Perseus12: The country that the heroes get summoned to is Welle, the country where the Shaft Hero is actually from. As for the church, they worshipped both Shaft Hero and Projectile Hero. And don't worry, I'm planning to make Tadashi into a punching bag. I hope my creativity allows me to make a great redemption arc for him.
Chapter 3: A Resolute of A Hero
As Tomori walked by the weapon shop, he saw Vadge getting closer to him.
"Hey there," Vadge said to him. "I heard that you tried to rape some girl at the Inn."
"I didn't do it." Tomori calmly said.
"Oh really?" Tomori can tell that he doesn't fully believe that.
"I don't think it's a good time for this…" Tomori then went inside the weapon shop.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Vadge asked him. He wondered why he entered his shop.
"I want to buy new weapons." Even though he's treated like a criminal in this country, he sure that even Vadge wouldn't ignore the chance to make money.
"…" Vadge then silently went inside his shop and stood behind the counter. "What do you want?"
"I'm going to be straight here. I want to copy all of your weapons here that have a blade." Tomori said.
" Sigh* I knew you would bring this up sooner or later." Tomori is confused by his statement. "Both the Magic Hero and Projectile Hero came yesterday after the Shaft Hero left my shop. They asked me to let them copy some of my stuff for a few coins. If I had known about it earlier, I would have caught the Shaft Hero copying my stuff."
"So that blondie just copied the stuff without telling him? Heh, he may not realise that this guy here isn't an NPC. If he had the balls to come back then he would get wrecked." Tomori let out a small smirk.
"What are you so happy about?" Vadge asked.
"Nothing. If you already know about it, then I wouldn't have to explain it. I wanted to copy all of your strongest weapons that have a blade on it. I will pay for it of course. But I will not pay full price as I only 'copy' their appearances. I will pay 10% of the original price for each weapon."
"Hmm… 25%."
"15%."
"30%."
"20%."
"50%."
"Hmm… This is going to be hard."
After countless battles to lower the price down, they all agreed for 25%.
"Damn, this kid is good." Vadge thought this is the first time in a few years that someone had made him lower the price under 40%. "So what weapons do you want?"
"Maybe a few swords and daggers. And also the strongest spear that you owned. I would also like a weapon that you didn't sell to customers."
"All right…" He went to the back of his shop and came back with the weapons. He then put the weapons on the counter "Here it is."
"All of them seem strong…" He then picks up a sword with a pitch black blade. "I like the look of this sword. There's also a dagger with a similar color to this sword."
He copied the sword.
Weapon Copy System Activated!
Adamantium Sword [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Demolition Slash
Mastery Level: 0
"Adamantium?" Tomori said.
"Yeah. It's pure Adamantium. You wouldn't find anything like this in the normal market. Despite having better magic resistance than Mithril, it's hard to make a weapon from it due to their ore being so hard and heavy. Only a knowledgeable blacksmith can handle the ore. So people just prefer to use Mithril weapons instead." Vadge explained.
"So are you one of these 'knowledgeable blacksmiths'?"
"I didn't say that I'm not one of them."
"Yeah right…"
Tomori then proceeds to copy all of the weapons presented to him.
Weapon Copy System Activated!
Adamantium Dagger [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Demolition Edge
Mastery Level: 0
Meteoric Iron Sword [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Comet Slash
Mastery Level: 0
Savage Spear [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Vorpal Thrust
Mastery Level: 0
Hundred Stars Sword [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Hundred Blades
Mastery Level: 0
Assault Sword [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Scarlet Slash
Mastery Level: 0
There's another few weapons that he copied, but these are the weapons that he is interested in.
"How much?" Tomori asked Vadge.
He started counting the weapons that he sells and deducted the price because Tomori copied his weapons instead of buying them.
"450 silver."
"Damn, I wonder how much it would cost to buy the weapons itself." He handed him the coins and left the shop.
" Sigh* He gave off a very scary expression, but he is still somewhat the kid I know from yesterday. Just hope he doesn't stray from that…" Vadge said, expressing his worry that Tomori might change into someone who's heartless.
As Tomori walked out from Castle Town, he received so many glares from the people. But he decided to ignore it as lashing out on them doesn't bring him any benefits.
"All right then…" He walked inside the forest without any care at all. He does this so that he can attract monsters.
Growl*
There's a pack of wolves that surround him. He opened his status to check their levels.
Black Hound Wolf LV.25
White Hound Wolf LV.25
Alpha Hound Wolf LV.35
"Oh, this wolf pack right here has a higher level." Without any hesitation, Tomori changed to his Ore Lizard (Adamantium) Sword and tied the Alpha Hound Wolf's neck with chains. He then pulled the wolf to him.
"?!" The wolf tries to release itself from the chains, but it's futile as Tomori uses a skill to stab its head.
" Oblique Thrust." As he did that, blood splashed onto his face. He wiped the blood off using his left hand. Then, he glared at the rest of the wolf pack.
"…" They all slowly back down because their alpha has been killed. To them, if an opponent killed their alpha, it means that the one that they're facing is stronger than them.
But Tomori wouldn't let them run. " Allure Reaction."
"?!" All of the wolves started shaking violently as they tried to fight back the skill. But it's all meaningless as they can't fight off the skill effect.
Tomori changed to his new weapon, Adamantium Dagger. As all of the wolves rushed at him, he put 50% EP onto his skill.
" Demolition Edge." He unleashed a horizontal slash on the wolves with his dagger. Then, random cuts started appearing on the wolves' bodies. All of them fall down to the ground.
Level Up!
"Hmm? There's one more alive?" He saw a White Hound Wolf standing behind the corpses of the wolves. "You know what, I depend so much on the skills that I don't know whether my fighting skill is good or not. It's a good time to test that."
He went past the corpses to attack the last standing wolf.
Growl*
The wolf attacks first, but Tomori dodge to the left and stabs its belly. He then removed the dagger and went to the wolf's face. He proceeded to stab both of its eyes.
GROWL*
With it being blind, Tomori charges his dagger to the Adamantium Sword and slices the wolf's head off.
"Seems like my fighting style isn't so shabby." He cleaned off the blood on his sword's blade by swinging it. He then absorbed the wolves' corpses and went deeper to the forest.
After hours of grinding and plucking herbs off from the forest, Tomori went to the Guild inside Castle Town to see if there's any quest that he can claim. But the guild refuses to give him any quest.
Then, he went to the tavern. And he can't believe that the waitress treated him differently than yesterday. But he still got his kid's meal.
"All of this is because of that stupid church, stupid princess and the king who favours her daughter so much to the point he doesn't even look at my accusation." He thought as he ate his food. His food doesn't taste bad, but he hasn't any appetite to eat. So he forced himself to eat.
While he was eating, a lot of people tried to join his party. Some of them are even demi-humans. But he decided to reject all of them. But then a sus looking guy approached his table.
"Heya, Blade Hero. I wanted to join your PARTY." He said.
Tomori looks closely at him. "Sure, why not?"
"Great! Let's go buy some equipment then?" The sus guy said.
"Buy your own equipment. I'm not eligible for it." He said with a deadpan face.
"Tch!"
Tomori then stood up and left the tavern. "And let's see if that guy does the things that I expect him to do…"
He walked to the back alley with no people around it. Then, a few people appear in front of him. He turns back and there's also a few people who block the way out. There's 12 people surrounding him.
"Hey, Blade Hero. How about you give up all things that you have and we MIGHT spare your life." The same guy who he met at the Tavern said. Then all of them started laughing.
"The church might be the one who sent them to me. If I can get some info from them, it can help me in a way."
Tomori then dash towards one of the guys and bash his head with his Hundred Stars Sword. The guy instantly got knocked out.
"Damn it! Attack him-"
" Hundred Blades!" He thrust his sword to the ground and hundreds of red translucent swords spawned around him. The swords rise to the skies and fall onto all of the guys.
"ARGH!!!"
All of them got hit, but they were not dead from the attack. Tomori didn't kill them because he didn't want to scum below the guys that he was facing right now.
"HAH!!!" The one who he met at the Tavern backs away as Tomori gets closer to him. He grabbed his head and smashed him to the walls near him.
"Who sent you?" Tomori calmly asked.
"I-I don't know!"
"I see…" Tomori looks around and sees an open barrel filled with water. He dragged the guy and inserted his head into the barrel.
Splash*
The guys tried to pull his head out, but Tomori wouldn't let that happen. After a few seconds, he saw the guy HP went down. After reaching 40%, he pulled the guy's head out.
Cough* Cough* Cough*
The guy coughing out the water.
"Who sent you?" Tomori asked again.
"I swear! I didn't know-" Tomori inserted the guy's head back into the barrel. He waited until his HP reached 5%. He then pulled the guy's head out.
"WHO! SENT! YOU?!" Tomori changed his tone.
" Cough* It's one of the Cough* nuns from the Cough* Church of The Shaft and Projectile!" The guy said while coughing out water from his mouth.
"Okay." He dropped the guy down to the ground and rummaged through all of the guy's stuff that he finds that is worth while avoiding to step on their blood that's flowing from all of their bodies on the ground.
As soon as he wanted to leave, he heard someone speaking to him.
"My, my. What a way to handle them."
He turned back and saw a penguin-wannabe in the corner of the back alley.
"Is he from the church?!" Tomori readied to pull out his sword again.
"Don't worry. I just happened to walk by. I don't mean any harm to you." The penguin-wannabe said to him.
"I see…" Tomori lowered his weapon. He wanted to leave, but then the penguin-wannabe continued to have a conversation with him.
"From what I heard, there's no one willing to join your party without any ill intention, am I right?"
"Really? I wonder where you heard that from?" Tomori decided to play along to find out what the penguin-wannabe wanted from him.
"I have my own information from elsewhere, Sir Hero. But considering your situation right now, I may have something that might pique your interest."
"Oh… What is it?"
"Something both loyal and disposable. Are you interested, Sir Hero?"
"Hmm… I'm all ears."
"A slave."
"Oh yeah, since we're in the mediaeval era, of course there will be slaves." Tomori thought for a moment. He then nodded to the penguin-wannabe. "Lead the way, suspicious gentleman."
"My name is Hrafn, Sir Hero. But you may call me whatever it is that suits you." Hrafn led Tomori through the back alley. He then saw a circus-like tent.
"Oh wow, the irony. Dealing slaves in a circus tent. This country is great." Tomori rolled his eyes.
"Right in here, Sir Hero." Hrafn said.
Tomori went inside the tent. As he walked deeper into the tent, the smell got even more worse.
"Hey, what kind of slaves are you dealing with?" Tomori asked him.
"We only sell demi-humans, sir Hero. We also sell monsters as a cover up to our business."
"And people don't know that you sell slaves?"
"Oh, the normal citizens don't know. But some of the nobles inside this country might know about us."
"Heh!" Now Tomori knows that this country is somewhat corrupted. "But what's the difference between humans and demi-humans in the first place? I know that they had differences in appearance, but I knew nothing beyond that."
"Although the main difference between them is appearance, there's also another factor."
"Which is?"
"Their bodies will adapt to their levels. As they gain levels, their body will grow so their body will be accustomed to combat. That's why demi-humans are seen as monsters for some people."
"Is that so…" Tomori said while scratching his chin. "I guess the racisness has its own roots."
"There's two types of demi-human. The ones who have a slight attribute of an animal and a beast-men."
"What is the difference between them?"
"Let me show you then."
Hrafn went to a cage that's over 2 metres tall.
Growl*
A voice came out from the cage. Tomori looks closely. There's something like a werewolf in the cage.
"This is a beast-men."
Tomori opens his status to check the werewolf level.
Battle Slave Lv.?
"Beast-men is also a type of demi-human, but their animal characteristics are far greater than normal demi-human."
"Is that so… What level is this beast-men?" Tomori asked.
"It's level 89."
"Almost level 100… How do you even control it?"
"Like this."
Hrafn snapped his fingers. Then, the werewolf's right hand sparks with purple lightning.
Growl*
The werewolf growled in pain. After a while, the werewolf's right hand stopped sparking.
"What a way to demonstrate…"
"With this, you can even control the slaves that don't even obey orders."
"Is that so…"
"What kind of slave do you want? Do you prefer them to be young or slightly older?" Hrafn said.
"… What?" Tomori is confused by this. But he knew what Hrafn was saying. "I don't want any sex slaves."
"Huh… Perhaps the rumours are false."
"Do you really want to test my patience?" Tomori changed his tone again.
Instead of being intimidated, Hrafn just smiled in joy. "Seems like this guy isn't the type of person that you can threaten. Maybe he's a masochist."
"So what kind of slave do you want?"
"Cheap, have functional limbs, obedient, doesn't attract any attention and the opposite gender of course. No sex slave of course. And I also don't want a slave who 'swings' that way."
"Hmm…" Hrafn scratched his chin. "This way, sir Hero."
He followed the guy deeper into the tent. The smell got even worse. He also heard some children crying.
" Sigh* Maybe coming here is a bad idea after all…"
"Here is it, Sir Hero." Hrafn shows him a cage. "It just arrived yesterday."
Tomori takes a good look at the person inside the cage. "It doesn't have any animal ears. His ears are kinda pointing." Tomori then turns to Hrafn. "He's an elf?"
"That's right!" Hrafn suddenly shouted. "And they aren't as persecuted as the demi-humans. But the elf here isn't pure blood. He's a half-elf, half-human."
"What's the difference?"
"Pure blood elf is considered a noble race. But if they decide to have a child with someone who's not their race, they will be forced into exile. Half-elf has half of the strength of a pure blood elf."
"Really? Then can't you explain that?" Tomori pointed at the elf who's in chains and had a gag on his mouth.
"You can't underestimate the elves, even if they aren't pure blood. This elf here knew a couple of magic spells. The chains block mana from flowing through his body and the gag is to stop him from casting spells."
Tomori opens up his status and looks at the level of the elf.
??? LV.14
"I think they overdid it. Or maybe this elf is stronger than he looks." Tomori made up his mind. "I'll take him."
"Marvellous! You made my life much easier."
Hrafn takes out a key to open the elf cage. He pulled the chains on the elf so he went out of the cage.
He called some buff guys to bring him a penknife, brush, small plate and a pot of ink.
"Sir Hero, your blood please."
Tomori pokes his thumb with the penknife and drops the blood into the pot. Hrafn mixed the mixture with a brush.
One of the buff guys picks the brush then paints it at the back of the elf's right hand.
"Grr!"
The elf groaned as his right hand started glowing.
A notification popped up at Tomori's status.
Slave A Required!
Condition of use as follows:
Tomori ignored the notification. One of the buff guys opens up the chains that bind the elf.
"Hey, can I buy that ink?" Tomori pointed at the pot that Hrafn was holding.
"Oh, certainly."
He gave Tomori the pot. He proceeded to pour the entire mixture into his gemstone.
Weapon Form Unlocked!
Slave User Sword
Slave User II Sword
"Slave Menstruation Adjustment (Small) and Slave Status Adjustment (Small)… This can be useful."
Tomori switches to the Slave User II Sword so that he can unlock its ability.
"How much?" He asked Hrafn.
"82 silver."
He gave the silver to him. Then, he left the tent. The elf slowly follows him behind.
Then, the Shadow that had helped Tomori appeared in front of Hrafn.
"Well done, Hrafn." The Shadow said to him.
"May I ask how you knew that he would take the half-elf?" Hrafn asked the shadow.
"I didn't. I decided to take the gamble. And it paid off in the end."
"So her majesty doesn't know then?"
"No, she doesn't. My comrades have left to inform the queen about the illegal summoning and the plots of the church. They tasked me with helping the Blade Hero from the shadows."
"I see, If you don't mind me asking another question, why did you choose that boy specifically?"
The Shadow looks down through her mask, wondering if she should answer the question. "From what I see, the Blade Hero is an intellectual individual. He would survive even without a slave. But there's only so much that a person can do. And the half-elf boy has the criteria that I might think that the Blade Hero wanted in his party."
"Hmm… Either way, I've been getting goosebumps thinking about what they will accomplish together." Hrafn said excitedly.
"Let's hope that they will succeed." The Shadow said. "The safety of our world will depend on the Heroes' survival."
Tomori turns around and faces the elf. He hasn't spoken a single word.
"Now that I take a good look at him, he seems like in his early teens. He's around 10 cm shorter than me. He has blonde hair, but that's standard for elves. His eye color is black. If he's a pure blood elf, his eyes might be green."
He then took a fresh breath and talked to his newly acquired slave. "Mind telling me your name? Calling you Slave A in public is kinda awkward."
"… Ivaran." The elf boy said. The name 'Slave A' on Tomori's status changed to Ivaran.
"Okay then, Ivaran. Follow me. There's a place that I wanted you to go to."
Both Tomori and Ivaran went inside the weapon shop.
"Oh, sorry. I'm going to close the shop-"
"Sorry, I have some business opposition to make." Tomori said to him.
"Oh, it's you. Come back tomorrow for whatever business that you wanted to do."
"But it's important." Tomori then moves to the side to show Ivaran to Vadge.
"Wait… This kid here is an elf?" Then Vadge realised something. "Don't tell me-"
"Don't ask questions that you already know the answer to. I want to buy some clothes and equipment for him. It would be great if you can offer him a bath. And also-"
Growl*
Tomori heard someone's belly growling. Tomori turns to Ivaran who just looks down to the floor.
"Can I borrow your kitchen? I would pay for all of this and also cook you some food in exchange."
Vadge just sighed. "You had a lot of guts asking me this. Fine, follow me upstairs."
All of them went upstairs. Tomori goes straight to the kitchen while Vadge guides Ivaran to the bathroom.
"Here's your clothes. They might be a little bit big, but you will grow into it." Vadge said as he handed the new clothes to Ivaran.
"Thank you…" Ivaran said to him.
"No need to. Dress up and head to the dining table. I don't know what your master is cooking, but it smells good. Damn, that kid is not only a good bargainer, but he might be a good cook as well."
Ivaran then went inside the bathroom again and put on the clothes. He then went out and took a seat at the dining table.
"Alright, here's the food." Tomori placed two plates of Rabbit Ragout on the table. He learns to make the dish from a YouTube video.
"Woah… It looks appetising." Vadge said.
"It's an easy dish to make." Tomori then takes a seat at the dining table.
"You aren't eating?"
"Nah. I already ate."
"If that's the case then don't mind me." Vadge started eating the Rabbit Ragout. And from his facial reaction, he's clearly enjoying the dish.
"…" But Ivaran just stared at the plate.
"Aren't you eating?" Tomori asked Ivaran.
"Can I?"
"I mean, if you wanted to, then yes."
Ivaran hesitated for a moment. But eventually, he started eating his food. After taking the first bite, he started munching the food.
" Sigh* No fighting monsters, no crazy princess around, no people trying to kill me right now. I can finally have some peace for a while…"
"Oh man… You can open up a restaurant if you want to if you serve this kind of dish to your customer everyday." Vadge said to Tomori.
"Like I said, it's just an easy dish to make. It's not a big deal."
"But I think that the elf kid would disagree." Vadge said while pointing at Ivaran who's peacefully sleeping on the couch.
"Sorry, I will carry him to the Inn after this."
"Nah, it's fine. You can just stay here for tonight."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah."
Tomori didn't expect such kindness from him. "Heh, I guess some of the people in this country aren't bad after all…" Tomori smiled slightly.
For a moment, Vadge saw Tomori's eyes beaming with hope. "I guess the kid isn't corrupted after all that fiasco…"
Roar*
"ARGH!"
A minotaur pushed an adult elf back.
"HAH!"
A human woman slash her sword to the minotaur, but it catches the blade and breaks it.
"Mom! Dad!" Ivaran called his parents who's fighting the minotaur.
"Ivaran?! What are you doing here?!" His mother said to him. "Get out of here!"
"I can help-"
"No! You're too weak to fight this monster!" His father said to him.
The minotaur turns back and sees Ivaran behind it.
"Oh no, you don't! Low Blinding Flash!" Ivaran's dad casted a spell that blind the minotaur for a few seconds. "Ivaran, take your friends out of here! We will handle this monster here."
"But-"
"Ivaran!" He was interrupted by his wolf demi-human friend.
"Kyrie! What are you doing here?"
"The villagers asked us to evacuate from this village. Liyana has already left the village. We need to leave now!"
"But my parents-"
"We have no time for this!" Kyrie then carried Ivaran and ran out from the village.
"What?! No! Mom! Dad!" Ivaran screams as he is carried away by Kyrie. Then, everything went blank.
"Hah!"
He instantly woke up from his sleep.
"That dream again…" He then rubbed his eyes.
"Do you have a nightmare?"
"?!" Ivaran is surprised to see Tomori sitting on the chair at the dining table. But Ivaran does reply to his question.
"Well, I made some breakfast for you. Go wash your face and eat. After that, head down to the counter downstairs."
Tomori stood up and went downstairs.
"Oh yeah… That guy bought me yesterday. The way he treated me is different to THAT guy. I wonder if he's going to make me fight…"
Whistle*
Tomori is wiping down his Slave User Sword with a cloth.
"Hey, Blade Lad." Vadge called him.
"Blade Lad?"
"It's a little nickname for you."
"I see…" The nickname sounds like a sidekick name. "What is it?"
"Why do you buy a slave in the first place?"
"Well, it's a long story."
"Shorten it then."
"You see, there's a group of people who tried to rob me. I'll beat their *ss, then a weird person called Hrafn literally charmed me into buying a slave. And that's how we get into this situation."
"Hmm… I'm not convinced by that."
"Whatever."
Then, Tomori heard footsteps coming from the stairs. It was Ivaran.
"Perfect timing," Tomori opens up his status magic to access a Power Up Method. He then sends a notification to Ivaran.
"What is this?" He asked.
"Just select yes."
Ivaran reluctantly selects yes. But then his level went from 14 to 1.
"What?! Why did my level decrease?!" Ivaran shouted.
"Relax, it's one of my hero powers. You will gain a permanent stat boost if you level up back."
"Hero powers?" Ivaran wondered what he meant by that.
"Oh yeah, introductions." He forgot about it. "My name is Tomori Tanaka. The recently summoned Blade Hero." Tomori pulled out his sword to show it to Ivaran.
"The Blade Hero?! One of the Cardinal Heroes?" Ivaran said while his eyes widened.
"Yeah, but apparently I'm in a tight situation right now. The guild wouldn't give me quests, some religious zealots and lunatics in this country wanted me dead, and I won't be able to gain any party members without them backstabbing me." Tomori explained. "But before that, since you're level 14 before, am I right to guess that you had fighting experiences?"
"Yes. My friends and I hunt monsters around my village for fun."
"I see. So what's your position when you hunt those monsters with your friends?"
"Position?" Ivaran doesn't know what he meant by that.
"What I'm saying is what do you do when you guys fight those monsters?"
"Oh…" Ivaran finally understood what he meant. "I usually defend them with a shield when they kill the monster."
"A shielder… He could be useful…" Tomori thought to himself. He then gets closer to Ivaran. "Ok, how about this. Since you might know what I'm going to do to you, I want you to defend me when I fight monsters. In exchange, I will watch your back so that monsters won't be able to hit your blindspot. You defend, and I attack. Sounds good?"
Ivaran stood still for a moment. He didn't expect that his new master would be the Blade Hero himself. One of his friends would do anything so that she can see the Blade Hero herself. He wondered if she's still okay or not.
"Yes…" He is still unsure about it, but he still replies.
"Okay then, Vadge." Tomori turns to the blacksmith. "Give him the finest armor and shield that you possess."
"Alright!" Vadge seems happy about it.
After testing what equipment suits Ivaran, he ended up with some leather equipment, Magic Iron Shield (Round) and an Iron Dagger. Both Tomori and Ivaran left the blacksmith shop and headed to the forest.
As they walked through the forest, both of them stopped near the tree.
" Allure Reaction!" Tomori activated a skill to attract monsters. "Okay, a bunch of monsters are going to come here. I hope you're ready for it."
Ivaran just nodded at him.
Grunt*
A group of Horned Rabbit rush towards them. Ivaran holds his shield up and blocks some of them from going to Tomori.
Grunt*
As one of the rabbits tried to attack him, Tomori kicked it to a nearby tree. Another rabbit appears from his back.
" Strike Edge!"
Tomori sliced off the rabbit's head. The rabbit that Tomori kicked comes for round two.
" Erst Slash!"
Tomori sliced the rabbit's head. As Ivaran held some of the rabbit's down, he was amazed by Tomori's swordsmanship.
Tomori then comes to Ivaran's side to finish off the remaining rabbits.
" Scarlet Slash!" It's a charge skill that will deal a lot of damage if you charge long enough.
In a single swing, Tomori managed to slice off all of the remaining rabbits.
"He's really skillful with his sword. No wonder he's the Blade Hero." What Ivaran doesn't know is that Tomori's battle style is heavily based on the Star Wars Lightsaber fighting style. If only Tomori has the Force, he will be the strongest hero.
"Can you help me pick up the rabbit's corpses?" Tomori asked Ivaran.
"Yes!"
As always, Tomori destroys the forest flora and fauna ecosystems. Which makes some of the lower level monsters afraid of him.
Because the sun is setting down, they decided to set up a camp inside the forest.
Pound* Pound* Pound*
Without anything to do, Tomori makes some potions.
Healing Potion: Quality: Normal to Good
Nutritious Potion: Quality: Normal to Good
"This potion batch quality is higher than the crafted potions. I guess the more I pound, the higher the quality gets."
Tomori stores the potions inside his inventory.
"How is the kebab doing?" Tomori said to Ivaran who's watching the shish kebab on the campfire.
"It will be done in a few minutes." Ivaran replied.
"I see…" Tomori then sat on the ground next to him.
After a few minutes of silence, Ivaran spoke up.
"Um… How should I address you?" Ivaran asked Tomori.
"Whatever you're comfortable with." Then something crossed his mind. "Actually, just call me by my name." Tomori realised that hearing a boy younger than him call him 'master' sounds bizarre.
"Okay then…"
After the shish kebab is finished cooking, they all eat it.
"You need to wash yourself?" Tomori asked him.
"No."
"If that's the case, you can just sleep ahead first."
"Okay." Ivaran lay down on the ground while using the sling bag as a pillow. After a few minutes, he fell asleep.
Tomori opens his status magic to check their levels.
Tomori Tanaka LV.50
Ivaran LV.11
"I can use that teleportation skill right now. Which means I can venture out far from Castle Town for more monster materials for my sword."
Tomori then looks at the stars in the sky. "I guess Toshi-nee has faced this kind of thing before. If I get back to my world, she will have to answer a plethora of questions from me."
Rustle*
"?!" Tomori heard a sound from the bushes. "Is it a monster? Or an assassin who wants to kill me?"
He pulled out his sword and got closer to the bushes.
"Hah!"
He went over the bushes and saw something that he didn't expect.
"Wuf!"
"Wait? A White Hound Wolf cub?" Tomori then kneels down to closely inspect the wolf cub. "Its fur is darker compared to a normal White Hound Wolf. Let me check its level."
He opens up his status magic to check the wolf cub level.
??? LV.?
"It's not a White Hound Wolf and its level is higher than me. It doesn't look hostile to me. And also, I don't think the Hound Wolf species doesn't bark 'Wuf'."
Tomori tries to hold the wolf cub up. Even though Tomori likes cats more than dogs , he still thinks they are cute. Especially a Pug. The more stupid looking they are, the more cute they are. This is the psychology behind Japanese women acting cutesy so that they can attract men that are dumb enough to fall for them.
Zap*
But as he touched the wolf cub body, he was zapped. "What the hell is that? Is it trying to protect itself? If that's the case, then why don't I feel anything?"
"Wuf!"
The wolf cub then fled from the bushes. "I guess I don't have the answer for today."
He then returned back to the campfire.
"Kyrie! Put me down! I want to help my parents!" Ivaran said while his friend carry him.
"That's crazy! We aren't strong enough to fight all those monsters! We need to wait for reinforcement to arrive!" His friend said to him.
Both of them arrived at the safe place where there's no monsters. After waiting for almost an hour, a group of knights arrived at their village and help fight off the wave monsters.
Another half an hour later, the sky turns to normal. Then, Ivaran rushed out to the village to see his parents.
"Wh-What?" What he saw instead is that both of his parents lay down on the ground. All of their bodies are covered with blood. He then looked around and saw a few adults from this village that fought the waves also died from it.
"No… This can't be…" Just a few hours ago, he, Kyrie and Liyana is playing around the forest hunting slimes and mushyroom. But then the sky cracked and turns red. A lot of monsters falls down from the skies and then all the villagers started fighting the monster off.
"Why…" He just kneels down near his parents' dead bodies. "WHY?!!!"
"HAH?!" Ivaran suddenly wakes up from his sleep. "Why… Why does this moment always come when I am sleeping…"
"Oh, are you awake already?" Tomori said as he came from the bushes. "And I heard you scream back then. You're lucky that monsters don't instantly ambush you. In fact, the monsters around this area are afraid of me for some reason."
"I think I know what's the cause of that…" Ivaran thought to himself.
"We have some leftovers from yesterday. Eat that up and we will start up early."
After they all ate their breakfast, they went to the mine where Tomori almost died. The only purpose he came back there is to mine all of the remaining ores.
"Be careful. They might be monsters that are twice your level inside. I need you to focus on all of your five senses. Well… Six senses, plus magic and all of that." Tomori said to Ivaran.
"Yes."
"Good, then let's head inside."
Tomori crafted a new lantern as the old one is gone from the Ore Lizard attack. They encounter some high level monsters, but Tomori kills all of them with the help of Ivaran.
Both of them started mining off the mine. Tomori finds out that the ores that he mine are higher quality than the ones that Ivaran mine.
"Damn, being a hero has more benefits than I expected." Tomori enjoyed this moment. He then remembered the sh*t that he had to put through with the king, his daughter and Tadashi. "I remembered that both Akira and Reika just stayed silent throughout that time. I wonder they believed if I attempted to rape someone? I mean, who's going to trust someone who tries to rape a girl?"
Ivaran then saw that Tomori's face went sour from thinking about it. "His facial expression always changes from time to time. I wonder what he thinks about…"
They all arrived at the cave with Light Metal ores on the wall.
"…" Tomori then checked the surroundings. He's still wary if the church had planned to ambush him. But he can just teleport back to the campfire if the church really plot something. "Okay then, I will be mining this alone. Watch my back and tell me if there's anything suspicious going on here."
"Yes." Ivaran replied.
Tomori just went to the walls to mine the ores.
Clang* Clang* Clang*
Ivaran looks around him to see if there's anything suspicious around. But then, he felt like there's someone using magic around this cave. He then turns to Tomori.
"Tomori-sama, there's someone who use-"
Bam*
The cave started vibrating as if there's an earthquake going on.
"What the?!" Tomori turns around and then he sees a giant armoured minotaur with a white sword and black shield blocking the way out of this cave. Not only that, but there's also a person who's standing on the minotaur's shoulder. "F*ck! Why did I think this place is safe after the things that happened two days ago?!"
Ivaran also turned around. "No… No way…" He saw a minotaur. It's not the same minotaur that attacked his village. And from its size, it's far more stronger than the minotaur that he saw back then.
"Hahahaha! This is the end of your life, Blade Demon!" The person who's on the minotaur's shoulder said.
" Sigh* Can't you just let me live with peace. Why are you guys so fixated on me to die?" Tomori said to the guy.
"It's because you're a demon! And not only that! But you also killed my father!" The guy claimed.
"Bullsh*t! I haven't kill anyone, jack*ss!"
"I won't be deceived by you, Blade Demon! The pope has already told me that my father received guidance from our god to finish you off. But then you had to ruin it! Damn you, Blade Demon!"
"Damn, when will I ever get a break… Well, it's time to TP out." He activated a skill. " Transport Blade!"
But then he received a notification that said he can't teleport. "What?!" He never tried the skill before, so he doesn't know how it works.
"Oh, trying to escape, huh? Too bad for you! I have casted a barrier around this cave that disables any teleportation magic! Not even the Queen's Shadow could help you now!" The guy explained.
"The Queen's Shadow? Does he mean the ninjas that helped me back then?" Tomori thought that if teleportation is out of the window, then he just had to fight.
"Oh, let me tell you that this minotaur here is level 100." The guy said proudly.
"What?! Level 100?! How come that he can acquire such a monster with a level like that? This isn't Pokémon!" Then, he has an idea. "I still have that weapon!"
He then holds his sword's grip with both of his hands. "Come! Blade of Idle and Anger!" He called the cursed sword name, but only to receive a notification saying that he can't switch into the sword. "HAH?!"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that the barrier also locked any curse related magic. Which means that you can't use your curse weapon!" The guy said while laughing like a maniac.
"Dammit! I've fallen into their trap! Our survival rate is now uncertain! I can't let Ivaran fight this minotaur!" He then turned to face the half-elf boy. "Ivaran, I want you to-"
"…" Ivaran now just standing still. The face he's showing right only shows one thing. Fear. It's like he doesn't believe that the monster he saw was real or not.
"What's wrong with him?" As Tomori thought of it, the guy suddenly spoke out.
"This will be the end of you, Blade Demon!"
The minotaur dash towards them.
"So fast!"
But the minotaur's target is actually Ivaran.
"Oh, no you don't! Rope Sword!" Tomori brings out the Long Rope to wrap Ivaran and pull him closer to him.
He then carried him to a huge boulder so they could hide from the minotaur for a while.
"Oh, you can hide, Blade Demon. But you can't run!" The guy said loudly.
"Yo, Ivaran! You okay?!" Tomori said to him, while shaking him.
"Ah!" Ivaran wakes up to reality from Tomori furiously shaking him. "The minotaur!" Ivaran let out a very uncomfortable face.
"Minotaur? What about that minotaur?"
"It killed… Mom and dad… The villagers…"
"Can I ask what happened?"
Ivaran then explains everything. That he was one of the wave survivors to him.
"I see… So your parents and the villagers get killed by a minotaur-type monster?" Tomori asked. Ivaran then nodded.
" Sigh* How lucky am I to have a wave survivor as a slave…" He then placed his hands on Ivaran's shoulder. "Listen, that minotaur there is stronger than both of us. Here's the plan, I'll handle that thing while you run off and do whatever you can to turn this barrier off so we can teleport out of here."
"But what if that didn't work?!"
"Then you can just leave me behind."
"…What?"
"If that scenario ever happened, just run straight to Vadge. He might be able to do something for you."
"But what will happen to you?!" Ivaran asked Tomori.
"Well, either that I died, badly injured, or something else. Don't worry about it. I can beat up dozens of guys using my fist only. This minotaur here is going to be a piece of cake." Tomori said. He's not actually saying this so that Ivaran wouldn't feel worried, but he is saying this so that he could motivate himself.
"I-I can help you!" Ivaran said. There's a hint of fear when he said that.
"No, you're too weak to fight this minotaur." Tomori said to him.
Ivaran then turned his face to the ground. "Again… It's because I'm weak, I can't help…"
Thud* Thud* Thud*
"Oh, Blade Demon, come out right now~ Or we will come at you!" The guy said. The ground is shaking from the minotaur stomping.
"Tch! Ivaran, I'm counting on you!" Tomori said while he jumped onto the top of the boulder.
"He is… Counting on me…"
"Hahahaha! There you are! Prepared to die!" The minotaur dash to him.
Tomori prepared to activate a skill. " Blade Bash!" He jumped from the boulder and headed towards the minotaur. His target is actually the crazy guy. But the minotaur managed to defend him using the shield.
Clang*
A loud clang echoed through the cave. The minotaur pushed Tomori back.
" Comet Slash!" It's the second strongest skill that he has, that's a long range skill. He targets the crazy guy, but the minotaur defends him. But Tomori is already prepared to use another skill. " Hundred Blades!"
Hundreds of translucent swords spawn around Tomori and fly towards the crazy guy and the minotaur.
"De-Defend me!" The minotaur raised its shield to protect the crazy guy.
"Those two skills cost a lot of SP. I need to be wary of it or else I won't have enough to use another skill." He then ran towards the minotaur who was still raising its shield. " Vorpal Thrust!"
He put 40% of EP into the skill and thrust his Adamantium Sword into the minotaur's chest.
Clang*
But Tomori's ATK isn't high enough to pierce the minotaur's DEF. "What?! No damage at all?!"
The minotaur took a glance at Tomori. It then moves its sword to bash him to the ground.
Bam*
The ground cracked from the impact. "Ugh…" Tomori could feel every pain that he never experienced before in his life. "That took… 30% of my HP…"
"Oh, don't think it's over yet, Blade Demon!" The guy said while the minotaur put his sword onto its back. The minotaur then used its right hand to pick Tomori and threw him to the cave's wall.
Splurt*
There's blood spurting out of him when his body gets slammed to the walls. "And there goes my 15% HP…"
Stomp* Stomp*
The minotaur stomped its feet to the ground. "And here the fun begins!" The guy said while smiling like a psychopath. The minotaur rushed towards Tomori while holding its shield to the front.
"Ah f*ck-"
Bam*
The cave wall's fall apart after the minotaur bash Tomori using its shield. A lot of blood is coming out from every part of his body. Tomori's body slid down from the walls to the ground.
"And that's 25% damage… Meaning I have around 30% HP left…" Tomori wondered how he could think straight while experiencing the most pain he had in his life.
"All of that and you are still alive? You're really the reincarnation of a Demon. Damn you!" The guy said angrily.
"These people… They hate me because I'm the Blade Hero… It's because of the sword that I'm holding that I'm in this situation… It's because of the book that I'm in this situation…" There's no spark of hope left in Tomori's eyes. No motivation, and no will to live anymore. He can't feel anything. All of his bones are broken, gallons of blood left his body, and the worst of all, he's going to be killed by a crazy religious zealot. "Well… At least he could run away from here…"
" Sigh* I want to have more fun with you, but the longer you live, the more dangerous you become to the church. Such shame." The guy said. The minotaur pulled out its sword from his back. It then raises it up to the sky. "It's over for you, Blade Demon." As the minotaur swung its sword down, he was attacked by some magic.
" Low Gleam Arrow!"
A bunch of yellow translucent arrows hit the minotaur's back. "Hah?!" The guy ordered the minotaur to turn back. The guy sees Ivaran who's holding his shield on his right arm while his body trembles furiously.
"Do-Don't you hu-hurt him!" Ivaran said while stuttering. He is still afraid of the minotaur. But what he is afraid of the most is to lose someone that's important to him again. He might haven't known Tomori that long, but he doesn't treat him horribly. Sure, Tomori might be scary and weird, but he's the one who pulled him out from Hrafn's place. "I don't want to be weak… I want to be strong! Strong enough to protect everyone!"
His body then stopped trembling. His eyes are straight, sharp and full of resolve. He knew that he couldn't defeat the minotaur. But he still wants to save Tomori.
"Hahaha… Hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!!!" The guy started laughing like a maniac. "Look at you, fool! You think just because you're an elf, you can look down at me!"
The minotaur started walking slowly towards Ivaran. "The church has nothing against the elves, but you supported the Blade Demon. Meaning that you're one of his lackeys! But you look so annoying! How about I kill you first?!"
Ivaran isn't afraid of him. He still stood there as the minotaur walked closer to him.
"Ivaran…" Tomori thought that he had run away. But he's still there, standing straight without any ounce of fear inside of him. To Tomori, that is what makes a hero. Even in the state of terror, a hero will shine the most out of the villain. "How come a lousy elf who has nightmares all night can look more heroic than the hero himself?" He wondered to himself.
All of his life, he's nothing but an average man with a rich aunt who has taken care of him since he was a kid. That's how other people see him. And with his weird behaviour, he isn't able to make proper friends. The only person he truly trusts in this world is his aunt.
But then he saw Ivaran, the pinnacle of the hero himself. "This kid… Is more suited to a hero than me…" Tomori's sword started glowing. "But it's too bad…"
The Adamantium Sword started changing colors from pitch black to pure white with a golden accent. Golden lines started appearing on his face. The gemstone also changes from red to blue.
"That I'm the Blade Hero here!"
Desynchronisation complete!
Curse Series, Blade Of Idle, blessing!
Weapon Form unlocked!
Blade Of Resolute [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Switchblade (Attack), Zweihander
Special Effect: Call of Resolute, Magic Enchant, Skill Enchant, All Resist, HP Recovery (Small), SP Recovery (Small)
Mastery Level: 0
Born from the resolved heart: Blade of Determination
The minotaur is standing in front of Ivaran. "Let's see… How do you want to die? Gets cut off, gets smashed to the ground, or just gets stomp?" The guy said.
"…" Ivaran just stared at him. Whatever the guy is doing clearly doesn't have any effect on him.
"Tch! You ungrateful beast! DIE!" As the minotaur swings its sword to the ground, a silhouette appears under the minotaur's body.
" Blade Bash." Tomori smacked the minotaur's chest, sending it flying away. The guy also falls off its shoulder. " Chain Bind. Switchblade (Attack)."
The guy's body gets wrapped by a chain. Then, there's acid that comes out from the chains.
"ARGH!!!" The guy is screaming like a little girl.
"You stay there. I will deal with you later." Tomori said. Then Ivaran came running at him. "Oh, Ivaran!"
Ivaran takes a look at Tomori's body. Blood is coming out from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth. His hair, clothes and armor were also covered with blood.
"Tomori-sama… Are you okay?!" Ivaran asked while being worried about him.
"For some reason, yeah. I'm alright. And it's weird too. My bones are all broken, but I felt very energetic. It's like I can climb a mountain for a month straight." Tomori said while moving his body around.
"Please don't do that while your body is in that state!"
"H-HOW?!" The guy suddenly shouted. "HOW CAN YOU STILL STAND! YOU SUPPOSED TO BE DOWN! YOUR BODY SUPPOSED TO BE BROKEN! YOU SUPPOSED-"
"Stop muttering around like a crazy douche bag. I tell you why I'm still standing you piece of sh*t!" Tomori then gets closer to the guy. "It's because of that kid right there." Tomori pointed at Ivaran.
"That kid there stood up to his fear knowing that he couldn't defeat it. And you know what, suddenly I get the urge to stand up. Even if I lost gallons of blood! Even if my bones are broken! Even if I had lost hope! But if I saw someone out there needing saving, you know damn well I'm going to try to save them! Do you know why?!" Tomori then pulled the guy's robe.
"It's because I'm a hero, the Blade Hero! I don't care if your religion viewed me as a demon! But if there's one person who still sees me as a hero, then I will move my damn body even if I only have one limb left!"
Ivaran is flabbergasted by that. To think that Tomori's resolve comes from him.
"Hahahaha! What a sentence that comes from the Blade Demon mouth! The minotaur will crush you! And in the end, I will emerge victorious!" The guy is still confident that he will win.
"Oh, we see about that." Tomori releases his grip, dropping the guy to the ground. "Ivaran, you may want to move behind a bit."
"Oh, yes!" Ivaran then moved a little bit from Tomori.
Thud* Thud* Thud*
The minotaur managed to stand up from Tomori's attack.
"One of the rules of being a hero is to do a finishing move, in style." Tomori held the sword using both of his hands and raised it up above his head.
" Chain Bind! Switchblade (Attack)!"
A huge chain wrapped around the minotaur's body and acid comes out of the chains. Then, a text appears on Tomori's status screen.
"Let the ignorant mortal taste hell before me! Forbid their body from reaching the afterlife! Extend the blade that I wield and let the blade pierce both heaven and earth!"
The blue gemstone started glowing brightly.
" Zweihander!"
Just in case, he put all of his EP onto the skill. Tomori's sword started glowing and the blade is extending to the cave ceiling. He then swung his sword down and slash the minotaur.
Moo*
"Oh wow, for such a strong monster, it lets out some of the funniest sounds that I ever heard." Tomori thought to himself.
After the skill ends, the sword returns back to its normal size. But the minotaur's body is still intact.
"Hahahaha! Your attack doesn't do anything-" But then, the minotaur falls down to the ground.
Level Up!
Ivaran Level Up!
"Holy cow! Your level is 40 now, Ivaran! And mine is level 71!" Tomori said to him with excitement in his voice.
"Wh-What?" The guy started to lose his mind from the bullsh*terry that he had to face.
"Ye-Yeah!" Ivaran said, joining the excitement with Tomori. With his sudden level increase, he will have a bad time sleeping due to his growth.
"Okay then, let's see what the minotaur has stored for us…" Tomori goes to the minotaur who's laying on the ground.
He then takes the sword, shield and the armor off it. He then opened his status to inspect the equipment.
Sword of Absorver
Shield of Absorver
Armor of Absorver
He can get the names, but not all of their effects. But he saw there's a Size Adjustment effect on all of the equipment. He touched the sword and it shrinks to fit his hand. He then copied the sword.
Weapon Copy System Activated!
Sword of Absorver [Normal] Ability Locked:
Skill: Reflect Blade
Special Effect: Element Transmission, Element Slash (Medium), Magic Attack Up (Medium), Magic Defense Up (Medium), MP Recovery (Low)
Mastery Level: 0
"This weapon here is a few digits higher than the Adamantium Sword. It also balances out my magic stats. This could be my main weapon for now."
Tomori switched to the new sword and suddenly felt a huge pain on his body.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Tomori shouted in pain as he lay down to the ground.
"Tomori-sama!" Ivaran then rushed to him. He then holds both of his hands in front of Tomori.
"As the source of power, hear my words and heal my target with a beaming light!"
" Low Shining Heal!"
Ivaran cast a light attribute healing magic to Tomori.
" Sigh*" Tomori sighed in relief as the pain slowly went away. "Jeez, Ivaran. Thanks a bunch. If it hadn't been for you, we would be dead by now."
"But… I didn't do anything to help you…" Ivaran said.
"No." Tomori then faced Ivaran. "If you didn't stop the minotaur attack, I would be dead. If you didn't stand up against the minotaur, I would be dead. And if you aren't here, then I would also be dead."
"What?" Ivaran is confused by his statement.
"You know… I've been so bitter ever since I get accused of rape by this country princess. And because of the fact I'm this country's religion quote on quote 'demon', people started to treat me worse than back on my world. But then there's people like Vadge and you, who still believe in me. I don't like how cheesy it sounds, but you guys give me hope. A hope similar to what an important person in my world gives to me when I'm at the lowest point of my life."
Tomori then pat Ivaran's head. "Thank you." Tomori said while letting out a purest smile that he ever made.
"He… Thanked me…" Ivaran think about how he can't save his parents from the wave monsters, how he can't save his friends and the villagers from the bandits that raided his village. But someone, who is supposed to be his new slave master, is thanking him.
Drip*
Tears dropped from his eyes. He tried to wipe it off, but it didn't stop. But then Tomori just hugged him from the front.
"You have been through a lot, haven't you?" Tomori said with a calming voice. "Don't worry, crying is one of the ways to release all of your frustration. Some people say that crying is a form of weakness. But to me, a person crying is because they had been strong for so long. So cry. Cry as much as you wanted. No need to hold back."
Ivaran then sobbed his eyes out. Tomori covered him with a cloak that he's wearing so that the noise that he makes wouldn't be too loud. "Maybe I should do this when I'm not covered in blood." Tomori thought to himself.
After a few minutes, Ivaran releases himself from Tomori's body.
"Feeling better?" Tomori asked him.
"Yes… Thank you…" He replied.
"No need to. Well then…" He turned to the crazy guy. "Now I wonder what I should do with you…" Tomori said with a menacing smile.
"HEE!!!" The crazy guy started rolling to escape from him. But Tomori stopped him from doing so. He also wondered why the chains didn't disappear.
"Ok, so what should I do with you? Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. But I will make you feel like you don't want to live anymore."
Tomori then brings out a rope from his inventory. He then tied the crazy guy up and tied the other end of the rope to a boulder. He then throws the crazy guy to a river. But due to the rope being tied to a boulder, the crazy guy is still hanging on the cliff.
"I hope you learned your lesson." Tomori said to him.
"Damn you, Blade Demon! You wouldn't get away with this!" The guy retorted.
"Oh well, don't move so much. I didn't tie the rope on the boulder tightly. So you may fall quicker. Have fun~" Tomori said as he left him.
Tomori then absorbed the minotaur's body into his inventory. But he left the shield behind. He uses the Size Adjustment effect of it to make it shirk. After that, he gave the shield to Ivaran.
"For me?" He asked.
"Yeah, you need a stronger shield if you want to be a shielder. And maybe stronger armor as well. Maybe we can get one if you have fully grown."
"Yes! Oh, and I felt the barrier was gone a few minutes ago."
"I see… Okay, let's get out of here. Transport Blade!"
A menu appears on his status. He chooses where he wants to teleport and who he's going to bring. Then, both of them instantly disappeared from the cave.
After a while, the Shadow who has been helping Tomori appears from the darkness.
"Seems like my judgement is correct. The Blade Hero has returned to what he used to be before." The Shadow then goes to the cliff that has the crazy guy hanging.
"You! You're the one who's turned off the Ritual Magic, isn't it?!" The guy said loudly to the Shadow.
"Yes. Like father and son, both of you are foolish enough to face the Blade Hero."
"What are you-"
The Shadow then pulled the rope up and the crazy guy landed on the ground. Then, she sliced his throat, instantly killing him.
"If it wasn't for the Ritual Magic, I would have instantly interfered. But the Blade Hero and his new companion managed to survive, and due to that, they had become stronger than ever." The Shadow then disappears again to the darkness.