Chapter Thirty-Six: Raining Judgment

Sometime before what happened at the Capital, the scene was chaos.

"Ahhh!" Aksel screamed like a barbarian as he swung his war ax.

"Zweite Barrier!" The Shadow he'd tried to attack summoned a glowing barrier of energy in front of himself. Blocking the strike.

"Come on!" Aksel parried a blow from a mercenary. The party had been split due to the multiple attackers. They were interspaced across the tavern. The main Church Shadow who'd questioned Sir Itsuki stood near the closed-off entrance. He watched as Itsuki's party slowly tired themselves.

"Huah!" Crystal spun around and kicked a large and burly mercenary away. Before she turned and skewered another one on her spear. "You're lagging lolicon!" She yelled at Aksel.

Aksel jumped back, avoiding a strike from a different mercenary. Crystal was closest to him. "How many times do I have to tell you!-" He swung sideways, beheading the poor mercenary. "I'm not a damn lolicon!" He then jumped back to avoid a spell from the protected Church Shadow.

"Ahhh-" A mercenary that charged Aksel from behind was suddenly cut down before he could strike.

Aksel turned again, right as Maya reappeared from her illusion spell. "You could at least try a little harder to keep me from having to save your skin every few seconds Axie-poo." She teased him.

"Why now?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" It wasn't certain whether Aksel's face was red because of the blood of his enemies, or because he was embarrassed.

"Ah!" Marx fell to the ground on the opposite side of the tavern. A shadow's sword impaled in his gut.

"Get away from him!" Before the shadow could retaliate, Karn knocked the two mercenaries he'd been sword fighting with to the sides and threw his sword. It stabbed through the Church Shadow's heart before he could react. The hooded man gurgled on his own blood as he fell to the ground.

Karn ran up and pulled his sword out of the shadow's limp body. The mercenaries he'd knocked back charged again with more reinforcements. "Rach! Marx is badly wounded!" Karn yelled across the room as he defended the downed mage.

"I'm a little busy!" She rolled to avoid two mercenaries who charged into each other. "Zweite Shadow Strike!" A dark shadow came off from her and zoomed towards the main Church Shadow leading the attack.

"Anti-Zweite Shadow Strike." With a calm wave of his hand, the Shadow dispersed Rachel's spell before it reached him.

'Damn it. I hate counter magic.' Rachel ducked a spear from a mercenary. That was how Marx had gone down. He couldn't cast any of his spells either without one of the Church Shadows countering it. And he wasn't as agile as she was.

"Fuehhh!" Rishia barely avoided being cleaved in two by a mercenary wielding a great ax. She dropped her sword to the ground and raised her hands as she quickly chanted. "F-F-Fast Gust!"

Because of how close he was, the large man got slammed by the surprisingly strong wind spell before a Church Shadow could counter it. He was sent flying across the room into a group of three mercenaries who were charging Aksel and Crystal. Maya had disappeared again.

"Thanks, Rishia!" Aksel waved his ax to her before trying to attack the same Church Shadow as before.

"Fueh! FUEHHHH!" Rishia looked stunned that her spell had worked. And almost didn't dodge the next mercenary in time.

"Show these criminals of God no mercy." The lead Church Shadow said calmly despite the bloodbath going on. He'd expected there to be losses. Enemies of God almost never gave up easily. But it wouldn't matter in the end. The false hero's party was outclassed and outnumbered. One was already down. Soon, the rest would fall.

'No… I can't be the criminal here… I can't be the criminal…' Itsuki wasn't exactly fighting. He was defending himself from the mercenaries and Shadows attacking him. A Shadow used ice magic again, but he used a Fire arrow skill to counter it. A mercenary tried to chop off his head, but he ducked it and sent an arrow into the man's gut, knocking him back. But it was all automatic.

His body reacted instinctively to survive. His mind was locked in a state of turmoil.

'I'm supposed to be the warrior of justice. The embodiment of my favorite hero in this game… how could I be the villain? How could my party be seen as criminals?'

"Urgh!" Aksel was struck back into a table by a powerful blow from the Church Shadow he was facing. His armor was dented from the many hits he'd taken. Immediately after, mercenaries swarmed him. Battering down on him with their variety of weapons. Aksel raised his arms to protect himself.

Aksel, the former knight, had confided to Itsuki once about his past shortly after he'd joined the party.

His family had grown up in the region of Seaetto in the same town the Lord had resided in. He wanted to become a knight so he could protect his demi-human friends from the slavers who tried every now and then to enter his home region. He'd failed the Royal Knights entrance exam, but the Church had seen the potential in him and trained him.

He'd been away at the Capital going through his final knight exams in preparation for moving up from the Church Knights to the Royal Knights when the Wave of Catastrophe struck. Because he was still in training, he hadn't been sent with them. But being amongst their ranks, he heard his comrades gloat about what they'd done to his homeland.

It was why he'd secretly left the Church Knights altogether. If it hadn't been for Itsuki helping him to find those who had been enslaved, he would have lost faith in all of the Cardinal Heroes.

Aksel wanted to free his friends. He also wanted to make the Church pay for destroying his home.

Crystal jumped back to avoid a mercenary wielding a sword. Her eyes widened at Aksel's predicament. But as she tried to run to help, she was tripped up by another mercenary wielding a spear. She grimaced when her head hit the wood.

Itsuki had learned about a week after his one-on-one chat with Aksel about the silver-haired girl's background. She had lost her parents as a child to some rare illness she didn't know the name of. She somehow survived the same illness, but it had changed her hair color from brown to silver. The rest of the village, thinking it was a bad omen, shunned her. Eventually forcing her to leave.

She had been forced to thievery and squatting in abandoned places to stay alive. However, one day, when she had been stealing from a demi-human's stall, she was discovered. She'd already been weak from malnourishment and was sick with something else. Having grown up on tales of demi-humans being murderers and animals, she'd thought her life was finally going to end then and there.

But the silver-haired demi-human, instead of harming her, helped her. He, his wife, and their son and daughter took her in. They bandaged her cuts and scrapes. They gave her medicine, food, a warm bed to stay in, and a place to call home. Something she hadn't had for years.

Crystal had later learned that the father of this kind demi-human family had lost his parents to the same illness that had taken her parents. And, because of his kindness, she stayed and left her old life and beliefs behind.

She was emotionally distant at times because of her past experiences with people. But she did care about others. She'd gone out on this adventure because this man's son, now her best friend, and maybe something more, had been kidnapped in the middle of the night by slavers. She hadn't even hesitated when she told the man who helped her so much that she'd find his son and bring him back.

She had a debt to repay for his family's kindness, and a desire to bring the slavers responsible for kidnapping him to justice.

Karn dispatched the last mercenary who had charged to attack him. "Don't worry man." He told the grimacing young man still on the ground in pain. "We'll get you out of this-" Karn was knocked back by a spell from another Church Shadow. Who hadn't taken kindly to him killing one of them.

"None of you are leaving here alive." The Church Shadow muttered as he calmly approached. And then, while Karn struggled to get back up, the Shadow impaled the young Marx's chest with his sword.

"NO!" It wasn't Karn that'd screamed, but Itsuki.

Marx's eyes widened in shock and pain. Itsuki's eyes also widened. 'No…'

Marx had the most tragic backstory of them all. One Itsuki had only learned a couple of days ago when Marx had been frustrated after saving some slaves from a noble.

The normally quiet and reserved teen had grown up in a mixed household. His dad was human, but his mother was a Kitsune demi-human. He was the oldest of four siblings, and he was the only one who had been born without any Kitsune like characteristics. Keeping only his mother's blonde hair while inheriting the rest, even his magic affinity, from his father.

Two years ago, his house had been raided by the town's Three Heroes priests and Elders. His Father had been whipped in front of the entire village to be made an example of. His mother and siblings were taken and sold to slavers.

Marx had only been spared since his Father lied to the priests and convinced them that he was the child of a woman he'd had an affair with. They had considered that a far lesser sin than marrying a demi-human and had allowed Marx to stay with his Father instead of being enslaved. But the image of seeing his mother and siblings being dragged off in the prison wagon had been engraved in his mind forever.

He'd spent the next several months helping his Father to recover. And he had promised him that he'd get stronger. He'd find his mom, his siblings, and all their friends who had been taken by those evil and corrupt priests/slavers. And he'd make those corrupt priests pay for hurting their family.

Marx looked across the room at Itsuki. Who stared in shock. Despite all the mercenaries and Shadows that were surrounding him. Time seemed to slow. Tears were leaking from his eyes as he mouthed words to Itsuki.

Find them… save them... for... me...

His last breath left him, and his eyes turned glassy. His head slumped back against the floor. His stats disappeared from Itsuki's HUD.

Marx was dead.

"BASTARD!" The Shadow suddenly pulled his sword out of Marx's body and defended himself. An enraged Karn struck at him repeatedly. His blade was almost a blur in the air.

Itsuki stared at all that was going on in the room. His eyes watering with tears at the injustice of it all.

"Fast Darkball!"

"Anti-Fast Darkball!"

Rachel's magic once again failed. She ducked a strike from a mercenary and stabbed him in the chest with a dagger. But at least five more were surrounding her. She was breathing in and out heavily. Tears fell from her eyes. She'd seen what had happened to Marx.

They were all from different backgrounds. Rachel had a demi-human fiance she wanted to protect. The timid and scared Rishia had been a slave herself. Karn had his own agenda which he hadn't expounded much on. Maya had hope restored to her after being freed from slavery. Aksel had his friends to save. Crystal, a debt to repay. And Marx… Marx still had a family to find.

A family he wouldn't see ever again. And a Father waiting at home, hoping to see the day when his son would return, the rest of their family in tow.

Karn leaped for the Church Shadow again. His sword was to the side as he screamed in anger. Rachel backed away in fear. A group of mercenaries surrounded her. Maya's invisibility spell was finally countered, and she reappeared in the midst of a group of mercenaries. All of whom turned to attack her. Aksel was being pounded again and again. His armor cracked and dented.

Lastly, Rishia cowered under a table, crying with her hands over her head as several mercenaries surrounded the table. 'It's useless… I'm useless…' She felt terrible. She couldn't even find the courage to protect the hero who had saved her life.

His whole party was on the verge of being slaughtered.

Just like Marx.

Itsuki's eyes darkened. 'They accuse me of being the criminal here?!' He thought darkly. The accusations stung. Everyone in the tavern turning on him hurt. Learning this had all been a setup just to kill him hurt even more. But seeing Marx die. Seeing someone, who'd only wanted to fix the injustices caused to his family, get slaughtered in the name of that same injustice! All of it combined together and caused something in Itsuki to snap.

The last thread that had been binding him to his sanity.

'Do they accuse me of not being on the side of Justice?! Do they accuse me of being in the wrong?! When they stoop so low and do THIS!'

His bow changed to a pure white with strange symbols on it. He didn't care if this was a game anymore or not. These pathetic fools had gone too far. Their injustices deserved to be fixed!

'This isn't enough! I need more Justice! I NEED MORE TO PUNISH THESE FOOLISH SINNERS!'

...

Ç̵͖̭͓̟͍̪̳̪̗͕͖̤̾u̵̢̫̦͙͎̥̗͖͚͖͖̯͊͐́́̉̆͛̃̀̀͠͠͝͠͝ͅŗ̸̟̞̥̞̠̻̟͚̭̜̻̗̟͎̉̌̉̄͆͘͜s̴̨͌̋̅͊̿̔͋̀͗͌̾̕̕̚ȩ̷̗̈́̊͐̋̎͒ ̶̡̢̢̨̹͇̙̙̯͍͓͔̹̀̎͜ͅS̸̨̛̜̥̐͝e̶͔̞̬͕̐̋̆̈̈̈̆̐͐̓͝ŗ̵̯̳̤͈̪̥̘̲̰̬̍̐̏͘ị̷̰̲̙̺͈̘̖̩̦̿͐͋́̂̅̎̆̉̊̋͑͐̈́e̸̲̻̞͖̠͚͈̟͍͍͚̳͌̃́͗̍̉̊͐̈́͜͝͝ş̸̲̞̦͓͎͇̗̼͗͑͑̃̑̕͜͝:̸̧̰̠̠͚̼͔͈̱̹̜̘̽͋͜ ̵̺̠̯̯̞̩͓̜͉̂̂́̇Ḇ̷̆͐̋̈́̀̃o̴̝͆͗̾̎ẉ̵̲͓͈̹̙̯̣͈̱̟͓͙̋́̅͐͗̿̒̊͛̉͘̕͘͜͠͝ ̶̛̛̣̬̯̯̹̥͔̠̪̼͕̊́̎̎̄͂̽o̴̢̬͈̱̣̥̯̙͔͚̦̫̤̥͑f̶̡̢͓̙̰̥͙̣͔̠̰̹̳̯̤͛͋̾̄ͅ ̸̨̛̮͕̺͖͔̫̻͍̠͍͌̇̾̀͌̿̓̌̚̚͝J̶̛͔͍̳̦͉̱̤̋̉̄̽̽̚͠u̸̟͕͇̬̍s̴̢̡̢̛̛̞̩͇͙̬͉̩̙̙͙̩͗͐̈͐̈́͑ţ̸̛̘̼̭̜̣̞̫̰͇̪̣̰͓̥̈́̌͋͐͒̃ȉ̴̺̭̣̩̗̫̎̏͗́̈́̇̃͋́̿̑̚͝c̵̨̗̯̒̂͐̄̿̔́ȅ̴̹͈͉͒͂̔̔̓̏ ̶̨̯̤͖͚̩͔̮͛̆̆̀̿̒̍̀͐̎͘͜͝Ä̶̢̳͖̫̞̙͕̻̣̬͍̗́b̵̡̝̬͉͇̞̙̼̩̦̤͓̥̮̈ͅị̶̹̻̠̟̹̹̮͓̺͈̱̻̌̂̈́̈̽͌̔̚ͅḽ̶̨͔̣͇͕̪̫͍͉͙̫͍̌͆̓̒̅̽̊̄̍͋̃̾̀̄̀̚ͅi̶̠̎̂͒͊̉̐͘͝t̴͔̫̫̘͙̹̙̣̘̉̉̓̆̐̋̅̓̀̕͜ȉ̷̢̫͇͚͖̣̗̣̮̣̩̹͚̩͔̒̀͂̒̏̀̃̐̕ȩ̷̣̙̳̃͛͗͐̏̈͗ṡ̵̨̢̧̧̲̬̯͕̟̤͇͖̈́͊̈́̀̃ ̸͇̖̞̲̻̹͍̖̖͈̹̽̀͋͋̈́͆̊͗͐̈́͐͂̕͘͜͜͝͝I̵̼͕͇̺̣͇͉̳͕̗͍̙̹͑̔ͅņ̵̥̰̼̖̍͐̿̓͛͐̏̃̕̚͝c̶̨̦̽̊̿͐̀͘ŗ̷̝̳͇̲̖͓̙̜͑̀é̷̢̡̙͈̩̝̖̥̦̤͔̱͙̑̀̓̈́̈̌͂̚ͅͅǎ̴̛̛̠̭͖̹̯͔͖̣̼̹͕͇̽̌̎͆͆̓̅̓̽̿s̴̡̨̻̪̪̳̳̯̘̪͕̞͖͎̃̈́̈̀͂̾̈́̄̓̆̽̑̈́ę̶̡̛̻̳̥̥̥͖͈͉͎́̊̐̽̔́̕͜ḋ̶͉̗̳̩̯̱́̄̎̀̇͂̚!̴̴̛̺̪̙̬͚͇̳̳̻̫̫̬̲̳͊͌̌̊͂́͂̓́̒͘̕̚̚͝

̷̜̺͓̭̠̗͈̙͙͈̼̼̫̒͑̋̿͌̇̈́̈́̇͘͠͝B̷̙͔͔͈͋̃̊̑̂͂̈́̉o̷̤͇͈̥͖̦̲̤̖͔̣͐̆̃ͅw̵̡̡̝̱͓̤̳͊̆̏͝ ̵̢̤̝̳̮͓̫̌͐͗̒͋̈́̽̉ͅo̸̡̢̹͉̞̹̦̯̠̝̾̏̃͛͊̀͋̋͜͝f̶̛̠̜̤̝͍̈́́̏̑͒̚ͅ ̷̧̧̨̡͈̫̤̻͇̦̱̞̠͎̹̑̋̔̇͆̆̓͗̉̌̅͒̋͂̚͝J̶̢͇̥͇͉̮̱̿̓̑͌͋̾͝ư̴̖͇̝̖͑͋̒͑̎̌̾̑̈̑̎̚͝ş̵̡̰̗͈̝̰͈̣̪̭̺̆̑̓͗́̂͊̓͂͘͘͝ț̸̨̨̗̮͓̯̟̺̦͎̳̻̠̂̊̔͒̽̍́̉̒̇̌̏̒͘͠ͅį̷̹͎̠̻̤̦͚̩̼̌̅̈́̐̓̂̌̈́̇̔̔̅̕̚͝͠ͅc̸̡̨̨̩͉͉̙̪̺̲̲͗͊̇͋̈̋̃̆̕͝͠ḙ̴͙̭͎̹͍͎̠͐̈́̐̍̐̓̅͘ ̸̢̛̦͍̞͓̞̙͍̇͋͆͑́͗͂̓̿̂́Ì̶̡̳̺͍͖͙͍͎̻͔̭͍͒͊͒͌̿͛͑̚͜͜ͅI̷̜̳̖͕̱̥̤̐́̏̓̈͘̚ ̶̳̼̑̏̿̽͌̅͂̐͂͗̓̆͗̌̋ȕ̵̧̟͚̠͓͉̮͙͈͉̲̻̰͚͆̋͂̂̆́͋̚̚͜ń̸͎̳̲̈͛̀͆͌̓̕̚͝l̴̨̞̘̗͚̦͛͗̍͑̕͝ȏ̵̱̮͛̃̅̀̔͛̄̈͊͘ç̷̨̱̬̩̠̥̣̋̓̄̔̀̿̿̌̓͊͠k̷̡̞̘̜̦͕̩͛̍͆͌̕͜͜ę̸̢̢̧̱̝͔̝̯̘̬̥̳̝͎͆͜ḑ̷̡̨͖͎͕͕̳̣͖̤̰̲̘̆̈́̓̀̔̽̀̌͘͘̚̚̚̕̕!̵̵̧̡̨̭͖̱͖̗̖̒́̃̄̍͒͛̆̑͌̄͂͝͝

̴̝͇̭͊E̶̡̝͙̺̬͓͉̓̂̆̿̒͂̍͒́͌͌͘q̵̢̢̹̰̜͈͓̤͍͙̞͊̅̍̇̎͛͗̈́͂̕͝͝ͅǘ̶̢̡͖̭̭̘̦̩̳͉̦̼̞͉̪ͅi̸̡̙̿̋p̵̢̨̻̺͙͈̭̱̤̜̟̗̜͓̅̂̇̀͂̈́̉̕ ̷̠͕͖̦̻͉̲͇͙̑͝͠B̸͇̩̞̣̖̭͙͈̠̣͋͋́̿̇̔ͅȯ̸̺̆́͗̽̂̍̕n̸̨̨̧̪̮̭̫̩̠̞̘͈̙̤̳͊͋͊̈͐̽̈́͆͑͒̔͗͝͝ͅù̸͖͙̞̦̝̰̥̫̼̬̦̖̯͍̘̟͗̀̾̍́͛̒̒͑̕s̶̤̙̜̠̳̓̒̀̂̊̑̍̕͠͠ ̵̛̭̉̔̇̔͛͛̈́̋S̴̮͚͚̹͎̤̳̫̀̌͜k̴̨̨̧̜̖̖̳̲̫͈̼͚͓̇̄͘͜ͅį̸̮̥̗̦̳̱͙̹̼̇͌̽͌̓̊̏̓̒̿̀̚l̵̩͎̰̈͂̌̃̋͑́̇̿͜l̷̨͓̘͉̙͙̥̰̙̾̂͂̆͗͐̐̈́̈́̔̃̅́͆̍̈́͜͜:̵̭̺̔ ̵̧̡̥̘̱̙̱̖͚̑͗̈́͌͆͒̈́̕̕̕ͅ"̷̨͖̘͙͈̬͙̱̞̯̣͔̺̰̙̇͜C̷̥̬̎h̵̡̺̜̭̱͍͗̀͆͛̀͝͝ͅa̴̢̿͂̎̈̈́ň̴̢̡̨̼̹̱͔̪̦̞̠͓͎̩̜̍͆̅̑g̵̜̲͊͛̔̉̂̂͌̃͐͘ͅẽ̷͇̳͇̤̩͖̩̆̐̀ ̶̨̨̧̥͙̯̝̜̦̹̹̱̳̭̈́̏̊́̓͂̚͝͝B̷̡̗̝͙̣͓̱̤̹͉̬̯̬̊͌̚ͅò̵̘͓͈̻̠͇̙̮͙̋̇̉̈́̕͜͝ẇ̴̧̡̯̣͓̱̫̱̊͂̎͛̃̓̔̏̕͜ ̴̡̢̢͇͕̥̱̪͚̻̱̮͊̓̌͊̐͑̑̑̈́̅(̶̨̧͈̝̠͉̥̳̣̻̗̺̃́̆̃͛̔̈͜͜Ā̷̢̛̲͈̠͓̱͖̻̜̹̞̳̯̼̼̬͊̉͂̂͐̃͠t̷͓͑̽̈́̊̊̈̌̀͠t̴̡̡̛͙̗̦̮͇̠̱̪̜̫͉̩̋̂̋͊͆͆́͗̌̑̑͠ä̶̦͍̤͚͔̠̦̼͚͚̠͔͔̻͛̂̓́͑̽̉̾͒͘͜c̵͚͎͈͕͎̝̭͛̈ķ̴̰̫͚̬̻̦̼̖̙͉̞̯͕̓͗̈́̆̒ͅ)̵̠̗̤̬̲͎̘̇"̷̞̞͖̈́̆̆̽́͆̓̍̀̍͘͘ ̵̨͖̭̘̠̮͚̖̞͕̼͋̇͆̏̈́̋̈́́̀̆͘͜͠à̴̧̳̩̟̖̹̮̲̫̫͉̰̪̩̿̄́̚͜͜͠͠n̷̢̡̛̛̼̫̝̦͓̙͚̲̹͖͚͖̍̑̃̃̆̏͆̈̒͊̄͑͝ͅd̶̢̨̗̠̦̤̩̘̟͈̯̺̪͉̠̚ͅ ̷̨̟̪̗̟̰̱̺̮́̅́̎̔̀͋͂̌͆̔͆͝ͅ"̴͉̱̊̅̍̈́́̑́̑̈́̄͐̕͝B̶̧̨̟͚͚̖̙͚͈̦̹͙̘̰̩̓͋͝ų̴̡͇̖͖̱͎͔̰̰͔̟͇̹̠̹̋̄̓͊̅͂̀̏̔̕̚͝͝ļ̷̹͈̺̝͔̻̝̙̩̗̼̙͛̀̉̐̑̈́͒̃̅͠͝l̸̟̪̤̩̪̼̣̺̥̳̎͌̅͛̉̏͗̈́̐ ̶̨̢͚͙̣͓̯̝͔̖͙̓̀̐̔̀̾ơ̴̧̢̨̩̬͍̥̤̰̲̗̺̎̔́͂̿̍̕ͅf̷̨̧̛̱̺̻̩͈͚͚̯͓̬̙͐̾ ̴̯̩̞̲͓͍͙̠̞͍̹̭̥͘͜P̶̨̨͓̹̬̹̪̩̩̫̫͎̣̗̹̉͊̾̌̏͋͒̅͒h̷̬͍̻͙̱̬̻̩̄͌̆̈́͝ȃ̶̢̝͉̿ḷ̸̥̌͒ą̸̨̤͔̭̺̲͙͕̻̃͒̒̄̂͛̒͌͑͝ŕ̵̛̞͎̐̀̂͑̅́͆̿̿͋̑̑͝͝ị̴͙͙̠͚̾̍́̃̋̊̐̂̈̾͂̔͂̚͝͝s̸͉̳͉̝͈̠̲͖̗̃̐̃͐̍̄͗͑͘͝"̸͕͎͍̤̝͙̼̹̤͍͕̺̂̈̓͒̓̏̏͊̿͛̈̉̚͠

̵̨͍͎̪̹̝̭̮͙̺͊̀̐͌̀̏͆̄̑̌̅̈́͘͜͝͝͝...

The white, if it was possible, leached out more color from the bow. It was unnaturally white. More pale than white. The symbols on it deepened their etches into the bow. The dark aura coming off of it intensified. Like an invisible gas of miasma was coming off it. The mercenaries and Shadow attacking Itsuki stumbled back. Suddenly wary of this new bow. But it was too late.

It was time for them to pay.

The Church Shadow Karn was facing kicked him back. He rolled over a table and landed painfully on the ground. The Church Shadow approached, several mercenaries flanking him. "I think it's time we finally got to purifying your soul." A fireball appeared in the shadow's hand.

Karn grimaced. He wished they hadn't blocked portaling. This could have been so much easier. "I'll make you pay... I swear I will..."

The Shadow smiled under his hood. "Oh, but I have nothing to pay for. After all, everything I do I do in the name of-"

The mercenary wielding a bow next to the Shadow suddenly fell to one knee. "Brocko, you okay?" One of his fellows asked.

…

"Yes... That is what I should be doing." The mercenary muttered weirdly as he stood back up. He pulled out a dagger.

The Shadow turned to face the mercenary in confusion. And then before he could react, the mercenary stabbed him in the chest with the dagger. A crazed look was in his eyes. "I need to dispense justice on those who deserve it."

Karn looked wide-eyed. The Shadow was also wide-eyed as he collapsed onto his knees. The dagger was still in his chest. The mercenary twisted the knife, and the Shadow collapsed completely in a spray of blood.

"Brocko, what are you-" One of the other mercenaries was saying in surprise when the mercenary quickly turned and sent an arrow right into the forehead of his former friend.

"Ah!"

"What!?"

"Why?!"

The lead Church Shadow looked around in surprise. A few of the mercenaries. Even one of his own Church Shadows had suddenly turned. Attacking each other instead of Itsuki's party. "No, what are you doing-"

Itsuki launched an arrow from his bow. Striking the mercenary in the side. "I fight... for the right!" The same mercenary plowed into the other mercenaries that had piled on Aksel. Swinging his mace like he was trying to break open a pinata instead of people's skulls.

"I fight... for the downtrodden!" Another mercenary hit by Itsuki's arrows impaled a Church Shadow next to him instead of Crystal.

"I fight-" Another mercenary tried to charge for the main Church Shadow. The shadow stabbed him through with his sword, but the man thrust forward, ignoring the pain. "-for Justice!"

The Church Shadow screamed in pain. The sword had thrust through his side. He slashed again, beheading the mercenary. He then held his side, gasping in pain. 'No… what's… what's happening…'

"No, stop it, please-" Another mercenary was beheaded by his fellow.

Itsuki fired another arrow. It went through a mercenary's chest. Instead of killing him though, a crazed look entered the man's eyes. And he proceeded to turn on his comrades just like several of the others.

"No, what are you do- AHHHH!" The Church Shadow Aksel had been facing screamed as he was impaled from several different directions all at once.

The lead Church Shadow looked from them to the next group. A single mercenary was taking on his comrades. Laughing maniacally as he did so. 'Something… something's wrong here… it's like… it's like they're being brainwashed into serving him!'

A figure approached through the chaos. The Shadow turned.

It was Itsuki. But it wasn't.

"Zweite Aqua Shot!" Muttering a quick chant, a ball of water launched at Itsuki. It slammed into his chest.

He stumbled, but then he scowled as he stood up again. What damage the spell had done healed over within seconds.

"What… what are you…" The Shadow said fearfully.

Itsuki glared at the wounded piece of scum as he approached. "What am I?" His voice was darker than before. His eyes glowed a light violet. "I am your judge, your jury, your executioner." He darkly answered. "None shall escape my grasp."

The Shadow's eyes widened. "I decree you guilty, and sentence you to death."

The Shadow tried desperately to cast a spell. Any spell that would come to mind. He was a servant of God! He was only trying to fulfill his holy will!

"Shadow Bind!" The Church Shadow's own shadow froze in place. With it, the Shadow himself stopped moving.

"Wha- No!" The Church Shadow yelled.

"Bind Arrow!" Itsuki released an arrow from his bow. The already bound Church shadow was slammed painfully back into the ground. Like his shadow was being stitched into place.

"Foolish Sinner! Your transgressions have filled the cup of iniquity to full! Writhe in pain as you're roasted alive, and as your dying screams are converted into the cries of a raging bull!"

"No, please, have mercy-" The Shadow begged.

"I call forth The Bull of Phalaris!"

A giant, grey-horned bull about ten feet tall and fifteen feet long appeared above the Shadow. Its weight crushed the tables around it.

"Sir Itsuki!" Maya yelled. She had a wound on her thigh but was otherwise unharmed. All around, mercenaries screamed in pain or in calls of Justice. Slaughtering each other while Itsuki's party members watched with stunned faces.

Itsuki didn't pay attention. He instead opened his fist. Similarly, the bottom of the bull opened up, like a fiery pinata awaiting its candy. "No! NO! PLEASE!" The Shadow begged pathetically. He was being raised off the ground. Heading towards the hot fiery insides.

"There shall be no mercy for those that go against Justice," Itsuki murmured.

"You call this Justice!" The Shadow finally snapped. "You might kill me today! But the messengers I sent before coming in here will still make it to the Capital! Your safe haven for demi-humans will be no more, and you won't be able to stop it! Oh God, receive my soul-"

Itsuki closed his fist.

"Ah! AH! AHHHHHHHHH!-" The Shadow was thrust into the grey bull. And the bottom of it closed.

"Rahhhhhhh!" The golden bull let out a screech. Its eyes glowed bright gold.

And then, it was over.

The bull disappeared. Flames, dark flames flaked onto the ground like snow.

The Church Shadow was gone.

Itsuki collapsed to the floor, his bow changing forms. He was breathing in and out heavily. 'What... what was that...'

"Sir Itsuki…"

He turned his head. All the mercenaries and patrons who had been in the tavern before. Even the owner of the tavern who had locked them in, they were dead. Their blood coated the floor, broken furniture, and walls like fresh paint. Several of the torches had fallen from their scorches. Their flames licked against the wood of the floor.

The only ones left alive were his party.

"What…" He trailed off. It had all happened so fast...

"We were about to die... but then mercenaries suddenly turned on each other… and those that turned against their comrades attacked each other once their comrades were dead…" Rachel said. She was staring at Itsuki.

"They said they were fighting in the name of Justice… but they killed each other..." They had never seen anything like it before. They had all fought until the last two had killed each other. That was...

'No… forcing people to attack each other isn't justice!' Itsuki looked at the new bow on his bow menu. It was labeled Bow of Justice II. There was a new effect on it, specifically labeled Self-Curse Brainwashing. 'Brainwashing… but Dimension Wave… that game never had something like this…' Dimension Wave hadn't had many of the things he'd just witnessed. Dimension Wave hadn't had a lot of what he'd seen as of late.

Before any more could be said, Crystal screamed. "Rishia!"

Itsuki quickly turned. Crystal was by one of the tables that had been crushed by the appearance of the Phalaris Bull. She had moved many of the broken pieces of wood aside to reveal Rishia underneath.

His face paled at the sight.

Rishia was in bad shape. Blood stained her clothes. Burns covered her skin. Like the bull hadn't only tried to crush her, but its hot cursed skin had tried to cook her too. "Rishia…"

She didn't give a Fuehhh in response. She was still.

"No… I… I didn't mean to…" Itsuki crawled over. Crystal laid Rishia across her lap. Looking sadly down at the girl.

Karn limped over, and an armorless Aksel walked up supporting a wounded Maya. His armor had been so badly damaged he had to tear it off in order to get up.

Itsuki felt more tears fall from his eyes, seeing the poor green-haired girl's still body.

This wasn't real... this wasn't supposed to be real!

'No… I only wanted to punish the mercenaries… I wanted to punish the Shadows… but not like this! I didn't want to punish her too!' He gripped Rishia's hand and cried.

The girl reminded him too much about his past before being isekaied… he hated his past… he hated how much she reminded him of it...

But he didn't hate her… he hadn't wanted to kill her…

Why... why had he done this!? Why was he like this!?

WHY!?

…

Maya's ears flickered on her head. "Aksel, can you help me down next to her?" She asked, her voice serious.

Aksel complied, helping her down next to Itsuki. Maya leaned over Rishia. Placing her ear near her mouth. After a few seconds, Maya gasped. "She's still breathing."

Itsuki jerked his head. "What?"

"It's faint. But I hear it." She placed a hand against Rishia's chest. "She has a heartbeat. But it's weak. She doesn't have long."

Itsuki finally looked closely at Rishia's HP bar. While it looked empty. There was just the faintest sliver of red on the left side. Like she was just barely hanging on by a thread.

"She's still alive… There's a chance Van could-" A loud snapping sound interrupted Itsuki, and everyone turned their heads towards the entrance. The torches flames from before were slowly turning into a bonfire. The leftover cursed flames nearby were also starting to flare up.

"Sir Itsuki, are you able to teleport us now?" Rachel asked.

Itsuki checked. The notification he'd been receiving before was gone. There wasn't interference with the portal skill anymore. 'There's still a chance.' They could still save her. "Gather close..." He trailed off and looked at Marx's body. Lying in the midst of the bodies of the mercenaries and Shadows. More tears leaked from his eyes.

They could still save Rishia… but it was too late to save Marx...

"Allow me." Aksel went over and picked up Marx's body. "He deserves a proper burial." He had tears coming from his eyes too. Most everyone in the party did.

Itsuki looked at the flames. The ones that were going to consume this whole place. The flames that would hide what had happened here…

'If only I'd acted a little sooner… if only I hadn't frozen...'

In the cursed flames, he saw the face of his best friend, Jaylee, staring back at him. The same sad smile was on her face. Just like when he'd stared at her back then. Frozen as she raised the knife she held to her own throat.

He had failed once again.

"When are you going to realize it wasn't your fault?" The memory of her voice asked him in his mind.

Itsuki closed his eyes tight and raised the bow over his head with a clenched fist. "Transport Bow!"

A dome of light surrounded the group, transporting them away from the slowly growing fires.

Only the bodies were left behind. The bodies, the blood, the discarded weapons and armor, and the slowly growing fires consumed it all.

"NO! RAPHTALIAAAAAAA!"

Naofumi lifted Raphtalia's cursed limp form so she was lying on his lap. Now that he was no longer blinded by his Rage, he could see how hurt she was. He was all sorts of confused and terrified at the same time.

'What have I done?!' She was barely breathing. Most of her body and clothes were covered in black burns.

He forced down his confusion and terror and tried to focus on his spell tab. Selecting Raphtalia as the recipient of the spell.

"As Shield Hero, Source of thy power I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and heal my target! Fast Heal!"

Green energy covered Raphtalia's body from head to toe. However, when the spell finished, she didn't stir. She was still covered in cursed burns. Her HP bar barely moved. "And heal my target! Fast Heal!"

Again, green energy covered Raphtalia's body. But she didn't move. The curses not only stayed, but they interfered heavily with the healing spell. To him, it looked like her HP bar was dropping despite his efforts.

A desperate look came onto Naofumi's face. "No! Damn it! Fast Heal! Fast Heal!" Naofumi yelled again and again. "Raphtalia, stay with me! Fast Heal!" He was steadily freaking out. 'No, please be okay Raphtalia!' "Fast Heal! Fast Heal! FAST HEAL!"

"No… Miss Raphtalia." Eclair said.

"She… she pulled Naofumi out of his Cursed Series." Melty realized.

"M-Mommy…" Filo looked sad. The three of them were near a charred building close to the wall.

Nearby, the Shield Prison shattered. Malty fell to the ground. Covered in cursed burns and bleeding from several different areas.

"Myne!" Motoyasu grabbed her under one of her shoulders, helping her up.

"Am… am I…" She coughed weakly. She looked to be shaking in terror. Looking around herself as if she was afraid she had actually died.

"It's okay, you're okay now." Motoyasu hugged the red-headed girl.

Myne still looked to be in shock and pain. "What…" Her arms hugged Motoyasu. "What happened…" She asked.

"Raphtalia stopped Naofumi from using whatever skill he was about to use. She's badly hurt though." Motoyasu was saying, leading Myne away back towards the safety of the other knights.

"Fast Heal! Please, work damn it! Fast Heal!" He could see out of the corner of his eyes Naofumi trying desperately to heal Raphtalia. He was going to get Myne back to the other knights, and then send for some holy water. Hopefully, the rest of this mess could be resolved peacefully so no one else got hurt.

She coughed as she forced herself to drink her last elixir.

"Come on. We're going to get some holy water for you and-" Motoyasu was saying.

Myne looked to Naofumi and growled. She resisted Motoyasu's pull and tried to face them.

"Wait, Myne-" Motoyasu tried to say.

Angry was too weak a word. Pissed off came nowhere close to what she felt towards Naofumi. 'How dare he hold that kind of power! How dare he make a fool of me and make me beg for my life!' Despite the burns, she started to smirk. 'Well, since he's tied up with trying to keep that mangy mutt alive. I can spin this to my advantage.' Oh, how she loved the way her twisted mind worked.

"The Shield Demon is down! Seize him!" She pointed at Naofumi as she ordered the knights. Even though many of them were already tired out or out of it because of their injuries.

"No! That's enough older sister!" Melty yelled. She marched out into the center of the square.

"Wait, Princess Melty-" Eclair followed behind her.

"I have had it with you!" Melty glared at the knights who were still capable of fighting and following Malty's orders. "Don't listen to her! Parts of the city are still on fire! Your first priority should be to help the citizens evacuate and fight the fires!" Melty yelled to the knights.

"No, she's still under the Devil of the Shield's mind control-" Malty started to yell.

"As the current heir to the throne and by the authority of the Queen I command you to help the citizens of Melromarc!" Melty ordered the knights. She was in the center of the former battlefield now. There were blast marks and bits of broken armor scattered around her. By her count, at least five knights had died from their injuries. "There has been enough bloodshed caused today by the foolish actions of my older sister! I will not allow her stupidity to throw away any more lives!"

Malty scowled. "Why you little-"

"I am not being brainwashed! The Shield Hero is incapable of doing such a thing! If you are really loyal to your Queen, you will listen to me as if I were her and do as I say!" Melty ordered. Her voice sent shockwaves down the souls of all those that listened to her, even Malty. "HELP OUR CITY, NOW!"

"No, you can't!" Malty screeched. The Knights looked from Malty to Melty in shock.

They knew the King would want Naofumi in a cell after all the damage he'd caused during the duel. But Melty looked very fierce and intimidating now, just like her mother. And the people in the city behind them were starting to panic. They could hear screams and calls for help! Even the possibility of Melty being brainwashed wasn't enough to make them want to abandon the civilians. Especially since some of them had families living in the Capital.

"Myne, stop! Your sister is right! We can't risk another fight-" Motoyasu tried to say, pointing at the fires. Melty had convinced him, at the very least. Actually, he'd long since been convinced.

"I don't care! My little sister's been brainwashed by that, that, FIEND! I won't stand to the side and allow him to get away with this!" Malty yelled as she pointed a hand at Naofumi to hurl a spell at him.

Little did she know that Melty had been chanting under her breath up until that moment. Expecting her sister to still try and attack. "Zweite Aqua Slash!"

Malty and Motoyasu turned in surprise. The water spell barely missed. It flew and hit the ground behind her. However, part of Malty's hair on her right side fell off. The spell had cut them clean off and given her an impromptu haircut.

Melty still had her hands raised determinedly. "I won't miss next time! You've gone too far, dear sister!"

Malty's eyes flashed with rage. Her pathetic little sister dared to make her look like a fool?! She raised her hands. Her sister should have struck her down while she had the chance. She'd give her something far worse than a haircut. "Zweite Hell-"

"Fast Tornado!" This time, Filo in her Filolial form materialized in front of her and Motoyasu. Malty barely had time to blink before she got hit by Filo's wind magic and was slammed into Motoyasu. Both of them were thrown back toward the knights. Motoyasu instinctively covered his groin area with one hand, expecting a kick there after his last experience facing the large bird.

Filo, however, jumped back to stand by Melty's side. The spell had cost the last of her MP. But she still had her immense strength. "Leave my mommy and daddy alone!"

"Just leave us alone! Haven't you hurt the people enough because of your actions!?" Eclair yelled angrily. She brandished her sword. "How could you think to call yourselves knights after today?!"

Melty glared. "You've accused a Cardinal Hero of the impossible and caused a mess of our city! You worked with the Three Heroes Church to have me killed! And it's only because of Naofumi that I'm still alive! Back down and let us depart, and maybe I won't mention any of this to mother!" She yelled angrily. She might have been annoyed with Naofumi refusing to call her by her name, but she wasn't going to allow Malty to cause any more harm.

"What… is that true?" Motoyasu asked Myne.

"No, of course, it isn't Sir Motoyasu! I would never try to harm a hair on my sister's head!"

Some of the knights looked shocked. Including the Captain. "The First Princess… working with the Church…" They started to murmur.

"Why are you just standing there?!" Malty yelled back at the Royal Knights. "Your princess was attacked! Capture them!" She yelled.

Altara finally came to on top of the wall. She sat up, rubbing at her forehead. Filo's kick hadn't knocked her out, but the impact with the stone had. She checked her hood to make sure it hadn't come off.

Thankfully, it was still in place.

"Miss Altara." A Church Knight helped her up. "The Shield Demon and his party are trapped. But the Second Princess is starting to sway some of the Royal Knights."

The gates finally started to open. The inner wall gate opened more slowly, however, due to all the damage it had taken from one of Naofumi's cursed fire blasts.

Altara looked over the side. Melty, Eclair, and Filo were a little over a hundred feet away from the gates near the center of the battlefield. "It is okay." She found the Shield Demon, desperately trying to heal his party member. "Our forces should be plenty to handle the rest by ourselves."

"No! Stand firm! The Shield Demon is finally in our grasp-" The Commander was yelling, but some of the royal knights finally listened to Melty instead of him and Bitch. They broke ranks and ran to deal with the growing fires and the panicking civilians. The Captain and the majority of his men were among them. Some carried those who couldn't fight to the hospital where they would have their cursed burns treated.

The Captain and a few of his best men ran in the direction of the Castle. To report to the King what had happened and what they'd learned.

Melty grimaced. A good portion of the knights that could still fight had left. But the Commander still had over a hundred knights. And that didn't include the Church Knights that were about to flood in behind them with whatever reinforcements the Church likely had on their way. "Eclair, Sir Naofumi is still trying to heal Raphtalia. He'll need your light magic to assist him."

"But Princess Melty, you'll be in danger here," Eclair said.

Melty grimaced. The odds didn't look in their favor at all. "Don't worry. Filo will protect me." She gave Filo a Magic Healing Water, which the filolial girl drank down. "The Shield Hero needs you more than I do. We can't get out if he's focused on trying to keep Raphtalia alive." She said.

"I can't abandon you in your time of need!" Eclair was torn. She wanted to support her friend. But the Shield Hero also needed her support! She couldn't be in two places at the same time!

"Myne! This needs to stop!" Motoyasu yelled into Myne's face.

"No! I'm not done yet! I'm not going to let them make a fool of me!" Myne yelled.

"But, but what about the people? What about your sister! What about Naofumi and Raphtalia-" Motoyasu tried to say. Naofumi hadn't even acknowledged anything else that was going on. He was still trying to heal Raphtalia, and his MP points were getting low from the process of doing that.

"Screw the damn demi-human! I don't care about her! She can die for all I care!" Malty yelled. "My sister is letting herself be brainwashed, and I need to free her from the grasp of that demon!"

Motoyasu was stunned by that response. Malty glared with absolute hatred at where Naofumi was desperately trying to heal his beloved companion. "That peon has defied me for long enough! It's time I finally put an end to him!"

"But, but-" Motoyasu tried to respond. It was like some inert sense was finally activating. Seeing the look on Myne's face. It was warning him to get the hell away from this girl right now.

But Myne was his friend! She wouldn't stab him to death like his last two girlfriends had! Would she?

Filo took a ready stance to the front right of Melty. Eclair sighed but took on a sword stance on her back left. Unless they had more help, she couldn't just abandon the Second Princess.

The inner gate was almost high enough to allow a surge of Church Knights to swarm in. The Church Knight helped Altara along the wall so she'd be able to watch their moment of triumph when the Shield Demon and his party were finally dealt with.

Motoyasu watched what was going on. Naofumi and Raphtalia were near the wall. Naofumi was looking increasingly desperate trying to heal Raphtalia. Melty, Filo, and Eclair were a hundred feet away halfway down the square. He and Myne were only fifty feet away from them. The Royal Knights had divided. Those that remained with the Commander were moving up to Motoyasu and Myne's position. Ready to plow through the three girls to get to Naofumi. If the Church Knights entering through the gates didn't get to him first. With him being so close to the edge of the square by the wall with Raphtalia.

What could he do? What should he do? What was right in this situation?

Unfortunately, before he could decide, a shout came from a nearby rooftop.

"Meteor Arrow!"

Boom!

A large blue arrow struck the pavement behind Motoyasu to the side. A burst of energy exploded outwards, sending a large group of screaming knights back. Myne covered her face with her arm, and Motoyasu did the same. "Wh-What the hell-" A second arrow landed in front of Motoyasu and Myne, blasting them both away into more knights.

Eclair and Melty were confused. But Filo started looking around herself. "I'm sensing magic similar to mommy's."

A group of people walked almost as if out of light. Two of the original party members were missing. But in order, there was Maya, Aksel, Rachel, Karn, and with them, a whole squad of demi-humans. Dog demi-humans. Raccoon demi-humans. Kitsune demi-humans. And a couple of large demi-human therianthropes covered in armor. Almost all of whom Itsuki had freed from one noble or another.

The therianthropes looked like a mixture of a bear and a human. Large, eight-foot-tall, and covered in black fur under their armor.

"Huh, if that bird was able to sense us, then I guess our combo illusion spell still needs some more work Rachel," Maya said while grinning.

"It got all of us this far. Your progress in magic is astounding." Rachel replied dryly. The Royal Knights still standing looked stunned at their appearance.

"Who, who are you-" Eclair tried to ask.

"Oh, us? We're with him, apparently." Karn pointed towards a building with his sword.

A lone bowman stood on the edge of the roof. Itsuki no longer wore his hooded cloak. His light leather armor had been updated. He didn't have sleeves, but instead had green bands of cloth wrapped around his wrists and light leather gloves on his hands. His Legendary Bow reflected the light of the morning sun.

His party members were also outfitted in the latest gear. Aksel swung his black war ax menacingly. Crystal spun her spear deftly. Karn held his sword to the side. And dark magic crackled on Rachel's fingertips.

They looked pissed.

"Attack!" Itsuki ordered.

Before the knights could recover, Rachel and Maya quickly chanted and cast another combo spell. "Fast Shadow Illusion!"

A wave of darkness traveled over many of the knights. A lot of them started to scream in confusion as they flailed around blindly.

"No! Get into formation! Captains, get-" The Commander tried to order.

Aksel bellowed like a war bull as he charged. The two large demi-human bear therianthropes followed right behind him. The three together plowed into the knights' ranks. Sending many of them flying into the air. "Ahhh!" "AHHHHHH!"

"Fast Fireball!" Some of the demi-human mages began casting spells too. Aiming at the Church Knights that finally started to charge in. At seeing who was launching the spells, the Church Knights roared in anger and determination.

They didn't spread out across the square as any smart army would.

They ran right for Melty and the demi-humans.

Altara's eyes widened above. "No! What are the Bow Hero and his party doing?! Why is he with those abominations?!"

Itsuki stayed on his perch. Raining down arrows and skills on the Church Knights that tried to flow out of the gates en masse for the abominable demi-humans.

"Shining Arrow!"

"Arrow Squall!"

'Oh, they'll like this one.' "Saint Arrow Rain!"

Knights screamed from minor explosions caused by the spread skill Arrow Squall. Others collapsed to the ground because of the light arrows that went right through them thanks to the spread skill Shining Arrow. A few ran around in a panic, their armor on fire thanks to the spread skill Saint Arrow Rain. And Itsuki still had many more spread skills to dish out on this army.

His spread skills were generally weaker than his other skills, but damn, were they perfect for dealing with an army.

"This isn't right!" Altara yelled. The Bow Hero was supposed to be on the side of God. Not on the side of the Shield Devil! "Why is the Bow Hero-"

"Miss Altara!-" The Church Knight with her tried to point, but then a large explosion rocked part of the wall. A whole squad of knights was sent flying off.

Ren appeared out of the smoke on the other side of the wall opposite Altara. He was running, and his sword was still glowing from the skill he'd released.

His armor also had some updates. He had some new black arm guards made of dragon scales over his sleeves. His blue cloak was gone. His chest plate and shoulder guards had been strengthed with Dragon Steel, giving the black more of a black/grey look. Despite the changes and updates, he still had a calm look on his face. And he charged toward Church Knights in his way.

"Bakta! Take point!"

"You got it, Sir Ren!" Bakta ran in front of Ren. And crossed his armored arms as he increased his speed. "Hahhhh!"

"Ow! Ah! Wha! Oof!" The tank plowed through the ranks of surprised knights on the wall like a wrecking ball. Their swords and spikes bounced off of his armored shell. Even if they had gotten a solid strike, Bakta was easily double their level. They were sent flying off the wall on both sides.

"As the source of thy power, we order thee!" Tersia and Farrie jumped down. Several demi-humans followed them. Also casting magic.

"Decipher the laws of nature and summon a mighty gust of wind!"

"Summon a fire, a burning current of flame!"

"Grow together to form a blazing inferno to clear our path!"

"Go!" Tersia and Farrie yelled at the same time, landing on the ground. Their hands pointed toward the Church Knights focused on Melty's group. "Inferno!" A maelstrom of wind came from the two mages, and it burst aflame. Bursts of light and shadow along with more fire from the other demi-human mages with them surrounded it. The firestorm slammed into the Church Knights, dropping many almost instantly.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Those that got past the flames or that weren't brought down by the other spells or Itsuki's skills divided their focus. Some continued on, while the rest charged towards Tersia and Farrie's part of the square. They crossed blades with the demi-humans surrounding Farrie and Tersia. Who charged in a semi-circle towards where Itsuki's group was defending Melty and the others.

The Church Knights were now focused on one side of the square. Completely ignoring Naofumi on the other side.

A Church Knight came running for Eclair. But one of the demi-humans, Maya, came out of an illusion right before tripping the knight. Before he could get up, she stabbed him in the back. "Don't worry. I overheard what you said. We'll protect the Second Princess. Right now, you should help the Shield Hero while they're focused on us."

Eclair looked at the demi-human in shock. But then she shook herself and nodded. "Alright. I'm entrusting the Second Princess's safety to you." She ran away from the group, who'd formed a protective circle around Melty. Melty was plenty protected now. Naofumi needed her now.

"Ah! AHHHH!" One of the knights was lifted up by the armored bear therianthrope and thrown away from the battle.

Ren knocked a blade from a Church Knight and then kicked him over the edge of the wall. "You ready Itsuki?!" Ren yelled over the sound of battle as he held his sword up high.

Itsuki pulled his string back, and a red glowing arrow appeared on it. Ren jumped off the wall. Itsuki jumped off his perch on the rooftop too. Now that they were fully committed.

"Air Strike Spread!"

"Air Strike Bash!"

The two launched two skills consecutively at the still recovering army of knights. Itsuki's red arrow split into a series of red arrows that all struck the front line of knights, dropping them to the ground, gasping in pain. Ren's skill threw almost an entire column of soldiers into the air.

He landed on top of another knight, bringing him down to the ground. Another knight charged for him, but Bakta landed on top of the poor guy.

"As source of thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, and strike my targets with a darkness so deep as to not be comprehended!" Rachel chanted. "Zweite Dark Slash!"

Another line of Church Knights in front of Ren and Bakta was hit by a shadow darker than night. Giving room for Wyndia, Welt, and the other demi-humans to jump down from above.

"Bakta, protect the right flank. Wyndia, take the left. I'll spearhead this one." Ren calmly ordered. "Welt, lead the rest, and protect the Second Princess!"

Bakta and Wyndia ran to the sides he'd indicated. Wyndia brandished a finely crafted katana. Bakta finally unsheathed a large greatsword. Welt and the demi-humans turned, running to support Tersia and Farrie. Whose group was slowly making their way toward Melty.

"Give them hell!" Ren ordered.

"Huah!" Filo kicked a royal knight hard in the groin, sending him high up into the air.

"Zweite Hellfire!"

Malty unleashed more flames, but they were considerably weaker than before. They didn't even reach the group before they were dispelled.

"Myne! You're too hurt to continue fighting!" Motoyasu was forcibly dragging Myne back from the fight.

"No, I have to-" She tried to yell crazily through the pain she felt.

"Ahhhh!"

The knight Filo kicked landed on top of Myne. Motoyasu rolled the groaning knight off of Myne. Who was, for the moment, briefly knocked out. 'Not what I wanted… but at least I can get her to safety now.' He hefted Myne up again and limped back to where the Commander was still trying to organize the remainder of his knights.

"So what was your plan?" Melty asked.

Aksel deflected a Church Knight's blade away with his axe. Then punched him hard enough to drop him. "Our plan is shock and awe."

"What does that mean?"

"Basically, we're a distraction." Crystal answered as she took a step back to take a breather from the fighting. "When we arrived, we noticed the Shield Hero was too close to the walls with an injured party member."

"So we're grabbing everyone's attention until we're able to group back together safely where Sir Itsuki can pull us out." Rachel said quickly. She threw another spell out. Blasting a line of knights with darkness incarnate.

"You mean this wasn't planned out?!" Melty asked incredulously.

"We just got back to the Capital. We didn't know what to expect. So we planned as we went along." Crystal said sarcastically.

Melty looked over. Naofumi was still trying to heal Raphtalia. 'I hope she's okay.' She thought sadly, unable to help. Well, besides this.

"Zweite Aqua Shot!" She launched a large water ball into a group of Church Knights. "My mother was right! You are nothing but a cult that's jealous of the power of the Shield Hero!" She yelled.

Their reaction was as expected. "You will pay for your blasphemy!"

She could be a very good distraction.

"Fast Heal!" Green energy covered Raphtalia's body again, but she still didn't stir. "Raphtalia, please." Naofumi had tears coming from his eyes. 'It's my fault… it's all my fault-' HHe looked pathetic as he cried.

He couldn't help her. She was going to die and he couldn't do anything to-

"Sir Naofumi!"

Naofumi looked up. "Eclair, nothing's working on her!" He said desperately.

Eclair ran up and got on her knees next to Raphtalia. "Oh, Gods." She could feel the power of the curse on the poor Tanuki girl. "My light magic won't be enough for this."

"But can your magic help?" Naofumi asked desperately.

"Sir Naofumi-"

"Please," Naofumi begged. "I can't lose her… not after everything we've been through together... Please."

"... Alright…" She didn't know if her magic would help. She could only heal the lowest tier of curses at best. But that didn't mean she couldn't give her all to help. "Let's drag her under some cover so I can work," Eclair said.

"Why would we-" Naofumi finally looked away from Raphtalia and Eclair. He'd been so absorbed with trying to heal his companion, that he didn't realize till that moment there was a major battle going on. "What the hell."

"I'd rather not allow my enemies to fire arrows down on me from above when they notice us here Sir Naofumi," Eclair answered seriously as she grabbed Raphtalia under her shoulders. They were lucky no one still hadn't taken note of them yet.

Naofumi lifted Raphtalia by her legs, not questioning Eclair further. Together they carried her over to one of the few untouched buildings where they'd be out of sight.

Ren dropped another knight to the ground, slashing the man across the thigh before knocking him out. He looked at where Naofumi had been formerly, only to find he wasn't there.

'Where did Naofumi go!?' He started to look around at the chaos, trying to locate where Naofumi had been frantically.

He slashed down a large Church Knight wielding a Warhammer. He grimaced at the blood covering his sword. He was trying his best not to kill anyone. That was the last thing he wanted.

'There!' He finally saw Naofumi.

He was in front of a building. It had an overhang, which he, Raphtalia, and a knight were under. The knight's hands were glowing, and he was messing with something in his hands. The Church Knights hadn't gone anywhere near them, as they were distracted by all the action. But that could change at any moment.

"Wyndia. Could you use one of those spells again?" Ren asked.

"Not without becoming useless, Sir Ren," Wyndia replied with a bit of frustration in her tone. "Only ask if you feel it's absolutely necessary."

"Alright. I was just checking." Ren switched to a longer blade. He then swung to force many of the knights back to avoid being sliced. Which gave him room to swing down. "Hang on. Air Strike Bash!"

Bakta and Wyndia grabbed Ren and jumped with him right as he unleashed the skill underneath them. The blast of air jettisoned them over the knights. Wyndia parried a few blades that tried to swipe at them as they flew. But thanks to the chaos being sown by Itsuki who was still releasing skill after skill from the safety of the group. Many of which were exploding, Ren and his group of two were able to land safely right on the other side of the battle.

"Ugh, I hate it when you use that trick." Bakta looked queasy after flying through the air.

A group of Church Knights came charging for them. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and blast my targets. Zweite Dragon's Flame!" A ball of fire appeared in Wyndia's hand. She chucked part of it at the closest knight. He fell screaming to the ground. She then deftly knocked the blade out of the second and slammed the remainder of the ball of fire into his chest. Sending him crashing back.

Bakta, who'd forced down his nausea, jumped in front of her, blocking a string of attacks with his greatsword and armor. He then swung his greatsword in retaliation, slashing a line of Knights down. "Hold them off!" Ren ordered them.

"Got it!" Wyndia positioned herself beside Bakta. Wielding her katana in one hand while creating more fire in the other.

Ren ran towards Naofumi.

"Now!" Naofumi ordered.

"First Cleansing!"

Eclair's hands glowed brighter. Light surrounded Raphtalia's body. A black mist came off parts of her. The skin around her face cleared up somewhat, but the burns still looked serious.

"Fast Heal!"

Naofumi cast the spell right as he helped Raphtalia drink the best Healing Potion he could make.

The combination of the healing magic, the cleansing magic, and the healing potion finally worked. Her HP bar moved from the red to the yellow zone. Raphtalia started to cough weakly as she came to. "Nao… Naofumi…" She said quietly.

"Oh, thank the Gods!" Naofumi finally looked somewhat relieved as he hugged the weak Tanuki girl. Eclair looked tired out from the amount of light magic she'd used. She uncorked a Magic Healing Water and began to drink.

"Thank you Eclair. You did amazing." Naofumi said sincerely.

The knight almost choked on the potion at Naofumi praising her.

"What's… what's happening-" Raphtalia tried to say.

"Don't worry." Naofumi pulled back and rubbed her hair reassuringly. "You're going to be okay. I'm going to get us all out of here!" He was still highly worried about how serious her cursed burns were. But getting her and his party to safety was now his utmost concern.

"And how are you planning on doing that, Naofumi, when there's an army in the way?" Ren asked.

Naofumi finally looked up in surprise. "Ren, what are you doing-" He started to say in disbelief. Then he saw an arrow skill land in the crowd of Church Knights. "Is Itsuki here too-"

"Sir Naofumi. Were you not paying attention when I told you what was happening?!" Eclair asked in disbelief.

"Enough. I'm getting you two out of here. Now come on!" Ren said. Wyndia and Bakta were a force to be reckoned with. But there were still more knights pouring into the square from the gates.

"But why are you two-" He tried to say.

A squad of Church Knights got past Ren's party members and ran for them. Ren scowled as he saw the battle was beginning to turn. While they were Cardinal Heroes, the enemy still had numbers on their side. And Itsuki had to pause every now and then to drink a Soul Healing Water. Allowing for more openings the enemy could use to attack. One of the knights ran ahead of the group, and Ren used his sword to block the knight's strike.

"You imposter! You were never the Sword Hero! Neither you nor-" Ren sent the Church Knight flying back before he could finish his sentence. "Meteor Slash!" He sent a slash of blue light from his sword, blasting away the rest of the squad of knights without hitting them directly.

Ren noticed his own SP reserves were getting low.

"I need you to trust us Naofumi," Ren said seriously. "Things are a lot more serious than before. If we don't get out now, it'll be too late."

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia worriedly, and she tried to smile for him despite the pain. Why had Ren been called a fake Hero? What was going on to make Itsuki and Ren help him out like this...

"Okay." He couldn't question it now. They needed to get to safety first.

He lifted Raphtalia bridal style, and she weakly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Eclair, can you watch our backs?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes."

"Then lead the way, Ren."

They ran back towards the knights. Noticing what was happening, Itsuki accurately sent a skill right over the knights Wyndia and Bakta had been facing. While the Church Knights immediately broke up and tried to avoid the rain of arrows, Ren's party members broke off and joined up alongside Ren, making a piercing formation. Eclair stayed in the back by herself. Protecting Naofumi's rear.

"Rahhhh!" Finally noticing the fake hero and the Shield Demon charging towards them, a large pocket of Church Knights surrounding Naofumi's allies roared in anger and turned to meet them.

"Meteor Arrow!"

A blue arrow exploded in their midst, sowing confusion.

"Thunderbolt Slash!"

Ren swept his sword, releasing a slash of lightning on more of the knights. Dropping them to the ground.

They started running through the pack.

"First Technique! Dawn's Strike!" Eclair knocked a large Church Knight away.

"Fast Fireball!" Wyndia slammed a fireball into the chest of another knight.

"Ahhhh!" Bakta once more charged like a bull. Allowing his size, armor, and greatsword to plow down all in his way.

Naofumi held Raphtalia close. But he wasn't going to stand idle in the center of the group.

"Shield Prison!"

A group of nearby knights on Wyndia's side were encased.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi formed a shield in front of Ren. Who used it to jump and vault into the middle of a group of knights who'd gotten back to back.

"Crimson Blade!" Ren spun a 360, knocking all the knights away with the fiery flat of his blade.

"Change Shield! Bee Needle Paralysis Shield!"

The Shield Prison disappeared, and the knights slumped to the ground. All of them were paralyzed.

"Zweite Dark Slash!"

The last bit of the path was cleared by a spell from Rachel. Who sent a wave of darkness crashing into the Church Knights.

Ren, Naofumi, and their allies ran over the downed knights before they could get back up and ran into the circle of allies.

"Daddy, is mommy okay!?" Filo was still kicking and knocking away any knight who dared to get too close. But she looked in worry at her parents.

"She is for now," Naofumi answered as he looked around.

Karn and the dog demi-humans with him struggled against the abundant amount of swordsmen. Several of the demi-humans were either dead or having their wounds treated so they could get back to fighting. Eclair immediately moved next to Karn and assisted. Holding that part of the line.

Tersia and Farrie were next to Rachel, Maya, and Melty in the middle with some other raccoons and Kitsune demi-humans. They were either sending blasts of magic where the knights were the thickest, using illusion magic to confuse the enemy, or using healing and support magic on their allies.

Aksel defended another part of the circle with one of the bear therianthropes. The second one was also in the center of the circle, getting treated for his still bleeding gut wound.

Itsuki was in the middle of the group too. Unleashing skills like he was raining God's justice all around. Ren unleashed skills sparingly from the safety of the group. But they weren't going to hold forever. They had already defeated many knights, but there were hundreds more to take their place. And maybe even thousands more that were on the way to crush them.

"We're all here. You ready to get us out of here, Itsuki!?" Ren asked as he sent a fire skill in the shape of a dragon into a group of knights. He prepared his portal skill.

"Almost! I just have to add Naofumi- damn it! They're interfering with my weapon again!" Itsuki cursed.

A look of panic came onto Ren's face. "Mine too."

"What does that mean?" Naofumi asked.

"It means neither me nor Ren can portal us out of here!" Itsuki yelled.

Ren still tried, but he couldn't activate his portal skill. "But that's impossible! We checked! No one is at the Church right now! There's no way they could block us using the Dragon Hourglass!" He looked to be on the verge of having a panic attack.

"What are you two talking about-" Naofumi was saying. Ren had promised to get them out of here!

"Sir Heroes." Ren, Itsuki, and Naofumi looked to Melty. She looked pale. "I think I know what's causing the interference."

Itsuki, who had the best eyes of the group, looked where Melty was pointing. And his eyes went wide. "What the hell is that?!"

Outside, on their knees behind the water, were at least a thousand robed individuals. Their heads were bowed as they chanted. Mana was beginning to gather above them.

"That is a high-level ritual spell they're preparing to cast," Melty answered.

There weren't many the others heroes knew of that could interfere with the portal skill. But high-class ritual magic being cast nearby was one of them.

The Church Knights started to back away, dragging those who were wounded with them. However, mages and Knights on the walls and on the ground started firing arrows and spells at the group. While they no longer had to deal with any swordsmen, they now found themselves in the midst of many different ranged and projectile weapons.

"Air Strike Shield! Royal Shield!" Naofumi cast the two barriers on the front and back. The Air Strike Shield was cracking against the attacks of so many Church Knights. But the Royal Shield was also cracking under the less numerous Royal Knights barrage. Without the upgrade from the cursed Series, it was the same old useless skill as before.

Well, not as useless since he was now defending Melty with it. But it wasn't holding under such a barrage.

"We order thee! Decipher the laws of nature! Summon a barrier of wind to protect us from all harm! Deflect our enemy's attacks away and bring us safety!" Tersia and Farrie chanted at the same time. "Drifa Protection Tornado!"

A tornado of wind formed around the whole group just as both skills shattered. The arrows that had been sent their way were redirected. The variety of spells were either thrown or impacted harmlessly against the tornado of wind.

"High-class ritual magic." Ren looked pale. His internal panic reached new levels.

"Um... how bad is that?" Naofumi asked.

"If it's the same thing from the game I played…they're about to unleash a spell whole guilds of mages would use to take on world bosses," Ren murmured. "Any players caught in it…"

He didn't need to finish. It was going to be bad.

"Lady Altara. The mages are ready to cast Judgement. Should I give the order?" The Church Knight asked Altara.

Altara looked unsure. The Shield Demon was down there. But so were the Bow and Sword Heroes. She didn't want to believe that they had really changed sides. It couldn't be… all her hard work to forsake her former life to worship the true heroes of this world...

"Sir Ren, our barrier won't hold against that if they cast that spell!" Farrie yelled.

"It's barely holding against everything they're already throwing against us out there!" Tersia added, sweating in concentration.

"Itsuki, my SP's too low," Ren said. Even if he had a full bar, he doubted he could even put a dent in any high-level ritual magic spell.

Naofumi looked down at Raphtalia in fear. He felt the temptation to switch to the Rage Shield again. But he'd already hurt her so badly. If he equipped it again...

Was this how it was going to end for them?

Itsuki looked at Ren. And then his eyes lit up. "Wait, I might have an idea!"

Itsuki explained it to Ren, who looked at the dog girl of his party. "Wyndia, would you be able to use your magic to help us now?"

"Well, it's either that or die." The girl shrugged. "Sure, let's go for it. I'll just need a lot of vitality to pull from."

She tried to look indifferent as gratitude filled the Sword Hero's gaze. But ultimately failed.

"Zweite Air Slash!"

"Zweite Earthball!"

"Zweite Hellfire!"

Motoyasu set the injured Myne back next to the Commander behind the line of knights firing off different spells. She had woken up again and looked like she still wanted to fight. But her injuries were taking too much of a toll. And she was out of MP with no more elixirs to restore it.

"Stay here! I'm going to try and stop this!" Motoyasu ordered her.

"No, I have to…" Myne looked to be in a lot of pain.

"Lady Altara!"

"Yes, cast it now while they're pinned down." Altara finally ordered.

She had to remember the Shield Demon was down there. He was associated with the demi-humans that had ruined her life before.

He couldn't be allowed to escape!

Naofumi suddenly received three different notifications. Melty and Eclair were requesting to join his party. And Itsuki was requesting him to join his party as a squad leader.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't reject this time!" Itsuki said to Naofumi.

"But why do I-" Naofumi tried to ask.

"Just do it Naofumi!" Itsuki yelled. The wind spell was already weakening.

"Daddy! Something big is coming! We have to get out of here now!" Filo yelled in worry.

'But…' He felt a hand on his cheek, and looked down at Raphtalia. She didn't speak, but she didn't have to.

He understood. He wasn't going to reject Itsuki's party request a second time. Not when they'd come to rescue him and his party.

He quickly accepted all three invites.

Itsuki nodded gratefully. "Everyone! Gather close! I'm going to try and use a combo skill with Ren!"

Everyone backed away from the failing wind tornado. Outside, the Church Knights were starting to hastily retreat from the square. Calling for the Royal Knights to do the same.

"Go! Release as much wind as you can!" Ren yelled to the mages.

"Help them, Filo!" Naofumi told her.

"We order thee! Decipher the laws of nature! Summon the great winds of old! Blow our target away in a cyclone of power and bring about our triumph! Drifa Gale!" A blast of wind came out from the mages, who shot it into the tornado of already existing wind.

"Zweite Tornado!" Filo assisted as well.

"Now, use your Dragon Vein Magic Wyndia!" Ren yelled to Wyndia.

Wyndia took point. "I call upon the power of the wind to come to me and take form." She started to chant. Naofumi stared, having never heard the beginning of such a chant before. "Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Help my targets! Expand their reach, and imbue their weapons with the power to turn our defeat into a victory!" Wyndia chanted, channeling the power of the wind before pointing to Itsuki and Ren.

"Support of the Valkyrie!"

The wind magic the other mages were casting channeled from the tornado into Wyndia. The tornado around them gradually shrunk. Ren and Itsuki's weapons began to glow more brightly.

Before the tornado broke, Itsuki pointed his bow up and Ren held his sword up.

The magic was enough to overcome the interference. However, a bright light was starting to come down. A beam of energy more powerful than what they'd hope to survive. If the interference came back in the middle of the skill, they were done for.

"Combo Skill!" Both Heroes yelled. "Dual Transport!"

Normally, their portal skills restricted them to only teleporting their immediate parties and a couple of others at a time. But because of the combo skill being made possible through Wyndia's Dragon Vein support magic...

Itsuki released the string as Ren's sword shone brightly. A dome of light and wind appeared around everyone inside, engulfing them entirely. Naofumi felt a jerk. Like a hook had lodged in his spine, pulling them from the normal plane of existence.

Archers continued to release their arrows at the group. Mages sent spells raining down on the spot. Judgment rained down from the sky.

Malty's eyes widened when she saw the dome of light and wind. "No!" She yelled angrily.

"Ren! Itsuki! Nao-" Motoyasu covered his eyes as the light glowed too brightly.

The dome of light and wind collapsed. Everyone who had been underneath it disappeared from the battle-torn square.

Malty cursed angrily. "Damn it! Damn it all-"

Then, Judgement struck down.

"Ah! AHHHHHHH!" The Church and Royal Knights who hadn't fled quickly enough were sent flying by the initial explosion.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Despite the distance, Myne screamed as a shockwave carried her away.

"No, Myne-" Motoyasu jumped for her. The shockwave also sent him flying.

"Nooooooo-" The Commander was also sent flying.

"Lady Altara!" The Church Knight gripped the wall tightly. They were close. Too close to the radius of the blast.

"No!" Altara was sent flying by the force of the blast.

A sound like a very high-pitched whistle reaching further and further intensity filled everyone's ears. Judgement continued to destroy the former battlefield, the wall, and part of the city.

"Your Majesty!"

King Aultcray looked up from his throne. A squad of Royal Knights stood guard in a semi-circle in front of him. "What is it?! Have you managed to rescue my daughter from the clutches of that cursed demon!?" He yelled angrily. He did not look happy.

The Captain breathed in and out heavily after running so far. "Your Majesty, Princess Melty was fine last we checked. But our city is not. Parts of it are on fire due to the actions of Princess Malty."

"What?" The King stood up from his throne.

"There's more. My men and I heard it ourselves. Princess Melty accused Princess Malty of working with the Three Heroes Church to have her murdered. That was the incident that occurred in the dungeons."

King Aultcray's face became even more incredulous. "... What?"

The Captain stood erect. "Your Majesty, my men and I also found the Sword and Bow Hero as we fled. They claimed the Church tried to have them both killed. That was why they disappeared. The Royal Commander lied to all of us about the reports."

The King was silent. He was speechless at what he was hearing. "I don't think the Shield Hero was trying to escape, nor was he responsible for what we accused him of. He was trying to protect the Second Princess. Not just from the First Princess, but from the Commander and the Three Heroes Church! Their followers are outside the city right now, trying to kill him, the Second Princess, and the other heroes! We need to act now!"

"What, what are you talking about?!" King Aultcray asked. "That's absurd! If they were doing that then that would mean-"

"That your Captain speaks too much, your Highness."

The Captain and his knights turned to a hallway. The Pope walked out of it. He was smiling happily as a pair of Church Knights on either side flanked him.

"Balamus, tell him you're wrong!" Aultcray said in desperation.

Balamus had been his chaplain during the Eight-Year War. There was no way he'd try to have his own daughter killed off.

"Unfortunately, your Captain is right. In every regard." Balamus said, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry old friend, but what I do now, I do for the sake of God's plan for our world."

Suddenly, Church Knights appeared from the main doors. The hallways. Every available entrance to the throne room. They surrounded the Captain and his men, who immediately circled around their leader to protect him.

"No, stop this at once-" The Royal Knights in front of the King turned, pointing their pikes at him. He immediately stopped speaking, staring at his 'loyal' knights in shock.

"You should really check the loyalty of those serving you, King Aultcray the XXXII… or should I call you Luge, since you're no longer the proper King of Melromarc anymore," Balamus said, smiling as he held all the cards in his hands.

"What?" Even the Captain looked surprised. To think even some of their own knights were actually traitors.

"Why, why are you doing this Balamus!?" Aultcray asked angrily.

"Why?" Balamus continued to smile. One of the knights moved to take the crown off of Aultcray's head. "Because it is God's will that I should take command of his kingdom. After all the foolish actions of royalty, it has become obvious that you aren't capable of eradicating a demon and his country anymore. A shame, since you were once one of the brightest minds in our crusade against the demi-humans and their Demon God so many years ago-"

Before the knight could take the crown off, Aultcray finally acted.

"Huah!" The staff in his hand, while not the weapon he'd wielded long ago, smashed into the man's chest. He fell to the ground screaming in pain as the armor caved in.

The other traitorous knights immediately tried to attack their 'former' King with their pikes.

"Fast Gale!" A burst of wind came from the King's outstretched hand. The soldiers lost their grips on their pikes, which went flying across the room, almost hitting Balamus who was barely shielded by his men in time.

Aultcray then moved like a hurricane. Bringing down the traitors before him one man after the other with either the might of his ornate staff or a spell of his choice.

One knight managed to get behind the King and swipe at him with his sword.

Clang!

However, Aultcray was far higher in levels than the knight. He was not only a King but also a former war hero. He was far more powerful than anyone realized.

While the young man reeled in shock, Aultcray used an Earth spell to bury him into the floor of the throne room.

The poor guy disappeared with a scream.

It seemed like only seconds later, but the King stood in the midst of those who'd betrayed him. All of them were dead. The Captain and his men were staring at Aultcray in awe.

"Hmmm? I must admit, I did not expect this." Balamus said nonchalantly. "Does this mean you support the Shield Demon, then?"

"The Shield Hero is not a demon!" The Captain yelled angrily at the Pope. "Do not mistreat the Cardinal Heroes you filth!"

"But I'm not mistreating the Cardinal Heroes." Pope Balamus said, opening his arms wide. "I am simply purging the world of that which goes against our God's will. And that appears to include two of their mighty champions that have decided to rebel."

"Such talk, from a man I once called a friend," Aultcray growled as he gripped his jeweled staff tightly. Blood dripped off the end of it as he pointed it at Balamus. "I will put a stop to this nonsense now!"

"Hmmm… aren't you worried about your daughters though?"

Aultcray's eyes narrowed in confusion. Before he could ask what the Pope meant though, a bright light appeared near the outskirts of the city.

Boom!

A large explosion shook the castle.

Aultcray looked out the window. His eyes widened in astonishment. "What, what are you-"

The remaining Church Knights in the room parted, allowing Aultcray to run up to a window.

A beam of light that he recognized was decimating the western wall of the city. The buildings that had survived the fight were catching on fire or disintegrating. "What… what is this?"

Up close, people who had been running from the western part of the city in terror stopped and stared up in shock. Royal Knights who had been trying to fight the fires and direct the civilians to safety stared up as well. Anyone around could see the beam of light raining judgment on that part of the city.

"Anyone who supports the Shield Demon, and anyone who gets in God's way, whether they be commoner or royalty, shall receive the same purifying light that your daughters are receiving now," Balamus said. Smiling as he approached. "For there is no other way for a soul tainted with the influence of the Shield to be purified."

The Captain looked horrified. His men stood in stunned shock.

Aultcray looked stunned. "No…

"No..."

The jeweled staff fell from his hands. He clutched at his head. "My dear Melty… Malty..." Tears were leaking from his eyes.

A knight began to move forward, but Balamus held up a hand, gesturing for him to wait.

"No... No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Aultcray slammed his fists against the floor.

"Y-Your Majesty-" As the Captain ran forward to try and help, Church Shadows sprang from the ceiling, surrounding him and his men.

Aultcray continued to scream as his fists beat into the floor again and again and again. Leaving indentations in the stone as big fat tears ran down the sides of his face.

He eventually stopped screaming and bawled over the loss he was feeling.

This was worse than when he'd lost his original family.

This was worse than when he'd lost his sister.

This was even worse than when he'd lost his son.

He began to weep uncontrollably. His body rested on the floor as he cried over the loss of his precious daughters.

He had no progeny left now. No one to teach magic to anymore. No one to cuddle with at night while reading a bedtime story.

He'd lost it all.

"Take them to the dungeons," Balamus finally ordered his knights. "And do make sure that Luge has a comfortable cell. Somewhere where he can think over his sins in peace."

Aultcray continued to cry on the ground. His staff was taken from beside him, and he was bound. He didn't even attempt to fight back.

"Your... your Majesty..." The Captain said sadly. He and his men had been disarmed and bound as well.

They were all led out of the throne room. Behind them, the light of Judgement finally began to fade.

'No... Melty... Malty...' Aultcray continued to weep.

His family had been taken from him again, but not by the demi-humans this time.

They had been taken by one of his own friends.

Elhart stared hard out of his bedroom window. Having witnessed the beam of light that had struck down part of the city, waking him from his nap.

'They actually did it…'

He'd been warned by someone after Raphtalia and Filo left and before he'd gone upstairs that the Church was going to assume control of the city. He vaguely remembered her looking a lot like the lady who had given him the note about Belouka's tent. But he hadn't given it much thought.

But once more, she'd turned out to be correct.

He immediately got dressed. And then he pulled a large wooden crate from his bed. 'If the Three Heroes Church really is taking control, then it's time I went into hiding for a while.'

He was no idiot. The Church knew he and his shopkeeper friends had assisted Naofumi in the past. They couldn't do anything to him before since he was one of the best blacksmiths in the kingdom. Well respected by both the King and Queen. But now…

He opened the crate. His old, but trustworthy adventurer armor lay on top of old blankets. His warhammer still gleamed as he pulled it out and hefted it. It still felt light in his hands despite its weight. He donned his armor, a calm look on his face.

'I'm going to miss this shop... I really hope they don't burn it down while I'm gone.'

He pulled a hood over his head and left out the black door.

Sometime later, a group of Church Knights broke down the front door and searched the place. But besides the weapons and armor that had been left on their stands and displays, there was no sign of the blacksmith that had helped Naofumi.

He, and as they'd soon find out, the other shopkeepers closest to the blacksmith; were already long gone.

At the edge of a forest, a dome of light and wind appeared over the ground. After a few seconds, the dome disappeared, revealing Naofumi, Ren, Itsuki, and their respective parties. Several of the mages, including Wyndia, collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"Wyndia? Are you okay?" Ren helped Wyndia up.

"What have I told you about touching me?!" Wyndia snapped at him in her exhausted state. "I'll be fine. I'm just a little tired is all."

Ren, though shaking, still tried to help her up. She sighed, but didn't complain about it further.

There was also a hint of red in her cheeks for some reason. But Ren didn't notice.

"Where are we?" Filo asked as she looked around curiously.

"Away from the Capital. That's for certain." Eclair said in relief.

It was over. They had finally escaped.

"Oh, that was so stressful," Melty said as she sank to her knees with relief. Facing her sister and everyone else like that had absolutely terrified her. It was a miracle she had managed to keep her composure at all!

She had a newfound respect for her mother and what she did on a daily basis.

"Good work Itsuki," Ren said happily to the Bow Hero.

"Yeah. We just had to face all the knights in Melromarc and make ourselves even bigger enemies than we were before. But it wasn't too hard for me if I'm being honest." Itsuki said sarcastically.

Ren chuckled a little at that. "Yeah, I could have easily taken on all those knights if they hadn't cheated there at the end." Some of their party members on both sides also chuckled.

They found humor in the fact that they'd managed to escape death once again.

"No, Raphtalia! I need you to stay awake!"

All talk stopped as they looked. Naofumi set Raphtalia on the ground. Her HP bar had dipped back into the red zone again.

"But… I'm so tired Naofumi…" Raphtalia said tiredly. "Can't I sleep for a while please?"

"No, Raphtalia…" Naofumi looked up at everyone, desperation in his eyes. "Please, she needs help!"

The group stood stunned. Filo more so than the others. "M-Mommy-" She tried to say.

"One of you, any of you please! I can't treat her!" He yelled in desperation. He'd tried all his different types of potions. He'd tried using a medical skill to find out how to treat her burns, only to receive nothing because he'd never treated cursed burns before. He'd tried a potion he'd created that could heal any status effect a person was suffering from.

But it didn't work on the cursed burns inflicting Raphtalia. He could only try to keep her HP bar from dropping, but he didn't know how to heal her burns!

When no one responded, he desperately raised a hand over Raphtalia. "Fast Heal!" However, he received a notification when he tried that.

Out of MP.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

"No, I can't be out of MP now! Damn it!" Naofumi yelled angrily. He opened his pouch, but he had no more Healing Potions or Magic Healing Waters left.

"Somebody! Please! HELP HER!" Naofumi yelled desperately to the sky.

"I'm here."

More of the scene came into view. By the forest was a large manor. The neatly dressed nobleman who owned it bent down near Raphtalia, almost as if he'd come from out of nowhere. He quickly examined her burns, his eyes looking serious.

Naofumi almost fell backward at how this man had appeared so suddenly.

"Don't worry. It's not as bad as it appears." He finally said. "She'll live, but she needs holy water for her burns." He said calmly.

"Who are you?" Naofumi asked the million-dollar question.

Before the nobleman could respond, and before Itsuki could answer, Melty gasped in surprise. "I remember this region now... You're Van Reichnott. One of my mother's royal advisors."

Van Reichnott nodded to her. "It's been too long Princess Melty. But we'll have to save the pleasantries for later." He looked to the demi-humans who had volunteered to go with Itsuki and Ren to save Naofumi. "Get the wounded into town. And have my best nurses brought in. We'll need to work fast if we want to give her the best chance of recovery."

Anything else could wait. Right now, Raphtalia's treatment took top priority.

The demi-humans that weren't wounded bowed respectively. "As you wish Master Reichnott."

Till Next Time

Allen