Chapter Thirty: Bound In Chains
"Urgh… My head..."
Naofumi blinked as he slowly blinked open his eyes. He had the mother of all headaches going on in his brain. He could tell he was lying down on something hard, but he couldn't tell what it was.
He could hardly recall what'd happened, and wasn't sure how he'd gotten himself into this mess.0
His vision was clouded with tiredness and pain. As he slowly sat up, he heard a strange clinking sound. When he tried to rub his eyes, he felt something on his wrists weighing them down.
"What the-" Naofumi's eyesight cleared enough that he sprung to awareness. He was only dressed in the clothes he normally wore under his armor, which was missing. He had chains on both his wrists and his ankles. He was sitting on a stone bed in a dark dungeon cell. The only light came from a small window in the door to the room. He couldn't see anything beyond arm's length with how dark the room was.
Naofumi groaned and clutched his forehead. His pain spiked from his movement. "What happened... I remember trying to reason with Motoyasu, and then that stupid nun and those Shadows appeared, and..."
After a moment, he finally recalled what'd happened to him only earlier that day.
"Oof!"
Naofumi was thrown roughly against the ground. The impact caused him to groan and stir from his slumber. The front of his body felt sore from the 75-foot drop he'd sustained. His Shield arm also felt sore from the powerful attacks he'd had to block. He tried to move, only to feel he was chained up and restrained like an animal. He opened his eyes and found himself laid on a red-carpeted floor.
Quickly checking his HUD, Naofumi saw there was ten days until the Next Wave. He'd been out for almost a whole day.
Looking up, he found he was in the same throne room he'd been led to back when he was first summoned to Melromarc. A line of chandeliers hung on both sides of the ceiling. Around him, standing guard in lines were several squads of heavily armed Capital Knights and a few Shadows. Outside on the outskirts of the throne room, watching from between ornate pillars were some of the country's nobility along with advisors and Representatives from the Church.
There were noticeably fewer nobles than before.
One of the Church's Representatives, a nun, grinned from ear to ear. Happiness was written in her eyes along with her smile.
It was Altara. Here to see the great Shield Demon brought to justice.
It only took a second and Naofumi remembered what had happened. His blood boiled at the sight of the nun. He might have been knocked out, but he couldn't forget her! Not when this nun had been plotting with Bitch in the beginning!
"So, you finally wake, you blasted Shield!"
Naofumi looked up. The red carpet led up to a small series of steps that ended at a platform with two thrones on it. Sitting on the left throne was none other than the Trash King himself. He stared with hate at the sight of his most hated enemy bound in chains before him. One of his ministers was behind him on his left. "How does it feel, knowing you can't run from your crimes anymore?"
His face brought feelings of rage to Naofumi that were even greater than what he'd felt for the spiteful nun. He struggled against the chains binding him to no avail.
"Air Strike Shield!" He tried forming a shield close to his body to break the chains. A thin-looking green shield flickered in front of him for a second, and then it disappeared. "What the hell…?" A notification had just popped up on his screen, telling him he couldn't use the skill due to Outside Interference.
"Try all you like. These chains were especially enchanted by mages from Faubley long ago to bind Heroes that turned on the world." The King said, his voice barely containing the rage he felt towards Naofumi. "You can't get out of them unless I say so!"
'No, it's not possible.' Naofumi strained, but he couldn't break out of the chains no matter how hard he tried. He sagged after only a moment from being unable to do anything.
"Your Majesty, I managed to bring Naofumi in as you requested," Motoyasu said, further catching Naofumi off guard as he appeared from the side. He bowed to the King.
"Good work, Sir Motoyasu." The King told him calmly. "For once, you have done well."
"Motoyasu! You bastard!" Naofumi yelled at him.
He thought Itsuki told him that Motoyasu cut off his attachments to the King. That the two of them had had a falling out or something. Did that mean Itsuki was wrong or … had he been lying to him about Motoyasu?
Motoyasu didn't look at Naofumi when he yelled. He just stayed in his bow until the King spoke again. "You made some mistakes in the past. But I am grateful to see you have refused to let them define you." Aultcray said as he stood up. Opening his arms as if he was welcoming a prodigal son home. "You are hereby redeemed from your self-punishment and shall be entrusted with the care of my daughter and her friends once again."
"I... I accept your gratitude, your Majesty." Motoyasu bowed his head lower.
Aultcray lowered his arms and a bit of a smile finally came onto his face. "You may return to your room now. Your funds and your party members will be waiting for you there." The King sounded genuinely happy and proud of Motoyasu.
Motoyasu looked… was it just Naofumi, or did it seem like Motoyasu was uncertain for a second? Did he, perhaps, have second thoughts about his actions?
But it quickly passed as if it'd never happened and Motoyasu stood back up, bowing his head respectfully to the King. "Thank you. Your kindness and forgiveness are much appreciated." Motoyasu responded formally, before turning around to leave.
"... I hope it's worth it Motoyasu," Naofumi said bitterly as Motoyasu passed him again. "I hope you enjoy being the hero that everyone else wants you to be instead of the hero that you should be."
...
He didn't get a reply from Motoyasu or see if Motoyasu had heard him or not. It didn't matter to Naofumi either.
He doubted Itsuki had lied to him about Motoyasu. It'd merely turned out that he'd been wrong about him.
Motoyasu was still the same naive idiot who did whatever he felt was right, no matter the consequences. 'I should have never tried reasoning with that blonde fool. I should have just run while I had the chance-'
"Now, Shield, the time of your trial has come at last!"
Naofumi focused on the King again, who was looking down on him as if he was the filth of the world. "First, in your long list of crimes, you attempted to rape my daughter, the first princess Malty Melromarc, and fled the city after doing so to escape punishment!" Aultcray's voice boomed authoritatively.
"I did not rape that pig." Naofumi immediately refuted in a cold voice.
"You will not call my daughter by such a foul term!" The King yelled in an enraged tone at him.
"Also, I ran away from a plot to have me killed. It wasn't because I tried to rape anyone." Naofumi could already tell he was going to get a guilty verdict.
This wasn't a trial. It was a sham. A show. His sentence had been determined long ago. So he spoke dryly, refuting the King.
"And do you have evidence that what you say is true?" The King mockingly asked.
"Why? You wouldn't believe me if I had any." Naofumi coldly replied.
"If you truly have no evidence, then why should I believe you over my own flesh and blood?!" Aultcray demanded.
...
Naofumi grimaced. All he had was his word. There was nothing solid to back him up. No recording of Bitch's talk with the nun. Nothing to expose her or the Church of their wrongdoing.
He hadn't gathered any evidence because he'd never thought he could convince anyone that royalty and the state religion were a bunch of shams. That was coming to bite him in the butt now.
The King continued as if Naofumi hadn't interrupted. "You broke into our holy Church! Brainwashed a 'demi-human' to serve by your side! Committed various crimes and atrocities in killing the nobility across my country! And worst of all, you are responsible for the disappearance of the Holy Sword and Bow Heroes!"
"BULL^%$&!" Naofumi finally yelled.
He had broken into a Church, yes, but saying he had brainwashed Raphtalia to serve him was rubbish. Saying he was the one killing nobles was also rubbish. That was Itsuki, not him.
He should have asked what he meant about Ren and Itsuki disappearing, but he was far too angry with Aultcray to think rationally then. "YOU'RE REALLY PILING THE RUBBISH ON NOW YOU PIECE OF TRASH! I GUESS IT FITS YOU THOUGH SINCE TRASH AND RUBBAGE GET ALONG SO WELL!" Naofumi continued to yell in anger. Even in chains, defenseless and powerless, there was an intimidating air around Naofumi. One that made Trash pause for a moment.
Naofumi stood up in his chains. "Yes, I broke into the Church! But before that, I asked the priests nicely to let me register for the wave! They were the ones that forced me to break in since they think of me as a devil! Their actions nearly cost the lives of all the people who'd been trapped in Lute Village!" Naofumi said, gesturing angrily with his head at Altara and the other Church Representatives.
"Secondly, I didn't brainwash anyone!" Naofumi continued. "If I could do that, I wouldn't be in this situation right now! Actually, I would have brainwashed Motoyasu so I wouldn't have to be here!"
"Lastly, how can I kill a noble when my &^%$ing attack stat is so low?!" A knight had gotten close to him because of Naofumi standing up, and Naofumi swerved and punched the man in the face before anyone could react.
CLANG!
The other knights had quickly raised their weapons in response. But the loud familiar sound that rang through the room made them pause.
Naofumi turned back to the King. "You want evidence that I didn't do it?! There's your damn evidence!" Naofumi gestured at the knight who, besides looking surprised, was completely unharmed from Naofumi's attack.
His rage finally subsided for a moment as he stared at the King, wondering what he'd do.
"..."
Aultcray said nothing in response, and whispered with one of his advisors. A representative from the Church walked forward and heatedly argued with them both in quiet tones.
After a moment, Aultcray dismissed them and looked at Naofumi again. "Very well. Had those noble men been killed by poison or some other method, there'd be room for debate. However, as they all died to physical attacks, I cannot argue the merit of your evidence in that regard. My knights will need to gather more evidence to find who's truly responsible for their murders."
Wow. His lack of attack stat had actually helped him out, for once.
It was still seriously low even after all this time. He'd gone from taking five minutes to kill a level one balloon by punching it to four and a half minutes. There was no way he himself could actually kill someone unless he used his Chimera Viper Shield's counterattack. And that was because the counterattack inflicted the attacker with poison.
In other words, it would have required someone to attack him in order for Naofumi to kill them via that method.
Too bad his lack of attack stat couldn't explain away the other crimes he'd been accused of though.
"Do you have anything else you have to say?" The King asked, glaring hard at him. "Anything that could cast reasonable doubt on your other crimes?"
Naofumi should have continued on. He should have mentioned his stint as the 'Nocturnal Doctor'. It would have been ridiculously easy to send people out to verify, and find that it was impossible for him to be responsible for the other crimes he'd been accused of besides Bitch and the Church.
But his Rage came back with a vengeance at the King's glare. And so, Naofumi did the stupidest thing he could possibly do and gave in to it.
"... I have nothing to say except this." Naofumi breathed in angrily before starting his tirade. "YOU CALL THIS A TRIAL?! BULL&^%$! THAT'S WHAT THIS IS! IF YOU WENT OUT YOURSELF, YOU'D FIND MOUNTAINS OF EVIDENCE THAT GO AGAINST WHAT I'VE BEEN ACCUSED OF BUT I DOUBT YOU'D CARE SINCE YOU BELIEVE I'M THE DEVIL HIMSELF!
"IF YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS CRAP BECAUSE YOU'RE A &^%$ING KING THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH!" Naofumi could have sworn the gemstone turned red on his shield while he was yelling. It was only thanks to these chains and the knowledge that he had no attack stat that he didn't run up to the King to deck him in the face.
He continued breathing in and out heavily. Glaring at the King and everyone else in the room with complete and utter hatred in his eyes.
In the rafters up above, a Shadow sighed to herself. "I daresay, the Shield Hero could have not been more foolish if he'd tried."
...
"I see." Aultcray stood up. A vein bulged in his forehead as he glared at the Shield Hero. "If that's what you wish for, then fine! This trial will be put on hold until the evidence you desire is gathered!" He slammed the end of his staff authoritatively on the ground. "In the meantime, Shield; I, King Aultcray Melromarc the XXXII, pronounce you to be held in the Dungeons until we've gathered all the evidence! You shall not be let out, not even for a wave! You will sit in a cell and rot like the scum you are until the evidence you are looking for has been gathered and you are inevitably found guilty of the other crimes I listed!"
"What!?" Naofumi snapped out of his rage in surprise.
"Be grateful I'm even considering this. For raping my daughter alone, I would have shown no mercy on you." Aultcray stated, his tone laced with genuine anger.
"But I'm supposed to fight in the waves! You can't keep me from fighting in them!" Naofumi screamed. That could have been his chance to reunite with Raphtalia and Filo and escape!
"I can, and I will!" The King yelled. "You want evidence of your crimes and yet you refuse to abide by our laws! Is it no wonder the people believe you're a demon!?"
Cheers erupted from the people on the sides. Altara the nun looked ecstatic at the Shield Hero's fate after being briefly worried by the King dropping the one charge against him.
But now, the Shield Demon would be thrown into the dungeons. His scourge on their country would then be eradicated there. The Church was making sure of that.
"You… you're insane!" Naofumi clenched his fists angrily. "Do you even care about the lives of your people?!" Naofumi accused him. "If Ren and Itsuki have disappeared, then you'll need me there! You can't just throw everyone's lives away!"
"Then I shall pray that my knights are swift, and that those two are found. Perhaps they might have evidence that'd work in your favor." Aultcray said tiredly. "Do not let me see his face again until the evidence is gathered."
"JUST HOW STUPID ARE YOU-" Naofumi tried to speak, to say something, but he felt something prick his neck again. Was it just him, or had it pricked him more easily? Looking down, he saw his shield, covered in chains, in its default form. In other words, one of his lowest defense rating shields. "No… Filo… Raphtal-"
Naofumi fell forward, the tranquilizer already taking effect.
"You… bastard…" Naofumi faintly whispered before he blacked out.
Naofumi returned to the present. 'Oh, I remember now… there wasn't anything I could do… that piece of Trash threw me in here to rot.'
Gather evidence, yeah right. It was more like the King had been looking for any excuse to keep him locked up for all eternity. At least, that's what it'd felt like to Naofumi.
It hadn't been a trial he'd seen back there. It was a sham. It was one big, twisted, ugly sham meant to keep him imprisoned.
Well, he'd show him. One way or another, he'd get his payback on the King.
...
Naofumi still felt like he had a major headache. It was likely a side effect of the tranquilizer that had been used on him to knock him out. He hadn't fully slept it off yet.
'I just… I don't get it.'
How could so many people in this world hate him this much? That they'd lock him away even if it meant losing their own lives.
Was it because of people blindly believing in their religious leaders? Was it because people in power abused their authority? Was it just because people hated the Shield Hero and wanted to make him the scapegoat for all the problems they were suffering from? Was that all he was, a scapegoat in demon form?
And Ren and Itsuki… the King had blamed him for their disappearances…
What had happened to the two of them? By disappear, he couldn't possibly mean...
'You know what, forget it.' Whatever their situations were, they couldn't possibly be as bad as his. For now, he needed to figure out what he could do to get out of this mess and reunite with Raphtalia.
She and Filo were out there somewhere, waiting for him. There was a wave coming that he had to fight to keep their world alive. And if he didn't fight it, then other innocent people would die. And Raphtalia wouldn't be happy letting that happen.
He had a painful headache, and he was exhausted, but he couldn't take this lying down! He had to fight back!
He checked the timer on his HUD again. The red hourglass showed there was still ten days until the next wave. Based on the time left on it, it was most likely evening outside.
'I could wait the ten days out and then be teleported to wherever the wave is to escape... but I get the feeling that the chains I'm wearing will restrain me from teleporting. And I'd rather not wait ten days. So that option is out.'
What else could he do?
...
Naofumi focused on the status icon in the corner of his view, hoping that the rest of his HUD hadn't been restricted.
Fortunately, it wasn't. Naofumi sighed in relief as Raphtalia and Filo's stats appeared under his own in the corner of his vision. Even though they'd locked him up, they hadn't been able to remove his party members. All of their gauges were full.
They were still alive...
Naofumi quickly checked his own stats. There was a notification to the right of his stats saying his shield was locked in its default form. He still had a higher than normal defense stat due to stat boosts he'd unlocked from some of his other shields. However, being locked with his weakest shield, and because he was missing his Barbarian Armor… his defense stat was far, far lower than what it normally was.
It made Naofumi feel vulnerable... and he didn't like the feeling.
Just to check and make sure, he tried accessing the Shield Menu to see if he could change shields that way.
Unable to Access. Locked due to Outside Interference
He tried thinking of the shield form he wanted, but got the same message once again.
So he really couldn't switch to a shield that provided higher strength so he could break himself out of these chains... damn them.
He didn't have his pack on him. Meaning all of his maps, potions, and other items he'd been carrying before being captured were gone. Fortunately, his money was still being held in his shield. Apparently, even if he was a criminal, they didn't have the power to access it and take it away.
They could only take away the armor he wore as well as the pack he'd been carrying around.
Then again, he didn't see how money would get him out of this situation. Unless he bribed a guard or something.
The odds of that working seemed drastically low thanks to how much everyone hated him.
"But what else can I do?!" Naofumi asked himself in frustration. He didn't want to wait! He wanted out of there, now! Damn it, if only his shield had an inventory option or something so he could have stored his items that way! Man, what he'd give for even one of the tools he used to craft accessories! It would have been sharp enough to cut through these chains with ease!
Unless, of course, they were enchanted to not take damage by normal means. Naofumi scowled and pulled on them again. His defense stat was enough that the skin on his wrists didn't break, but his wrists did feel sore from all the pulling.
They continued to clank loudly as Naofumi attempted to rip his hands out. Still managing to not break the skin of his wrists, and-
"It's no use. If there was a way, I would have escaped long ago." A feminine voice said opposite him.
...
Naofumi slowly looked up at the person who'd spoken.
Because of the low light, he'd thought he was the only one in this cell. However, after having been given some time for his eyes to adjust, he was now able to make out the outline of another stone bed at least a dozen feet across from him. Someone was laying on it.
"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Naofumi asked rather rudely.
The woman, for Naofumi, had deduced by this time that it was a woman lying on the bed, sat up. The faint torchlight fell over her, and he was genuinely surprised at her appearance.
Unlike himself, dressed in the clothes of an adventurer, she was dressed like a noble. She wore a mostly blue outfit, with gold colors on the shoulders, the collar, and the center of her outfit. A series of light metal diagonal squares were spaced evenly throughout the center of the gold-colored part of her attire like buttons, traveling up to a red jewel holding the collar together. Looking closely at it, the jewel kind of resembled his shield.
Naofumi thought it was a dress at first, but then he realized that wasn't it. It looked more like the chainmail he'd first worn, only fancier and made from better materials.
Naofumi shook his head to clear it and scowled at her. "Why is someone like you here?"
This was the last place he'd ever expected to meet someone that struck him as a noble. No, it wasn't just her armor, but even chained up, this woman held an air of authority around her.
She lifted her face to look at him. She had long strawberry-blonde hair and startling blue eyes. In the faint torchlight, her face could have rivaled Raphtalia in beauty... if it wasn't for the scruffs and cuts on it. Along with the look of hopelessness in her eyes that had come from her time in prison.
"I am here awaiting a trial that will never happen." The woman said in a broken voice. "For a crime I never committed."
"... Well," Naofumi said, feeling he should address what she'd said earlier. "I'll break out of these somehow. They're not going to keep me here."
"Even if you could use magic, it'd be impossible to break those chains." The woman said defeatedly. "They also keep magic users from using magic. Otherwise, I would have escaped too." The woman held up her wrists, revealing the same chains that Naofumi was bound with.
'... well, there goes another option I thought about trying.'
Not that it'd help him much since he didn't know any magic that could destroy anything.
"These chains are enchanted to prevent prisoners from accessing anything other than status magic." The woman continued, before looking down at the shield on his arm. "That would include access to skills and any other powers possessed by Cardinal Heroes."
…
"I take it you know who I am then," Naofumi said dryly.
"Of course I know who you are, Shield Hero." She said. "After all, I signed up to become a member of your party when you were first summoned to my world."
… Naofumi was confused at what she'd said. Or maybe it was the pain of his headache clouding his mind. 'She signed up to join my party? I don't remember anyone other than Bitch joining me that first day...'
"I'm sorry. I don't know if you already said it... But… who are you again?" He asked confusedly.
The woman let out a defeated sigh. She hadn't expected her first meeting with the Shield Hero to be here, chained up as cellmates in the Castle Dungeons. But…
"My name is Eclair Seaetto." Eclair introduced herself. "I am the daughter of the late Lord Seaetto. And I am a Knight for her Majesty, Mirellia Q. Melromarc."
"Thank the Gods you're alright."
"I can say the same to you."
"Were you and your party also attacked?"
"Yeah, we barely made it out alive."
"Same here. My party… it isn't good. I almost killed one of them."
"You what?"
"I..."
"..."
"..."
…
...
"It doesn't matter now. You heard what Motoyasu did, right?"
"... Yeah, I did."
"Do you think he realizes what the Church is twisting him to do?"
"I doubt it."
"Then what do you think we should do?"
"They tried to kill us. If I learned anything down in those Archives, they'll try to kill Naofumi while he's jailed up."
"Then we need to rescue him."
"Right. You have the closest waypoint saved to your weapon. Mine were erased by what happened at the Church."
"The closest I have is a day's journey away. We'll have to move quickly."
"Gather your party members. And any other volunteers who want to help us. We can't let Motoyasu's mistake kill Naofumi."
Hero Clips!
All You need Is Money
Naofumi had nothing on hand. No armor. No items. No medicines. No potions.
The only thing he had was all the money held in his shield.
'I really don't see how this'll do anything.'
Then again, it wasn't like he had any other choice. So he might as well give it a shot.
"Hey, you." Naofumi called outside his cell to the knight patrolling.
"Hmm?" The man looked at him in boredom.
Naofumi pulled out five silver coins from his shield. "What would you say about letting me out?"
...
The knight shook his head and continued with his patrol. A few day's salary wasn't worth the wrath of the King.
Naofumi frowned, then he thought about it and took more money from his shield. "Hey!"
The knight looked at him again. Naofumi waved one hundred silver coins around.
...
The knight didn't look away this time, and actually looked really tempted by what was to him, a large amount of money. He'd never been able to save up that much before in his entire life. But he had to remain strong! He couldn't be tempted! He-
Naofumi took out another four hundred silver coins. Making in total five gold coin's worth of silver. "All this is yours if you open the door, unbind my chains, and let me go."
...
Without a word, the knight opened the cell door, spoke a command, and the chains came off Naofumi. The Shield Hero gave the man his money, and he began to leave, staring down at it in wonder.
"Oi, one more thing!" The man turned, and Naofumi offered an additional 500 Silver Coins as he smirked. "For directions out of here. And I need a distraction."
"Booooooo! The Three Heroes Church stinks!"
The knight from before threw eggs at the front entrance of the large building. The knights standing guard in front of it and around the square stared at the man in shock.
"W-What the heck are you doing man-" One of his comrades began to yell at him.
The knight threw an egg at the guy, hitting him square in the face and covering him with the gooey contents inside. "The Three Heroes Church was wrong! All the Heroes are devils!" The bribed knight yelled giddily, feeling an odd sense of freedom and purpose for once in his life. 10 whole gold coins! He could finally quit his job and do what he wanted!
Of course, that'd come after he was done with this.
"Blasphemy! Get him!"
Those in the square that were actually Church Knights roared in anger as they ran towards the former knight to restrain him. But he danced out of their grips, being higher in levels and having a class-up over them, so thus he continued throwing eggs at them or the Church while laughing and yelling obscenities in their faces.
As that went on, a cloaked figure walked past the square, chuckling to himself at the chaos he'd caused. Nobody paid him any attention as he headed towards the gates to the south.
'Who knew. All you really need is Money.' Though, Raphtalia might kill him for how much of it he gave away, but eh, it was a necessary sacrifice, and she'd most likely be happy to see him again.
And thus, Naofumi proceeded to escape the Capital on his own. And nobody was the wiser until his cell was found empty.
Wait, was it empty...?
Nah, he was sure he'd been the only one in there. It would have looked really bad on him if he hadn't noticed somebody else important that was trapped in there!
Yeah, he was certain nobody else had been in there with him!
Meanwhile
"Wow... he really left me behind, huh."
Eclair sighed as she laid back on her stone cot. "And to think I wanted to join his party."
Here was to another thirty chapters of being stuck in the same cell as before.
...
She really should have thought about bribing the guard sooner.
Till Next Time
Allen