The Legendary Sword Spirit "looked" around in wonder, taking on the appearance of the basic sword form it held upon Ichigo's summoning to "see" an entire world within its wielder's soul. How was this possible, it wonders, searching its allowed archive memory to observe how the impossible being it had chosen as its most compatible wielder.
All of its previous wielders were lacking in either ability or personality as it was forced to accept its third choice in summoning their "preferred" hero. The Legendary Sword Spirit had over and over again been forced to watch as its hero was struck down by the indomitable power of the waves. If it wasn't during the first wave, it was the fifth, the twentieth, maybe even the fiftieth? Eventually their lives all ended the same way: surrounded by a vast horde of monsters too high leveled or skilled for them to overcome. And every death furthered the despair the Legendary Sword Spirit held within its "heart." It had prayed for a being that could survive the harsh duties required of a hero and at last the Spirit felt like its prayers were answered. Surely this man will be the one?
It had to know. The Spirit willed itself onward through the sideways city with towering skyscrapers that seemed to stretch into the heavens. There were dark clouds surrounding the city. Unknown to the Spirit it denoted its wielder's mood at being torn away from his family and friends and yet the sun still shined through in his unwavering desire and hope that he would see them once again. The Legendary Sword Spirit accidentally brushed the side of a building and a memory of an orange haired teen fighting a great monster flushed into its "mind." The Spirit saw Ichigo valiantly facing off against a soul devouring beast with an endless hunger with little more than a black katana and yet the little sword cleaved a crater into the endless sandy desert for miles.
The memory vanished from the Spirit's mind like smoke through its nonexistent fingers and found itself once more in the sideways city. The sword gazed in wonder and touched another building, this time Ichigo was fighting desperately against a hairy hamster monster before the beast escaped and Ichigo howled out his anger and pain at failing to avenge his mother's death. Once more the memory was gone and the Legendary Sword Spirit "looked" around to see the endless expanse of buildings likely holding a copy of all his memories.
The Spirit delighted in knowing its connection with its current wielder will probably be the closest it has ever come to. And yet… something felt wrong. What was this feeling? Dread? The Spirit "turned" to find a pair of sickly gold irises and black sclera boring into its very soul and finding it wanting.
"You parasite," Zangetsu stated coldly, his calm tone not containing a single hint of his seething, broiling wrath that his connection with Ichigo was being interrupted by this insignificant speck of a spirit. Then Zangetsu made his anger known with the same inevitability as God proclaiming, "Let there be light."
Black, red, and blue reiatsu swirled together and blended into a gold hue, marking the transcendent being's power. Zangetsu brought both swords to bear as a Getsuga wrapped around the blades and snarled a single sentence that would decide whether he destroyed the invading spirit or not.
"Wait," the Spirit Sword cried.
"Give me one reason I shouldn't destroy you where you stand!" Zangetsu demanded. The Legendary Sword Spirit "gulped" in fear at its (current) superior. The Spirit searched frantically for a solution before one made itself known. It was only because it had viewed a memory of Ichigo's that the Spirit found salvation. Throughout the memory, one thought kept repeating itself through the Spirit's mind, an echo that thrummed through Ichigo's soul in every swing of his sword. Ichigo was someone who continually marched forward. To grow and improve his skills through battle and an ocean of spilt blood.
"If I remain, my wielder will become the strongest!"
Zangetsu glared hatefully at the Spirit who mocked him.
"You?" He screamed. "You think you are strong enough? Don't make me laugh! I was dethroned from my position once before… never again! I won't let Ichigo be manipulated again!"
"I may not be strong enough right now, but I have an unending ability to grow! That's what you want the most, right?" The Spirit pleaded, trying its best to leave the Soulscape but finding its exit blocked by the unfathomable beast in front of it. Zangetsu stayed his hand for a moment, not in agreement, but at least willing to listen a moment longer.
Zangetsu was Ichigo. The zanpakutō may be his own individual in terms of thoughts, yet at the same time he was Ichigo's truest self made manifest. He lived and breathed to fulfill his wielder's desires... even if that meant he had to act as an enemy to push Ichigo to further heights when they first met. He had acted as a pure hollow to fool Ichigo into thinking that he would take over his body permanently and yet such an ability would be meaningless to Zangetsu. He would only temporarily do so if Ichigo was on the brink of death and unable to escape. After all, Ichigo was just as much Zangetsu as the other way around. So if that meant he had to grit his teeth for a little while so Ichigo could become the strongest he would do so... because Zangetsu's greatest ability alongside his wielder was to grow in power whenever they were on the brink of death.
In the words of the brightest mind from Soul Society, Kisuke Urahara said, "The soul grows fastest when it faces termination." It was just because of Ichigo's unique heritage that he was able to make leaps and bounds instead of the single step forward the normal soul reaper faced if they were placed in the same situation.
So perhaps Zangetsu stood to gain something if he waited. The Spirit realized it had gained a foothold and placed all of its faith on a desperate gamble.
"I may not be strong enough yet," the Spirit reiterated, "but… maybe together we will be. I take everything around me to improve my stats, defensive and offensive power. But my most powerful trait is that I evolve to suit my wielder's needs. With your help, maybe we can finally fulfill my world's purpose…and make ourselves better than we were before if we combine our forces… please?" The Spirit ended awkwardly.
Zangetsu's lips thinned in distaste.
"You have five minutes," he granted, "Start talking," relieving the Spirit immensely and immediately went to work trying to sway the stubborn albino looking Sword Spirit in a human form to its cause. The Legendary Sword Spirit idly wondered if it would be able to achieve a similar feat in acquiring a body one day.
"But," Zangetsu growled, "if I don't like what I hear, I won't just kill you. I am going to destroy your soul!"
"Eeeeeeeiiiiiii-"
—-O—-
"Eiiiiiiiii!" Ichigo bolted up from his position on the couch as a piercing scream echoed in his ears. A quick scan of the room revealed why.
"It's hatching!" Farrie screeched, drawing the attention of everyone in a two mile radius… or at least that was what it felt like to Ichigo's throbbing ears as he hurried to join everyone at the table where a large pillow was securely holding the monster egg that was now cracking in several places. Ichigo's party closely crowded around to observe the shell finally tear open from mini claws piercing through before sticking one of the most adorable brown, tan, and grey feathered heads out of the hole before it struggled to squeeze the rest of its body out the opening.
The newly born monster had four legs with its head and front two legs being avian like an eagle's while its body and back two limbs were that of a lion's, meaning the creature in front of him was a griffin, one of the three strongest monster types in the world alongside dragons and filolials. Ichigo smiled softly as the griffin swayed its head around as it took in the world for the first time before settling its gaze on him and took several stumbling steps forward, nearly tripping over its egg shells before rubbing up against his hand that was lying on the table. Ichigo scratched the griffin softly behind its tiny ears and it let out a rumbling purr before a sneeze wracked its frame and a small burst of magic wind shot out of its mouth before it tumbled onto its side in surprise and wonder.
Ichigo laughed at the stupefied expression of Bakta as a bit of snot was thrown onto his face in the enhanced sneeze before he swore and started futilely trying to wipe away the mucus as he cursed the monster under his breath. He certainly wasn't a fan of the monster in the first place and Ichigo didn't think that dislike was going to go away any time soon.
Ichigo noticed a new health bar pop up in his vision as a new companion joined his party with a question mark under the name. Ichigo hummed in thought.
"You need a name. Wait- are you a boy or girl?" Ichigo realized his error before checking the status screen. Boy, hm. Wait- what? He had to reread the status screen when he looked over the description of the monster. Griffin King. What the f-
He was never this lucky… outside of life or death situations. Ichigo abruptly realized everyone was staring at him oddly because of his previous question and then freak out so he just awkwardly coughed before refocusing on his task. He took a moment to think about the griffin's displayed skills before finding one he would hopefully enjoy in memory of one of his fellow vizards.
"How about… Kensei? Because your wind magic reminds me of a friend of mine?" he asked the anxiously waiting pet. The griffin let out a screech of enjoyment and Kensei replaced the question mark beside the health bar.
"You like that?" Ichigo asked, ruffling the eagle hybrid's head feathers. "Good. Well, Kensei," Ichigo took a look around at his friends to see most of them smiling down at the adorable chick-cub hybrid, "welcome to the party."
The warble of joy Kensei released from its beak made even Bakta stop his cursing temporarily to see the monster pet shuffle on its unstable feet in excitement… before it got too excited and peed on the table.
"We… are going to have to teach you some manners," Ichigo groused, making the cub let out a long whine in disappointment at his tone, knowing it was aimed at him.
—O—
Ichigo vision was temporarily blocked by the Legendary Sword's recommendation for him to "add existing monster parts'' to the sword, so he placed the egg shells into it and was pleasantly surprised -though he really shouldn't have been- to see the announcement that he unlocked the Monster User Sword 1 , an Exp growth modifier that boosted Kensei's stats and stat growth. He had unlocked a sword called the Companion Sword which boosted the exp gain to party members that he held in good relations after a bit of a heart to heart with Loki after he told him of why he had tested the boy in such a harsh manner. He really did see himself in the shy boy.
Over the month Ichigo had been adding every material he could get his hands on into the sword to see if it could unlock new weapon forms from an old rope and rusty, broken pickaxes to medicine and even recipe books. The fact that the egg shell unlocked a new sword really shouldn't surprise him anymore, but it did make him think about other cooking materials to try and 'feed' the sword.
However, first things first, he had a new set of armor to pick up from Erhard. His slaying of the wyvern had given him a lot of material that went into unlocking new swords, boosting his fire resistance and damage from dragon-type monsters as well as enough scales and bones to fashion a new set of armor. It was nearly identical to the first set he had been given except for the new addition of scales instead of the smooth finish, but the stat boosts were like night and day. The Wyvern Armor gave him an additional 250 in defense before adding in type resistances (medium resistance against fire and low resistance against poison).
With the additional clothes he had purchased from the tailor girl whose name he couldn't remember (he sucked with names), his color scheme of red and black had him looking like an evil king or final boss monster/vampire in a medieval fantasy game. All he was missing was the crown, he thought in amusement.
Besides the rather badass set of scaled armor he had received from the wyvern, there was one more item he had received from the curved ram-like horn off its head that would probably play a vital role in the future. It was capable of-
Ichigo's attention snapped away from his stat screen when Naofumi came out of another room decked out in his own set of armor looking like a stereotypical bandit or outlaw.
"You look nice," Ichigo complimented sincerely, not having seen the man as his travels took him in the opposite direction. Naofumi turned a withering glare onto him with the impression Ichigo was being sarcastic before he saw the look in his eyes and turned away in abashment.
"Thanks," he said awkwardly, shuffling his shield to a more comfortable position.
"Look at you, Naofumi," Erhard called jovially, "making new friends."
"Oi!" Naofumi shouted. "You're making me sound like a loser."
Ichigo snorted at the byplay and resisted the smirk which wanted to come out as Naofumi argued with the bald blacksmith. As he watched the two, a sudden idea came to mind which could allow Naofumi to gain future methods of attack.
"Hey, Naofumi," he said, drawing the attention of the Shield Hero. "Would you like to boost your attack capabilities?"
Naofumi turned a wary eye on him even as Erhard perked up in interest.
"What did you have in mind?" Erhard asked in his stead.
"Can you make a hybrid weapon? Specifically that of a shield with a large point on one side? So that it kind of looks like a horseshoe crab?"
Erhard scratched his beard in thought.
"I don't see why not. But the structural integrity of the weapon would be very brittle around where the point meets the shield so it wouldn't really work for a regular person."
"The Legendary weapons are indestructible though," Naofumi commented, growing warmer to the idea. "How soon could you make one, old man?"
"I'd say about… a week?" The blacksmith guessed.
"But the wave starts in three days! It will be too late by then."
"I can't rush things like this. It's a new concept for a weapon! I have pride in my work and I refuse to give you something subpar just because you're impatient!"
"Tch!" Naofumi spat, but Ichigo could tell it held no malice in it. His eyes had warmed up the more he argued with the old blacksmith, likely because he was one of the few who had wormed their way past that rough exterior of rage and mistrust.
A rustle of a curtain caught his eye as a teenage Demi-Human with raccoon features came out of one of the changing rooms to show off her purchase to Naofumi, giving an excited twirl to show off everything to her master. Ichigo dropped a sack of coins on the counter for his armor and received a promise of a second hybrid weapon in the future if his idea panned out successfully before he made his way out the door. He only had two more days to grind out enough levels and ensure Kensei was leveled up enough to not get harmed when the wave hit.
—O—
Never before had Ichigo been so glad to have the inventory function until he watched the incessant need for Kensei to consume everything he could put his eyes on and his mouth around and sometimes even when he couldn't. If that happened he would simply shred whatever meat off with his claws and make it available for consumption. Adorably cute he was not when stuffing his face with pound after pound of monster meat. Even Farrie found it hard to keep her smile up when he dove headfirst into a carcass and ripped into it, and she was the type of person who seemed to have a never ending well of cheer! Thankfully her magic alignment was capable of manipulating water and she was forcefully delegated to cleaning duty whenever the eagle cub stained himself in the ichor of monster entrails.
In the two and a half days of grinding since he hatched, Kensei rose by eight levels- an astronomical gain according to the academically inclined Welf, and because of this world's weird ass biological functions, Kensei's increase in level meant an increase in size. While before the griffin was barely larger than a newborn kitten, now he was the size of an adolescent panther or a labrador. Ichigo honestly missed being able to hold the little eagle cub in one palm as it let out tiny yawns before falling asleep in his arms. At the very least his purchase would more than pay off within a week.
Kensei had already proved his worth earlier in the morning by performing aerial assaults where he would wait for an opportune moment before swooping in for a deadly slash of claws or bite before returning high in the sky. Between the two of them they easily destroyed a hundred wolves in the forest just outside of Castle Town as he waited for the countdown to reach closer to zero. He checked it once more to see three hours were left. More than enough time to grab a small meal and relax a bit.
—O—
Ichigo was relaxing in the inn while performing a final check on his gear. His armor was on and strapped correctly, he had made more than fifty healing potions from the ingredients he had scrounged in the forest- his Grass sword having been mastered before "Awakening" and achieving a Rarity Up which greatly improved the quality of the materials he gathered, which in turn made for better potions.
Of the fifty five potions he made, fifty were of medium quality and the last five were high. Something told him he'd be glad to have mastered the Grass Sword first before anything else. Because of the Legendary Spirit's ability to master increase the weapon's exp simply by having it out, to help it level up faster Ichigo had taken to sleeping with the sword form out as well as gathering anything that looked valuable on his travels. Anything he didn't use was sold to one of the many physicians in town in preparation for the wave as an added source of revenue and as a bonus aided Melromarc in providing more abundant potions, which in turn lowered the cost of the potions for people who otherwise would not be able to afford the elixir.
The alchemists in the town had grown quite fond of him once their customers started forming lines out the door after word got out he had provided the materials and the cheap costs. Due to the more numerous customers, even though they were selling their wares at a lesser price, their bottom line was still a larger number than usual and they all delightfully counted the gold coins filling up their back supply rooms.
The final hour had arrived, so Ichigo decided to meet up with his party in their agreed-upon rendezvous point, the Church of Three Heroes. His party members were all trying to get their nerves to settle in minute ways: Loki was on his knees praying for their continued health through the battle, Welf was sharpening his new bone knives on a whetstone over his lap, Bakta had a book about enchanting magic out but Ichigo noticed his eyes weren't moving across the page, Jonathan had a flask he kept opening and closing the lid of as if he would like nothing better than to take a deep swig though knew it would be foolish to do so right before fighting, and lastly Farrie had a pillow out and was lying down on her side on one of the church pews in a futile attempt to sleep her nervousness away as well as be as rested as possible. Ichigo had taken the allotted time to stretch his muscles to prevent any cramping during the battle, not knowing if it was even possible with the Legendary Sword on his hip, but just in case he wanted to be prepared. The sword had done a lot of weird changes to his physical body. After all, his normal body could never stand up the the physical force of fighting a wyvern.
Itsuki's party arrived all at once and offered a warm greeting to the Sword Hero. It was beyond irritating to be recognized solely for the weapon he held instead of his deeds and who he was. It was a new type of reaction Ichigo had no prior experience with; to be judged with near reverence for something outside of his control. His respect with Soul Society had been earned through a lake of blood when he saved Rukia and his efforts to stop Aizen only furthered that relationship, to say nothing of his participation in the Thousand Year Blood War. It was eerie to be greeted warmly as an idol of faith by random people in the street simply because he was "lucky" enough to be chosen.
Motoyasu arrived next, the playboy surrounded by a group of female adventurers who were quite literally hanging off his arm as he spoke of his impending heroics. He had certainly gotten into the role of acting like some kind of white knight. Ichigo wondered if he had taken some theater classes in college because of how dramatically he acted. This trait became very apparent when Naofumi and his only companion Raphtalia entered the church as he went about trying to degrade Naofumi like some kind of school yard bully.
The words grated on Ichigo almost as much as the one the words were intended for, so Ichigo knew with only ten minutes left he had to step in and remind them all of why they were here before tempers boiled over… and hopefully his words didn't cause the opposite desired effect.
Ichigo cleared his throat for their attention, halting Naofumi's most likely venom laced comeback in its tracks. Ichigo was the only other hero who Naofumi had a, if not amicable, at least non-hostile relationship instead of the outright hatred he felt towards Itsuki or complete loathing he held for Motoyasu.
"These Waves remind me of a situation my friends and I once went through. My friend Orihime was kidnapped and taken to a hellish place called Hueco Mundo, the dimension of the hollows- corrupted spirits of the dead who are filled with a hunger for souls. I left with two of my friends and another two joined us once we got there. It was the five of us against an entire world filled with bloodthirsty monsters who all wanted to eat us. In other words, it was just like the five of us fighting against a Wave.
"Now we are in a similar situation. I know we may not be friends or even like each other in the case of some of you, but we do have a mission. Our mission is to stop the Wave at any cost. To accomplish this would be much more difficult if we are all at each other's throats, so I'm only going to say this once. Calm. The. Hell. Down. We can't be fighting each other if we want to help this country's citizens, so shelve your hatred or better yet use it against the monsters."
Ichigo took a moment to meet them all in the eye as he showcased his absolute determination which quelled their protests in their tracks before he continued on.
"Heuco Mundo was a nightmare world that nearly resulted in our deaths plenty of times, but we survived and we came out stronger for it. And I know we can do the same here. We will win." Ichigo's tone was resolute and no one could feel anything else but a desire for victory. Steadily their own confidence rose in the charismatic wake of his own, brushing off their insecurities and a hard light entered all of their eyes. Victory was the only path before them.
"Now we don't know where the battlefield will be, so making a concrete plan will be useless or difficult at best, but at the very least we can make a rough idea. I propose we divide the battlefield into four sections where each of us herd the monsters back to the center to contain the spread of monsters until Melromarc's army arrives and the Wave Boss appears. This also has the benefit of staying outside the interference of the Legendary Weapon's exp rate gain. While this Wave is a calamity and should be stopped as soon as possible, it's also an opportunity to raise our levels by a great amount. We need to make the most of it if we want to have any hope of beating every Wave. I'll leave the organization within each party to the rest of you within your own sector, but I think my idea stands the best chance with what we know. So, what do you say?"
"...It's a decent plan," Naofumi admitted, "but I think you're forgetting we might not be able to implement it if we are thrown smack dab into the middle of the ocean or on top of a mountain."
He was playing devil's advocate and Ichigo reluctantly had to agree. Lack of information was something he was used to, but that was usually one on one fights against beings with a cognitive mind instead of mindless zombies and insects only capable of thinking about destruction. His "leadership" skills were more of proclaiming the goal and his friends had stuck by him to fill in the gaps where he lacked. It was more apparent than ever that he still had a lot to learn in regards to leading a team.
"Do you have a better plan?" Ichigo finally asked in the resulting silence.
"...No."
"I don't see why you think we need a plan at all. Just kill the boss and the wave stops. Done deal," Motoyasu said.
Ichigo felt like slapping his forehead in annoyance… or more likely Motoyasu's. He was trying to build some bridges here but the spear user was either completely ignorant or inherently an asshole intent on screwing Naofumi over.
"You're an idiot," he muttered under his breath, only loud enough for Naofumi and Raphtalia to hear. The raccoon Demi-Human hid her snicker behind a dainty hand as her shoulders shook in mirth, drawing a slight smirk from Naofumi from seeing his daughter figure/complicated relationship laughing and his own suppressed amusement at someone else finally realizing the spearman wasn't hot shit.
"You know what?" Ichigo growled, turning to the spearman. "Go ahead, focus solely on the boss and allow the countryside to be filled with monsters. But when a dozen villages are slaughtered because of your negligence you should know that their blood is on your hands."
With his piece said, Ichigo stood up and approached the Red Dragon Hourglass while ignoring Motoyasu's stuttered denial of responsibility. If he wanted to pretend to be a hero then that's his prerogative; Ichigo was going to do what he'd always done. He was going to defeat the enemy before him and hopefully save as many people within his reach as possible. The hourglass ticked down to the last minute and Ichigo sent out a warning just before the four heroes and their party were transported to the battlefield.
—O—
They arrived to find a blood red sky and a massive purplish-blue hole in the sky spewing out a horde of monsters like an overfilled gravity well into the world from a dimension beyond. It was a literal rain of enemies falling down to the earth before the monsters recovered to start their assault. Ichigo likened the hole to a garganta with a menos calling forth an army of lesser hollows to do its bidding.
"Fan out! Act as a wall and contain the breach but stay within line of sight for assistance! Bakta, I need you up high to snipe as many as you can and keep sight of the entire battlefield. If any of us need help it will be your job to warn us. Let's go!"
They broke into formation, cutting a swathe through the enemy down like wheat with swords, arrows, and magic. Their levels far exceeded the pitifully slow zombies holding battle axes and allowed them to nearly sprint through the monsters without slowing down. The monster's bodies were almost more effective at slowing them down than their skills or techniques with the ax.
Ichigo fed one of the zombie corpses to his sword and saw a pop up on his status menu saying the new sword gave him a minor increase in rot resistance before rejoining the fray to kill another dozen within a few seconds. It didn't take him long to level up the sword with the sheer amount of enemies "spawning" in. Within ten minutes the Inter-Dimensional Zombie Sword was mastered and he reset it to feed the energy pool. He'd decide which weapon to Rarity-up later.
Ichigo cleaved one of the zombie's heads off before kicking it into another. The impact staggered the monster enough for Jonathon to bisect the beast before it realized the large man was even there as it split in half on the ground.
"This new sword is amazing, Ichigo!" Bellzy shouted, swinging his greatsword around and cutting three zombies down at once with the ease of cutting through paper. Over the last month Ichigo had treated his party to some new gear if necessary. Bellzy had an excellent set of armor, but his sword was severely lacking in comparison. The party had traveled into an abandoned cave where a rock troll had camped out and they had lucked out by receiving two ores from its corpse. One of which went into smelting a new sword for Bellzy while the other was fed into Ichigo's gluttonous sword to unlock a new sword with a skill that could upend the earth.
"With this new blade I bet I can kill more monsters than you!" Bellzy boasted, cleaving through a half dozen more zombies and a couple flying insects.
"A challenge, huh? What do you want?" Ichigo asked, chucking a zombie's head into a mob about to bite Loki's back. The healing mage offered him a grateful nod before erecting a small barrier that granted Ichigo enough time to help and rip the mobs off him.
"Free drinks for a night out!" Bellzy laughed, before chanting the only magic spell he knew, a tier one gravity spell that weighed down his opponents in the area and made it easier to cut down the now struggling flying insectoids.
"Done!" Ichigo agreed. "But if I win… I want you to take me to that pastry shop in your hometown you told me about! I want to get one of everything."
Bellzy's face paled. That gourmet shop was Expensive with a capital 'E.' But he had issued the challenge, and he wasn't one to back down without a good reason to.
"Fine! But that means I'm buying the top shelf liquor when we get back!"
Ichigo smirked at the boast.
"I'm at 187!" Ichigo shouted.
"Ha! I'm at 191!" Bellzy crowed before seeing Ichigo cutting down another dozen a moment later. "199!" Ichigo challenged.
Bellzy cursed and renewed his efforts at the gap now steadily widening every minute.
Ichigo grunted in acknowledgement as he swung his Dragon Sword to split a giant zombie about to charge after Farrie who was unleashing a massive water wave from a nearby pond that surged forth into the monsters' throats to drown a few zombies before their bodies exploded from the pressure. What a gruesome way to die, Ichigo thought, absently cutting down another few zombies. She made them pop like a balloon except the result was a lot more... messy.
He gained over three levels himself within the hour from the massive expanse of the army. It seemed for every ten he cut down a hundred more took their place.
"These things are so annoying!" Ichigo shouted, unleashing a skill that ruptured the earth to produce a large 'V' formation in the ground to funnel the zombies and other insectoid monsters spewing out of the hole. The funnel helped limit the number of enemies attacking from the rear and Ichigo waited for the right moment before they were all lined up perfectly before firing a tier three Comet Sword skill and watching the horde get splattered into the earth walls.
Bakta was on the top of a hill using its height to scan the battlefield to see if any high leveled monsters were going to escape or- in this case- if too many arrived all at once. Placing a hand up to his ear, Bakta cast a first-class wind spell which would carry his words to his prepared targets, namely Ichigo and their party, and their own back to him.
"Ichigo-sama, I'm seeing a group of at least thirty giant zombies making their way towards Ryute Village and…"
"What is it?" Ichigo asked, cutting down another five zombies.
"The boss just arrived."
"Well… shit. Bakta, I need you, Welf, and Jonathon to make your way to the giant zombies and ward off the main group. Give the largest mobs some damage and split them up if you can."
With his plan Welf would act as the assassin going for the head and necks while Bellzy would be the main distraction and heavy damage dealer and Bakta would act as support and slow their limbs down with well placed shots to the zombies' joints.
Knowing their teamwork was good enough after the last month of training, Ichigo ran ahead with the rest of the party to kill as many monsters in their way towards the boss as possible before joining Motoyasu and Itsuki in their reckless charge to the Chimera. Ichigo had chosen his half of the team solely because they were mages. While the magic they could deal out currently wasn't enough to put in heavy damage, they would be a massive help in restricting its flight capabilities… as well as his pet/familiar Kensei.
The boss monster had a massive lion's body with four heads: a lion, dragon, goat, and a viper on its tail as well as a thick pair of feathered wings.
Ichigo knew if they were to stand a chance they had to destroy its wings to limit its mobility. If the boss fled before they could kill it the wave would never stop.
"Aim for its wings!" Ichigo shouted, unleashing a devastating flame skill which depleted a third of his SP onto the right feathered appendage. The Chimera wailed and tried to lash out with its poisonous fang filled viper head, but Loki was there with a barrier that exploded in impact that was strong enough for Ichigo to dodge the reptile head before the barrier shattered. Farrie tried to launch a wave onto the monster, but the Chimera met her water with fire; its dragon head spewing out a devastating breath of flames which instantly turned the wave into superheated steam and afforded it a brief barrier of invisibility.
"Kensei!" Ichigo shouted, prompting his pet griffin to mightily flap his wings and generate a burst of wind which sent the steam scattering to reveal the Chimera a moment away from chomping down on Itsuki. The Bow Hero shot his fastest arrow to buy himself some time but he didn't escape unscathed. A chunk of his leg was ripped out by the lion's head and Itsuki shouted in agony once the pain registered after clearing a bit more distance. Ituski's savior came in the form of Motoyasu charging forward with a lightning spear skill directly on point to the Chimera's goat head and managing to score a large gash through the right side of its cheek. Itsuki took the time allowed to pour a health potion directly onto his wound before drinking another before rejoining the fight with glowing yellow tipped arrows that sparked against its joints.
The Chimera screeched, circling the ground to find the heroes surrounding it in a triangle with no hope of escape. It tried to gain air with its wings but Ichigo commanged Kensei to strike once more. The not so small griffin built up some speed and used his natural aptitude to wind to increase his speed, reducing air friction and generating a burst of wind with every flap of his wings before he lashed out with his claws into the joint of his already damaged wing Ichigo had aimed for earlier. The wing stood no chance against the sharp claws capable of shearing through bone, and the Chimera spun out of control and cratered the ground on impact.
"Now!" Ichigo yelled, "Unleash your strongest attacks while it's stunned!"
Ichigo had already downed a potion to regenerate his SP and immediately swung his Blazing Sword into the neck of the Chimera's Dragon head. The warring nature of fire versus fire resistance maybe wasn't the best idea, but Ichigo's use of Blut Arterie overcame the Chimera's defenses and the flaming sword sunk into its flesh beneath with a sickening squelch until it came out the other side with a large spray of blood.
Various spellfires struck the Chimera's body to little effect, but it did slow it down. Farrie used her water magic to ensnare it with vines and trapped it in place just as it was getting up to its feet. The Chimera roared in anger and thrashed in its bonds and spewed poison gas to keep them away, but another wind spell dispelled the harmful aerosol before it could reach the closest fighter.
Motoyasu followed up with another lightning spear to its lion head to puncture its brain while Itsuki launched a wind arrow into the goat's eye. With its three main heads destroyed the Chimera's torso collapsed and only its snake tail could still move which quickly met its end as Ichigo severed it at the base of the spine. With the boss defeated the first wave came to an end. The rift in the sky closed and the red sheen dissipated to reveal a warm orange sunset settling on the horizon.
"It's over," Ichigo said quietly, eyeing the destruction to the forest around them from out of control fire spells and upturned earth with spikes of rock stained with blood and monster corpses. All that was left was cleaning up the remaining "trash mobs" and then the battlefield turned silent as they inspected the body of the Boss.
Ichigo started dividing and dissecting the Chimera by claiming the Dragon head for his part as he struck the final blow to it and Motoyasu and Itsuki quickly followed suit with the other heads. Ichigo unlocked the Chimera Dragon Sword which further boosted his resistance against fire and his damage dealt with it. Then he fed the Chimera's parts piece by piece into his sword to unlock the other swords. A Meat, Leather, and Bone Sword.
The Leather Sword almost exclusively increased his defense, but oddly enough increased "Training Sword" Exp. He had unlocked the same type of sword before by copying a wood sword that improved the rate of mastering "Skills." The Meat Sword gave a massive boost in cooking skill and lessened the time it took for bulk preparation so he didn't have to cook it all (extremely helpful when you have a pet/familiar with a black hole for a stomach). The sword was capable of cooking the meat to whatever he set it on as a default while it was in the inventory through Status magic.
However, the Bone Sword was the rare gem. It was in the shape of a short sword that helped with separating animal parts, so instead of taking a long time to separate the meat from the bones or other organs, the sword would do it itself with a single "Sword Skill." That would save him hours of work going forward and increase the pace of their travels as a single skill could let Ichigo take only a few moments to separate the parts and then let his sword absorb them one by one.
With his task done, Ichigo searched to find if his party had made it out unharmed. Loki was placing a healing spell on some of the soldiers within Ryute Village who were defending it from the wave. The rest of the Army finally arrived just in time to be useless, though some of the more chivalrous stuck around to provide disaster relief to the broken village. Ichigo noticed a lot of fire had struck buildings like there had been a meteor shower or something. Was this the work of a really inexperienced mage or an experienced one with a lack of good judgment? Ichigo wondered how long it would take before that problem suddenly fell into his lap.
As he walked towards the semi-destroyed village, in his hand was the final Chimera head which he intended on giving to Naofumi. Ichigo found his target surrounded by the village's people praising him for defending their homes from the "vile monsters" and would welcome him in their homes at any time. Ichigo stood back in the shadows of the alleyway to let him have his moment. He hoped Naofumi would let go of that anger if he stayed around such people long enough. He waited until Naofumi finalled begged out and left the crowd for some peace and quiet when he walked out of the shadows to cut him off.
"What do you want?" Naofumi growled impatiently, a mix of fatigue and wariness playing with his mood. Ichigo tossed him the viper's head and Naofumi nearly dropped the prize with widened eyes.
"Your part in stopping the wave," Ichigo grunted. "Keep in mind that not everyone wants you to die, would you? I don't really mind the glare, but you'll be pushing away a lot of people who would be open to helping you if you stopped acting so angry all the time."
His words were an almost mimicry to Tatsuki's when she told him to stop frowning at all moments of the day a few years ago. It was funny to see Naofumi react the exact same way he had by scowling harder and tossing his head to the side, only offering a grunt of acknowledgement but not seemingly wanting to follow through on the advice. Naofumi would either change or he wouldn't. There was nothing else Ichigo could do except pray he learns his lesson.
"Good luck."
Ichigo turned away to return to Castle Town when a thought struck him. He grabbed Naofumi by the arm and quietly dragged him to the alleyway before whispering to him, "You might want to consider getting out of the country. I did some research on the state of the other countries in this world. Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden worship the Shield Hero as a god. I'm sure you will find as much aid as possible if you go there. But whatever you do, don't tell anyone where you're going. The King looks like he hates Demi-Humans more than anything and will likely strike you down if he learns you're going to aid them in the waves."
Naofumi nodded in acknowledgement once more before both left in separate ways from the alley. Ichigo made sure his party was alright and gathered everyone up after they contributed a bit to helping clean up the village before they vanished with the Transport Sword to return to the Dragon's Hourglass to finally get some rest after the hectic battle.
"Hey Jonathon," Ichigo called, stopping the larger man in his tracks as they all departed for their lodging. "374 monsters plus the boss!"
"Fucker," he cursed under his breath. "308."
"I expect to travel to your home town soon for my reward!"
"Yeah, yeah," Bellzy waved off, stumbling towards his bed in his exhaustion. Ichigo followed his example and departed to his own rented bed as he sunk into the soft mattress after undressing to his underwear.
Kensei jumped up beside him on his bed and snorted to see the eagle's head lying on his stomach. He played with the feathers above Kensei's brow in a repeating and soothing pattern before the griffin fell asleep, content after getting his fill of meat from the mutated monster earlier and leveling up after the massive expenditure of magic and slaughtering a couple hundred zombies by himself.
Ichigo awoke to a shudder inducing surprise the next morning. Inplace of the massive griffin lying on his bed there was a naked boy who looked no older than ten asleep using his stomach as a pillow. Understandably Ichigo bolted from his bed with a strangled cry and a desire to not be seen as a gay pedophile. The boy tumbled off the other side of the bed and groaned, rubbing his head from the none too rough impact.
Ichigo got a better look at the boy once he got over his initial surprise. The boy had feathered ears on top of his head as well as a pair of angel wings on his back, looking like some kind of real life cherub.
Did he eat something strange last night? Hallucinogenic mushrooms perhaps? Because nothing else could explain why the griffin had transformed itself into a child. His feeling did not change in the slightest upon the boy opening his mouth.
"Ow. Father," the boy complained. "Why did you do that?"
Ichigo deadpanned at the boy. "Nope. It's too early to be dealing with this." Ichigo slammed the bedroom door shut to escape the bizarre situation and left in search of coffee.
—O—
The victory over the Second Wave heralded a celebration in the minds of Melromarc's nobles and King Altcray delightfully invited the Three Cardinal Heroes plus one despicable tag along (three guesses as to who that was and the first two don't count) to enjoy his country's comforts in a large banquet to feast and partake in their large stock of ale and wine.
After eating his fair share of food, Ichigo found himself being reluctantly dragged onto the dance floor by an excited (well more excited than usual) Farrie who refused to take no for an answer.
"Come on Ichigo-chan. Have some fun! When was the last time you allowed yourself to just enjoy the moment?"
'The moment before he was summoned,' he almost retorted before he thought better of it. It wasn't her fault he was summoned into this world, nor would it be fair if he took it out on her. Almost because of his near bout of anger, Ichigo agreed to her insistence (read ordered) to follow her into the dozens of celebrating people on the dance floor.
While Ichigo was aware there were not a few people watching him earlier, now it felt like everyone was pining their eyes on him. It felt like he was a single piece of meat dropped into a cage of starving wolves. He flicked his eyes around to see almost all of the eyes belonged to noble ladies… the unmarried kind. He even spotted a few who had their rings predominantly displayed yet still were following him like a shark after wounded prey. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all?
Farrie captured his hand and damn near threw it onto her waist as the song changed and she sent him a small smirk.
"You know, you might find yourself having fun if you just give it a chance?" she said kindly, allowing him to lead in the waltz. Ichigo studied her expression to see nothing but a desire to help emanating from her eyes. He stepped slightly closer into her space on the next set and finally offered her a genuine smile.
"Thank you. I know I haven't been the… easiest person to follow around-"
"That's putting in lightly," she sassed in good nature.
"-But," Ichigo continued, only offering her a halfhearted glare in response to her interruption, "I just- I wanted to push you. To make you better- No. That's not quite right. I wanted to ensure that you would stick around."
"You thought we would leave? Just because things were going to get tough?" Farrie asked with a quizzical expression. "In case you forgot, the world is going to be destroyed if we don't do this. Why would we give up our best shot at surviving by sticking around you and becoming as strong as possible in the shortest amount of time in the process?" She ended her question with an 'are you an idiot' look that had him feeling foolish even if in his mind it was a justified question.
"When I make friends, I stick by them," Ichigo answered, sidelining her question to explain himself. "Through thick and thin. If they asked me to follow them to Hell itself I would be there leading the charge. So yes, I wanted to make sure you would stick by me long enough so I could consider you one of my friends."
"And are we friends, Ichigo?" she asked, forgoing her use of -chan to denote how serious she was. Ichigo smirked at the question.
"I considered us friends by the second week; ever since you saved Loki from drowning in that lake in fact… even if you were the one who shoved him into it."
"I did not," she bluffed, though her face turning red in embarrassment ruined her denial quite thoroughly. Ichigo's arched brow had her ducking her head.
"Okay, okay, I totally did. But how was I supposed to know he couldn't swim?" Farrie defended.
"Well, he only told us about… eight times before we got there?" Ichigo asked, questioning the count from memory. Farrie turned a deeper shade of red.
"I thought he was just a bad swimmer. Not that he would flap his arms around like a bird with a weighted noose around its neck," she muttered. Ichigo snorted before returning to the topic.
"We're friends now. That means for better or worse you're stuck with me. All of you are."
"Even Bakta?" Farrie asked in slight distaste. The two got along like oil and water given how Farrie could barely hold a serious conversation outside of planning for battle and Bakta made Ichigo's worst emo phase look tame. Fortunately Ichigo had some experience dealing with people on both sides of the spectrum in the form of Rangiku and Shūhei. Hisagi could make even Byakuya look cheerful, and that was saying something!
"Ahh, well, maybe only a little," Ichigo joked. Farrie matched his smile before a mischievous smirk overcame it as the song ended. She pretended to 'trip' and her hands felt up his stomach and chest as Ichigo leaned forward to catch her. If he thought it would end there though, he was completely wrong. His only warning was her unsubtle wink before she scampered off, leaving him alone on the dance floor. Or at least he thought he was before a small polite cough announced someone's presence behind him. Ichigo turned and immediately paled. Five women were lined up before him and they didn't look like they would take no for an answer.
Ichigo found Farrie's gaze across the room and gave her the greatest deadpan in history until she started giggling to herself and his expression softened around the eyes. At least one of them is happy.
Ichigo sighed in annoyance as the one who coughed stepped forward to introduce herself with a polite curtsy before joining him in the next dance. Something Ichigo noticed immediately after starting was that she was an excellent dancer. Every step she made was calculated to follow his own and held a grace many others on the dance floor lacked.
"So, you're the Sword Hero," she said, her green eyes boring into him with a scientific curiosity as they swayed in beat with the faster music number. "I must say, you certainly live up to your reputation."
"How do you mean?" Ichigo asked, raising his arm for her to spin under before she took the opportunity to come in closer as she rejoined his arms.
"Rumors travel fast, especially of one as important to our faith as you. We all heard of what happened in Ivyred Territory."
Ichigo made a tone of acknowledgement and a flash of distaste at the memory. Once Ichigo's party started leveling up enough they traveled east toward Ivyred Territory. The trip took over three days because it seemed every monster in the area was being drawn to his presence. It made leveling up faster, but it also made what would have been an easy day long trip take three times longer. When they arrived, they were faced with a village in ruins and some still burning housing.
It was by far the most annoying monster type he ever had to deal with. There were two dozen Flaming Ferrets who were large enough to be mistaken for lions that consumed everything and everything and thought humans as a delicacy. Between the hunt to find their near labyrinth-like underground burrow and then dealing with the intense heat they generated which was contained in the close quarters passages, Ichigo would be glad if he never stepped into another maze again in his life.
About the only good thing out of it other than helping deal with the infestation problem was finding a treasure chest of loot he gave to the mayor to rebuild their village and the heavy fire resistance buff he gained from absorbing their corpses. There were so many of the Flaming Ferrets that he was able to master the blade in one sitting simply by absorbing them into his sword. In one sentence, Bakta managed to capture their situation pretty well. 'Adventurer's are nothing but glorified exterminators.' It probably would have been funny if it weren't true.
"But there is one thing that has been bugging me," she continued, snapping Ichigo back to the present. "What ever caused that colossal sinkhole just west of Ivyred?"
Ichigo maintained his poker face as he deflected the question.
"Monsters come in many forms and have different types of abilities," he said.
"I see," she said, coming to her own conclusion of what happened. Ichigo leaned forward to dip her as the music tempo changed and her arched chest gave him a very intimate view of the swells on her chest. When she returned to her feet she smirked seeing the slight pink dusting his cheeks. Her dress had been designed to accentuate her form nicely.
"It was wonderful to meet you, my hero," she said, closing the distance to wrap her arms around his neck.
No- no, no, no. Not happening! She leaned up to grab a kiss but Ichigo turned her perfectly in time to dip her again.
The song ended moments later and Ichigo gratefully praised the heavens that he could escape. The Lady was quite put out, but regardless she curtsied again before striding off to find her 'friends' to gossip with.
Ichigo joined Bakta at the table nearest to the wall and loaded up another plate of food even if he wasn't feeling very hungry. At least it could act as an excuse and he could always store it for later. He snagged the wine bottle from Bakta before he could finish it and poured it with a heavy hand. Once the last drop fell he passed the empty bottle to a waiting maidservant on her way back to the kitchens. Bakta was not at all amused by him stealing the last glass of wine.
"That was mine."
"Was it? But it's in my glass," Ichigo snarked.
"Dick," he muttered into his near empty glass. Ichigo snorted.
"What's wrong? Rough night?"
"You don't know the half of it. I just met my… former lover."
"You left things on a bad note?" Ichigo asked curiously, taking a deep sip of the red liquid.
"No. And that's why I don't know why I was put on the chopping block."
"Hm. I am almost afraid of what I'll find when I return home."
"Home? Karakura Town, right? Or was it the… Seireitei?" Bakta asked, wanting to remember if he had the name right with all the locations Ichigo had mentioned over the month whenever they had time to sit and talk, not that they did so often with how much of a slave driver the Sword Hero was. 'I am just doing what my mentors did to me. In fact I'm going easy on you guys! I am not swinging a sword at your neck,' my ass, Bakta thought. No teacher was that crazy.
'Karakura. I have a girlfriend waiting for me. For how much longer though," he trailed off. "Who knows? It might be years before we end the waves and I don't know if I can expect or even ask her to wait that long."
Bakta hummed in understanding. "Would you?"
"I- I want to say yes, but at the same time… I think if there was someone who came along and I knew she was the one then she would be happy for me even if we are able to reunite one day. But," Ichigo said, "I won't just give up now. We just have to beat these waves and then I can go home."
'Because I don't know what I'd do if I can't,' went unsaid. There was a chance that even if they succeeded in ending the waves he would be stuck there, forever separated from his family. He just couldn't let himself acknowledge such a possibility or he'd risk falling into despair. And in all honesty, Ichigo was about done with feeling depressed in his life.
Bakta gave him a nod of farewell, leaving him to his thoughts before joining Bellzy as he loudly told a tale of his adventures alongside the "Great Sword Hero" and how he was the best one in the party other than Ichigo. Ichigo's lips twitched in amusement as Bakta smacked the back of Bellzy's head to deflate the ballooning ego from capturing the interest of fifteen lords and ladies surrounding the table from hearing a first hand account of working alongside one of the Cardinal Heroes.
—O—
On the other side of the hall, Altcray barely withheld a sneer to see Naofumi and his single companion indulging in the vast array of food set out on the table. The apathetic and slightly disgusted look the Shield Hero held while eating only worsened the king's mood. What, was it not good enough for him? The royal chefs were masterful craftsmen in preparing their food to the nobility's refined palate. It was an insult to see someone finding such artistry belittled.
Fortunately for Altcray before he did something out of character his attention was drawn to see his daughter "playing" with the Spear Hero. Altcray knew of his daughter's habits, and indeed he spent many a days trying to cover up her actions, but as her father he could not find much fault. He simply loved her too much to begrudge her actions… especially after the death of his only son. Between the loss of his son and the mysterious death of his sister Lucia by those Hakuko bastards Altcray knew he was a shell of his former self… he just couldn't summon up the energy to care. All he wanted was his remaining family to live a long and happy life. Agreeing to back the Church would help him ensure that. It was why he had gone along with their plan to summon all of the Cardinal Heroes instead of following his wife's orders.
"Mirellia- how I have failed you," he muttered, inspecting the ballroom to see the Sword Hero leaning back in his seat with a glass of wine and a small, almost imperceptible frown on his lips. His eyes were darting around the room as if searching for an ambush. Altcray stiffened and subtly used his staff as the Seven-Star Cane Hero to scan for an intruder. Nothing. He changed his spell to one that detected magic through air currents and his spine immediately turned ridgid. What was this?
There was a scent based magic in the air. He studied the effects and noticed it was designed to subtly influence behavior by making one susceptible to outside suggestions. Now, who was the target? No, more importantly, who was the caster? Altcray studied the way it drifted in the currents to find it traveling between the Spear Hero and… of course- Malty, or as she was currently known in her adventuring persona, Myne. What was she planning? Before the king could deduce her plan Ichigo had made his way over to his side.
"Do you feel that?" Ichigo asked, still searching for the nauseating feeling in the air.
"Yes," Altcray answered honestly when it looked like Ichigo already knew his response. He would make no move to impede his daughter's plans if it wasn't going to turn into a disaster, but he wanted to ensure the Sword Hero was out of the way. He still remembered the flaring danger he felt from the young man when they met in the throne room the first time even as a Level 1.
"I thought as much. You were the only other one to react. What is this?" Ichigo asked. Altcray debated how to answer without sounding cagey or completely ignorant.
"It is a temporarily affecting spell that alters one's decision making capabilities. It wouldn't be the first time one noble in here wants to make another look like a fool. With the abundant stock of alcohol, no one would know the difference," Altcray redirected, hoping he would see it as something more benign.
"So…theoretically…" Ichigo hedged, "someone could make another do something normally out of character?"
"Hmm, I suppose if the spell is strong enough. But the Human mind is complex and wired to follow their experiences and emotions. The caster of the spell needs to know how to either work a way around their natural responses or to be strong enough to mentally overcome the victim's mind," King Altcray explained.
"So potentially a young man with idealistic views of being a hero… could be made to rape a girl?" Ichigo probed, turning his head around the room idly to "innocently'' inspect the room even as his entire focus remained on the king. Altcray froze.
He was between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he could agree with Ichigo's question and absolve the Shield Hero of his "evil deed" and gain both Ichigo's trust and potentially reduce the Shield Hero's animosity, while on the other if he denied it's possibility Ichigo would probably go searching for more clues of whether or not Naofumi had any guilt in "raping" Malty.
The first was one he personally detested for his hate for the Demi-Human's idol of faith, but the silver lining was it would do a lot to help his wife in her negotiations with the other world powers. To sell the idea all he would have to do is ask the Church to give up one of their mage's and force them to confess to the crime. It was what Ichigo's world would call a Patsy. The downside was the nobles and his allies in the Church would also kick up a fuss about him helping the Shield Hero. He had so few he could trust now and didn't like the idea of damaging his relations with them needlessly.
The second option, while it would let him maintain the status quo, it potentially risked the Sword Hero's trust and there really wasn't much in the way of evidence to "prove" Naofumi's guilt should he go looking for it. Additionally word and rumor had already been spread across the country to damage the man's reputation. That wasn't so easily swayed even if the opposite word was spread right now. Everyone would likely see it as him trying to pull the Hero's favor so he wouldn't leave them for another country than as the 'truth.'
Altcray couldn't decide which to pick. One would certainly pull the Sword Hero to trust him but risk getting stabbed in the back by the Church, while the other risked losing Ichigo in return for little to no gain. There was no "good" option available. Thankfully before he could answer, a disturbance drew their attention to the center of the hall. Altcray privately thanked his lucky stars that Ichigo was no longer pressing him for details. He really was intimidating without even trying. He let out a quiet huff before listening in.
Motoyasu was standing in front of Naofumi with a heated glare and shouting at him for owning a slave. The shout grabbed the attention of everyone in the room as they were looking forward to seeing the Shield Hero get ridiculed by the White Knight Motoyasu. However unknown to the Spear Hero, instead of his accusations affecting his target it was instead the nobles around the room who grew agitated.
'It was evil to own a slave? It was cruel to make them fight? Only the most despicable person would dare to have one?'
Melromarc thrived on the free labor of Demi-Human slavery. Their economy would not be able to survive if it was abolished and Motoyasu suddenly made himself the source of the nobles' anger. Even Malty seemed frazzled as she realized her plan of ridiculing the Shield Hero into a duel was not turning out as she planned.
"Make someone act like a fool, huh?" Ichigo asked under his breath, just loud enough for Altcray to hear. He couldn't help but sigh in agreement. Malty… really needed to think of better plans. There were other ways to publicly humiliate the Shield Hero through his own actions without implicating either the kingdom or the other heroes. She hasn't yet learned that her actions have consequences.
"I know you're abusing her, you sick bastard!" Motoyasu shouted. That finally gained a reaction. Naofumi couldn't stand the pompous man playing pretend knight who hung around that Bitch, so he tried to ignore the blond as best he could. But insinuating he would rape and abuse Raphtalia? Like he was actually responsible for that Bitch's ploy? Like Hell!
"Shut up," he growled. "You don't know what you're talking about. I haven't done anything like that to her."
"That's right. Naofumi-sama has always been good to me," Raphtalia spoke up in his defense.
"Now you have her defending you? How dare you brainwash such a pretty girl!"
"Wha-" Raphtalia was speechless. Brainwashed? Where on earth did he get that idea from?
"You have some nerve," Naofumi said quietly.
Motoyasu argued, "I'm not the coward forcing her to fight. I'm not cursing her whenever I disagree with her! I-"
"-have never had one conversation with said girl to see how she feels," Ichigo intervened, making his way to stand between them. But Motoyasu remained adamant he was right and refused to back down.
"I don't need to have spoken with her to see she has been suffering under his care. Naofumi, I challenge you to a duel over Raphtalia."
"No. You, the king, and that red haired bitch can all go to hell! I hope you all get eaten during the next wave because I certainly won't be raising my shield in your defense. So why don't you take the king to the back room because clearly you've been sucking him off to get better-"
"ENOUGH!" Altcray announced with a slam of his staff.
"Damn it Naofumi," Ichigo muttered. He really risked sounding like a hypocrite here, but Naofumi needed to learn when to keep his mouth shut. The king and his advisors stepped forward as knights surrounded them.
"I honestly didn't care if you two had a petty squabble. It wasn't any of my business. But to be insulted in my own home when I so graciously offered my hand out to you as a guest? That is inexcusable. You will be fighting in this duel…"
Naofumi grit his teeth in annoyance at being forced into the very duel he opposed. He… admittedly probably shouldn't have done that, but he was so angry at the other heroes getting preferential treatment. It felt like everyone in the world had it out for him. The only one who would stick by his side was one who literally couldn't leave without being shocked to death.
To make matters worse a couple knights seized Raphtalia and gagged her before shackling her wrists behind her back.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Naofumi shouted. If she was hurt she couldn't be effective as his sword and they would both die in the next wave.
"...and when you lose you will relinquish this girl's freedom into the Shield Hero's custody should she so choose," Altcray continued.
"Fine," Naofumi gnashed his teeth before turning to the Spear Hero. "But when I win I want to see you down on your knees and beg for forgiveness. Like a dog."
Malty sneered at his words even as she wrapped her arms around Motoyasu's waist. Only Naofumi caught her mocking smile aimed at him before she started offering her encouragement towards the Spear Hero and how it was practically guaranteed for him to succeed.
Ichigo pulled Naofumi by the arm and glared at the knight stopping his advance from exiting the room.
"Step aside. I need a word before they duel."
The guard glanced around nervously. He was ordered to block the Shield Hero's exit. He couldn't move… but it was the Sword Hero who was asking him to. Ichigo leaned down to meet his eyes and the guard gulped as his brown eyes slowly started to change color. Brown gave way to a sickly gold hue and the sclera changed as if ink was being injected into the surface of his eyeball.
"Pretty please?" Ichigo asked sweetly. Way, way too sweetly. The guard shuddered and immediately shuffled his locked knees to the side and expelled all of the air in his lungs as the Sword Hero strode past. Fucking terrifying!
—O—
Skill unlocked: Fear/Intimidation chimed in front of Ichigo's face even as he yanked the arm of the Shield Hero behind him. He barely gave it a cursory glance before pulling Naofumi into an abandoned room along the hall and slammed the door.
"Look, if you're going to lecture me just save it-" Naofumi started before Ichigo cut him off.
"I'm not here to do that."
"You're not?" Naofumi asked, bewildered.
"What is your plan to defeat Motoyasu?" he asked.
"Why do you care? It's not like we're friends," he huffed. "We haven't even had five conversations together."
Ichigo inspected him to see that Naofumi's eyes were already filled with despair. It was as if he believed his loss was already a foregone conclusion.
"I don't need to know you to see that you care about Raphtalia. It was easy for anyone to see how much you cared about her the moment you thought you were going to lose her."
"Tell that to that clown!" Naofumi growled. Ichigo gave him an upturned eyebrow in response.
"Motoyasu…" Ichigo paused to come up with the right words.
"Is an idiot," Naofumi interrupted.
"He's naive," Ichigo argued. "But reality always finds a way to give people a kick in the ass at one point in their life."
"That's bullshit. There are plenty of delusional people out there."
"Then he'll die," Ichigo countered, finally silencing the other hero by his bluntness. "But that has nothing to do with what I want to speak to you about. So I'll ask you again. What is your plan?"
Naofumi stayed silent as he weighed the merits of revealing his possibly only idea of winning when it would be so easy for him to expose it to Motoyasu. It wasn't like any of the other "Heroes" stood up for him at the trial. Ichigo didn't even have the decency to be there! But-
Ichigo did give him some advice and a way to possibly create more valuable weapons he could actually hit back with in the future. So the question remained. Should he or should he not? Flickering sparks of hope warred with his pessimistic outlook born from his constant struggle ever since he arrived in Melromarc.
He then remembered everyone he'd met that showed him even an ounce of decency. Erhard, the people of Ryute Village, and most of all Raphtalia. For her. For Raphtalia he would extend his hand once more in good faith, hoping, praying that Ichigo won't spurn him like the others. He swallowed the mixture of bile gathering in his throat and decided to ask one final question to decide if he should reveal his plan.
"Do you believe her?"
"Her?" Ichigo asked.
"That red haired bitch," Naofumi clarified. "Do you really believe I raped her?" Ichigo sighed in response.
"To be honest, I don't know what to believe… but at this point I don't really care."
"You- don't care?" Naofumi asked, dumbfounded.
"Don't get me wrong, rape is horrible and if it was either of my sisters or friends who were the victims I'd have struck you down where you stand… but… it seems to me like you've already been punished enough. Still, whether you did it or not, make sure to stay away from the princess before you get yourself killed," Ichigo advised.
Naofumi froze. What did he just say? Did he say princess? That fucker king was in on it the whole time? They probably planned it from the start! Why else would Myne have given all of his possessions to the Spear Hero clown? A wrathful fire burned within him. It was simmering on the tipping point of something, waiting for just a slight push to send him over the edge.
"Naofumi? You alright?" Ichigo asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and jolting him from his thoughts. Right, Naofumi thought. There was work to be done before he could let himself descend into a berserk frenzy and punch his fists into rocks hard enough to bleed. His anger instead became fuel for the coming fight.
"Here's my idea…" Naofumi said, beginning his explanation for how he could win the duel.
—O—
Ichigo had helped him refine his plan over the course of a little over ten minutes before the guards found them to march him down to the arena. It was almost a mockery to hold him in a room filled with pristine and fierce weapons and equipment he couldn't use before eventually the bars opened for him to enter the arena.
Naofumi inspected the area for any possible advantage he could get as Motoyasu cockily swaggered out with his spear resting on his shoulder as he smirked to the audience and gave a wave to where his party members were calling out compliments and for him to "destroy the Shield Hero." What was this? An execution? It certainly felt like it with all the cruel gazes sent his way from the hundreds of nobles seated in the stands surrounding the arena. He bet they would like nothing better than to see him "accidentally" fall on Motoyasu's spear several times over. Bastards, he cursed.
Still, there were two people in the stands who wanted him to succeed. Ichigo was giving him an unreadable stare from inside a VIP Box alongside Itsuki and their parties while Raphtalia was being held captive right beside the king in the Royal Box with a sword held at her spine. Naofumi ensured he kept hold of the guard's face in his memory to possibly "revisit" him one day… or more likely at midnight when he was sleeping and completely helpless to stop him from enacting his revenge.
Silence befell as everyone's attention landed on the king as he stood up from his seat and walked to the edge of the balcony.
"This duel will be until either of the opponents is unable to continue or they concede. The winner will be granted this girl's freedom as the prize. Take your positions."
Naofumi fell into a wide stance as he prepared for Motoyasu's charge.
"Start!" Altcray shouted, slicing his hand through the air and Motoyasu was off like a shot. The Spear Hero immediately readied a skill to the tip of his spear currently in the form of a large metal lance. The tip gave off a slight discharge of sparks and Naofumi felt the hair of his neck stand on end.
"Thunder Cannon!" Motoyasu screamed, thrusting his spear towards him from ten feet away.
"Oh Shit-"
Boooooooom!
The bluish-white lightning arced off the lance's tip like the Greek god Zeus decided to show the world of his presence. Naofumi caught the discharge in the center of his shield and was launched backwards like a ragdoll, flying and bouncing across the arena until he slammed into the wall. Naofumi's wheeze was unheard as the crowd wildly cheered. Praises were hurled towards the Spear Hero who pumped his fist in the air as if he already won. Like Hell! Naofumi wasn't going down without a fight. He was going to wipe that smug look off his face even if it killed him.
Naofumi clamored to his feet and retook his stance even as his limbs cried out and his muscles spasmed. What kind of attack was capable of piercing through his defense so easily? He glanced at his health bar and to his surprise found no damage at all! Was that the secret? It was more of a status inflicting weapon form than one of damage? Or was it that his defense was high enough to stop the damage completely but not the added effect?
After his muscles stopped spasming for the moment Naofumi finally boasted, "Was that it? Was that your best shot? So much for wielding the strongest class!" Naofumi laughed heartily to piss the clown off and surprise surprise, it most definitely did. Motoyasu's face pinched and he let out a war howl before switching his weapon to that of a halberd and rushed in once more. Naofumi dodged the first swipe of the spear but wasn't quite fast enough for the follow up. His shield came between them just in time to send up a hail of dull amber sparks and Motoyasu was forced to pivot to avoid Naofumi's right cross. His fist swiped just under Motoyasu's chin and in retaliation for the near hit the halberd slipped past Naofumi's shield… just what he was waiting for.
Ichigo reminded him of the spear's greatest weakness in a one-on-one duel. Once the opponent gets past the spear's edge there was nothing to stop him from grabbing hold of the haft of the spear and launching himself forward. Naofumi's surprise sent Motoyasu into a brief panic and the Hero of the Shield took full advantage of it. Naofumi tackled the man onto the ground while revealing his first phase. Beneath his cape were several monster balloons he kept around to intimidate shopkeepers who refused to sell him anything and other people who simply got on his nerves. He tossed one at the pretty boy's face and the other he latched onto the man's groin.
Motoyasu howled in agony as lancing pain erupted below his navel as the balloons delightfully chomped down on the soft tissue below his waist. Naofumi laughed again, this time much more cruelly as he watched the man responsible for so much of his suffering screamed beneath him. He wailed onto the spearman with his free arm while the other kept a firm hold of the spear to stop him from unleashing any attacks his own way.
"Let go, you fiend!" Motoyasu wailed. "What kind of man goes for another man's balls?"
"'What kind of man' am I?" Naofumi retorted. "The kind who is willing to do anything and everything to win! The kind of man who knows what it's like to have nothing! I am the type of man who just wants to hold on to the one person who actually gives a damn about me!"
"She doesn't care about you," Motoyasu cruelly mocked. "She just wanted to avoid more punishment so she went along with you. No one ever cared about you, you damned excuse for a Hero!"
Naofumi cratered his fist into the man's nose for the comment.
"Shut up, you damn hypocrite! Like you know what heroism is," he roared. "You wouldn't know it if it bit you in the ass you pompous-" He sent a punch to the ear "-self righteous-" Naofumi slammed a fist into his diaphragm "-condescending-" punch, punch, punch "sonovabitch! I'm not the one who still thinks this world is a game!"
Naofumi was cut off as Motoyasu switched his spear back into the lance and sparks started raining down on him.
"Ha! You think you can reach me?" Naofumi growled inches away from his face.
"Absolutely." Naofumi should have paid more attention to the warning. "Thunder Cannon!"
The secret behind Motoyasu's skill lies in simple physics. The initial surge of sparks was actually an abundant discharge of negatively charged electrons that he could mentally control up to a point. The electrons are sent towards his target and then all he has to do is provide a suitable amount of magic to unleash the bolt of lightning between the positively charged spear tip to his target. One moment Naofumi was still wailing on the Spear Hero, and then the next lightning was coursing through every one of his veins as he howled for the world to hear his agony.
Motoyasu easily pushed him aside and swiftly killed the two balloons as he gripped his manhood in joyful relief to find everything still there and functioning… though the area was still sending messages to his brain of immense pain. Motoyasu glared at his downed opponent. He wanted Naofumi to pay tenfold for the humiliation he gave him.
"I- Isss that a- all you got?" Naofumi groaned out between clenched teeth. "I can do this- urgh- do this all day. So why don't we speed things up a bit? Show me your strongest skill! My health hasn't even dropped a single point yet."
Motoyasu dropped his head as a positively ugly expression warped his face.
"You mock me even now! I am going to destroy you, Naofumi!" he yelled, charging up his strongest skill. Naofumi barely withheld his smirk from his position still on the ground as he slowly got to his knees.
"Lightning Spear!" Motoyasu aimed his spear with remarkable accuracy, the spear fired more like a pure beam of light than that of lightning as it neared Naofumi. Motoyasu let out a triumphant grin which quickly fell off when to his and the audience's shock, his skill was absorbed into Naofumi's shield.
"What?" was all Motoyasu was able to say before the same skill was launched from the shield back at him. Motoyasu cast the only support skill he knew. A fast cast barrier sprung up between them, but it was no use. The piercing skill cut through the barrier like wet tissue paper and Motoyasu held his spear up between the blast… when it suddenly hits a second, much stronger barrier before it too was pierced through. Motoyasu took the skill head on and his feet trenched the ground as he withstood his own attack. Motoyasu panted heavily as his arms shook from the strain of the counterattack.
"It looks like this was my victory!" Motoyasu declared smugly.
"What the hell was that," Naofumi muttered, collapsing onto his knees in exhaustion as all of his SP hit zero from the counterskill. He was sure he saw the barrier get shattered even with the searing lightning bolt hindering his view. Out of either chance or some sense of intuition, Naofumi glanced towards Myne to see her lowering an arm behind her back to join the other one before meeting his eyes and sent a patronizing smile his way.
That Bitch! She was helping that clown win. Naofumi bit his lip hard enough to draw blood to keep himself from screaming in rage and a not little amount of despair. WHY? Why was everything being taken from him? What did he do to deserve this, he raged, clenching his hands repeatedly to keep focus. It didn't work. Wrath crept into his veins as complete and utter loathing for the man across from him and that bitchy redhead stood there looking at him like a piece of garbage simply for existing. He didn't ask to be dragged into this world. He didn't want to be in this godforsaken country to begin with.
But he could Burn It All Down Until There's Nothing Left! Naofumi's vision literally turned red as his status magic surrounded his view. It was like watching a computer screen glitching out before finally crashing.
Curse Series Unlocked: Sin of Wrath!
Naofumi filtered all of his rage and despair into one powerful shout, generating a gust of wind around his body that sent anything loose scattering.
"Damn it!" Naofumi growled, punching the floor repeatedly until he broke the stone. Motoyasu couldn't help getting one last shot in.
"I told you the first day, Naofumi. Shield users suck."
Naofumi turned demonic red eyes onto the man and Motoyasu couldn't stop the flinch that overcame him. Those eyes- they were inhuman!
The king made his way down with his guards and a bound Raphtalia to the center of the arena. Naofumi glared hatefully at everyone as the mages were summoned to remove the slave crest from his companion.
This wasn't right, he wanted to scream. It wasn't fair! Why was it always him? Ichigo and Itsuki both surprisingly stormed past the guards in annoyance. Ichigo gripped Motoyasu by the collar and yelled loud enough for everyone to hear.
"For someone who claims to be a righteous knight, you seem intent on proving everyone wrong."
"What are you talking about?"
"You cheated."
The crowd erupted into mutters as Ichigo's words echoed through the room.
"I couldn't give a rat's ass if you wanted Raphtalia simply because you were jealous that a girl preferred another man over you, but resorting to cheating while fighting in a 'Sacred Duel' as you so aptly put it really shows how reliable you are."
"I didn't cheat," Motoyasu denied honestly, wondering what the hell was going on.
"You're disgusting," Ichigo said, shoving him off his feet.
"You denied Naofumi his companion but seemed all too willing to accept aid from your own party," Itsuki spoke up.
"You lost, Motoyasu. We all saw the second barrier shatter."
"But I didn't ask for anyone's help! I fought on my own."
"You may not have asked for aid, but you still only defeated Naofumi because of it," Ichigo said.
"This is ridiculous," Motoyasu growled. "You just want me to lose so you can have Raphtalia for yourself!"
Ichigo gave him a dead glare and sighed. "You… You know what? Naofumi was right. You are an idiot," he muttered.
"The duel is already decided," the king declared, pounding his staff to the floor. "While there is some debate on the legitimacy of the victory, the results are still clear. Naofumi is unable to continue the duel. Therefore the Spear Hero is the winner. However," the king said, "Because the Sword Hero spoke of interference, I have changed the terms of victory to be fair. When the girl has her slave brand removed she will be allowed her choice of which party to join. We will see if she is as loyal as she claims to be while under the threat of your punishments."
The mages withdrew a black inkbrush and went to work, chanting a spell while rotating the brush counterclockwise over the mark until the mark disappeared as Raphtalia cried her heart out at losing her connection to Naofumi.
"It's okay Raphtalia-chan," Motoyasu said. "I promise I won't treat you like Naofumi."
The slap echoed through the chamber and Ichigo bit his lip to stop his laughter. Motoyasu looked dumbfounded as he touched his reddened cheek with a hand in shock, poking it as if to confirm he wasn't dreaming. Ichigo wondered if that was the first time he had been rejected from how stupefied he was.
Ichigo touched her shoulder and gave Raphtalia a polite grin before indicating toward Naofumi.
"I think he would enjoy a shoulder to lean on back to his room. Before anyone gets any ideas."
But surprisingly Raphtalia shook her head.
"No! I want it back."
"Back?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
"My mark. I want it back," she said loudly. Ichigo couldn't understand why she wanted to be a slave once more. She had her freedom and she could leave with Naofumi. Why would she willingly place herself back in bondage? As if she was reading his mind she explained, to both him and to the still sitting Naofumi looking up at her in wonder as if she was a descending angel.
"It shows that I will never leave him. It means I will always be by his side," she said with a bright smile.
"How forward," Farrie said, making her way to the girl's side. "I like it. Ne- maybe you should jump his bones before saying something like that though. You never know-"
"Farrie," Ichigo growled in her ear. "Don't go around corrupting people."
"Eeep! Me? I would never," she broke out into a nervous chuckle and waved him off. Ichigo's unimpressed glare had her scurrying away.
"I approve, Raphtalia!" she shouted before she exited the hall to return to the room at the inn. Ichigo was about to make his own way out of the hall before his Spirit Sword chimed a notice.
Legendary Weapons are capable of absorbing magical materials
Ichigo's brow scrunched in confusion. What was it talking about? He glanced around the area and spotted the ink bottle the mages have yet to put away. Huh. He never thought about that. He swiped the bottle before they noticed and walked out of the hall. He poured the ink onto the sword and like it was going down a drain the ink disappeared into the ruby jewel.
Slave User Sword 1: Slave growth maturation adjustment (small)
Ichigo's eyes bulged as he read the description. That was a serious advantage… but it went against his moral code. He doubted he would ever use it despite the clear appeal of the weapon form's ability to increase the exp rate of his companions. Still, maybe he would have a use for it one day, Ichigo thought as he walked silently back to his room at the inn.
—O—
Unknown to the general public, the Queen of Melromarc had two sides to her that she refused to display in the open. One was her absolute adoration for filolials, and most especially the queen of their species, Queen Fitoria. The second side was her idolization of the Four Cardinal Heroes. Unlike most of the world, she did not pick and choose who was the best hero, she simply liked them all. Of course her faith was shattered somewhat upon the initial reports from her Shadows about the personalities and abilities displayed by some of them.
The Spear and Bow Heroes were somehow under the delusion that their world was a "game." How they could possibly maintain that stance was a mystery to her given the Legendary Heroes' lives had been at risk on more than one occasion during the first wave. But their situation aside, the most troubling of them all had to be the Shield Hero, due in no small part by the actions of her IDIOT husband. Naofumi's development of distrust towards everyone he comes in contact with, his nihilistic personality, and absolutely terrible, terrible social skills were all a recipe in disaster that lay completely in the faulted hands of her King Consort.
The only one so far who had stood up to the legends passed down to them of the past Heroes had to be the Sword Hero. Ichigo Kurosaki, she tested the name. It was certainly unique and foreign to her ears. She desperately prayed that the man stood up to her beliefs. There was still the chance he was housing some kind of detrimental personality flaw, but so far his Shadows had reported nothing of the sort. Still, it would pay to be cautious. She was not one to place blind faith in others despite how her actions may have looked to the other nations leaders.
Only in the privacy of her chamber she could allow the groan of an oncoming headache echo throughout the room. Good God, she was starting to hate agreeing to attend the World Peace Conference despite being the one who proposed it in the first place. Why couldn't she have someone else talk to those pompous, overbearing sacks of hot air with limited grasps of reality? None of them seemed to recognize they were all about to die if they didn't agree to work together, or if they did they were shrewd enough to realize they can benefit from waiting long enough until the situation becomes desperate enough and then they can demand for more on their side of the negotiations table.
Fuckers, she swore in her mind, taking a massive swig of wine straight from the decanter. She hoped they were the first to die in the next wave. Maybe they would send someone a little more willing to look out for everyone instead of their own selfish desires. She was knocked out of her introspective idle thoughts of possibly assassinating them to make it happen sooner by the arrival of one of her Shadows. As always they dutifully knelt before her desk with their head nearly pressed to the floor with their reverence.
"My Queen. I bring news from the Castle."
Mirellia wearily sighed. What pile of shit must she shovel now? She showed none of her anxiety as she firmly said, "Report."
And so the Shadow did. They filled her in of the duel between the Spear and Shield Hero, the complete idiocy of her daughter Malty, and perhaps most wearisome of all was her shell of a husband's actions in prejudicially acting against the Shield Hero's best interests despite her having just reminded him last week. When the rest of the world was against her, the one person she could always count on to support her was now fighting her every step of the way. Her eyes burned with tears she refused to let fall.
Her husband was dead. What is left is just… a disgraceful piece of garbage wearing an older and more grizzled face of her former lover. It was a bitter pill to swallow. She had held out hope for so long that he might one day return to his former glory, especially when the Cane/Staff Hero was most needed. She thought the challenge would push him, to make him realize what he was doing to both himself and their family… but all she received was disappointment and shattered dreams for the future. The bitterness pushed her to say something she would rather have never uttered in her life.
"Tell my husband," she spat the word like a curse, "that if he ignores my orders one more time he will be executed. I can't afford to fight him and the other leaders at once as well as form a plan to survive the waves."
"Yes, my Queen," the Shadow bowed lower in acknowledgement. "Should I send for him?"
The "him" being their backup plan ever since all of the other world leaders placed Melromarc as their number one enemy when her husband summoned the Four Heroes. Mirellia debated the question for a minute in silence before finally nodding her assent.
"Depart at once!" she commanded. "Bring me the Sword Hero!"
—O—
[AN: That duel was a fucking doooozy, you have no idea. I think I rewrote it at least 5 times and I still hate it. Chapter 3 will probably take a while as I barely have ten pages into it and I am working on several other stories at once. I have a hard time maintaining my interest on the same story sometimes, but differing from the other ones I've written, this one actually has an entire plotline drawn out so it means I don't have to come up with things at the drop of a hat and stare at a blank screen. BECAUSE FUCK WRITERS BLOCK!]