Beheaded (dead cells) as the sword hero
Shovel knight (shovel knight) as the spear hero
Madeline Badeline (celeste) as the bow hero
Juan Aguacate (guacamelee) is the shield hero
Chapter 1 - the summoning
Shovel knight was out doing his daily routine of exploring, digging, slaying the occasional monsters, and more digging, but it was slightly different this day. He heard from a fellow traveler he had encountered, there were some old ruins close by with some treasure in them but the area was full of monsters, but for Shovel knight that was just a usual adventure to him, he got to the ruined temple and made short work of the monsters. He looked around for treasure, but found mostly antique and old stuff like vases and statues, granted those could be worth a pretty coin, but he would much rather have jewels or coins since they were easy to carry and exchange but he couldn't deny that it was possible that the place was either already explored and it's loot already taken, or that the traveler was referring to treasure in an archeologic sense
But before he could think of leaving the place, he saw a big chest that looked untouched by time and people
"This should be good," he said as he approached the chest and open it with his shovel, inside were a few gems and coins but at top of them was a book
"Strange, why would someone put a book together with riches? Perhaps its contents are what's worthy about it?" He picked it up and open to see what it was about, as soon as he did, a bright light came from the book and engulfed him
Juan had helped prevent El Salvador from obtaining the Sacred Guacamole by accessing El Otromundo, defeating him in combat, thanks to him, a situation that could have led to the collapse of every timeline and the end of the entire Mexiverse was averted, however, he was still in another timeline away from the ones he loves and his only means to return to his family and home was by traveling through El Otromundo,he stared at the infinite sea of doors, each leading to a different timeline and universe before he could think of what to do, a bright golden light began to appear in front, he assumed a fighting pose when in a sudden flash, he and the light disappeared
Madeline was chilling at home making a pie to herself and her 'roommate' of sorts, more like 'soulmate' really
"How much time is left until it's done?" Badeline asked
Badeline was a twisted and mirrored version of Madeline herself created by a supernatural mirror she encountered during her climb through Celeste mountain, they had been at odds during the climb, with Badeline going so far as try and kill Madeline, but after they talked it out and accepted each other as a part of them, they had become as one, Badeline helped Madeline overcome her fears and anxiety as well as helping her climb the Mountain, and together they were able to reach the top of the Mountain and finish their self discover journey
Madeline thought Badeline would disappear after they left the Mountain, due to not being in the magical place anymore, but all it did was make her lose her physical form, becoming an intangible spirit that only Madeline could see, she was happy for having Badeline with her
"About 10 or 20 minutes," Madeline said as she put the pie in the oven, she suddenly heard a notification on her computer saying she had an email, she came to check to see if maybe it was one of her friends that sent a message but it hadn't a name or address attached with it
"This is weird" Madeline said
"Watch out, it could be a scam or virus" Badeline responded, something about this wasn't right, they had a VPN and anti-virus installed so their PC would be fine, but she could at least be careful
"Right" Madeline moved her mouse to the message with a more serious expression, the moment she clicked on it, a blinding light was created from her computer monitor
"Aaaaahhh!" Madeline screamed while Badeline grid her teeth, as both were consumed by the light, disappearing from the room
In the malaise-infested island whose name was long forgotten, in the deepest part of the Prison dungeons, the homunculus known as the Beheaded was doing what he always does, brutally massacring any infected ghoul or monster who stand in his way, he was about to head on to whatever sort of path that would lead him out of the dungeon or off this dammed isles. But before he could do so, he went to loot the corpses of his latest victims, 'who knows? Maybe these poor forsaken shells of plague might have good money or weapons with them' the Beheaded thought to himself
As he looked through the bodies, which were carrying mostly nothing but junk, he found a book inside the chest of one of the monsters 'did it eat it?' He looked at it with his no existing eye and flaming head, and he tossed it backward 'don't need that' He lifted himself and was about to walk off, when suddenly...
Thud!
The Beheaded was hit in the back by something, he flipped backward, holding his weapon, ready to kill the son of a bitch who did this, but found no one, he looked around and nothing was there that could attack him, looking at the object that hit him, only to find the same book as before
"what the hell?" He picked it up again and began analyzing it more carefully "is it some sort of boomerang?" He asked himself, suddenly the book open itself and bright light began to suck the Beheaded into it, he tried to escape but failed, the book closed itself after consuming its victim, disappearing in a flash of light
"We did it! The summoning was a success!" A man covered in black robes said as he and other robed figures saw four humanoid figures covered in golden light began to appear in front of them, each holding a weapon
"O brave heroes please save our world and our people..." a man in black ropes said, as the light began to disappear, he began to have a better look at the summoned individuals.
The one wielding a spear was covered head to toe in a bulky-looking light blue armor with slight gold details, wearing a helmet decorated with large horns that seemed to make his face invisible, he was supporting himself with the spear as he put a hand to his face as he was recovering himself
The one wielding a bow was the smaller of the bunch, she was also the only female of the group, with pale skin, brown eyes, and long thick burnt orange hair with one wayward curl, her outfit consisted of a white shirt with long sleeves and pink details, and loose-fitting pants, she was sitting on the floor while scratching the back of her head with her left hand
The one wielding a sword shocked the robed man when he saw what was in front of him, he had what appeared to be a mysterious shadowy, gas-like substance, with a glowing crystal inside in the place his head should be in, his body was covered with what looked like a cheap and dirty adventurers outfit, with the skin it showed being a blue color, whatever this was it, it was definitely not human
'What is this thing? This can't be our Saint of the sword!' He thought, he drifted his eyes to the last of the group
The one wielding a shield was the tallest among them, he also had a very tan skin tone compared to the bow wielder and the robed figure himself, he was not wearing a shirt, which made his well define muscles visible to all to see, in his chest was what looked like a heart covered in rose thorns with green colored feathered wings sprouting outwards, with what looked like a crown of fire above it, his arms were covered in bandages, he had a large belt with a golden buckle with something draw in it, it seemed more like a symbol of achievement rather than something used for in a day to day sense, for some reason the robed man didn't understand, he was wearing blue underwear atop his pants, he had white long boots. He also had a dark blue mask with teal-colored details on his face, he stood up, towering among the people in the room, he closed his fists and took a pose of a combat-ready fighter, he briefly dropped his guard when he saw the shield strapped to one of his arms, but he assumed his stance once again soon after
The robed man decide to try and prevent the situation from escalating by starting his speech again
"o great heroes of legends, we have summoned you all with an ancient ritual to help save our world from catastrophe!" The roped man continued "Our country is in the middle of a crisis! A rift has opened from another dimension, and monsters have come crawling into our world in great waves"
"Heh?" Madeline said as she began to regain her senses, lifting herself from the ground
"What do you mean by that?" Shovel knight asked, before noticing that he wasn't holding his shovel anymore, instead, there was a spear with a white, gold, and black design "What happened to my Shovel?!?!" He screamed as he looked around the room for his precious weapon
"I understand that this must be a shock, but time is of the essence!" The man in ropes said "will all of you help us and our kingdom?"
"I..." Juan was unsure what to say, he had thought these people kidnapped him but that didn't seem to be the case, he was summoned once to save the entire Mexiverse so this wasn't strange to him, but it still made him conflicted, he wasn't someone that would just leave people to die without doing anything, but at the same time, he had a family to return to and he wouldn't leave them waiting
"I'm sorry, I would help if I could, but I have to return to my family, I can't abandon them" he said in a strong and melancholic form
"Y-yeah, can you send us back?" Madeline asked as she hugged her bow, she was not sure how to handle this, she was not experienced or prepared enough to do something like this, she wanted to go home, to her family and friends...
'Don't worry, I'm still here' a voice Madeline was all too accustomed to said inside her head, she sighed in relief from knowing she had Badeline with her
"I'm sorry heroes, but it's said that the heroes can only return home after all the waves are defeated" the man in robes responded
Juan let a heavy sigh as he lowered his head, letting go from his combat stance, he would have to be away from his family for longer, the thought of that broke his heart
Madeline and the other heroes saw this, at the sight of this family man heartbroken, she had the idea of asking for an alternative option
"Could you maybe send a message to our worlds then? At least so we can explain our absence to our families and friends" she said, Juan looked over to the little lady by his side of him, as a smile appeared on his face
"I...don't know if that's possible bow hero, never before was something like that done or tried" the robed figure explained "I'm sorry for our incapability" he finished saying with a respectful bow
"No it's alright" she looked a bit down as she said that "I am sorry, mister..." Madeline said as she looked over to Juan, who was with a neutral expression on his face, but it became a confident smile as he looked at Madeline
"Juan, and don't be, you at least tried and that's what matters" Madeline smiled as he said that
"Huh *cough* so heroes, does that mean you help u-" he couldn't finish his sentence, as the Beheaded put his sword to the man's throat
"What's in it for us then?" The homunculus asked "you're asking a lot of us, especially me, with no real incentive" he pointed to the other heroes behind him "I don't really care about those guys, but you kidnapped them from their homes which doesn't incite confidence for me, and now you are asking us to save your sorry butts just out of a goodwill and trust me, I don't have a lot of that left" he would have continued, but Shovel knight put a hand to the Beheaded shoulder and pushed him back a bit
"Though I can't say you're not completely in the wrong if you keep this violence up, I will personally remove you from this world" the hero of the shovel(spear) responded
Both stared at each other, seemly about to start a fight depending on an answer to a none existing question, but before they could do anything the robed figure responded first
"If it's compensation you seek, The king of this great country is the one with the power and resources to reward you, not I. Please let me lead you to him, his majesty is most eager to meet you all" He motioned with his hands as he led them out of the room
They went through a flight of stairs going up, and when they passed a window, all of them stared at the city below
"I never saw a kingdom like this..." shovel knight said, in all his travels it was the first time seeing a kingdom that looked like this, so many houses and shops filling the streets, with lots of people walking around and doing business, not even the capitals he saw back then were this big, this was not a small kingdom, this was capital of a mighty nation!
"This is definitely not México..." Juan spoke, did that mean he wasn't even on the Mexiverse anymore? His questions only growing more and more
"Or Canadá..." Madeline complimented, it looked like something out of a history book or fantasy movie
"..." The Beheaded just stayed quiet, he walked forward and placed his hand on the window
"You okay?" Madeline asked
"...There's no malaise..." he responded
"What?" Shovel knight was confused by what the Beheaded said, he didn't know what that word meant
"No corpses are filling the streets, no plague-infected ghoul or monsters to try and kill me, no insane lunatic eating a dead baby or something" he would be crying if he had eyes "I'm not there anymore! I'm out of that godforsaken island!! I'm free!!! I AM FREE!!!!!" He spread his arms outwards as he looked up to the ceiling and began to laugh loudly
All three of them and the man in robes guiding them stayed in shock from the information they received, the behavior of this creature in front of them finally made sense, he was from some sort of plague-infested land, filled with monsters and lunatics, it was probably horribly disturbing to anyone from what he described, which might be the reason for their 'less than desirable' personality
"Huh Heroes, let's continue on, the king is wanting" the man in ropes said
They all looked at him, which made him flinch, but they all followed him nonetheless
As the four heroes and their guide approached a set of large doors leading to the largest section of the castle, they all knew what was ahead.
The robed man turned to them. "Beyond this door lies our king, please try to show some respect" Once again that was said as a plea, not an order.
As the doors opened and they began to enter, they all looked around the room, they noticed the whispering from the knights in the room, as well as the whispering from a group of people on a high balcony, but they decided to ignore that
The four finally focused on the king, who was sitting on a throne, he was a elder man with long white hair, wearing a crown decorated with a few gems and clothes that looked better made than the ones the nobles were wearing, his face looked serious and his stare had a commanding aspect to it
The heroes walked forward a bit to about 10 meters to where the king was, Shovel knight kneeled as to show respect, Madeline and Juan followed suit, with just the Beheaded standing up
"Ah, so these are to be our heroes..." The king glanced at them for a moment. "I am King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, the King of our glorious country of Melromarc... now heroes, rise and name yourselves".
"Well guess I'm first huh?" The Beheaded said as he spun his sword and pointed it to the ground "I don't recall my original name, but you can call me Beheaded"
'This thing is the sword hero? why is such a disgusting creature the wielder of the holy sword?' The king thought to himself as he looked at the creature in front of him, he moved to look at the spear hero, who began his introduction after he lifted himself up
"I am known as Shovel Knight your majesty, an adventurer and treasure hunter" he said while doing a slight bow
"Shovel knight? Is that your name?" The king asked, it was clear that he was a knight by his manner and armor, but why a shovel?
"It was a title given to me by the kingdom of The Valley" he began explaining "Due to my achievements and feats, I was given my title by the Royal court, proving that the king itself saw me worthy of being recognized as a knight, not only bestowing me with great honor but also changing my name forever, as my title holds more importance than my birth name" he finished saying while putting his spear over his shoulders
"But why shovel knight then?" Madeline asked
"Because I fought monsters and dug for treasure with my Shovel blade, and you can't receive a title that already belonged to someone, so they couldn't call me Treasure knight or Digger Knight" he answer it
'A strange tradition, but it shows that he at least matches the title of hero' the king was pleased that at least one of them would be given him some respect as king, and by the way, he talks, he had experience on how to fight
"Very well" the king said as he then looked at Madeline
"I'm Madeline, I am 21" everyone in the room was taken aback by this 'she looks so young!' was all they could think "and I am currently working as a web designer" she finished saying, though everyone was still thinking about how young she looked
Juan shook his head, preparing to introduce himself "I am..."
"Good, Madeline, Shovel knight and Beheaded" the king said, seemly ignoring Juan, which was hard to do with his size
"Hey you skipped someone" the Beheaded said as he pointed at Juan
"He speaks the truth your majesty" Madeline responded
The king glared at Juan, for a brief moment his face looked disgusted and irritated, something all four of them noted
"apologies Sir hero, please introduce yourself" the king said,
"I am Juan Aguacate, 36, I was a farmer before becoming a luchador" Juan spoke, with the exception of Madeline, almost everyone in the room didn't know that word though somehow all of them knew what it meant
'So he is a fighter? Perhaps his a gladiator, that would explain that ridiculous belt, must be a stupid prize he won from a tournament of barbaric beasts!' The king thought in anger, but he made his best to contain himself
"Well heroes allow me to answer a question I am sure you four heroes have in your minds, the why we have summoned you four, as I am aware that you were informed, My country of Melromarc is in grave danger of a threat known as the waves." the king began explaining what the waves were. They could happen anywhere at any time, lasting for multiple hours or until the boss is killed. During that time monsters would continue to pour out of the wave and even after it stopped, any monster already here would remain until slain "The waves are said to become stronger over time. They last longer, and the wave bosses and all under them will be stronger. There are even written accounts of waves with more than one wave boss...It is best to summon you now when the waves are weak to give you time to strengthen yourselves to stay ahead of the waves growing threat".
"Strengthen ourselves? How so?" Madeline asked
"Yeah, I thought these 'legendary' weapons would already be at their peak strength" the Beheaded said, he was familiarized with having to use stronger versions of the same weapon but the sword he was holding looked fancy, not strong
"Ah, yes" The king responded "You are legendary heroes and those weapons you all carry are the 4 greatest weapons in this world..., but not right now" They all looked at him confused
"Each weapon has its own strengthening method. It gains strength alongside you heroes, as for you yourselves, could you activate your status magic?"
"Status magic? What's that?" The Beheaded asked
'Hey, that's a little thing in the corner of your vision' Badeline pointed out, Madeline looked and found a little cube at the edge of her vision, she focused on it and a menu popped up
[Notice] [Help Menu]
[This screen is called status magic]
[HELP GUIDE] [EQUIPMENT] [STATS] [WEAPONS MENU] [CRAFTING] [PARTY]
[EXIT MENU]
She attempted to click on the one saying 'STATS' thinking that was what the king meant by status, but as if it read her mind, it automatically click it self and the menu she was in changed into another
[Name: Madeline]
[Class: Bow Hero]
[Equipment] [go to the EQUIPMENT menu to see more details]
[Legendary bow (locked)] [other-wordly clothes]
[Level: 1]
[Health: 110]
[Magical Power: 40]
[Skill Power: 45]
[Attack: 20]
[Magic: 15]
[Defense: 7]
[Magical Defense: 9]
[Agility: 15]
[PERKS]
[Dash: launch yourself a short distance at incredible speed in the air or ground, you can use dash up to two times before it enters cooldown]
[Mountain Climber: you have an easier time climbing large structures]
[Strawberry Fanatic: you can regain a small quantity of health and stamina by consuming strawberries or foods with strawberry in it, doing so will also grant you a random buff or positive effects, every week you will gain a strawberry in your inventory]
'This is just like a video game!' Madeline thought, before warning her fellow heroes about it
"Guys! There is an icon at the corner of your view, just focus on it and a menu should appear" she said, with the other three doing as she told them, with their little surprised gasps serving as confirmation
Beheaded P.O.V.
[Name: the Beheaded?]
[Class: Sword Hero]
[Equipment] [go to the EQUIPMENT menu to see more details]
[Legendary sword (locked)] [other-wordly clothes and armor]
[Level: 1]
[Health: 130]
[Magical Power: 20]
[Skill Power: 45]
[Attack: 32]
[Magic: 9]
[Defense: 12]
[Magical Defense: 5]
[Agility: 20]
[PERKS]
[Homuculai biology: due to your unique condition, you can't be killed by traditional means, you can possess bodies as long as they are humanoid and in working conditions]
[Lack of empathy: you don't hesitate when killing other people and living beings, you can still form bonds and relationships, doing so will make it harder for you to kill them based on your bond with them]
[Out of the TimeStream: due to your experience with time loops and time manipulation, you have a small resistance to Time-magic]
Shovel knight P.O.V.
[Name: Shovel Knight]
[Class: Spear Hero]
[Equipment] [go to the EQUIPMENT menu to see more details]
[Legendary spear (locked)] [other-wordly armor]
[Level: 1]
[Health: 120]
[Magical Power: 35]
[Skill Power: 35]
[Attack: 25]
[Magic: 15]
[Defense: 15]
[Magical Defense: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[PERKS]
[Experience Treasure Hunter: you can find treasure and riches more easily]
[Master Digger: you can dig like no other, making giant underground tunnels and never-ending holes is child play to you (together with Experience Treasure Hunter: allows you to see buried treasure and precious gems in a short radius of you as long as it was buried naturally)]
[Code of Shovelry: shovels will be counted as Spear type weapons when you use them]
Juan P.O.V.
[Name: Juan Aguacate]
[Class: ¿?Shield hero?¿]
[Equipment] go to the EQUIPMENT menu to see more details]
[Legendary shield (locked)] [Sacred Mask (locked)] [other-wordly clothes]
[Level: 1]
[Health: 150]
[Magical Power: 40]
[Skill Power: 45]
[Attack: ¿?Error?¿]
[Magic: 15]
[Defense: 20]
[Magical Defense: 20]
[Agility: 10]
[PERKS]
[¿?¿?¿?¿?]
Juan's menu was all static and glitching, he didn't know what that was but he knew that wasn't normal, suddenly a message appeared
[¡ERROR!]
[Unknown item causing interference with the legendary shield]
[Analysing source of interference]
[...]
[Source of interference identified: Sacred Mask]
[Starting removal process of unknown item]
[...]
[¡ERROR!]
[Unable to remove Sacred Mask]
[...]
[Looking for alternative solution]
[...]
Suddenly, a white mask symbol began to glow over the glitching screen, and in a flash of pure white light, the screen began completely blank, but soon after it went back to normal, with a new message appearing
[MESSAGE]
[Legendary Shield and Sacred Mask have successfully synchronized!]
[Name: Juan Aguacate]
[Class: Shield Hero; Luchador]
[Equipment] [go to the EQUIPMENT menu to see more details]
[Legendary shield (locked)] [Sacred Mask (locked)] [other-wordly luchador outfit]
[Level: 1]
[Health: 200]
[Magical Power: 40]
[Skill Power: 45]
[Attack: 15]
[Magic: 15]
[Defense: 30]
[Magical Defense: 25]
[Agility: 20]
[PERKS]
[Pollo Power: you can become a chicken at will, while in this form you can perform special moves such as: (Pollo Glide: defy gravity for a short time, allowing you to sustain flight) (Pollo-Bomba: allows you to lay up to three eggs that explode at will or after 10 seconds) (Pollo Shot: allows you to ascend or descend diagonally). You can return to normal at any time, but you must wait 20 seconds before being able to turn back into your chicken form]
[Intenso: during combat, an Intenso gauge will appear, it fills up when using combos or when you successfully block multiple attacks in a row. Once full you can activate it, while in use, you become stronger and can deal double damage, once out of combat the Intenso guage disappears and you will have to refill it again once you are back in combat]
[Agave farmer: you have experience planting agaves, your agaves have a small healing effect and are good for digestion! every week you will gain an agave in your inventory]
Juan stared in disbelief at what happened, but he recomposed himself, looking at the shield in his arm
'Did the mask do something with this shield? And if so, why?' Juan thought but decided to not think about it, the sacred mask was full of mystery as to how it worked or act
They all stared at their stats, mostly satisfied with them
"What it's this your majesty?" Shovel knight asked
"That is what's known as status magic, many in this world have it" the king answered
"Are you guys also level 1?" Madeline asked and all of them nodded in agreement "so we got to raise our level to as high as we can before this next wave comes"
"Soo we just need to get this Level thing to a really high number to become stronger right" the Beheaded said as he looked to the king "This will be a lot of work and we've confirmed no rewards still..." The Beheaded commented
"Of course, you will be rewarded handsomely, and not just at the end, but after every wave, we will reward you, heroes. Every step of the way." A short man by the side of the throne said, probably the king's advisor
"Well There's four of us, so we just need to form a party.-" Madeline was about to say before being cut off
"Excuse me, but that won't do at all." the advisor said before explaining "Due to the unique qualities of the holy weapons, none of you can gain experience while near one another."
[Notice] [Help Menu]
[The four holy weapons dampen one another's growth while within close quarters. Distance is advised whenever possible]
" then how-"
"You must form parties separately. Gather strength then fight the waves together" The king responded
"Would that not mean that we won't receive any experience during waves?" Juan asked
"Unfortunately, yes... the waves will have numerous enemies that you can't receive experience for slaying, but you can harvest your prey to still gain power" the king once again answer
"Could you elaborate your majesty?" Shovel knight asked respectfully
"You should see this within your status magic, but it is said that the holy weapons can feed upon the fallen to gain new powers and forms"
A sudden notification appeared to them
[Notice] [Help Menu]
[The cardinal weapons can absorb objects to unlock new forms, new forms provide stat increases, as well as abilities. Fully mastering a weapon form provides its bonuses permanently and allows most skills to be used with another weapon form in use]
'Not just prey, but 'objects' as a whole? I'll just try shoving everything into it.' The Beheaded thought to himself
"Heroes you can ask us questions all day; however, your status magic should be a great aid. Please refer to it tonight." The king motioned to several servants.
"For now, please rest and adjust to these trying circumstances. Tomorrow I will introduce you to adventures who have agreed to aid you in your difficult quest. Between your status magic and seasoned adventures by your side, most questions you have will be answered soon enough".
The servants motioned to the heroes to follow.
The servants motioned to the heroes to follow. They were first taken to a dining hall, where they eat some of the local cuisines
'Man, I forgot how good food could taste!' The Beheaded thought as he put more bread in his face to an unexisting mouth
'This fish tastes like chicken, but it looks a bit like it too...' Shovel knight thought as he began to question if he had eaten a fish that tasted like chicken or if it was a chicken that looked like fish
'This cake is amazing!' Madeline thought as she put another slice on her plate
'Watch out, keep eating like that and you will get fat' Badeline teased as she pinched Madeline's waist under the table before both realize that they could physically feel that 'did I just touch you...for real?!' Madeline almost choked on that revelation
'This is good, but it could use some more spice' Juan thought as he bit through his meal 'wonder if they have guacamole?'
After dinner, they were escorted to a private room where they would pass the night, after they entered and the maid accompanying them had gone out, leaving the four heroes to themselves
[Authors notes]
To some questions I know you all might have:
- I wanted to keep Badeline with Madeline so they could provide more interesting scenarios to the story, I will try to not use her too much, but she will appear now and then when Madeline is thinking to herself or when she's in a pinch
- I don't know if I did a good job on the character's personality and interactions, if not, please say what I did wrong
- the whole deal with Shovel knight's name is a little headcanon I thought for this story, they never give us his real name in any of the games, so I decided to at least try and explain that
- some might not like that Juan's mask just overwrote the shields atk debuff, but this mask can swap between the world of the living and the death instantly, resurrect someone and it also granted Juan power to defeat Carlos Calada and El Salvador, two foes who are some of the most powerful people in the verse
- how do you guys feel about the [PERKS] are they op?
- How do you all feel about the character selection? The original idea for this fanfic was to be all about King Knight as the shield(i might still do that in the future) but then it moved to the knights of the Order of No Quarter as the cardinal heroes, then the idea of Shovel knight as the spear hero came to my mind since the spear hero is described as loyal to his friends, and shovel knight matches that description pretty well, but I thought it could be lame due to his personality and Motoyasu role in the story, and the alterations to the story would be minor. But then I was reminded of his inclusion in Dead Cells by the Castlevania DLC, and when I saw that Juan was also there, I knew that I could put the Beheaded, Juan, and Shovel as the cardinal heroes of the sword, shield, and spear respectfully, I just need it a Bow Hero, and thanks to a pizza tower and celeste fanart I saw on Twitter, Madeline was chosen and she canonically does archery as a hobby so it fits!