Shield Kid's Bizarre Adventure! Chapter 30: 30: Godworld Surrenders (Spoiler Alert), a rising of the shield hero/盾の勇者の成り上がり fanfic

Don't think there's too much I have to respond to review-wise this time around that I haven't responded to already via PMs. This is technically the last chapter of the story, with the Epilogue being posted in two weeks. I'll save my thank yous and all that for then. For now, I just hope that you enjoy the ridiculousness that is this finale.

Also, for those wondering why I posted later in the day than normal, AO3 was down for maintenance earlier. So I decided to wait until the site was up again before posting this chapter simultaneously to here and there.

Chapter Thirty: Godworld Surrenders (Spoiler Alert)

With the Spirit Tortoise now thoroughly pacified thanks to the power of fluff, everyone was able to portal back to the capital of Melromarc the next day after spending the night in the Spirit Tortoise country. Aultcray knew that his work would not be over yet, however.

The group of heroes and their allies had quickly left the city behind yesterday, once they learned of the true source of danger. So there was a lot of cleanup and repairs to be done in the aftermath of the initial attack done by the familiars. Something that Aultcray planned to immediately get to work on once he returned.

What he didn't expect though was to see the capital city already completely repaired and in a near pristine condition to boot, as if it'd recently been cleaned up and renovated in preparation for some kind of big event or set of festivities.

And the reason behind it left the king even more confused.

Aultcray stared out, dumbfounded, watching the chunky-looking yeti familiars that hadn't participated in the last battle for some reason. Instead of loafing around like before, they were now moving with a surprising amount of haste and energy.

And instead of holding the strange metal cans in their hands, they were all equipped with tools of all sorts and were in the process of painstakingly combing over the entire city to repair and clean everything that they could find, down to polishing individual stones of the cobbled roads with a near obsessive compulsion.

"And they... just...?" Aultcray finally managed to open his mouth to speak once he confirmed the outlandish report given to him with his own eyes.

"Yes, your majesty." Marx, the king's personal assistant nodded quickly in confirmation. "Soon after you and the other heroes left to face off against the guardian beast, these things abruptly stopped lazing around and started doing this instead.

"And where did they get the tools...?" Aultcray muttered next.

"They bought them, sire." Marx immediately answered.

"They... bought them?" The king's dumbfound expression deepened.

"Yes, before starting to repair and clean everything, they first rounded up the bodies of their... err... fallen familiar comrades and butchered them. They then sold the resulting parts to the city's traders in bulk." Marx continued to explain, almost as if he couldn't have believed it himself. "And after that, they used the money to buy all sorts of cheap and seemingly useless junk, which they then used to construct their tools as well as a bunch of bizarre tiny carriages."

"Tiny... carriages...?" The king's face took on a new, never seen expression.

"It's probably best to show you, sire." The advisor guided the king outside the city walls to the wide, overgrown green plains where low-level balloon monsters usually dwelled. Now, they were absent and the wild overgrowth was in the process of being transformed into the world's largest perfectly neat backyard lawn.

"Gweh!" "Gwah!" "Gweh!" Filolial cries could be heard in the air as the birds rushed around the fields, pulling behind them little carriages of some kind that only had enough room for one person to ride on top of them. Or a single boomer-type yeti familiar, in this case.

There was some kind of trick to the carriages, as they appeared to be glowing with magic energy from the Filolials and the Yetis. The grass they passed over became neatly cut and folded against the ground, forming a perfect lawn strip behind it.

The yetis riding the carriages bore dull and blissful smiles on their ape-like faces while holding the reins of the filolials with one hand and a metallic can of their beverage of choice with the other. There was a large line of other yetis standing at the edge of the field. They looked on enviously at the drivers and took sips of their drinks while patiently waiting for their turns to ride on the little carriages.

Aultcray took a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose after forcibly tearing his eyes away from the utterly bizarre sight before him. "They... have not caused any trouble, have they?"

"Well, rookie adventurers are annoyed that they are scaring away the balloons." Marx quickly reported while reading off a list in his hands. "Also there have been complaints about the yeti's body odor. Oh! And the city's vegetable merchants, including the entirety of the Cabbage Merchants Guild, are upset since the yetis seem to be deliberately ignoring their businesses instead of helping to repair them like everything else.

"But besides that, there have been no fights or violence of any kind, if that's what you are inquiring about, sire."

"I see." Aultcray rubbed his eyes this time. "Then let's just leave them be for now. We have more pressing matters to attend to. Keep me informed and report if anything changes in their behavior."

"Of course, sire!" Marx saluted the king.

After that weird side trip, Aultcray returned back to his home Castle, where Naofumi and the other Heroes were participating in a celebration feast with everyone from the city and surrounding countryside welcome.

"Woohoo! Cheers to more free food!" Naofumi cheered happily.

"Ahahaha! Yes! What a way to end today!" Uncle Bald Guy agreed. Shouting between bites as he plowed through a giant roasted pig creature all by himself.

Aultcray smiled as he sat by his wife, holding her hand in his as the two rulers observed the festivities. Even if the day had been confusing and bizarre, this made it all worth it.

Because Naofumi had managed to put the Spirit Tortoise to sleep, its minions who'd been invading the world all over had stopped fighting. Every single one had returned to its host body, integrating itself with it before falling asleep.

Well, besides the boomer-yeti types in the city right now. But that was a can of worms that no one wanted to touch for the moment.

It was going to take a few days to repair all the damage they'd caused elsewhere in the world, but besides a few casualties in various towns and countries, the only truly noteworthy losses were the thousands and thousands of cabbages that the monsters ended up prioritizing as their targets.

Very strange. But a boon of luck for the people of their world who got to live another day because of it.

"Amber, does Fitoria know if the next Guardian Beast is waking up or not?" Aultcray asked the Filolial woman, who was giving Melty a piggyback ride nearby.

"Hmmmm…" Amber tilted her head. "No. Fitoria says they are laying dormant and that there are no signs that this will change any time soon."

"Ah, good." Aultcray smiled with relief. "That's one less thing to worry about then."

"Come on Amber! Run around some more!" Melty yelled happily.

"On it!" Amber began running around again. There seemed to be something special about doing this for the young girl in her human form compared to her Filolial Queen form.

"Urgh…" Motoyasu restrained himself at the Hero's table. But he was going to be there with his kid bro! Overcoming his obsession with angels so he could love Amber properly just like his other bros with their girls!

That night slowly came and went. The Heroes eventually went to bed with their spouses, though Aultcray and Mirellia stayed up in case something did happen.

But nothing did.

The next day came. And then the day after that. And then the day following that.

Things gradually went back to normal. The damage the familiars had caused was all fixed up. The adventurers and civilians who'd participated in the defense of the Capital and elsewhere were rewarded. And, true to Amber's word, the Phoenix Guardian Beast never woke up from its nap either. Allowing the world a chance to breathe as the Waves began anew.

Eventually, after almost a week, it was as if the Spirit Tortoise had never almost woken up to wreak carnage upon their world. Everything was good.

…

Well, almost everything.

"Urgh… my head…" Kyo groaned as he finally began to wake up.

"Good morning. Very fortunate for you to wake up. I was beginning to feel concerned that we might have roughed you up too much."

"Who are- ow," Kyo growled again as his migraine threatened to turn into a splitting headache. He also realized that he couldn't move when he found himself unable to touch his forehead.

Kyo's face was still bruised up and swollen from the beating that he'd taken, but in all honesty, it was less than what he deserved for soiling Kidfumi's innocent ears.

What the heck? Why was he-

Oh, wait. Now he remembered how he'd spent so long trying to wake the Spirit Tortoise up. All that caffeine he fed himself followed by the beating he went through probably hadn't helped his brain out a lot.

"Right, of course you would interrogate me first, before throwing my body into a ditch." The rogue book hero groaned. "Can I at least get a glass of water to drink before you inevitably start waterboarding me with it?"

"Hmmm…" Aultcray crossed his arms in front of him, glaring down at the young man.

Kyo, whose eyes were able to focus enough to see the Staff King, gradually began to shift back in his seat. His face began to drain of color as he saw waves of power coming off the older Hero's form.

Had this really been the guy Godworld wanted him to eliminate using the Spirit Tortoise?! Just being in front of him was super scary! How was his pet monster ever supposed to beat that?!

This lasted for almost a minute. Kyo felt smaller and smaller with every second that passed.

"Here, man. One glass of water, right?"

And then, from the shadows, L'Arc walked forward. He gently placed the cup into Kyo's hands, before walking back to stand behind Aultcray.

Kyo looked down at it in surprise. And it was only then that he realized that he wasn't being bound by magic anymore.

"Are you really that confident about confining me here?!" He asked angrily, feeling insulted that he was being so grossly underestimated.

"Why yes, I am," Aultcray answered. "Especially since you're far too weak to hurt any of us here."

Kyo growled as his hand instinctively moved to one of his jacket's many pockets. Only to realize that it was empty, as was every other nook and cranny in his outfit that he usually used to store his gear for quick access.

"Yes, all of your vials and everything else has already been confiscated," Aultcray answered Kyo's unspoken question in an even tone. "And if you try to pull something out of your hero weapon, I believe I should make you aware that I'm level 150 right now, and that I have 17 strengthening methods under my belt."

"Heh, you think that'd be enough to make me scared?" Kyo asked snidely.

"I've also cast a spell to trap all souls in the area here in advance." Aultcray continued. "That way, if we do end up having to kill you, it'll make things much simpler for the Soul Worms that I have on hand."

…

Kyo paled fully at the threat. Glass, who was also standing nearby, shivered involuntarily as her spirit person survival instincts flared up at the mention of the abominable creatures. "You're really capable of such a thing, your Majesty?"

"My dear, there are many things one can do with magic should one learn the right spells," Aultcray answered her, before taking a step back so the two Otherworld Heroes could stand before their pale compatriot.

Kyo said nothing for a while. In fact, he didn't speak at all. His hand simply moved on autopilot, helping him to down the water he'd been given by his King earlier.

"Seriously, Kyo, to think you of all people would do something like this?" L'Arc shook his head. "I can understand you leaving our alliance after Kenshiro's death… but coming to another world to awaken one of its Guardian Beasts?!"

Glass frowned. "I do not understand either. Why? What were you trying to accomplish?"

…

Kyo didn't answer. After several seconds of silence, L'Arc and Glass continued speaking to him in turns.

"Aren't you and Ethnobalt good friends? What'd he say if he found out you did this?" L'Arc asked harshly.

"Or Yomogi. I know how much she looks up to you. Would this not break her heart if she found out what you were doing here?" Glass pressed as well.

Kyo slightly scowled. But otherwise, he didn't open his mouth to his former friends.

This continued for a while. L'Arc and Glass tried everything to try and appeal to their former friend. To at least understand why he'd done what he'd done.

"Are you troglodytes done wasting my time yet?" Kyo asked with a malicious laugh, much to their surprise. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't feel like answering your stupid naive questions. Who cares about what anyone would think or do in response to my actions?"

"Kyo, man…" L'Arc trailed off sadly. "Would you be saying the same thing if it was Kizuna standing here asking you this instead of us?"

…

Glass looked sadly at the King of Sickle, who looked sad as well.

"…" Kyo didn't reply and just looked off to the side. It appeared that L'Arc's sincere question about their mutual friend had hit him in some way.

"Look, at least tell us, why?! You are arguably the smartest person in our world!" L'Arc began to ask heatedly. "And even if you do tend to act like a jerk sometimes, you're still a hero! You wouldn't do something like this without a very good reason for it! So why-"

"I can't, okay!?" Kyo responded angrily. "I'm physically unable to tell you anything about what I was doing and why I was doing it! And even if I could, I doubt you'd believe me anyway-!"

Kyo suddenly cut off. And then, his face fell even more. "Kizuna probably would have… but I wouldn't have been allowed to tell even her why I was doing it either. So it doesn't matter.

"None of this matters.

"I can't tell anybody. I can't even write it down. Otherwise, I'd… I'd…

"I'd die on the spot," Kyo admitted.

…

The Otherworld Heroes were confused, and rightly so. They looked at each other with uncertainty. Not sure what they should say next, or if there was anything left for them to say.

"May I?" Aultcray stepped forward again, appearing between the two Heroes. "I'd like to state some observations of my own if you wouldn't mind."

"Oh, um, sure, I guess," L'Arc said awkwardly.

He and Glass both stepped back.

Kyo glared up at the Wise Staff King again. "Going to start the waterboarding already? You're going to be quite disappointed, I assure you. No amount of torture is going to-"

"No, I will not waste my time with such things, especially not after your three friends here begged me to show you mercy," Aultcray said calmly, staring down the rogue Book Hero with a grim expression. "I just have some things that I'd like to ponder on out loud. Based on what's been said by all of us thus far, if you wouldn't mind?"

Kyo tried to hold back the fear he was experiencing from his face. But he couldn't help but gulp as he nodded.

"This first part is an observation based on what I said earlier… regarding the soul trap spell and the soul worms… You possess some kind of limited resurrection immortality ability, don't you?" Aultcray started.

...

"Wha- What?!" Kyo actually said out loud in shock.

Aultcray nodded his head. "I thought that was the case."

"H-How?!" Kyo asked.

"Simple, I met somebody else like you recently. An individual in our world named Tact." Aultcray answered. "Your reaction to hearing about the Soul Worms was similar to his. This is funny, as nobody usually fears them since they only feast on the souls of the dead or dying. I wanted to test and see if you were also like him in that regard or not."

…

Kyo stared in stunned silence at the King, who was smirking now.

"Since this kind of ability is unheard of, I can only guess that you've received your partial immortality from someone. Perhaps, someone who could kill you if you ever tried to divulge any info about them or their goals to anyone." Aultcray stated matter-of-factly.

"Y-Your Majesty, I don't mean any offense mind you, but do you really think that such a thing would be possible?!" L'Arc asked incredulously.

"Hohoho." Rather than immediately answer, Aultcray chuckled to himself. "Did you and Glass not believe that legend you told me about? The one involving past Heroes battling each other in giant free-for-alls for the safety of their worlds?"

The two Otherworld Heroes opened up their mouths to respond… only to close them, and open them again, as they struggled to formulate a response. "Do… do you mean that legend might actually-" Glass began to ask fearfully.

"No. Or at least, not in the way that you're thinking." Aultcray answered, before turning to face Kyo again with a knowing smirk on his features. "However, as my wife has been wise to teach me, there is always a grain of truth in every legend. And if there really was that kind of event in the past, then that would mean that there'd have to be somebody or a group of somebodies behind it who would organize such a thing.

"A group that would, perhaps, be capable of causing the Waves to happen. While slipping people like your friend Kyo here as well as Tact into our worlds to distract us from what the Waves were causing."

…

Kyo stared up at the King, his mouth dropping open in shock. He was absolutely speechless, and his fear changed to amazement.

How he wished that he could just shout YES right now! YES because somebody smart enough had FINALLY shown up! Someone smart enough to piece everything together! Linking obscure context clues and past experiences together to come to a brilliant result!

THIS MAN HAD TO BE ON PAR WITH ETHNOBALT! NO, EVEN SMARTER THAN HIS FRIEND! IT WAS NO WONDER GODWORLD WANTED THIS MAN DEAD! HIS INTELLECT WAS SIMPLY AMAZING FOR KYO TO BEHOLD! HOW HE WISHED HE COULD HAVE MET HIM FAR SOONER, AND UNDER BETTER CIRCUMSTANCES!

"I would answer, however…" Kyo began to speak hesitantly, trying to curb his internal enthusiasm.

"Your soul would most likely get destroyed, and then you'd die." Aultcray finished.

"Possibly. I might not be allowed to answer that either." Kyo nodded, before staring down at his lap.

"Understandable. I don't doubt such a thing would be possible. If these beings already hold the power to make the Waves happen, as I'm theorizing."

"What an insane-sounding theory, huh." Kyo couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"Yes, indeed." Aultcray was smirking widely as well. "I guess I'll just have to keep you locked up in here until this theory of mine can be verified. Which might take some time, as you might imagine."

Kyo leaned back in his chair and let out a shaky satisfied sigh. "It can't be helped then. I guess I'll just have to sit here quietly and wait for my verdict, for however long that takes, since I'm completely unable to escape from here as I am now."

At the very least, it'd be impossible for Godworld to order him around from here. Perhaps allowing himself to become imprisoned is the best thing he could have ever done given his circumstances-

"Your Majesty!" A Shadow appeared in the doorway. "A group of people just appeared in front of the castle!"

"I swear, if it's the masonry guild here to complain about the yetis taking their jobs again, then I'm-" Aultcray began to respond, sounding annoyed.

"Um… let me clarify, your majesty, a group of masked people wearing golden robes has just descended from the sky in a massive beam of light and landed in front of the castle." The Shadow said more nervously.

…

After a long silence, Aultcray swiftly turned around, switching his staff form to its most powerful one. "Bring him along." Aultcray jabbed a finger in Kyo's direction.

Kyo didn't even have time to object as Glass and Therese helped him up. They quickly left the room, following behind Aultcray. Even stronger waves of power compared to before began to radiate off him.

"W-What are you doing?! Are you insane!? We need to run! We need to get out of here, now!" Kyo began to yell frantically. His eyes were wide with terror.

There was no way, had his bosses really come down to this world to personally hunt him down and punish him for his mistakes?! Oh no, he was so screwed! He had to get out of here somehow before-

"Dadcray!" Naofumi yelled happily as he ran down a hall alongside Moto.

"Is everything alright? Auntie Shadow said that we're all needed for some reason." Moto asked quickly.

"Just equip your strongest weapon forms. We might be forced to participate in the most dangerous battle of our lives in a moment." Aultcray said to them grimly.

Naofumi's head cocked to the side in confusion, but then he equipped his mighty Pillow Shield to his arm while Motoyasu equipped a spear that had a Filolial crown attached to the long hilt.

They followed behind Aultcray silently before meeting up with Mirellia and the other Heroes on their way to the front doors.

When they finally stepped outside, armed to the teeth and ready for battle, they were met with a bizarre sight.

The beings before them were radiating raw magic power off their forms, just like Aultcray. Each was at least seven feet tall, if not taller.

They wore long golden robes that covered their bodies. And each of them had a mask covering the top halves of their faces. Hiding their identities from those around them in the courtyard.

"Staff Hero…" The leading man spoke. He was wearing a Sun Mask on the top half of his face. Menacing fiery eyes stared from behind the mask's eye slits at Naofumi's group.

Kyo began to instinctively cower in terror behind all the Overpowered Heroes. He didn't care how overpowered they were at this point! Even if these beings had all been reset to level one upon entering this world, they were still very dangerous! And, if anything, they could easily ignore everyone to target him right now before escaping and things would just go so bad for him so quickly that-

The tension in the air was palpable. It looked like a fight was going to break out between them and this world as the leaders of Godworld were left with no other choice! The hairs of everyone there began to stand on end as everyone looked on edge.

"We…" Sun Mask began to speak.

…

Sun Mask, who'd stood so tall and imposing in front of all of his other cohorts, his eyes staring menacingly at everyone there… knelt on the ground.

Another person stood right behind him. A crying man wearing a cabbage mask. He waved a little white flag in the air above him.

"We… surrender." Sun Mask said with barely suppressed rage, as if uttering these words was making him physically ill.

...

…

"WHAT THE F-!?" Kyo tried to yell out in confusion, only for L'Arc to slap his hand over his mouth.

His reaction, however, pretty much summed up how everyone felt about the sudden turn of events.

Well… things had definitely gotten interesting in Kidfumi's world lately.

The past few days were really a blur to him. Between the celebration, Momellia's lessons, helping Dadcray out around the city, hanging out with his bros whenever they had time, and other things, a lot had happened. Almost too much for him to cram into his little mind.

Strange how that worked. He guessed that he'd just been having too much fun with his best friend to properly account for what'd been going on.

Anyway, now, he was sitting in a chair alongside the other Heroes. All of them, from L'Arc to S'yne and Dadcray.

Even that book weirdo guy was in a chair, though he was off to the side. He seemed like more of an observer than a participant in what was happening right now.

Therese, Wyndia, Rishia, Sadeena, Uncle Bald Guy, and the Hero's other friends/party members were also sitting on the other side of the Throne Room. Chairs had been brought in for them. And while Mirellia had offered it, Gaelion was more than content enough to lay on his side while his daughter, Wyndia, leaned on him for support and watched what was happening with a curious expression on his face.

Even Amber's friend. A short angel-winged girl with strangely familiar rich magenta eyes was there sitting off to the side. Passively observing everything that was going on now.

Some of the Leaders of Godworld kept shifting nervously under her passive gaze. It almost felt like they were afraid of her for some reason. But why? What was up with that?

The only non-Hero sitting with the Heroes behind the long table was Mirellia. She held a fan in her hands, holding it over the lower half of her face while looking at the ones sitting on the opposite side of the long table.

The leaders of some place called Godworld, or whatever it was called, who'd come to surrender to them for some reason?

Naofumi didn't entirely understand what was going on. But then again, neither did his Shield.

Do you really expect me to know everything you don't?! Because newsflash, I'm not omnipotent!

Huh, with the way it acted sometimes, it could have easily fooled him.

Zap!

I'm a she! Not an it!

"Ow, whatever, Stupid Shield!" Naofumi pouted at his weapon.

…

"What?" Naofumi asked after noticing that everyone was staring at him.

"It's… nothing." Sun Mask, as Naofumi had dubbed him, muttered from his spot opposite to Aultcray.

Some of his cohorts were murmuring to themselves though. "So his weapon spirit did change since we last saw it."

"I wouldn't say changed. More like it has evolved." Another god muttered.

"How is that possible though? It doesn't make any sense."

Naofumi crossed his eyebrows in confusion. Who were all these people and what were they all doing here again? He didn't know what the word surrender even meant.

Of course, you know what it means, brat! Don't think you're so stupid that you can get away with a thought like that!

Eh, whatever. It was funny provoking his shield like this after all the times it'd denied him the ability to do damage by himself.

WHY YOU FREAKING LITTLE SNOT-NOSED BRAT!

Heh. It was definitely well deserved after all the times she shocked him too.

BOO!

While Naofumi and his weapon were distracted by each other, the discussion finally got underway.

"Sooooo, how are we going to go about this?" Itsuki swallowed hard as he spoke out first to break the awkward silence.

"From my understanding, these people here are surrendering," Ren muttered.

"I don't even know who they are though. Does anyone here know?" Motoyasu asked.

"I -"

"I know who they are." S'yne's Naofumi doll said. While every other time her dolls would sound peppy and upbeat, this time it spoke in a grim and serious tone. And the glare S'yne was giving the leaders of Godworld didn't make things much better.

"Ah, yes, the Sewing Kit Hero." The goddess wearing the moon-shaped mask spoke out calmly. She seemed to be the next, in terms of authority, after the sun mask-wearing god. "It's surprising that your weapon has lasted for as long as it has, considering that its source world is gone."

"No thanks to you!" S'yne's doll yelled as the girl's own scowl deepened.

Before she could snap at the woman further, however, Aultcray spoke up. "Would you mind filling us in on what you know? This sounds incredibly important."

"... of course." S'yne kept it simple, as she didn't know much. But through her doll, she explained how these people were from a world that was responsible for the Waves. And how they'd used said Waves to destroy her world.

"We are not responsible for the Waves." Moon Mask corrected her. "The Waves are a natural phenomenon that happens every once in a while between worlds. What we do is simply... push things along, to speak in simple terms that you would understand. To make it more interesting for everyone involved."

"Was that why you killed my original world's Heroes and then used the Waves to destroy it?" S'yne's doll refuted in a dark, angry tone. "Did you kill everyone I knew and loved, including the man I looked up to as an older brother, and turn my older sister against me; all just to make things more interesting?!"

…

The group of masked men and women didn't respond and S'yne eventually sagged in her seat helplessly. Tears began to gather in her eyes.

Raphtalia moved next to S'yne and hugged the girl. S'yne gripped tightly to the half-tanuki girl as she tried to force down her sobs.

"How often are these Waves supposed to occur?" Aultcray asked the leaders of Godworld, a threatening edge in his tone.

The group of gods exchanged several glances with each other before their leader, Sun Mask, spoke on their behalf. "It doesn't matter. This is not why we are he-"

"Around every couple hundred years between each one, give or take." Kyo blurted out, interrupting the chief god while sweating profusely and shaking.

…

The air in the room grew tense as the waves of power coming from the god collective intensified and grew sharper. The Leaders of Godworld immediately began to glare at the Book Hero, who swallowed hard and looked away. "What? I'm technically not revealing info about you guys. I'm just putting forward what I learned from my own research."

"One wave is normal for two worlds every two or three centuries or so, due to how the worlds move through the multiverse. They don't move parallel to one another, and because of that, they tend to naturally hit each other every now and then. Though it is only just the one Wave and not the multiple that happens over many months like when they are interfering."

Sun Mask looked like he was about to lift a threatening hand toward Kyo, but Aultcray held his own hand up, frowning as he did so. "Hmmm, I guess one of my sources of info here is under quite a handicap. Unfortunate, really, considering he must know all sorts of things about you. But I appreciate the answer regardless."

Sun Mask's fiery eyes bore into the rogue Book Hero with barely restrained malice and rage. Despite that, what he said next came out eerily calm. "Do not be confused, Kyo Ethnina. You are only alive right now because our business does not concern you at the moment. But rest assured. Once this meeting is over, agony beyond your mortal imagination and comprehension awaits you. Your punishment will be eternal and absolute.

"The prospect of being fed to the Soul Worms of this world will be something that you will only be able to dream about, while trapped within the endless nightmare made real for you by our hands."

Kyo visibly paled even more at Sun Mask's words, but the tense atmosphere was broken when a god wearing a Star-shaped mask tugged at his leader's sleeve. "Um..." He then whispered something into Sun Mask's ear while pointing out something on the screen in his hands.

Sun Mask looked down, and whatever it was that he saw on the screen made the glow of power around him visibly diminish. He then leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, visibly scowling as if he had just swallowed a lemon whole.

Aultcray tried to twist his body to see what was shown on the screen as well, but he couldn't see it from his position. Fortunately, Itsuki had sharper eyes and was even capable of using skills to change his viewpoint so he was able to see it just fine.

"Why are there a bunch of people that look like you guys rioting in a… holy crap that place looks so advanced!" Itsuki exclaimed in surprise. "Are those holographic TV monitors on the buildings and-

Star Mask immediately shut off the device in his hands and glared at the Bow Hero.

"They have TV?!" Ren asked incredulously. "Does that mean that dude there is holding a tablet in his hands?"

"Yeah, and yeah, I think I also saw a holographic statue as well. But I can't be too sure." Itsuki put a hand to his chin in thought. "But I'm pretty sure I saw all of us on the holographic monitors too."

"You were saying that you also saw a riot going on, Sir Itsuki?" Aultcray asked curiously. "Also, what is this TV you were speaking about?"

"TV is, well… I'll explain another time. Basically, from what I saw, we're being shown on their world's version of recording crystals in real-time right now. And the people there were yelling and flinging powerful spells around amongst other things. They were also holding signs with depictions of…" Itsuki trailed off, turning his head to look at the end of the table. "I think it was Naofumi over there, actually."

The other Heroes and observers turned to look at Kidfumi.

Hmph! Serves you right, Stupid Shield!

I say, if this level of shock isn't enough, I can always make it higher!

Naofumi stuck his tongue out at it, before laughing to himself. His puny shield couldn't hurt him anymore! It was just a bluff on her part and-

ZAP!

Ow, hey, that really hurt!

Get back to paying attention already before I really get mad at you now!

But he'd just get in everyone's way! Besides, it was way more fun making fun of Shield-Chan than paying attention to what was going on right now!

JUST PAY ATTENTION YOU FREAKING LITTLE TURD!

…

"No way, did you guys seriously ask me to hijack this world's Guardian Beast because that kid over there made your goddamn public support ratings crash?" Kyo asked in stunned disbelief. Putting the pieces together well before everyone else, even Dadcray. He wouldn't have spoken under normal circumstances, however… "I didn't even know such a thing was even possible, given all you've done over thousands of years! Like, HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK!?"

Sun Mask let out a barely suppressed grunt of anger and clenched his fists on the table in front of him, making the wood groan and start cracking.

"Wait! He just revealed something about us!" Moon Mask suddenly shouted while pointing her finger at the Book Hero in accusation. "Why isn't the contract's non-disclosure agreement clause activating!? Your soul should be shredded already!"

Kyo froze in place and looked down at himself as if expecting something to happen.

…

However, after several seconds passed, he studied himself more curiously. "Strange, I don't feel any different. Wait a minute-" He then stopped speaking in amazement, and then he started to grin. "If I remember correctly, all of your contracts' effects can be temporarily put on hold during exceptional circumstances. And considering the context that must mean... Yes! I get it now! Your shareholders! There must be an active inquiry into your activities being made by them as we speak! That's why most of your company assets, including soul contracts are temporarily frozen! Holy crap, just how badly did you mess up!?"

…

The other leaders of Godworld stared at him in horror. Kyo put a hand to his glasses, which glinted with a scary light as he began to chuckle. "Hmhmhmhmhm! And here you thought that you would be able to go through this meeting while revealing as little about yourselves as possible so you could negotiate a deal that'd work in your favor! Well, I guess it's too bad for you because I've been waiting for a moment like this for a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG TIMMMMMMMMME!" Kyo howled gleefully.

His utter glee and delight absolutely astonished L'Arc, Glass, and Therese, as neither of the three had ever seen him like this before.

One of the gods immediately stood up from his seat at the table, pulling out what could only be described as a wicked-looking energy rifle from the folds of his robes. Before anyone could even process the sight of such a weapon, and as the Book Hero's eyes suddenly widened in terror, the man pulled the trigger and fired a bright, glowing shot of raw soul energy at Kyo's head.

"Air Strike Shield!"

Before the energy shot could atomize the low-leveled Book Hero's head, Naofumi's shield skill appeared in front of Kyo. The attack dissipated harmlessly off of it.

"Wh-Wha-WHAT?!" The man screamed in surprise. "This is my best weapon! My ONE SHOT ONE THOUSAND KILLS RIFLE! THERE'S NO WAY THAT-!"

"Kaiser, YOU FOOL!" BOOM!

Moon Mask suddenly appeared behind the god, smacking him so hard in the back of the head that he was faceplanted into the ground by the force of the slap. "Don't you remember that we're all level one right now?! You might be the youngest, but there is a limit to how shortsighted and foolish one can be! We should have never allowed you to join the board of directors!" The woman roared at the overly trigger-happy godling.

"B-But-" The god dug his head out of the floor, his mask barely still covering his face. "He was about to reveal everything about us a-a-and-"

"Oi."

The leaders of Godworld froze, turning to see Kidfumi still sitting at the end of the table. He had a very serious expression on his face. Reminiscent of Uncle Bald Guy.

"I'm trying to stay out of the way while you adults are talking with one another. Don't do anything stupid like attacking somebody, or else I'm going to get really mad at you." Kidfumi threatened.

…

Honestly, despite mimicking Uncle Bald Guy to a T, it was still nothing short of adorable. Even some of the gods awed over how cute he looked despite trying to act threatening.

Star Mask pulled his tablet up from under the table. His eyes widened in fear at what he was seeing on the screen before swiftly shutting it off. "Yeah, we definitely shouldn't do something like that again."

"Kaiser."

Sun Mask finally spoke up again, making the gun-wielding godling grow rigid at his tone of voice. The chief god's eyes bore into him, glowing orange while a corona of red flames formed around his head, licking at the corners of his mask that was barely containing the inferno beneath it.

"Y-Yes sir?" Kaiser croaked weakly.

"You're fired."

"H-huh?W-wait! WaitwaitwaitwaAAH-"

One moment, the godling was there and the next, he was gone, leaving only a pillar of smoke where he stood which then quickly dissipated. The chief god's eyes flashed white once. It happened so fast, that only a handful of people in the room saw it happen.

"Huh?" Naofumi and Raphtalia looked around the room in confusion as a deathly silence set in. "What just happened? Did we miss something?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with, children." Sun Mask slowly turned his head to look at the Shield Hero. "I simply sent that naughty person back home for a timeout."

"O-oh, okay." Naofumi had a feeling that the man was lying, but he was super scary, so the boy didn't want to argue. Neither did Raphtalia, for that matter, judging by how tightly she was clutching Naofumi's side and the fact that her tail was tightly tucked in between her legs, instead of resting on the boy's lap.

"Excuse us for that unfortunate display. Some of our employees can get... overly eager sometimes. He will be punished for this later, I assure you." Sun Mask turned his head towards the other heroes as the flames around his head receded. "Now let us resume discussing the terms of our settlement."

Itsuki swallowed hard while looking at the group of gods again. They were looking much more alert and on edge after what just happened. As were the heroes, who didn't know what to think. Was what Sun Mask said to Naofumi a boldfaced lie? Or did he really just teleport that god somewhere? Regardless, everyone except for the kids understood that the timeout that had just been given out was a permanent one!

"Right… I think it's safe to say that whoever those people who are rioting are, they're definitely on Naofumi's side." Itsuki said cautiously. "And part of the reason why they're surrendering to us right now."

"So if they do anything to tick him off…" Ren started muttering to himself while keeping a tight grip on the handle of his Sword. "Then that means even more trouble for these people here."

...

"Holy crap. I never thought I'd see a group of bad guys democracied by their own people on stream." Moto said in disbelief.

"I… don't entirely understand what you meant there, Sir Motoyasu," Aultcray said, putting a hand to his trimmed beard in thought. "But either way, it appears that young Naofumi here is quite valued by the people of their world."

The leaders of Godworld didn't even try to refute it.

…

"Ehhem, anyway, shall I continue, good sirs, since you're unable to kill me at the moment?" Kyo mock bowed to the leaders of Godworld, unconcerned about what just happened to one of them.

Before they could even answer, Kyo started his very informative lecture.

You see, Godworld has existed for many thousands of years. Practically everyone living on said world is immortal, as they advanced technology, alchemy, physics, and every other branch of science and magic far beyond any other civilization in any other world.

Yet even with all that, they were still restricted by the SMS system, their equivalent of the laws of physics, as much as anyone else. And once you advance in pretty much everything, there isn't much of anything that's left to do. So what did Godworld do after that?

"Why, they decided to host a series of endless Reality TV shows set on other worlds as entertainment!" Kyo cackled before continuing on from there.

In essence, members of Godworld used their knowledge of the Status Magic System to exploit what they could. Forcing worlds together more often to allow the Waves of Destruction to happen. Hosting events like monster slaughters or hero vs. hero battles, etc.

Glass and L'Arc narrowed their eyes in confusion. And Aultcray and Mirellia did too. "At least, that's the program when it comes to 1 hero and 2 hero worlds." Kyo tacked on at the end. "As you can tell, our experiences have been a little different."

When it came to 4 hero worlds, the process… went differently. Especially ones that shook off Godworld's shackles from their eras as 1 hero or 2 hero worlds. Kyo guessed that it was because of how much stronger the Heroes were or because of something that happened in the past.

Anyway, whatever the reason, for 4 hero worlds or other lesser worlds that Godworld had no control or influence over, they'd use the Waves to either subjugate them so their forces could stay on the world, level up, and keep the inhabitants in line. Or, if they continued resisting in the face of such overwhelming odds like the case of S'yne's world, they'd use the Waves to destroy said worlds.

"Though, then again, with how hard you guys work us to keep 4 hero worlds from acquiring any knowledge about you or your world, I'm guessing there's even more of a reason to that. Like, say, keeping an 8 hero world from forming?" Kyo said with a malicious smirk.

Sun Mask narrowed his eyes behind the eye slits of his headpiece. "Foolishness. It's impossible for two four-hero worlds to survive such a fusion-"

"Ahahah." Kyo wagged his finger from side to side. "Scum really shouldn't lie! Especially scum that is as lowly and cowardly as yourselves! Using people like me to fight your battles!

"To be honest, I already know that this is the real goal behind the orders that you gave to all of us reincarnators, due to some of the books that I hid away instead of destroying them as you told me to. You really should have kept a closer eye on my activities!"

Kyo then quickly turned to L'Arc with a serious expression. "Those books are inside of my old room in Sickle's castle, by the way. Twist on the right candle holder that is closest to the window counter-clockwise to reveal a hidden passage. Ethnobalt should be able to decipher everything I hid away with the cipher I made for the ancient language in those texts."

"Uhhh… right. I'll pass it along." L'Arc sweatdropped at Kyo's casual remark and nodded.

The godlings began to tremble in indignation while their leader silently watched on, the corona of energy around him coalescing and hardening in response to his continuously growing anger.

"Ah, I see. I'm guessing that is why so many of the books in the Four Heroes Church showed signs of tampering." Mirellia commented then, keeping her fan over the lower portion of her face. "I take it you might have been responsible for such a thing?" She asked Kyo.

"Oh, certainly not, Your Majesty!" Kyo laughed and gave her a quick, genuine bow. "No, I'm afraid my work till recently was only limited to the countries of Sickle and Luvar in my world. Though, I was not the only one they have assigned to do things like this."

"I think I can safely say that Tact was another such agent," Aultcray stated the obvious.

"No idea who he is still, but if he was considered a genius with a harem who caused political headaches, regression of nations' technology, destruction of literature in regards to the Waves, or above all else; was obsessed with world domination, then that sounds about right!" Kyo laughed viciously. "Having the ability to resurrect is another obvious factor, as you pointed out to me earlier."

"Hmmm…" Aultcray and Mirellia both put their hands to their chins.

Funnily enough, Mirellia had turned away a lot of people from her kingdom who proclaimed themselves to be geniuses. It had mostly been out of gut instinct, but she had trusted such people as much as she did Tact. While quite a few had mysteriously vanished, some were set up in other countries, where they proclaimed how Melromarc had wronged them before while at the Conference of Nations.

She didn't know if these people were still in those positions or not, as Melromarc was shown in a far better light lately. But if what Kyo said was correct, then it would make sense.

"How many others like Tact do you have residing in our world right now?" Aultcray asked Sun Mask in a flat tone. "And do give an answer this time, I doubt the people of your world would appreciate you lying to Naofumi's father figure right now."

…

The leaders of Godworld grimaced, turned their heads away, hissed, and did other things to show their displeasure at that demand.

Perhaps throwing themselves into this position hadn't been the smartest choice on their part. If anything, surrendering had caused far more problems than they'd expected. Thanks to Kyo blabbing and spilling all of their secrets.

Though once they were out of Kidfumi's sight, it was more than certain that Kyo was going to pay. Big time. His contract's effects being temporarily on hold be damned. They would drag him back with them with their own hands if that's what it took. They would not forgive a humiliation like this.

"Several dozen." Moon mask finally muttered after her leader subtly gestured for her to do so.

What was that?" Aultcray asked.

"At least several dozen." Moon Mask said more loudly.

"Good, I'd like the names of each and every one of them so it is ensured that they are removed from our world at once," Aultcray ordered.

"You think you can-" Moon Mask began to raise her voice.

"You were the ones that surrendered, did you not?" Mirellia asked seriously. "If it is an unconditional surrender, as I'm sure your people are expecting, then you will give in to any demand we make, should it be within your power to fulfill it."

There was a reason Mirellia was known as the Vixen of Melromarc. She could bluff as well as any of them.

Star Mask peeked at his screen again, going so far as to hide it under his robes and then dipping his head into them to keep outside eyes from peering in. Whatever he saw then made him shake in indignation, making it clear that Mirellia's bluff turned out to be spot on.

"Yeah, they want an unconditional surrender," Itsuki said flatly.

"HOW!?" It was Star Mask's temper that broke first among the godling crowd. "THERE'S NO GAP TO SEE THROUGH MY PERFECT CLOTHING! YOU'D HAVE TO BE ABLE TO LOOK THROUGH THE INSIDE OF MY CLOTHING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT! SO HOW! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"Fueh?" Rishia tilted her head confusedly.

"Actually, I couldn't see it this time. You were pretty smart to hide it there. But you pretty much verified that what I said was right with your reaction." Itsuki shrugged with a cocky smirk.

"Ahahaha! Nice, Bow Hero!" Kyo laughed to himself. "I used to think they were pretty smart! But rile them up and they'll talk too much just like any other idiot in any world!"

This time, all the leaders glared at Star Mask, who trembled in his chair. Putting his screen over his head while sinking into his robes in an attempt to hide himself.

Sun Mask narrowed his eyes at Star Mask in displeasure, but, fortunately for the latter, he did not disappear in a flash of light, unlike his comrade from earlier.

"That information now, please." Aultcray put the conversation back on track.

"Give us the information on these operatives in our world too while you're at it," Glass demanded next.

"What?! But that isn't part of the deal!" Moon Mask yelled angrily.

"Tough. We're connected to Kidfumi now." L'Arc said in a ballsy tone. "And since we're pretty much allied with his parents as well, that means you're surrendering to us too!... unconditionally is the word, right?" He looked at Mirellia with a sweat drop going down his face.

"Indeed." Mirellia smiled behind her fan at him.

L'Arc slouched in relief. At least he'd gotten the word right. Politics was hard…

…

You almost would have expected a fight to break out then and there.

But then, L'Arc turned out to be right.

Sun Mask said nothing and silently gestured at Moon Mask again with his hand and the female godling summoned two pieces of paper before starting to write on them. The first one for Aultcray was quite small, with no more than thirty names on it. Mirellia looked it over, humming to herself in thought as she was able to identify almost every single name on there on sight.

Indeed, many of these individuals had tried to establish themselves in Melromarc in the past. One was currently in Melromarc, actually, doing odd jobs for her country's nobility.

That was going to change after this.

The list for Glass and L'Arc, on the other hand, was quite long. It spanned several pages, actually. With hundreds of different names all residing in various countries in the world. One of the only exceptions on that list was a country named Lapis.

"What the heck…" L'Arc stated in disbelief as Moon Mask continued to write with a deep scowl painted on her lower face that wasn't covered by her mask.

Kyo walked over and examined it himself. "Huh, you had even more operatives in our world than I knew about. Though I understand why since we have some advantages like higher EXP monsters as well as monsters that give easy access to soul-killing weapons for Heroes. Which is pretty much the only way to make sure you guys die, by the way." Kyo gave his employers a wide malicious grin as he spoke the last bit.

Being able to finally speak his mind freely without consequence after a lifetime of silence was starting to get into his head, it seemed.

"Oh, do you mean like this one?" Motoyasu asked as he changed his spear to the Soul Eater Spear before the group of gods could make a retort.

But judging by how all of them, including Sun Mask, immediately recoiled, Kyo's words were right on the money.

"Stop this at once! Stop talking!" A cat masked godling demanded fearfully.

"Hmmm… no." Kyo's grin widened even further in maddening glee.

It took Moon Mask more than a few minutes to finish out the list, under Sun Mask's watchful eyes. Though Godworld's apparent leader was far from calm himself, despite trying to outwardly appear to be in control. Literal flames were beginning to surround his mask again from how angry he was.

After the list was done, and after examining it for some time, L'Arc and Glass's eyes fell as they came across names they recognized.

"The Harpoon and Musical Instruments Heroes are working for them too…" Glass muttered.

"As well as the Mirror Hero and Kenshiro's younger brother." L'Arc gripped that page particularly tightly. "Did he have something to do with my best friend's death?"

The leaders stayed silent at his accusatory stare. But then, Glass spoke up again. "Are these people also the reason why Kizuna disappeared?"

…

"I know she shipwrecked near Mikikage. But no one reported ever seeing her there. I wondered if they had been lying or not. But if you had something to do with it…"

…

"No, we-" Sun Mask tried to speak out again only to be interrupted by the rogue Book Hero again.

"YES! YES THEY DID!" Kyo shouted passionately and slammed the desk in front of him with the palms of his hands, his expression furious and defiant. "I was supposed to be the one to eliminate her! Those were my orders! My task! But I was taking too long since I didn't want to kill Kizuna, so they ordered somebody in Mikikage to take care of her instead! I don't know what they did or how they did it but they're the ones responsible for whatever happened to Kizuna! These scum told me that much themselves while taunting and torturing me for failing to do it myself!"

Sun Mask did not resume with whatever he was going to say and simply looked on at Kyo silently, the aura of malice around him intensifying again.

"We…" Star Mask looked between the screen of his tablet and their leader a few times and then, gulped audibly. "Yes, we did order the Mirror Hero and our other operatives in Mikikage to capture her. Rest assured she is still alive though."

…

"Where is she?"

Words couldn't do justice to the tone Glass's voice took. Needless to say, it was absolutely terrifying. And the aura of malice that appeared around her briefly overshadowed the one surrounding Sun Mask.

"Um, well, she's-" Star Mask looked at his leader for guidance again but the man was biding his time.

"W̷̮̠͋͛̎Ĥ̷̭Ẻ̶̡̨͚͂R̸̼͍̾̚͜Ȇ̴̟̱̽,̴̳̖̀ ̵̙̏̈͌I̵̩̝͆͂S̵̼̟̅̕,̶͇̹̈́̂̎ ̸͍̋S̸̺͕͍͠H̶̙͍͓̾̃Ë̸͇́̂͂?!" Glass said slowly, but with a roar as she stood up.

Her fans were already starting to turn a dark shade of red before everyone's eyes while her red pupils brightened considerably.

The leaders of Godworld began to look at each other frantically. Besides Soul Eater Weapons, Cursed Series weapons could also become capable of trapping or possibly destroying souls. Depending on the Cursed Series and especially if they ranked up high enough.

L'Arc, Therese, and Kyo all widened their eyes while the first two rushed toward their friend to try and calm her down.

"It's ok, pretty lady."

But then, suddenly, both Naofumi and Raphtalia appeared around Glass's waist. Raphtalia had been the one that spoke, as Naofumi had moved to hold one of Auntie Glass's hands to help calm her down.

…

Glass slowly looked down at the two kids. Who both stared up at her in return.

…

After several seconds, her fans turned back to normal. She sighed as she hung her head and sat back in her chair. "I'm sorry… you two had to see me like that."

"It's fine. I get angry sometimes too." Naofumi said reassuringly as he began patting her head. "Just remember we're here for you whenever you need us."

It was, needless to say, an immediate mood improver for the spirit woman.

"Hghghghghghgh." Star Mask peeked at his screen again. "Whyyyyyyy…"

"Seriously, they-" Moon Mask began to ask after a deep sigh.

"They are." Star Mask said venomously.

Itsuki's eyebrow went up again. "I should ask, is that like, a stream or something? Those were a lot of angry comments I was reading there on the side of your tablet. At least, the ones I could read. Actually, I didn't realize so many people in your world speak Japanese. Are they doing that just so I'll be able to read what they're saying and be able to tell everyone else here what's going-"

"Will you stop invading my privacy!?" Star Mask yelled at him.

"They still stream on devices? I thought that became unpopular after VR reached the point that you could watch your favorite gamer in the game world." Ren muttered to himself.

"There's still room for the classics!" Star Mask roared in anger. It appeared what Ren had said there had hit quite the nerve.

"No, I think he has a point. VR is a much better form of entertainment." A godworld resident wearing a dog mask said seriously.

"Ehhem, what were those comments saying, er, Bow Hero?" Kyo motioned to Itsuki.

"Oh, they were just calling for the release of this Kizuna person," Itsuki replied.

…

No one spoke for a long while. Glass was staring straight ahead in disbelief. While L'Arc and Therese also couldn't seem to believe what they'd heard either.

"Does… does that mean they actually have the power to do that right now?" L'Arc asked, sounding hopeful.

"Well, if they do, I guess this shall make things easy then." Aultcray finally spoke after another moment. "As another part of your 'unconditional surrender', as my wife so wonderfully put it, this Kizuna will be released from wherever she's been held captive for the last few years and brought straight here post haste."

Sun Mask looked like he was being forced to drink poison and the rest of his entourage was not doing any better. But Aultcray's intense gaze didn't relent in the slightest. "I'll at least assume you're capable of accomplishing that right now, yes?"

…

"Very well. If that's what our... 'people' want, then so be it… Anubis, Bastet, grab her and bring her here." Sun Mask ordered while audibly gritting his teeth.

The two figures wearing a Dog Mask and a Cat Mask didn't try to protest and disappeared in flashes of light.

After being missing for several years, and after all known ways of trying to track and find the missing Hunting Tools Hero had failed, you would have thought it'd take at least some time for this request to be carried out.

Nope. It was super easy. Barely an inconvenience.

Mere minutes after they departed, Cat Mask and Dog Mask reappeared in another flash of light outside the room. This time, they were accompanied by a third person. A short girl with long brown hair dressed in a gothic style dress. She had a fishing pole slung behind her back with a gemstone embedded in its reel.

"Whoa, what even is this place?! This looks so cool! Even cooler than Big Bro L'Arc's castle! Did I tell you that it's been several years since I last talked to someone again!?" Kizuna asked excitedly.

"Just go to your friends over there before we rip off our ears." Dog Mask spat out bitterly.

"This girl is so freaking annoying." Cat Mask muttered in agreement.

"Ehhhhh!? I'm not annoying! I just haven't been around people for so long and you guys just randomly appeared and teleported me out of my prison dimension, which I just thought was super cool by the way and- wait, L'Arc, Glass, Therese! Is that-" The girl began to say in surprise.

"KIZUNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Kizuna's eyes went wide, but she was already on the floor. Three of the four Otherworlders had their arms clamped tightly around her, bawling their eyes out. But it was clear that Glass had reached her first, as she had Kizuna gripped to herself tightly while sobbing the hardest of them all.

"WAHHHHHHH! I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!" Glass continued to bawl loudly.

"DON'T YOU EVER DISAPPEAR ON US AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME!?" L'Arc was bawling as well. The tears kept flowing like a river down their faces.

"A-A-Air!" Kizuna pleaded from the confines of their crushing full-body group hug.

L'Arc and Therese got the message, and immediately let her go. However, Glass continued to cling to Kizuna tightly. Still crying out as she did so.

"Never… I'm never letting you go ever again." The spirit woman continued to cry. "I'm so sorry for before! I should have never let you go alone!"

Kizuna sighed as she stayed hugging her best friend. "I'm sorry too. You must have really missed me a lot because of that stupid fishing trip, didn't you?"

"Don't worry, I don't know what's going on, but I'm not planning on leaving you guys again anytime soon! You can count on it!"

…

Star Mask glanced at his tablet again and scowled in disgust as a series of heart and tear emojis was spammed in the comments section by the people of Godworld. "Freaking Yuri fans, man." He muttered under his breath.

His remark brought about a slew of angry comments directed specifically at him, and he paled as he realized the viewers of Godworld had heard what he said. "I should not have said that. I definitely should not have said that."

…

It took quite a few minutes for Glass to finally recompose herself. And another minute after that before she finally released Kizuna from the hug, allowing the smaller girl to breathe more easily.

"Ah, so you are the young woman our friends here told me so much about." Aultcray approached with a smile.

"Um… who are you? Where's King Berg at?" Kizuna asked quizzically. "Also, who are they? And them? And now that I'm thinking about it, why are you guys not dressed in kimonos? And why do you have your hair done up in twin ponytails Glass? Not to say it looks bad or anything, I think it looks really cute actually!" As Kizuna spoke, Glass began to blush heavily at her best friend's compliment.

"And why am I at this super awesome-looking castle? I don't think I've ever been here before, and I definitely don't recognize the town outside, and… you know what, I'm pretty much lost. I have no idea what's going on right now. Heheh. Oh, but I recognize Kyo there! HI KYO!" Kizuna said excitedly upon seeing the Book Hero and waved happily at him.

"Er… hi, Kizuna." Kyo greeted her back awkwardly. Waving his hand back weakly as he did so in a way that showed he wasn't used to giving such a friendly greeting.

The Godworld Leaders breathed a sigh of relief. At the very least, the attention wouldn't be on them for the moment, so they should try to convene and try to figure out how to salvage this before-

"So cool! It's a pleasure to finally meet Glass's best friend!" Naofumi raced up, stars in his eyes as he looked Kizuna all over.

"Eh? Glass, did you have a kid while I was gone?" Kizuna asked confusedly.

"NO!" Glass roared almost too loudly while blushing bright red. "No, er, this here is Naofumi. He is the Shield Hero of the world we are in right now, and- actually, I can see how that would be confusing now, as well as the reason why I am dressed in this outfit instead of my normal garb which I would never normally consider switching and- you know what, we should explain things from the top, right L'Arc?" Glass muttered at the end, blushing heavily in embarrassment.

"L'Arc, my love, if you would." Therese smiled happily while giving her fiancee a sweet smile.

"Er, do I have to be the one to explain everything?" L'Arc asked weakly.

"If you do, I'll make it worth your while later," Therese said innocently while batting her eyes at him.

L'Arc's mouth instantly went dry. "Mmmmghhhhhhh!" He had to fight to keep himself from screaming out from the sheer horniness his hot fiance had just inspired from him.

It might have helped that Naofumi began glaring at him in distrust. So he managed to somewhat hold his cooties-backed enthusiasm in on himself. "Ghhhhh- S-Sure thing, Therese. I'll look f-forward to it." He managed to say, with most of the horniness in his voice missing.

Therese smiled as she gave L'Arc a peck on the lips in gratitude. Despite his best efforts, L'Arc still melted into a puddle of love on the spot.

Kizuna's eyes began sparkling. "No way! DID YOU TWO FINALLY GET TOGETHER WHILE I WAS GONE!? I REALLY HAVE MISSED A LOT!"

"Y-Yeah. Let's see then, um…"

Only a few minutes later, after recovering from the feelings of love he'd been under, L'Arc explained all the important details to Kizuna, during which she got to play around a bit with Naofumi, who'd once again taken to ignoring his older bro's existence.

"A sister? Hmmm, you seem more like an aunt to me." Naofumi commented out loud at one point.

"NO, I'M THE BIG SIS!" Kizuna yelled, her face taking on a funny expression.

It'd always been her dream to have a younger brother! And now she finally had a chance for that to happen! Besides, being called an aunt made her feel too old!

"Eh, but what about Auntie Glass and Therese?" Naofumi asked confusedly.

"You can call them your aunts! But I want to be the BIG SIS!" Kizuna yelled again.

"Don't I already have Big Sis S'yne though?" Naofumi asked Raphtalia curiously.

"Yeah, as well as Melty and Meanie and Amber and Sadeena and..." Raphtalia looked curious as well. "We have a lot of big sisters already, don't we? Wouldn't it be better to call Kizuna our aunt?"

REEEEEEEEEE! KIZUNA WOULDN'T SETTLE ON ANYTHING LESS THAN BEING THIS KID'S BIG SIS!

...

Afterward, when L'Arc was finally done, Kizuna nodded her head. "Ah, so those people there are behind a major world-ending catastrophe worse than the one I was summoned for. Kyo was one of their agents and came here on their orders to destroy this world because of this kid Hero. And now they're surrendering because of him as well?"

"More or less, yes," Kyo answered. He was still standing awkwardly to the side. Not quite close to Glass and the others, but still close enough to participate. "I… um…"

"You were about to become a mass murderer while I was gone because these masked weirdos told you to?" Kizuna asked him in a dry voice.

"..." Kyo hung his head. "I had my reasons, Kizuna, so I will not apologize for my actions. I did what I had to survive. But none of it matters anymore anyway. Through a bizarre twist of fate, our world will now be safe and you are back too on top of that. Regardless of what happens to me after this meeting is over, I am content with this resolution, so long as everyone is kept safe."

"Hmmm, I see…"

...

Kizuna nodded and then turned to face the leaders of Godworld. "Well then, if it's also true that you're basically fulfilling whatever desire we want due to your unconditional surrender to my new little bro here, then I want my friend Kyo to be released from his soul contract with you guys!"

As large as the previous demands had been, this one seemed to be the straw that broke the pantheon's patience. The group of godlings reeled back at her words. Even Kyo looked shocked at Kizuna's demand of them. "Kizuna, but-" He tried to protest weakly.

"No butts!" The girl cut him off and ran up in front of the Book Hero before hopping up to tap him on the nose slightly, startling him. "You only did bad things because you were being forced to against your will, right? Then screw those guys! You'll be able to stop doing bad stuff with this and join us for real!"

Kyo sputtered in shock. He tried wracking his mind for any words to respond. But for once, he was absolutely speechless. He had no clue what to say whatsoever.

"Released...?..."

A dark foreboding pressure enveloped the room as Sun Mask's calm facade of indifference cracked at last.

The ground began to tremble and shake as the castle's ancient walls groaned. The hair adorning Sun Mask's head unfolded completely and transformed into angry, lashing tendrils of living fire as he slowly stood up. The rest of his body transformed as well this time. Shimmering wings as black as the darkest night sprouted from his back while fire and inky black smoke began to pour out from his robe. The exposed parts of his skin turned the color of burnt charcoal with glowing veins of molten metal pulsating beneath the unearthly flesh.

In a single swift motion, Aultcray flipped the table separating the gods from the Heroes away while with a flick of his staff, a multi-layered magic barrier popped into existence, shielding their entire group. Ren brandished his sword and took point next to the king from one side while Moto took the other. Itsuki pulled his bowstring taut behind them, pointing his weapon right at Sun Mask.

The rest of the crowd was quick to jump into action soon after that. The stronger party members moved in front of the Queen to provide her additional protection while the rest moved around Gaelion, who stirred and got on his four feet. Spreading his wings out while readying himself for battle.

The temperature in the room spiked within mere moments as the air began to grow distorted around the chief god's form due to the amount of heat that he was emanating. The stone floor beneath him turned red, then white, and then began to melt away.

"YOU WANT HIM RELEASED?" Sun Mask roared, his voice distorted and warped as if he was speaking in a thousand different tongues at once.

Kyo fell over backward, shaking uncontrollably and sweating profusely from both the heat and fear, unable to face the sheer amount of killing intent that was being projected. He was so high earlier on finally being able to speak his mind for the first time in decades that he had completely forgotten who exactly it was that he has been badmouthing for the past hour exactly.

This was it then. The end of the line and the beginning of a new life of unimaginable torture. And yet, he did not have so much as enough dignity left to face it with his eyes open. Instead, he crawled into a fetal position on his side on the floor and covered his head while shaking furiously as he awaited what was to come.

"Yes! I want him released!"

The sharp, confident voice was like a bucket of ice water to Kyo's senses. His eyes shot open and he looked up to see Kizuna standing in between him and the leader of Godworld. There was no trace of fear on her features as she boldly and defiantly stared the devil in front of her down.

"FOOLISH, IGNORANT CHILD!" Sun Mask's voice rumbled with deafening intensity, making the walls of the room shake. The edges of his mask, forming the beams of light around the sun began to melt and twisted inwards like horns, transforming the mask's serene, enlightened expression into something straight from a nightmare. "KNOW YOUR PLACE! I HAVE PERMITTED YOU TO BE RELEASED BECAUSE YOU WERE NOT YET OURS! BUT THAT WORM WRITHING ON THE FLOOR BEHIND YOU SHARES NO SUCH LUXURY!

"HIS LIFE, SOUL, AND BODY; ALL OF IT BELONGS TO US! HE IS OURS TO USE! OURS TO THROW AWAY! AND OURS TO DESTROY IF THAT IS WHAT WE DESIRE! HE SOLD IT ALL TO US OF HIS OWN VOLITION! HE IS THEREFORE OUR PROPERTY! OUR PLAYTHING! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DEMAND HIS RELEASE!"

"So what!?" Kizuna did not twitch even as the edges of her dress began to blacken from the heat. "He made a mistake by associating with cowardly bullies like you! Big deal! Do you think you have the right to own him just because of some cheap piece of paper that's not even worth wiping your butt with? Well, I say that I have the stronger claim because he is my friend!".

"Sir, S-Sir, please!" Both Star and Moon Masks tried to approach their leader but were afraid of getting too close out of fear of being incinerated by his wrath.

"YOUR FRIEND!? WHAT KIND OF PATHETIC EXCUSE IS THAT?! HOW DARE YOU DEMAND WHAT IS OURS BY RIGHT!" Sun Mask either completely ignored his subordinates or did not hear them as he took a single step forward toward Kizuna, which caused a minor earthquake.

"I WILL NEVER COMPLY WITH SUCH A DEMAND! WE ARE GODS AMONG GODS! WE ARE INFINITELY YOUR SUPERIOR, STANDING SO FAR ABOVE YOU THAT YOU WOULD BREAK YOUR NECK TRYING TO LOOK UP AT US LONG BEFORE YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO CATCH EVEN A GLIMPSE OF OUR GLORIOUS MIGHT! WE WIELD ALL THE POWER IN THIS UNIVERSE! YOU ARE ONLY ALIVE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE PERMIT IT AND YOU WILL DIE THE MOMENT WE GROW BORED OF WATCHING YOU STRUGGLE THROUGH YOUR SHORT, WORTHLESS, AND PATHETIC LIVES!

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS DEGRADATION! I WILL NOT ALLOW AN INSECT LIKE YOU TO TAKE EVEN A SINGLE SPECK OF DIRT FROM BENEATH OUR FEET, LEAST OF ALL A SOUL OF ONE OF OUR SERVANTS! IF THAT STUPID CONTRACT WON'T KILL THAT WORM, THEN I'LL DO IT MYSELF RATHER THAN RELINQUISH THAT WHICH IS OURS!"

"Oh yea!? Then I'll tear his freedom right out of your gross sticky hands! Come on, big guy! Let's throw down and see if you're a real hotshot like you say you are, or just some random dude full of hot air!" Kizuna, against all logic and reason, brandished her weapon and placed herself directly in front of the Book Hero. She continued to glare up at the terrifying figure before her, whose power was making him look less like a god and more like the devil now.

Yet, despite that, she was not afraid. "Kyo is my friend! If it's true that you have been using him for all his life, then I'll never forgive you! Come on Glass, L'Arc, Therese! Let's kick this guy's butt just like old times!"

As if a switch had been flicked, the three otherworlders leaped into action next to Kizuna with practiced ease. It was like they had only been separated for a single day instead of years. And their own fears evaporated under Kizuna's confident command as they brandished their weapons and glared at their enemy with similarly infuriatingly defiant looks."

Sun Mask roared in anger incoherently. He raised his black hand, a large fireball beginning to form in it to obliterate the Hunting Tools Hero from existence. And due to her weapon restriction, it didn't matter what level she was either, that arrogant brat would die from this attack. He'd make sure of it!

"Your courage is inspiring, Hunting Tools Hero, but I must ask you to step back."

A powerful gust of wind blasted through the room, smothering the flames and blowing away the black smoke enveloping Sun Mask's form. The suffocating heat rapidly dissipated as well, replaced with a crisp still chillness accompanied by the smell of brimstone, as the melting floor beneath the chief god had cooled in an instant.

A new intense aura of power was now coming from the opposite side of the room. Something that made even the scales on Gaelion's hide stand on end. Everyone quickly turned their heads at its source in surprise.

Fitoria had gotten up and was calmly approaching the seething Sun Mask. The Carriage Necklace around her neck was glowing brightly, but only a fool would have thought that to be the source of the power that was steadily filling the room and displacing the black smoldering evil across it.

This power was coming off the Legendary Queen of the Filolials herself.

"If you feel so strongly about the Hunting Tool Hero's demand, 'Sun Mask', then perhaps you'd be willing to fight Fitoria over it instead?" The all-powerful Bird Queen challenged the leader of Godworld. "After all, it would be quite embarrassing for someone as great and powerful as yourself to fight a 'foolish ignorant child', would it not?"

The aura of power around Fitoria, which had already been crazy before, instantly intensified after she finished speaking. Several of the leaders of Godworld found themselves holding onto their masks out of fear of them being blown away. There was such a threatening atmosphere around the Bird Queen now that some of the godlings even began trembling in terror.

"Carriage Hero." Sun Mask hissed out, his voice more focused but no less furious than before. "Have you grown so arrogant over the years as to believe that you can challenge us? You would not survive that battle." The flames around Sun Mask flared to life again, fueled by a new wave of anger.

"... No." Fitoria, after taking only a few seconds to think, responded. "The one who has grown arrogant is you, I think."

The aura around the Filolial Queen briefly vanished. And then, it was replaced by something far greater and far more powerful in comparison.

Sun Mask's remaining flames went out in an instant. He had to hold a hand up to his face as his body began to be pushed back just from Fitoria's mere presence.

Every other member of Godworld found themselves crumpling on their hands and knees from the pressure as Fitoria took a step forward and then another. The other Heroes, though surprised, did not fall to their knees like their enemies had.

"As was pointed out earlier by one of your allies, all of you, the ones responsible for the deaths of many members of Fitoria's flock over the centuries, are now at level One," Fitoria spoke, her voice carrying a deathly calmness to it. "This is because you've never stepped foot in this world before now. Instead, you always chose to hide behind your underlings, letting them get the job done for you out of fear that Fitoria herself would respond to your trespasses."

"I have sat in silence throughout this meeting thus far out of respect for the Filolial the Shield Hero and his friends have raised, as they hope for peace as much as I do. But if you truly think that I would ignore the chance to take retribution for the lives of all the friends I've lost because of your world…"

"Then you'd be sorely mistaken." The last part was whispered in Sun Mask's ear from behind, making him instantly turn his head around in shock.

However, Fitoria was still standing in her spot before him. Standing as calmly as ever with her hands resting behind her back.

Only, there was now a long gash along the side of Sun Mask's robe. Blood slowly trickled from the wound underneath. Red as wine and hot as magma. From behind, one would see claws made of wind magic resting over Fitoria's hands.

…

Sun Mask's eyes slowly blinked, anger now fighting with fear in his expression as his hand touched the blood leaking from his side in stunned amazement.

He hadn't even blinked, and yet he hadn't been able to track Fitoria's movements at all! Not only that, her attack had gotten past all the defenses around his body, and she hadn't even been burned from touching his skin! That was impossible! Just how strong had this stupid bird gotten over the centuries?!

"You… YOU… YOU-" Sun Mask began to howl.

"S-S-SIR!" Star Mask finally found enough courage to tap Sun Mask on the shoulder slightly, while his leader's cloak of smoke and flames was temporarily extinguished thanks to Fitoria's mere presence.

"WHAT?!" Sun Mask turned to his subordinate, who cowered back in great fear. The look in Sun Mask's eyes could only be described as demonic. And his mouth was beginning to froth, adding to that image. "WHAT IS IT NOW!?" The chief god roared.

"O-O-Our shareholders, sir." Star Mask gulped fearfully and flipped his tablet around to show what was happening on its screen.

…

What the leader of Godworld saw made him freeze and then visibly deflate like a balloon.

Not only that, his angry expression shifted into one of pure terror for the first time in this meeting.

"Whoa… was that your headquarters that just got blown up there?" Itsuki asked in shock. "I gotta say though, the video quality on that thing is superb! It almost looks like I'm watching it in real life! And wow, the comments section is even starting to call for Sun Mask's head there! What the heck did he do to tick them off so much and- oh." Itsuki's voice trailed off, his gaze going to another part of the room.

Star Mask's gaze as well as everyone else's followed.

Naofumi and Raphtalia were sniffling and hugging each other fearfully, looking at Sun Mask in downright terror. They'd slowly gotten more and more scared of him as the last minute had progressed.

And as Sun Mask finally noticed it himself, he blanched even more. "W-Wait, children! I was only angry at this worm there!" Sun Mask pointed a shaking finger over Kizuna at Kyo's still shuddering form. "That kid doesn't even like him! Heck, hardly anyone here should like him since he cussed around your Hero! So it should be fine for us to bring him back and punish him, right? RIGHT!?" He yelled up at the sky.

I mean, he was right. The Book Hero had cussed around Kidfumi! That definitely should have been grounds for torture and murder in the eyes of the shareholders! What reason did they have to not allow this to happen!?

…

Instead of receiving an answer from the viewers on stream, Kizuna spoke up then. An idea hastily came to her mind to make sure that Kyo would be saved without violence. "Hey, Naofumi, don't worry about my friend here! He's actually really crazy smart and makes lots of cool things!"

"Really? Um, what kinds of things?" Naofumi asked meekly, slowly walking up and looking down at the weird book guy with wide innocent eyes while the latter slowly pulled himself up from his fetal position on the floor. He was still shaking, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Well, er…" Kyo again faltered in his words. He had no idea what was going on anymore. Deep down, he wasn't even certain if he deserved to live after all that he'd done. But Kizuna apparently thought otherwise.

"Well, I know for a fact that he knows how to make an ice cream machine!" The Hunting Tools Hero spoke excitedly, her eyes shining with mischief. "And I mean the real good stuff! Proper soft serve and swirly in a crispy wafer cone and everything!"

"Wha- How do you even know about that!? That's supposed to be my and Yomogi's sec-" Kyo started to say to Kizuna in surprise.

"REALLY!? ICE CREAM!? THAT'S SO COOL!" Just like that, the aura of fear around Naofumi disappeared entirely. He also had stars in his eyes. It was the sign that Naofumi had just found another fine addition to add to his collect-

I mean, his family. He meant his family, obviously!

"What's ice cream?" Raphtalia tilted her head to the side curiously.

"You don't know- THAT DOES IT! WE DEFINITELY NEED THAT ICE CREAM!" Naofumi said, his nostrils flaring with determination. "KYO'S STAYING WITH US!"

Awwwww, how adorable.

Uncle Bald Guy shook his head from where he was standing in front of Mirellia, muttering something to himself. Most of the others were also doing the same. It probably wasn't the most desirable thing for them. But then, when would they ever go against Kidfumi's wishes?

"Well, er… I don't even know if it'd work here since it requires the magic systems in my world to function." Kyo said lamely, finding himself unable to lie to such an adorable face. Yet just like that, the threatening atmosphere that'd filled the room before had already been washed away entirely thanks to Kidfumi's innocence. Even some of the godlings were smiling fondly at the kid again.

"Then, before I make my final demand, I'd like to ask something, if you are done with your tantrum," Aultcray said grimly to Sun Mask while conjuring a new table with a flick of his staff. The new table landed on the floor with a loud clatter, separating the heroes from the gods again and returning a bit of civility to the discussion once more.

The various godlings looked at the Staff Hero, then at their leader, and then at Fitoria who still stood there, staring just as calmly at them as before. "Well, two somethings, actually." Aultcray quickly added, as everyone slowly moved back into their original seats.

"What else do you want?" Sun Mask asked bitterly as, with a flick of his wrist, his appearance was restored to his original one, and his wound was healed.

Though no one held any illusions anymore about what the golden robes and mask truly hid behind them.

Aultcray studied his Staff some more. "Are you responsible for my son missing the hero power-up methods of his weapon? As well as most of the other knowledge that the other Heroes had stored in their weapons?"

Sun Mask sputtered. "W-Wh-What makes you think we'd even be capable of something like that?!"

"The comments section on your device," Itsuki said, pointing to Star Mask's tablet.

"Oh come on! How?! HOW?! You shouldn't even be able to read our language! Your weapon's auto-translation feature only works with spoken word!" Star Mask threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Well, yea." Itsuki nodded in agreement. "But as I pointed out earlier, a lot of your people are speaking Japanese. And even if they weren't, there are only so many ways that you can interpret the chat being continuously and repeatedly spammed with a gun emoji pointing to a sun emoji, you know?"

"... I hate this generation so much." Star Mask muttered venomously and tossed his tablet down on the table in disgust.

The chat feed was now being repeatedly filled with the star emoji followed by the poop and brain emojis.

"Well, besides that and the fact that you are responsible for the Waves between worlds," Aultcray spoke again. "I understand that you seem to be capable of all sorts of things and have your hands involved in various places from removing knowledge on the Waves in our worlds through your operatives to even kidnapping and hiding away Heroes that could cause you problems." The King continued in a clear, authoritative tone. "And if my assumptions on at least some of the strengthening methods my son possesses are correct, then I could understand 'why' you'd want to make them unknown in the first place. Much like you did with two of Kizuna's methods here."

"Oh, you know about that?" Kizuna asked curiously. "You really did tell them everything about me, didn't you Glassy?" She smiled at the raven-haired woman.

Glass blushed heavily again, but smiled for her best friend.

"So, if you wouldn't mind restoring the Shield's methods back to us, that'd be greatly appreciated." Aultcray finished addressing the leaders of Godworld. "And perhaps, you could restore the methods of this girl's weapon too while you're at it."

…

"The first one is [Sharing and Understanding]." Star Mask spoke after taking a deep sigh.

"Wait, seriously?! We're giving them up just like that?" Cat Mask asked, flabbergasted.

"It's related to the brat there. If we try to lie or keep silent, then the other gods will definitely overthrow us, if they aren't planning on executing our leader already after we return." Star Mask muttered. Almost all his anger and venom were gone at this point in the face of the reality of their situation.

The others didn't argue, not even Sun Mask. Star Mask was able to proceed from there.

Since it was related to him, Naofumi did pay attention again, as well as his Shield.

His first method, his core method, was called [Sharing and Understanding]. That might sound like a stupid name, but it was actually pretty awesome! It made use of the sharing mechanic between Heroes strengthening methods and boosted the power of those strengthening methods the more they were shared between the Heroes of their world!

It was no wonder why his Pillow Shield kept on becoming softer and softer every time methods were shared between Heroes! It'd been working passively in the background that whole time! Though now that he knew the method, it made that boost even stronger.

Which, yes, led to his Pillow Shield attaining a new tier of heaven that would surely make the Spirit Tortoise wake up again just so it could fall asleep on this little bundle of paradise.

Strange how I can actually see that happening now despite how illogical that sounds. Shield-Chan commented on Naofumi's HUD.

Yeah, strange.

Anyway, beyond that, the next two methods were [Trust] and [Energy Boost]. Trust was simple enough. The wielder grew stronger the more people in the world trusted in him/her. And those the Hero trusted became stronger as well. This had also been working passively in the background, but now that Naofumi knew it, its power was increased tremendously. Making all those around him way stronger than they'd been before.

It also allowed the other Heroes to learn it, and thus see the impacts upon them and those they trusted in turn. "Is this the power of friendship at play?" Motoyasu asked incredulously. "I never thought that trope would ever become real like this!"

Ren's smile grew even bigger. Wyndia and the others had just become far stronger on his party HUD. This was an even greater blessing than he'd been anticipating. And it made his friends happy seeing just how much Ren trusted in them.

As for [Energy Boost]... it made a new bar appear under Naofumi's SP bar on his HUD. He had no idea how to use it, but as knowledge was returned to his Shield via the member of Godworld, even his own weapon was stunned by it.

Whoa. This essentially takes that old lady's way of training and condenses it for easier access for Heroes.

So, like, it'd allow him to unleash a nuclear attack just like Itsuki and Rishia?!

No. I'd still limit you to only defensive moves with this, brat. But at the very least, you won't have to train for months or years to be able to use life force like other people. You could probably train in some of the basics in a week, maybe less.

BOO! STUPID SHIELD!

You're the one that's stupid for always wanting to attack when this world has enough attacking-focused heroes already! And did you not read where I said you wouldn't have to go through all that work like the Bow Hero did!?

JUST LET HIM KILL A BALLOON WITH ONE PUNCH! THAT WAS ALL THAT NAOFUMI WANTED OUT OF LIFE!

NO! WISEN UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR FREAKING SHORT LIFE!

NO! HE WAS GOING TO REMAIN A YOUNG AND IGNORANT KID FOREVER!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The mental argument between weapon and wielder continued unabated while Star Mask gave Naofumi's last method and the two methods Kizuna was still missing from her weapon. However, even while he was doing that, Itsuki was sitting in his chair in stunned shock.

'You mean… THERE WAS A FREAKING SHORTCUT TO LEARNING LIFE FORCE AND HENGEN MUSOU THIS WHOLE TIME!? AND THESE PEOPLE DELETED IT FROM NAOFUMI'S SHIELD, FORCING ME TO GO THROUGH ALL THAT HELLISH TRAINING! WHY COULDN'T I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT IT BEFORE NOW?!'

"Ufufufufufufufufu!" A new, different kind of demonic presence made itself known in the corner of the room, making the Bow Hero pale.

"It sounds like with this, all that latent potential I see buried yet deep inside of Itsuki-dono will finally be able to be unleashed. Perfect! I'll be able to train him harder than ever after this! Hiya!" Granny laughed to herself evilly.

Actually, maybe it would have been better if Itsuki had never learned about it.

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Oh well, guess this was his life now. He was probably going to have to deal with old Granny for as long as she was alive, which knowing his luck, would likely be at least another hundred years with how spry she acted.

"There, you have your stupid methods. Now what is the other thing you want?" Sun Mask asked impatiently. He was trying to hide his trembling as all the Heroes that were present had just seen their powers drastically increase thanks to Naofumi's methods. And the Otherworlders had been given a modest increase as well, due to Kizuna's method as well as [Trust] being applied to them too.

It really was their worst nightmare coming to pass! Even he felt scared being there right now! And Fitoria was already scary enough as it was!

"Yes, are there any particular downsides to two worlds merging together?" Aultcray asked Sun Mask in response.

…

"... … what?" Sun Mask asked in a deadpan.

"Based on my understanding of things, you very much fear any world that isn't under your control. And seem to do all that's in your power to prevent two four hero worlds from merging together while trying to subjugate them or destroy them via the Waves. So I'll ask again, are there any particular downsides to having our world merge with their world?" Aultcray asked again, pointing to L'Arc and the Otherworlders.

…

"I mean, besides the obvious changes to geography, geology, and star constellations; as well as the sudden mishmash of different countries being thrown together…" Kyo was the one to answer, finding some of his confidence again after witnessing a little girl put the CEO of Godworld in his place earlier like he was nothing but a schoolyard bully. "Not really. Not only would the new combined world have all of its heroes and people, but the magic systems of both worlds, the ores and monsters of both worlds, the crops and foods, and other commodities of both worlds. And on top of all that, it would almost guarantee that Godworld would never try attacking said world via the Waves ever again due to how much stronger those Heroes would become from being able to share 48 methods with one another."

"You honestly think we wouldn't-" Sun Mask clasped his hand over his mouth. Star Mask's screen was still visible, and the rioters looked almost ready to go beyond property damage and start a civil war on their world.

Perhaps Kidfumi's Shield had brainwashing properties after all.

"Hmmm, do you think the other countries would appreciate suddenly having new neighbors to deal with, my love?" Aultcray asked his wife.

"Our world's religions might have something to say about it… but I think I'd be able to handle it, dear." Mirellia smiled behind her fan. "I'm not known as the Vixen of Melromarc for nothing."

Aultcray smirked at that with a nod before facing the leaders of Godworld again. "In conjunction with that then, as the final terms of your unconditional surrender, you will continue the Waves between our two worlds. But you will stop involving monsters and the like with them so that our merging will be more of a peaceful one."

"Y-You do realize how it works, right?" Star Mask asked. "While we might use some of our powers to attract hordes of monsters to go through to the other side and battle you at increased strength due to Wave Energy accumulating in the world over time, the Waves themselves will tear at the fabric of reality in your worlds with or without the monsters participating.

"While, at a certain point, the realities would be damaged enough to allow the two to merge with one another, you'd still need to deal with famines and hurricanes and other natural disasters up until and soon after that point. It'd be an ecological nightmare for your world to deal with! Millions could suffer from it!"

…

...

"Fitoria has been alive for a long time."

Everyone's heads turned back to the smaller angel girl. "Fitoria has been alive for so long that she can recall when this world was only the Shield and Bow world. And how after the Spear and Sword world merged with Fitoria's world, things were chaotic for a time, as you said. It was hard for everyone involved."

…

"But things did get better. And the world became much stronger after it was all said and done." Fitoria pondered something for a moment, then she nodded her head. "Fitoria's daddy made her promise to protect the world he loved. So if having Fitoria's world merge with another world again will allow Fitoria to honor that promise, then I will do whatever I can to help guide everyone with mitigating the potential consequences of another world merger." She said.

The godlings there stared at the bird Queen in shock.

L'Arc was the first of the Heroes to smile and chuckle after Fitoria's speech. "Well said. My world has already been suffering a lot in the last couple of years. I can guarantee that if this works, my people would be all for it if it meant they'd never have to deal with the Waves of Catastrophe ever again. And even if most of the leadership in our world is corrupt, I think the people in those countries would also agree to being given a way out of this mess."

"I agree," Mirellia said. "While I can't speak on behalf of my whole world, I know that our greatest desire is to be rid of the disastrous Waves once and for all. If this is the cost of doing so, then so be it. At least we can spend time readying ourselves for that day."

"And hey, it's not like we haven't had to deal with famines and other natural disasters already! Right, Naofumi!" Motoyasu asked excitedly.

"Oh, yeah, like that one famine, the one we dealt with using that strange seed!" Naofumi said, actually remembering the event Motoyasu was referencing, for once.

"And since we've dealt with most of our opponents in this world." Aultcray continued with a hand to his chin. "I get the feeling us Heroes would be able to go out in full force to assist whenever and wherever we're needed up till the world merger alongside Fitoria unimpeded."

"Whatever helps me to escape Granny's training." Itsuki sweatdropped after speaking.

"And whatever it takes to make sure this world is safe for those I care about." Ren nodded his head determinedly.

Wyndia fell in love all over again at his words. And stars shined in the eyes of everyone there at the thought of their world finally having true peace from a world-destroying calamity once and for all.

S'yne, who'd been quiet almost since the start after her initial talk, teared up a little again. If… if only her Armor Hero could have seen something like this happen for their world…

"Don't worry, Big Sis S'yne. We'll be looking forward to having your help too." Naofumi, almost as if sensing her feelings, appeared in front of the cool white-haired girl and smiled up at her. "And if I heard you correctly earlier and you really did lose your home world, then you can consider this your new home world now. You'll always be our Big Sis!"

S'yne sniffled again. And then she hugged the kid tightly to herself while lightly sobbing in gratitude and relief.

The leaders of Godworld all looked at one another. They didn't even have to look at Star Mask's tablet to imagine all the hearts and tears being emoted over Naofumi and S'yne's interaction there.

To think all of this happened because of one stinking child hero.

One that was… admittedly cute… adorable even, really. Especially right now. But seriously, just look at all the trouble he'd caused for them! This went FUBAR on them in the worst way possible! Sun Mask was probably going to be executed after their return. And now besides that, their worst fears were being realized as they were going to have to move out of this section of the multiverse as this world would stand in the way of future conflicts in this area and-

"I believe that you have some promises to keep on your end now." Aultcray interrupted their thought processes. "Unless your people have something to say about it?"

"... fine, we will use the Waves to merge your worlds together." Sun Mask said through gritted teeth.

"And?" Aultcray asked.

"We will… remove our operatives from your worlds and never seek to come back." Sun Mask continued, the gritting of his teeth growing louder and more pronounced.

"And?" Aultcray asked again.

…

"We will… … nullify… that… pathetic worm's soul contract." Sun Mask barely held the venom in his voice back as he stiffly pointed a finger at Kyo.

"And you'll do that now? So we can be sure that you won't renege on your other promises?" Aultcray pressed on.

"Ha, do you really think that you could even stand up to us if… … oh, forget it. Let's just get this over with and leave before I get sick." Sun Mask shook his head. He was so utterly done with this. Even if it meant giving up their conquest of these two worlds and losing valuable soul capital in the form of that worm, he would have to do it. The alternative was too severe to consider.

If he kept pressing this issue, the other gods would remove him for sure. For all of his great power, he knew that the board of directors would turn on him and join the protestors in an instant if the situation became truly and completely unsalvageable. They would use him as a scapegoat to save their own lives without hesitation, just as he would use them if their roles were reversed.

And there was also that stupid fat bird to consider too... There was no mistake, he felt it in his bones the moment she wounded him. She could strike him down whenever she wanted to do so. It'd be better to finish this now and avoid her at all costs.

As an immortal, the one thing he feared above all else was death. He did not want to die under any circumstances. Especially while soul-killing weapons were around.

Sun Mask muttered some words under his breath and then a bunch of black chains tightly wrapped around the book hero's body became visible for a moment, only to immediately fall off, crumble, and vanish like they were never there. Kyo shakily raised his hands and looked at himself for what felt like the first time in his life.

"Kyo Ethniba… You are… nghhh… henceforth released from your contract. This means that all the benefits that come with it, like your cheat skill [Search Engine] and your partial immortality, are now null and void." Sun Mask said with barely restrained anger.

"Your performance was incredibly poor, so you will not be receiving a severance package." He added spitefully at the end.

"Wait, we have those?" Star Mask whispered to Moon Mask quizzically.

She just shrugged in response.

"I… I… … …"

Kyo still looked stunned, looking his body over, still feeling like it was the first time.

It felt almost too good to be true. But when he tried to pull his cheat skill up on his HUD, he found out that he really couldn't access [Search Engine] anymore. He was free.

He was free.

He was free…

…

"I..." To everyone's shock, tears began to flow freely out of the rogue Book Hero's eyes as he slowly sagged on his knees and began to whimper and cry.

He was so happy to finally be free! He didn't have to die and get his soul destroyed or get tortured for eternity after all! He didn't have to go through with his grand plan of acquiring all that soul power by murdering millions to accomplish his desires! This knowledge brought him such immense relief!

And yet he also felt incredibly guilty and sad over so many things! For the life that he lived back in his original world. For what he'd gone through since being reborn into his world. For the things, he'd almost done to escape Godworld's contract with him. For the things he'd almost had to do to those, he cared about. And…

While everyone else was experiencing extreme whiplash from the Book Hero's sudden change in behavior, Kizuna, who'd still been next to him before this, moved down to his level and hugged him, resting his head on her shoulder. "Shhhhh, it's ok. You're going to be okay now, Kyo." Kizuna began to comfort her friend.

Kyo's whimpering and sobbing turned into a messy bawl at that point. His glasses fell off his nose onto the floor with a clatter as thick tears ran down the sides of his face. His arms gripped tightly to the Hunting Tool Hero's back. "Kizuna! I'm… I'm so…!"

"It's ok. It's ok." Kizuna continued to say while smiling sadly.

"I've, I've wanted to be able to do this for years!" Kyo responded between cries. "I'm, I'm so sorry for keeping so many secrets from you, Kizuna!"

After the first apology left his lips, the rest flowed like a river out of the Book Hero's mouth.

"I'm so sorry for throwing your friendship in your face time and time again!"

"I'm so sorry for not telling you or Ethnobalt or anyone else that I was only helping out against the Demon Dragon so I could betray everyone to Godworld!"

"I'm so sorry that I called L'Arc and the others idiots and useless peons who could barely follow the plans I was giving them when I was only jealous of the fact that they could be close to you while I couldn't!"

"What?!" L'Arc fumed in offense, but Kyo continued on regardless.

"I'm so sorry that I never accepted going on any of your fishing trips! I wanted to go so badly but couldn't because Godworld didn't want me becoming friendly with you, and because I wasn't there when you got shipwrecked-"

"I'm just so sorry Kizuna! I don't deserve this kindness from you or Yomogi or anyone else in my life!

"I'm so sorry for everything!" Kyo continued to hiccup and wail.

"It's okay. I forgive you."

...

After a moment, Kizuna smiled brightly. "Now stop apologizing! When someone does something nice for you, you're supposed to say 'thank you', not 'sorry'! Got it?"

"H-Huh- Sorry, I'm not used to-" Kyo tried to respond but caught himself mid-word at Kizuna's pout, realizing his mistake before correcting himself. "I mean… thank you Kizuna. Thank you very much. I… I don't know how I will ever be able to repay you for this. You-"

"Don't mention it!" The Hunting Tools Hero cut him off as her even brighter smile from earlier returned in full force. "But if you really want to do something nice for me in return, then make sure that you don't miss out when we all go fishing again next time!"

"Ah… heheheh." Kyo chuckled a little even as tears kept flowing down his face. "Of course. I'll join for sure next time then. I promise."

Neither one of them said much more after that. Kizuna simply continued to hug the lightly sobbing Book Hero. Rubbing his back as she did so.

It was really quite a surprise for many there. Even the leaders of Godworld. They'd always thought the reincarnators they hired/used were all pretty much the same cardboard cutout type of villain. But there'd obviously been something they overlooked with Kyo…

Or maybe it was the Hunting Tool Hero's influence that made him have a change of heart? Hmmm…

"Urgh. Whatever. This sniveling worm is of no consequence to us any longer." Sun Mask turned towards the exit. "If that's all, then our business here is concluded. For better or for worse. Praise your Gods for this act of mercy we are granting to you henceforth by abandoning our ambitions in your worlds."

"Um… why is he acting like they're the ones that won here?" Moto asked confusedly.

"He's probably trying to save face with his pride," Itsuki said blandly.

"Yeah, so lame." Ren agreed. "Not cool at all."

"DOES YOUR ARROGANCE KNOW NO BOUNDS!?" Sun Mask turned harshly at them, his eyes flaring to life again.

Crack!

Fitoria cracked her neck into place, before cracking her knuckles in front of her. "No, please, go ahead, start a fight. Absolutely make Fitoria's day."

…

"Meep." Star Mask and the others trembled where they stood.

Sun Mask paled once again but set his mouth into a permanent scowl. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to plot a way to get his revenge on this world after today, no matter how long it would take or what he had to do to accomplish it.

Before they could leave though, Naofumi ran up to them. "Wait, these Waves, are they going to continue on other worlds? Are you still going to destroy other worlds just like you did with Big Sis S'yne's world?"

Sun Mask glared down at the kid Hero. "Of course, just because we're going to stop here doesn't mean that we're going to stop elsewhere! Our conquests will go on for eternity!" He didn't even care that he was yelling at the creature Godworld had come to love the most. He'd get his revenge on this kid in the future when he wasn't adorable and innocent anymore! The kid and his fat birb too!

He swore that he would!

…

The leaders began to tremble as Naofumi looked at them with a super sad face. "Aww man, destroying worlds makes me sad. I mean, I can understand how it'd be fun to cause a little chaos here and there, but is it really a good thing to take joy in making so many other people suffer and get hurt for your entertainment?"

"I mean, just look at Big Sis S'yne. She lost her world, her entire family because you all wanted to have some 'fun'. And then you kidnapped Glass's best friend and made them both very sad for years just for 'laughs'. Does any of that really sound like something that'd be considered 'fun'?

"Plus, how can you continue to have fun if you just destroy everything and ruin everyone's lives? Isn't it better to help people out every now and then instead so they can brighten everyone's days with their smiles?"

"If hurting others is all you think that fun is supposed to be, then I don't think you guys are very good people." Naofumi shook his head in disappointment while pointing a finger at Sun Mask. "I guess I see why your people are letting someone so mean and lame represent them now. I bet all of you are just as mean and lame as him."

…

Sun Mask looked like he'd just been kicked in the balls. The look on his face, the parts that could be seen under the mask, expressed absolute bewilderment at what the kid Hero had just said to his face. And…

"O-OH NO!" Star Mask trembled in terror at what he was seeing on his screen.

Kidfumi's words made the entire public of Godworld do a complete 180. It wasn't just the shareholders, EVERYONE wanted the board of directors ousted from power and their conquests all over to be halted immediately. TV's blaring holographic wars and life-or-death battles between heroes and monsters on various screens were torn from their slots. Images of every single one of Kidfumi's heartwarming and otherwise wholesome/chaotic moments were displayed for everyone to see on all media outlets.

The message was clear. The residents of Godworld had had enough. They were ready to tear down the old world they'd trapped themselves in and embrace the new world and the wholesomeness that little Kidfumi brought with him wherever he went.

Those who'd been loyal to the leaders of Godworld suddenly found themselves trying desperately to fight back against the rebels and their overwhelming numbers, but it was very clear which side was losing right now!

Heck, even some of those who'd supported the wars and bloodshed since they loved the content so much had experienced a change of heart after Kidfumi's speech. Which almost became like a chant for the people on camera.

This was bad.

This was VERY BAD!

"L-Let us return at once!" Sun Mask yelled fearfully.

He disappeared into a pillar of light first. And then the others quickly followed suit.

Moments later, all of them were gone.

It'd be unknown for a while if they survived their return home. But we might learn such details… eventually. But just like that, the meeting with the leaders of Godworld had ended.

…

"Um, so, does this mean we won?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"Honestly, I'm not too sure I even understood most of what just happened." Uncle Bald Guy said as he walked up and rested a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Oh! You remind me a lot of Romina! Are you a blacksmith too, by any chance!?" Kizuna asked excitedly while still patting a softly sobbing Kyo on the back from her spot on the floor.

Glass, L'Arc, and Therese couldn't help but laugh at the confused look that appeared on the blacksmith's face. "What the heck is she talking about?!" He asked them.

"Do not worry." Glass smiled a small, sincere smile. "If those individuals do fulfill their end of the bargain, then I am certain that you two will get to meet each other in person soon enough."

…

Elhart found himself shuddering.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to meet this Romina now. Especially with the way the Otherworlders, sans Kyo, were starting to grin.

Nuh-uh! No way! He was too old for this kind of stuff!

"Don't worry, son," Aultcray said with a proud grin on his face as he rested a hand on Naofumi's other shoulder. "I think it's safe to say that we've won at long last."

"Really?" Raphtalia asked from beside her best friend with wide innocent eyes.

Aultcray laughed. "We still have lots of work ahead of us. But for once, I think I'll choose to be optimistic."

He and everyone else began to laugh as well. Though this time, in joy. Some tears might have also been shed as a giant weight that'd been on everyone's shoulders gradually began to fade away.

While the road ahead was long, they knew where they were going to end up now.

So they could take every step forward with confidence that things would work out from here on out.

Author's Notes:

Yay! We have finally reached the true climax! And things are truly looking up permanently not just for Naofumi and Kizuna's worlds, but every other world out there! I'm sure that whatever happens next in the Epilogue, we're going to see a lot of happy endings for all the members of our cast!

I'm going to look forward to that. But for now, how about I give you guys two omakes that are like Hope/Diligence omakes? They don't affect anything in the main story and exist just to be funny. I promise.

See you all in two weeks when this story officially ends!

Hero Clips!

Sun Mask gets Nut Tapped

"You… YOU… YOU-" Sun Mask began to howl.

"S-S-SIR!-" Star Mask tried to approach while Sun Mask's flames were extinguished, but before he could do so...

"RAHHHHHHHHHH!" Sun Mask screamed as flames burst anew around him again. He sped forward like a blazing star, intent on incinerating Fitoria on the spot for wounding not only himself but his pride as well. When...

Crack!

Fitoria, completely ignoring the flames surrounding Sun Mask, proceeded to kick him in the nads. Stopping him dead in his tracks and making him double over.

Fitoria set her leg back down as she stepped back. Using her hand to flick away an ember that'd landed on her shoulder. "Now that hit felt satisfying to Fitoria." The legendary queen of the Filolials commented to herself.

"Hiss... ohhhhhh..."

It wasn't a killing blow. as Sun Mask's hiss and moan of pain indicated. But it'd definitely make the sun god wish he'd died there.

"S-Sir?" Moon Mask asked unsurely. The other godlings were looking at Fitoria and him in downright terror.

"Hiss... ohhhhhh..." Sun Mask hissed and groaned in pain again. He had fallen over onto the floor at this point and was laying on his side. His hissing and moaning didn't stop either.

"Hiss... ohhhhhh..."

Sun Mask continued to hiss and moan again and again for a long time. It was so long, actually, that the atmosphere started to become less scary and became more awkward for everyone there.

Everyone waited for the CEO of Godworld to finish hissing and moaning in pain so they could continue. However...

"Hiss... ohhhhhh..."

It appeared that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. All the Heroes, sans Naofumi, who had begun playing around with both Kizuna and S'yne simultaneously while they waited, sweatdropped at what they were witnessing.

"I guess he really was full of hot air after all," Ren said dryly after a moment.

"You can say that again." Itsuki rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"Hiss... ohhhhhh..."

Yeah, they weren't able to take Sun Mask seriously after that. And what little sense and credibility he had left was permanently lost as Sun Mask awkwardly hissed and moaned in pain for an incredibly long time afterwards.

Hero Clips!

The Shield Hero's Pets

"This here is my friend Draco."

Gaelion, the large and fearsome dragon emperor, let out a soft purr from his throat as Naofumi pet him on the head. "He's strong and awesome like all dragons should be."

"I love this kid more and more."

Naofumi's smile grew bigger as he moved to the right. "Then this here is my friend Raptor."

"Rowwrrrrrr." The large, Tyrant Dragon Rex, which hadn't appeared anywhere in the story up till this point, let out a loud roar. Which then turned into a purr at the end as Naofumi began petting its foot, which turned into even louder purring when it lowered its head so he could pet its snout again.

"He's more like a dinosaur than a dragon. But that's okay because dinosaurs are also super cool!" Naofumi said happily.

"Rowwwrrrrrr!" Raptor let out a loud roar of agreement. Translated, it would mean: "I have only known this kid for five minutes. But if anything happened to him, I would kill the entire world and then myself afterward."

Yep, totally awesome. Not possessive in the slightest.

"Next up is Gamera. You already know who she is."

Naofumi moved to the side, where, yes, THE FREAKING SPIRIT TORTOISE ITSELF was resting against the ground. It was cuddling its head against the large and super soft Pillow Shield that Naofumi had summoned just for it.

Indeed, it had been worth it to wake up again just so that it could experience something as soft as this. Gamera, as she would henceforth be known from then on, would be Naofumi's loyal pet from that moment forward!

"Last but not least, this is my friend Fitory."

Fitoria, who stood next to Gamera in her Filolial Queen form, did not look amused. "It's Fitoria." She said.

"Fitato." Naofumi responded.

The legendary queen of the Filolials sighed. "This doesn't make any sense."

Oi, since when is good crack ever supposed to make sense?

Regardless, Naofumi did end up collecting quite a few exotic pets in the end. And the fans could rest easy knowing that while there were some things that just weren't possible in the main story, there could still exist omakes where their fantasies were made reality.

Though, the narrator could have sworn there was one pet that Naofumi had left to introduce.

"Fitoro?" Naofumi tried.

"It's Fitoria!" The large bird demanded.

"But I need a name that fits the Jojo reference!" Naofumi pouted. "It's in the title, after all!"

"You have Granny for that! Fitoria is Fitoria!" Fitoria argued with the child hero.

"Rafu!"

Yep, that probably wasn't an indication for what Naofumi's last hidden pet might be. Kekekekek.

See you all in two weeks!

Till Next Time

Allen