

"Shining stone, showering thunder!"

A sharp crack of lightning shoots out of the sky and kills a monster in front of her.

They are doing well, but I can't help but worry. While they are experienced adventurers, what if they encounter that Glass woman!?

"It's dangerous!" I shout at the duo. "Go back to the shore!"

Hearing my freaky voice, Therese and L'Arc look up at me who at the time is a flying blue moth man.

Even the experienced adventurer gets off-guard. The aquatic troops that look like walking fish – ah, sorry but they look a lot like Ripjaws – have climbed up the ship and tackled the jewel mage.

"Crap! Don't daze off you moron!" I yell as I float towards the walking fish monsters and freeze them with my ice breath.

"Y-you are…" L'Arc seems to have noticed the snowflake shield. "The talking monster, Shield Devil."

"Hmm, what a nice title I have," I reply sarcastically as the slashes of the fish monsters phase through my body without harming me. "Be careful, kiddo."

After I have frozen the monsters on the deck and L'Arc has shattered all of them into pieces, I fly off the ship.

"I have to help others, Good Luck there."

I hope this will help the "Shield Hero is a scumbag," statement to disappear from their mind.

"What's the condition?" I ask the orange demon who is slashing the aquatic buddies with his big fat sword, still flying above the sea surface.

"If we don't stop them, they will swim all the way to the islands. So it's a bad condition. I don't have anything that can stop this number of monsters," he says.

"Ok, it's quite a problem we didn't take the ships."

"Why?"

"We can lure them onto the board and kill them."

Generator Rex silently continues his slashes but I suppose he is still processing…

A reminder that Big Chill doesn't need to inhale to exhale an ice breath.

The breath escapes my mouth, freezing the fish monsters.

"I've got an idea," he says. "What if we lure them to the shore?"

I look back at the shore… there's a crown princess with blue hair who is trying her best to maintain the waves coming to the shore.

And Aria and Filo have combined their attacks, leaving a line of corpses in the ocean.

"We don't need to lure them. They are already getting to the shore."

I smack the Omnitrix badge on my torso, transforming myself into a different species.

"JETRAY! Get back to the shore. We will attack the small fries there. But we don't let the whale get to the shore, OK?"

He nods and swings his big fat sword to perform a final slash.

Blink… and I am at the shore. Quite a speed…

"Sorry to have you do everything…" I mutter to Melty as I change into Water Hazard again and land on the beach next to the crown princess.

"It's okay," she looks exhausted. I should give her some time to rest as well.

"Alright, leave this to me. Get some rest."

"Mmm," she drops herself onto the sand.

Concentrating my mind, I thrust my hands forward and then manipulate the sea waves… order them to roll back and splash at the sea monsters making them scream in surprise.

"Wow… how did you do that?"

"Hydrokinesis… easy."

But I can't teach you the trick though.

"Ben! Are you not making clones?" Rex warns me.

"Oh…" I was too occupied and overwhelmed with the number of enemies. "OK, thanks. You guys…"

Filo and Aria have already arrived at the shore. "Defend the beach. I am going to attack the boss."

They nod at me. "Go."

I press the Omnitrix symbol to transform again…

"ECHO ECHO!"

Whenever a wave happens, I use Echo Echo for efficient work done.

The clones set off into the ocean.

"JETRAY!" "BIG CHILL!" "ASTRODACTYL!" "RIPJAWS!" "AMPFIBIAN!"

I transform myself into "WATER HAZARD!" again and dive into the water.

Releasing the pressurized water from the hole in each of my palms, I am propelled forward in the water. Being a mollusk-like alien, I find no problem in breathing underwater.

Jetray, Big Chill, and Astrodactyl have taken off to slay the monsters in the sky.

The rest three aliens become a mini-marine army.

I swim underwater all the way towards the giant whale monster.

Now I look at it…

It doesn't look like a whale. More like some extinct aquatic dinosaur combined with a longnose saw shark's drill-like horn. Having a long snout, its looks like a water dragon's and also possesses a green-and-white color scheme. Its body is about… 150 meters long! (150 m ~ 492 ft)

Time to shine!

I jump out of the water, propelling myself with high-pressure hot water into the air, before transforming into…

"WAY BIG!"

Appearing right before the colossal horned fish, I hold its horn with two hands, forcing it to stop.

But… crap… the ocean is too deep…

I enlarge myself to the limit – 300 ft but still can't touch the bottom of the ocean.

But suddenly, I am lifted by some kind of gravitational force that surrounds my entire body.

"Oh…" I see a Gravattack who is in his planetary form and unleashing a gravity field to hold me. "Thanks."

The Gravattack responds with a creepy smile.

I lift the whale monster pretty easily and raise it out of the water.

"Wow, wow… this guy…" I hear L'Arc's voice.

Bringing the whale out of the water causes a swirl in the ocean surface and the waves begin to tremble the nearby ship where L'Arc and Therese are.

"You can't just have all fun!"

Letting out a battle cry, L'Arc leaps incredibly high into the air and swings his scythe at the whale monster again and again… as if he is moving at light speed.

Somehow… he has managed to kill the whale…

"Well, heavy…" I mutter to myself and drop the whale into the water, causing the waves to tremble the ship again.

My hand moves at supersonic speeds to prevent the ship from flipping.

"Hey, are you OK?" I worriedly ask.

Theresa doesn't answer and L'Arc jumps down onto the beck.

"Echo Three to all Echo Units, Guests have arrived!"

What! Guests!

When I turn around, I see three more ships – one of them carries the Queen Mirellia who is standing where the Captain should be.

Seems like an Echo unit (Jetray) has reached out to the Queen.

"Ahem," she says through the communicator of Jetray. "We will help you finish the small fries. You are fighting singlehandedly, right?"

"Uh, well..." an Echo Unit, who is not me, answers on my behalf. "It's nothing for me."

Wait a damn minute, the whole transmission thing is being leaked through Way Big's communicator, right?

"I... gotta go!" I say to the duo, though it's unnecessary before transforming into Water Hazard again to help them kill the small fries in the water.

All the flying monsters have been wiped out by Jetray and Astrodactyl's efforts. But there still is a swarm of water troops.

Well, Jetray can go underwater, too, and Astrodactyl is basically a pterosaur so I don't doubt it can.

Propelled by the high-pressure water, I leap onto the deck of the ship that Therese and L' Arc are boarding on.

But... Something doesn't feel right. Glass has yet to appear in the game. What's she doing?

Therese thrusts her hands forward to cast a spell, and L'Arc readies his weapon, aiming at me – we are at least 5 meters away though. Well, such reactions are expected from those who've said "Shield Devil is a scumbag, blah blah" but I guess that I can clear the whole misunderstanding things if I reveal my human form, yes.

With a flash of green light...

Standing in the place of Water Hazard becomes my human self in a green jacket.

"H-hey... L'Arc, Therese... Let's reduce the tension here..."

Both have their jaws dropped in surprise, almost seems like they've just been petrified.

After all, I never showed my forms to them when we were a team.

"Ben Tennyson..." Therese mutters.

"So... You never lied..." L'Arc lets out a chuckle and then grins suspiciously.

"Oh, man. I really didn't think that you were the Shield Hero, kiddo."

He is fishy... no they are.

"Hmm, well, I didn't really bother."

"But I figured you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you know? Kiddo. Or should I call you Ben Tennyson?"

"Ben 10, Shield Devil, the Savior of the Heavenly Fowl or whatever. The titles this world gives me are all fancy."

If something is wrong... I have to remain composed. Stay cool...

Maybe I will joke around?

"Oh, I want you to know that I don't have anything against you personally." (L'Arc)

"That's right. I don't either. I'm very sorry that things need to be this way, but . . . ." (Therese)

I am getting a really bad feeling about this.

The Omnitrix has already converted my DNA into the necrofriggian DNA (Big Chill) and activated the ID Mask.

"You know what? Whatever you are gonna do to me, you can just do it. I don't mind..." I wear a creepy smirk to squeeze their thoughts out of them.

L'Arc holds up his giant scythe in the stance again.

"We have to do it for the good of our world. You've got to die."

He moved super fast to slice me up... but I never moved from my spot.

"Huh!?"

The scythe literally passes through my body, again without doing any damage to me.

"You know, I am not some random idiot hero. I have been doing this job for a while..."

His scythe begins to freeze, hence he is forced to back away from me.

"Wh-what the hell?"

I vanish from their sight... and then reappear behind them again.

"Let me tell you, too..."

"AH!" Therese jumps backward from her spot.

"... I have nothing against you... personally..."

"Jeez..." the mighty scythe of his phases through my body again... doing nothing to me. But it is frozen.

"... Otherworldly... Heroes..."

I receive a glare from the scythe hero for those words.

"All-encompassing power of the jewel, hear my plea and show yourself. My name is Therese Alexanderite. I am your friend. Lend me the power to destroy them!"

I don't know if Big Chill can negate magic properly. Magic is just a concentrated energy attack so it should be fine.

"Ceremonial magic judgment!"

Then she removes her tiara and there is another jewel set into the center of her forehead.

"Shining stone! Shooting star rain of fire!"

Magic flames rain from the sky. Each one was a huge ball of fire.

And... TF...

They are directed at the ships of the Queen.

"All Echoes Unit! Defend!"

I shouted through the Omnitrix communicator.

"Roger!"

Air Strike Shield + Way Big Shield!

Way Big Shield — Maximum size!

Three colossal shields appear above the ship, blocking the incoming meteor-like magic rains from damaging the ships.

"Therese!" L'Arc yells at his partner.

"I know, I just had to keep them away!"

Hmm... Perhaps these guys are to fight the heroes and not the others... As expected of heroes.

"Your power is incredible, huh, kiddo?"

The Way Big Shields now have disappeared.

"What do you expect?" I fold my arms, grinning.

"You are a scumbag as we heard you were, right?"

L'Arc demands an answer, charging at me.

"Find the answer yourself," I laugh dryly as his weapon do nothing to me again. "I don't like puzzles but I guess I will create a puzzle for you guys."

"We are trying to kill you! Why can you be grinning!?"

L'Arc yells, swinging his weapon at me again and again.

This time, I mentally transform into Diamondhead... and catch the blade of the scythe with my bare hand (visually.)

"Until I find the answer," I pull him towards myself. "Perhaps I will play around with you guys. You know what? My transformations are irrelevant to human levels and skills."

"Huh?"

Before he can comprehend, I lift him off the wooden floor and throw him onto the deck.

Suddenly... I am tackled by the magic force of Therese.

"It's not that we WANT to kill you. But we have to do what we have to do..." she says.

I get up from the floor, unharmed, much to her surprise.

"If you think you can kill me, you can try as much as you can. Again and again... Maybe I will give in once in a while because I think you are boring..."

That's not what's on my mind. But I want to poke these guys. I need them to spill the beans... Why? Why are the heroes from another world fighting us? How are they related to the Waves of Catastrophe?

I need to find the answers. This, I have to make them reveal the answers to me...

A hero for some. A villain for others.

"That glass woman... You know her?" I question.

"Hmm? Lady Glass?" L'Arc weakly says, getting up from the floor. "What do you want with her?!"

"You are fighting for your world, you say? Sounds like Glass a lot."

"Yeah... We are with Lady Glass, so what!?"

I raise an eyebrow at his answer before transforming into Chromastone behind the mask.

So I was right.

This sounds like wars between the worlds. But their world doesn't seem to be included in the system of this world.

It's like TWO universes crashing to find a better candidate between the two.

Hmm, if it is correct, the vessel heroes from this world can probably travel to their world.

Or else... I can just transform into Alien X and make a hole in the space-time fabric... and peek into their world, lmao.

It will be so boring that way though.

"Nothing... I am just filling the holes in the puzzle."

Theresa casts her magic spell again but this time I absorb her mana ball that's directed to me and then fire a UV ray into the sky, ... As if I have created a mini rainbow.

"Glass said... There were tons of fake heroes out there... but you don't look like a real hero... You are powerful though," L'Arc says.

"Real hero or not..." I answer his riddle. "It's not yours to decide. It's decided by the people you help."

The tension on his face temporarily vanishes and he becomes silent.

Therese is also starting at me.

"Well, remember, when you become a hero, you have to become a villain, too. Most of the time, I need to save people by beating the crap out of others. So... When you wanna help a group and become a hero for that specific group of people, it's inevitable that you will become a villain for the opponents of that group."

"If you say so..." he aims the scythe at me again. "We will gladly take you on..."

"Ha, assume this as training, guys..."

Again, our battle has resumed.

A reminder that if Chromastone hasn't activated his absorption abilities, he can still be harmed by the energy blasts. Unlike Feedback who has active plugs (which are working as long as he is alive – and feedback is theoretically a living electricity entity) Chromastone has to activate his powers. Otherwise, he is just a magenta rock man. To be the Rock God of Petropia, he has to activate his abilities all the time!

I am hurled by the mana ball of Therese again.

"Now... I shouldn't conceal my forms anymore..." I say, getting up from the ground via the levitation ability of a crystalsapien.

The ID Mask is deactivated to reveal my purple/ magenta rock man form, causing the duo to widen their eyes.

"Are you a monster?"

"You can say so... But these guys... come from the stars in the sky..."

It's a perfect explanation suitable for medieval people.

"L'Arc... Look!"

Therese points at something behind me... and both look terrified by the sight. Whatever it is, it must be something scary–

Or not.

What the heck, dudes? Why did you all turn into the same alien form?

When I turn around... even I am shocked.

It is... the sight of 5 Chromastones levitating mid-air...

"It's creepy so can you please stop!?"

I yell at them. The guy in the middle shrugs his rock shoulder.

"We thought... it would be funny..."

"What a sick joke," I mutter to myself.

But they are me. Means – the combination of 5 clones of myself WILL RESULT IN SUCH A SENSE OF HUMOR.

With a flash of green light, they all disappear, recombinant with me.

"You are one heck of a powerhouse..." L'Arc comments.

"It's... Creepy..." (Therese)

Yeah, I know that so please stop commenting.

"So are you gonna give up on me?"

"No... Indeed I am even motivated!" L'Arc says.

"That's the spirit!" I bluff.

Deep down... Man, it's a pain to fight these guys. I wanna stop this shit.

I hear a jetpack sound and a scream of Filo.

"Hmm, they are here," I say nonchalantly as I block the scythe attack of L'Arc while absorbing the mana attack of Therese.

"Hey, Ben... Seems like you are having fun..."

Rex is seen flying via his boogie pack.

L'Arc and Therese are again surprised by the sight.

"I told ya..." I mutter, tackling the surprised scythe hero. "He is the Orange Devil."

Oddly enough, Aria and Melty are riding Filo... I mean, those two weren't in a good relationship...

"What's the problem here?"

Rex says, landing between me and L'Arc as he blocks the scythe with his big fat sword.

"Zweit Aqua!" "Zweit Tornado!"

Melty and Filo (in her human form) cast their magic spells to deliver an attack onto Therese.

Standing at quite a distance from where my party and the otherworldly heroes are fighting, I cross my hands watching them fight… well, it's not really entertaining. I am too much for the heroes, and I need to see my party members, who are barely level 40, fighting…

Speaking of fighting, Rex's attack power is irrelevant to his level. He's been using unregistered weapons this whole time and can deal a great amount of damage despite his low level.

"Killer Stance…"

Here comes the blue knight lady. And what!

She uses two pistols to aim at two heroes! This girl has reached another level… how scary…

"... ONE-SHOT KNOCKBACK!"

Ahhh, please don't murder them, Lady Aria!

Before I can say anything, the mana bullets are shot at the two heroes. Due to the distraction of Rex and the girls, the bullets successfully land on the heroes' bodies… the impact knocking them back, causing them to lose balance.

"Your party is quite skilled, huh?" Thankfully, L'Arc is still alive. "That explains why you didn't fight most of the time when we were a team."

Therese also gets up from the floor.

"Well, I am proud of my team," I jokingly say. "And I had to train the heck out of them to reach this level."

"If I am not wrong…" Therese comments. "The Shield Hero has been hated in this world. So he must have struggled to level up his party."

Ha, this girl hits the spot.

Quite a salty memory if I may.

"Yeah…"

"What a strange weapon…" L'Arc comments, looking at the blue knight's pistols.

"We are going at it for some time," I jokingly say. "Are you not tired already?"

L'Arc leaps and charges towards where I am, but Rex moves super fast and blocks his attempt.

"Why are you goofing off?"

Damn, here she is.

A blue meteor-like mana ball shoots straight into a ship, which then begins to sink.

"You will never seriously fight us otherwise…"

A great spray of water erupted before us, and a shadow appeared.

"You?!"

Glass…

"Oh, if it isn't Glass? What are you up to?" (L'Arc)

"Clearly I've defeated the enemy and come looking for you." (Glass)

I grit my teeth as I smack the Omnitrix again to transform–

"No, you don't!"

With a wave of her fan, I am blown away by the strong winds, colliding with the wall of the ship.

"Crap…" I groan weakly even though the rock skin is too hard to feel some pain.

With a flash of green light, the Chromastone is replaced by Echo Echo.

Dodging another blast of powerful gales, I split myself into two, forming a clone who becomes Jetray and later flies off the ship at supersonic speed to help another ship that's just shot down.

Now I see the view… shit.

My party members have been sent flying by the gales…

I leap into the air dodging the air blast… and then start producing a sonic scream that repels the winds back to the caster Glass.

All she just does is a wave of her fan and the winds I've sent back are all canceled out.

"Glass…"

"Now you will fight me seriously…"

As I drop to the floor, I make two more clones again. All three perform in a superhero landing on the deck.

Jetray who flew off to help the other ship has now transformed into Gravattack and is trying to carry the whole ship to shore.

"If you want a fight, I will give you one, GHOSTFREAK!"

"BIG CHILL!" "AMPFIBIAN!"

"No matter what kind of freaks you use–"

Ampfibian has now disappeared into the floor – No, rather he phased through the floor for a stealth attack.

Big Chill and I decided to turn invisible and intangible as we float around the opponents… well, we will scare them at the very least.

I have… like a thousand ways to knock them out, and now… it pissed me off. Thus, I decided to not go easy on them anymore.

I will try my best to make them give up…

"How are we gonna beat them?" L'Arc says, cautiously holding up his weapons.

I look back at my party members who are still resting in pain… except for Filo. Rex seems to have been caught off-guard and even the blue knight doesn't look very good.

Shit…

Calm down, Ben… I will just scare the shit out of them…

No sun in the sky, and no light around. Everything's in my favor.

"Boo…"

I appear before them, ripping my skin to reveal my true form… with tentacles.

"AHHH!"

It is Therese who screams at the sight of my true appearance… Glass simply covers her eyes with a fan and blows me away with the other fan.

I was blown away but my flight abilities overpowered the winds and maintained my balance in the air.

"You freak!" L'Arc swings his scythe at me, which again simply phases through my body.

And then suddenly his weapon begins to freeze as a whole… not my doing but it is Big Chill.

He backs away from me thinking I did it, but he is wrong… the ice begins to cover the whole weapon, and then… his hands are stuck on the weapon.

"How did you do that!?"

A strong electric field suddenly appears at his feet. It sends him flying back to his teammates… Lady Glass uses her wind magic to make L'Arc to a stop.

"You've got a whole lot of powers, huh? Circle dance break! Tortoiseshell shatter!"

No, you don't!

"TERRASPIN!"

I quickly get between my party members and the winds… hastily transform my limbs into turbine blades and make them rotate at high speeds…

And somehow… I have managed to overpower her winds, even pushing her back.

Big Chill lets out an ice breath into the winds I have been creating. It makes a cold air that causes both Therese and L'Arc to jump to the sides…

My blades come to an end… and I land on the floor.

"All-encompassing power of the jewel, hear my plea and show yourself. My name is Therese Alexanderite. I am your friend. Lend me your last light! Surrender yourself for the sake of our future!"

Therese throws a gemstone at us… which is supposedly a mini-bomb.

"Shining stone, shrinking explosion!"

"One-shot… Knockback…"

"Boom!"

Hmm… a gunshot!

I just heard Aria's soft chanting of her bullet spell and a gunshot.

Big Chill and I both worriedly look back at the girl, who is now sitting up with the help of Filo.

Aria Brambila is now skilled enough to shoot right at a small moving target. Im-impressive…

The gemstone is blown away by the mana bullet and explodes…

Therese used the confusion of the explosion to reunite with L'Arc and Glass.

"Hmm… seems like your teammates are skilled as well," Glass comments.

I ignore her words and look at Big Chill who immediately understands the meaning of my signal.

"Please… you guys…"

Hearing my words, Ampfibian who is also trying to electro-shock the opponents retreats to me.

"... restrain me if you need. And back me up…"

"Be careful…" Big Chill says before transforming into Gravattack.

Ampfibian nods at us and changes into Feedback.

Ok, everything's ready…

Now… I will be serious…

I smack the Omnitrix symbol whilst Gravattack and Feedback block the attack of the otherworldly heroes.

"Grrrrr! WHAMPIRE!"

"Wh-what!" (Glass)

My normal vision is now replaced with a lifeforce detector…. I see nothing but white, red, and some other colors that demonstrate the lifeforce of the beings… and even the energy of the lifeless things around…

And suddenly the hunger for power rises in my chest.

"Shit… real shit…"

Before I can get to Gravattack and Feedback, the galilean carries me towards the group of otherworldly heroes via gravity field creation.

"This is… what you said? Lady Glass…" L'Arc says, holding up his weapon nervously.

"Sadly… yes," she answers.

Grr… I can't think straight–

Lifeforce… she's got a whole lot of lifeforce…

She will be… delicious…

I spit three Corrupturas at them… two of them are destroyed by L'Arc… however, the unfortunate one is Therese who can't cast a spell in time. The corruptura attaches to her head… making her my minion instantly.

"A… Att… attack them!" I order.

"Hmm… Therese!" L'Arc calls out to her who doesn't respond at all.

"All-encompassing power of the jewel, hear my plea and show yourself. My name is Therese Alexanderite. I am your friend. Lend me the power to destroy them!"

"You are making us fight our friend… what a cowardly act…" Glass says.

"I… don't… care!"

I become a blur and appear right before white super lifeforce source… who I think is glass… and wait, there is something in L'Arc's pocket, which is even richer in energy… liquid? Water? I don't care anymore…

I will just feed on the Glass Lady, I guess.

"No! Glass!"

L'Arc has to restrain Therese behind me… who is approaching the Glass lady…

As I have come closer to her, she leaps backward and attempts to fly through the air but…

Yeah, I can fly, too.

"Circle Dance Zero Formation, Reverse Snow Moon Flower"

Wh… what an incredible amount of energy coming from the red moon…

A tornado is summoned between her and me… which tries to blow me away…

But I side-step to dodge the winds and shoot off through the air towards her at high speeds… the speeds I can't even believe myself, thirsting for the lifeforce.

"Glass!" L'Arc calls out.

I am… a little faster than Glass… and already right behind her before she can process.

My hands subconsciously grab her shoulders from behind, pulling her towards me… and my fangs sink into her neck as I start draining her lifeforce… rather soul power.

"AHHHHH!"

"Lady Glass–"

I guess that pest has been taken down by his own comrade… Hahaha! I will drain that guy later, as well…

"We have to stop him before it's too late." (Gravattack)

"Yeah…" (Feedback)

"What's her SP right now?" (Gravattack)

"I've had a good reading on her energy levels, leave it to me." (Feedback)

"We will stop him at once when her SP is 15%. Otherwise, it can kill her…" (Gravattack)

So delicious…

Wait… what am I doing?

"AHHHH!"

I can hear someone screaming in pain…

And sounds a lot like… my self-proclaimed archenemy, Glass.

Hmm… my… canines… no, my fangs… they are embedded in someone's flesh…

Someone's screaming for help, I must go back.

No… I am hurting someone.

It's me who is hurting Glass… causing her to scream in pain…

Real shit…

Wait, I did turn into Whampire just some minutes ago.

Seems like I lost control of myself again.

It is… so delicious… I know, no, I can feel it at the tip of my tongue… at the tips of my fangs.

When I release her from my grip and take out my fangs, she falls onto the deck… but Gravattack catches her perfectly with his gravity abilities… whilst Feedback gives me a thumb-up for some reason.

"Lady Glass…" L'Arc calls out weakly before being punched by the Therese girl.

"Glad to see that…" Aria weakly comments. "You are as disgusting as always."

"Congrats," Rex says, sitting up and leaning against the wooden wall. "You can control yourself now…"

"Perhaps,..." I reply, landing on the deck, eyeing at the Glass who is now put down on the floor, but she isn't unconscious yet.

"Miss Glass! Take this!"

What!

L'Arc throws a small bottle at the spirit lady who catches it perfectly and pours the contents on herself.

Wait… What's happening?!

Her… spiritual energy is… increasing… Damn, at this rate, I won't be able to control myself.

"CHROMASTONE… What's happening?"

"My trump card…" L'Arc answers my question. The two cycloptic aliens look at each other. "You have forced me to use this…"

"What!?" Feedback exclaims, thrusting his hands forward as he can feel the energy radiating from the Glass lady. I am no less the same as him, feeling her spiritual power increasing rapidly… to the point she becomes more powerful than she was.

"For me it's a drink that refills my skill. But for her… it's an amazingly powerful power up tool."

No, it doesn't explain anything.

It must be… Something that refills the soul power.

"Oh… yes, I see," Glass mutters and gets on her feet in a flash. She narrows her eyes at us three…

I'm getting a bad feeling about this…

"I'm going."

And then she is right in front of me—before I could even blink!

Has she teleported?

No, she just moved at an incredibly high speed.

Thankfully, Chromastone's ability to manipulate light waves grants me a sub-ability to see her movement. Thus, I quickly put my shield between me and her.

"Hyaaa!"

Even with my rock shield, I still feel the impact she caused.

The duo… Gravattack and Feedback didn't witness her movement… For some reason, they give us applause… perhaps, they are thinking she teleported to me.

I am sure she has become more powerful… No, extremely powerful.

Theresa Alexandrite has now recovered from the after-effects of hypnosis and now casts her magic to attack the gravattack and Feedback.

It is… A bad match.

Gravattack can block L'Arc attacks with ease… Heck, he is just thrown away like a rag doll again.

On the other hand, Feedback is so lucky he can absorb all the mana shots aimed at him and then… fires electricity back at her… sending her flying.

Gravity… The strongest fundamental force.

Electromagnetism… The second strongest fundamental force.

This duo is gold.

On the other hand… While Lady Glass can't still overpower me, I feel like she is going to.

"Ben!" "Master!" "Sir Ben!"

"I've got this! I've got this!"

With several UV rays simultaneously unleashed from my torso, she is forced to back away… But still looks fine, unfazed by my attempt.

Feedback joins me in the battle.

"What's the situation?" I ask.

"The other guy has them under control, so don't worry," he says, slightly smiling. His antennae are both prepared to defend himself from any energy attack she is gonna throw at us.

"Circle dance of nothingness!"

Her fan grows very large, and then another fan materializes next to it. She snaps the fan shut, and they release blades of energy as she did.

Then she holds the closed fans over her head. The circle path they formed as they rose remained in the air, glowing like the moon.

Damn…

Before I can react to her energy blades, Feedback gets in the way and absorbs all the energy blades, much to her surprise.

"Echo Prime… make good use of this…"

He channels all his energy towards me as electricity… Which I hastily absorb entirely. And then he disappears with a flash of green light.

I can feel the energy increasing in my body.

"Hmm…" Glass looks at me in a defensive stance.

I unleash a powerful energy beam directed at her from my body.

Glass has slapped open her fan to defend herself.

"Arrrghhh!"

But the beam pushes her back, making her crash into the wall of a trunk room.

"... Even if I don't survive," she gets up from the ground, seemingly not wanting to give up. "I… No, we have to defeat you."

She unleashes her energy blades again. But this time, a barrier appears just behind me. The barrier is a gravitational force field created by Gravattack with one hand… So that our party members won't be injured in the fight.

I absorb all the energy blades that are coming for me, hence getting an opportunity to fire UV rays back at her.

00:59

With a "beep," the numbers appear on my screen.

"Don't make me drain your lifeforce again, Glass," I warn her. "Give up and leave. Or you will be sorry."

"You have that habit of underestimating your opponents…" she says… and then suddenly vanishes from my sight, and reappears behind me.

I spin around to see what she is doing.

The gravity-bending Gravattack is forced to dodge the blades of energy and release the bound L'Arc and Therese.

"You will regret not killing me," again she disappears from my sight and lands a blow on my back… As if she has teleported. "Hero Tennyson."

I am sent flying but the Galilean catches me with his gravity field.

"I don't find a reason to regret, Glass," Gravattack says to the vessel's fan hero.

"You will. If you don't kill me, I will come again and try to kill you again as always, Hero Tennyson."

The trio begins to float in the air.

"3 encounters… And I won all 3 rounds. You must be a masochist to endure this much humiliation from me."

"Hmph…" she doesn't even flinch at my sick joke.

"Hey, Tennyson," L'Arc calls out. "I don't like that name. Can I just call you kiddo?" He says weakly.

"Call me Ben 10," I reply proudly. "Maybe I will be famous in another world, too!"

"Ok, ok…" he smiles awkwardly.

And then the trio rises to the portals and disappears together with the dark sky and blue portals.

"Oh, it's finished already!"

I hear Motoyasu so I turn around to see him.

Mmm, damn, it's… Awkward.

It's a flying Jetray – probably the one I sent to save a ship.

Ren and Itsuki are clinging to his neck and Motoyasu is hung by his legs.

"Party is over, guys..."

"Ha..." Jetray lets out a sad noise and drops the three heroes before vanishing with a flash of green light.

"Ouch... it's mean, Tennyson."

"Not my doing," I reply coldly before detransforming.

Ren stares at my party members who are all leaning against the walls and resting... My guys were knocked out with one single hit from the Glass Lady.

The level difference speaks volumes.

"Your teammates sure have it rough, huh." (Ren)

I roll my eyes. "Hey, Filo, how's Melty?"

"She fell asleep..." she answers.

Wait, she fell asleep? Unconscious? Maybe I will be executed for harming the crown princess of a nation! AHHHH!

"Melty..." Thankfully she is breathing of course. I shake her shoulders. She opens her eyes, which wander off to and fro on the ship as soon as she can open her eyes.

"Yawns..."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I am good."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Then everything is good..."

"Heyyyy!"

It was Queen Mirellia who yelled at us. "Let's go back. We are having a party tonight!"

The Queen of Melromarc is in her battle armor.

OK! I must share information about the otherworldly heroes to Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren. They need to know about people who are trying to kill them...

Party, huh?

-(BREAK)-

Haven't participated in a festival for quite a long time. Party? Maybe I've been a part of the adventurer's party.

Being 20+, Motoyasu didn't hesitate to drink alcohol. From the Japanese trio, I hear about their country's system – though coming from different alternate universes means that they have lived in a slightly different system.

Like... uh, minor age being under 20.

So if you are under 20, you can't drink alcohol. Can't smoke and can't vote. Basically, you can't drink, smoke, vote.

Well, forget it. Anyway, right now, Motoyasu is trying to flirt with my lovely daughter Filo... Filo looks super annoyed. But I decided to leave them alone. I hope she can handle the situation. There is no way I will allow the spear guy to become my son-in-law, though.

Aria... yeah, she can't really handle alcohol. It's the same for Rex, too. They have learned their lesson last time. Both have to satisfy themselves with the Mystery Seed Tea (MST) I gave to them.

The Queen, first and second princesses have not entered the party hall yet. Perhaps the Queen is giving some scolding to the spoiled brat of a first princess.

And me? I am satisfied with the new flavor: strawberry + banana smoothie!

(A/N: if my memory doesn't fail, I think the mystery seeds in the light novel bear tomatoes.)

The double door slowly opens... many people are already drunk, therefore they fail to give attention to the Queen and her two daughters who have entered the party hall.

"Don't give no mind to us. Please have fun," the Queen declares and walks to the other end of the hall followed by her daughters and attendants. There sits a special table (?) and a set of seats.

"Sir Ben..."

"Yeah? Please don't boss me around in our congratulatory celebration," I warn her as I walk toward their table.

"I will not," she assures me. "How was the battle?"

"It sucks..."

I don't feel betrayed because of L'Arc and Therese, yes. Maybe they would feel betrayed after learning I was the Shield Devil.

"Fighting isn't something people enjoy," she comments.

"Most people, actually," I correct her. "Some people really love fighting. Source: me."

"You love fighting?" Melty asks.

"No, not exactly. But I have met plenty who do."

The Queen grips the wine glass and drinks a sip.

"You are right. But Sir Ben, I notice that you have been doing everything alone lately."

"Excuse me?"

She calmly shoots a gaze at me with a dignified look in her eyes.

"I heard from Melty and Aria that you always try to push other people away from the fighting."

I lean against a pole and stuff my hands into the pockets of my pants.

"Because I can do that all alone. And I can't just see them hurt... like today."

"You need to have trust in your comrades!" The second princess speaks up.

"I have. But they will be–"

"If there is fighting, the people involved might get injuries... and have to heal themselves afterward," Malty says calmly, and takes a pause to shoot a glance at her beloved spear hero. "You are just running away because you don't want to face consequences. Don't be such a dick, glorious Ben Tennyson."

"Hmm... you are right," I murmur.

"And... if you take other heroes into the battles with you," the Queen warns. "They will become weaker and weaker... and easily get killed in the waves without your help."

"I... know that."

Man, the Queen and her daughters are giving me quite a bunch of scoldings...

Maybe I will try to become a better person for my comrades.

I look back at the people who are enjoying the party... most of them are the members of the heroes' parties.

Rex and Aria hold up their glasses filled with red stuff (MST) and smile at me for some reason. For crying out loud, don't tell me MST involves alcohol.

"OK, I will consider it."

"That's my boy," the Queen replies with a smile.

After some more days in Cal Mira for level-up stuff, we returned to Castle Town.

-(TRANSITION)-

"Wait, what do you mean? You will still punish them!?"

"I need to clear your bad reputation," the Queen calmly answers. "And I need them to repay for everything they did to you."

Good news or bad news. The government is under the King again. I don't know how he negotiated the knights.

And then the Queen proposed an idea to reveal every dirty scheme and action that the idiot of a King and his spoiled daughter did to me. I don't really mind their evil acts because I am used to them. But the Queen doesn't think so. Hope she won't decide on the death sentence as a punishment...

"But..."

"If their crimes are too much, their punishment will be the death penalty."

AHHHHH!

Knowing Aultcray and Malty, those two are in no way escaping the death penalty! Holy cow...

The Queen doesn't consult me anymore and leaves the room.

Next day…

"Aultcray… Malty… This isn't the end…"

Gulp…

She orders the knights to open the double door and enters straight into the throne room.

I intend to stop her before things get more complicated, but she looks super angry. Her scowl… sends shivers through my spine.

The heroes are also freaking out… indeed.

When Aultcray sees me, he becomes angry.

"What is HE doing here? Seize him! He must be put to death!"

"I will not allow it!" The Queen simply stops the Aultcray who becomes surprised to see the Queen on the throne.

"She's… That's not the real queen! Arrest her!" Aultcray shouts at the knights.

"You… you would mistake ME? I cannot tolerate this behavior any longer!"

Oh crap… this man is a moron.

The three heroes look at each other. They are freaked out by the Queen's wrath, but… still don't know why she is arresting her own husband and daughter. The one who knows the reasons is me… but I chose to not tell them.

"I am the queen and the source of all power…."

Her Majesty casts some kind of powerful magic… much to the moron's surprise.

"That spell… Can it be?!"

"Hear the truth and heed it. Restrain him with a cage of ice! Drifa Icicle Prison!"

A cage of ice appears around Aultcray. He is shouting from inside it, but his voice doesn't make it out of the cage.

"I cannot believe how low you have sunk."

"Her Majesty!" I couldn't control myself anymore. I yelled at the Queen. "Stop this, he's gonna die!"

"I won't let him just die here, Sir Ben…"

The queen snaps her folding fan shut, and the cage vanishes at the same time.

"Such powerful magic! Indeed, you are truly my wife! What has happened to you?!"

Aultcray is looking at her up and down like he can't believe his own eyes.

"…And with the Shield!" he glares at me for no reason.

Hey, old man, don't pull me into your fantasy.

"You're wrong. I swear. Do you really believe that the Shield Hero has the sort of powers you ascribed to him?"

She walks up to the throne and slaps him hard across the face.

"I told you that you were to have authority over Melromarc while I was in other lands. I told you, time and time again, not to treat the Heroes poorly. But you ignored me! Are you TRYING to start a war?"

"But I…"

"I don't want to hear your excuses! The very world is threatened by the waves. And now… during this time when we all must band together… you… you!"

She turns around towards us.

"Now, with that out of the way, allow me to re-introduce myself. I am the ruling queen of this land, Mirellia Q. Melromarc. Aultcray may seem to carry authority, but he does not—not any longer. Do not believe what he says."

"Um… Uh…"

"Pleased to… meet you?"

"Whoa…"

The other heroes all expressed their emotions in turn. They all had trouble finding the right words.

"Heroes, I would very much like a little of your time today."

"What's happening?"

"Let's discuss it during the feast."

During the feast, the Queen be like:

"I'm sorry! But it's only natural that Melty should marry Sir Ben."

Thankfully, Rifana and Aria aren't around.

"What?!" Everyone except the Queen herself, Melty, and I… exclaimed.

"Don't you understand? There is no better way to defeat our old enemy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah… We're getting curious too."

Gulp…

I… kind of understand what she means but…

"Well…" The queen began to explain.

Siltvelt worships the Shield Hero. And Siltvelt is also Melromarc's enemy. If the royal family of Melromarc adopts me into their lineage, that will make Melromarc into a holy nation from the perspective of Siltvelt.

Hmm… as expected of a wise Queen, everything is perfectly planned… so perfect I want to facepalm.

Then Siltvelt and Melromarc will just have to maintain a friendly relationship. If they pull that off, they'd be true allies.

"Have you no shame? You would use your own daughter that way?"

Itsuki steps forward and shouts with rage.

Sir Itsuki Kawasumi is useful to me for the first time. Thank you, sir–

"Use her? Very well… Are you saying that in your own world there are no politically arranged marriages?"

I figure… the Queen is wiser, no way the Justice Bow-man is beating her in an argument.

"I've heard that they used to happen, but that doesn't mean they aren't problematic."

"There's no problem. I see that Melty and Sir Ben are already on good terms. Melty, do what you can to get along with Sir Ben."

Wait, WTF, she is only 10.

And are you not asking for my opinions as well!

"N…No!" Melty stammers…

What the heck are you blushing for?!

"Well…" I step in, before my fate is all decided in the hands of a 10-year-old kid. "Seems like she doesn't like the idea. I really don't like it, too. And I have denied it once, right?"

"What's that? Are you saying I'm not attractive?! Wa…"

This girl… unreadable. Do she like the idea of political marriage or not?

And… girl… you are just a kid! A KID!

"Hmm, you will become attractive when you grow up," I nonchalantly respond.

"Very well. If that's all there is to it, then I suppose I cannot interfere."

For some reason, Itsuki looks satisfied and steps back into line.

AHHH! My only ally!

"Bow Hero! Why are you giving up?!" I ask.

"I see that she has a point, and that there is hope for you. What are you supposed to do? She's going to be the queen."

I'm cornered.

Aria, Rifana, forgive me.

"But I'm going back to my world when everything's resolved! I won't be living here after that!" I argue.

"That won't be necessary. As long as Melty becomes pregnant with your child."

I look at the Queen with deadpan face. And the crown princess is flustered…

Her Majesty takes a glance at her first daughter.

"All of this is because my foolish husband and daughter destroyed our other opportunities. Everything was fine when you left to be in Sir Ben's party. You could have brought more people into the party and domesticated him—kept him for yourself. Had you done so, the throne would be as good as yours."

"Who would do that with someone as ugly as him? He tried to rape me!"

You spoiled brat! I am quite handsome and I've got a lot of fangirls back in my home world, you know!

Before I can bark back…

"He's not ugly!"

Melty shouts at her, much to my surprise.

Whoa, I feel shivers, crap. I don't like where this is going.

"What's the problem? I'm just telling the truth. If you get upset about it, that proves that you agree!"

"It does prove something. It proves that you no longer have even a drop of purity left in you."

"What proof are you talking about? Ask Sir Motoyasu. I was a virgin!"

These girls… I better step in and stop them.

"Ahem, stop, you guys. You are in front of Her Majesty–"

"Shut up your trap, you ugly…"

I feel like a vain pops up on my face.

The Queen interrupts their quarrel.

"Malty, if you're going to lie, you'd better be prepared to lie all the way until the end. You might be able to fool the Spear Hero, but you cannot fool me. I've known you for a long time, and you've always had the nasty habit of taking joy in the misery of others. Furthermore… You heard that your sister had been swept up in the conspiracy, but instead of trying to protect her, you took advantage of the situation, going too far as to turn her over to the Church yourself!"

I was the Queen's spy and told her everything about what happened. Now I am feeling guilty…

"You probably thought that you'd be the next person to sit on the throne."

"I… I did not!"

I can't really look at this little liar now.

"Yeah! Myne's not like that!" Motoyasu shouts out in support, but the queen isn't listening. "You're lying!"

"No, it's true!"

"If it's true, then you'll show us proof."

The queen snaps her fingers, and knights claps their hands down on Malty's shoulders. Some wizards appear, carrying an item.

An ink pot…

"What are you doing?!"

Motoyasu notices that something was up, and he starts to shout.

I know where this is going. I slowly take a step backward, feeling uneasy. The knights are already restraining both Motoyasu and Malty.

"N… No! Release me!" (Malty)

"I will release you once I've verified your innocence. I hope the Heroes understand."

I look away from the sight… I don't think I like this scene.

The heroes are also watching in silence, except for the Spear Guy who is trying to reach out for his Myne.

The wizards turns to Malty and begins a ceremony. The queen produces a needle, pricks her own finger, and drops a little of her blood into the ink pot.

This… this is…

Slave ritual…

Motoyasu readies his spear. "Stop that!"

Shit, as much as I hate enslavement, it's the Queen who's doing. And I have already heard from herself that she intends to find the answer directly from the spoiled daughter – I never knew she would use this method.

I better stop Motoyasu and see the end of this story.

Air Strike Shield + Unbreakable Diamond Shield –

The spearhead bounces off the diamond shield, much to Spear Boy's anger.

"Sorry, but I can't let you interfere with this, Motoyasu."

"Grr…"

As he swings his spear at me, I activate my another skill – Shield Prison.

A hollow sphere shallows him up. Ren and Itsuki nearly stepped in to stop me, but noticing the crowd of soldiers in the room, they held back.

"N…No! Stay back! Who do you think I am?!"

"The older princess. That is… if you can prove your innocence."

The queen drops a hand and gives an order. They pour ink from the pot onto Malty's chest. The slave seal appears there, burning into her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

This isn't a pretty sight…

She screams like that for a minute or so, but once she calms down the seal disappears as if nothing has happened.

"This is a powerful slave seal. It is normally invisible, but when certain conditions are met, it will return, punishing the subject."

Now, I release the spear hero from the shield prison.

"The condition is that you must not attack Sir Ben. Do not raise your hand against him!"

Well…

The princess glares at her mother, with tears in her eyes.

"Now then, Malty. Here is the question: were you raped by Ben Tennyson?"

Now I am interested.

"Yes!" she answers.

At nearly the same time, the slave seal comes burning back into view and exerts a powerful pressure on her chest.

"OUCH! It hurts!"

She can't handle the pain, and she falls to the floor.

"Her Majesty!" I shout at the Queen to have mercy on her daughter.

"M…Myne!"

Motoyasu runs to her and helps her sit up, but the effects of the slave seal doesn't go away yet.

The Queen sends a glance at me.

"The effects won't go away until you tell the truth."

"Fine… Fine! The Shield Hero didn't rape me. It was all a lie!"

The second the princess admits her lie, the seal vanishes.

"See? Everyone have a look. It was a lie," Queen Mirellia declares.

It is an efficient yet harsh method. I'd rather read her mind via mind-reading skills of Deejay Emcee.

"How can you say that when YOU forced her to say it!?" Motoyasu looks furious with the queen. "I don't know what kind of magic that was, but you forced her to lie!"

This is the Spear Hero in character.

"If you think so, Spear Hero, then why not temporarily register Malty as your slave as well? If you do, then you'll quickly understand how the slave seal works."

"Yeah! Fine! I'll prove her innocence!"

Don't you wanna prove my innocence, too?

Motoyasu lets a drop of his blood fall into the ink pot. They spill the ink over the girl again, and she is registered as his slave.

"Now you can see for yourself how the slave magic works. Look at your status screens to see."

Seems like he is still processing the stats… and then he turns towards Malty.

"Myne… You were almost raped by Naofumi, weren't you?"

"Ye… Ouch! OW!"

This is an ugly sight, indeed.

"B…But…"

Motoyasu looks pale.

"I didn't, I… AAAAHHHHH!" Her screams are growing panicked. If she doesn't start telling the truth, she'll die.

"Motoyasu!" this time it's Motoyasu that I shout at.

Motoyasu is shaking.

"It can't be true! Myne would never do something like that!"

"Sir Kitamura, you must understand this. This girl has always been a liar. She always hid in the shadows and tried to get others in trouble. She's been this way from childhood."

"No, she isn't like that! It's HIM. It's HIS fault." Motoyasu is thrusting his finger at me.

I raise an eyebrow at him, but don't respond to his actions. He is probably feeling betrayed… and shocked. I can't just blame him again.

"All of this is because of my daughter Malty. She pulled the strings and tricked my husband, Aultcray, into persecuting Sir Ben."

Ren and Itsuki seems to have understood well and… huh, they are changing sides!

"Aultcray is next."

The queen casts her gaze at the King, and he seems to flinch on the throne.

"What were you doing? You made no attempt to discover the truth. We were supposed to be taking special care of the Shield Hero, but you threw him out into the world naked. I don't even know what to say. In the past, no matter what my private feelings about you may have been I'd been able to keep you domesticated, but…"

"It's all the Shield's fault!"

"Malty was not raped. Her lies have been shown for what they are. What do you have to say about it?"

"Urg… It's the Shield! He's to blame!"

Hmm… what an interesting attitude. Still, he hasn't given up on his beliefs yet.

But the problem is himself… and he is an idiot. Damn, his wife is throwing proof right in his face and he is still refusing the facts. This is… hilarious in a sense, yet I can't laugh at him.

"I swear… You would have been smarter about this in the past. You used to be smarter than this!"

The queen holds a palm to her forehead, stressed out.

"It seems like you are not going to be able to defend yourself."

At this point, both Aultcray and Malty seem to have given up.

"I thought, for a long time, of ways to get around having to say this— but I now believe there is no other way."

The queen is absentmindedly opening and closing her fan as she speaks, but now she authoritatively claps it shut and points it at them.

"I officially disown you both. From this time until eternity, neither of you will be considered part of the royal family."

"What?!"

"Mother?!"

I let out a sigh in secret. No, I am not relieved yet. I am hoping the punishment will stop here.

"Mother… She's serious," Melty whispers to me.

"Huh?"

I direct my gaze back at the trial.

"What will happen to Melromarc if you remove me from the royal lineage?!" Melty shouts at the Queen.

"Nothing bad. To be honest, you're garbage—the scum of this country," Her Majesty remains composed.

"Wah…"

"How can you speak to your own child that way?!" Motoyasu was screaming in anger.

"Don't you understand? You reap what you sow. And it is now more than clear that Melty is the only one here capable of running the county. Malty, you've lost," she simply replies.

I couldn't care less about royal family's internal affairs.

"If you remove me from the throne, there are many people and organizations that will be upset."

"I've already silenced them. Did you think I was just sitting back and watching in silence for these last three months? If so, you're mistaken."

"Bu…"

Aultcray is so shocked he can't speak. He just keeps flapping his lips without saying anything.

Damn, the Queen is so smart.

"Besides, why did you summon the Heroes on your own! We needed to discuss this." (Queen Mirellia)

"What do you mean?" (Aultcray)

"Certainly the Heroes found it odd that they would be summoned to this world without the approval or appearance of this nation's highest authority?"

"Naturally."

She continues.

"Before we take this any further, we need to get one thing very clear. Our country was supposed to be the fourth country to summon the Heroes. This was decided at an international diplomatic meeting."

The queen begins to explain things. The waves had come, and many different countries had suffered heavy losses. To discuss their options, the kings and queens of various nations all agreed to a meeting. Certainly, there were different interests expressed, and some of the countries were natural enemies (like Melromarc and Siltvelt), but no one could avoid the truth: the world was sliding closer to complete destruction. If any of the countries had squabbles, they agreed to put them aside until the relative safety of the world was secured. At that meeting, it was agreed that Melromarc would be the fourth nation to summon the heroes.

"So why did this country summon them?"

"The Heroes are normally summoned using pieces of ancient holy relics. The ceremony can only be performed at a specified time, but…"

It means that they had summoned all the heroes while the queen was out of the country.

"The Church of the Three Heroes had been around for a long time, and its roots run deep in these lands. As far as I know, they are a very conservative organization. Still, it appears they had unexpected ambitious plans."

"Yes, that is why we have been so heavily criticized."

When I first met the Queen, I told her that she had been irresponsible. But I took that back. She just had a lot on her plate.

"Myne's father isn't that bad!"

Motoyasu still has wisdom to contribute, apparently. I facepalm, looking away from him.

"Motoyasu, you only feel that way because of the special treatment you received. This all makes sense to us." (Itsuki)

"Yeah. I felt like things were unfair this whole time." (Ren)

"That's the precise problem," the Queen speaks up. "The first wave came while I was away on diplomacy. I had appointed someone I trust, my right hand, to take care of the kingdom in my absences… but… they died in the wave… And they had spent so much time earning the trust of the demi-humans…"

She must be talking about Lord Seaetto of Lurolona. For this matter, Eclair and Duke Salazar have already explained to the heroes.

"However… Aultcray has already shown a great deal of preferential treatment for the Spear Hero. The Bow and Sword Heroes have also demonstrated their loyalty. But, from this point on, if it seems like I am showing the Shield Hero preferential treatment, please understand that I am simply trying to balance and correct the past misdeeds here."

"Back to the topic at hand… It seems that Aultcray's incompetence has led to the destruction of our demi-human protected district."

The queen rears back and stomps on Aultcray's foot with all her might.

"Owwww."

Tsk… it must hurt– but the scene looks like a comedic view.

"And I found this out at the exact same time that I discovered your secretive summoning ceremony!"

The queen slaps Aultcray time and time again.

"Ugh…"

"This is what I get for allowing a fool like this to rule in my stead! A never-ending series of ridiculous events in my absence! Even if the true enemy WAS the Church…"

"Ugh!"

"And the very next day after the Heroes begin their quest, you call in the Shield and deem him a criminal!"

"UGH!"

"Then you continue to discriminate against him! Do you have any idea how close you brought us to war?!"

"UGH!"

He's… he's… dead!

"And then, immediately following the second wave, you tried to steal his slave from him? What were you thinking?!"

Well, not. Not dead yet.

"Because of your foolish behavior, Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden are infuriated. They could attack at any time!"

Mmm, I can't blame the Queen. She has been working everything to build a good relationship and in her absence, her husband has done nothing, but trouble.

"Then, on top of everything, you write to say that you want to see Melty? How selfish can you be?!"

"Ugh!" she slaps him again.

"And the people that would use you and your red face to accomplish their own goals… They were right there before you, and you didn't notice? All of this is your fault!"

She is fuming with anger. She goes on.

"I hereby declare the Church of the Three Heroes heretical! Melromarc will follow the Church of the Four Holy Warriors from now on!"

"W…What?! You would abandon the very traditions that gave rise to our kingdom?!" (Aultcray)

"There is no reason to maintain a tradition that causes nothing but trouble!"

The Church of the Four Holy Warriors? Sounds interesting.

"The Church of the Three Heroes originally branched off from the Church of the Four Holy Warriors. But to explain why, we'd have to go all the way back to the founding of Melromarc."

"Huh…"

If Siltvelt worshiped the Shield Hero, then it was only logical to assume that other countries worshiped the heroes in different ways. It was easy enough to imagine the reason. If Melromarc and Siltvelt were not on good terms, and Siltvelt worshiped the Shield Hero… It was only natural that they'd come up with a way to say that the other country's religion was false, that their god was a demon, etc. That would explain the start of the Church of the Three Heroes.

"Sigh…"

The queen finishes scolding Aultcray. Refreshed from slapping him so many times, she opens her fan, hides her mouth, and turns to me.

"There is much more to discuss, Sir Ben. But it will have to wait until later."

"Please don't boss me around…" I mutter.

"Myne and the king are not bad people! This is all a misunderstanding!"

Motoyasu has been standing in silence for a little while, but he finally steps forward and starts screaming again.

The Queen almost scolds him, but I get between the two, shaking my head gently as a sign to the Queen.

"Let's leave him alone. Ren, Itsuki, I beg you. Please…"

The duo nods at me and drags the spear boy back in the line, then they start explaining stuff to him. Not very efficient though.

"Anyway… There are still many punishments I need to heap upon my husband and daughter."

Malty and Aultcray are both pale.

"Are you disappointed?" Her Majesty questions.

"Of course!" (Aultcray)

"Yes! Mama! I'm not bad!" (Malty)

"I believe I already disowned you, so please stop calling me mother. As for what to do with you… Ah, yes, perhaps I'll have you pay off some of the country's debts. Here you are."

The queen pauses for a beat. She hands Malty of sheet of paper with a number written on it. Her face goes even paler.

I can't deny that the Queen is so smart.

"How am I supposed to pay this?!"

"That is the amount of money you asked the guild for. You cannot just take what you want from the treasury and not be expected to return it. I also took the liberty of adding the funds that were necessary to put out the forest fires you started. Just as that paper says, you will now work like a slave to pay off your debts to the Crown."

"But that's impossible!"

"If you don't like it, then work with the Heroes to save the world. If you actually contribute, then I'll think about it. And just to inform you, I am having mercy on you two. The government of Shieldfreeden requested me to heap the death penalty on you."

"Wh-what!?"

"But Sir Ben begged them and me… to reduce your punishments. You should be grateful."

As Malty is now silent, Queen Mirellia turns to Aultcray.

"And look at you, feeling so safe that your daughter is the only one in trouble! All this goes for you too, Aultcray."

He is so shocked he stumbles forward.

"You will either fight for the future of our country on the frontlines against the waves, or abandon your responsibilities and become a normal adventurer. Make your choice."

"Ugh… My wife… My QUEEN. I was deceived. That is all. Please have mercy."

"Yes, Mama, forgive me…"

"I'm all out of mercy and forgiveness…"

The Queen shoots me a glance and walks out of the throne room.

The bow and sword heroes are still restraining the spear hero.

"Let's go…" Melty snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Mm, OK."

THE END OF CHAPTER (23).

Schedule: I will update a new chapter and a rewritten/ republished chapter (Ch 2-9) of Ben 10: ROSH every two weeks. I don't have a defined schedule but I will publish my stories in order: 2 new chapters of BOWDG, 1 new chapter of BROSH and 1 rewritten chapter of BROSH.

Seems like my other story, Ben 10: The One Who Defies Gods will be completed earlier than this story. LN has only got 11 volumes and I have finished adapting 5 of them. And it's likely that the story will end once Bad Ben defeats Ehit, and rewrites the whole world.

For the "Ben 10: Masked Rider Omnix" story, I plan to link it with BOWDG so it has to wait.

Thanks for reading and writing reviews on my chapters.

Christopher Paradox Chronos.